Now, I know that every person whom the Lord saves, and when I say whom the Lord
saves, I'm not talking about the way people today acquire
religion and make professions and As they say, get saved. But I'm talking about a true
believer in the sense that Abraham was a believer. I'm talking about
a person who knows God. Unchangeably, irrevocably knows
God. Man or woman or young person
who knows God. in saving grace and saving faith,
they know God. As our Lord Jesus said, this
is eternal life, that they might know God, the only true living
God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. And I know that every
person who comes to know God in saving faith does not have
the same experience. They don't have the same experience.
They're not brought at the same age, they're not brought under
the same environment or circumstances. You can just study one chapter
in the Bible and find that out, the 16th chapter of Acts. There
were three people in that 16th chapter with whom God dealt in
saving mercies. There was the Philippian jailer,
There was Lydia by the seashore. There was the crazed, demon-possessed
girl. Now, all three of them, according
to the Scriptures, came to a knowledge of Christ, but under different
circumstances. If they had met later and told
their experience, they'd have had to stick with the person,
and not the and not the things that happen. And that's what
I'm saying, that God brings his people to himself in his own
time, but he brings them to himself. He doesn't bring them to a building
or to domination or to a public profession, necessarily, but
he brings them to himself. He reveals himself in them and
to them. And I know we all don't have
the same experience, but there are some things that we all do
experience. We don't have the same experience,
but we experience the same things. For example, I believe that every
person whom God saves experiences to some degree, some to a greater
degree than others, a genuine sense of sin. And sin, this sense of sin, this
understanding of my sin, is not a doctrine, it's an experience. It's not a point in theology. It is what I feel in my heart,
my sin. Like David said, my sins are
ever before me. My sin. Paul said, O wretched
man that I am. I am. And we know that Christ came
into the world to save sinners, that he died for the ungodly.
So everyone whom God saves experiences a deep sense of sin. And that grows, that intensifies. It's not that we feel like we're
sinners now, and we're saved, and we don't feel like we're
sinners anymore. Actually, I believe this, that
a person whom God really say he has a greater sense of sin
now than he did when God saved him. He has a greater awareness of
sin and a greater awareness of his sins than he did when God
saved him. Now, I know that's contrary to
today's religion, today's theology, and today's stupid preaching,
but it's so anyway. Today's preaching is not worth
the time it takes to listen to it. I don't know when I have
been so disturbed about what's being preached. It's pathetic. It's pathetic. We're in a famine,
my friends. A famine, not of food or drink. We're more prosperous than we've
ever been. But a famine of the Word of God.
There's nobody preaching God's Word. The second thing that every truly
converted person experiences is a sense of his own, as far
as conversion is concerned, inability. Now he does, inability. The disciples
just finally came to this place. They said, well, Lord, who then
can be saved? Who can be saved? And Christ
said, with men it's impossible. Utterly impossible. But with
God, all things are possible. Job and his friends asked the
question over and over and over and over again, how can man be
just with God? How can he be clean that's born
of a woman? We've got it all fixed up. Well,
you walk down an aisle and say the sinner's prayer. Is that
how man is just with God? Well, you turn over a new leaf
and live the best you can. That's the way a man's clean
in the sight of God. The heavens are not clean in
his sight. Behold the moon, the stars, they shine not. How much
more abominable and filthy is man who drinketh iniquity like
water. He talks about being clean by
decision or by a trip down an aisle or by religious profession. There was a great, great preacher
by the name of David Brainerd, years and years ago, one of the
first missionaries to the Indians up in the Northeast, New York,
that area. Died when he was 29 years of
age, of TB. He said that he encountered four
things in regard to God that upset him tremendously. Things
that were true. Number one, the eternal living
God demands perfect obedience. Perfect, perfect obedience. He cannot be satisfied. He can
be satisfied with nothing less than perfection. You're not going
to change that. you that would be under the law.
You don't hear the law. You don't know what the law says.
A man who will be saved by the law is obligated to keep it in
its entirety and in its righteous perfection. God demands it. He demands a perfect righteousness
and obedience to the law of every person whom he saves. David Brainerd
saw secondly that God demanded perfect faith, unwavering Perfect faith. It's got to be. You see, God
can't take our leavings. God can't take imperfection. He can't have it. It's got to
be perfect to be accepted. And then he saw, and he couldn't
produce it. He said, I couldn't produce it.
God demanded perfect obedience and perfect faith. And there
was no way that I could even come close to perdition. And
then he said, I saw thirdly that God could give or withhold faith. That faith's the gift of God.
God can enable me to believe. The centurion knew that. He said,
help my unbelief. The disciples knew that. They
said, Lord, increase our faith. Paul knew that. He said, faith's
the gift of God. God can give faith. There's not
anybody here this morning that God can't save if he's pleased
to. Don't you know that? I hear these preachers talking
on television now, what the Lord's trying to do today. The Lord's
not trying to do anything today. What the Lord wants you to do,
if he wants you to do it, you'll do it. He's going to glorify His justice
or His mercy in every person. God can give faith, David Boehner
said, or withhold it. It's His to give. He said, I'll
show mercy to whom I will show mercy. None can stay my hand
or say unto me, what doest thou? Can I not do with my own what
I will? And David Brainerd saw that God
could save him or pass him by. God could save him or pass him
by. And he said, these four things
flooded in on my soul and confused and angered me. While he said,
I knew they were true. God demands perfection in obedience. And I couldn't produce it. God
demands faith. He requires faith. Perfect faith,
and I couldn't resist it. But I saw He could give it if
He would. And I saw He could save me or
damn me. He could save me or pass me by.
You know that's so? You can't deny any one of those
points and still contend that God is God. Helpless, that's
what we are. Ephesians 2 says, without help,
without hope, without Christ, and without God in this world. And the third thing that every
truly saved person experiences is a strong desire to be saved. A strong desire to be saved.
It's not optional. It's not an indifferent, careless
venture. That's right. He said, Strive to enter in. Strive to enter in. And a man
who enters in will strive to enter in, or he won't enter in.
He's going to make it his primary goal, or he's not going to enter
in. I believe that. Strive to enter
in. For many will seek to enter in when once the master of the
house has risen and shut the door. They'll seek it then. Everybody gets religious when
they get sick. Everybody got excited over those
Nixon characters that got religious when they got in jail. Everybody
gets religious when he gets in jail. That's no new thing. But blessed are those that hunger
and thirst for righteousness. They gonna be filled. It's a
hunger. What, what is, what is the greatest
human yearning or desire? When it all boils down to it,
I know you've got different passions But when it comes down to it,
all the rest of them are forgotten in the light of this one. Hunger
and thirst. Hunger and thirst. That's when
it boils down to it. Hunger and thirst. And that's
what he uses here. He said, blessed are they that
hunger and thirst for righteousness. Righteousness? Whose righteousness? God's righteousness. his perfect
righteousness, the righteousness of Christ. That's what they hunger
and thirst for. That's what they, David said,
like a thirsty deer panteth for the water brooks. Even so, my
soul panteth for thee, the living God. Oh, Paul said that I may
win Christ. This is, this is that, this is
that that entering in. Now, this is it. This is
not just playing religion. Oh, that I may know Him. This
is not just because you've got a crisis or run into a problem. This is that, oh, that I may
win Christ's Spirit that leads to salvation. a strong desire
to be saved, a genuine sense of sin, a sense of my inability,
my helplessness in my hands, no price I bring. Why don't you
bring a price? I don't have one. I don't have
anything to bring. I don't have anything God needs.
I don't have anything God requires. I don't have anything God wants.
I don't have anything to offer. It's reason in my head, no price
I'll bring. If I had anything, I'd bring
it. I don't have anything. Oh, that desire, oh, that I may
win Christ. Let me, let me miss whatever,
but don't let me miss Christ. And then the fourth thing is
what I'm leading up to, that everybody experiences, not who gets religion, but everybody
experiences who comes to know Christ. They literally, personally, willingly,
actually, realistically, I want to make it plain, they come to
Christ. They don't come to a profession,
they don't come to a doctrine, they don't come to a position,
they don't come to a persuasion, they come to a person. They actually
look to Him. They actually, by faith, lay
hold of Him. By faith, like the heart reaching
out, like the hands of the heart reaching out, like the ear of
the heart tuned into Him. Like the arms of the heart embrace
him. They hold him. Now here's the
story. Here's an illustration. Here's
a woman. Here's a woman. We don't even know her name. She's called in Luke's account
somebody. Somebody. But we don't know her
name. No history is given of her. No
further mention is made of her. In the word of God, just one
of many, just one of a multitude, just an insignificant little
old lady. But she was a sick woman, so
very sick, so very long. And it was a draining illness.
Her life was draining out of her. She had a, I don't know
how she lived this long, an issue of blood for twelve years. And she'd been to many positions,
she'd tried everything, she'd spent everything she had, and
wasn't any better. But the glorious thing is, she
heard of Christ. She heard of this person, Jesus
Christ. She heard of His glory. She heard of His words of mercy
and grace. She heard of His power to heal. She heard of His power to restore
that which was lost. She heard of Him. And she said in her heart, if
only I can get to Him, if only I can touch just the
Him, just the clothes he wears, I behold. This is a picture of all of us with that, not only are we diseased,
but we're already dead in trespasses and sin. Away from God, getting no better, We've tried
many things of many positions, and some have spent all they
have, and they're no better. There's no life and rest and
joy and peace and comfort and certainty established. I know whom I have to leave.
I know that my Redeemer liveth. The Lord is my shepherd. Though
He slay me, I'll trust Him. Where is that faith, that confidence,
that boldness? Just wishy-washy religion. Well, that's the woman. Now,
here's the master. He had been across the sea in
the land of the Gadarenes, and he'd healed a fellow that was wild and couldn't
be tamed. You know the story. And they'd
asked him to leave, and so he left their shores and caught
a boat and came over the sea. And he had landed, gotten out
of the boat, and the crowd just surged in upon him. And as the
crowd gathered about him down by the sea, there was a man,
Jairus, Jairus, a wealthy man, a centurion, an important man,
a man from Galilee, over there near Galilee. He came up to him
and he said, Master, he said, my little daughter, is at the point of death, would
you come and heal her?" And the master said, I will. And that
whole contingency turned and started to Galilee. That's where
they were going. They were going to Galilee. They were going down to this
ruler's house to heal his daughter. The master was headed this way,
and all the people and Jairus was right there with him, and
they were going down to heal his daughter. The master wasn't
going to see this sick lady. The master didn't call her name.
The master hadn't mentioned her. He didn't even look her way.
She was around there somewhere. She was that frail, diseased,
dying little creature. insignificant, unknown just to
somebody out there in that mess of folks that believed in Christ. But she believed. She's the only one that outfitted
did, besides Gerardus, I guess. And she was trying to get through
that crowd. So she said, if I can touch him,
I'll be whole. But the master didn't call her
name. He didn't look her way. He didn't speak to her. He didn't
go to see her, as he did the woman at the well, or Zacharias. He was on his way to Galilee. And this woman, by faith, dared
to intrude on him. She dared. Here he goes, the
master's marching. towards Galilee, and this woman
dared, by faith, to reach out and touch him as he went by. You get the picture? The Master's
going to Galilee. He's going to heal Gerasi's daughter. And this little lady in that
crowd, he came by, and she kept getting closer and She reached
out and touched him. He was made whole immediately.
And the Lord stopped. He stopped. And he said, Who
touched my clothes? Who touched my clothes? And the
disciple said, Master, all the people around here at one time
or other have touched you. You ask with all this multitude
pressing about, who touched you? He said, somebody touch me. He knew who somebody was. And it says here, verse 32, and
he looked around to see her that had done this thing. And so she came and told him
all. But what I'm pointing out is this. Though Christ never called her
name, And though Christ did not look her way, and though Christ
did not speak to her, and though he seemed to be on another error
or mission, she dared to intrude and reach out and touch the Lord. Why don't you do that? We want special invitations. We want someone to come to our
home and deliver us a golden, embroidered, or rimmed invitation. We want to be treated something
special. We deserve it. No, that's not
what we deserve. Old Jonathan Edwards, blind Bartimaeus,
Here's another fellow, he was just passing by. Christ was passing
by. And old blind Bartimaeus dared
to intrude on his privacy. He dared, blind Bartimaeus dared
to call out to this mighty one, this ragged, dirty beggar sitting
on the ground, dared to call out to God to do something for
him. Now you think about that. And
you know what? He did something for him. This
little old dried-up dying woman died! Everybody else came to
him and bowed, and Jairus asked him, would you do this, would
you? She didn't ask permission. She reached out and touched him. She just reached out and
grabbed him. Old Jonathan Edwards said this.
Now listen to me. Jonathan Edwards said that the
grand design of God in redemption, the grand design—this is too
big to even think about, let alone talk about—the grand design
of God in redemption is to restore to perfection all the ruins of
the fall. God's going to put it all back
together. The grand design in redemption
is to put an end to all things contrary to God. You thought that the Lord Jesus
Christ just came down here to be your personal Savior? How arrogant can we be? Who are
we? David, King David said, Who am
I? God has a grand design in this
thing. Do you think that God emptied
heaven just to keep you out of hell? The Lord God is marching to greater,
a great, much greater end. And the satisfaction of your
comforts and flesh. He has some grand designs in
this thing of redemption. Thirdly, he's going to honor
his law and his justice. He's going to do that. Almighty
God is going to honor his name and his attributes. He's going
to do it. Whether you're in hell or heaven,
he's going to do it, or I. And he's going to exalt his son. He has determined that Christ
should have a name above every name. He has determined that
in all things Christ might have preeminence. And fifthly, He's
going to gather together an obedient, loving, elect people who don't
play games, who bow and worship. Who do we think we are? The average preacher's around
here making a valet out of God, a beggar out of God, a servant
out of God. He's not your servant. You're
his servant. You are the means to glorify
him in whatever way he chooses. Pharaoh glorified him by being
dumped in the river. Judas glorified him by betraying
his Lord. Peter glorified him by ministering
the gospel. But the grand design of God is
a heap beggar than just letting you and mama shake hands in glory. That's about the biggest conception
we have. of God's grand design and redemption. Let me stand at Mama's grave
when Jesus comes." Who are you and who is Mama? You see how ridiculous we are? We, God said, you thought I was
altogether such a one as yourself. You're just one of many millions,
a speck, a dot, on the universe, a grain of sand. Christ is all. I know God's just sitting up
there in heaven wondering what I'm going to do with Jesus. You
reckon He is now? We give the impression to these
rebels around here that God's just not going to hardly make
it without them. They go around knocking on their
doors and trying to stick tracts in their hands and badging them
and button-holing them and bothering them and coercing them and all
that. God will get along without you.
I believe He will. I don't think it will be very
difficult. I mean, His grand design, I tell you, is to put
everything back together again. in the universe to make a new
heaven and a new earth. How vast is the heavens! To put
an end to everything contrary to Himself, and to last any minute
He destroys is death. And to honor, eternally honor
His law and His justice as only His Son could do. And to exalt
and magnify and glorify the name of Christ, and to gather together
and elect people. And Christ is marching toward
that goal uninterrupted. From the time He was the Lamb
slain before the foundation of the world, by His grace He marches
triumphantly toward that glorious day of eternal glory. And as He passes by, is there some poor, diseased,
weak sinner who believes that in him is all
virtue, power, and glory, who will reach out and touch him."
Huh? That's what she did. That's what
she did. See, that's what this woman did.
She didn't sit back and say, well, I want a personal invitation. She didn't sit back in her home
and say, well, I want him to come and see me. Or maybe I want to hurt a little
longer. No, sir. No, sir." She made her way out
there where he was passing by, going down to Galilee, and she
said, if I can just touch his clothes, I'll be made whole. I just love that. She just called
through the press. She reached out as he went by
and she just grabbed the corner of his robe. That's faith, isn't
it? And you know what happened? The
Lord stopped like He did when Bartimaeus cried. You know, I'm
not foolish enough to think that heaven will suffer any loss if
I'm not saved, but I will. Oh, I will. I'm not foolish enough
to think that God needs me, but I need Him. I'm not foolish enough to think
that the Son of God should come to my door, but I should go to
His. Shouldn't I? And reach out. And perhaps, perhaps,
as He passes by, marching triumphantly on His way, and crosses my path
in His grace and mercy, just comes by my way. And He passes by in the Word,
in the power of His Spirit, that I may reach out and touch Him.
Here's an interesting thing. What was the point of contact
between this Master, the Master, the great master, the great God. What was the point of contact
between her, between him and her? What was her interest in
him? What was it that brought these
two together? Well, it was her sickness. It
wasn't her beauty, it was her ugliness. It wasn't her strength,
it was her weakness. It wasn't her health, it was
her disease. It wasn't Her riches, it was
her poverty. It wasn't her ability, it was
her inability. The very thing that we try to
hide in us is the very thing that makes us candidates for
His grace. We would try to hide our evil.
We would try to display all the good we can before men and God. in order to claim his acceptance.
Somebody said, Alas for our folly, it is not our goodness that links
us to Christ, but our sin. It is sin he came to forgive,
it is sinners he came to save, it is the guilty he came to receive. Come ye sinners, poor and needy,
weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready, stands to save you,
full of pity, love and power. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor fitness fondly dream. Oh, the fitness He required just
to fill your need of Him. I tell you this, in our Lord's
triumphant march to eternal glory and the restoration of all things,
for His eternal praise and glory, Intruders who need him and can't
do without him are welcome to touch him. They're welcome. And I'll give you this reason.
I'll quit. Why does the Lord Jesus Christ
so freely welcome sinners? Why is the Lord Jesus so glorified
in showing mercy to sinners? What do you say? Let me ask you
this. You say, where would the earth be without the sun? Why, we'd be done for, wouldn't
we? Now, wait a minute. What would
the sun be without the earth? It'd be wasted, wouldn't it? It's shining veins. Where would the audience be without
the speaker? Now, wait a minute, where would
the speaker be without the audience? You say, where would the sick
be if we didn't have doctors? Well, where would the doctor
be if he didn't have any sick folk? He needs them. And so I'm saying that Christ
is not simply glorified by being loved. He's glorified by showing
it. Our Lord is not glorified simply
in having grace. He's glorified in being gracious. Did you know that? That's just
great. Moses says, show me a glory.
He said, I'll show you my glory. It's my goodness. I'll be gracious. The Lord Jesus is not glorified
simply in dying, but his great glory is dying for sinners. So I say this to you, he may
not be on his way to your house, he may not be on his way to your
bedside, maybe he's on his way to somebody else's house, but
if he passes by, you can touch him. catch it? That's what this woman did. You
can touch him. And you'll find the same response
that she found. He stopped. And he said, your
faith hath made you whole. For it's Christ that makes sinners
whole. Reach out and touch the Lord.
Why don't we sing that for our closing, our closing song, Reach
Out and touch the Lord as He passes
by. You'll find He's not too busy
to hear your hearts cry. He's passing by this moment.
Your need's to supply. Reach out and touch the Lord.