This moody asked me a question. She asked this question. How
can a God, how can God who hates sin so much love sinners so much? And I said to her, I said, that's
what I'm going to preach on. How do you know that? It's remarkable. how the providence
of the Lord works, giving us encouragement on selecting a
subject. But that's what I want to talk
about a little while this afternoon. And I want you to open your Bibles
first to Luke. Come back to Acts in a few moments. But the book of Luke, chapter
15, verse 1 and 2. Luke 15, verse 1 and 2. Luke 15, verse 1, "...then drew
near unto him all the publicans..." And you know the Pharisees used
to say, if there's anybody going to be in heaven, it's a Pharisee,
and anybody going to be in hell, it's a publican. So they meant
that. "...then drew near unto him the
publicans and sinners to hear him. And the Pharisees murmured,
The scribes murmured and said, this man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them. Now let me show you another one. Matthew chapter 9. Matthew chapter
9. Spurgeon said this one time.
He said, I wrote this down, many, many a true word has been spoken
in ridicule. That was spoken in ridicule.
This man received sinners. Many a true word has been spoken
in ridicule, and many times a genuine, sincere tribute has been paid
by the tongue of a man who hates it. And that's what he said there
in Luke. These Pharisees said, this man
receives senators and eats with them. Now look at Matthew chapter
9. Matthew chapter 9, verse 11. Matthew 9, 11. Now when the Pharisees
saw it, well let's read verse 10. It came to pass, as Jesus
said it, meet in the house. Many, behold many publicans And
sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it,
they said to His disciples, Why does your master eat with publicans
and sinners? Why? Why? But when Jesus heard
that, He said to them, They that behold need not a physician,
but they that are sick. Now you go learn what that means.
You go learn what that means. That's a good assignment. The
Lord says, you go learn what that means. I will have mercy. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. I am not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. These people thought when they
said that our Lord was a friend of publicans and sinners, And
each of them, they thought they were going to ridicule him. They
thought they were going to bring reproach on him. They thought
when the people found out that he loved sinners, they'd turn
their thumbs down on him. Oh, how blind are those who will
not see. How blind. Let me read you a
scripture. John 9. Oh, how blind are the
religious who think they see. In John chapter 9, listen to
this. John chapter 9 verse 39. John 9 verse 39. John 9, 39. And Jesus said, for
judgment I am come into this world that they which see not
might see. And that they which see or think
they see, might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which
were with him heard those words, and they said, Are we blind also? And our Lord said, Well, if you
were blind, you'd have no sense. If you were really blind and
knew it, God would forgive you. God would show mercy on you.
If you were really blind and knew it, New Year's lost, New
Year's a sinner, God will have mercy on you and you'll be without
sin. But listen, but he said, but
now you say, you say. They didn't say, they said they
saw. Now you say, you say, we, we see. Therefore your sin remains. Therefore your sin remains. This
man received his sinner's There's a lady in our church. I've been
her pastor. She's dead now, but I was her
pastor for many, many years. Her name was Edith Neal. And
I got up and preached on this topic one time. She was in the
congregation. And I preached on this. This man receiveth sinners and
Edith with them. to the back, and Edith came out,
shook hands with me, and I said, Edith, did you hear me read your
name from the Bible this morning? She said, you didn't read my
name. I said, yes, I did. It says, the Lord receives sinners
and Edith with them. Oh, she said, I'm so glad. I'm
so glad that he received Edith with him. Oh, my. But that's
why he came into this world. to save sinners. That's why Christ
our Lord came into this world. That's exactly why. Paul said
this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Not sham sinners. Genuine, bona fide, unadulterated,
hell deserving sinners. That's the folks he came to save.
That's what scripture said. He came into the world to save
sinners, Paul said, of whom I am the chief. And the angel of the
Lord, when he announced that Mary would have a son, this is
what he said, And she shall bring forth a son, and call his name
Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their Sins. Sins. Sins. And I tell you this,
if there's a real, bona fide, genuine sinner today, he's going
to hear some good news. Because the Lord delights to
save sinners. He came into the world to seek
and to save the lost. But you know something? There
aren't many lost people. That's exactly right. Find one.
Find me a sinner, and I'll tell him some good news. Find me a
lost person, a genuine lost person, that knows he's lost, and knows
Christ is the only one that can save him, and I'll tell him some
good news. Good news. Our Lord is the Friend
of sinners. You know what that means? He
is the Friend of sinners. But He not only is the Friend
of sinners, He's not only received sinners, He not only eats and
fellowship with sinners, but He loves them. He loves them. He really loves sinners. That's exactly right. He loves
sinners. Let me show you five ways that
I can prove He loves sinners. He loves sinners. Our Lord loves
sinners. Let me give you five ways that
I know it. You know what one of the old
priests wrote? A sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so.
You find a sinner. Now, how many sinners? There
aren't many, honestly. Ask them sometimes. Go down and
ask the men you work with. Any of you fellas sinners? You
shock them. You absolutely will shock them
if you call them sinners. But a sinner is a sacred thing. He's a special thing. He's a set-apart thing. Because
the Holy Ghost sets him apart. The Holy Ghost convicts him.
The Holy Ghost reveals Christ to him. It's a sacred thing. It's a holy thing. It's a special
thing. Because He's going to save all
sinners. Barnard said that one time. He
said, God's going to save everybody that's lost. I said, Brother
Barnard, everybody's lost. Ask Him. Just find one lost man,
one genuine lost man. Find one. And I'll tell you,
the Lord came to save him. Now here's those five things.
Number one, his incarnation reveals that he loved sinners. What's
his incarnation? He was made flesh and dwelt among
us. And we beheld his glory. And
herein is love. Not that we love God. But that
He did love us and sent His Son to be the what? Propitiation. The sacrifice. The sin offering
for our sin. This is love. He's holding that precious baby. He loves that baby. Can you tell
that? Look at that. Look how He loves her. But God
loves His people just that much more. Ten thousand times more.
He loves them. He loves them. That's right.
Herein is love. Is it a mother's love? Greater
than that. Herein is love. A father's love?
Greater than that. It's the love of God. How rich! How pure! How measureless! How
strong! It shall forevermore endure.
Saints and angels song. That's God's love. God's love. He sent His Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. That's why I believe He loves
sinners. He made that ultimate great sacrifice,
giving his son. Secondly, his name reveals his
love for sinners. What's his name? John the Baptist
told me. He said, Behold the Lamb of God. That's his name, the Lamb of
God. The Lamb of God. The Lamb of God prophesied. The
Lamb of God typified. The Lamb of God personified. The Lamb of God crucified. The
Lamb of God glorified. He's the Lamb of God. The Lamb
of God. And this Lamb of God takes away
the sin. The sin of the world. Takes away. Behold the Lamb of God that takes
away the sin of the world. Thirdly, His office. What's His office? You preached
on it today. priest and king. He's our prophet
to reveal God to us. He's our priest to give a sacrifice
for our sin. And He is our king, reigns over
us. He's our prophet, priest, and king. And He has an unchanging
priesthood. An unchanging priesthood. And
therefore, He's able to save to the what? Guttermost, I said. They saved the gunner bows, the
sinners. That's it. Fourthly, his word
of promise reveals his love for sinners. He says, come to me,
all ye that labor and have laid, I'll give you rest. Our Lord
is sincere in that invitation. It's a command really what it
is. If you're really lost, come to me, I'll give you rest. If
you're really lost, If any man thirsts, let him come to me. Out of his belly shall flow rivers
of water. If you knew the gift of God,
if a fellow knew the gift of God and who it is that saith
to him, give me to drink, you'd ask of me, I'd give you a little. Ask me. Ask me. I had a girl say that one time.
I said that to her. A young lady came into the office. She said, I believe everything
you preach. I've listened to you for years
preaching, but I'm not saved. I said, do you believe everything
I preach? Yep. And you're still not saved? No. I said, do you
ever ask God to save you? She said, no. I said, well, she
asked you. The Bible says, if you ask, you'll
receive. If you seek, you'll find. If
you don't, it'll be open. Ask, and it shall be given you.
seek and you shall find. Ask Him. She said, I believe
I will. Well, the thief on the cross,
ask Him. That publican in the temple, ask Him. Lord, be merciful
to me, a sinner. Why don't you just fall on your
knees before God and say, Lord, save me or I perish. Old Peter
did when he sank beneath the water. Lord, save me or I perish. His word of promise. If you knew
the gift of God, you'd ask me, and I'd give you living water.
It looks like a fellow would ask, wouldn't it? It just looks
like to me that a fellow would ask. If you knew the gift of
God, you'd ask me, and I'd give you living water. And then fourth,
fifthly, his death on the cross reveals his deep, sincere, eternal
love for sinners. Greater love hath no man than
this. He lay down his life for his
friends. That proves his love. That proves his love. And he
gave the crowning example. When he died on that cross, there
was a thief who said, Lord, you're not going to stay dead. You're
coming into a kingdom. Would you remember me? Would
you be mindful of me when you come into your kingdom? He said,
today, you'll be with me in paradise. And our Lord, if you want to
see His love for sinners, He took the hand of a dying, somebody
said, outcast, that outcast cast out. That was that man. Took
him in His hand, took him to the grove. That's love. Come ye sinners, poor and needy,
weak and wounded, sick and sore, Jesus ready. It stands to save
you. Full of pity, love, and power. That's real. That's real. The love of God. Now, I want
to give you a story. Turn to Acts chapter 8. Acts
chapter 8. I'll give you a story here. I
want to read a story about a sinner. About a sinner who was savingly
brought to Christ by faith in Christ. And I have no reason
to doubt it, because it's right here in the Word. I have no reason
to doubt this story of this eunuch. No doubt. He wasn't a Jew in
Ethiopia. He wasn't raised in a synagogue.
I doubt he'd ever been in a synagogue. He wasn't raised in the church.
He was not involved in theology. He was a businessman. He was
a businessman. He had not heard the name Jesus
Christ. Because he asked that man, who's
he talking about? When he read that what you read
a while ago, he asked Philip, who's he talking about, himself
or some other what? Man. He knew it was a man. He
knew it wasn't a plan, it was a man. Yeah, he did. He knew it wasn't a plan, it
was a man. Who is this man? And yet, he heard the gospel
that day, he believed the gospel that day, and he was baptized
that day, and went on his way rejoicing. Now, I'm reading that
right out of the Word. I'm reading that. No waiting
period. No elders meeting. That's right. But he heard the
gospel. Now here it is. Let's look at
verse 26-28. Listen. And the angel of the
Lord spake to Philip, saying, Arise, go towards the south unto
the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is
desert. And he arose and went. And behold,
a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candacy,
queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasure,
He'd come to Jerusalem. He'd come to Jerusalem to worship. This man was concerned about
his relationship with God. He didn't know God. He didn't
know Christ. He didn't know any gospel. But
he was concerned. Something was going on in here.
And I tell you, that's called prevenient grace. Grace before
grace. If God Almighty is working in
your heart, He worked a long time before you found it out.
That's right. Prevenient grace. That's right. This man had some knowledge,
some knowledge, and he was seeking more. He'd gone all the way from Ethiopia
to Jerusalem to sit and listen to those Pharisees. It never
said anything. He never learned anything from
them. He went all the way up there because he heard God was
up there. He heard the God of Israel was
up there. He evidently had secured a copy of the book of Isaiah. I can't explain how he got it,
how he came by it. I just know he had it. He had
the writings of Isaiah. And he was not aware that God
was doing anything for him or to him. But he was seeking. He was seeking. He was making
use. of the means of grace. That's
what you're doing, what I'm doing, and what everybody ought to be
doing. Making use of the means of grace. Let me tell you a story.
Y'all heard my son preach down at the conference, Paul. I thank a lot of him. Anyway,
he married a young lady, Mindy, and her father, was a member
of the Christian Church in Iceland. He'd been a member since he was
a little boy. His mother was a member. His father never went
to church, but he went to church all his life. And, uh, he was
a bricklayer. Eddie Bowden. He was a bricklayer. And, uh, had a good prosperous
business. And, uh, this, he hadn't, Mindy
hadn't come along at that time, anyway. But anyway, he was a
businessman and went to church and he played golf and he owned
a golf course. And so he went to church, a Christian
church. He was one of the elders or something.
But one Sunday he decided not to go to church. He went to play
golf at the Bellefonte Country Club. He went to play golf. He
was a good golfer. And his pastor came out to eat
lunch. They come to the country club
to eat lunch. Joe Faulkner is his name. I've
known him since way back, John. Joe, one of the long pastors
in Nashville. But anyway, he went out there
to eat lunch. And there sat Eddie, just taking
off his golf shoes, put on his shoes to eat lunch. He said he
wasn't in church this morning. You're not in church this morning.
You prayed God? He said, I ain't coming back. You're not coming
back? No, I'm not coming back. Why? He said, I don't know why. He
said, I just know that I'm not hearing something. I don't even
know why I'm not hearing. But I just know I'm not hearing
something. And his pastor started crying.
Joe was a very emotional man. He said, Eddie said, would you
give me another chance? Would you come hear me next Sunday?
Eddie said, I'll give you another chance. I'll be there. So he
went back. He didn't say nothing. So Eddie
quit. And one day he asked one of the
men that I knew real well, a member of our church. He said, where
does a fellow go to church to hear something worth hearing?
He said, go 13th Street Baptist and listen to Mayhem. Oh, he
said, I know Henry, but go listen to him. So this is a true story. Eddie came to church, brought
his little girl Mindy, son Byron, son Tim, wife Josh, and sat down,
and I preached. And Eddie's kind of a shh. Whatever he says, he says it
out loud. Anyway, I was standing at the
door shaking hands, and Eddie came by. I shook hands with him. I said, well, glad to have you
here, Eddie. Come back. I might. Walked out. Well, he might. He just came
back next Sunday. Same question. I said, come back,
Eddie. I might. Walked on out. Honestly, the
Lord gave me some liberty to preach this message to sinners,
to lost sinners. And I preached it. And when Eddie
came out to church, He had a smile on his face. His countenance
was just radiant. I said, well, he came to come
back. He said, I'll be back tonight. I'll be back Wednesday. I'll
be back next... I see what you say. I see. It has to be revealed. I see it. The Lord saved him. He became a great friend. And he died not long ago. and went to be with Christ. That's it. The man was seeking. He's seeking something. He's seeking. Alright, let's
see what happened here. And he was returning in his chariot,
verse 28 and 29. Then the Spirit said to Philip,
go join yourself to that chariot. And Philip ran thither to him.
and heard him read the prophet Isaiah. That's what the pastor
read a while ago. And he said, do you understand
what you're reading? And he said, how can I except
some man should guide me? And he desired Philip. They would
come up and sit with him. And the place in the scripture
where he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the
slaughter, like a lamb before shears is done. So he opened
not his mouth. In his humiliation, in his judgment,
In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who shall declare
his generation? For his life is taken from the
earth. And the eunuch said to Philip,
I pray you, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself
or some other man? Who's he talking about? And Philip
opened his mouth and began the same scripture which Christ.
Let me tell you something. How can a God hate sin so much,
love sinners so much? Because of Christ. That's the
reason. Because of Christ. The love of
God is in Christ. Because of Christ. Because of
the sacrifice of Christ. Now remember, listen to this. Years ago, I read in the scripture
that it says in the book of Psalms Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He in heaven, earth, and all deep places. What the
Lord pleased. Well, one of the best books you
can have in your study is your concordance. So I got the concordance
down and read everywhere, everywhere I found that statement. What
the Lord pleased, that did He. What it pleased the Lord to do.
And I found out several things. Number one, It pleased the Lord
to make you His people. That's what it says in Psalm.
It pleased God to make you His people. He chose you. You didn't
choose Him. He chose you. Picked you out.
Chose you. Predestined you to be conformed
to the image of His Son. It pleased the Lord to choose
us. Pleased the Lord to make you
His people. Secondly, I read this. It pleased
the Lord that in Christ should all fullness dwell. That's where
it is. All the fullness of God, all
the glory of Christ, the goodness of Christ, the grace of Christ,
the mercy of Christ, it's ever been in that man, Christ Jesus. It pleased the Lord that in Christ
should all fullness dwell. Thirdly, it pleased the Lord
then to bruise him. God nailed him to the cross.
People say, well, the Jews crucified Christ. No, they did what God's
hand determined before to be done. It pleased the Lord to
bruise Him. God Almighty gave Him a body. God Almighty kept Him perfect
and gave Him holiness. God Almighty fulfilled His law
in Christ. And God Almighty separated Himself
from Him and allowed them to nail Him to a cross. It pleased
God to bruise Him. And fourthly, it pleased God
to reveal His Son in me. It pleased God. That's what Paul
said. God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me
by His grace, He was pleased to reveal His Son in me. Not
just to me, in me. There's a difference. There's
a difference in having Christ revealed to you and having Christ
revealed in you. That's the new nature. In you. Christ in you. Christ in you. That's the hope of glory. The
hope of glory is not a doctrine. The hope of glory is a person
formed in your heart. Christ in you. Now, don't forget
this fourth thing. It pleased God to make you His
people. It pleased God that in Christ
all fullness shall dwell. It pleased God to bruise Him.
It pleased God to reveal His Son to me. But it pleased God
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. This
man had to have the gospel preached to him. That's where you find
a fallout with my primitive Baptist friend. You've got to hear that
gospel. You've got to hear the gospel.
You've got to hear the gospel. You've got to hear the gospel.
If you don't hear the gospel, you won't be saved. Isn't that
right? He that seeth the Son, and believeth
on him, hath everlasting life. How does he see it? In the Word,
and believes in it. That's right. That's right. Listen to this. Let me give you
some Scripture. 1 Peter 1, being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed by the
Word of God. which liveth and abides forever,
being born again by the word of God which liveth
and abides forever. James 1.18, of his own will begat
he us with the word of truth. Ephesians 1.13, in whom you trusted
after you heard the word of truth. You don't, the gospel doesn't
come by the eye gate, it comes by the ear gate. The gospel of
your salvation, in whom, after you believe, you will see Him.
Romans 10, verse 10. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved, but how shall they call on Him
in whom they have not believed? And how are they going to believe,
except to hear? And how are they going to hear,
except some are preaching? It's the preaching of the gospel.
A man over in England, Bill Clark and I were over there in a meeting
years ago. And this young man said to Bill,
he said, the day of preaching is over. If it is, we're done
for. The day of preaching is over.
Preaching like you and Mahan do, that's over. Now people are
going to meet and share. Preach the gospel. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe in Him. Let me tell you
another story. I've had a lot of experiences. Well, our Lord preached in parables.
He sent a certain man. Anyway, Bill and I were over
in France and Spain preaching, Bill Clark and I. And we went to two cities, Tarragona,
Spain, and Calcahinti, Spain. And while at Calcahinti, I preached,
Bill, Brother Farrell Griswold and I and Bill preached in this
Spanish church through an interpreter. I don't speak in Spanish. I preach
in English and he interpreted. But anyway, we sat down and a
big crowd of people there. And a fellow was playing an organ.
He was special. He was one of the best organists
I ever heard. And I punched Brother Estrada, the preacher there,
and I said, where'd you get him? That guy is good. He said, he
was the organist at the Catholic Church, the big Catholic cathedral
here in Carcahenta. He was their organist. I said,
what's he doing here? He said, well, he was practicing
the organ in this big church. And the priest came in. And the
priest had a bunch of books in his hand. A whole bunch of books. He walked in towards that organ. And the organist stopped playing
and said, Father, what you got? He said, I've been picking up
these Bibles in these Protestant homes. And the organist said,
I've never seen a Protestant Bible. Could I have one to look
at? Honestly. That father took that Bible and
threw it to that man. And he caught it in his hand
and started reading it. And he went to see Brother Strada
and said, tell me about, like this man right here, tell me
about who's this man talking about? Who's this man? Who is
this man? And the Lord saved him. That's
when I met him. He played the organ for us. But you've got to hear about
this man. And I want you to turn to Isaiah 53. Just a minute. Let me show you something. I'll
just give you a little outline. Isaiah 53. Let me show you something
here. Isaiah 53. In verse 1. He's a mysterious man, who hath
believed thy report, to whom his arm of the Lord reveal. Verse
3, he's a man of sovereigns. See it? Acquainted with grief.
Verse 4 through 6, he's a substitute man. He's a substitute. He had borne our grace. He carried
our sovereignty. We did esteem him smitten, afflicted
of God. Smitten of God and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgression. The substitute man. Then down
here in verse 7, he's the willing man. He was oppressed, he was
afflicted, but he never opened his mouth. He was a sheep before a shearer's
dove, he opened not his mouth. He was willing to take our place. And then verse 9, he's a crucified
man. Verse 8, he was taken from prison,
from judgment. Who shall declare his generation?
He was cut off out of the land of the living. My God, why hast
thou forsaken me? For the transgression of my people
was his stricken. And then verse 10, he's the victorious
man. It pleased God to bruise him,
put him to grief, make his soul an offer for sin, that he'll
see his seed, prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand. He'll see the travail of his
soul and be satisfied. And then verse 12, the exalted
man. Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, He'll divide the spoiled with the strong
because he poured out his soul unto death. He was numbered with
the transgressors and bared the sins of many and he made intercession
for the transgressors. All right, back to my text and
I'll quit. Acts chapter 8. Let me show you
something here. Acts chapter 8 verse 36. Acts 8, chapter 8, verse 36. And as they went on their way,
they came to a certain water. And
the eunuch said, see, here's water. What does it hinder me
to be baptized? I tell you, that man heard a
lot of gospel in that time. It wasn't just one verse after
another. It was hours that he talked to him about Christ. And then, Philip didn't put any
pressure on him. Philip didn't, don't you want
to be baptized? None of that. He's the one that spoke up and
said, what does hinder me from being baptized? And Philip has
baptism around with one question. One question. In verse 37. One thing, Philip said, if you
believe, with all your heart, you may confess Christ, if you
believe." He preached the gospel to him. He heard the gospel.
He believed the gospel. The man said, I want to be baptized.
He said, one thing, if you believe. He said, and he answered, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Didn't you say that in
your message this morning? That's what it is. I believe
that Jesus Christ That man that we talked about coming down here,
he didn't say anything like that. He said he and his wife wanted
to be baptized. That's the whole different ballgame. I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That's where it is. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. This man wanted a Savior. He
saw salvation in Christ, and he confessed Christ. And what
did he say in verse 39? 38, And he commanded the chariot
to stand still, and they both went down into the water, Philip
and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they would come
up out of the water, the spirit caught Philip away, and the eunuch
saw him no more, but he went on his way rejoicing. Rejoicing
in Christ. Now, I'll give you one thing,
and I'll quit. What do you suppose this man's
life was like after that experience? What do you suppose that man's
life? I mean, he, he, he's, it, supernaturally, God has brought
him to hear the gospel. And I tell you, any time that
God brings man to hear the gospel. It's supernatural. It has to
be. It has to be. And Philip left
him. And there he was. But he was
rejoicing. He was rejoicing. What do you
suppose his life was like? Well, I say it was pleasant and
unpleasant. Number one. It's pleasant in,
number one, he had the joy of forgiveness. Blessed are they
whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed
is the man to whom God will not impute sin. He blessed. Secondly, he found comfort in
the Word. Don't you know he read that over
and over and over and over again in that grave, just reading the
Word. I wish we'd get acquainted with
the Word. I wish folks would just read the Word instead of
watching television. Lee, read the Word. Thirdly,
I bet he found some other believers. I just believe he did. You found
some? I always find them here and there and younger. And when
I find one, it tickles me to death. Just find somebody that
kind of halfway believes what you're saying. It's just wonderful. Find another believer and identify
with him. Then fourthly, he went on his
way rejoicing in eternal life. But here are four unpleasant
things that he encountered. I know he did. Number one, his
old nature wasn't totally dead. I bet he had some real conflicts
with this old man. He wasn't totally dead. The new
nature's there. It's totally in Christ, but this
nature's not dead. You got some troubles ahead.
Secondly, spiritual growth is slow. Tom and I talked about this.
Conversion is instantaneous. I mean, salvation is instantaneous.
Conversion takes a long time. That's why our Lord said to Peter,
accept you be converted. You've got to be converted to strengthen
your brethren. You understand what I'm trying to say? Salvation
is instantaneous. This man was saved now. This
man was totally saved. Eternally saved. But I'm telling
you, spiritual growth is slow. It takes time. Thirdly, the religious
people in the world didn't rejoice in his conversion. He went, I
never will forget when my son-in-law, y'all heard Bob preach, he's
a good preacher. I never will forget, the Lord
saved him. And he ran to tell his brother
and his sister and his kinfolk, and they didn't like it one bit. Not one bit. And you'll run into
that. Everybody's not going to rejoice
over Christ. They're not going to rejoice.
And fourthly, trials and tribulations are going
to come to every believer. We know, don't we, Gary? You
know. And it's going to come. Every
believer is going to have those trials. He said, through much
tribulation, you'll inherit the kingdom of God. Count it not
strange when fiery trials come upon you. Let us test and try
your faith. But I'm telling you this, God
loves you. He never would have saved you. The love of God, how rich, how
pure, how measureless, how strong. It shall forevermore endure,
the saints and angels saw. Could we with ink the ocean fill,
and were the skies of parchment made, and every stalk on earth
a quill, and every man a scribe by trade, to write the love of
God above, would drain that ocean dry. Nor could the skull contain
the whole, Was flesh from the sky descended. O love of God!