Now let's turn back, if you will,
to the book of Matthew, the 15th chapter. The master had become weary from battling with hypocrites,
legalists, and those who majored on manners, who majored on traditions
and customs, and neglected the truth of the Word of God. We find that here in the 15th
chapter of Matthew. If you'll begin with verse 1,
then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees. These were the orthodox
religionists. These were the separationists.
These were the legalists. These were the handlers of the
teaching of the Word of God in the synagogue, in the temple.
And they said to him in verse 2, why do your disciples transgress
the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands
before they eat. And he answered and said to them,
why do you? You can hear in these words of
our master, you can hear his weariness. You can hear how he feels about
these men who neglected the truth of God, the righteousness
of God, the true faith, and what salvation is. He said, why do
you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? They
said, your disciples don't keep our tradition. He said, your
tradition is not according to the commandment of God. And then
he goes on down in verse 7, he said, you hypocrites, well did
Isaiah, so Isaiah the prophet, Isaiah prophesied you saying,
these people, these people draw nigh unto me with their mouth,
they honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men, and then our Lord called
the multitude. You see that next verse? He seemed
to ignore these Pharisees to whom he was speaking and whom
he had just been addressing. He turns to the multitude. You
see these religious legalists and hypocrites and formalists
and separationists and men who majored on minors and majored
on tradition and custom and doing it our way and walking our way
and believing our way. And they began to pick at Christ
and his disciples. They had to pick at you. They
want to find someplace where you don't agree with them, you
know, where you don't do things their way. And they began to
pick at him. Your disciples don't wash their
hands before they eat. That's a tradition of the elders.
And he said, why do you transgress the law and the word of God with
your commandments? You're like the people Isaiah
spoke of. They draw nigh to me with their
lips. but their hearts are far from me. They speak of God with
their lips, and they use the name Jesus, and blood, and salvation,
and all of these Bible terms with their lips, but not in their
hearts. Their hearts are far from me." And he called the multitude
over, and he ignored these men. And he said to the multitude,
he said, now listen to me, it isn't that which goes into the
mouth that defiles a man. He's teaching contrary to what
these men are teaching. He's condemning their tradition.
They just got through saying, we have a form or a ceremony
that says you wash before you eat. You don't put certain things
in your mouth. You don't eat certain foods.
You touch not, taste not, handle not, all of these traditions.
And our Lord turns to the multitude. And he goes over the head of
these men. He bypasses their religion and their orthodoxy.
And he says to the multitude, it's not that which a man puts
in his mouth that defiles it. It's not that which goeth into
the mouth that defileth a man. That's not what's defiling you.
He said it's that which comes out of the mouth. That's what
defiles a man. And so when he said that to the
multitude, the disciples came over to him,
evidently turned away. And the disciples came over to
him and they said, the disciples said to him, verse 12, don't
you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard you
say that. Naturally, they would be. It's just like some Sam Jones. His whole ministry was based
on temperance. His whole ministry. Sam Jones
went all over this country. Also, there's a fellow out there
in Texas. His whole ministry. He came here to Pollard one time
in 1947 or 1948. We were having a wet-and-dry
fight here. What's his name? Out there in Texas. He built
his whole ministry on don't drink, don't drink, don't drink. Well,
you know how offended he'd be if the master turned to his own
disciples, his own followers, and said, this fellow's lying
to you. That ain't your problem. It's
not what you're drinking. It's what's coming out of your
heart. That's your problem. And that's the same thing with
Baptists and Nazarenes and Pentecostals and Church of Gods and all the
people today going up and down this country teaching for the
commandments of God the tradition of men. And saying this, that
and the other is the way of salvation. Do this and you're saved. Don't
do this and you're not saved. And the master comes along and
says it's not that which goes into your mouth that defiles
you. It's that which comes out of your heart. You got heart
trouble. It's not hand trouble or head trouble or mouth trouble
or moral trouble. It's heart trouble. That's your
trouble. That's where all your evil is coming from. And the
disciples came over and said, they didn't like what you said.
See, their religion, it all consists in do's and don'ts. Laws and
regulations and rules and statutes and commandments of men. And
Christ said, listen now. You see how weary he's getting
with this? You can see it as we move along. He said, every
plant which my Heavenly Father hath not planted will be rooted
up. Leave them alone. Let them alone. They'd be blind
leaders of blind people. And if blind people lead blind
people, they're both going to fall into the ditch. They're
both going to the same place. Now here, I'm sure this father
troubled his heart. And then answered Peter and said
unto him, Lord, teach us what you mean by this parable. Now
listen to the Master, and Jesus said, are you also without understanding? Like He said to Philip, Philip
said, show us the Father, and He said, have I been this long
with you and you don't know me? Have I preached to you this long
and you don't know me? Have I preached to you this long
and you don't understand what I'm saying? That sin is a principle,
is a root, is a nature. And when the nature's changed,
and the root is rooted up, and the principle is changed, then
the product is different, and the life is different. That's
what he said to the Pharisees. He said, you cleanse the outside
of the cup while within the poison's still there, the corruption's
still there, the evil is still there. He said, cleanse first
that which is within, and then the outside will be taken care
of. A man's outward conduct and his outward walk and his outward
attitude will be changed if his heart's changed. If God does
something in here, then everything else is alright. And our Lord
said in verse 17, Do you not understand that that which entereth
in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the
draft? But those things which come out
of the mouth, they come from the heart, and they defile a
man, For out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies. These things are
born in the heart. They're nourished in the heart. The heart's the incubator of
evil. And these are the things which defile a man. But to eat
with unwashing hands does not defile a man. And then Jesus went, thence and
departed into the coast of tired and silent. Now I want you to
turn to Matthew 7. You hold your place right there
in Matthew 15 to Mark 7. And I want to show you, so this
is the reason that I had Joe read both of these, Mark chapter
7. Mark tells us something else here that we don't see in Matthew.
Mark chapter 7. It tells us here that the master
departed and hid himself. He had become so weary and so
tired of dealing with hypocrisy and
legalism, and so weary of traditions and customs, and men majoring
on things that had nothing to do with the relationship of a
sinner with the Lord God. And he talked to these Pharisees,
and they picked at everything he said, and he talked to the
multitude, and then his own disciples were without understanding of
what he'd been preaching and teaching to them. So it says
in Mark 7, verse 24, and from thence he arose and went into
the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into a house, and
would have no man know it, don't tell them I'm here. I'm going off in here by myself. I'm getting away from all of
you. I don't want to be bothered. It may be, Mr. Spurgeon said,
that the Lord has withdrawn himself from your day, weary of your
divisions, weary of your hypocrisy, weary of your discord, weary
of your traditions, weary of your Sabbath days and form and
ceremony, weary of your lip worship, weary of your major and all minors,
weary of your seeking questions and answers and signs and wonders. Their hearts, he said, are far
from me, so I'll move myself far from them. You reckon? It seems that way to me. I used to get angry when I got
letters from people who listened to the radio and people to whom
I tried to preach and they come up and want to go into some foolish
question or genealogy or something that has nothing to do with a
man's relationship with God and majoring on minors. As I read
this scripture, it just met my need this morning. The master
just withdrew himself. He just got weary of it. He just
wiped his hands off him. He just turned away from him.
He walked off in pity, in pity, and went into the house and shut
the door. I don't want to be bothered with him anymore, he
said. Hide my face. Hide my face. What but? And this
is thrilling here. He couldn't be hid from one.
He couldn't be hid from one. Look back at Mark 7. But he could
not be hid. He could not be hid. For a certain
woman, Mark 7, 25, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit,
she'd heard of him. She came and fell at his feet.
She came and fell at his feet. And she cried, over here in Matthew
25, she cried, verse 22, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thy son
of David. My daughter is grievously vexed
with the devil. She's not troubled about clean
hands. She's got real trouble. She's
not worried about how many steps you ought to take on the Sabbath
day. She's got real trouble. Probably a widow, probably only
one daughter, probably a young girl, 13, 14, or 15. Her life was wrapped up in that
girl. She was her sweetheart, the apple of her eye, the one
to whom she was so devoted, the only one she had in the world.
She had troubles. And she wasn't picking at the
master about whether you ought to wash your hands before you
eat, or when the church started, or how deep the water is where
you're baptized, or whether this one or that one and the other
one is in the line, you know. She wasn't troubled about those
things. She was troubled about a battle with Satan. She had
a real enemy. And she said, O Lord, have mercy
on me, thy son of David. And I see this. She knew who
she was talking to. She knew who he was. She knew
why he came. She asked for mercy. She knew
why he came. The Son of Man has come to seek
and to save. She asked him for the right thing.
She was looking for mercy. She wasn't looking for the answer
to all of her questions. She wasn't looking for orthodoxy.
She was looking for mercy. And she called him Lord. Lord,
she said. Oh, Lord. That's the language
of the public and in the temple. Lord, be merciful. That's the
language of the thief on the cross. Lord, remember me. And
then she called him the Son of David. Now that's very meaningful. That's very meaningful. You just
didn't call everybody the Son of David because the Son of David
is the Messiah. The Son of David is the Christ.
The Son of David is the one who's the heir to David's throne. The
Son of David is the King of Israel. The Son of David is the promised
Redeemer of Israel. And this woman had the right
language. She had the right... She had the right approach. She
had the right need. And she had the right language.
And our Lord's never hid from those folks. He may walk off
from our divisions should a deacon have been married before. All
these preachers around here trying to figure out whether they should
marry somebody that's been married before, or whether they ought
to do this at hogwash. And that's the way our Lord felt
about the whole thing, Charlie. He just turned away from them.
You go on splitting your hairs. You go on trying to figure out
whether this is right, that's right, the other's right. And
even his own disciples, even those who had followed him, didn't
understand about this thing called sin and salvation and sanctification
and a relationship with God and a heart faith. And he just went
in and shut the door. But somebody found him. And he's
never hid from those hungry-hearted needy sinners. He couldn't be
hid from the harlot who bathed his feet, could he? He couldn't
be hid from Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree so he could see Him. He
couldn't be hid even with the gore and blood and spittle of
the cross from a thief in need. And He couldn't be hid from this
woman. And she found Him. And when she found Him, she came
down at His feet. Now that's the position of sinners.
Not on eye level, arguing with the master, but at his feet,
looking up into his face. That's where Mary was seated
when Christ said she found the good part. That's where the leper
was when he was healed, at his feet. And she looked at him and
she said, Oh Lord, thou son of David, my daughter's grievously
vexed with the devil. We got us a real problem, Lord.
the bondage of Satan, the curse of Satan, the dominion of Satan,
a power we can't break, an enemy with which we cannot deal. He's
greater than we are. Now look at the next line. He answered her not a word. I sat at my desk this morning
thinking about this. Here, this woman, she found him,
and she slipped in the house, and she fell at his feet and
looked up into his face, and there he sat, the King of Glory,
our Lord and Master. And he looked down at her, and
she looked up with tears streaming down her face with a broken heart.
She said, Lord, Thy Son of David, have mercy on me. And when she'd
finished her petition, He never said a word. He just
looked at her. Maybe she'll go away, you reckon?
Perhaps she'll go away. Some of us would. If everybody
doesn't jump up and run when we speak, we'll go away. If I
come to church and hear the preacher and they don't make over me and
brag on me and make me welcome, I won't come back. Patience doesn't
live in proud hearts. You reckon she'll stay? Well, I'll tell you this, to
whom shall we go? That's what the disciples said.
Our Lord, one day, all that crowd, he preached to that crowd, and
they'd walked off, you know, 5,000 of them, and the disciples
were standing there, and he turned and said, will you also go away?
And they said, Lord, to whom shall we go? There's no place to go. So, suppose
you're out in the desert, some cold night, and your car breaks
down, and there's nothing out there, and you begin to walk,
and it's cold, and it's getting colder, and you begin to walk,
and you finally come up on a house. There's a house out there in
the middle of the desert, not another house for 30, 40 miles, but there's
a house with a light on it, and you go up and knock on the door,
and nobody comes. What are you going to do? You're
going to get mad and leave? No sir, you're in need. And that's
your only hope. And you're going to knock again.
And if needs be, you'll knock again. If needs be, you'll knock
again. If needs be, like Jacob, you'll
say, I'm not going to get off this porch until somebody comes
to the door. I won't let you go, you bless me. That's where
that woman was. She knew there wasn't any hope
except in Christ. She knew there wasn't any hope. She knew she
didn't have any hope at all, any help. She was without hope,
without help, without strength at her wit's end. And if he doesn't
do something, her daughter will die. And when she said, Lord
have mercy on me, and he just looked at her. But she never
moved. She stayed right there. She was
so persistent. Her importunity upset the disciples. And they said in verse 23, and
the disciples came and said, send her away. Send her away.
She cried after us. She's not going to leave. No,
sir. And I'll tell you this. You find
me a sinner who needs the Savior. I'm not talking about a person
It feels like God owes them something. It feels like God's obligated
to them. It feels like they'd add a great
deal to God's kingdom, but you find me a sinner in the clutches
of Satan that cannot break the fetters that bind them, and the
chains that hold them, and the evil that possesses them, and
the demonism that lives within them. And they know the only
one who can break that power, who can break those fetters,
who can break those chains, who can give them life and hope and
salvations, Christ, and brother, you can't drive them away. They'll
stay right there at his feet. And they're not going to the
fellow down the road that prescribes the salve of sprinkling or the
balm of sacraments or the white covering
of separationism, they're going to stay right there until the
King of Glory drives the demons out of their hearts. They're
going to stay right there. And she did. And she wouldn't
leave. And finally the Lord said something
else. Now listen. Listen. And the Lord said, watch it now.
I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now I haven't learned a whole
lot in these 32 years, but I've learned something. And I know
this. The first thing that a sinner
is going to run headlong into if he gets interested in God,
and interested in his soul, and interested in heaven and hell,
and interested in death, judgment, and eternity, he's going to run
into the fact that God doesn't owe him anything. That God's
not running down the road chasing him. He's welcome to come home,
but God's not chasing anybody. And that's what that woman learned
when she came in and she said, have mercy on me! And Christ
didn't even answer her! He didn't even answer her. Brother Mahan, you don't stay
hot on the trail of sinners like you ought to. Now you listen to me. My God's
not a beggar. He's a king. You're the beggar.
You're the beggar. The sinner's the beggar. And
I've got good news here. But this good news is that God
will show mercy to whom He will. That's the second thing a sinner
runs into. He runs into the fact that God's not obligated to him,
that God owes him nothing, that Jesus Christ doesn't have to
answer him, that God doesn't have to save him, that he can
go to hell and he'll be just one more log on the fires of
eternal damnation. Do you know that? You say, Lord, I've not treated
her that way. Now hold on there. You know who she was? She was
a Canaanite. She was a descendant of Jezebel. She was from a people
that hated Israel. She was from a people who hated
God. She was from a people who were
rebels. She was from a people who would have blotted out the
name of God from off the face of the earth. And that's who
you're from, your daddy's name, Adam. And you're descendants
of those who cried, crucifying, crucifying, will I have this
man reign over us? If it's left up to you and your
kinfolks, God wouldn't be alive today, did you know that? And
there wouldn't be a Bible on this pulpit if it's left up to
you and your kinfolks. And that's what the sinner runs
into. The Lord doesn't owe her anything. And he didn't answer
her. Now he's proven some things.
He's proven the patience and need and faith and hunger and
thirst. And my friend, God'll prove your
hunger. If you're really a sinner, and
you know where the mercy is, you'll still be there tomorrow.
If you're really hungry, I'll tell you this, if you really
get hungry enough, if you really get weary enough, if you really
get thirsty enough, and it's just one fountain and one spring
and one place to eat, you'll stay there and they'll feed you.
Right? Ain't no other place to go. The second thing a sinner runs
into, he runs into God doesn't owe him anything, then he'll
run into God's elective grace. Our Lord said, I am sent to the
lost sheep, L-O-S-T, lost sheep of the house of Israel. She encountered the doctrine
of election. That's what she ran into. That's exactly what
she ran into. The Lord Jesus Christ looked
at her and His disciples and He said, I've got a people. The
Father gave me a people. He gave me a people called Israel. And he gave me a people who had
lost sheep, and I'm going to find every one of them and bring
them home. But Charlie, that didn't run her off either. That
didn't run her off. The preacher told me that God
didn't owe me anything, but that didn't run me off. I know he
doesn't. And the preacher told me that God has an elect, that
he chose a people in Christ and gave them to Christ before the
world began, but that didn't run me off. And the woman looked
at him after she said that and she worshipped him. She worshipped
the sovereign Christ. She worshipped the king. She
worshipped the electing Christ. She worshipped the Christ who
chose a people. She didn't care how he manifested
his sovereignty and might and majesty and power. He's still
God and he deserved to be worshipped and she worshipped him. And she
said, Lord, would you help me? Would you help me? I know you've
got a people. I know the Father gave you a people. I know you
came down here to redeem those people. I know you came down
here to save your elect. I know that. The Bible says that. I'm not blind. But Lord, you
can help me and you're the only one who can. I'm going to stay
right here." And then he looked down at her again and he said,
now listen, he's stripping this woman He's stripping her, and
God always does this before He clothes a sinner. He just pulls
every fig leaf apron off and all of these garments that we've
sewn with our own merits and righteousness, He rips them off
and they come off slowly. They come off painfully and they
come off shamefully as we're exposed to ourselves, things
we wouldn't even admit, and exposed to others. And the Lord looks
at it and he says, it's not right to take the children's bread
and give it to the dogs. That's what these Canaanites,
these Syrophoenician people were. They were dogs. That's what the
Jews called them, dogs. Not a horse that plows a field,
not a pig that furnishes food, not a cow that gives milk, a
dog that can't do anything, not worth anything. Just a dog. And our Lord said it's not right,
it's not right to take the children's bread off the table and give
it to dogs. Turn to Mark 7. I want to show
you something. I've been reading this story
for so many years, and I don't know why in the world I never
saw this before. I guess I do too. The Lord wanted
me to preach it tonight. Verse 28, and she answered and
said, Lord, yes, yes. Oh, I like that. I tell you,
that's not what I'm going to show you, something else. Just
hold on, something else. But I like that yes. Yes. You don't owe me anything. I'm
a rebel of rebels. I'm a Canaanite of Canaanites.
And Lord, I know you've got a people. The Lord God doesn't do anything
haphazardly or by chance. He declares the end from the
beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.
He has will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants
of this earth. He giveth it to whomsoever He will. There's no
doubt in my mind about that. God being God has to be God. And Lord, I know it's not right
to take the children's bread, bread prepared for the children,
the children of the household, and take that bread off the table
and throw it down to dogs on the floor. The children eat first. But Lord, the dogs, three words,
under the table, under the table, eat of the children's crumbs.
The dogs under the table. What's she saying? Lord, I'm
not a wild, unknown, unowned dog. I'm your dog under the table. Who's that dog under the table?
Well, that sure ain't no wild hound down the road. That's my
dog. That dog belongs to me. That's
my dog. It's a dog, but my dog stays
under the table. And here's what she's saying.
She says, Lord, I'm your dog. I belong to you. I'm the dog
of your house. And Lord, I'll tell you this,
the master's own dog. He may not eat before the children
eat, and he may not eat what the children eat, the bread itself,
but he eats. He eats the crumbs that the master
is willing to brush off the table. And you know masters also break
off bread when they reach under the table to their dog. I tell you, my friend, that's
humility, that's submission, that's hunger, that's thirst,
that's willingness, And our Lord looked at her in verse, back
here in Matthew chapter 15, and He said, Woman, great is thy
faith. Great is thy faith. And I'll
tell you, my friend, when you and I come to that place, that
place, we're going to receive the same
mercy she received. He said, Woman, great is thy
faith, be it unto thee, even as thy will. And her daughter
was made whole from that very hour. God hears the broken heart. God hears the humble heart. God
listens to the submissive heart. Well, here we are, preacher.
That's where I am. I'm a sinner at Christ's feet.
He's the master. He's the king. He's the sovereign.
I'm the dog, but I'm His dog. I'm His. To do with what He will. Masters feed their dogs. The
dogs that belong to them. What can I plead? What can I
plead? Let me give you briefly just
six things here, seven, and I'll close. What can I plead? What can I plead in this day
of much religion and very little truth? Well, I'll tell you this. I can plead my misery, just like
this woman. Oh, how miserable she was. The
sickness of her daughter was such a great burden. And when
your sickness, your sin sickness becomes such a burden, such a
great burden, that it has number one priority. You know the Lord
said, ye shall seek me and find me when you search for me with
all your heart. It has number one priority. I've
got to be rid of these fetters of sin. I've got to be rid of
this curse of sin. I've got to be rid of this evil
heart of sin. And that's where this woman was.
She was miserable. And she came to stay. She came
to stay. Alright, secondly, we can plead
our inability. She couldn't heal her daughter.
The disciples couldn't heal her daughter. The professional religionist
could not heal her daughter. Can the Ethiopian change his
skin? The leper his spots? Neither can you do good that
are accustomed to doing evil. In your flesh dwelleth no good
thing. What is impossible with men is possible with God. Christ could heal her daughter.
And Christ can make you whole. Coming down here won't make you
whole. And praying at a mourner's bench won't make you whole. Being
baptized won't make you whole. And accepting Jesus won't make
you whole. And turning from Arminianism
to Calvinism won't make you whole. And looking into the orthodoxy
of separationism and legalism and all the other isms won't
make you whole. But Christ can make you whole.
If the Son of God, if you ever do business with Him, if you
ever come to Him in your misery, in your misery, He can make you
whole. You can plead your inability.
In my hands no price I bring. God, I'm not coming to trade
my works for your mercy. I'm not coming to trade my promises
and vows. I'm going to fail tomorrow. But
I want to fail clinging to the cross. I'm going to stumble and
fumble and fall next year, but I'm going to fall clinging to
the cross. I'm going to fall looking to you. I can plead my
inability, and thirdly, I can plead his mercy. He said, I will
be merciful. I will be merciful. Our Lord
does not delight in arguing doctrine. Our Lord does not delight in
matching wits with Pharisees. Our Lord does not delight in
revealing mysteries and signs and wonders. He delights to show
mercy. That's what he said. I delight
to show mercy. I delight to show mercy. And
while he turned and shut the door and shut out all of this
religion, he sat in the quietness of that room and dealt for a
long time with this dear, broken-hearted woman because she needed mercy. I'll tell you something else
we can plead. We can plead the examples of others. Our Lord
said, consider the birds. Not a one of them falls to the
ground without your Father. Consider the lilies of the field.
They toil not neither do the spinning, yet Solomon was never
arrayed like one of these. Are you not much more valuable
than the birds and the lilies? Aren't you? You mean God's got
more concern for birds and lilies than people? I don't believe
so. Mary Magdalene says no. The publican says no. The Samaritan
woman says no. Simon Peter says no. Saul of
Tarsus says no. Ah, if He can save us, Saul of
Tarsus, I believe He could save me. If He can cast seven devils
out of Mary, I believe He could cast five or six out of me. Don't you? I believe He could. And then we can plead the sacrifice
of Christ. Why did Christ come into the
world? Huh? Why did He come into the world?
He came to save sinners. That's what He said. The Son
of Man is come to seek and to save the Lord. When that angel
announced His birth, He didn't announce that now this one born
to Mary is going to be a great reformer, or a great example,
or a great religionist, or a great church leader. This one, the
angel said, called his name Jesus. In the world's lost sight of
the next few words this angel said, they've forgotten what
he said. He said, Joseph, don't be afraid
to marry Mary. That child in her womb was conceived
by the Spirit of God, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for
he shall save his people from their sins. That's all there
is to it. That's why he came. You could
plead that. You say, Lord, do something for
me. That's why Christ came. He came
to save sinners. Why not me? I'm a sinner. He
died for the ungodly, why not me? I'm ungodly. He came to seek the lost, why
not me? I'm lost. Plead that, and then
you can plead the intercession of Christ. What's He doing now?
What's He doing now? What is Jesus Christ doing now? Well, the Bible says He's seated
at God's right hand. What's He doing? He's making
intercession for somebody. That's what the Bible says. He
ever liveth to make intercession for us. What's intercession?
That's when somebody gets between two people at odds. And here's
one over here and he loves him, and here's one over here and
he loves him, and he says, now, Lord, be reconciled to Ronnie. Would you be reconciled to Ronnie,
Lord? Would you love him? Would you let him come back over
to your house and be with you and have fellowship? The Lord
says, why should I? Oh, well, I don't have nothing
to plead now. I do have nothing to plead. But I'll tell you,
Christ does. And the Father says, why should
I let Ronnie come into my house? And the Lord Jesus said, because
I died for him. Because I, you see these nail
prints in my hands? I paid the price for all his
sins. I obeyed the law for his righteousness. And you should let Ronnie in
your house because Ronnie belongs in your house. He's perfect and
you got a perfect house. He's holy and you got a holy
house. And he's your child. Well, I'll tell you something
else we can plead. And I'll close with this. We can plead Our faith. My faith's awful small, preacher.
Let me give you an illustration. A fellow came to our Lord one
time, had another problem. His boy had epilepsy. And oftentimes he'd fall in the
fire and burn himself. And the Lord, he came and said,
Lord, could you heal my son? He said, I took him to your disciples,
and they couldn't do anything for him. The Lord said, well, if you can
believe, all things are possible to them that believe. And you
know what he said? Lord, I believe. Help thou my
unbelief. We can play that game. Lord,
you know all about me. You know my uprisings and down
sittings. You know my thoughts from afar
off. Lord, you know every imagination
of my very innermost being. You know me better than I know
myself. And I wouldn't try to hide my thoughts from Thee, or
my motives, or my intentions from Thee. Lord, I do believe! Help my unbelief. Increase my
faith. Plead that. And you know what
the Lord said? He said, you go home, you borrow
the art, and you get there. Why can't we get out of here,
huh? I don't know. It's all right here in the book.
It's all right there. But no, we've got to, Darwin,
find another way, you know, that seems right to us. We've got
to find a way the natural mind can understand. We've got to
find a way that we can get a little glory, you know. We've got to
find a way that fits in with the traditions. And that's the
reason the Lord has departed. But He's down there, and the
door will be open to anybody that's interested. Like this
woman of Canaan. He hid himself, but not from
her. But not from her. If there's somebody here tonight,
or somebody in this group, or wherever you are when you hear
this message, He's nigh unto them of a broken
heart. He's save as such as be of a
broken and a contrite spirit. But don't be Nicodemus and come
and want to argue religion with the Lord of glory. Don't be like
the rich young man, come and bring in all your good deeds
and good works. Come like the brokenhearted sinner.
He delights to show mercy. That's my hope. And that's your
hope too. Our Father blessed these words.
This is the message. This is the word of our Lord.
This is the good news of salvation. This is where it is. Lord, we've
tried to tell the truth. We've tried to show men the sovereign
Savior and yet the sympathetic Savior. We've tried to show men
the majesty and might and power of our God. and yet the mercy
and the grace and the love and the tenderness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. But he's not going to be met
on these grounds of tradition and custom and religion and self-righteousness. We're only going to meet him
on the grounds of our sinnerhood, our inability, our lost condition. For he came to save sinners.
He didn't come to call the righteous. He has no dealing with the righteous.
He says, let them alone. Let them alone. They're blind leaders of the
blind.