Now, there are three basic reasons for preaching. There are thousands of reasons
for preaching, but there are three basic, fundamental reasons
for preaching. Number one, we preach for the
glory of God. That's the first reason for anything
that we do. Whatever we do in word or deed,
we do it for the glory of God. If Martha and Kelly cannot play
the instruments for the glory of God, they should let somebody
else play them. If Mike and Shirley and the trio
and the quartet cannot sing for the glory of God, if they sing
to be seen of men, even to exercise their gifts, to receive attention,
or to have someone say it was a pretty song. You better get
down and let somebody else sing who can sing for the glory of
God. God won't bless it otherwise. He will not bless it. He said
no flesh is going to glory in my presence. And you young men
who preach, if you've got any motive, if you've got the motive
to being a pastor or a preacher because you like to be in front
of the public, God have mercy on your soul. You better be in
jail before the jailers or before the court. If you've got any
other motive for preaching other than the glory of God, because
you feel like you're intelligent and wise and like to lead people,
because you think it's an easy life, because you want to live
in a pastorium, because you want to play golf every Monday, you'd
better find you another job. If we cannot preach for the glory
of God, let's close our mouths. We cannot seek his glory, his
glory. And the second reason for preaching
is the conversion and the growth and the edification and instruction
of his sheep. That's right. I'm on the trail
of God's sheep. That's secondly. I'm preaching
for the glory of God. But I'm looking for some sheep.
God's got some sheep out there. I'll show you that in the Word
of God. Turn to Acts 18. Acts 18. Our Lord was looking
for his sheep. Over there when he spoke of Zacchaeus,
he said, he also is the son of Abraham. I must bring him because
he's the son of Abraham. Other sheep I have which are
not of this foal, them I must bring. All that my Father giveth
me will come to me. They said, if you be the Christ,
tell us plainly. He said, I told you, but you
didn't believe me because you're not of my sheep. My sheep will
hear my voice. In Acts 18, verse 9, Paul was
being persecuted and about to leave town. And the Lord spake
to him in the night by vision and said, Paul, don't be afraid,
don't be afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace. I'm with
you. No man shall set on thee to hurt
thee, for I have much people in this city. They're going to
have to hear a preacher, a courageous, bold, honest preacher, not a
promoter, a preacher, not an organizer, a preacher. They're
going to have to hear my servant. God speaks to people by men.
You're not your own pastor. You're not your own preacher.
Some may think they are. But God will speak to you through
a man, or you won't hear God at all. He speaks through his
word, that's true. But he's raised up pastors and
teachers by the edification of the church. And he says, you
stay there, I've got some folks there. And Paul stayed there
for a year and six months, 18 months, and God saved many people.
Turn to 2 Timothy 2. I know a lot of people go to
hear a preacher, and they take what they want and leave the
rest. They take what they already believe. They take what they
agree with. They take what they want to do. They go to the pastor
and say, Pastor, I want you to counsel me. Don't waste your
time. They're going to do what they want to do. Now, if you
fit in with what they have already decided, that will be fine. But
if you don't, then they're their own pastor anyway. They're their
own leader anyway. They're not going to pay attention
to God's man. I found that out. They're not going to listen to
you. That's the reason I went out of the counseling business
and just went into preaching business, because they're not
going to do what you say. 2 Timothy 2, verse 10, Paul said, I endure
all things for the elect's sake, that they also may obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Paul
was going through persecution and trial and problems and all
sorts of suffering. And he said, I endure it, I endure
it for the sake of God's elect out there, because they've got
to hear the gospel. They've got to hear the gospel.
And I'm going to take the gospel to them. And also their growth. You see, we preach the gospel
for the glory of God. But we preach the gospel for
the conversion of God's people and for their growth, for their
instruction and for their edification. He said for us to desire the
sincere milk of the word that we may grow thereby. We grow
on the word. That's how we grow on the word
of God. As the word of God is preached, we grow. Sanctify them
through thy word. Thy word is truth. Wherewithal
shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed to the word
of God. The word of God. So that's the
second reason why we preach. We preach for the glory of God.
Whether any man is converted, we preach for the glory of God.
Noah preached for the glory of God. Every man who's ever preached,
preached for the glory of God, if he truly preached the gospel.
And we preach for the conversion of God's sheep. They'll be converted
and for the edification of God's sheep. My sheep will hear my
voice. And they'll hear the voice of my under-shepherd. You know
what John said? Now listen to this. He that is
of God, heareth us. Now what did he say? He that
is of God. You, therefore, hear us not,
because you're not of God. You say, you mean just hear any
fellow? I didn't say that. John said us. True ministers
of the gospel, true preachers of the gospel who are preaching
the truth of the gospel. God's sheep will hear us. He
that is of God, heareth us. You hear us not, he said, because
you're not of God. The minister preaches for the
conversion of God's sheep, but we're living in tragic days.
And that's when people have become their own pastors, their own
preachers, their own teachers, their own dividers of the scripture. They don't need anyone else.
And then thirdly, we preach for the third reason, to fulfill
our responsibility to all men. Our Lord gathered his disciples
around him before he ascended back to the Father and he said
this, you go into all the world, all authority is given unto me
in heaven and earth, you go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature. You go preach the gospel to every
creature. We have a commandment and we have a commission to preach
the gospel to everybody who will give us a hearing, everybody
who will listen to us. Preach the gospel to them. Turn
to Ezekiel, just a moment, Ezekiel chapter 33. In Ezekiel 33, verse
7 and 8, we've got a heavy responsibility to preach the gospel to every
creature. You say, why not preach just to the elect? We don't know
who they are. There's no way in the world to determine who
the elect are. Only God knows who they are.
Only Christ knows who they are. Only the Holy Spirit, who quickens
and regenerates, knows who they are. We preach to every creature.
In Ezekiel 33, verse 7, he said, Son of man, I have set thee a
watchman unto the house of Israel, therefore thou shalt hear the
word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say to the wicked,
O wicked man, thou shalt surely die. If you don't speak to warn
him, and he dies in his sins, I require his blood at your hand.
I've told you to warn him. I've given you a commission.
I've sent you forth. Turn to Acts 20. Listen to Paul. Paul
is about to depart. from these men. He said, My face
you will see no more. He was going to Jerusalem. He
knew that he would be killed. He was leaving them. And he says
here in verse 26, Wherefore I take you to record, that I am pure
from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned or declared
unto you all the counsel of God. Acts 20, verse 26 and 27. I've
warned every one of you. Now that to me are the three
basic reasons for preaching. It's what puts me in the pulpit,
the call of God and these three reasons, to preach for the glory
of God, to declare to this generation the truth of our Lord, to declare
his word, his gospel for his glory, whether men believe it
or don't believe it. And secondly, I want to see The sheep of Christ
come to Christ and I want to see them come to Christ and grow
in Christ and develop and enjoy his presence and his power and
enjoy his blessings and privileges. I want to teach them. I want
to instruct them from the word of God. I want to be God's pastor
teacher. And I'm going to find some people
who will listen and who will do what the scripture says. And
they will. His sheep will. They don't follow
their own ways and their own thoughts and their own decisions,
they seek God's will and God's way, and they follow God's will
and God's way. And I would tell you this, I'd
be careful about putting out fleeces, too. This is the fleece
right here. You're caught in disaster when
you say, now, I'll do a certain thing if God does this. You're
caught in disaster. You do what he says in his word. If the word's clear, you don't
need any fleece, you don't need any dew on any sheepskin. You
don't need any sign. They said, show us a sign. He
said, no sign will be given but the word of God. You know what
he said, Joe? The word. No sign. This sinful and adulterous
generation seeketh a sign, a sign, a sign. No sign will be given
but Jonah. And that's the scripture. If
Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish,
so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth. The scripture. That's all a believer needs anyway.
He doesn't need any healing, he doesn't need any signs, he
doesn't need any wet fleeces, he just needs God to say, come
ye apart and be separate and touch not the unclean things.
That's all he needs, God's Word. All right? Now there are three
basic truths. which must be dealt with when
we preach. Three basic truths. Now I'm saying
there are thousands of reasons for preaching. Thousands. God called me, God gave me a
love for the gospel and I love to preach it, and on and on and
on. God blesses it, but we preach
for the glory of God, for the conversion of his sheep, and
to fulfill our responsibility to all men. Now there are three
basic truths which we declare, which we deal with in our messages.
And Roland Hill and Charles Spurgeon both agreed on this, that any
sermon, any sermon that does not contain these three R's ought
never be preached. Any sermon, what the three R's,
here they are. And this is the three basic truths
on which our hope is built. Ruined by the false. Ruined by
the false. There's no way that you can help
a sinner unless you understand his need and unless he understands
his need. There's no way. Take a physician
now. Here's a doctor in his office.
And a man comes to him who wants some help. And our Lord said,
the well do not need a physician. The well do not seek out a doctor.
But there's one thing the doctor has to do before he does anything.
He's got to diagnose the case. Now, he just can't go to the
chef and throw a pill out and say, take that, son. He's got
to find out what son's problem is. He's got to know what it
is. And if he can't find it out,
he can't help him. There's no way he can help him.
He's got to know his problem. And you might as well get out
of the pulpit if you don't know the sinner's needs. And the best
way you can know the sinner's need is to have a realty in the
word and experience it in your heart. You see what I'm saying? I know your need because I sit
where you sat. And I was taken from the same
flesh in the same pit. You cannot help a sinner if you
don't understand his need. And I'll tell you the next thing
that's got to be, just use a doctor again. That man comes and he's
got a certain problem. The doctor knows what it is.
And he diagnoses the case. He knows the seriousness of it.
But he'll never help that man until that man knows the seriousness
of it. And takes seriously what the doctor says. He's not going
to help him. If the doctor says, son, you've got a heart condition.
that's going to kill you in six weeks. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. And
I want you to do certain things, I want you to take certain things.
You know, he's not going to pay attention. He's going on out
and do whatever he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it, and
pay no attention, and he's dead. You see what I'm saying? That
man's got to understand his need. The same thing, if you come to
me as a minister, and I don't understand your need, I can't
minister to you. But if I can't make you understand
your need, you're not going to seek Christ with all your heart.
You're not going to take the medicine that I prescribe. You're
not going to take the counsel that I present. You're not going
to take the gospel that I preach until you're convinced. You're
in trouble. I'm in trouble. I'm in trouble. What is a sinner? What is a sinner? Ruined by the fall. What is a
sinner? Well, first of all, a sinner is a son of Adam. That's where
sin started. That's the first thing. If you're
going to define sin, you define it this way. A sinner is a son
of Adam. That's where it all started.
As in Adam, all died. By one man's disobedience, death,
judgment, and condemnation passed upon all men. By one man's disobedience,
we were made sinners. When you go to defining sin,
when you make an effort to define sin, you've got to go back to
Adam. You can't just say, well, a fellow stole a nickel, he's
a sinner. Tommy Rock, why'd he steal the nickel? You've got
to go back to Adam. You've got to find out where
it started. You've got to get the source of it before you can define
the problem. So a sinner, first of all, is
a son of Adam. He's identified with Adam. He's
associated with Adam. He's represented by Adam. He
has sin imputed unto him by Adam and imparted unto him by his
relationship with Adam. That's where it started. That's
where the wrath of God fell upon the world. upon mankind in the
garden. That's where it starts. So I'm
a sinner because I'm a son of Adam, Romans 5, 12 through 19. Secondly, what is a sinner? He's
a transgressor of the law. He's a transgressor himself of
the law. What the law saith, it saith
to them that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world become guilty, guilty, guilty before God. I am a transgressor of the law.
I've broken God's law. God said for me to love Him with
all my heart, and I haven't done it. God said for me to love my
neighbors as myself, and I haven't done it. God Almighty says this,
that, and the other, and I haven't done it. God Almighty says think
on that which is pure and holy and lovely, and I haven't done
it. God Almighty set forth some laws, and I was born under those
laws, and I live under those laws, and I've ridiculed and
rebelled against those laws, and you have too. Well, we still
haven't identified a sinner. We still haven't defined a sinner
all the way. A sinner in the scriptural sense,
let me say this to you and you think it over. God's going to
save every sinner. Christ came to the world to save
sinners. Christ died for sinners. He's
going to save every sinner. You say, well, everybody's a
sinner. Are they? Ask them. Ask them. No, they won't identify
themselves. They will not admit to being
sinners. So a sinner, thirdly, is not only a man who's identified
with Adam. All have sinned. All have sinned
and come short of God's glory. But all are not sinners in the
scriptural sense. A sinner is identified with Adam
in the fall. He's a transgressor of the law
and he knows it. And he knows it. That's a sinner
in the scriptural sense. He knows it. Some of you out
there are not sinners. No, sir. No, sir. You will not. Not a bona fide
sinner. Not a genuine, self-confessed,
unadulterated sinner. Just a plain old, hell-deserving,
ill-deserving, undeserving, rotten, son-of-Adam sinner. Are you now
really? Well, you know, you put it that
way, I don't know. You know, I'm not the worst fellow
in the world. Well, who is? Well, so-and-so
is. You're not a sinner. You've got
somebody worse than you are. Paul said, I'm the chief of sinners.
You're not a sinner in a scriptural sense yet, and consequently you're
not saved, because Christ died for sinners. Our Lord is going
to say, he never lost me. Ever lost me. Find me a lost
man, I'll find you a man God's going to save." He came to seek
and to save lost people. That's so. Most people aren't
lost. A sinner is a son of Adam, a
sinner is a transgressor of the law, a sinner in the scriptural
sense of the word knows it and admits it. If we say we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves. If we confess our sin, he's faithful
and just to forgive. Here's the second thing that
every sermon ought to contain. Not only ruin by the fall, but
righteousness. Righteousness and redemption
by Christ. Righteousness. There's none righteous. No, not one. There are many who
claim to be righteous. There are many who go about seeking
a righteousness. There are many who try to establish
a righteousness, but if you come down to it, none righteous. No, not one. And that's what
this Bible is all about. It's about God's righteousness
in Christ. That's what it's about from Genesis
to Revelation. It's about God's righteousness
in Christ. It's about God Almighty's redemption
in Christ. The Bible is a book of redemption.
Turn to Luke 24 just a moment. Our Lord summed it up right here.
In Luke 24, verse 44, he said unto them, these are the words
which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all
things must be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses,
in the prophets, in the Psalms, he's coming right on through
the scriptures, concerning me. That's what it's all about. And
then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures. And he said to them, thus it is written. And thus
it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the
third day, that repentance and remission of sins should be preached
in his name among all nations. That's what the scripture is
all about. Not just a book of proverbs or a book of theology
or a book of fancy sayings or a book of rules to live by. It's
a book of redemption. It's about the righteousness
and redemption that we have in Christ. We're not redeemed with
silver and gold. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus, and a bloodless message is a hopeless
message. Here is the third thing, and
this brings me to my illustration this morning. Regeneration or a divine, supernatural,
miraculous call by the Holy Spirit. My friends, salvation is more
than a decision. I know that in this day we've
brought it down to just about that place, a decision. Salvation is more than being
indoctrinated. Salvation is more than a moral
reformation. There are a lot of clean sinners
going to hell. There are a lot of moral, religious
sinners who've never been saved. Salvation is not just a moral
reformation. It's not just a mental agreement
with some Bible facts. This thing of salvation is a
miraculous quickening and awakening, an awakening to our sins, an
awakening by the power of God to an understanding of our guilt
before God. Oh, wretched man! Paul was one
of the most religious men of his day. Saul of Tarsus was one
of the most religious men walking. He said I was a Hebrew of Hebrews.
My mama was a Hebrew. My daddy was a Hebrew. My mama
was a Christian. My daddy was a Christian. I was
raised in this religion. He said I was educated by the
most outstanding teacher, Gamaliel, of my day. He said concerning
the law, I had a clean as a houndstooth. My life was above reproach. He
said I exceeded many my equals. I was a leader, leader among
religious people. I was looked up to by religious
people. I had authority, prestige, power,
recognition, fame. I count every bit of that but
dumb rubbish that I may win Christ to be found in him. Salvation, regeneration, it's
more than a decision, more than a doctrine or a moral, it's to
be aware, aware of our inability before God. With me in salvation,
it's impossible. Not what I do or what I have
done or what I shall do, but what Christ has done for me.
Unawareness of my inability is to be called to living, loving,
willing. saving, faith, and committal,
not to a system, not to a doctrine, not even to a way, but to a person,
to Christ. And I'll tell you, I fear, with
fear and trembling, goes through my bones when I deal with and
look out over and preach to congregations of people who've got this all
fixed up. They were in a service one time
when they were 13, 14, 15, or 16 years of age, and a preacher
preached and asked them, didn't they want to go to heaven? And
they said, yes, you don't want to go to hell, no. Well, the
way to go to heaven is to accept Jesus. And they came down and
accepted Jesus, was baptized and joined the church, and got
their name on the roll, and they quit a few bad habits. And they
memorized John 3, 16 and became theologians. And they got it
all fixed up. I'm saved! I'm saved! Let me tell you something. To be saved is to be made like
Christ. To be saved is to be in living,
vital union with the Son of God. To be saved is to be broken at
the feet of Christ. To be saved is to bow to and
confess the Lordship of Christ. To be saved. I'm being saved. I'm not there yet. I'm not like
Christ yet. Are you? I've got a decision,
but I'm not like him yet. My salvation is nearer than what
I believe. I've got yet. a few more years to live, to
continue in the faith. This thing of salvation, the
word of God describes it as a well of living water springing up
within. It describes it as a passing
from death to life. It describes it as being translated
from a kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear Son.
Did you do that by shaking a man's hand? You were translated from
the kingdom of darkness and death into the kingdom of God by coming
down in front of a bunch of people and shaking a man's hand? You
were raised from a grave of sin and death by shaking a man's
hand? Why don't you go to Rose Hill
and shake some hands? Let's see some real power. I get tired of these religious
hucksters professional healers behind the pulpit who do their
healing before a crowd of shouting, arm-waving people. I wish they'd
go to King's Daughters and do some healing, or down to the
mental institutes, or out to the rest homes. They don't want
nobody getting their way out there. Nobody will take up an
offering for them either, but they won't get in their way.
They won't have to advertise either. They don't need to advertise
for a crowd. There's a crowd down there every day. And the
youth people who support them, I feel sorry for you. It's horrible. It's a horrible thing. Somebody
needs to cry out against this generation of hucksters. My soul
is vexed over it. And this thing of salvation,
it's more than a general call. It's more than a general awareness.
It's more than a general feeling. It's more than a general phase.
It's a particular, peculiar, powerful, awakening, quickening,
effectual, Dizzy from the king himself. And here are texts, you'll find
an example of this. You know the story, no need for
me to repeat it. But this fellow Zacchaeus. Low down, good for
nothing Zacchaeus. Old conniving, cheating Zacchaeus. Old rebellious Zacchaeus. But
he heard about Christ. He heard about the Son of God.
And he wanted to see him, but he was a little fellow. And everybody
else was pretty tall, and it was a big crowd, and so Brother
Barnard said he skedaddled around the crowd, you know, and he went
ahead. He knew Christ had to come that way, and he ran out
ahead, and he had a little desire to see Christ, so he climbed
up in a tree. Climbed up in a tree, and there he sat up in that sycamore
tree. And the Lord came that way. The Lord came that way. It wasn't just an evangelist
that came that way, Jay, it was the Lord that came that way.
That's what I'm talking about. And this is what distresses me
about so much religion today. We're men followers. We've been
converted unto so-and-so, we're saved unto so-and-so, we're baptized
by so-and-so. Paul said, I thank God I baptized
none of you, but Christmas and gifts. But Zacchaeus got up in
the tree and the Lord came that way, the Lord came that way.
And scripture said he looked up in that tree and he said,
Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. And the Lord said, this
day salvation has come to this house. But I want to illustrate
this thing of the call, the call of grace. The old timers used
to call it that effectual call. What is effectual? What does
it mean, effectual? Gets the job done. Gets the job
done. It accomplishes what it set out
to do. Now there's a general call. There's a sense in which
God calls all men. He warns all men. We're warned
by nature. God is known. The heavens declare
the glory of God. Conscience. The law written on
the heart. The providence and judgment.
God dealing with men in providence and judgment. All of these things
leave us without excuse. And then there's the call of
the gospel that's preached to all men, but there is that every
believer is an object of an effectual work of the Holy Spirit, an effectual
work of grace, the call of Christ Jesus. Now, what's this call?
First of all, it was a gracious call. The Lord came under that
tree, and you know, I suppose if you were considering candidates
for salvation, Now, you went into Jericho before the Lord
came in there, and you were considering candidates for salvation. Oh,
Zacchaeus probably would have been the last one you'd have
chosen. The last one. If you'd have gone before all
the people of Jericho, you'd have said, well, maybe the Lord
will save Eunice, or the Lord will save this one or that one,
but, boy, he wouldn't save Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus is the chief public.
God wouldn't save him. Well, that's the one he saved.
That's the one he called. Zacchaeus was in a bad city,
going about a bad business, chief among publicans, and not only
that, but he was a rich man who had gotten his gain in an ill
fashion. But you know the Lord delights
to show mercy. I stood before that congregation
last Thursday night in Garrett, Kentucky. And I said this to
that congregation. My Lord delights to show mercy
to sinners. And I don't care how mixed up
your past is. I don't care how many times you've
been married and divorced. I don't care how many times you've
been drunk. I don't care how many times you've taken God's
name in vain. I don't care how many times you've committed adultery,
fornication. I don't care how low into the
depths of dens of evil you've gone. The Lord delights to show
mercy. Whether you've been on drugs
or drunkenness or whatever, the Lord Jesus Christ saves sinners. And I look through this book
here and I find that's the kind of people my Lord saved, Jay. He went down to the land of the
Gadarenes and he found a fella that was so mentally deranged
that he run around naked. And they put him out in the cemetery
so nobody had to see him and chained him. And that's the one
and the only one on that visit that he saved. My Lord went down
into a place and ate. He ate in a Pharisee's home,
a good, fine religious fellow's home. And out of that whole shindig,
that whole celebration, he saved one person, a streetwalker, who
came and bathed his feet with tea. Now I'm telling you, this
is what the Bible says. Our Lord Jesus Christ went down
here to Jericho and came out with Zacchaeus. I'm not encouraging
sin, I'm encouraging sinners. I'm not encouraging sin. I'm
not condoning sin. I'm encouraging sinners. I'm
comforting sinners. I'm trying to tell you who Christ
saved. He saves those from whom he can get the most glory. He
said to whom much is forgiven, they love much. Some folks are
just too good to be saved. They don't need Christ. Oh, they'll
take him, you know, because that's what the Bible says. They got
to believe in Jesus or they can't be church members. Who'd take
them into church if they didn't believe in Jesus? But we need it. Sinners need it. They're empty. They need filling. They're naked.
They need clothing. They're dead. They need life.
They're blind. They need sight. They're deaf.
They need hearing. They're lame. They need strength. They're going
to hell. They need help. Sinners. Brother, I tell you,
those are the folks that are going to sing forever unto Him
who washed us from our sins in His own blood. That's the folks
that are going to be there. He went to the cross and saved
the thief. I just know it's so. I just know that's the kind of
people are saved. And you goody-goody folks, you're just so nice. You're
just so nice. I feel sorry for you. I feel
sorry for you young people. Your mamas and daddies have told
you how good you are, and God tells you how wicked you are,
and you believe mama. You didn't believe God. I feel sorry for
you. You're going to miss salvation.
God only saves sinners. He never saved you. You've never
been lost. You've never been found. You've never been a wandering
sheep. You've never been a found sheep.
That's right, Jay. And that's where our parents
have sinned against us to a certain degree. They've protected. They've
provided. They've pacified us. They've
put us in a cocoon. They've separated us. They've
hovered over us. They don't dare let us be sinners. My sweet little
good boy. You, God ought to save you, honey. I'm tired of it, aren't you?
I'm going to start telling the truth. Makes everybody in town mad.
But it's subtle. That little girl of yours is
a potential harlot is what she is unless God by grace saves
her. And that little boy of yours is a potential mafia member unless
God Almighty saves him. That's right. That grandson of
yours will tear up the whole state of Kentucky if God doesn't
save him. Well, it's a gracious call. Most
unlikely, but mighty gracious. My Lord said, he said, I'll tell
you another thing about that call. It was a personal call. He came
out of that tree and he didn't say, anybody want to come down? Ha ha, Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. Come on down, Zacchaeus. Oh,
I tell you, it wasn't anybody. There's no mistake about the
one he called. There were many people there, but he called Zacchaeus.
It was a personal call. It was a personal call, just
like he said, Matthew, follow me. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. It was a personal call. A personal
call. Thirdly, it was an imminent call. Make haste, Zacchaeus. Make haste
and come down. Behold, today's the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. God's
call is never... Zacchaeus, if you feel persuaded,
and if it seems good to you, and at your discretion, and when
you find the time, would you come down out of the tree? Make
haste. I'm not going to be here tomorrow,
Zacchaeus. I'm here right now, and you're here right now. Now
when a sinner hears the general call, the general call, all this
other general warnings and so forth, he says, tomorrow I'll
consider this. He weeps, but the tears are dried
away. He makes decisions and resolutions,
but he forgets them. But I'll tell you this, old Zacchaeus
is confronted with the master, and the master's command, and
the master says, come down now. vacation come down and brother
I tell you he came down the Holy Spirit will not let go nor will
the sinner let go until peace has been restored right now tomorrow
is not on God's calendar rather he does say boast not thyself
of tomorrow and then this was watch this this was a humbling
call Zacchaeus come down come down I don't want to offend you
here But there's never been a call to come up until first of all
there's been an order to come down. Never has. Down sinner. God always strips
a man before he clothes him. And he'll stand naked alongside
all other men. God always slays the sinner before
he raises him. He always speaks in judgment
before he speaks in grace. Janine and I were talking about
this yesterday, I believe it was, at breakfast yesterday morning,
about a class system. My friends, in God's sight, there's
just one class, and that's sinners. Sinners. I know we've got classes,
and it's regrettable. We've got black and white. We've
got rich and middle-rich and poor and poor white trash. We've got educated. Some of you got degrees. And
some of you haven't. Some of you got college educations
and some didn't go to the third grade. We've got folks that are
dressed real nice and some not dressed real nice. But I'll tell
you this, there's only one class of people here this morning,
that's sinners who sinned against the holy God and need saving. Over there in England, they got
a class system that make the South look like a Sunday school
picnic, the black and white situation in the South. About right, isn't
it? They got class system. And we've got it everywhere.
It's a shame. But I do know this, when God saves a man, if you're
rich here this morning and God ever meets you in grace, ever
meets you in grace, ever saves you, if you're a well-to-do person,
affluent, I'll tell you he'll take the starch out of you and
the pride out of you and the arrogance out of you and put
you down in the dust to where you feel like everybody's higher
up than you are. And you'll just be thankful if
that poor old plumber speaks to you. You'll feel an honor
if he shakes hands with you. That's right. You'll come down.
If you're educated, if you feel like you've got a little more
education than everybody else, you know what you'll feel like?
What I am, God made me. What I have, God gave me. What
I know, God taught me. And he who gave it to me can
take it away just that quick. You know what Mr. Spurgeon gave
me one time, helped me more than anything? The man that taught
him, he said secularly all he knew. There was a teacher in
this small town to whom Spurgeon went for his education. He never
went to college, never went to seminary. He started pastoring
when he was about 17. But he did learn from this one
man, this tutor, this man that taught him all that he knew as
far as the things of the world concerned. He loved him. He said,
I stood in the yard one day and watched the police come and handcuff
him on his front porch in front of all his neighbors, an old
white-haired teacher, headmaster, and take him off that porch a
raving maniac. slobbering and drooling all over
himself. Now you go on with your head
up in the air and God will put it down in the dust. He sure
will. He brings people down. Come down! Zacchaeus, you better come down. I'm going to save you up there
on your intellectual roost, on your affluent perch, on your
pride. I'm not going to save you. No,
sir. The church sure couldn't use
a man like you to be the worst thing that ever happened to us.
The worst thing. You know what we can use around
here? Some humble, broken, God-loving sinners who love Christ. I'd love to have a bunch of them.
But the worst thing that could happen to the church is some
educated, rich, affluent, popular fellow to decide he's going to
help them out. He needs God to help him out.
That's right, Cecil. That's plain, but that's so.
Come down. Listen to this. The Lord said,
Come down. Come down. He said, Come down. And I came
down till there were very few beneath me. The Lord said, Come
down, sinner. Down, sinner, down. I came down
till I was on the level with the lowest. And he said again,
Come down. Come down. And I came down until
I was lower than the lowest. I was lower than the beast. There
was none so low as I. And he said, come on down. Come
on down. And so I came down until I despised
myself and I despaired of the mercy of God. And I said, Lord,
there's no hope for me. And he saved me. And he saved me. You understand what I'm saying?
Some people do. Some people do, but I'm telling
you what the book says. I don't think that's right. I
know that, but the book says it is. Our thoughts are not his
thoughts. I'll tell you something else
about this call. It was an affectionate call. Affectionate. I must abide at your house. I
must abide at your house. Now wait a minute, I was glad
when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord.
Sure, believers do worship God. But this saving relationship
with Christ is His abiding in your house. In your house. We go to church. We've got this
thing messed up. We go to worship God. Believers
take the worship of God with them. I abide in your, I must
abide. He says passing through. He didn't
say we're going to meet down at the front and shake hands
and see one another and glory. I'm coming to abide in your house. In your house. In your house. I don't know, we've got it fixed
up so our religion is stashed off somewhere in a safe place
in a church. We come in here and take off
our hats and pay our respect and so forth. We go about different
things. You see what I'm saying? We go meet God. But Christ said,
Zacchaeus, you're not coming to my house. I'm going to your
house. And I'm going to abide there.
I'm moving in to stay. I'm not just a guest. I'm moving
in to reign. I'm coming in. to stay, I must,
is a necessary call in the sixth place. He said I must abide at
your house. Look at verse 9. Christ said
this day of salvation come to this house for as much as he
also is a son of Abraham. I'm telling you that place was
full of sons of Abraham. Jericho, there were sons of,
not this kind of son, not this kind of son, This man Zacchaeus,
who sought to see Jesus, who he was, and climb that tree,
our Lord came and called him and he said, he also is a son
of Abraham, spiritual seed of Abraham, a child of faith. But watch this, and I close.
This call was an effectual call. Look at the verse 6, and he made
haste and came down. and received him joyfully. Now
here's what I'm saying. The call was from Christ to Zacchaeus. It was by his purpose. It was
by his grace. It was by his affection. It was
by his mercy. He called Zacchaeus. He made
known his will to Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down. But my friends, he didn't reach
up and pull him down. He didn't send somebody up after
him. Zacchaeus himself, just like the prodigal son, he said,
here I am in this mess and in my father's house there's plenty,
I'm going home. Noah, God said, Noah, here's
the ark, I warned you, or I told you, you come into the ark. He didn't put him in, he invited
him. And Noah went in. He came in
just as willingly as those people stayed out. And I'm saying this
to you now, and I'm a strong grace, you know how strong I
believe in the grace of God? Tonight, if you want to hear
a grace sermon, you call, come tonight. I'm going to preach
salvations of the Lord as strong as it's ever been preached here.
But this is what I'm saying, God calls, but you respond. That's
right, Brother Jay, you respond. The scripture says, with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness, with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation. God, the goodness of God leads
me to repentance, but I repent. And the grace of God grants faith,
but I believe. He came down and he received
Christ. And I'm saying this to you, don't
sit around claiming to be a grace believer and a Calvinist or whatever.
Waiting for God, waiting for the lightning to strike, the
fellow used to say. Get up and lay hold on Christ. Lay hold on Christ. Act right
now. You know the word of God. Zacchaeus, listen to this. And
brethren, we've gone through the motions and there's so much
phony preaching going on now and phony promoting. You know
what it is and what I'm trying to do is deal with people where
they live and deal with problems that they face and questions
they're asking. I told those fellows over in
England that one time, Janine. I said, if you fellows will quit
talking like the old Puritans and talk in language people understand. They'll come hear you. Deal with
their problems. I know your problems. I've got
them. And I'm saying this to you, if you're sitting there
and you know you're a sinner, and Christ said, sinner, come,
come, receive me, believe on me, come to Christ. You ain't
laboring a heavy laden. He says, come unto me, I'll give
you rest. Well, come on. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down. And brother, I tell you, he made
haste, Bob, and came down. He didn't sit up there and say,
well, if I'm one of the elect, I'll come down. Well, if it's
the Lord's will, I'll come down. Well, if you wet the fleece,
I'll come down. Well, if you show me a sign,
I'll come down. The Lord passed right on by.
Goodbye, Zacchaeus. Goodbye, Zacchaeus. Just sit
there or you'll go to hell, Zacchaeus. That's right. But he came down. You see, that's not consistent.
Truth is always consistent with truth. I'm not trying to be consistent
with a system of doctrine. I'm not trying to be consistent
with myself. Spurgeon said if we're consistent
with ourselves, in the end we'll find we've been consistent with
a fool. I'm trying to be consistent with that book that says Zacchaeus,
come down. And it says, and he made haste,
and he came down, and he received the Lord joyfully. He did. He did. And Paul said I'm persuaded
he's able to keep that which I've committed to him. And I'm
not saying it's down here. It's not in this hand. This hand
got four fingers and a thumb just like yours. It's flesh just
like yours. There's no power in it. There's
no preeminence in it. There's no ability in it. There's no healing in it. Healing's in Christ. Power's
in Christ. And this is what I say like the
old timers used to say. Go home. Go home and search the
scripture and see if these things be so. Lay your heart bare before
God. Do business with the King of
Glory. Cry for mercy like the public in the temple. Cast yourself
on Christ. If God does something for you,
come and tell the people about it. I know you will if he does
something. Come and tell me about it. Our Father, we want so much to have a true
and saving relationship with thee. We just know that so much
of today's religion is so phony, it's so fleshy, it's so self-exalting
to the flesh, it praises the righteousness of men, And we
want so desperately, oh God how desperately, we want to deal
honestly with ourselves and with one another, and to come to Christ
as needy creatures. To cross the path of the Lord
of glory, like Zacchaeus of old, and hear him say, Zacchaeus,
come down. Make haste and come down. And
Lord, that you do a work of grace. Grace! grace in our hearts today. Bring us to love and receive
and embrace and lay hold upon the Lord Jesus Christ. To lay
hold upon Him. Oh, for saving interest in Thy
blessed Son. Oh, for living, saving relationship
with Thy blessed Son. Oh, to know Him and the power
of His resurrected life. Oh, to win Christ and be found
in Him. to find in him wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption and peace, not just a profession. But Father, that rest, ceasing
from our own labors and entering into his rest, perform a miracle,
do what we can't do. This is impossible with me. We
can decide and reform and bow and make resolutions, but we
can't give ourselves a new heart. But Lord, it's all things are
possible with thee. Come down upon this congregation,
this preacher and this assistant pastor and these ones that sing
and the ones that sit here in the congregation, the ones that
support it. Lord, do a work of grace. Do
not pass us by. While on others thou art calling,
Lord, do not pass us by. For Christ's sake we pray. Amen.