He Stooped to Conquer

John chapter 8, verse 1 through
11, has been down through the years
of their controversial passage of Scripture. Now you may not
believe this, but battles have been waged over this Scripture
right here. Some of the well-known preachers
of the Gospel refuse to preach from this passage of Scripture.
If you're blessed with a pretty good library, you check me on
that. They didn't do it. You won't
find in Mr. Spurgeon's 3,000 messages, a
message on this passage of Scripture. They avoided it. Some of the
greatest preachers, the Puritans, didn't preach from John 8, 1
through 11. The reason, they feared that
it would encourage the sin of adultery, so they left it alone.
But more than that, Some even denied that this Scripture was
in the early manuscripts. There's been a lot of bloodshed
over that. They said that this passage of
Scripture was not in the original text, that it had been added
by someone later on. That's how much they despised
this passage of Scripture. They said it wasn't even in the
Bible, that it had been added. by someone later on. That was
proved to be false. And then thirdly, some of the
early churches just lifted it out of the Bible. They just omitted
it. They took it out of their Bibles,
fearing three things, that it would encourage their women to
sin, the sin of adultery, that it would bring upon them the
wrath of unbelievers saying that they encouraged sin, and then
the self-righteous Pharisees in the church wanted it taken
out, so they lifted it out of their Bibles. That's how much
controversy has been engaged in over this particular passage.
But personally, I think it one of the most beautiful examples
of our Lord's mercy to be found anywhere in the Bible. I believe
that this passage of Scripture is right along with that passage
of Scripture over there where he dealt with Simon the Pharisee
and the harlot in Simon's home. I believe it's right along with
the thief on the cross. those blessed scriptures. I think
it's one of the most beautiful, beautiful pictures and examples
of our Lord's mercy to be found anywhere in the Bible. I cannot
read it without tears, at least in my heart. And I believe four
things about it. Number one, it's an encouragement
to sinners, not to sin, but to flee to Christ. It's an encouragement not to
sin, but to flee to Christ. It's an encouragement to any
person, regardless of their background, regardless of their sins, regardless
of their iniquity. He's able to save to the uttermost
them that come to God by Him. I don't find here any encouragement
to rebel or to sin against God. I find here an encouragement
to flee to Christ and to find in Him mercy. And secondly, I
believe it's instructive to those who would learn the gospel. The
gospel's for sinners. Our Lord came into the world,
Paul said, to save sinners of whom I am chief. Our Lord said
Himself, I'm not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance. If you want to learn the gospel,
you can learn the gospel here. This passage is instructive to
those who would learn the gospel. You know what Spurgeon said one
time, and I'm surprised at him really that he didn't preach
from this passage, but he didn't, it's not in the index anywhere.
But he said one time, a man takes his first step toward heaven,
not when he sees Christ as his Savior, but when he sees himself
needing a Savior. That's when a man takes his first
step toward heaven, not when he sees the remedy, but when
he's made aware of the fact that he needs a remedy, that he has
a disease. And this is where we've all got
to come. Sooner or later, if we meet Christ, we're going to
have to meet Him on the ground. We're going to have to meet Him
in the dust. We're going to have to meet Him
on the basis that we're sinners. If you ever meet Christ, the
Redeemer, you're going to meet Him As a sinner, he said, I've
come to seek and to save the lost. Christ died for the ungodly,
and sooner or later, we've got to come right here. He did not
come to call the righteous. The well do not need a physician.
And you good people here tonight, I'm telling you, there's no hope
for good people. There's mercy for sinners. And
then the third thing I see here, it's strong, so strong, so very
strong in its condemnation of self-righteousness. Oh, you'll
see that in a moment, how our Lord dealt with the two classes
of people here. How our Lord dealt with this
woman and how He dealt with those Pharisees. It's poles apart,
poles apart. And you'll see how He despises
in His divine wrath human judgment. God Almighty condemns human judgment. We've got no right to judge.
He's the only one to whom all judgment's been committed. And
He said the judgment will be the Word right here. These words
are going to judge you. And then the fourth thing I see
here is a picture of His redemptive work. Now, I hope I can make
some I hope I can make some good out
of this now. So let's look at John 8 for a
few moments. Here's the picture. These Pharisees had been trying
to set a trap for the Lord for a long time. They'd been trying
to set a trap. And so they finally found them
a victim. They weren't interested in this
woman. But they had found them a victim. They had found a woman
taken in the very act, they said, of adultery, and they had two
witnesses. Now, they did think, the Pharisees
always do things scripturally. Always do things scripturally.
They do things in an orthodox manner. And so they got them
two witnesses, or three witnesses, according to Moses' law, and
they found this woman, and they brought her to the temple. That's
where Christ was. He was at the temple, and He
was teaching the people. And here they came, the whole
mob of them. They had her in the... I can just see them. They
were having themselves a ball. They were enjoying this. They
finally had this man Jesus. They were going to bring this
woman, found in the act of adultery, and they were going to throw
her down at His feet, and they were going to trap Him because
they knew this. They had Him either way, they
thought. Had Him either way. First of all, they found her. These witnesses were there. They
had the witnesses. They found her in the act of
adultery. They were going to ask Him. Now, what do you say? Moses
says, stone her. Now, if he let the woman go,
if he had compassion on her, if he had mercy on her and let
her go, he was crossing Moses' law. They had him. He was violating
the law of Moses. It's written clearly in the law
of Moses that such should be stoned. He was bucking the law. But they had him the other way.
If he sided with Moses and says, go ahead and stone her, Then
where is his mercy? They had him both ways, they
thought. If he let her go, they had him bucking Moses. If he
condemned her and watched them stone her, The people would,
he'd lose favor with the people because he was the friend of
publicans and sinners. So they brought her to the Lord,
and here it said in the midst, it's a circle, someone said.
They were ganging around. Our Lord was teaching the people
here, and here they came with the crowd. They had her, you
know, and they brought her, and they pushed their way through,
and they scattered the people out, and they made a circle,
and they threw her down on the ground. And then they brought their accusation. They said, this woman, verse
4, they said, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the
very act. No doubt of her guilt. It's established. Not a doubt
in this world. The woman was guilty for she
had been caught in the very act officially by two witnesses and
she was now brought to the temple to be judged. But let me tell
you something. Every person here can be identified
with that dear woman because though you have not been caught
in the act of sin and publicly exposed, God has caught you in
the thought of sin. in the thought of sin. Now, the
thought of foolishness is sin. I want you to turn to Matthew
chapter 5. Now, this is where the Pharisees
had gone wrong. Right here, they didn't understand
sin. Do you understand sin? Do you
know what sin is? Have you made the mistake of
cataloging sin? Have you made the mistake of
talking about what's a big sin, what's a little sin, what's a
great sin, what's a small sin, what's a mortal sin, and what's
some other kind of sin? Have you been caught in that
horrible web? You listen to Christ in Matthew
5, verse 21. Listen to Him. He defines the
law. He said, You have heard that it was said, Matthew 5,
verse 21, by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill. Whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto
you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his
brother, Raker, that is an anger vain fellow, shall be in danger
of the counsel. Whosoever shall say, Thou fool,
shall be in danger of hell fire." Attitude. You don't have to strike
your brother. You don't have to Shoot your
brother. You don't have to shed his blood. All you have to do is think evil
in him. And Christ said, you're already
guilty. It's the thought of sin. It's
not just the act of sin. It says here very plainly in
our text, this woman was caught in the act, but the act followed
the preparation. The preparation followed the
desire. The desire followed the lust, you see. And God Almighty
looks not on the outward flesh, but on the heart. And murder
is nothing in the world but carrying out the evil malice of the heart. And that's what God looks upon,
and that's where God judges us. Read on. Verse 27. Our Lord said,
You have heard that it was said by them of old times, I shall
not commit adultery. But I say unto you, that whosoever
looketh, whosoever lusteth, Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart,
already guilty, caught in the thought. Not just caught in the
act, but caught in the thought, caught in the imagination, caught
in the desire. That's what Paul said. He said,
I didn't know anything about sin. I didn't know what sin,
I thought I was a pretty good fellow. He said I was alive once
without the law. I thought because I'd never killed
anybody, I had never committed adultery openly, I had never
stolen anything, I'd never gone into a man's shop and stolen
bread or anything, and I'd never actually used the where the names
of God is a swear word, I'd never bowed down to a graven image,
I'd never done these things, borne false witness in a court
of law, that I'd kept the law. You'd be surprised how many of
us, right here, find some satisfaction in the fact that we never have
done that. You know, I've never been one
to curse, and never been one to swear, and never been one
to do this, that, and the other. But wait a minute. Our Lord said,
whosoever, male or female, And you know he uses men here, but
the same thing goes for the female too. This is the day back before
they had chairperson, it was chairman, you know, chairman.
This was before they had salesperson, it was a salesman. And they just
used the, I don't know anything about English, but they just
used the man, and that meant everybody. Whosoever lusted is
guilty already, caught in the act. That's right, that's what
God said. All right, read on down here
in verse 33. You've heard it said by them
of old times, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but perform
unto the Lord thine oath. I say unto you, swear not at
all. Neither by heaven, it's God's throne, nor by the earth,
it's God's footstool, nor by Jerusalem, it's the city of the
king, nor by your own head, you can't make one hair white or
black. But let your communication be
yea and nay, and whatsoever is more than that is evil. You don't
need to prove anything. Just yes and no, that's sufficient.
Boy, you and I just can't handle yes and no, can we? We've got
to make it emphatic. We've got to make it emphatic.
And then he goes on down here in verse 43 and he says, you've
heard it said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor. You know, I've
actually heard Baptist preachers preach the love of brotherhood,
brotherly love. Now brother, I'm telling you,
Christ didn't teach that. He said, I say unto you, love
your enemies. Love your enemies. Bless them
that curse you. Do good to them that hate you.
Pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you that
you may be children of your Father which is in heaven. Alright,
this woman's caught in the act. You and I can take no smug attitude
about this. We've been caught in the thought.
of sin. Hatred, malice, vengeance, envy,
jealousy, lust, pride. Our hearts are full of sin. Our
imaginations are full of sin. Our dreams are full of sin. Our
motives are full of sin. It says here in Romans 3 verse
10, there's none righteous, no not one. There's none that understandeth,
there's none that seeketh after God. They're all together. become
unprofitable. What the law sayeth, it sayeth
to them who under the law that every mouth may be stopped. All
the world become guilty. All right, look back at the text.
That's the first point. Caught in the act. Caught in
the act. We're caught in the thought. Fifthly, in the fifth verse,
now Moses, here they are, they're standing there and here she is,
they cast her down and the scripture says, these men said, now Moses
in the law commands us that this sinner caught in the act, caught
in the thought, caught in the imagination, caught by the law,
caught by divine witnesses, the divine eyes of God, caught, is
to be stoned. Nothing the law can say but guilty. That's right. You can bring the
law, roll out the law, and that's what they did. They caught this
woman in the act of sin and brought her, and then they rolled out
the law. And really, there's nothing that the law of God can
say where we're concerned but guilty. There's nothing that
the law of God can do but condemn. They were telling the truth.
There's nothing that the law of God can do but deliver the
guilty one to death. Turn to Galatians 4 verse 21. I want you to take a good hard
look at this scripture here. Galatians chapter 4 verse 21. These men were telling the truth. There's nothing the law can do
but condemn, pronounce guilty, and deliver to be executed. The
law can't help you or me. We've been caught. We've been
exposed. Our sins have been revealed.
The searchlight of God Almighty's law has shined down upon us and
we've been caught. Caught in that. And we turn to
the law as these Pharisees did. What does the law say? Guilty.
What can you offer? Guilty. Nothing. No mercy. No grace. Look at Galatians 4.21. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me you
that desire to be under the law. Do you hear, do you not hear
the law? Huh? Do you hear God's law? Look at Galatians 3, verse 10. Here's what the law says, Galatians
3, 10. As many as are of the works of the law are under the
curse, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not
in all things, in all things that are written in the book
of the law. Not to approve of them, to do them. Not to agree with them, to do
them. Not to think they're right, but
to do them. Not to boast of them, to do them. Whether you're caught in the
act or caught in the thought or caught in the imagination,
you're guilty. God will in no wise clear the
guilty. God's law cannot clear the guilty. The soul that sinneth,
it shall die. No use to plead. No use to plead
to the law for mercy. There's no mercy in the law.
No use to promise to do better. I won't do it again. No use doing
that. You will. In the flesh dwelleth no good
thing. But there's no grace in the law if you could do better.
The law's got to punish sin. No use to offer excuses. No use
to blame others. There's no lenience in the law.
Why do I know that? He spared not his own son. That's right. You don't have to look at Sodom
and Gomorrah to know that God will punish sin. Look at Calvary.
spared not his own son. And his son had no sin of his
own. His sins were imputed to him. It was somebody else's sin. And yet the law could not let
him go. The law could not release him. If it be possible, let this
cup pass. It's not possible. The law has no leniency. There's no way out. The law of
God Almighty is just and holy, and there's no loopholes in His
law. You can find some loopholes in our laws. The courts of our
nation, unfortunately, are becoming a joke. The policemen, the arresting
officers, the newspaper, the jury, the judge, the district
attorney, the prosecuting attorney, they have to just be so careful
about what they say. There's so many loopholes in
the law, but there ain't no loopholes in this one. Guilty. They had no hope. Caught in the
act. Caught in the act. But oh, how
I love verse 6. Here they stand, these old proud
self-righteous Pharisees that found this sinner, a real bona
fide sinner. And they brought her to the right
place. Oh, my soul, they didn't know what they were doing. They
brought her to the right place. They brought her to the Lord.
And cast her at his feet and stood up there and said, The
law says stone her. What do you say? I love this. Verse 6, they said this tempting
him that they might have to accuse him, but Jesus stooped down.
Jesus stooped down. I see so many things in that
statement. I just, it thrilled my soul. I pictured it in my
mind. Our Lord standing there, actually
when they brought her, He was seated teaching the people. And
he got up from the chair, wherever he was, and he stooped right
down here. He got down on his knees on the
ground. Evidently, right beside this
wall, he stooped down. He didn't stand up and begin
to argue and debate with these self-righteous religious Pharisees
and look down there. He would be looking down on her,
too. He got down there with her, side by side. And their condemnation
had to fall on him too. He became, watch this, first
of all I see this, he showed his great love for her. That's
the first thing I see. When he, without hesitation,
without hesitation, knowing that he would have to bear the wrath
of religion and even the wrath of the law, he got right down
there with her. Showed his love for sinners.
Let me show you that in Romans chapter 5. Listen to this. Our Lord loves sinners. He loves
sinners. I don't know why sinners... You
know, they did when He was here on the earth. They just crowded
around Him. They hunted Him up. They sat
at His feet. They listened to Him. They came
to Him. Why don't they do it now? Because
preachers have presented our Lord in the wrong light. The average sinner out there
in the world thinks that Jesus Christ is as holier than thou
and pious and self-righteous as the religious people they
have to work with. But our Lord loves sinners. The
Pharisees were not the friends of sinners, and religious people
now are not the friends of sinners, but Christ is. Look at Romans
5, God, verse 7 here, Romans 5, verse 8, God commended His
love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. He stood. He loves sinners. Yes, He does. He loves sinners.
I don't know why we got this thing so twisted and warped.
We come to God when we feel good, and we don't come to Him when
we feel bad. We pray and read the Bible, and
we feel like we've got an open line to heaven when our lives
are lived in accordance with our rules and standards, but
let us fall in sin, and we don't come to Christ. We avoid the
prayer closet, and we avoid the church services, and we avoid
the Bible, and we avoid the people of God, and we get out there
in a state of depression. That's the time to come. It's
sinners that came to Christ. It's the Pharisees who didn't
come. Are we Pharisees? Do we feel like that God receives
us when we're holy and God turns His back on us when we're sinful? Do we have this twisted notion
of the self-righteous Pharisees that God's throne of mercy and
grace is open to the good and closed to the bad? Do you have a problem with that? I don't feel like praying. Why
don't you feel like praying? I'm such a sinner. I don't feel like coming to Christ.
Why don't you feel like coming to Christ? I'm such a sinner.
I read the Bible and find out that's when they came to Him. I just feel like I'm on shouting
ground. Why? I've had such a good week.
I've had such a fine time. I've been so good. I hadn't stuck
my toe all week. I just feel like preaching this
morning. Now, you ain't in any shape to preach, I tell you that.
You don't preach down, you preach up. You don't preach down. Our Lord showed his identification
with her. He stood not with the religious
accusers. He was numbered with the transgressors.
He shows his condescension to come down, to come down, to come
down. Come down! He who was rich became
poor. He who knew no sin was made sin. He who wrote the law was tested
by it. Our Lord got right down there
with her and began to write on the ground. I don't know what
he wrote. Some people say he wrote some
names and dates and places and things like that that would cause
these fellows to remember some things. That may be what he wrote.
I don't know. But he wrote. But notice the next verse 7. When they continued asking him,
he lifted himself and he stood up. evidently, or looked up,
and this is the message he had. Here's the message. Now, I get
this picture. When the law brought this guilty
sinner, caught in the act, when the law of God, in its rightful
duty, brought this sinner and cast her down, the Lord Jesus
Christ came down from glory, loving that sinner. and became
identified with that sinner, took his place with that sinner,
condescended to join with that sinner, being numbered with the
transgressors. He came down, and while he was
here on this earth, in the flesh, numbered with the transgressors,
identified with sinners, companion to the lowly, he had a message
for everybody. And this is the message he delivered,
he that is without sin. He that is without sin, let him
first cast a stone. That's so. It's so and that always
has been. The law says obey and live and
it's never been changed. That's what he's saying. That's
what he's saying. Step forth, he said. Step forth. Be your own judge. Be your own
judge. You have my permission to present
your righteousness for approval. Step forward. Are you without
sin? Step forward. You will not be
condemned. Are you without fault? Step forward,
he said. Be your own judge. Choose the
ground on which you shall stand. The law said obey and live. It
still says obey and live. If we would judge ourselves accurately
and justly, we'd not be condemned. And when our Lord stood and said
that, you, go ahead, he says, I give you permission, you, any
of you, who are without sin, step forward and cast the stone. Well, from the oldest person
there, clear down to the youngest, they began to leave one at a
time. I wish they hadn't of left. I wish they hadn't of left. It
makes me think of when we get up here and preach the gospel,
and we try to preach to sinners, and folks come and listen to
it, and then they leave and don't come back. That's so tragic. You know what these men should
have done? Instead of leaving, they ought of got right down
there with him. They ought to have said to the
woman, we're guilty as you are. Our lives are as offensive as
yours is. We take our place right down
here in the dust with you. But no, they left. Now what are
you going to do? Be your own judge. That's what
Christ said. Be your own judge. Choose the ground on which you
wish to stand. Do you want to be down there
with a woman? That's where Christ is. Or do you want to stand up
here with the accusers, with the self-righteous? And then
verse 10, when Jesus had lifted up himself. Now you may feel
that I'm stretching this application here, but I see the gospel in
everything I read in this Bible. To me, the Bible is the book
of redemption. It's a book of mercy to sinners. It's a book
of grace to the guilty. In everything, I see in the rock,
I see in the Passover feast, I see in the uplifted serpent,
I see in the slain lamb, I see in the priestly work within the
veil, I see in the tabernacle, I see Christ's death, burial,
and resurrection. And I see it right here. Our
Lord is sitting there in the chair, and here comes that howling
mob, here comes the representatives of the law, the religion, they
call a sinner, call in the act. They've got their witnesses,
throw her down. Our Lord sitting in His seat
of judgment, sitting on His throne there of majesty and power and
omnipotence and omniscience and omnipresent at His feet as a
sinner. And the law says, guilty, guilty,
caught in the act. The law says, stoner. And our
Lord comes down. lays aside his kingly robes and
lays aside his eternal glory and got down there with that
sinner, numbered with the transgressors, numbered with the transgressors.
And our Lord did a work. He wrote a work. He wrote it
with His blood. Our Lord did a work. While he
was down there with that sinner, he identified himself with that
sinner, he numbered himself with the sinner, he took the sinner's
guilt, he took the sinner's place, he took the wrath of God, he
took the judgment of God, he took the accusations of the holy
law, he took it all! And when he stood up, when he
came forth from that tomb, he was buried. He was humiliated. He was tested at all points.
He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. We hid, as it were,
our faces from Him, looked at Him in His wretchedness. Even the Father wouldn't look
at Him, but turned His back on Him. And yet that body, He bore
that body in which He dwelt, was taken down from that cross
so wretched and so marred and shoved in a tomb. But when He
lifted Himself and came out, He turned to that sinner and
he said, where are your accusers? Where are your accusers? Now
we had some. Satan was there pointing his
old finger at all of us, but he's gone now. Christ whipped
him, defeated him, drove him away. He's not there anymore.
Where is he? He's gone. Where are your accusers,
woman? Doth no man accuse thee? The
law of God was there justly, the law of God was on that scene,
having brought that sinner to the Lord, and the law of God
was just in its accusation, and I looked up and it was gone too. The law was gone. The wrath and
judgment of God, caught in the act, guilty, worthy of death,
ought to have been stones, Moses said. The wrath of God was waiting,
and the justice of God, with its sword drawn from its scabbard,
was getting ready to plunge into my own heart. But instead of
into my heart, it plunged into the heart of my Lord. And that
sword drew from Him all the blood that was necessary to satisfy
God's wrath. And I looked up, and He said,
Where's the holy justice of God? And I said, He's gone, too. He's
gone, too. Satan's gone, the law is gone,
the wrath is gone, the judgment is gone, the penalty is gone,
it's all gone. The last line, and Jesus was
left alone with the woman. That's all. I don't, you know Paul said there's
no condemnation to them who are in Christ. The apostle wrote
this, clear as a bell, he said, who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? We're justified. Who can condemn
us? Christ died. He came down here,
he stooped to conquer, and when he stood up, they were all gone. When he came forth from the tomb,
they were all gone. He said, woman, where are your
accusers? She said, there's no man accusing. She said, no man, Lord. The sinner
sees the work. I see it. I see how God can be
just and justify the ungodly. When Christ came down here and
took my place, the law says guilty, caught in the act, stoned him.
The Lord came down there and took the stones. And when the
law had exhausted all of its holy wrath, it left. It left. And he stood up and
left me with my Lord. And no one was there. And then
watch this. The sinner not only sees the
work, but receives the peace. And he says, does no man accuse
thee? She said, no man. He said, watch
this. Oh, neither do I. Neither do I. I think it's one
of the most beautiful statements in this book. Neither do I. And then the woman received a
commandment from her Lord. Leave this kind of life. Go and
sin no more. Walk with the King. You know,
I read a story last week. I thought it was so beautiful.
I gave it up at Fairmont yesterday. There was an old man, an old,
old man who lived in the woods. He lived way off in the woods
by himself. And no one lived anywhere near
him. And he had a violin, an old second-hand
violin, that he was sitting in front of the fire in the evening
for his entertainment and own pleasure. He'd play that violin,
have his supper and sit in front of the fire. He squeaked and
squawked on it, but he got the job done, you know. He was playing
for himself. Just an old, old violin he'd
picked up somewhere, scratched, and it wasn't a real good one,
but he enjoyed it. One night he'd come in, it was
pouring rain, the wind was blowing, a storm was brewing, and he was
sitting there in front of the fire and I knocked at the door. And he went to the door and there
stood a fellow, you know, with his coat collar all pulled up
around his ears, you know, and the rain was pouring down on
him. He said, friend, he said, I'm lost. I wonder if I could
come in. Why, the old man said, yeah,
you're welcome to come in. I don't see folks very much,
and I'm glad to have you. Come on in. Come on in and spend
the night with me. And the man accepted his gracious
hospitality and came in. They had something to eat and
a little coffee, you know, and talked a few minutes, and then
the old man said nothing. Want to hear me play my violin?"
Well, he said, I would. As a matter of fact, I'd like
to hear you play your violin. So he went over in the mantel,
he got his violin, and they got him a comfortable chair, and
the stranger sat there in the rocker, you know, and the old
man got his violin, and he began to play Home Sweet Home. He did
a fair job on it, you know, as best he could, and then he played
home on the range as best he could, and then he played America.
After a while, a stranger said, Friend, you mind if I try that
violin? Well, the old man said, Do you
play? He said, A little. So he handed the stranger the
old second-hand violin, and the stranger tuned it up a little,
you know, and tightened the bow, and he began to play. And the old man said, you could
hear the wind blowing through the pines. You could hear the
laughter of a little child. You could hear the water rippling
over the falls. You could hear the sob of a broken
heart. The old man just sat there with
his mouth open. That man was the First violinist in the Philharmonic
Orchestra of one of the greatest cities in this nation. And he
made that old second-hand violin talk. The language almost of
the angels. You know, my friend tells me
this. The music is not in the instrument. It's in the hand
of the master. Ain't no music in this old flesh.
But I tell you, he can take it and make it sing. He can take
it, that's right. Nothing in my flesh dwelleth
no good thing. Left alone, left alone, it's
wretched and vile and fit fuel for the fires. But I'll tell
you, when it's in the hands of the Master, He can make it sing. He sure can. And that's what
we need. We need the Master to come. We
need the Master to come. Right down there with us. That's
what we are, nothing good in us. We're capable of any sin
known to devils if God left us alone. His restraining grace
passed us by. Don't ever, under God, you're
in bad shape, don't ever feel good spiritually. Don't ever, don't ever, if you
ever find yourself feeling that you're worthy of His love, you're
not in bad shape. If you ever feel yourself to
the point where you think that maybe you deserve God's grace, He's kind to the sinners, to
the defiled. God holds open house for sinners. If we say we have no sin, we're
liars, and God doesn't deal with liars. If we say we have no sin,
we make Him a liar, and His truth's not in it. But if we confess
our sins, He's so faithful and loving and just. And my little
children, I write to you that you sin not. Go and sin no more. He said, but! If any man sin,
thank God we got somebody on our side. We got somebody on
our side. He's our advocate with the Father.
Come ye sinners poor and needy, weak and wounded by the fall. Jesus ready stands to save you,
full of pity, love, and power. Come ye guilty, come and welcome.
God's free bounty glorify. If you wait till you're better,
you'll never come at all. All the fitness he requireth
is to feel your need of him. Huh? That's all. I wish that
old Lord would bring me as a guilty sinner and throw me down at his
feet tonight and ask him what to do with me. He knows what
to do with me. He knows. But I'm afraid so many
of us are out there standing around that circle. We're in
the wrong place. We're with the wrong crowd. We've
got the wrong opinion of ourselves. We've got the wrong thoughts
of God's law and the wrong thoughts of Christ. And we hear this message
and we go away, and go away. And Christ left alone with the
sinner. What a place to be, alone with the Lord. Our Father in
heaven, thank you for your word. We regret, O Lord, that some
have not found this scripture to be precious, but the guilty
have. Some have not found it to be
an encouragement. but the guilty have. Some have
not found it to their taste, but, O Lord, how it meets our
need! What a sweet morsel it is to our tongues and to our
throats, and yea, to our hearts! How gracious is our Lord, who
stooped to conquer, who stooped to lift fallen sinners! Bless
the Word, give encouragement to all who need it. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.

He Stooped to Conquer

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He Stooped to Conquer

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