Occasionally The Lord will speak
to my heart through just a statement that somebody makes or I read
and it will continue to grow in my mind and heart and develop
into a Message I Started to say a sermon
But I don't want a sermon. I want a message from the Lord
for my heart and for yours but I heard it said maybe we
should listen to the Lord the Lord Jesus made a statement
numerous times about hearing with slightly different wording
he said in Matthew 11 15 he that hath ears to hear let him hear
in Matthew 13 9 who hath ears to hear let him hear Mark 4 23
if any man have ears to hear let him hear he says it also
in Luke's gospel and numerous times in the revelation It is
a reminder to God's children to be careful in the matter of
hearing and listening for the Lord to speak, not audibly, but
speaking to our heart. The way our Lord says this, it's
not given to all Adam's race. He does not say, all right now,
everybody listen up. No. He says, He that hath ears,
God-given spiritual ears, let him hear. In the Old Testament
book of Exodus, when Aaron and his sons were being appointed of God and were being
put into the office of the high priest and the priesthood, One
of the commands of the Lord for that ceremony was to dip the
finger in blood, blood of the sacrifice, and to put blood upon
the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons. I don't know exactly
the meaning of that. But the thought I had is the
Lord making evident the awesome responsibility of the priest
to hear the word of the Lord and to communicate it to the
people. That's Old Testament. Now in
the New Testament, 1 Peter chapter 2, all God's children are constituted
a holy priesthood. Revelation 1, 5 and 6, Christ
Jesus hath washed us from our sins in his own blood and made
us kings and priests unto God. All God's children are given
spiritual ears to hear him speak. In the Old Testament, only the
high priest could go behind the veil of the temple and that once
a year on the day of atonement but when christ died remember
the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the
bottom god open up the way into the holiest into his presence
for every child of his in matthew chapter seven part of the Sermon
on the Mount. Our Lord said concerning this
business of hearing and obeying Him, He said it's like two builders. He said a man who hears My Word
and does what I say, I will liken him unto a wise man. which build
his house upon a rock that is he dug down to a solid foundation
and when the rain descends and the floods came and winds blow
his house fell not but then the Lord Jesus said a man who hears
and ignores his word he shall be likened unto a foolish man
who built upon the sand he didn't dig down his house had no foundation
there's no foundation for his work and when the storm comes
it falls and all he did was in vain i wonder what percentage
of all religious activity and pretense in our day and time
is built upon the sand in vain not hearing and obeying the Word
of the Lord. King David in the Old Testament
gives us a good example of this. He had ignored what he knew was right,
that the ark of the covenant a sacred thing, a holy thing,
not to be touched by human hands, but was to be carried by the
priest with rods to go through the rings on the four corners.
And yet, when he became king and the Ark was not where it
should have been at home, it was in Philistine country, and
he wanted to bring the Ark home. And the Bible says that he made
a new cart to haul it on. I'm sure it was fancy. I'm sure
it was nice. But that wasn't the way it was
supposed to be. And the oxen stumbled, and the ark shook on
that cart, and a man reached to steady it and touch it. The
man never meant any harm. The man meant to do good and
do right. But the Lord killed him on the
spot. because that ark was not to be touched by human hands. Later, David did it God's way,
brought the ark home, and all went well. Maybe we should listen
to the Lord. It's so in our lives. I don't
have to tell you that part of Modern day society is to so preoccupy
our minds till we never hear, let alone do, what the Lord would
say to us. But it's after we fail and fall,
sometimes like a flash of light, we'll have a sober moment Maybe we should listen to the
Lord. And that's the title of my message.
Maybe we should listen to the Lord. And some of you right now are
saying, yeah, I need to do that. Soon as I get this problem I'm
working on figured out. Soon as I decide what to do about
this, I need to do that. No. Maybe you should stop. the present struggle right now
and listen to the Lord. In the Garden of Eden, when Eve
was tempted, she never even had the thought, maybe I should listen
to the Lord. Satan said, no, you don't have
to listen to When Noah was preaching that
judgment is sure to come, no one said, maybe we should listen
to the Lord. When the awful plagues fell on
Egypt, Pharaoh's cold, hard heart, he
never once thought, maybe we should listen to the Lord. When
Jeremiah preached, and Isaiah, and all the prophets God sent,
people said, we don't have to listen to that. When the Son of God Himself came
and preached, men said, we're not having that. The Apostle Paul, we're not listening
to that. I think of all the dear men of
God I've heard in my lifetime, and I've been blessed over the
past 50 years to hear some of the greatest. The world around us has said
all along, and still saying today, we'll not hear that. We're not
interested in that kind of a bloody gospel. that makes much of the
Lord and little of us. They're not saying maybe we should
listen to the Lord. The greedy business world is
not saying it, maybe we should listen to the Lord. Certainly
the filthy ungodly entertainment world is not saying maybe we
should listen to the The music world, be it classical,
rock, country, whatever other kind there is, and even religious,
they're all saying, listen to us. Listen to us. But nobody's saying,
maybe we should listen to the Lord. Our politicians, our government,
in the face of the present crisis, this coronavirus. It's all we've
heard in the news in recent weeks. But I've heard no one say, maybe
we should listen to the Lord. All I've heard is statements
like, we're going to get through this. United, we'll pull together. We'll put this behind us. Go on with our God-hating society. We'll go on and build our Tower
of Babel. Let God send His floods. We don't
care. We'll build above it. But nobody is saying maybe we
should listen to the Lord. Oh yes, there's thousands dying
from it, but also thousands die from the flu, auto accidents,
cancer, heart attacks, murders. A lot of folk die, but we think,
well, it's not us. We'll get by. No one is saying
maybe we should listen to the Lord. Well, I'm saying it this
morning. Maybe we should listen to the
Lord. Some of you are facing things You don't know what to do. You don't know anybody in this
world that can tell you what to do. Maybe we should listen to the
Lord. The Lord got my attention in
a special way this week. As a very dear preacher friend
of ours, greatly used of God in my life preached here numerous
times for us. Brother Don Fortner was called
home to be with the Lord. I've been praying, considering
having him come back to preach to us again this year. He won't. How many times do we make our
plans and then, boom, it can't work? The Lord steps in. Another dear man whose life in
ministry has had great influence on me. Brother Henry Mahan, about
a year ago, went to be with the Lord. About this time last year,
last spring, Pat and I drove up to Ashland, Kentucky for his
memorial service. But back in 1990, thirty years ago this spring
I was in a conference with brother Mahan and he told an experience
he had had he went to visit a friend who lay
dying and brother Henry said he called
the man by name and asked him a question are you ready to meet
God He said the man's answer was
immediate, and it shocked him. When I asked, are you ready to
meet God? The man said, if you haven't
lied to me, I am. If you've told me the truth about
who God is, what I am, and what Christ has done, then I'm ready. And I remembered that line, the
man said to him, if you haven't lied to me, I am ready to meet
God. Well, I don't want to lie to
you this morning. I have nothing to gain and everything
to lose by not telling you the truth. I'm not part of a popularity
contest. I don't plan to be a world-renowned
preacher like many I know. I'm here where the Lord put me
to put just the handful that's gathered here this morning to
tell you the truth. I'm not one bit interested in
all the bad stuff you've quit to be called a Christian. And that's the profession some
of you have. That's all you have. And I'm not one bit interested
in all the good stuff you started to be considered a Christian.
That's all it takes nowadays, you know. Quit bad stuff and
start good stuff. I'm not one bit interested in
how religious you've been, whether you've ever shouted or raised
your hand or hollered Amen, I could care less. Spoken in tongues, seen an angel, I'm not interested
in whether you've had chill bumps, shed tears, or not missed a Sunday in thirty
years. That's nothing to me. I'm not interested in any of that.
My concern is whether I've told you and the Holy Spirit has convinced
you of really who God is, what you are, and what Christ has
done. Maybe we should listen to the
Lord. If today's message should be
the last message you should ever hear, or if it should be the
last one you would ever hear from me, what would you want
it to be? What about a message on politics?
What we should stand for and what we should stand against?
No, I don't care about that. What about a message on just
morality that a man ought not cuss out loud and a woman ought
not wear breeches? Wouldn't that help us a lot?
No. What about a message of positive
thinking that I tell you you're not as bad as you think you are? Oh, don't sell yourself short.
You're really something. What about a message of self-praise to tell you how great you've
been and how that God and all the rest of us ought to be proud
of you? Well, that kind of garbage seems
to do some folks, while they're living, But I promise
you it won't do when they're dying. And you're dying. It won't do if you must meet
God and you must meet God. Without a doubt, this generation
of religious pretense, including you and I, makes God sick. Nobody's a sinner anymore. Nothing's wrong anymore. The newsman Larry King interviewed
Joel Osteen and his great success in Houston, preaching to multiplied
thousands every Sunday. And Larry King asked him, or
said to him, He said, I notice you never mention judgment or punishment or hell
like some preachers do. And that preacher said, no, people have it tough enough as
it is. We just try to promote the love
of God. That man's message is a message
approved and appealing to many thousands of people. But here's what God said, Whom
the Lord loveth, this is who he loves now, whom
the Lord loveth, he chasteneth." I know a little about that. And he went on to say, if any
man claims to belong to me, be my child, sits in a worship service
like this, claiming to know me and have a relation with me,
and yet that person never experiences any conviction or correction,
if God never gets your attention concerning your hellishness,
He said, then are you bastards and not sons. That word bastards is a good
Bible word. It means you don't know who your
daddy is. But our Lord said, there's discipline
at my house. If you claim to be my child and
don't experience, then you're mistaken about what family you
belong to. Maybe this morning we should listen to the Lord.
I'm too near the finish line, and so are most of you, to keep
listening to every religious know-it-all that comes along.
Maybe we should listen to the Lord. Three things I want to
know and know well before I leave this world, and God in His Word
has plainly told me. Number one, maybe we should listen
to the Lord, what He said about Himself. He said, He's holy. Above all His attributes, He's holy. Yes, God is love, but it's a
holy love. It's not a love at the expense
of His holiness. It's not a love that could condone anything we've
done at the expense of His holiness. No, it's a holy love. Above all,
He's holy. We don't much believe that nowadays. We've listened to everybody except
Him and concluded that He's the lovey-dovey, wishy-washy, He
overlooks a lot. He's pretty much a pushover. And when we do upset him, it
don't take much for us to get back in his favor. He's pretty much like a little
child, can't think two minutes ahead. We hand him some new little
trinket, some nice little religious something we've done and think
that everything's all right, we've got him back. We have no
problem controlling him. Is that so? Well, here's what
he said. I cannot behold iniquity. I'm angry with the wicked every
day. And here's what he said in John 3.36.
Those who don't believe me, which includes obey me, The wrath of
God abideth on them. If there's nothing in your heart
to truly believe and obey the Lord Jesus Christ, God's mad
at you right now. The wrath of God abideth on you. The Lord says, I will by no means
clear the guilty. He said, The soul that sinneth
it shall die. He said, Be ye holy, for I am
holy. And He said, Be not deceived. It's not that He hadn't spoken.
We don't listen. Be not deceived. Or in George
W.' 's words, Make no mistake about it. Make no mistake. God is not mocked. That's Galatians 6, 7. And the
Greek word for mocked there means to turn up the nose at, to sneer at, to treat with contempt. That's what we've done in this
generation. Turn up the nose at. sneer, treat
with contempt. God is not mocked. Paul was not
saying that men don't do it. They do. Mock God. We all do. Treat God as if He
were no better than us, no bigger than us, no holier than us. But
Paul was saying, God will have the last word. He is not mocked. And I would say to us this morning, everyone needs to get this real
clear. You're not going to face the God you've created in your
mind who will understand and excuse
you for being what you've been. Oh, no. is holy if there's one mindset this generation
has convinced us all it's that god is not much of a god after
all and he's absolutely nothing without
your permission but maybe we should listen to
the lord revelation fifteen four who shall
not fear thee, O LORD, and glorify thy name, for thou only art holy. Habakkuk 113, Thou art of purer
eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Holiness
is the very excellency of the divine nature. Exodus 15, 11
says God is glorious in holiness. Stephen Charnock, noted theologian
of old, he said, power is God's arm, omniscience His eye, mercy
His bowels, eternity His duration, but holiness is His beauty. The seraphim cry, holy, holy,
holy is the Lord of hosts. Who have we listened to, to think
that God is okay with us in this watered down religious age that
makes so much of us and so little of Him? He is holy. Maybe we should listen to the
Lord. That's who He is, and He won't
change. Number two, maybe, just maybe, and I'm using this
maybe facetiously of course, maybe we should listen to what
God says about us. He says we're sinners. That's not so bad anymore, is
it? Well, I know I'm not perfect,
but... Well, I make mistakes, but... I have faults, but... Goats, but... Not sheep. God's Word says, you're a no good sinner. Well, He didn't say it like that,
did He? Oh yes, He did. There is none good. No, not one. No good sinner. There is none
righteous, no, not one. A no-good sinner is what you
look at in the mirror. Well, so-and-so is a good person.
Says who? Well, they're good people. Says who? Not God. He said you're a no-good
sinner. You're corrupt. Your heart is deceitful above
all things and desperately wicked. You're a liar. You say, oh no,
I'm honest, I'm truthful. Psalm 58, 3, Astrange from the
womb, they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Paul the Apostle said in Romans
chapter 7, I know the good I ought to do, and want to do, and catch
myself not doing it. And I know the evil that I ought
not do, and oh, I don't want to do it, but I wind up doing
it. You're a thief, you say, not
me. Yes, you'd rob God of His glory. and put His glory on yourself. You would put Him off the throne
and put yourself on it to rule the world. Job said, Behold, I am vile. Look at me. I am vile. Job 40 and 4. Abraham said, I
am but dust and ashes. What's that worth? Genesis 18,
27. David said, Psalm 51, 5, I was
shapen in iniquity. In sin did my mother conceive
me. Isaiah said, chapter 6 and verse
5, I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips. The Apostle Paul, Romans 7, I
am a wretched man, ungodly. Romans 5, 6. In my flesh dwelleth
no good thing, Romans 7, 18. I'm quoting some of the best
men in the Bible. God don't say we're good people.
He says we're no good. But we love ourselves. We defend
ourselves. We lie about ourselves to ourselves. But God says we are sinners by
birth, sinners in nature, and sinners by practice. And God
will by no means clear the guilty. Guilty of what? Guilty of sin. What sin? Oh, you see, murdering
God in your heart. You say, oh, I'd never murder
God. You'd never murder your God,
that imaginary God you created in your mind. You love Him and He loves you
and everything about you. But the God of this Bible is
a different story. He's somebody else. And I'm going
to tell you a secret right now. There is something in you that
hates Him. and you'll die hating him with
all your being unless he intervenes. I'm telling you, you can't fix
it. You can't fix it with some sissified
religious activity, man-made. What's it worth for a pea brain
like you and I to quote accept Jesus. He don't need you to accept
Him. You need Him to accept you. That's the order. That's the
trouble. God will by no means clear the
guilty. The vast majority of all religion today is a show Pleading not guilty Not guilty
God says you're guilty You're a dirty guilty sinner
We can sit here and pat ourselves on the back Come in the hell
But God says we're guilty and only by conviction from Him,
God-given, Holy Ghost conviction, will we ever have a serious thought
about how sorry and low down we really are. Maybe we should
listen to the Lord. I've got to die and meet God So do you. And I need to know some things.
One, what does God say about Himself? He's holy, infinitely
holy. Maybe I should listen to what
He says about Himself. What does He say about me? He
says I'm a sinner, filthy, vile. pile of dung fit for nothing. I've nothing to recommend myself
to Him. Maybe I'll listen to what He
says. Number three, here's what I need
to know and you need to know before we leave this world. Does the Lord say anything, anywhere,
in any way, that there's any hope for a character like me? He does. He does. Romans 5, 8, While we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. You say, well, I wouldn't say
I'm that bad, a sinner. Then there's no hope for you. Romans 5 verse 6, for when we
were yet without strength. Oh, I'm not that weak. I'm not
that depraved. I still have my free will. I can make a decision any time
I wish, there's no hope for you. Romans 5 verse 6, in due time
Christ died for the ungodly. Oh preacher, I wouldn't put myself
that low. Then there's no hope for you. Romans 5 verse 10, For if, when
we were enemies, Oh, I wouldn't consider myself
God's enemy. He said you were. There's no hope for you. For
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
death of His Son, much more being reconciled, We shall be saved
by His life. And not only so, but we also
joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement. He doesn't say anything about
you deciding whether Christ's blood is worth anything or not.
You're not in it. The new covenant is between the
Father and the Son. And the Son of God by His own
blood has made full atonement for all for whom He died. He's brought sinners like me
to be at one mint. That's what atonement means.
To be at one mint. with the Holy God. Romans 8, Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. That's
my hope. What does it matter what anybody
thinks or says? Maybe we ought to just listen
to the Lord. Who is He that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather is risen again, who is even at
the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. That's my hope. Romans 8, 29, For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he, might be the firstborn among many brethren. That's my hope. Moreover, whom
He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called,
them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified. That's my hope. Romans 8, 38 and 39, For I am
persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor coronavirus,
nor cancer, nor heart attack, 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. That's my hope. Maybe we should listen to the
Lord. What He said about Himself, what
He said about you, and what He said is the only hope for sinners
like you and I. Now I lay me down to sleep. I
pray the Lord my soul to keep. Oh God, help me to send all my
fleshly religion back to hell from whence it came. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. I can't do it. You can't do it. I told you a man I love left
us this past week. Maybe another I love will leave
us this week. Maybe one of you. Maybe me. But some week I'll leave, and
some week you'll leave. We don't know when. Maybe we should listen to the Lord. Listen to what He said about
who He is. Listen to what He said about
what you are. And listen to what He said about the only hope for
characters like us. His name is Jesus. There is no
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved.