Well, this week's message, like
last week's, has been prompted by some of the readings that
we've been doing at home here in the morning. And we got, having
gone through Jeremiah, we came to Lamentations. And I was struck
again by verse 12. Is it nothing to you all ye that
pass by? It's not the first time I've
ever preached on this. I don't recall ever preaching
on it in this forum or for many, many years. I think it's at least
Oh, it must be coming up for 20 years since I last preached
on this, but I have preached on it before. So I started to
prepare it, and then a couple of days later on Facebook, I
noticed Ian Potts, my friend, posted that the first message
he ever preached and posted on Facebook, on Sermon Audio, was
from this text of Lamentations 1, verse 12. And it is the one
that has been listened to, he said, by more than any others,
by a long, long way. Well, that confirmed it to me
that this is the right message for today. What has produced
the scripture, the Bible, as we have it today? I know that's
a very, very big, broad question to ask, but let me answer it
like this. God, putting his people through
trials and experiences, which they write down under the influence
of the Holy Spirit, under the direction, the movement of the
Holy Spirit, They write it down, they write the truth, and in
it is the truth of eternal life. The truth that when we were looking
at that scripture last week from Ephesians, lay hold on eternal
life. It's the truth of eternal life
that is the key thing. And through the experiences of
the people of God, thousands of years ago even, by Holy Spirit
inspiration, these are the words which speak Yes, of their immediate
crisis, their immediate experience, the things that they were going
through, but what did Jesus say? Search the Scriptures, for in
them you think that you have eternal life. That's true, you
do. These, these Scriptures are they which speak of Him, of the
Lord Jesus Christ. They speak of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the truth of eternal life that is in Him alone. Now, let me ask you, Is this
relevant to you? Does it bother you in any way
whatsoever? Is it relevant to you? All the
things that you've got going on in your life, the busyness
at college or at work or wherever you are in your family or with
trials of health and whatever's happened, is it relevant to you
or is it nothing? That's the question. Is it nothing
to you, all ye that pass by? Is it nothing to you? The world
around, especially at this time of year, read my article, in
the bulletin. I mean, it was November yesterday
when I was writing it, and we can't go anywhere without Christmas
being everywhere. It used to be when I was a kid,
it was about the week before Christmas that that sort of thing
happened, but now it seems to be halfway through November they
start doing it. The world is constantly striving
to make this, that, and the other something to us. Not nothing
to us, something to us. The news is trying to grab our
attention. Advertising is trying to grab
our attention. Evil enticements all over are
trying to grab our attention. To make us feel something, sympathy,
pity, a desire to help. Covetousness. To covet. Oh, if
only I had all that money that the lottery would give me. If
only I had all those possessions that the money could buy me.
Oh, if only I could secretly get away with all those sinful
desires without being caught out. You know, you see it all
the time with celebrities, don't we? Being caught out. just because,
and this is the sad thing, they're just human beings going the way
of their sinful flesh. And what I find worse than what
they did is the hypocrisy of the others that point the finger
so readily when they themselves are guilty of exactly the same
things. Sinful desires, it's all trying to grab attention.
But, but, but, here is the most momentous declaration ever. The declaration of eternal life.
The truth of eternal life. What could be more important
to mortal men and women like you and me? What could be more
important? We're going to die. It's appointed
to man to die once and then the judgment. And God is going to
find us guilty. And God is going to condemn us
to hell unless we have an answer. Unless we find the way to eternal
life. Does it attract your attention?
Does it? because it should. The day will
come, the day will come, however you react, when, if you didn't
seek the Lord while he may be found, it will be your greatest,
greatest eternal regret. Let me give you the background
to this situation here. This book of Lamentations is
five chapters and it follows on from the prophecy of Jeremiah. And they are the lamentations,
the sorrows, the weepings, the heart grief of the prophet Jeremiah. He had prophesied in his long
prophecy, 52 chapters, he prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem
by Babylon and the captivity, the 70 years captivity. And it
had been enacted. It had been carried out exactly
as God had said. It had been enacted because of
judgment of God on the idolatry, the spiritual adultery of that
people of Judea, of Israel. Jeremiah had prophesied it, and
now he saw it. And he lamented. He sorrowed. Lamentations. That city of Jerusalem
in the days of Solomon the Great had been so marvellous. The temple was magnificent. The
place was flowing with riches. The Queen of Sheba came from
the south. And she said, I'd heard about it, but my heart
is just overwhelmed with what I've seen. It says in the Psalms,
Psalm 48 and verse 2, about this city of Jerusalem as it was then.
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount
Zion in the sides of the north, the city of the great king. And
yet now, after the Babylonians have done what God said they
would do as his instruments, as his instruments of punishment
for their idolatry, What terrible desolation. What terrible ruin. To see what it had been. Beautiful
for situation, yet terrible for desolation. What a shocking sight. Like the destruction of war.
I mean, even today we look on our news bulletins and you see
the situation in parts of Ukraine and other places in the world.
Gaza and Lebanon. And your heart goes out to those
people. You think, that could be my house. Destroyed in a moment. A shell
comes in, a rocket comes in and bursts and the whole thing is
destroyed. Absolute destruction. What had been such a home of
comfort and of love for one another and of care for one another is
utterly destroyed in things like that. We see it and it's terrible.
It's a cause of sorrow. Joy is turned to sorrow. The joy of what they had is turned
to sorrow. Look at it, look at it. Is it
nothing to you? Does it not move you in any way?
I know there are people who seem to be so devoid of any human
senses of sympathy and empathy that they seem unmoved by these
things. But most of us, most of us, most
of us, not even, not necessarily those who believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, but just human nature looks with sympathy on
those things. We cannot go on our way unmoved. This looking at Jerusalem, is
it nothing to you? It's just a 2,500 year old historical
fact. Maybe we're moved today by Ukraine
and by Gaza and by Lebanon, but not by ancient Jerusalem. So
what is the underlying message that should grab us on our journey? We're on a journey, each of us.
You're on a journey from birth to death, all of us. Don't think
anybody is excluded. You hear about people with bad
health situations and you think, oh, how terrible for them. You're
not much better yourself, whoever you are. We're all on a journey
from birth to death. What is it that should grab our
attention? What is it that should cause
us to take notice? What is it that should make us
know this is something to us? It's the message of that momentous
event at Calvary 2,000 years ago. Why? Turn with me to the
passage that Peter read for us earlier in Mark chapter 15. Mark
chapter 15. Mark chapter 15 in those verses,
22 down to 38, Mark's description of the crucifixion
of Christ, let's pick it up at verse 25. And it was the third
hour, that's nine o'clock in the morning, the Jews started
their day at six o'clock in the morning, so the third hour is
nine o'clock in the morning. It was the third hour, and they
crucified him. And the superscription, the writing,
of his accusation was written over the cross. And the accusation
was that he was the king of the Jews. He claimed to be the king
of the Jews. And with him, they crucified two thieves, the one
on his right hand and the other on his left. And the scripture
was fulfilled, which saith, and he was numbered with the transgressors. He was crucified with those who
deserved to be crucified. In Luke's account, of course,
Luke says that one of them came to repentance and asked the Lord,
please remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Christ
promised him, this day you shall be with me in paradise. But look
at verse 29. This is what I want to draw your
attention to. They that passed by, they that passed by. Back to Lamentations chapter
one. Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? They that pass
by the cross, is it nothing to you who pass by? They that passed
by railed on him. They slung... They slung insults in his direction. They wagged their heads, look
at him, how despicable. He'd been the object of the praise
of many the week before when he was riding on the colt into
Jerusalem as the king coming to his kingdom. And they were wagging their heads
saying, look at him now, how despicable. You that were saying
you'd destroy the temple and build it in three days. Save
yourself and come down. Look at them. They that passed
by railed on him. The chief priests railed on him,
mocked him. They said he saved others. He
can't save himself. Let the Christ the King of Israel
descend now from the cross. If he's who he says he is, we'll
see it and then we'll believe him. And they that were crucified
with him reviled him. And when the sixth hour was come,
that was midday, there was darkness over the whole land and he cried
out and he died. Is what nothing to you? Is what nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? The Bible is not asking us today,
you and me, if we're moved by the destruction of Jerusalem,
but rather by what it figured. the crucifixion of the Son of
God, for all these words speak of Him, as He said. When everything
is done, whether you live long or short, rich or poor, happy
or sad, with friends or alone, ultimately only one thing matters
at the end, and it's this, the question that Jesus asked the
Pharisees, what think ye of Christ? What think ye of Christ? We're
called to look at what he endured, this man of sorrows. A man of
sorrows, look, is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?
Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which
is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the
day of his fierce anger. He was a man of sorrows, afflicted
by the Lord God, punished by the Lord God, In the day of the
Lord God's fierce anger, the man of sorrows, who's he talking
about? Well of course we have to turn
to Isaiah chapter 53. Turn over there, I'm gonna be
getting you to look at some different scriptures this morning. But
Isaiah 53, you know the great chapter in Isaiah's prophecy. of the crucifixion, of the offering
of Christ as the atonement for sin. And in verse three, it says
this of him, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God become man. It says
that he who is God supreme above all things, who dwelt in the
glory of God from before the beginning, he who is God, he
is despised and rejected of man, a man of sorrows. a man of sorrows,
acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from him. He was despised and we esteemed. We took no notice.
Who is this despised man of sorrows? Look back in the previous chapter,
Isaiah 52 and verse 13, where God says this, Behold, my servant
shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled
and be very high. As many were astonished at thee,
his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more
than the sons of men, so shall he sprinkle many nations. The kings shall shut their mouths
at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see.
and that which they had not heard shall they consider. It's talking
about the Son of God. It's talking about God become
man, God incarnate, the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
Look at Isaiah 42, and the first verse, and a couple more verses
there, where God says this, behold my servant. Look at my servant. Who is the servant of God? It
is God himself become man. That is the servant of God, the
Lord Jesus Christ. God become man is the servant
of God. Mine elect, my chosen one. He
is the chosen one in whom my soul delighteth. The soul of
God delights in him. This is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He'll do that
which is needed in the justice of God for his people, is what
that is saying. Verse four, is this open to doubt
as to what he will do? He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till he have set judgment in the earth and the isle shall
wait for his law. This that he did is the momentous
event of the whole of creation. The whole of the history of this
world, this universe in which we live, pivots on this thing,
of that man, the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, dying. God dying on the cross of Calvary. God shedding his blood. God paying
for the redemption of his church with his own blood. That's Acts
chapter 20, verse 28. God purchased his church with
his own blood. This man dying was God dying
in the place of his people. In verse 6 to 8 of chapter 42
of Isaiah, I, the Lord, have called thee. Who? God in heaven
has called his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in righteousness.
and I will hold thine hand and will keep thee, as he walked
as a man in this opposing world, and give thee for a covenant
of the people, which people? His people, a light to the Gentiles,
to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison,
and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am
the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images. This is God in heaven speaking
of God on earth. Thy throne, O God, is forever
and ever. He said in Psalm 40, he said
this, again, the word, God, the word, the Lord Jesus Christ said
this, lo, I come. In the volume of the book, it
is written of me to do thy will. What is the will of the Father?
that of all the people, out of the whole of sinful humanity,
that before time began, he gave to the Son, he says in John chapter
six, this is the will of the Father, that of all of them,
I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
In Matthew's gospel, chapter 12 and verse 18, we have those
words of Isaiah 42, Quoted again, that it might be fulfilled, which
was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, verse 18. Behold my servant whom
I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my spirit upon him and he shall show judgment to
the Gentiles. And there it goes on from there.
This is Jesus Christ. This is God manifest. In whom the man, in whom, says
Colossians 2 verse 9, in whom dwelt the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. The beloved Son, this is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. This is my beloved Son, hear
ye Him. This is the one by whom God created
all things, by whom He upholds all things, Hebrews 1. He upholds
all things by the word of His power. Why then is he, this glorious
being, a man of sorrows? Why is he brought, as our chapter,
as our verse in Lamentations tells us in verse 12, why is
he brought under the affliction of the Lord God in the day of
his fierce anger? Why is he brought into that situation? The answer we know. as 2 Corinthians
5.21 tells us, he who knew no sin, the sinless Lamb of God,
he who knew no sin was made sin. He never committed any sin, but
he in the justice of God for the purpose of redemption was
made the sin of his people. Why? That his people might be
made the righteousness of God in him. By his death he makes
his people righteous. By his death, deserved death,
because he took their sin and thereby he was punished with
the requirements of the justice of God for that sin. He took
the sin of his people and thereby he saved his people from their
sins. Matthew 121, call his name Jesus. Why? For he shall save his people
from their sins. In his own body, in his own human
body. God didn't have a human body
until Christ was born, until he came as a man. In his own
body. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 24. He, our Lord Jesus Christ, his
own self, nobody else, bear our sins in his own body on the tree,
on the cross, on the cursed cross, so that, back to Isaiah, Isaiah
53, what was he doing with that sin in his own body on the tree?
Verse 5, he was wounded by the justice of God for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes,
we who deserve to be punished that way, we are healed. We're
made the righteousness of God in him. All we like sheep have
gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. And the Lord God has laid on him, God in human flesh,
the iniquity of us all. All people that ever lived know
all people that he chose in Christ before the foundation of the
world. Because look down at verse eight, he was taken from prison
and from judgment. and who shall declare his generation?
For he was cut off out of the land of the living. This man
of sorrows, acquainted with grief, why was he cut off out of the
land of the living? Why did he die? For the transgression
of everybody that ever lived. It doesn't say that, does it?
It says, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. Verse 10, it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. Why did it please the Lord to
bruise him? Answer, because, is it because
the Lord is a vindictive God? No, it's because his justice
was satisfied. His love for his people meant
they couldn't be with him in heaven. But the Son of God came. and took that sin and bore its
penalty and paid its price, so that the justice of God was satisfied. And God was pleased because he
can be just and justifier of those that are in the Lord Jesus
Christ. He put him to grief. When you shall make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. He shall see the travail, the work of his soul, in redeeming
his people from the law's curse, and shall be satisfied by his
knowledge. You know him? Do you know him?
By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he
shall bear their iniquities. He has borne my iniquities. How
do I know? I believe him. He has borne my
iniquities. He has borne the iniquities of
everyone that ever believed him. He who is God. Read Philippians
2 again, verses 5 to 8. I know I quote it so often. Turn
to it in your own time. He who was in the form of God
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. This is the second
person of the Trinity. This is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Came down and it says he was obedient. Yes, he was obedient
under the law of God because he was righteous. It proved that
he was a fitting lamb of God. But what was he obedient unto?
He was obedient unto death. Even the shameful death of the
cross. Even the shameful death which
brings down the curse. Cursed is everyone that hangs
on a tree. Look at him. Look at him, all
ye that pass by, look at him in his agony of soul. I just
want to turn you to Psalm 69 for a moment. We could spend
another hour here, but I won't. Psalm 69, who is it that's speaking? Let me just pick out a couple
of verses at the start. He cries out to be saved by God.
I sink in deep mire. I am weary of my crying. They
hate me without a cause. It's Christ, isn't it? It's Christ.
All these things apply to him. Verse five, oh God, Oh God, thou
knowest my foolishness, it says. The word really means guiltiness.
Oh God, thou knowest my guiltiness and my sins. Whose sins? His
sins. His sins? The sins of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He never committed. No, he never
committed any. But those sins of his people
were made his, and he owned them as his, and he bore them in his
own body on the cursed tree, and he paid their debt to the
justice of God. Because those sins there, God
was just. The reason why, it says in Lamentations,
In the day of his fierce anger, the Lord hath afflicted him.
He sent fire into my bones. It prevaileth against the bones
of him. He spread a net for his feet. The yoke of my transgressions
is bound by his hand. Those transgressions were not
his by commitment. They were his by transfer from
his people. Those transgressions were bound
by his hand, and he bore them, and he was responsible for them.
Look, just quickly, just to prove. Look further down. Look further
down. When you go through this, you'll
say, the zeal of thine house has beaten me up. That's Jesus,
our Lord Jesus Christ. It says of him when he cleared
the temple, the zeal of thine, this psalm is about him. It's
speaking of him. Verse 20, reproach has broken
my heart. I am full of heaviness. I looked
for some to take pity. All those that passed by when
he was on that cross, none took pity. But there was none for
comforters, and I found none. They gave me also gall for my
meat, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. This
is our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Why was he brought under
that fierce anger of the Lord? because he was made the sin of
his people and took that sin. He was obedient unto death. He
was forsaken by God his father. Psalm 22 verse one, my God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? It's the very words quoted in
the passage that Peter read to us earlier. My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me? Is it nothing to you? He was
made the sins of his people. The yoke of my transgressions
is bound by his hand. He bore the sins of his people
in his own body on that cursed tree so that he, God, in human
flesh, could shed that which God by nature did not have, but
in his Son he has, which is precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. And with that blood, under the
justice of God, under the demands of the justice of God, he paid
with his life, he purchased with his life to ransom his people,
to ransom his church. He did it for his people. For
the transgressions of my people was he stricken. Not for all
without exception. Not for all them that pass by
without exception. All you that pass by. All you
that pass by the gospel of God. Are you hearing it? Are you hearing
his word? He's declared to you who listen
salvation. from the eternal condemnation
of sin. He's declared to you eternal
life in his glorious kingdom of righteousness. He's declared
to you by the gospel, the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ
to accomplish your justification, your righteous justification
before him. Is it nothing to you? Is it nothing
to you? He's declared the peace and bliss
of his kingdom. Is it nothing to you? Many followers
of Jesus, in John's gospel, we read of them in John chapter
six, many followers of Jesus liked his teaching. They loved
his miracles. They thought, oh, what a lovely
man this is. Do you know, that's nearly all religion as we see
it under the title of Christianity today. Yes, they like it, they
can't find anything wrong with it. But when they heard him in
John chapter six speak of a distinction in humanity, like the separation
of a farmer, an old eastern farmer separating his sheep from his
goats, there's a separation made. Not all are the same, there's
a separation. His people given to him by the
father before the beginning of time, and the rest who are left
to themselves. Well, in John chapter six, it
says, when they heard that, Many went back and followed him no
more. Many went back, and one of the
hymns that we sang said that. Any turn from Zion's way, alas,
what numbers do. Will you forsake me too, he says?
What about you, Peter? What about you, the apostle Peter,
the disciple and the other disciples? Will you leave me also? John
6, verse 68. To whom shall we go? You alone
have the words of eternal life. To whom shall we go? Is it nothing
to you? He alone has the words of eternal
life. He that believeth in me has everlasting
life. It just sounds so glib, doesn't
it? But, you know, it's the most important statement you will
ever hear. It's the pivot of history. He
that believeth in me is not condemned, but he that believeth not is
condemned already. Why? Because he has not believed
on the only begotten Son of God. At Calvary, as we read in Mark
15, the common people derided him. They were passing by, they
derided him. The chief priests, with all their
religious finery and importance, mocked him. The thieves, up to
a point, because we read about Luke and the one that repented,
they mocked him. The centurion, ah, he'd seen
something. I wonder if he was amongst that
number that God had called. Surely this man was the Son of
God. The women around, they followed
him and sought him. There was a man called Joseph
of Arimathea, who was one of the Pharisees, but he sought
the body of Christ to give it a proper burial. Some were among
the multitude, for whose sins Jesus had died. He shall bear
their sins. Many were not, it was nothing
to them. But to those called by God's
Spirit, to those given ears to hear and eyes to see by the Spirit
of God, the redemption accomplished, the redemption is the purchase,
the purchase from debt, the ransom for release from prison, the
redemption accomplished by God in Christ with his shed blood,
that for them is everything. Those called by God's Spirit,
it's everything. Jesus Christ, like the old story
of Happy Jack, you know, what's this that you've got to offer
for yourself, and what's that? But Jesus Christ is my all in
all. He is everything. He is everything
to me. Because what He has done is everything. Whatever else I have or don't
have is irrelevant compared with that. If I have Him, I have everything
I need for life and for eternity. It is their comfort and confidence
in their darkest hour. In their darkest hour. Have any
of you been through a dark hour? A darkest hour? If you're a child
of God, you know that this truth of eternal life accomplished
by Christ when he died on that cross, it's everything to you
in your darkest hour. It's your joy. It's your hope
of life. It's your confidence of eternity.
It's the anchor in this storm-tossed sea of emotions and occurrences. It's your anchor in the storm
of life. Why is it for you? Is it because
you, if you believe, were better than others? No. In Ephesians
chapter two, if you were to turn there, you don't need to, I'll
read it. In Ephesians chapter two, speaking to believers, you
were better than others. Not are now, but you were, you
were dead in trespasses and sins. You were living like everyone
else in this fallen world. You were children of disobedience
towards God, not believing his truth. By nature, you were children
of wrath, deserving of the wrath of God, deserving of that day
of fierce anger as everybody else. But God did not give us
what we deserved. If you're in Christ, if you're
amongst his elect, God didn't give us what we deserve, because
in verse four it says, God, who is rich in mercy, for his great
love wherewith he loved us. Rich in mercy, why? For his great
love wherewith he loved us. He loved us, he says in Jeremiah's
prophecy, chapter 31 and verse three. I have loved you with
an everlasting love. There was never a time when God
did not love his people. This is the most important question
of your entire life. Are you numbered? Are you counted
with those eternally loved by God or with those left to themselves? You see, you're getting very,
very deep and very stark here. And we're thinking about going
away because we're not liking what we hear. There were lots
of disciples in John 6 who said that, weren't they? And they
went away, and Jesus said, will you also go away? Just stick
with me. Are you with Cain or with Abel in the reckoning of
God? Cain, who would not accept God's
way of salvation, or with Abel, who brought his lamb. Are you
with Jacob? who it says God loved, Jacob
have I loved, or with his twin brother Esau, of whom it is said,
and here it is very stark, Esau have I hated, or have I left
to himself? Is the death of Christ nothing
to you as you pass by, as you hear it now? He's lifted up before
us. I've sought to lift up the Lord
Jesus Christ so that you can see he died on that cross for
the sins of his people. Is it nothing to you who pass
by or is it everything to you who pass by? Is it everything? Here's how to know for sure.
When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in the first epistle, he said
this, 1 Thessalonians chapter one and verse four, he said,
who was just writing a letter to them, he'd been there and
he preached, but he said, knowing brethren, beloved, your election
of God. How did Paul know that the Thessalonians
were the elect of God? Read down to verse nine of chapter
one of the first letter. Basically he says, When we came
and we preached the gospel to you, it was plain that the Holy
Spirit opened the door of your heart, as he did to Lydia at
Philippi. The Lord opened the door of her
heart, and she couldn't resist the message of truth. The gospel
preached entered their hearts. And then when he wrote to them
in the second epistle, in that well-quoted verse, 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2 verse 13. Beloved, we're bound to give
thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved of God, because
God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation. You're among
his sheep. How do you know that? Because
it's clear that the Holy Spirit has set you apart, sanctified
you. How do we know that? Because you've believed the truth,
you've embraced it. The Philippian jailer cried out
when he saw the truth of God stark before him. What must I
do to be saved? To be saved from what? To be
saved from eternal condemnation. What must I do to be saved? This
is what you must do. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And anybody else hearing me now?
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You say, I struggle to believe.
I want to believe. I struggle to believe. What about
what that man said? Do you believe? Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. Lord,
I believe. Extinguish the fiery darts of
doubt from Satan that prevent me from believing. Put those
darts out. Give me that faith which will
extinguish those fiery darts of Satan. Lord, I believe. Help
thou mine unbelief. Make this fact of redemption
from sin, accomplished by Christ at Calvary, make it everything
to me by your grace. You say, well, it's only for
those that have that grace. It's only for those that have
that grace. But we're gonna sing that hymn which we occasionally
sing as our final hymn. It's number 984 in Gadsby's. Hark how the gospel trumpet sounds. Do you hear it, all you that
pass by? Christ and free grace therein abounds. It's clear,
the message is clear. Christ and free grace. Free grace
to such a sinner's be. That's clear. Well, if it is,
Why not for me? Why not for me? Seek the Lord
while he may be found. Today is the day of salvation.
The Savior died, and by his blood brought rebel sinners near to
God. He died to set the captives free. Are you one of them? Why, my
soul, not for me? The blood of Christ, the streams
thereof are rich and free. Why, my soul, not for me? Jesus
came to bless the poor. The robe of Christ is spotless,
full, and free. Why, my soul, not for me? Why,
my soul, not for thee? Eternal life by Christ is given.
Ruined rebels, raised to heaven. Then sing of grace so rich and
free, and say, my soul, why not for thee? Help me to believe,
Lord. Amen.