Would you turn back to Mark chapter
9? I've entitled this message FOR
HIM OR AGAINST HIM. FOR HIM OR AGAINST HIM. Now, in verse 38, And John answered
him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name. Now, who was this man? We're
not given his name, but he was casting out demons in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the only way it took place
is by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. This man didn't have
ability in and of himself to do this, but he was casting out
demons in the name by the power, by his authority, for his name's
sake. That name of which it said, there
is none other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. Now this man that the 12 did
not know was casting out demons in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And he was really doing it. Where
did he hear the gospel? We don't know, but he knew the
Lord. And he was casting out demons
in his name. But look what John says. Master,
we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth
not us. And we forbade him. We told him
to stop doing this. because he was not following
us. Now, this man was following Christ. Now, how did he know Christ?
I heard the gospel from somebody, maybe the Lord himself, I don't
know, while he was preaching at one time. But he was following
Christ and he knew Christ, but he was not one of the 12. Now,
remember who's making these objections, John. Remember when John, after some
people didn't listen to him preach, he said, Master, will thou that
we call down fire from heaven and consume them the way Elijah
did? This is the one who's making
this statement and you can get some idea of the way he was in
doing that. We told him not to do this because
he didn't follow us. Verse 39, but Jesus said, forbid
him not. Anyone who speaks in my name
will not lightly speak evil of me. Now this is the issue, him. I wish I could say that the right
way, but this is the issue. Him. Anyone who speaks in my
name, anyone who preaches in my name, anyone who casts out
demons in my name is not going to speak evil of me. He's going to glorify me. He's
going to exalt me. He's going to give me all the
glory. He's not going to bring me down
to human levels. He is going to exalt me. Anyone who does this in my name
is not going to speak evil of me. He would be like John the
Baptist. I love what was said of John
the Baptist. John did no miracle, but all things which he spake
of this man were true. I don't know of a higher commendation
than that. Now, this man actually might
have had greater faith than the apostles. He was on his own.
He didn't have the encouragement of other people. He was on his
own. And he was out casting out demons in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, look what our Lord says.
Verse 40. He that is not AGAINST us is
on our part. And I like the way he said, He
that's not against us. You see, the Lord is never separate
from His people. He that is not against us is
FOR us. Hold your finger there and turn
to Matthew chapter 12 for a moment. Verse 30. He that is not with me is against
me. And he that gathereth not with
me scattereth abroad. Now, for him or against him. This is an either or proposition. There's no in between. There's
no middle of the road. I am either for the Lord Jesus
Christ or I am his enemy. I am against him. There is no neutral ground. There's not a middle of the road.
I'm either for him or against him. I'm either gathering in
the gospel or I'm scattering abroad and I'm driving people
away. There's no non-affiliation. bipartisan,
there's no non-partisan, there are no bystanders, I'm either
for him or I am against him. I either love him or I hate him. I either believe him or I do
not believe him. Now, in this thing of preaching
the gospel, There are two things that I fear greatly. And it's not something that I
used to fear, but I've got it down pat now. No, there are two
things that I always fear in this thing of the preaching of
the gospel. Number one, I do not want to make the gospel wider
than the scripture does. I fear that. I do not want to make the gospel
wider than the Lord does. And the second thing I fear,
and I fear this just as much, I don't want to make the gospel
more narrow than the Lord does. I want to be just as wide as
he is and just as narrow as he is. And I fear presenting the
gospel in such a way as I'm making it wider than he does. There's
an evil motive behind that. And I fear making the gospel
more narrow than he does. There's an evil motive behind
that. And if I do that, I can't really preach the gospel. Now,
this is a fear I hope you have too. I hope you'll pray for me.
I hope you'll pray for yourselves. One time, David Pledger made
this statement. I said, people accuse us of being
too narrow. And he said, I guarantee you
this, we don't make the gospels narrow as the Lord himself did. And
that's true. We're going to see that from
the scripture. But I don't want to present it too narrow. I don't
want to present it too wide. Now, turn with me for a moment
to Matthew chapter 7. Verse 13, enter ye in at the straight gate,
for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. And that's hell, that's what
that's a reference to. That's hell. Can't say that word without
a measure of fearfulness. I think of when the Lord said,
fear not him, the table, to kill the body. And after that, that's
all they can do. Fear him, the table, to kill body and cast
body into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear him.
Now, what a sobering, sobering thought. There is a place called
hell. I don't want to go there. I don't
want you to go there. I don't want anybody to go there.
I know it has a population. And the Lord says, and remember
this, whenever you start thinking, and I've done this, I'm assuming
you've thought the same thing, why do things have to be so severe?
Why is there a hell? Why can't people just be annihilated?
Why does someone have to suffer eternally? Well, whatever the
Lord does is right. It's the right way, and if I
don't understand it, the problem's with me, not with Him. And there
is destruction, and the Lord warns us about this. He says,
enter ye in. What a blessed command. Enter
ye in. Not stay away, come in right
now. Kind of like going to the ark. Enter ye in. The gospel has come
unto me. Enter ye in at the straight gate,
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
and many, many there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate,
And narrow is the way which leads unto life, and few there be that
find it. Hold your finger there and turn
over to Luke 13. I want you to see this because
these things go together. Luke 13, verse 23. And there said one
unto him, Lord, Are there few that be saved? And he said unto
them, you strive to enter in at the straight gate. For many
I say, and you will seek to enter in and shall not be able. I hope the Lord puts this in
the heart of each one of us. I want to strive to enter in
this straight gate. Now, it always troubles me when men
attempt to make the gate wider than God does. You've seen it,
I've seen it, and it equally troubles me when men make the
gate more NARROW than the Lord does. But here he gives us this
so important instruction, Enter in at the straight gate, for
wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction.
Now, I think of the width of this road. Many are on it. It's
a very wide gate, room for everybody to get in that wants to. It's
a very wide road. Now, the reason this gate is
so wide, and this road is so broad, is there so many ways
to destruction? You know, you can be religious
and go to hell, and you can be irreligious and go to hell. You
can be reformed. You can be Arminian. You can
be Calvinist. You can be legalist. You can
be antinomian. You can be a legalistic antinomian.
There's all kinds of ways to get to hell. You could be a teetotaler. You could be a drunkard. You
could be a conservative. You can be a liberal. You can
be moral, immoral. There are so many different ways
to hell, and I wish I could say that the way it ought to be said.
Wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
and many people are taking that route. It's got a very large
populous, but the Lord says straight is the gate and narrow is the
way. It's a very straight gate. The road is very narrow that
leads to life. There's destruction at the end
of one road. There's life, eternal life in
the very presence of Christ, accepted, worshiping Him, rejoicing
in Him. There's life at the end of this
narrow road. Now, this gate is so narrow that
if you have anything other than Christ, you can't get through. That's how narrow it is. You
have anything other than him, you're not gonna get through
this gate. This road is so narrow that if you have anything other
than Christ, you're gonna fall off. Too much weight. Your balance is gonna leave from
you and you'll fall off into the precipice. That's how narrow
this gate is. That's how narrow this road is. Of this way, Christ said, I am
the way. He didn't say, I am a way. He
said, I am the way. Now this in the scripture is
called the way of God. It's called in the scripture,
the right way. All other ways are wrong ways. It's called the
way of righteousness. Any other way is a way of sin.
It's called the way of peace. The only way you're going to
have peace with God is if you're on this way. That's the only
way he can be pleased with you. It's called the way of life.
It's called the way into the holiest, into the very presence
of the thrice holy God, like the high priest going into the
holy of holies. It's called the new and living
way, the way of truth. I like this. Paul said the way
they call heresy. the way THEY call heresy. So
worship I, the God of my fathers. I think it can be summarized
by these words, I Samuel chapter 2, verse 30, Them that honor
me will I honor. And that's a promise. Them that
honor will I honor, and them that despise me shall be lightly
esteemed. Amos said, how can two walk together
except they be agreed? The fact of the matter is you
cannot walk together except you be agreed. Now, the Lord says
clearly, If you're with me, you're not against me, you're on our
side. If you're against me, you're not for me. This is an either
or proposition. There's no middle of the road. There's no moderate view. Now the Bible, let me make a
few statements. The Bible, this book we call the Bible, is either
God's word or it's not God's Word at all. It's either the
inspired Word of God or it's a human document. It doesn't
contain the Word of God, it is the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3.16
says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. It's called
in 2 Peter 1.18, the more sure word of prophecy, and here's
what I love about this. Do you know the Bible is more
authoritative than any feeling, thought, or experience we have?
You believe that? Well, here's what I think. What
does God's Word say? That is ALL that counts. To the law and to the testimony,
if they speak not according to this Word, it's because there
is no light in them. Now, this is an either-or, isn't
it? Either believe God's Word, and bow to what it says. It doesn't
do you any good to say, well, I believe the Bible's the inspired
Word of God. I'm not paying attention to what it says. It doesn't do
you any good at all. No, if you believe the Bible
is the Word of God, you'll bow to it, and really, what you and
I think about God the Father. What you and I think about Jesus
Christ, the Lord, what you and I think about God, the Holy Spirit,
is seen in how we respond to this book, the Bible. No middle ground, either the
word of God or a human document. The next statement I'd like to
make, and this is an either or to go along with this, either
is not with me is against me. He that is with me, He's on my
side, He's on our part. Here's another statement that
is just, Christ is either all or He is nothing. Now, there's an either or to
every one of these statements. Christ is either ALL! or he is
nothing. And everything we hear and believe
must pass through this gate. Jesus Christ is all. In all. Now, the Bible says that Christ
is all in Colossians chapter 3, verse 11, and let me tell
you a couple of reasons why I love that. One is because it's true. I know it's true. This is not
cliche with me. This is not something I've just
been indoctrinated in. It's something I really believe.
Christ is all. I'm thankful Christ is all, believe
Christ is all, but let me tell you why I'm really, this might
be my favorite reason because if he's all, that gives me hope.
You see, if He's not all, that means something's expected out
of me. And that's something I can't come up with. But if He is all,
that gives me hope. He's all that God is. He's all
in the scripture. He's not the central theme of
the scripture. He's the only theme of the scripture. HE'S ALL IN THE PURPOSE OF GOD.
EVERYTHING GOD DOES IS FOR HIS GLORY AND HONOR. HE'S ALL IN
ALL THE COUNSELS OF GOD TOWARD MAN, TOWARD ME. EVERYTHING GOD
DOES FOR ME, HE DOES FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. IT'S GOD'S RESPONSE TO
HIS SON, NOT HIS RESPONSE TO ME. IT'S GOD'S RESPONSE TO HIS
SON. Aren't you thankful? Be kind,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you. He's all in salvation. He's all
in every doctrine. He's all in providence. That
means everything that happens is His will being done. You know, he's all in our experience.
I think I've only learned something about this in the last couple
of years as far as, what about your faith? Not a lot to it,
but I'm resting in his faith and his faithfulness before God.
You know, my confession of sin, it's so insincere. I try to work
it up, try to be sorry. I'll confess my sin. It's always
inadequate. He's the only one who truly confessed
his sin because my sin became his sin and he confessed it before
the Father. I acknowledge my transgressions. That's what the Lord said. His
sorrow for sin. He said, I will be sorry for
my sin in Psalm 38. When have you ever been sorry
enough? Why there's been, I'd say when we get caught, when
we get exposed, we're real sorry. But as far as a true godly sorrow
for sin like this, we don't know anything about it. My experience
is no good. I'm looking to his experience. He's all in my experience. He is all. He's all in our preaching. Now listen to this statement.
I love this. He's all we have. He's all we need and He's all
we want. Amen. He's all we have. He's all we need and He's all
we want. Salvation, I've talked about
the Bible. This is neither or. It's either the word of God or
it's the word of man. Christ is either all or He's
nothing at all. There's no in between. And salvation
is either ALL of grace or ALL of works. Either or. Salvation is either
ALL of grace or ALL of works. The one excludes the other. Romans
11 and 6 says if by grace, then it's no more works, otherwise
grace is no more Grace, but if it be of works, it's no more
grace. Otherwise, work is no more works. Now, thinking about
this, we're either for Christ or we're
against him. We're either for the word or
we're against the word. were either for grace or against
grace. My mind was brought back to 1982. Some of you were here during
this service. I don't know if you remember
it. I asked Paul Walmsley if he remembered it. He said, no, I remember it.
Paul, you need to have better memory. But do you all remember Henry Mayhem
Bridge in an hour and a half once? Well, two cassette tapes,
45 minutes on each side, both sides went through it, and it
wasn't enough to hold that long of a sermon. And we were sitting
on these really uncomfortable wooden chairs that just, I mean,
it was hard to sit through anything on that. But that message, as
long as it was, seemed like, just like that. Couldn't believe
it was over when it was over. This is back on Limestone Street.
It might have been the first time he ever preached for us.
But he brought a message that he entitled, Six Stubborn Statements. That's the title of the message,
Six Stubborn Statements. And let me give them to you.
This goes right along with for me or against me. This isn't
just doctrine. This is who he is. Six stubborn
statements. Here's the first statement. God
is either absolutely sovereign over all or he's not sovereign
at all. God is either absolutely sovereign
over all, or he's not sovereign at all. Now, sovereign means
his will is done, always. There's never a time when his
will is not done. He is the first cause behind
all things. He's the cause of creation. Everybody
agrees with that, but he's also the cause of everything in providence.
It's not his permissive will letting something happen. Everything
that happens is his will being done. He's sovereign over all. If you and I are saved, It is
because He WILLED our salvation. He's sovereign. I was talking
to a preacher once about this, and he said, well, I agree, God's
sovereign, but in His sovereignty, He decided sovereignly to let
men have a free will. And I said, that don't fly. That
don't fly. There's no truth to that. If
he's not sovereign over all at all times, just like I said,
I heard a preacher say not that long ago, when Christ was hanging
on the cross, that's the one time God relinquished his sovereignty
and let men have their way. No, no. God's absolute sovereignty
is so glorious and splendid at that time. God is either God,
or he's some kind of weaker God or lesser God. You remember a
movie came out 30 or 40 years ago, Children of a Lesser God?
Well, a lesser God is a non-existent God. God is either absolutely
sovereign or he is not sovereign at all. Now here is a second
point. Men are either dead in sins and
completely dependent upon God to do something for them, or
they have some spiritual ability and salvation is ultimately dependent
upon what they do. It's an either or, there's no
in between. Men, I'm talking about me and you, I'm talking
about everybody in this room, I'm talking about everybody out of
this room. Men are either dead, dead, What can a dead man do? Nothing. What can a dead man
do to save himself? Nothing. What can a dead man
do to contribute to his salvation? Nothing. Men are either dead
in sins and totally dependent upon God to reach down and do
something for them, or men have some spiritual ability. and their
salvation is ultimately dependent upon an act of their will or
their acceptance of the message. In other words, salvation's either
of the Lord or salvation's of men. Now his third point was
God either elected a people before time began to be saved and thus
salvation is of the Lord or God did not elect a people before
time began to be saved and salvations of man. It's an either or. Now, if the Bible teaches that
God elected a people, the people that don't preach it are liars.
If the Bible does not teach this and the people who say it does,
they're liars. It's an either or. And then his fourth point was
on Calvary's tree, Christ either redeemed or he did not redeem. He either made full payment for
sin and made atonement for sin and put it away. And let me tell
you what that means. If that's what it means, that
means if he died for me, my sins are all gone. They're gone. They're separated from me. They're
gone. They are no more. Christ either
made an actual atonement for sin, a successful atonement to
put away sin, or he made no atonement at all. It's up to you what you
do to make what he did work. It's that simple, either one
or the other. Christ either actually, oh, I
love thinking about this when he said it is finished, Finished. My salvation, my acceptance before
God was completed by what he did. He either made atonement
or he didn't atone for anybody. Just made it available if you
do your part, if you do your work. It's an either or. And then his last or his fifth
point was God's grace either saves or it doesn't. You see, grace is not an offer.
Grace is not something God offers to you to accept or reject. God's
grace saves. It's invincible and irresistible. By grace, you are saved. Now,
grace either saves or it doesn't save. It's just an offer up to
you to see what you're gonna do with it. Either or. And his last point was God's
people Either continue to look to Christ all the way to the
end and are saved, or it's up to you to keep yourself. Now, I understand this about
perseverance. I pray the Lord puts this in
my heart and your heart. You know, a lot of people will
make argument for once saved, always saved. Well, once you're
saved, you're always saved. That only makes sense. Salvation
by grace. Once saved, always saved. Well, it depends on who
saved you. If you saved yourself, you'll
fall. Write it down, you'll fall. But if God saved you, it will
be forever. But here's the point of perseverance.
You continue looking only to Christ. That's what perseverance
is. You continue looking only to
Christ. He's still all you have. He's still all you need. He's still all you want. And it'll be that way when you
die. Six stubborn statements. Either or. No middle ground. Now, I thought about a story I heard some preacher
tell. I don't know, don't even remember
what the circumstance was, but he was telling about a young
man who wanted to be a missionary, and his dad didn't want him to
do it. His dad thought he had so much promise, and why waste
your life like that was the way his dad was looking at it, and
he was against this young man being a missionary. And this
young man went against his father's wishes. He went to some foreign
country to begin to preach the gospel, and three weeks later
he was dead. He caught some kind of disease
that was native to that land and died. A wasted life. When his things were sent home
to his father, his father opened up his Bible, And it said these
three things. No reserve. No retreat. No regrets. Now that is being for Christ. That is being with him. May the
Lord put this in my heart and your heart. No reserve. Trust him only. Trust him completely
in all things. No retreat. No backing off on
this. And no regrets. I think of that
young man. going off and dying three weeks
later, and I think of somebody that I admire so much. May the Lord make us no reserve,
no retreat, no regrets. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
clearness of your gospel. Lord, how we thank you that the
Bible is your word. How we thank you that you're
utterly sovereign. We wouldn't want it to be any
other way. How we thank you that Christ is all. How we thank you
that salvation is all of your grace. How we thank you for the
enlightenment that we're dead in sins and we have nowhere to
look but Christ. How we thank you for your electing
mercy. How we thank you for your redeeming
blood of your son. How we thank you for the irresistible
grace of your Holy Spirit. And Lord, preserve us and keep
us looking to Christ alone. Thank you for your word. Thank
you for your son. In His name we pray, amen. Drew,
could you lead us in closing in?