I'm going to try to speak from
my heart to you this morning in a very plain and simple, and
yet I trust forceful manner, on the subject, the two-fold
message of evangelism. I wish that I had in my audience
today every professing religionist and every preacher in this land
of ours. I'd like to have their ear for
just a moment. If I had the ear of every preacher,
of every religionist, every deacon, elder, Sunday school teacher,
choir member, every church officer, I would turn to Isaiah chapter
40, and I would read verses 6 through 9. I want to read it to you.
If you will, take your Bible, open it there before you, and
listen carefully as I speak to you on this subject, the two-fold
message of evangelism. The voice said, Cry, and I said,
What shall I cry? The voice said, Preach, and I
said, What shall I preach? That's a good question, isn't
it? Here's the answer. All flesh
is grass, and all the glory thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. Surely
the people is grass. Lift up your voice, lift it up,
and be not afraid, and say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your
God." My friends, the most humbling and challenging thing that I
face today, and I speak from my heart, God is my witness. The great concern of my heart,
and I believe it's the concern of your heart, at least some
of you, is that our generation experience a return to the preaching
of the gospel. That's the great concern of my
heart, that my generation experience a return to the preaching of
God's grace and God's glory in Jesus Christ. Today, we are plagued
with a gospel of works. You know it and I know it. Today
we're playing with a gospel of self-righteousness. Everybody's
bragging about his religion, his works, his merit. Today we're
hearing, you know what we're hearing? Paul said we're hearing
another gospel, which is not another. He said it's not another
gospel at all. There is no other gospel. There's
but one gospel. But what we're hearing is a perversion,
a twisting of the gospel of God Almighty. And Paul said, if any
man preach any other gospel, I don't care, he said, if it's
an angel from heaven, if any man preach any other gospel,
let him be accursed. My concern, the burden of my
heart, I'd like to hear somebody today preaching the gospel. I believe some of you would.
Like a man said to me not long ago, I'm tired of fun and games. I'm tired of entertainment in
the churches. I'm tired of all the singing,
the programs, the pep and the promotion. I'd sure like to hear
somebody preach Christ. Wouldn't you? We have an abundance
of church buildings. There are church buildings on
every corner. There's a community, a community in Ashland. where
you can stand at one point and see four churches, all of the
same denomination. All of the same, four churches,
all of the same denomination. We have the farm and the ceremony. We have the religious programs
on television and radio on Sunday from midnight to midnight. You can hear some kind of preaching. We have all of these things.
We have preachers everywhere. There are preachers everywhere.
There's a preacher for every hundred people in our community.
But one thing is missing. We have the buildings, we have
the forum, we have the ceremony, we have the preachers, but there
is no real message. There's no word from God. Amos
chapter 8 verse 11 describes our day. Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord God. When I will send a famine in
the land, Not a famine of bread, not a thirst for water, but a
famine of hearing the Word of God. That's where we are. We're
in the midst of a dry and miserable wasteland as far as preaching
is concerned. We're in that day. Men are preaching
about God, but they're not telling the truth about God. Men are
using the name of Christ, but they're not telling the truth
about Christ. Men are preaching salvation,
but they're not preaching the truth about salvation. And my
friends, I warn you, I sound a clear note. This generation
will perish with all of its form and ceremony and religion if
there's not soon a return to preaching the Word of God. If
there's not a return to that message, which God Almighty used
in other days to make his power and majesty known. We've got
to have a return. If anybody's going to know, if
anybody's going to behold, if anybody's going to understand
anything about the living God, we're going to have to go back
to preaching his word and quit entertaining men on their road
to hell. We're going to have to return
to that message if anybody is ever awakened to his need, to
his sin, to his inability, and made to cry, God, be merciful
to me. We're going to have to have a
return to that message if we see the redemptive glory of Jesus
Christ. About all Jesus Christ is to
the average person is either a superstar or somebody up there
who likes me or a sweet little Jesus boy or a poor little Jesus
boy. or a failing example or a frustrated
reformer or a defeated martyr. He's not the King of Kings and
Lord of Lords. We sing songs like all hail the
power of Jesus' name. Let angels prostrate Paul, bring
forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all." And then our
preacher gets up and asks, won't you please let Jesus do this?
And won't you please let Jesus do that? And sweet little, poor
little Jesus, boy, won't somebody have pity on Jesus? You won't
take him for a dollar, I'll give him to you for a quarter. But
Jesus is in such a pitiful condition, up there leaning over the banister's
head and crying his eyes out because people won't let him
have his way. Where is this all hail the power of Jesus' name
that we've been singing about? We're going to have to have a
return to this message if the proud Pharisee's heart is humble
before God. We're going to have to have a
return to this message of grace and glory for the guilty and
mercy for the miserable If any sinner is going to have any hope
of redemption, the only hope that the chief of sinners can
ever have is in the grace of God through Jesus Christ with
a power to save. I'll tell you a verse of scripture
that sums up this generation, ever learning, ever learning,
ever learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth.
Having a form, here's another one, having a form of godliness,
having a form of piety, having a form of religion, but denying
the power thereof, denying the power of God, denying the power
of the Spirit, denying the power of his blood, denying the power
of his grace, denying the power and efficacy of his sin offering. If I could have all the preachers
in this land listening to my voice today, I'd ask the question,
is there not a prophet in the land? Is there not somewhere
a man who loves Christ more than he loves his belly? Is there
not a man somewhere who loves Christ more than he does the
praise of men? Is there not somewhere in our
land a man who loves Jesus Christ and his word more than he loves
promotion? prestige, possessions, yea, even
mother, father, husband, wife, brother, sister, or his own life
also. If there is, God might use him. I'd ask, is there not a prophet
whose ear is tuned to God and not to the voice of his heroes? Is there not a man whose ear
is tuned to God and not to the voice of his chairman of the
board of beacons or his woman's missionary society? or what the
people want to hear. He said, in the last days they'll
heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. Both the people
and the preacher has itching ears. And they'll turn away their
ears from the truth and be turned to fables. I would ask, is there
not in this land a prophet who fears none but God? Who fears
losing his soul more than losing his job. Is there such a man?
Who fears losing his soul and not his church? Is there not
in this land a prophet who dares to speak where God speaks, and
be silent where God is silent? Is there not a man in this land
who is not promoting, but who desires to preach, just preach
the word of God? Whatever men think, whatever
men say, However, men respond. Paul said, if I please men, I
know one thing, I am not the servant of Jesus Christ. If such
a man can be found, like Isaiah of old, or John the Baptist of
old, then, when he preaches, the glory of God will once again
be revealed. Wouldn't that be something? To
behold the glory of God? Men will once again sense the
awesomeness presence of the Living God. That God about whom David
wrote when he said, as that thirsty deer panteth for the water brooks,
so panteth my soul for thee, the Living God. Wouldn't that
be something? To feel in our congregations,
not just the whoopee spirit of happiness, but the awesome, awful
presence of God Almighty. where men are broken under his
power, visitation of his presence and his spirit. Wouldn't that
be something? When men worshiped God. When men prayed and we could
feel the power of the Spirit. When people sang and you could
feel the rejoicing of the heart. When the preacher preached and
you could know that God's speaking, not a man, God's speaking. And
we'd go away from that place saying, not we sure had a good
crowd today, didn't we? Didn't the choir sing pretty?
Did you notice what Sister So-and-so was wearing? How many do you
have in your class? We'd go away from that place
saying, didn't our hearts burn within us as he spake to us in
the way? Huh? Wouldn't that be something?
And not only that, but if we could find such a man, the good
news of redemption would once again be heard. God said in Isaiah
40, comfort ye my people. Speak peaceably to my people.
Their iniquity is pardoned. Good news! We'd hear good news!
And our hearts would rejoice. Sinners would have hope. Sinners
would have some help. Sinners would have some confidence.
Sinners would have some comfort. Huh? God would be the proud voice
of the self-righteous Pharisee who stands in the church and
talks about what he gave up for Jesus. talks about how he tithed
and fasted and read his Bible and gave alms to the poor, God
would be the proud, haughty voice of the Pharisee who brags on
himself and tells God how good he is. That's about all the average
testimony meeting is, is some proud Pharisee bragging on himself
and telling God how good he is and hoping the people will believe
him. And gone will be the voice of
the Holy Spirit who stands in the pew and debates whether or
not he'll accept Jesus. Debates whether or not he'll
let God in his heart. But all is ringing from that
pulpit once again is the solemn and sacred and holy message of
God's grace and glory in Christ Jesus. It may be that once again
instead of the soul winners pressing up and down the aisle trying
to get somebody to decide for poor little Jesus, instead of
the church trying to have a record attendance and get more baptisms
in the church down the road, it may be that if that message
is once again preached, we may hear the cry of a broken heart
somewhere in our congregation that will ascend to heaven and
say, depth of mercy, can there be? mercy still reserved for
me. Can my God his wrath forbear,
and me the chief of sinners spare? Do you reckon, do you reckon
there's any hope for me?" No, we're asking the sinner,
will you let Jesus save you? Will you let God redeem you?
Will you let us baptize you? Will you be one of the bunch?
And the sinners at Pentecost cried, sirs, what must we do? They were calling on the preachers.
The preachers weren't calling on them. They were crying out
for help, for mercy. The preachers weren't crying
out to them. It may be once again we'll hear
men say, can it be? Can it be? Can it be that there's
mercy still reserved for me? Can it be? that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood. Died he for me who him to death
pursued. I tell you this, if such a man
can be found somewhere in the land, let him know this, there's
not much prospect as to pay, possessions, promotion, or prestige. Not much. He will feel the wrath
of Satan, the love of God, but the wrath of Satan. He'll feel
the loneliness of non-conformity. His chief enemies will be other
preachers. His chief enemies will be the
religionists. Is that not so of every prophet
in the Bible? Who despised and hated and crucified
our Lord? Religious leaders. Who hounded
Paul from city to city? Religious leaders. Who martyred
every disciple with the exception of John? Religious leaders. Who
shed more blood than all the armies of the world combined?
Religious leaders and the churches of our day. Read your history
books. That man will feel the wrath
of Satan and the loneliness of nonconformity, but I tell you
this, while there's not much prospect as to pay promotion,
possessions of prestige, great is his reward in heaven, for
so persecuted they the prophets which were before him." I'll
tell you two happy notes I can sound. When God raises up a prophet,
number one, he gives him the promise of his presence. I'll
be with you. I'll never leave you nor forsake
you. My grace is sufficient. You're never alone. He promises
in that. He said, I'll be with you. Every
time God raises up a prophet, he says, I'll be with you. The
Lord is his portion. The Lord is his strength. The
Lord is his life. And the Lord will never leave
him alone. I'll never leave you alone. That soul that on Jesus
hath leaned for repose, I'll never, no never, no never, no
never forsake. That's a promise. But secondly,
he'll give him a message. I guarantee those two things. Thus saith the Lord God. If God
raises up a prophet, he'll promise his presence and he'll give him
a message. Prepare you the way of the Lord.
That's what he'll tell him. He'll tell him, speak to my people.
The mouth of the Lord shall speak through you. Cry aloud. Lift
up your voice. I'll give you my message to take
to my people. And here in our text, old John
the Baptist was such a man. Out in the wilderness, they said,
who are you? He said, I'm a voice. Aren't you somebody famous? No, I'm just a voice. What are
you doing out here? I'm crying, preparing you the
way of the Lord. God gave me a message. I'm not
alone. God gave me a message. God's
with me. Well, John the Baptist here in Isaiah 40, God said,
you go cry, lift up your voice, stand upon the mountain, shout
the good news. And I said, well, what shall
I cry? What shall I cry? He said, cry two things. Cry
aloud. Don't be afraid. Lift up your
voice. What shall I cry? You have it here. All flesh is
grass. All flesh is grass. That's what
he said. All the glory of man is as the flower of the field.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of
God blows upon it. And then the second part of that
message is, behold your God. Behold your God. That's our message.
That's the twofold message. Not speculation. It's true. All flesh is grass, and behold
your God. Now, here's the first lesson
to learn. Here's the first part of our message. All flesh is
grass. Job learned it. Job learned it. He said, Lord, I've heard of
you. I've heard of you. Now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore
I hate myself. I repent in sackcloth and ashes.
Isaiah learned it. He said, I saw the Lord and I
cried, who woes me? I'm undone, a man of unclean
lips. I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips. David learned it. He said, my
sins are ever before me against thee, and thee only have I sinned
and done this evil in thy sight. Saul of Tarsus learned it. He
said, when the law came, I died. I died. I found out none good,
no not one, none that understandeth, none righteous, no not one. A
man will never be found till he's lost. Never, never. A man
will never receive grace till he's guilty. That's where we
start. A man will never be raised till he's dead. slain by the
law. A man let be clothed with the
righteousness of Jesus Christ till the Holy Ghost has stripped
him naked of his own righteousness." You watch it now. All flesh is
grass. All, A-double-L. What does that
mean? That means just this, all that
pertains to the flesh. is grass. There's nothing as
worthless as withered grass. It's not fit for anything. It's
fit for one thing, and that's burning. You can't use it for
anything. You can use a dead log to burn
and get heat, but grass, dead, withered grass is fit for nothing
but the furnace. And that's what he's saying about
flesh. All flesh is grass. There's nothing as worthless
as a withered old flower. There's nothing but one thing
to do with a withered old flower, and that's throw it in the garbage.
It's not good for anything. And that's what he says about
our glory. All flesh, all of it, is grass. All of man's goodness
is as the flower of the field. In my flesh dwelleth no good
thing. In the flesh no man can please
God. Nothing about our flesh is good,
even our righteousnesses are filthy rags. Now, my friends,
This is viewing flesh in the light of God's holiness and God's
righteousness. When you say, he's a good man,
and we say that all the time, she's a good woman, what do you
mean? What do you mean by that? The
Word of God plainly says there's none good, nor not one. And yet
we say that all the time. He's a good boy. She's a good
girl. What do you mean by that? Well,
now, if you mean this, I agree with you. If you mean this, if
you mean that she's a good woman compared with other women, or
more wicked women, it's okay, I'll buy that. He's a good man. If you mean by that that he's
good compared to the murderers in prison, compared to these
tin horn dictators that are leading nations into war, compared to
the thieves, yes, I'll buy that. He's a good man. You're correct.
But my friend, We're not judged by others, nor by the standards
of man. We're judged by God's holiness.
And if you're saying that he's a good man compared to God, you're
wrong. There's none good, no not one.
And what is the standard of judgment? What is the rule by which we're
measured? God's holiness. God's perfect
law. God Almighty's perfect justice.
God is love. Absolute, unchangeable, infinite
love. We don't have that. God is light. We live in darkness. God is truth.
We don't tell the truth. All men are liars to some degree.
You've lied today. Yes, you haven't told the whole,
complete, absolute truth today. That means you're a liar. And
to sin in one point is to be guilty of the whole law. For
God to fall short of the absolute, ultimate glory of God is to be
a sinner. So when we say he's a good man
compared to men, that's all right. But if you mean by that that
there's any goodness in him spiritually, you're dead wrong. God said there's
none good, no, not one. None of us are as evil as we
can be. None of us are as evil as we
can be, and none of us are as holy as God. So that means all
of us are under the judgment and wrath of God. All flesh,
all flesh is grace. All the goodness of man, when
the Spirit of God blows on this flesh, when the light of God's
holiness shines on this flesh, when the Word, the perfect Word
of God exposes this flesh, when the law of God touches this flesh,
it's seen for what it is, dead, withered, rotten, corrupt flesh,
and it cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Then and then only, if
we preach that, if somebody will preach that, and tell the truth
about me and women. Then we'll hear people cry, God
be merciful to me a sinner. Then we'll hear them cry like
David of old, purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Then we'll
hear them cry, how can man be clean that's born of a woman?
How can he be just and justify? How can man be just with God?
All confidence in the flesh will be swept away. There is nowhere
to look, no one to trust, no hope, no help, without strength.
Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble. We don't hear
sinners cry because we're not telling sinners the truth about
themselves. There's nobody lost. There's nobody a sinner. A sinner
is a sacred thing, the Holy Ghost that made him so. Find a sinner.
Can you find a sinner? Hard to find. Hard to find. And the reason is that we've
never examined ourselves in the light of His holiness, His word,
His law, and His truth. Here's the second part of this
message. He said, Behold your God. If you can ever get men
lost, then you can tell them this second part. Behold your
God. You can cry, Behold your God. Not the God of your imagination.
Not the God of your denomination. Not the God of your religious
form and ceremony. Not the gods of this world or
the idols of men. Behold the living God. The living God. He's revealed
in the heavens. The heavens declare the glory
of God, the firmament showeth his handiwork. He's revealed
in his word to him give all the prophets witness, but chiefly
he's revealed in his Son. They said, show us the Father.
And he said, he that has seen me has seen the Father. He's
revealed in his Son. He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. Yes, his eternal glory is seen
in creation, but his redemptive glory is seen in Jesus Christ. As you behold your God in Christ,
you will see all his fullness and all his grace. Simeon. When
they put the child Jesus in his arms, that old man saw the redemptive
glory of God. And he lifted his eyes to heaven
and he said, Lord, now let your servant depart in peace. Mine
eyes have seen thy salvation. Behold your God. Behold him how? Let me give you, in closing,
five things. If a man ever gets lost, if we
ever find a sinner, if any man's ever shut up to Christ, If any
man ever has revealed to him the hopelessness and helplessness
and inability of this grassy, faded flower flesh, fit for the
burning, worthy of damnation, and he sees the judgment and
wrath of God upon all flesh, it may be somebody will lift
his eyes in the right direction and quit looking to the pulpit,
or looking to the pew, or looking to the soul winner, or looking
in his own heart and start looking to Christ. And if he does, he'll
see covenant mercies in Christ, the Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world. He'll see every promise and prophecy
of the Old Testament fulfilled in Christ. He'll see God's righteousness
and holiness fulfilled in Christ, his law honored, his justice
satisfied. He'll see all of his elect redeemed,
received, accepted in Christ. He'll see the King reigning in
glory. and coming his reward with him. Behold your God.