Good morning. I invite your attention to the
book of the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 22. Acts, Chapter 22. One of the sweetest blessings
that comes to my mind at this present moment is knowing that
I have two children and two grandchildren under the ministry of Chris Cunningham. And I am blessed by that. And blessed by your kindnesses,
all of you here. It's an honor to be here. It's
a pleasure and a privilege. And I pray the Lord be pleased
to speak to us this morning. I assume that most of my adult
hearers this morning are believers in this glorious gospel of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And I assume that many of you
have gone to considerable time and expense and effort in order
to be here today to hear this glorious gospel of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that no preacher in this
conference disappoints your desires and your expectations, and I
pray that especially regarding this preacher. But I do not presume to believe
that Every adult here today is a believer. I assume that in a congregation
of this considerable size that there are at least a few here
today. You have heard the gospel a number
of times. You have come today assumedly
to hear this gospel again, but you have never closed with Christ. You have never obeyed his gospel. You have, as of yet, not trusted
in him for the salvation of your soul. I need not know whom you are,
but I would have you to know this, that today I speak especially
to you. I will speak to you as a minister
of Christ concerned for your soul. I will speak to you as
a father who spoke this same way to his own children. And I say to you, Pastor Cunningham,
And you, my son and my daughter-in-law and prospectively my daughter,
I will speak to my hearers today in the same way that I want you
to speak to my grandchildren when they have come to an age
in which they might understand the claims of Christ and the
requirements of the gospel. I would exhort you from this
22nd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and in verse number
16 in these words, why tarryest thou? In the more modern vernacular,
we would say, why are you waiting? And that is the subject of my
message this day. Why are you waiting? A gospel
preacher addressed these words and that exhortation, why are
you waiting, to a new convert. But I find that as I read the
scriptures, that the same exhortation, why are you waiting, is found
in various places. And today, God willing, we will
look at some of these. Why are you waiting? First, hurry
and escape for your life from the place doomed to destruction. These were the words of an angel
of mercy that Jehovah sent to Lot in the city of Sodom, recorded
in Genesis chapter 19. Jehovah was about to destroy
that city. with fire and brimstone from
heaven in justice and in his wrath. Sodom was the epitome
of a city abominable to God. It was notorious for its sexual
immorality. It was notorious for its sin. Sodom's sin was so grave And
decency's outcry was so great against it that God said, I'm
going to wipe it off the face of the earth. The Holy Spirit
warns us that Sodom's destruction serves to us as an example to
those who afterward would live ungodly. So heed what I say. Sodom's destruction is an example
to us this day. Worse still, Sodom is the spiritual
name of the place where our Lord and Savior was crucified, where
his witnesses are martyred, and where his gospel is despised. And we, by nature, are inhabitants
of that city. Sodom is a place of apostate
religion, and people in such a place are
identified in Isaiah 1 and Jeremiah chapter 23 as spiritual Sodomites. And that's us by nature. We were born in Sodom. We were born in the place that
despises Christ. The place that persecutes his
ministers. and will not come to Christ.
But perhaps God will be pleased this day to send an angel of
mercy, perhaps myself, to someone living in such a place. And you
know the sin and you know the shame it is. Perhaps God will
be pleased this day to speak to you as he did to Lot in Sodom. The Lord said, I cannot destroy
Sodom until I bring Lot out. The angel came down to Lot and
said, why are you waiting? Hurry! I cannot destroy the place
until you're out. Why are you waiting? I say the
same to you today. Are you in Sodom still? You know
the gospel, Lot did. You know this world is doomed
for destruction. And you know that the destruction
is just. You've heard the gospel. You
know the truth about it. So I ask you, why are you waiting? Why are you still there? Why
have you not fled the place doomed for destruction? Second, run for your life to
the place of refuge. Why are you waiting? Run. When our Lord brought Israel
out of Egyptian bondage and into the promised land, he designated
six cities in that land to be identified as cities of refuge. They were conveniently located
three on either side of the River Jordan, and spaced around so
that every man could be close to at least one of these cities
of refuge. These cities were designated
for the man identified as the manslayer. He who has killed
another unintentionally, if he's killed intentionally, he receives
no mercy. But if he has killed another
unintentionally, this city of refuge is made for him. Here
are two men working in the forest felling a tree. Their friends, their co-workers,
working together and the axe head of one man comes off his
instrument. and strikes his friend and his
co-worker and kills him. It was unintentional, but blood
has been shed, and blood must be avenged. The faithful minister close by
would say, run to the city right now. Run to the city. If you can make it to the city
before the Avenger of Blood reaches you, you'll be safe. If you can
get inside the wall before the Avenger of Blood catches you,
you're okay. Now run. Will I be there for a long time?
Oh, yes, you'll be there for a long time. I must go home and
pack. No, there's no time to pack.
Go right now. I need to say goodbye to my wife
and my children. No, you don't. No, you don't.
The avenger of blood is after you. Run. Why are you waiting?
Run. There is a spiritual application
to this. You and I are not only manslayers,
but we, every one of us are murderers. I am, you are, we are. Our Lord declares that he who
hates his brother without a cause, has murdered him. So that's you,
and that's me, and that is us. We certainly deserve justice.
We certainly deserve to die for the act that we've done in shedding
blood. But the Lord even shows mercy
to murderers like me, murderers like you. He makes a place of
refuge, and he calls it his Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Lord is a refuge to those
who will flee to him. The name of the Lord is a strong
tower. The righteous run to it and are
safe. But I must tell you this, O sinner,
The avenger of blood is after you. God's wrath is hot on your
trail. I would be remiss in my duty
if I did not warn you to flee from the wrath to come. Knowing
the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. We beseech you in behalf
of the Almighty Flee to Christ, right now. Flee to Christ. Why are you waiting? The city
of refuge is close. The tower of safety is nearby. And you know you should run.
So tell me, why are you waiting? Run now, right now, to the place
of refuge. Number three, why are you waiting?
hasten to Christ. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
has come to Jericho. When our Lord went to a place,
it was not as a tourist to see the sights. When he went to a
place, it was because he had to go to a place. When he goes
to Samaria, we read in John 4, he must needs go through Samaria. Why? He came to seek and to save
the lost. And there is one down by Jacob's
well in Samaria. And now the Lord is in Jericho.
Why? He said himself, the son of man
has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Jericho was a rather grand city. Our Lord, with his entourage
of disciples, has walked into the city, and the Jerichoites
have come out and surrounded the way in which he will walk.
A great number of them, there they are. They're looking for
him. One may say, would you like to
see the palm trees for which our city is famous? No, I made
them. Would you like to see the buildings
that Herod made? No, they're not as grand as the
ones I make. Would you like to see the college
where the prophets taught students in this town? No. Would you like
to see the old city that was destroyed by God many years ago? No, I'm the one that did it. Why'd you come? The Son of Man
has come to seek and to save that which is lost. And every
eye is on Him as He and His entourage pass through the street of the
city and his eyes are scanning that great number of people who
have come that day. He's looking for one person,
one person. And finally, he espies him. It's a man the name of Zacchaeus. He's a chief tax collector. a man who is rich through dishonest
means, a man considered among chief of sinners by those who
consider themselves the chief of the righteous. He has come
to see Jesus but cannot because he is short of stature. He has
climbed into a tree in the hope that he might be able to aspire
Jesus as he passes by And Jesus is looking for him, scanning
the faces of all who have come and thrown to the street. And
there he sees him up in the tree. Jesus walked over to the tree
and said, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. For today I must
dine at your house. And then later, I'll take you
to my house and you'll dine with me. But right now, and notice
our Lord said, make haste. Why are you waiting, Zacchaeus?
Make haste! Come down. Zacchaeus made haste,
stopped his tarrying, and came to Christ. And Christ said, salvation
has come today to this house. because this man quit tarrying. This man would tarry no longer.
This man has fled the place doomed for destruction. This man has
fled to the place of refuge. This man has come to Christ. Oh, that Christ would walk down
that aisle this morning, oh, that Christ might come looking
for you, oh, sinner, sitting in your seat like Zacchaeus was
sitting in his tree. Oh, that my Savior would come
by today saying that I have come to seek and to save that which
was lost. And if you're the one If you're
the one, he'll call you by name. Make haste, come to me. And oh,
sinner, if you hear my savior this day say that to you, make
haste and come to me. Why are you tarrying? Why are
you tarrying? Come right now. Number four, this is in our text,
Acts 22 verse 16. Here is Zacchaeus. He has not postponed. Here is every other sinner saved
by Christ. Here is me. when the Holy Spirit came and
said words like I'm going to read to you. But in the present
instance, there is a man named Saul of Tarsus. He despises the gospel. He despises
Christ. He despises Christ's people. He's breathing threatenings and
slaughter. He has purpose and has legal
papers to arrest them, bind them, bring
them before the court, try them, and hopefully kill them like
he already had done to others. And as he's on that road to Damascus,
going to arrest Christians. The Savior of Christians arrested
him. With a light brighter than the
noonday sun, the Lord knocked this highfalutin man off of his
high horse, knocked him to the ground and blinded him. Here's a man who for the first
time in his life was made to acknowledge that Jesus Christ
is Lord. Who are you Lord? He knew. I
am Jesus whom you persecute. Here is a man who was converted
on that road to Damascus. Here's a man who has repented
of his sins and believed the gospel of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. Here is a man who is led there
to Damascus, knowing not what else to do, but the Lord will
take care of that. The Lord has a preacher in that
city by the name of Ananias. And the Lord came to Ananias
and he said, go to this place. There's a man called Saul of
Tarsus. Behold, he prays. But Lord, this
man has come to kill us. No, Ananias, did you hear me?
Behold, he prays. For the first time in his life,
he was praying. Ananias goes to Saul. And he
says, Saul, the Lord has chosen you and ordained you for a purpose. The Lord has ordained that you
be saved. The Lord has given to you repentance
and faith. The Lord has called you. And
Saul might say, that's true. That's true. The Lord himself
appeared to me. I heard his voice. He called
me by name. And I have repented of my sins.
I have believed the gospel. I'm trusting in Him for salvation. Now, that is a good report. And you might think that Ananias
would have some words of commendation to Saul, but no, he has a rebuke. Oh, it is a gentle rebuke. And
it is a necessary rebuke. He says, why tarryest thou? Why are you waiting? Arise and
be baptized and wash away your sins. Why are you waiting? I have met folks who tell me
they believe in Jesus Christ. They've trusted in him for the
salvation of their souls. They've repented of their sins.
And with faith in Christ, they trust in him wholeheartedly.
Some say they've done so weeks ago, months ago. And on a rare occasion, I found
some that say they did so even longer time ago than that. There may be one here today like that. There may be one here
today that some time ago you professed Christ or you believed
in your heart, you repented of your sins, you say you're trusting
Him for salvation, but you've never followed Him
in baptism. I have a rebuke for you. It's a gentle rebuke, I
grant you, but it is sincere. Why are you waiting? Why? Why
tarryst thou? Arise and be baptized and wash
away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Why are you
waiting? Do you not realize that baptism
is your confession of sin? John the Baptist baptized those
in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. Do you not realize
that your baptism is your profession of faith in our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ? It is the answer of a good conscience
toward God. Do you not realize that the scriptures
declare, our Lord himself said, he who believes and is baptized
shall be saved. This is no trivial matter of
which we speak. It is imperative that you confess
him if you believe. If you've not done so, why are
you waiting? Why tarryest thou? Would you put it off till tomorrow?
Boast not of tomorrow. You know not what a day may bring. The time is now to flee the place
doomed for destruction. The time is now to flee to Christ
for salvation. The time is now to make haste
and come down and come to Christ. The time is now to confess him. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. If you will hear his voice, do
not harden your heart. I want you to flee the place
of destruction as quickly as Lot fled Sodom. I want you to
flee to the place of refuge as fast as the manslayer would flee
to the city of refuge. I want you to come to Christ
as quickly as Zacchaeus came to Christ. I want you to confess
Christ as quickly as Saul of Tarsus did. Why are you waiting?