for scripture reading and this
will also serve as my text. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9. This is ever going to be the
question. Is this one speaking to you? Is this a man of God? This one
writing this letter to the Corinthians, that's what Paul's telling them
all through this thing. He's telling them that he's a
servant of God. And here he says in verse 1 of
1 Corinthians 9, am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ
our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others,
yet doubtless I am to you. For the seal of mine apostleship
are ye in the Lord. Mine answer to them that do examine
me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we
not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles
and as brethren of the Lord and seepers? Or I, only in Barnabas,
have we not power to forbear working? Who goeth a warfare
any time at his own charges? Who planteth a vineyard, and
eateth not of the fruit thereof? Or who feedeth a flock, and eateth
not of the milk of the flock? Sayeth I these things as a man? Or sayeth not the law the same
thing? In other words, am I the only
one saying this, or did God say this? For it's written in the law of
Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth
out the corn. Doth God take care of oxen? That
why he said that? He don't want you mistreating
oxen. Or saith he it altogether for
our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this
is written, that he that ploweth should plow in hope, and he that
thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we've sown unto
you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal
things? Now you think about what he said. If I sow among you that seed
of regeneration, is it a big thing for you to support me? If God through my preaching saved
your soul, Is it then a great inconvenience for you to help
support this means that God has ordained? If others be partakers of this
power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless, we've not used
this power, but suffer all things lest we should hinder the gospel
of Christ. He wouldn't take a nickel from
them. Do you not know that they which minister about holy things
live of the things of the temple, and they which wait at the altar
are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained
that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. But I have used none of these
things, neither have I written these things, that it should
be so done unto me. For it were better for me to
die than that any man should make my glory void. He gloried in the work of God. He gloried in this gospel he
preached. For though I preach the gospel, now this is an amazing statement
I want you to listen. I have nothing to glory of. For necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach
not the gospel. For if I do this thing willingly,
I have a reward. But if against my will a dispensation
of the gospel, a stewardship of the gospel, is committed unto
me, what is my reward then? that when I preach the gospel,
I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse
not my power in the gospel. May the Lord add his blessing
to the reading of his word. I invite you to turn back with
me now to 1 Corinthians 9. In this chapter, as I read to
you a little earlier, Paul clears up whatever disputes they had
as to whether or not a preacher or pastor ought to be supported
by those who benefit from his teaching and from his ministry
of the gospel. Always somebody. I grew up in
a church. My wife and I joined this church.
It wasn't the one I grew up in, but it was basically a free will Baptist
church. And a little community chapel, and we went down there.
They'd make a big deal out of not paying the preacher. That's
what they called it. We don't believe in paying a
preacher. There's a big difference between
paying a preacher and supporting a preacher. Big difference, and
they didn't know the difference. Paul uses here the Levitical
priesthood to prove his point. The first thing he uses is an
army, a national army. We don't send a man off to war
and tell him, now you go find you a job over there so you can
buy your uniform. No, you buy him a uniform, you
supply him transportation. He's going to war for you. He's
setting his life on the line for you. These men who preached the gospel
literally put their life on the line for what they preached.
Every one of them was martyred but one, and he was persecuted
heavily. And then Paul goes to the Levitical
priesthood to prove his point. He said in verse 13, Do you not
know that they which minister about holy things live of the
things of the temple? And they which wait at the altar
are partakers with the altar. And this was the provision made
by God in the law of Moses concerning the living of those who ministered
about the holy things. Even so, verse 14, hath the Lord
ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the
gospel. And men and women who are opposed
to the support of preachers and pastors, they see their ministry
as something anybody could do. Something easy. He's doing that
because he can't do anything else. That's how they see it. What do you do with yourself
all day long? How many people ask me that? I just sit there at the table
and twiddle my thumbs, you know. Men and women who oppose the
support of preachers and pastors see their ministry as something
easy, something lazy people do, something lazy people seek after,
and something not worthy of support. Not worthy. When I see the office
abused as it is in false religion, I can't help but go along with
them. But not for a man truly called
in sin of God. The man studies to show himself
approved of God. Show me a pastor who don't study,
I'll show you a man not called of God. He's not called of God
at all. He gives himself to the word
of God and prayer. That's what the apostles said.
They said, you need to get out here and these widows, these
Jewish widows are getting all the money and these Gentile widows
ain't getting no money. You need to get out here and
straighten out. He said, do what? Now, we'll point some men over
that. We'll point some men. That's where deacons come from.
Go into any church. I challenge you, go into any
church out here and see what the deacons do. It has nothing
to do with feeding the poor and taking care of church business.
Nothing. They sit in there like a pulpit committee. Straighten
that preacher out. Keep him in line. Modern day
deacons. A true man of God's studies,
he gives himself to the Word of God in prayer. And he communes
with God in His Word. He struggles to rightly divide
the Word of Truth, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He struggles. You read your Bibles. You open
this up and understand everything you read? You just read down
there and you can just sit here and write a commentary while
you read? Uh-uh. It don't come that way. It don't
come that way. It don't come that way to me.
And I know it don't come that way to you. He gives himself
to the Word of God and prayer. And he communes with God in his
Word. He struggles to rightly divide
the Word of Truth. And that Word of Truth is the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. He said in 2 Timothy 2.15, he
writes to young Timothy and Paul said, Study. He didn't say memorize
this and that and here's a creed, you memorize this and so on. No, no, he said study. Study what? The Word of God. Old Barnard said the Word of
God shed a lot of light on them commentaries. And it does. Study to show thyself approved
of God. If you're approved of God, it
don't matter what people think. John the Baptist was approved
of God. He didn't care what those Pharisees
thought. He didn't care what the council had to say. He was
approved of God. When Paul was called to God,
he said, I didn't go to Jerusalem to get your approval. God called me. God directed me. Study to show thyself approved
of God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. That is, when
they brought him and handed him support, he didn't need to be
ashamed of it. Now, I guarantee you, I've worked
in the log woods, which is a lot of what some of you all do. And
I know, but at the end of the day, that little paycheck You
didn't have to back up to get it, did you? Uh-uh. It's that way in a lot of professions. You're not ashamed when that
paycheck comes you, boy, I got him this week. No, you earned
every penny of it. You earned every penny. And that's
what he said. Our Lord forbid those that he
sent out to take any provision with him. He said the workman
is worthy. of his meal. Matthew 10, 10. And the gospel is the means God
has ordained to call chosen sinners out of darkness into the marvelous
light of Christ. This is God's means. I didn't
choose it, He did. The Baptist church didn't write
it up into a creed and make it so. God said this. This is God's
means. The gospel is the power of God
unto salvation to everyone that believes. And the gospel is that
which the Lord commissioned His church to preach. All power given
unto me. Now you go preach this gospel. Of the preaching of this gospel,
chosen sinners are born of God, given power to become sons of
God. 1 Corinthians 9.16. Now, here's my text. For though
I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory in, for necessity is
laid upon me. Necessity. This gospel is necessary. You won't hear it right, and
I won't preach it right until I understand that. That's why
I preach on it so often. It's necessary. God's not going
to do anything apart from His gospel. He said, necessity is laid upon
me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach
not His gospel. And I don't care how great a
man becomes as a preacher or how much he's loved by men and
women or called on by believers, he has nothing in which to glory. If he has any wisdom, God gave
it to him. If he has anything to say that
strikes the hearts of men, God the Holy Spirit accompanied that
ministry and made it happen. He's got nothing to glory in. Nobody knows that better than
the man who preaches it. He understands it. And that's
what Paul's saying, woe unto me. How shall they preach, God
said, except they be sent? I've known men in my lifetime
that would have sold their homes and everything they had to go
preach the gospel. They wanted to preach the gospel
so bad, but God didn't call them. And they were miserable for years
trying to make something happen that God didn't call them to
do. When God calls a man, he lays
necessity on him. He can't do anything else. A
preacher, you can't do anything else? Yeah, I am. I'm building
a house. You can come look at it. I know
how to build. I know how to do other things.
But necessity is laid on me, and I can't do them. I'm miserable
doing them. I'm miserable doing anything
except what I'm doing right here, right now. I'm miserable. It's
not what God called me to do. This is what God called me to
do. Necessity is laid upon me. I have to preach. I have to preach. How shall they preach except
they be sent? This man who preaches, this man
whom God calls, he's accompanied by the Holy Spirit of God when
he speaks. Do you believe that? Huh? That's what he says. Paul said he's made us able ministers
of the New Testament, not in the letter. I don't care how
much letter you know. I don't care how many books you've
read. I don't care how big your library is. Your preaching is
worthless apart from the Holy Spirit of God. He's the one who
makes it official. He's the one who gives you that
word, gives you that illustration, gives you that opportunity, calls
men to himself. He draws them to himself. He's accompanied by the Spirit
of God. That Ethiopian eunuch was traveling along in a band.
It wasn't no little band either. It was pretty good size. Yet
the Spirit singled him out. The Spirit of God singled that
man out and worked in his heart and mind and said, pick them
scrolls up and read them one more time. And here's God's preacher. He's looking for who God sent
him out there to preach to somebody. And he's out there and he's running
along. He don't even have a horse. He's
out there just on foot. And he's running along and he's
looking at this. All of a sudden, he spies this man in a chair.
And he's reading the Bible. That's him. That's him. And he ran up there and he said,
you understand what you're reading? How'd he know that? The Spirit
of God. The Spirit of God. Paul said
when Providence wouldn't let him go into a certain place,
he didn't say, well God shut the door, although he did, but
that's not what he said. He said the Spirit of God forbade
me. Huh? Oh my. He's accompanied by the Spirit
of God. When Stephen preached to the Jews, he said, you stiff-necked
and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist God's
preaching. That ain't what he said. You
do always resist the Holy Ghost. Oh my. The Spirit of God works
in conjunction with the preaching of the Gospel. And it's an absolute
miracle of God's grace to see a man saved through the preaching
of the gospel. I get excited. I'll tell you,
when I see a man, he's angry and he's listening to you like,
where in the world does that man come up with this stuff,
you know? And all of a sudden, all of a sudden, his countenance
changes. And he ain't sitting back there
like this, looking all around the room. No, he's looking right
at you. He's got them ears tuned in.
What's he going to say now? What's he going to say next?
He's full of questions. He's hungry. He's ready to hear. That's a miracle. That's not
something you learn to do. That's not something I can go
out to your house and talk to you and get you able to do. This
is the work of God. The Holy Spirit accompanies these
men. To see the transformation of
a rebel into a faithful servant. An enemy of God transformed into
a dedicated friend. Now listen close to my text.
Necessity is laid upon me. It's necessary to hear and believe
the gospel. Preaching's not an option, it's
a necessity. How shall you hear without a
preacher? That's what the Holy Ghost asks you. How you gonna
hear without a preacher? Oh, I hear you when I get ready.
Oh, you won't ever get ready. Don't murmur, Christ said. No
man can come to me except my Father God. It ain't about you
getting ready, it's about God getting you ready. There's a
big difference. Paul's not saying here that he
couldn't do something else for a living. He could, and he did,
oftentimes. To this church here, he wouldn't
take a penny from them. He made tents to support himself
while he preached to these people and took money from other churches
in support to keep himself unchargeable
to them. Necessities laid on him. That
necessity is what? How did God lay necessity on
him? The necessity laid on him was
the knowledge that through this preaching men and women can be
saved. They can be saved. God's going
to save somebody. Who's going to save them that
hear? Hear what? Hear the preaching of the gospel. Your kids or my kids. Your friends are my friends.
Your family are my family. No one's going to be saved, born
of God, called of God, transformed of God, given life everlasting
apart from the preaching of the gospel. God ordained it that
way. Every good and perfect gift cometh
down from above. It comes down from the Father
of life, with whom is no bearableness, neither shadow of turning, who
of His own will begat He us. with the word of truth. Huh? Oh, but that was back then. Yeah,
but he ain't changing. He ain't gonna change. There
ain't even a shadow of turning in God. Necessities laid upon me, an
urgent command and calling, a divine obligation, if you will. Something
only God can establish in a man's heart, a calling in which the
honor of Christ and the glory of God and the lives of chosen
sinners is all at stake. A weight, a burden is laid upon
him. Now watch this. Yea, woe is unto
me if I preach not this gospel. For a man to be called of God
and not take heed to his calling would be a great woe. He'd dishonor God who called
him. He'd expose himself as a rebel. He'd show his contempt for the
divine will of God. And I said all this to say this.
Do I preach the gospel? That's the title of this message. Dare I think that the God of
heaven and earth singled me out, commissioned me to preach to
those who shall be heirs and salvate? Dare I even think that? Do I feel the weight of immortal
souls and the necessity of this gospel laid upon me? Paul said, who then is Paul?
Everybody talking about Paul. This other group over here talking
about Apollos. Who then is Paul? Who is Apollos
but ministers by whom you believe? Now listen, as the Lord has given
to every man. How's he going to do it? I just told you. To a minister
of the gospel. Do I preach the gospel? Or maybe
a better question is, what is it to preach the gospel? If you don't know what it is
to preach the gospel, you don't know if I'm preaching the gospel
or not. Let me give you from the Word
of God five or six things. Number one, to preach the gospel
is to preach the determinate counsel of God. This whole thing
is of God. It's not of man. He's not the
object of the glory. It's God. In Paul's second epistle to the
Corinthians, he says, And all things are of God, who hath reconciled
us to himself by Christ Jesus. Huh? It's all of God. The appropriation of it way back
in eternity past, that was of God. God has blessed you with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Huh? God ordained these things from
the beginning. This thing's all about God's
determinate counsel, His purpose. If I can be convinced that God's
going to save a people because He wills it to be, I've got everything
I need to pray, don't I? I'm not just beating the air,
Paul said, I'm not doing that. Some people do, just beat the
air. Dancing around, talking in tongues, who knows what all
that, they're just air beaters, that's all. But not God's man, he don't beat
the air. God set this thing up and he
don't do it to glorify a man, he does it to glorify himself. Well, what's that include? Well,
it says all things. Well, you're wrecking me. All
things. All things. In Romans 8, 28,
he refers to the church as the called according to His purpose. In Ephesians 1, 11, he tells
us that in Christ we've obtained an inheritance being predestinated
according to the purpose of Him. who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will." How many things? All things. Salvation is not an afterthought
of God. God declares the end from the
beginning. From ancient times, the things
that are not yet done, saying, my counsels just stand. I'll
do all my pleasure. I'll feed you with a bird. I'm going to take my preacher
and put him in a cave. Everybody's going to forsake
him. They're all looking for him to kill him. He's down there
in a cave. He's going to starve to death.
No, I'm going to feed him with a raven. God does all things according
to his purpose and grace. Peter stood up and preached to
those proud, self-righteous Jews, and he said, Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs
which God did by him in your midst, as ye yourselves also
know, him being delivered by what? The determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God. You took him with wicked hands,
crucified and slain. I tell you what it is to preach
the gospel. You preach the gospel, you preach the determinate counsel
of God. That's where it begins. Not something
happened in time. Men didn't sin and put God in
a corner. He didn't try something and then
it didn't work, so he tried something else. Tried the law and that
didn't work, so now he's gonna try the gospel. That's nonsense. This was God's purpose. from
everlasting. Oh, God hath made that same Jesus
whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. And then in chapter
4, verses 27 and 28, he tells them that everybody involved
in the death of Christ and all the events and the providence
of God and everything is what God's hand and God's counsel
determined before to be done. People hated each other. and
made them hold hands while they crucified the Lord. Isn't that
something? To preach the gospel is to preach
the determinate counsel of God. Paul said, I am pure from the
blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you
all the counsel of God. And then secondly, to preach
the gospel is to preach the name of the Lord. What's that mean? God's name is who He is. They
don't know God's name. That's why they say God can do
this and God can do that. God loves everybody and Christ
died for everybody and on and on and on it goes. They don't
know God. The living God could not do those things. It's an
impossibility. His name is who He is. God's
name is a declaration of His character, His nature. And what
those who study such things, they call His attributes. God's
holy, God's just, God's merciful and gracious, long-suffering
and kind. And God's righteous. And God
is love. And to preach the gospel is to
preach the name of God in perfect harmony and the salvation of
God's elect. Everything in the character of
God is in perfect harmony. in the salvation accomplished
by Christ. Everything. Nowhere in this accomplished
salvation is the character of God compromised. He tells us
in Romans 3, 24, being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Does everyone see it? Whom God has set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness. That's His character, isn't it?
His righteous character. He's going to declare His righteousness
for the remission of sins. What kind of sins? Well, sins
of Old Testament saints. Sins of the past. But He declares
the same thing now. He hasn't changed, has He? Same thing. To declare, I say,
at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just, and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. That man who believes
in Christ, he's justified of God, and God's character is intact. Not a blemish in it. And if the
gospel I preach don't set forth the name and character of God,
it's not the gospel of God. Acts 4, 10 and 12, They none
other name unto heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. Is it important to preach His
name? I'll say. And then thirdly, to preach the
Gospels, to preach the resurrection from the dead. In chapter 4 of
Acts, the apostles were filled with the Holy Ghost and great
power, and they gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I can't preach the gospel and
not preach the resurrection. Christ died for our sins. Well,
where is he? Is he still in the tomb? Where
is he at? Did God accept what he did? Did
God approve of what he did? Well, how would I know that? He raised him from the dead. I can't preach the gospel and
not preach the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ is
God's witness that His sacrifice was accepted of God and His redemption
accomplished. His resurrection is a public
declaration of our justification and proof of our salvation. We're
raised up, Paul said, with Him. We ascended up with Him and we're
seated together with Him in the heaven. Paul came to these people, these
Corinthians, and he said in 1 Corinthians 15, 3, he said, I delivered unto
you first of all that which I also received. What did you receive, Paul? How
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
That he was buried and rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures. I can't preach the gospel and
not preach the resurrection. If Christ be not risen, our preaching's
in vain. That's what Paul said. I got
nothing to preach. Those who believe us have a vain
faith. We're found false witnesses of
God and all them who died with this hope are perished forever.
If Christ be not risen. And to have hope only in this
life, Apart from that resurrection, we're of all men most miserable. If I'm going to preach the gospel,
I'm going to have to preach the resurrection. And then fourthly,
to preach the gospel, the necessary gospel, is to preach the person
of Jesus Christ our Lord. Acts 13.38. Listen to this. Be it known unto you. Now these
were men raised in the Word of God. These weren't ignorant men. There was some Gentiles among
them, but most of them were proselytes and they've been taught. They
understood the prophets. They read them. Now listen. Be it known unto
you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man, this Jesus
of Nazareth, through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness
of sins. And by him all that believe are
justified from all things from which he could not be justified
by the law of Moses. Faith that comes by hearing is
faith in and on the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe is to believe
in him and on him. That's what it says over and
over. Acts 10.43, To him give all the
prophets witness that through him Through his name, whosoever
believeth in him shall receive remission of sin. We preach a
person. And while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell
on all them that heard the word. It's not a doctrine that saves,
it's a person. Huh? That's right. It's not a creed
that died, it's a person. It's not a message that condescended
from glory. It's a person. My assurance doesn't
come from a creed. It comes from the man sitting
at the right hand of God. He's my assurance. Salvation
is in a person. Christ in you. The hope of glory. And then fifthly, to preach the
gospel is to preach the Word of God. You can't preach the
Word of God preaching the law. You can't preach the Word of
God preaching moral reform. To preach the Word of God, you
must preach the gospel. Those who believe not the gospel
call God a liar. That's what it says in Scripture.
Those who disagree with the gospel call God into question. Nay,
but O man, who art thou that replies against God? Boss, did
you argue with me? I represent God. My boss sent me out to be a foreman
on a job that I had no experience at. Only experience I had was
that of a foreman. technicalities of the work and
all of this. And I went out there with a bunch
of experienced men and I said, now these guys are going to give
me a hard time when I get out there. And when they do, what
do you want me to do? He said, tell them to call me.
Huh? That big old boy, he played linebacker
from one of the big colleges. He wasn't no little guy. He said,
you tell them to call me. I said, OK. God told me go preach
his gospel. Well, what if they don't like
it? Tell them to take it up with God. Take it up with me. He that heareth you, heareth
me. Ain't that what he said? Timothy, he said, preach the
word. Study the word. The believers
born again, Peter said, of the word of the Lord. And this is
the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. I don't want to stand up here
and say Gil said, and somebody else said, and J.C. Ryle said,
and somebody else said, and go on and on and try to build some
kind of faith in you by some commentator. These were a bunch
of true men of God. I want you to build your faith
on the Word of God. And if I'm going to preach the
Gospel, I'm going to have to preach His Word. I have to preach His
Word. And then sixthly and lastly,
to preach the Gospel is to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the
Son of God. He's God. Huh? I tell you, when I was in religion,
and they may say it, but they don't mean it. Jesus is God. This woman that they're so familiar
with, me and Jesus, got a good thing going. You wouldn't say
that if you believed He was the Son of God. They wouldn't even use their
office. They had to be in a tight spot
to even say that they were apostles. Paul didn't take a title. He
was a doctor. He went to school. He had the
diplomas. He had everything there was to
have. He didn't say, I'm Dr. Paul. He just said, I'm Paul.
I'm Paul. Jesus of Nazareth is God come
into the flesh. He's God. The coming Redeemer Isaiah prophesied
shall be called Wonderful Counselor. Listen, the mighty God. The everlasting Father. Show
us the Father and we'll be satisfied. You've been so long time with
me. Have you not seen the Father? If Jesus Nazareth is not God,
if he's not a child born and a son given, then he's not the
Christ of God. Mary thought on the child in
her womb. She was thinking on these things.
I can hardly imagine. I don't know how old she was,
but she was a young maiden. And she was thinking on these
things. Here she is, she's pregnant with a little baby. And she's thinking on all the
things that's been told her by angels and men. And she's thinking
on them in conjunction with the scriptures that she's read and
the things that she's heard. And she said, I rejoice in God
my Savior. Old Simeon. The Lord said, you're
not going to die. Don't you imagine that old man
look for that baby. Every baby come in that temple,
Shemem was looking. He was looking. All of a sudden,
here comes the Christ. And he run over and picked that
little baby up and he said, now let us thy servant depart in
peace. I've seen thy salvation. I've seen God. I'm holding God
in my hand. Huh? I can't preach the gospel
to you and not preach Jesus of Nazareth as God. He's God! And
if He's not God, what hope could you have of salvation? Huh? I think the next preacher I hear
say, except Jesus my personal Savior, I think I'm going to
punch him right in the mouth. I'm too sick of hearing that.
I can't hardly stand it. This is God! You can't make Him
anything, but He can make you everything. He's God. Do I preach the gospel? I leave
that in God's hands and to your hearts. That's what Paul said,
I commit these things to your conscience and the sight of God.
By manifestation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every
man's conscience and the sight of God. But let me tell you this,
if I do, what does that mean? Maybe I'm not. Maybe you'll decide
he ain't no preacher. But if I do, if I am, if God
has called me to this office and given me these things, if
I do preach the gospel, what does that mean? Well, it means that God has spoken
to you. That's what it means. He that
heareth you, heareth me. That's what Christ said. And
he that despises you, despises me. And he that despises me,
despises him that sent me. If they won't hear you, they're
not worthy to hear you shake the dust off your feet and get
out of town. Secondly, it means that you stand
before God accountable for what you've heard. Boy, you're not
going to leave here in a vacuum. No, you're accountable for what
you've heard. And me too. Thirdly, it means
that a great gift of mercy has been laid at your doorstep. What
are you going to do with it? Huh? You think this is a little
thing that you're here today? You think it's some small thing,
just something, everybody's got to do something, we might as
well go to church. Is that the way you look on it? I'm telling
you, God in his providence has laid a great gift at your face.
What are you going to do with it? What are you going to do with it? I don't
want that. You walk away from here indifferent,
that's exactly what you just do. You just kick that gift aside. Oh, my soul, a great gift of
mercy has been laid at your doorstep. And then fourthly, it means that
the truth now stands in contrast with the lie. Which one are you
going to take with you? Oh, you can't say, well, I didn't
know. Yeah, you do know. I just told you. I just told you. And I've told
you what the lie is, too. I've set these things in contrast
of one to the other. Oh, may the Lord be pleased today
to enable us all to receive and rejoice and hope in the gospel
of God's sovereign grace in Christ. I ask you for Christ today.