I would like for you to take
the Bible and open it to Isaiah chapter 55, Isaiah 55. Now I'm going to speak today
on this subject, the great contradiction, the great contradiction. Isaiah
wrote in chapter 55 beginning with verse 6, now listen carefully
to the words of God's prophet Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Call ye upon him while he's near. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts. And let him return unto the Lord,
and God will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will
abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, and my ways are not your ways, saith the Lord." And
my friends, it doesn't take a lot of wisdom to understand that
what's going on today in the name of religion and in the name
of God is contrary to the Scriptures. It is certainly true in our day
that our ways are not God's ways. And what is going on today in
the name of religion and in the name of God is contrary not only
to the scriptures, but contrary to the very character of God
Almighty himself. And it doesn't require much study
or knowledge to see that the emotionalism of this day and
the entertainment and the extravagant living and the showmanship in
religion, I'm talking about, is nothing but flesh and totally
contrary to the ways of God and the ways of his people. My thoughts,
he said, are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways. And it's time, and it's long
overdue, for someone to speak plainly, as plainly as he can,
and forcefully concerning the direction that religion today
is taking, especially on television. And I hear people say, well,
it's okay, it's okay for people to do whatever they want to do.
It is not okay. I've heard others say, well,
We can't judge, no, but God's word judges men. And we judge the ministry of
men by the word of God. Now I'm going to tell you some
things about God's true preachers. God's true prophets, in this
day or any day, God hasn't changed, his word hasn't changed, his
ways haven't changed, his preachers haven't changed. And I tell you
this, and I'm going to talk as plainly today as I know how to
talk. God's true preachers and God's prophets are not con artists,
and they're not money raisers, and they're not politicians,
and they're not entertainers. They're not wealthy men who live
in mansions. and find homes and wear diamonds
and own condominiums and live luxuriously, not God's preachers.
God's preachers are plain men. They're men who are called of
God to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And they're plain
men who are separated unto the gospel of God, that is their
calling That is their objective, that is their goal, to make Christ
known. They are determined, as Paul
said to those people in the great city of Corinth, I am determined
to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. God's preachers are not wealthy
men who live luxuriously, they are men who live by the gospel.
And they live in a simple fashion like their master, identified
with plain people. And like the Levites of old,
now you want to go back to the scriptures, and you read about
the Levites of old who had the care of the temple, the care
of the tabernacle, and the care of the ministry of the word,
and the care of the sacrifices, and these Levites of old, who
are our examples, did not own property. They did not own or
promote businesses, and God's preachers today, his true preachers,
do not own property, and they do not own or promote businesses. And what does come into their
hands, financially, materially, they use it to care for the poor
and the needy and the less fortunate. They're like conduits. They receive
with this hand and they give out with the other. They live
by the gospel. And their sole and only business
is the master's business. Our Lord said, I must be about
my father's business. And that's preaching the word
of God. And so I boldly declare unto you, according to God's
ways and God's word, wealthy preachers, extravagant, luxuriously
living preachers, are not God's preachers. God's preachers are
plain men with a plain message. And then I'll tell you this,
now you listen to me. God said, your ways aren't my
ways. There's a way that seemeth right to men and the end is destruction
and death. My thoughts are not your thoughts.
God's preachers are plain men, but they're men who preach in
power, the power of the Holy Ghost. And God's preachers are
men, not women. It's quite clear, my friend,
in the scriptures that women are not to preach. They're not
to pastor, and according to God's word, they're not to usurp authority
over men. And I realize that it seems to
me that women are taking over in this realm of religion today.
Women have a very important part in the church, in the ministry,
in the kingdom of God. A part which cannot be taken
by anyone else and they cannot be replaced. Teaching women,
teaching other women, teaching children. Building a home, keeping
a home, raising their children. But according to God's word,
his preachers are men. And always have been and always
will be. And women are not to pastor churches. They're not to teach men or use
up authority over men or run the business of the church or
pastor the church. Paul plainly says in 1 Corinthians
14 verse 34, let your women keep silence in the churches. It is
not permitted for them to teach, to preach. They are commanded
to be under obedience as also saith the word of God, the law. The Old Testament scriptures
goes back to the fall when God said to Eve, your husband will
have the rule over you. Christ is the head of the man,
the man's the head of the woman. 1 Timothy 2 verse 11 Paul said
again let your women learn in silence with all subjection I
suffer not a woman to teach or to usurp authority but to be
in silence and women taking over programs and pulpits and classrooms
and leading the churches serving on pulpit committees and conducting
the business of the church is not God's way It's our way. And he said your ways are not
my ways. And God's preachers are not only plain men and they're
men. But I'll tell you this. God's
preachers do not beg. Our Lord's not a beggar and his
ambassadors are not beggars. And God's preachers do not beg
for money to support their ministry or the kingdom of God. They will
not do it. They cannot do it. They live
and preach by faith, not by the strength of the flesh. It's not
faith to constantly tell men our needs. Faith tells God our
needs, and God supplies those needs. In fact, he said your
Heavenly Father knows what you have need of. Faith does not
conduct telethons to raise money for our programs and our organizations,
pleading, begging, badgering, coercing, threatening, rewarding,
using telephones for people to call and promise to send so much
money. Faith doesn't do that. That's
our way, not God's way. Faith does not give away charms
and trinkets and gimmicks and books to raise money. Faith does
not threaten people with going off the air, how utterly ridiculous
it is to even think that a man of faith would stand before a
congregation and say, if you don't do something, I'm going
off the air. God's still in control. God's
still on the throne. And I'll go off the air when
it pleases God, not when it pleases a man. And faith doesn't beg. And I tell you this, faith doesn't
threaten, never threatens God's people. Faith doesn't threaten
people with the death of the preacher. That's the most foolish
thing that I've ever heard in my life. To use as a gimmick
to raise money the threat of God upon the life of a preacher. Faith does not promise a man
a prosperity if he'll support the preacher. Faith does not
sell land and investments and cards and bricks. These are men's
ways. These are not God's ways. And
someone must speak out against it. Someone must stand up and
be counted. Someone must warn this generation
of all the trickery and the flesh merchandising that's going on
today in the name of God, that God has nothing to do with these
things. Faith doesn't organize clubs for people to buy into. 300 club, 700 club, or 1100 club. Don't you see that these are
rackets to raise money? Don't you see that men sit around
in groups and boards and organizations trying to figure out a new gimmick?
A new way to get money, a new way to raise money, a new offer.
They run out of this offer and think of another one. They run
out of that one and think of another. God's people give, and
God's people support the church, and God's people support missionaries,
and God's people support true ministers, and God's people will
support the gospel of Jesus Christ. But they give not out of being
threatened, or promised a reward, or badgered, or coerced to give. They give willingly, willingly. Giving is a grace. Giving is
an act of love. And God's people are to be left
to give as they're led and impressed by the Holy Spirit, not coerced
by man. You say, well, how will people
know my need? God knows my need. God's my Heavenly Father. And
God, knowing the need of his people and the need of his church
and the need of his preacher, has promised to supply that need.
Paul said my God shall supply all your needs according to his
riches and glory through Christ Jesus and true faith from the
heart of a true preacher waits on God waits on God and then
God's true preacher knows that salvation is of the Lord that's
right Salvation is a work of grace in the heart accomplished
by the Holy Spirit. My friends, coming to the front
of the church is not salvation. That's our way, not God's way. Our way is to make coming to
the front, making a physical move to be synonymous with receiving
Christ. And it's not, reformation is
not salvation, raising my hand. We've gone a long ways towards
raising the hand, raising the hand. Ever head bowed, never
eye closed, never hand raised. Raising the hand is not salvation.
God looks on the heart, not on the raising of the hand or the
outward countenance. Saying a prayer dictated by some
man is not salvation. Making a decision in a revival
meeting is not salvation. You don't decide to come in,
decide to go out. Joining the church is not salvation,
listen to me. And God's preachers know this,
true preachers, people who are saved are born of God. They're
not manipulated by psychology, they're born of God. They're
not manipulated by mass emotionalism, they're born of God. They're
not tricked into a decision, they're born of God deliberately
and willingly and lovingly and individually. not only born of
God but they're born of the Word of God, of his own will beget
he us with the Word of truth. God's people are saved by the
Spirit of God, they're brought by the Spirit of God through
the Word of God to know God in their hearts and to know Jesus
Christ whom he has sent. And true salvation is a new creation
in Christ Jesus which only God can accomplish and that's what
I do on this program every Lord's Day and in the pulpit and through
the books that I write. I preach to men. Preach the gospel
to them. I pray to God to make it effectual
to the heart by the power of the Spirit and then leave men
alone. Leave them with God. Wait upon
God to bring them to faith. Leave them to God in His Word
and wait on Him to bring them to receive Christ personally,
individually. You know, all of these so-called
altar calls today and processionals to the front of the church, down
the big crowd, going down to the front, that's the invention
of modern man. It is unknown in the Word of
God, it is unknown in the ministry of the apostles, it is unknown
in the early revivals, and unknown by any prophet of old. You say,
well, how do people confess Christ the scriptural way? Baptism. Go through the New Testament,
even at Pentecost. Those people weren't invited
to raise their hands or come to the front or say the sinner's
prayer. They cried the sinner's prayer.
They said, men and brethren, what are we going to do? We're
in a mess. And Peter said, repent. And what? And be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ. All the way through the New Testament,
Ethiopian eunuch, the Philippian jailer, Lydia, Cornelius, keep
naming them. All of these people, they didn't
raise their hand, they didn't go to the front, they didn't
sign a card, they didn't go to an inquiry room, they followed
the Lord in believer's baptism, they confessed Christ. Our altar
calls today in all of these running to the front of the church and
to make first-time decisions is to build the statistics of
the preacher and to give him fame And to promote his program
and give him some converts to report so that he can get the
next meeting. Only God can save a sinner. And
only God's preacher is willing to leave it up to God to save
that sinner. And he'll do it. Eternal life
is to know God. It's not to know religious facts. Eternal life is to be born of
God. Not to make a decision. Eternal life is to come to Christ.
all the way to Christ, personally, by faith, not to come to the
front of the church. You can come to the front of
the church without coming to Christ, and most people do. Eternal life
is a heart work that never dies. It's not just a profession of
the lips. Our Lord said, these people call me Lord, Lord with
their lips and their hearts are far from me. Their hearts never
left covetousness, never left flesh, never left the world.
They just took Jesus to be another God on their shelves. Eternal
life is a living union with the Son of God, not a union with
the church. It's a membership in the family
of God and not a membership in an organization. And I'll tell
you this, as long as men can come to the preacher and save
their consciences and receive some kind of comfort, they're
not going to come to Christ. As long as we're standing out
there in their way, and inviting them to the front, inviting them
to us, and inviting them to shake our hand, inviting them to make
their decision, they'll come to us, and they'll come to our
organizations, and they'll come to our altars, and they'll respond
to our invitations, but they're not coming to Christ. You've
got to move out of the way for them to come to Christ. Our Lord
said, you've come from sea and land to make one proselyte to
your religion, and after you've made him, He's two-fold more
the child of hell than you are. And all of this emotionalism
and human persuasion simply denies the power of God. It denies the
power of God. All of this persuasion and pulling
and bringing people to the front denies the power of God to find
his sheep, to awaken his sheep, to call his sheep, and to save
his sheep by his grace. God is perfectly able to find
his people and make the word effectual to their hearts. That's
what our Lord accused the religious people during the day he ministered
on this earth. He said, you err not knowing
the scriptures. That's the biggest problem. And
you don't know the power of God. I'm willing to leave a sinner
with God. I'm willing to give him the word. And I don't mean
strike while the iron's hot. If it's God's iron, it'll stay
hot till he responds. God'll brand him. If it's God's
spirit calling, he'll come. If it's God Almighty who's working
in his soul, he'll be brought. I don't have to rush, drag him
to the front, talk him into a false profession, and pick an apple
before it's ripe. And I tell you this, God's true
preacher is bold to declare the Word of God. And the true gospel,
even if he stands alone. Even if he stands alone. That's
where Luther stood that day at the Diet of Worms. The whole
nation, the whole religious empire, the whole ecclesiastical empire
against him. His life threatened. He told
him what he believed. And he said, here I stand. I
can do no other. The Apostle Paul declared, if
I please men, I am not the servant of Christ. Are you listening?
Elijah dared to stand alone that day on Mount Carmel against 450
false prophets. And I'm afraid the way things
are going today, the proportion is about the same. God's preacher
is not a servant of the denomination. God's preacher is not a servant
of the Board of Deacons. God's preacher is not intimidated
by a board or by members of the church. God's preacher is not
afraid of losing his job, his home, or his salary. He's an
ambassador and servant of God Almighty, and no man can touch
him. God's preacher will preach the
word, whatever the consequences. He's not a peacemaker, he's a
prophet. He's not a moderator, he's a
messenger. He's not a clown either. And
most preachers today are clowns. Entertainers, playboys, and clowns. And they're not serious about
this business, and they're not committed. Not committed. God didn't send his preacher
into this world to marry people, or to perform at the club, or
roam the halls of the hospital. He sent him to preach the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Are you listening? Your ways
aren't my ways, God says. You've changed my ways. and tried
to conform them to your ways, and your thoughts are not my
thoughts." What did the early apostles say when they called
for the first deacons? Why did they ordain these men?
Why did they select these men? Why did they need these men?
They came to this conclusion. We want these men to put over
this business of taking care of the widows and the And it's
just distribution of food and all these things. But we'll give
ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. What I see for my day? I see
no change. I see it getting worse. Not better,
but worse. I see him inventing new ways
to violate God's Word, new ways to raise money. The end justifies
the means. But perhaps God will raise up
one here and one there that will dare speak for God. And I'll
tell you this in closing. God's preacher knows the minister
of the Holy Spirit. It says in the book of John,
our Lord said, He, the Holy Spirit, will glorify me. or he shall
receive of mine and show it to you." The Holy Spirit finds God's
glory in Jesus Christ and Christ's glory in Christ himself. My friends,
the Holy Spirit does not reach after something novel and something
new and something different and something spectacular. That seems
to be the order. of the day in religion, something
spectacular, some crescendo, some music, using music to sway
the minds of people. But the Holy Spirit doesn't need
these things to glorify Christ or to preach Christ. He doesn't
need strange tongues that men can't understand. He doesn't
need fleshly emotion and bodily healings and creature fame. We need to get us a football
player to appear on the platform next Sunday with a preacher.
Somebody will come hear the preacher. That's the most ridiculous thing
I ever heard of. What does the Holy Ghost need
with a football player? He doesn't need some man of great
power, wealth, and influence in order to bring sinners to
know Christ or to bring glory to Christ. He finds Christ's
glory in Christ himself. If we want to honor Christ, if
we want to glorify Jesus Christ, if we want to preach Christ,
we must not look for something outside of Christ. We must not
look for something in us. We must honor him by preaching
that which is already his, his deity, his person, his life,
his death. his resurrection, his ascension,
his intercession, his glorious blessed return. Strange as it
may seem, there is today very little preaching of Jesus Christ
himself. The average person in the average
church knows nothing about Jesus Christ. Practically nothing. Oh, he knows all about his denomination,
he knows all about his pastor, he knows all about the famous
people of today, but he doesn't know Christ. People today preach
about those who knew Christ, and they preach about those who
served Christ, and they preach about those who wrote of Christ,
St. Matthew, St. Jude, St. Mark,
St. this, that, and the other. They
preach about his church, about his doctrines, about his commandments,
about his return. They preach series of messages
on those who used to preach Christ. They conduct conversations about
those who profess to know Christ, and they have these sharing sessions.
And then they talk about the duties and responsibilities of
believers in Christ, but very few messages on the person and
work of Christ himself. That's what I'm saying. My friends,
people today need to return to preaching Christ. Jesus Christ
is most glorified. His sheep are most edified. His
will and purpose are most accomplished and his church perfected in faith,
hope, and love when we preach Christ himself. The work of the
Spirit of God is not to give us games to play. The work of
the Spirit of God is not to call attention to himself or even
to the instrument. The work of the Spirit of God
is to reveal the beauties of the Lord Jesus Christ and those
beauties and glories are all found in him. The hymn writer
put it this way, O Christ, our hope, our hearts desire, redemptions
only spring, creator of the world art thou, my Savior and my King.