The Apostle wrote, therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
By faith we are justified. And again, the Apostle wrote
in the book of Ephesians, for by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God not of works
lest any man should boast. And when a Philippian jailer
who was convicted of the power of God and of his own weakness
and inability fell at the feet of Paul and asked this question,
Sirs, what must I do to be saved? The Apostle's reply was this,
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. I must
believe. If I am to be saved, according
to God's word, I must believe. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. Paul wrote in Hebrews 11, 6.
He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is the
rewarder of them that diligently seek him. I must believe. If
I am to be a child of God, if I am to be saved, I must believe,
I must have saving faith. Christ said, if you believe not that I am He, you shall die in
your sins. He didn't say if you don't work,
if you're not circumcised, if you're not baptized, if you don't
take the sacraments of communion, if you're not a Catholic or a
Baptist, He said, if you believe not that I am He, you shall die
in your sins. You can be all of those things
and do all of those things and not have saving faith. I must
believe. I must believe. And so the question
that I'm going to deal with in this message is, and please,
don't wish somebody else was here. That's the most fatal mistake
that any preacher or deacon or Sunday school teacher or choir
member or instrumentalist or any church member can make, is
to wish somebody else was here to hear what God has to say. You're here and you need to hear
it. I need to hear it. My question this morning is not
how can Darwin Pruitt obtain saving faith. Or how can Charlie
Payne obtain saving faith? Or how can Lord Bush obtain?
How can I? I don't want to miss Christ.
They made me keeper of the vineyard, my own vineyard I haven't kept.
I've been too busy trying to keep other vineyards and haven't
kept my own. That's terrible. And so I'm talking
to me. You want to listen in, you're
welcome. How can I? I mean this. How can I obtain
saving faith? So I'm going to begin where I
am with what I know. I know some things. I'm not totally
dumb. I know a few things. There's
a light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Men
are dead spiritually. They're not dead mentally. They're
not dead emotionally. They're not dead physically.
A few things you know and I know. I know some. I'm going to start
where I am. I know. Now listen how I say this. Listen
to the way I say it. I know there is God. Now, I didn't
say, I know there's a God. I cringe when I hear somebody
say that. Do you ever say that? I know there's a God. Don't ever
say that. I know there is God. There is
God. There is God in whom we live
and move and have our being. There's not a God in the world.
There's a world in God, say so. There is God. Everywhere there's
God. There's not a God out yonder
somewhere. There is God everywhere. In Him
we live and move and have our being. God created all things. God's not a product of the creation. Creation's a product of God.
You ever say, I believe there's a God? You know there's a God?
There's not a God. That's what they've got over
there in Kamakura, Japan. They've got a God. His name is
Buddha. But we know there is God. God
created all things by the word of His power. He is God, and
beside Him there's none else. Everything else came from God. We know there is God. You better
start there. If you know there's a God, you're
an idolater like everybody else. You believe these things just
happened, they came into being, and God's just a part of all
of it. in God. There is God. There is God. You won't find the men of scripture
talking about a God. He says there is God. God, I
hear people say God is a God of love. Do you ever say that?
The Bible doesn't say that at all. It says God is love. God is not a God of love. That
sounds like God, there's love, and then God, he loves according
to the standard of love that's already set up. Love is God. God is love. God is light. God is truth. There is God. I know that. That's
where I start. All right, secondly, I know that
God He is not a holy God. God is
holy. God is holy. That's what Isaiah
found out. He said, Almighty, yes. God is
almighty. God is wise. God is sovereign. God is love. Yes. But when Isaiah saw the Lord,
in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, he said.
And you know that the primary attribute that was exalted or
manifested or revealed in that hour that Isaiah saw the Lord.
The cherubims and seraphims cried, holy, holy, holy is the Lord
God. God is holy. God is holy. Immaculately, infinitely, eternally,
unchangeably, immutably holy. God is holy. And then thirdly, I know this,
I know that we are not holy. I just don't care for advertisements
in the paper that run like this, Brother Mahan, a man of God is
going to speak for us. I know what they mean. I think
I know what they mean. A man who represents the Lord
God, who speaks for the Lord God, an ambassador of the Lord
God. But I don't feel holy, do you? I don't feel holy. I know that
Christ is holy, and in Christ I am holy. And with His perfect
righteousness or garments on, I'm as holy as God's Son. But
I know, like Paul, in this flesh dwelleth no good thing. We are
not holy. Our thoughts are not holy. Occasionally
we touch on some holiness. Occasionally we think things
that are commendable, partially commendable, at least a little
commendable. But our sins, and we're not talking
about the outer man, we're talking about the inner man. God is light. I'm darkness. God is truth and
I'm liars. Let God be true and every man
a liar. That's what scripture says. God is life and I'm death. I'm
dying. Everything about me is dead and
dying, decaying and rotting. God is good and I'm evil. God
is love and I wish I did love God with all my heart, don't
you? I sure wish I did love my neighbor as myself. I wish I could, I wish I did.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, our nature.
I'm not talking about our prim and pious and pharisaical exterior. I'm talking about the turmoil
and conflict and corruption that goes on inside of us all the
time. If there's any two things of
which I'm totally, completely convinced, These are the two
things. There is God. He's holy. And I'm a man, and I'm unholy.
I'm convinced of those two things. How can man be just with God? These are the two things that
Job saw. He said, Lord, I've heard of
you, now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I hate myself. I've seen the Lord, and in seeing
the Lord, I've seen myself." And he put his hand over his
mouth, and he said, I've spoken once, yet twice, things too wonderful. I've been blabbing about things
too wonderful for human lips. I won't speak again, that's what
he said. I'm not going to pop off anymore. I've seen the Lord. And then he cried, how can he
that's born a woman Be clean in the sight of God. All right,
the fourth thing I know. Therefore I know that I cannot
by my deeds, I cannot by my works justify myself before God. I know that. I know that. I can
come to church on Sunday. I can teach my class and stand
up here and preach. I can be baptized and give my
gifts. And I can try not to take God's
name in vain and not to bow down to any false image and not steal
and commit adultery and not kill and not covet and not lie and
do my best to do those things and walk a straight and narrow
moral path of principle and integrity and honesty in the community
and try to do that which is right. All of that put together If you
could accumulate all of the deeds of all of the men and women,
all of the best religionists on the face of the earth, if
you could accumulate them all together and charge them to the
account of one man, they wouldn't justify that one man. The Scripture plainly says, by
the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. What kind of God is it that we
have in this day? who is, they say, holy, who they
say demands perfection, a God whom they say rules and reigns
in the kingdom of holiness. And then here's a creature down
here on earth that's everything God isn't, who has transgressed
God's law and violated God's righteousness and walked under
His feet, the blood of God's Son, who has sought to assassinate
the living God. And that creature can get him
a candle and light it, put him on a robe, and he can go down
in front of some building called a cathedral and wave that candle
and say a few mumbo-jumbos, or some fellow in a long black robe
can throw some water out in the air and say some mumbo-jumbos
in a foreign language and stick a wafer in wine and slap it on
the fellow's lips, and all is forgiven, and all is forgotten,
and all is erased, and God's at peace. What kind of God do
you have? I know that that's not so. I
know by the works of righteousness which we have done, no man is
justified. I know that man at his best state
is altogether vanity. I know that. I know that the
best prayer we've ever prayed is full of sin. You know it too. The best sermon I ever preached
So far short of the glory of God, there's enough evil in it
to send me to hell, and you know it and I know it. But the fifth
thing I know, starting where I am, I know, number five, that
God will be merciful to somebody. I know that. The Bible not only
teaches that God is holy, God is love. Not only that God is
truth, but God is merciful. Not only that God is righteous,
but God is gracious. I know that. I know that God,
His love as well as His justice must be manifested. The Lord
God has determined to redeem a people. He has determined from
all eternity that He's going to have a people, that heaven's
going to be populated. He gave that story to Abraham
in tithe. He said, You're seed, and that
seed is Christ. is going to be as the sands of
the seashore and as the stars of the heavens. You know how
many stars there are in the heavens? I'm not talking about the ones
you see over Ashland. The people who know tell us that
there are billions of stars out there. You know how many grains
of sand there are on the seashores? God's seed, God's people, Heaven's
going to be populated. God said so. And they're all
going to be like Christ. He gave His Son a people. He
gave His Son a people. Christ said while He was right
here on this earth, He said, All that my Father giveth me
are coming to me. He said in John 17, in that great
priestly prayer, He prayed, Father, the hour has come. Glorify the
Son, that the Son may glorify thee, as thou hast given me authority,
power over all flesh, that I should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given me." God has a people. He's given them to
his Son. Heaven will be populated with a people whom God had chosen,
for whom Christ died, and whom the Holy Spirit called. When
the angel announced the birth of Jesus Christ, he said to Mary
and Joseph, Thou shalt call his name Joshua, Jesus, Savior. He shall save his people from
their sin. He's going to get the job done.
Christ said, I came down to do my Father's will. And when he
finished that will, he cried, It's finished! And he ascended
to the right hand of God where he sat down. having perfected
forever them that are sanctified. He sat down. Well, the priests
of the Old Testament never sat down. Why didn't they ever sit
down? Because their work was never
finished. But Christ finished His work. God's going to have
a people. All right, the sixth thing I know. The Word of God
tells me this, that those people are people who believe the record
God hath given, who believe on Christ. Let me show you that.
Turn to Mark 16. Mark 16. Our Lord came down here and finished
His work, completed that which the Father had given Him to perform,
went back to glory, but before He left, He gathered His disciples,
the apostles, in Mark 16, verse 15, and He had something to say
to them. In Mark 16, verse 15, He said unto them, these apostles,
Now you go into all the world and you preach the gospel to
every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned. That's pretty
clear, isn't it? He that believeth. Somebody says,
well, you see, baptism is essential to salvation. There it is right
there. That's what they say. This baptism is a confession
of that faith, an identification with that Christ, an acknowledgment
of that faith. He that believeth. He that believeth. Turn with me, if you will, to
Acts, or rather, 1 John 5, verse 11. 1 John 5, 11. 1 John 5, 11.
Now listen to this. 1 John 5, verse 11. This is the
record. This is the record. This is true.
Paul said it's a true statement and it's worthy of acceptation
by all men. This is true. That God has given
us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. It's not in the
church, it's in the Son. It's not in the water, it's in
the Son. It's not in the law, it's in the Son. And he that
hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know you have eternal life. That's who it's for, those who
believe. And that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Alright, knowing those six things, then the question comes, how
do I obtain saving faith? How do I obtain this faith? Well,
the answer is in my text, Romans 10, 17. There's the answer right
there in front of me. Faith cometh by hearing. That's how faith comes. This
faith in Christ, this faith in His person, in His work, it comes
by how? Not by heredity. My parents, they cannot give me faith, much
as they'd like to. much as they try to. It's not
by heredity. It's not by dreams and visions. That's not the way faith comes.
Faith doesn't come by dreams and visions. That's not the way
it comes. Faith does not come through the
sacraments and the ordinances. These are aids to faith. The
Lord's Table is an aid to faith. Baptism is an aid to faith. Faith
does not come by the eloquence of the preacher. Oh Lord, lead the preacher to
say something this morning, just anything, that's what we mean
by that. Lead the preacher to say something this morning that
will bring my child to faith. Faith doesn't come by the eloquence
or argument of a preacher. It doesn't come by feeling and
emotion. How does faith come? It comes
by hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing. That's what
it says. And this hearing what? Hearing
the Word of God. That's how faith comes. Wait
a minute, Brother May, and faith is the gift of God, and faith
is the work of the Holy Spirit, and faith is the work of the
Spirit in regeneration and resurrection. It's the gift of God. Don't forget
to tell people that. Now wait a minute, hold it. There's
no need to put a whole system of theology in every sermon. There's no need to explain everything
you say every time you say it. Now get this, this is important.
If a man comes staggering up on this pulpit, this is desert
country out there. Desert country. And here comes
a man through that door, unshaven, dirty, ragged, dusty. thirsty. He comes, crawls up
here and says, I'm thirsty. I say, here's water. Here's water. I don't need to tell him that
this water was secured from a fountain. And that fountain was put in
there by carpenters who connected to a water main that goes down
to a certain place in the city And that water is provided by
a huge company that gets it out of the river. And they take the
water out of the river and purify it with certain chemicals, but
the water in the river came from a certain source up here that
originated from the heavens when certain conditions produced rain. He's not interested in all that,
he's thirsty. And that history of how the water
got here is not going to quench his thirst. You know what will
quench his thirst? When he drinks that water! Who gave it, how it got here?
We'll deal with that later, so he can give thanks to the one
who put it here. Huh? But right now he needs water. Suppose a man comes in here and
he's hungry. Just starve to death. I run back
here to the kitchen, we got some bread back there. And I bring
him some bread. There's no need for me to sit
down and say, now before you eat this bread, you're going
to have to understand something. What am I going to have to understand?
You're going to have to understand that this bread was bought from
a baker. And the baker put himself in business and bought an oven. But first of all, before he used
the oven, he had to get some flour and water and other ingredients
and mix it together and put it in the oven. But wait a minute
now. Don't misunderstand. The flour came from the mill,
and the mill ground the corn in the flour, but the corn came
from the farmer who planted it as a seed, but it was germinated
by the hand of God. He starved to death and died
right there in front of me, and I'm still standing there holding
that bread. That's the way we're trying to
preach. The man died of thirst, laid
down and died right there, and I'm standing here telling him
about all that took place before that water could be put in this
glass. You see what I'm saying? So the question this morning
is not where does faith come from, it's how do I get it. I know where faith comes from.
And I'll explain that to you after you believe. But how are
you going to believe in Him who gives faith if you don't believe
in Him who died for you? See what I'm saying? Saving faith
comes by hearing the Word, the Word. You want faith? Get acquainted
with this book. I like that story, the man who
said to Mr. Spurgeon, salvation is somewhere
in this book. I know it's not in the wind,
and the rain, and the nature, and in the elements, and in the
sacraments, and in religion. It's in this book, and I'm getting
in this book till I find it." Well, Mr. Spurgeon said, I felt
very comfortable for his sake, because I knew if he meant it,
he'd be saved, because faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of God. You can trust a man to the Scripture,
not hearing what I say about it. Not reading our creeds and catechisms
and confessions of faith, not hearing the plans and patterns
and directions of zealous soul winners. That's not the way a
man's saved. Some of you may wonder why every time somebody manifests
some interest in religion that I don't go and camp on their
doorstep and try to talk them into being baptized and joining
the church. Well, for this very reason, that
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. And
you don't sit down and say, now you know you're a sinner, yes.
Do you know Christ died for sinners? Yes. Do you believe on, you want
to be saved? Yes. Will you believe on Christ?
Yes. Then you're saved. All he's heard is my arguments
and reasoning and patterns and plans and all of the, he hasn't
heard the Word of God. If a man's under conviction,
hand him a Bible and say, sinner, there it is right there. That's
the way of life, the Word of God. You want faith? Right there. Right there, there it is. It's
hearing the naked, bare, powerful Word of God. Let's look at some
scriptures, just three or four hurriedly. First John 5, 24.
John 5, 24. And I wouldn't discourage you
from reading good books, but lay them down and pick up the
book of books. It'll do you more good. I'll
be honest with you about the reading that I do in there is
trying to find out what different writers had to say about what
the book of books said. I'm trying to find out what this
means, not what they mean. I don't care what they mean.
Well, what do you think Thomas Watson thought about? I don't
care, really, honestly. I don't mean to cast aspersions
on Thomas Watson. He's greater than I'll ever hope
to attain, to commence, to get started, to even dream about.
But it doesn't matter. He was a mere man. What does
God say? And John 5, 24 says, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." Turn to John
6.63. John 6.63. How do I obtain saving
faith? John 6.63 said, It is the spirit
that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak
to you, they are spirit. They are life. God's Word. John 8.31, turn over there and
listen to Christ here. John 8.31, Then said Jesus to
those Jews that believed on him, If you continue in my word, then
are you my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. Could I exhort you to take this
book and just saturate your soul with it, and your heart. Get so you can quote it, and
you can feed upon it, and you can recite it, and you can find
a reason for your hope by the Scripture. Naaman said, I thought,
but that's not it. It's God said. Naaman said, I
thought, but when Satan came to Christ, Christ said, it's
written. Now here's the second thing,
and I'll be brief with this, but this is important. You say,
now preacher, I hear sermons. I read the Bible. I read the
Bible. I hear sermons. I haven't obtained
faith. Why? You can't accuse me of not
reading the Bible, preacher. I've read the Bible. I've read
the Bible. I've heard sermons, I've heard
you preach hundreds and hundreds, but I don't have saving faith. Why? If I wouldn't offend you, I'll
give you six reasons. I can clear this up just like
that. I can tell you why you don't have saving faith if you've
read the Bible and you've heard sermons. is lack of intention. Lack of intention. Just how serious
are you about this thing of salvation? Just how serious are you? Now
let's get down to business. You talk about not having faith.
Now this is true. God's word is unchanging. If
God says something that's so, whether you believe it or not,
whether you experience it or not. And God says, faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And you say, well,
I've heard, but I don't have faith. Then something's wrong,
not with the word, but with you. And the first thing that's wrong
is lack of intention. Just how serious are you? Just how troubled are you? Just
how concerned are you about your sins and your guilt and your
danger and your death and your facing God in judgment? Just
how serious are you? I tell you, Jacob was serious.
He took hold of the Lord and he said, I won't let you go.
You bless me. I'm hanging on right here. Brian
Bartimaeus cried out and they said, Hush! And he cried no more.
And they said, Hush! And he cried no more. He had one objective. The Apostle
Paul said, oh, that I may win Christ. I count all things but
dumb. My heritage, my success, my education, my
religion, I count it but dumb, rubbish, that I may win Christ. Lack of intention. Christ said,
you shall Seek me and find me when you search for me with all
your heart. Some of you here this morning
wanted an education. You wanted a college degree.
You left home. You left family. You lived on
beans. You stayed awake till midnight
in the library studying. You worked as a waitress, you
humbled yourself. For four years you did one thing,
you went to school. You gave up your friends and
your family and everything else, and you got that degree. When
you get as serious about a relationship with Christ as you are about
some of the things you think are important, you'll find them.
But God's not playing games with you. He's not playing games. If you gave as little attention
to your employer as you give to God, he'd fire you. He wouldn't
send you to hell, he'd fire you though. If you gave as little attention
to your wife as you do to God, she'd divorce you. That's right. If you gave as
little attention to your friends As you do to God, they'd never
invite you back. And you talk about you've read
the Bible, but you don't have faith. It's no wonder. I wouldn't
give you the time of day if I was God, and He won't. You shall
seek me. Am I too hard? I'm telling you
the truth. And you'll find me when you search
for me with all your heart. God despises a divided heart. We just, some of us, just want
to keep out of hell. We don't really want to know
God. We just don't want to go to hell. Who does? We'd sure
like to take part in those mansions in the sky and the sweet by and
by, but Christ said, you shall seek me and find me when you
search for me with all your heart. Lack of intention. You don't
intend to find the Lord. That's it. lack of attention,
A-T-T-E-N-T-I-O-N, attention. Are you listening? Wandering
minds, indifferent, careless minds leave men in darkness. The average person couldn't anymore
tell you what the preacher preached on one hour after he left church. Then he could tell you when it's
going to rain next week. He doesn't have the foggiest
notion. He didn't listen. He didn't listen. Oh, somebody
tell a joke, and he hears every word. He can recite it, he can
go, he can tell it for the next six months. But he doesn't attention. Attention. Now there's another reason why
men who say they hear the Bible, read the Bible, and don't have
faith, not only lack of intention or attention, but lack of honesty. Now let me ask you a question.
Do you want to hear the preacher tell you what God says, or do
you want to hear him tell you what you already believe? Now
which? Do you want the preacher to tell
you what God says and what God requires and what God Almighty
wills, or do you want to hear Him tell you what you already
think, what you already believe, what you already have in your
heart, what you already think about God? When our minds are
made up and filled with natural wisdom and custom and tradition,
there's no opening for God's Word. Lack of honesty. We don't bring an empty bowl,
we bring a bowl filled with what we already believe. And if it
doesn't fit in there, we throw it out. If it doesn't fit in,
we throw it out. Can we come with a totally honest
heart, rebuke me, correct me, instruct me, teach me? Here I am. Let me know what God
says. I'll do it. God willing. Lord, Paul said, what will you
have me do? And then turn to Matthew 13, and I'll give you
the other three from Matthew 13, the words of our Lord here,
when He talked about sowing the seed. The seed is the Word of
God. In Matthew 13, 19. Matthew 13, 19. Why do men read the Bible, hear
sermons, and don't have saving faith? Lack of intention. They
don't intend. They don't have the right intention,
motive. or attention, or honesty, but
lack of meditation. In Matthew 13, 19, When anyone
heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then
cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which is sown in the
heart, this is he which receiveth the seed by the wayside. Let
me show you a picture here. Here's a farmer out sowing. And
he throws some seed and it falls on fallow ground, or hard ground,
or in a path where men walk. And he goes on. Well, that's
while a bird comes and picks that seed up and bears it away. He sees it laying on the open
ground and he picks it up. Now Christ said there are people
who listen to the Word and they don't understand it. But instead
of going aside and meditating upon it and asking for the rain from
heaven and asking for the work of the Holy Spirit to plow up
that old hard ground that that seed might germinate and take
root, no. He just pays no attention. He
goes out, he does not meditate, he does not like to bury and
search the Scriptures, he does not give concern to it. The birds
are there, which is Satan and his devils just come and take
it away, and it's gone. Lack of meditation. Now, this
message I'm bringing to you on how to obtain faith, when you leave it, don't close
your Bible when you leave here. Sometime this afternoon or tonight
or tomorrow or this week, go back to these scriptures and
study them and say, Lord, I don't understand what he's saying.
I don't understand. I want to think on this. I want
to think on this. Think on these things. Study
these things. Meditate upon these. Lack of
meditation. And I'll tell you, if you're
concerned enough about your soul, you will meditate on these things. And then look at the next verse,
verse 21, though. Lack of courage. Lack of courage. He says here in verse 20, He
that receiveth the seed into stony places, the same as he
that heareth the word, and for a while, or with joy, suddenly
with joy receiveth it, and yet he hath no root in himself, he
endureth for a little while, but tribulation or persecution
arises because of the word, and he is offended. It takes courage to believe in grace, sovereign
grace. It takes courage. Because people
who know who God is and who believe that God is a sovereign Lord
and salvation is all of grace by Christ, they're going to have
trouble. They're going to have trouble with religious leaders
and religious people and trouble with their own families and trouble
with their neighbors. trouble with themselves inside
and out. There's going to be tribulation,
persecution. In the world you'll have tribulation.
And it takes courage. And I tell you now, if you receive
the Word of God, if you receive what God says about redemption
and salvation and the Lordship of Christ, it's not going to
be easy down there where you work. It's not going to be easy
where you live. It's not going to be easy where
you socialize. It's going to be difficult. It's
not going to be easy in your family. And some folks say, well,
I'm just going to have to find me an easier way of salvation.
I'm going to have to find me a preacher that doesn't preach
that. After all, I believe we're all
headed for the same place. We're just traveling different
roads, you know. It doesn't really matter what
a man believes, just so he's sincere. You keep telling yourself
that. You keep on telling yourself
that. You better try the Spirit. That's not the Holy Spirit telling
you that. That's another Spirit. A man doesn't have to be in an
election to be saved. I know that. I know that. But if he's saved and he hears
it, he'll believe it. That's right. The Holy Spirit
will teach him. That's right. I tell you, he's not going to
back down because he's a coward, I'll tell you that. He's not
going to disbelieve election simply because the people he
works with don't believe it, or the people he lives with don't
believe it. Isn't that the reason why some
of us fight these doctrines is we don't want to contend for
them. We don't want to stand for them. We've got the boldness
and the courage and the grace. To say, brother, I'm not forcing
my belief upon you, but I'm standing right here. This is what God
says. Now you believe what you want
to, and I'll love you and I'll pray for you, but this is what
God says. And this is where I'm standing.
But he that waveth is like the troubled sea, you know. Let not
that man think he'll receive anything. Look at the next verse,
22. He that received the seed among the thorns is he that hears
the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of
riches choke the word. He becomes unfruitful. Lack of
dedication. Lack of dedication. He hears the word, but the cares
of this world riches, social prominence, popularity, all of these things, you know.
This gospel of grace, it's just not the country club gospel. Ain't no way. This gospel of
grace, this gospel of Christ, it's not the politician's gospel.
There ain't no way. This gospel of grace, this gospel
of humility, this gospel that levels all men, it's not the
gospel of the high and mighty.