An Earnest Seeker Meets a Faithul Preacher

Q: What does the Bible say about seeking God?

The Bible encourages earnest seekers to walk in the light they have been given and seek God with all their hearts. The Ethiopian eunuch is an exemplar of an earnest seeker in Acts 8:34-35. He traveled from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship, demonstrating his desire to walk in the light God had given him. It is important to note that seeking God requires effort and sincerity. The Lord promises in Jeremiah 29:13 that we will find Him when we seek Him with all our hearts, which indicates that a half-hearted approach is insufficient. Sincerity in seeking God is foundational to true faith, as displayed by this eunuch's dedication to understanding the Scriptures.

Q: How do we know that salvation is a gift from God?

Salvation is a gift from God, as confirmed by Scripture that emphasizes God's sovereign grace and His will to save those He chooses. Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly states that salvation is by grace through faith, and it is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. This concept is foundational in Reformed theology, teaching that salvation is initiated and completed by God alone. Romans 10:13-15 further illustrates that belief in Christ requires hearing the Word preached, which God sovereignly provides through His chosen messengers. It is essential to recognize that salvation involves God's sovereign purpose and gracious giving, thus excluding any notion of human merit or effort in achieving redemption.

Q: Why is reading the Bible important for Christians?

Reading the Bible is vital for Christians as it reveals God's truth and guides them in their faith. The earnest seeker exemplified by the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 emphasizes the importance of reading God's Word. To truly seek God, one must engage with Scripture, as it is through the Word that God communicates His will and truth. The eunuch was reading Isaiah, desiring understanding, and this active engagement with Scripture is essential for spiritual growth and enlightenment. Preaching, as mentioned in Romans 10:14, is tied to the reading and understanding of God's Word, which points to the necessity of both private reading and public preaching.

Q: What hinders people from becoming Christians?

Pride, unbroken will, and love for the world are common hindrances that prevent people from fully committing to Christ. In the sermon, the preacher addresses the barriers individuals face in becoming Christians, emphasizing that pride and unbroken will can prevent true surrender to God. The Ethiopian eunuch's question about what hinders him from being baptized invites introspection regarding personal obstacles. As highlighted in John 5:44, seeking the honor that comes from men rather than God can keep hearts from submitting to Christ. Humility and a broken spirit are essential for coming to faith, as God’s grace is bestowed upon the humble (James 4:6). The preacher urges listeners to confront these hindrances seriously.

A man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of
great authority, had come to Jerusalem for to worship. He was returning and sitting
in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet. This Ethiopian official
was seeking the Lord. Of that I am sure. How he came
to be a seeker, I don't have the faintest idea, and no one
else does. How he obtained, where he obtained
a copy of Isaiah's writings, the Word of God, I do not know. But there are three things that
I do know. Number one, he'd come to be a proselyte to the faith
of Israel. Somehow he'd come to be a proselyte
to the faith of Israel. He became a seeker of the true
and living God. Secondly, he had made a long
and perilous and difficult journey to Jerusalem to worship. He had
gone to the feast. And now he was returning home,
and he was riding in his chariot, reading the 53rd chapter of Isaiah's
writings. Now, two things impressed me
here. First of all, this man, this
earnest seeker, this Ethiopian, this official of the Ethiopian
government, the treasurer, this man was walking in the light
that God had given him. I call him an earnest seeker
because he was walking in the light God had given him. It was
not a full light. It was not a full sun of revelation. It was more like candlelight.
It was more like candlelight, but this man was willing for
a season to walk in the light that God Almighty had given him. Are you doing that? A man is
not an earnest seeker of the living God if he is not walking
in the light God has given him. I know many people groan about
their inability and their insufficiencies and their lack of spiritual growth
and their lack of understanding and their conflicts and their
doubts and their fears and all these things. But I believe it's
sheer hypocrisy unless they're making use of the light that
God has given them, whatever that light might be. whether
it be a candlelight or whether it be a kohlor light or whether
it be the light of the moon. It may not be the full sun of
revelation, but if a person is not walking in the light God
has given him and he moans about his inabilities and his insufficiencies
and his lack of spiritual growth, he is a hypocrite. This man was a seeker. And this
man had made, do you realize how difficult it was to go from
Ethiopia to Jerusalem in those days? Do you realize how difficult
it was to make the journey from Ethiopia to Jerusalem in those
days? He'd gone by chariot. He'd gone
by chariot from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship God, to seek the Lord. He was walking in the light God
had given him. The second thing that impresses
me, now watch it. First of all, he's walking in
the light God had given him. Secondly, he was reading the
Word of God. He was reading the Word of God.
Don't tell me that a person is a true seeker of a saving interest
in Jesus Christ. Don't tell me that a man is a
true seeker of the living God who does not read God's Word. And I know that you're asking
yourself right now this question, how much of this book have I
read this week? And most of you are answering
the question, not much. Well, let me tell you this, as
a faithful preacher I'm trying to be, it's mocking God. It's mocking God. For a man to
claim an interest in Jesus Christ, It's mocking God for a man to
claim an interest in a saving interest in Jesus Christ, who
does not search the scriptures. Now, you can trust your soul
to every TV preacher that comes on and every radio preacher that
you listen to. You can trust your soul to human
literature if you wish. You can trust your soul to hand-me-down
religion if you wish. You can trust your soul to your
denominational preference if you wish. You can trust your
soul to the old pilgrim and Puritan fathers and the founders of this
nation. I don't desire to leave my soul
in their hands. I'm going to search the scriptures.
That's what this man was doing. I call him an earnest seeker.
And I say this. That if a man is an earnest seeker,
if a man or woman in this congregation, in this town, is an earnest seeker
after the living God, if he's an earnest seeker, he'll walk
in the light God has given him. He'll make every effort to hear
God's Word preached. If he has to travel by chariot
from Ethiopia to Jerusalem, It's the most disgusting thing
in my whole ministerial experience to listen to some of your excuses
for not being in God's house. If it's nauseating to me, how
nauseating it must be to our holy God. And this man condemns us. Listen to our Lord. Listen to
him. The Queen of Sheba. came from a far country to hear
the wisdom and see the glory of Solomon, she'll stand in the
judgment and condemn this generation, he said, because a greater than
Solomon is here." A greater than Solomon. Are you
walking in the light God's given you? Are you availing yourself
of all the light God Almighty makes available to you? This
man, he'd heard about this Jehovah. He'd heard about the power of
Jehovah, the glory of Jehovah. He'd heard about Israel's Jehovah.
He'd heard about the feast. He'd heard about the law. He'd
heard about the tabernacle. He'd heard about the temple.
And he had to hear it. He had to see it. He had to be
there. He had to inquire into it. He
wasn't willing to read a circular or a handbill. He wasn't willing
even to listen to a tape. He wanted to be there. He wanted
to be there. And he drove all the way from
Ethiopia to Jerusalem, walking in the light God gave him. And
I'll tell you this, you walk in the moonlight and God lets
you see the sun. You walk faithfully and diligently and sincerely
in the candlelight, and God will give you the sun of righteousness. But God will not deal with hypocrites,
and God will not show mercy on them either. And do not call
yourself a religionist if you plead, but don't call yourself
a seeker after God unless you are seeking God with all your
heart. Isn't that what he said? You'll
find me when you search for me, how? Half-heartedly, indifferently,
carelessly, at your pleasure, when you have the time, when
you're not doing something else, when you search for me with all
your heart. With all your heart. These people
honor me, Christ said, with their lips. They talk a good religion. But I know where their hearts
are. Their hearts are far from me. This man was walking in the
light God gave him, and this man was reading the Word of God.
Reading the Word of God. What did God do? He sent him
a preacher. Look at verse 26. The angel of the Lord said to
Philip, Philip, arise and go toward the south, to the place
that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. God
sent him a preacher. Now, my friends, we're living
in a sad, sad, sad day. The pulpit used to be the center
of the Church. That's where the glory of God
was. Spurgeon called it the throne. The pulpit used to be the center
of all the Church's fellowship and activity. It's a place where God spoke.
It's a place where God disciplined his church. It's a place where
God united his church. It's a place where God spoke
to his church. It's a place where God fed his
church. But today, I feel sorry for this generation. The pool
appeared as a worn-out, deserted piece of old furniture. That's
right. This is a day of Sunday schools.
This is a day of vacation Bible schools. This is a day of children's
camps. This is a day of retreats. This
is a day of ball teams and suppers. This is a day of church fellowship. This is a day of gospel singing. This is a day of testimony. This
is a day of special entertainment. This is a day of athletes filling
the pulpit. This is a day of special music.
This is not the day of preaching. Preaching. I turned my television
on yesterday, and the scene came on, there was clouds, oh, it
was beautiful, in full living color. And here was the face
of a famous country music singer, silhouetted in the sky, clouds
banked all around him. He was pretty, up there in the
sky, looking down on me. And the announcer in a very dramatic
voice said, order this record. There's no one who can bring
you as close to God as a good country singer. That's where
we are. That's where we are. Holy Spirit
anointed gospel preaching is a thing of the past. Lectures,
intellectual hogwash, doctrinal essays, Lectures on civil rights
and wrongs and human dignity. Doctrinal essays. These things
are what we're subjected to. God help us. God pity us. Holy
Spirit anointed gospel preaching is a thing of the past. The preachers
have become pastors. They're no longer preachers.
You know it so. He can't preach a lick, somebody
said, but he's a good pastor. You pray tell me how a man can
be a good pastor who can't preach. You pray tell me how a man can
be a good shepherd who can't feed the flock. You pray tell
me how a man can be a good pastor who leads the flock into dry,
famine-infested, cracked-open parts, desert wildernesses where
there's no green grass and no living Steel water. Preachers aren't preachers anymore,
they're counselors. They're ministers of education.
They're ministers of music, they're youth directors, they're promoters.
I'll tell you what they are, and I'll say this kindly, don't
fall out with me, they're wet nurses for a bunch of lost church
members. trying to keep deacons happy
and the Ladies Missionary Society happy and keep everybody in line,
and the study and the closet of prayer has been deserted.
That's right, been deserted. And the hireling, and the hireling
who draws a good salary and lives in a church parsonage, and drives
a fine car, the hireling goes about trying to build a church
on his personality and his personal contacts and his denominational
program, and we aren't hearing any preaching. We live in a sad
day. John the Baptist came preaching.
Preaching, repent, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Our Lord began to preach. Let
me show you a verse of Scripture. Turn to Mark, chapter 1. Mark,
the first chapter. Oh, God, for a soul-refreshing! Oh, God, for a church-reviving! Oh, God, for a Christ-exalting,
living experience of hearing somebody preach! Preach, preach. I'd love to turn that TV on and
hear somebody preach. I don't mean give away his books
and exalt his program and sell a lot on top of a mountain. Somebody
preach Christ, the glory of Jesus Christ! I believe it thrilled
my heart to death. In Mark 1, verse 38, Jesus said
unto them, Let's go to the next town, that I may preach there
also. For therefore came I forth,"
let's go down there so I can preach to them, that's why I
came here, to preach, to preach the gospel to the poor, yes,
to heal the brokenhearted, yes, to give sight to the blind, yes,
to set the captive free, but to preach! Our Lord said to his disciples
before he ascended back to the Father, go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. Paul said, Timothy,
preach the word. Preach the word. One old lady
said to her new pastor just out of the seminary, she said, if
I were a little mouse, I would hide from thee. He said, where
would you hide? She said, in your study. in your study, you'll never find
me there. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 21,
our Lord said, It pleased him by the foolishness of preaching,
to say them that believe. Charles Spurgeon made this comment
years ago, a hundred and some odd years ago. In that day, in
that day, When the stock shall be taken of results, it will
be found that the preachers of the gospel of Christ, with all
their imperfections, have been the great instruments in the
hands of the Holy Spirit in bringing his people to eternal life. In Acts 22, God sent Paul a preacher. Saul of Tarsus had been smitten
down on the road to Damascus. He'd been sent yonder into the
place blinded. And God Almighty sent him a preacher,
Ananias. And that preacher brought him
a message from God. And God brought him to the knowledge
of Christ. And I'll tell you this, and I mean it with all
my heart, if you ever come I believe this as sure as I'm before you
right now. If you ever come to a saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Redeemer, if divine
life is ever quickened in your dead soul, if you ever come not
to get religion or doctrinal position or a moral code of conduct,
but if you ever come to a living, vital union with Jesus Christ. If God ever enthrones his Son
in your heart, it will be accomplished by that life-giving Holy Spirit,
using the Word of God, preached to you. That's so. of his own will begat he us to
the word of truth." I'm not discounting reading, I'm not discounting
tracts, I'm not discounting Christian literature, I'm not discounting
God-honoring books, I'm not discounting Bible classes, I'm not discounting
those things. I am saying this, God Almighty
put preaching out there according to his will, in his sovereign
pleasure, as the means of grace. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned. God Almighty
is not going to hold you accountable for every split-tailed Sunday school teacher
you ever listen to. God is not going to hold you
accountable for every one gallus evangelist you ever listen to,
God's going to hold you accountable for every time you heard his
preacher, and every time you could have heard his preacher,
and every time you didn't hear him. That's right. Romans chapter
10, let's look at it. It says best, Our Lord said,
He that heareth you, heareth me. And he that despiseth you,
despiseth him that sent me. In Romans 10, verse 13, listen
to it, "...whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved. How, then, how shall they call
on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher?" You answer those three hows. How? And how shall they preach except
they be sinned? except they be sent. Here's an
earnest seeker. Here's a man that means business.
Here's a man walking in the light God gave him. Here's a man reading
God's Word. He's an earnest seeker. He cares.
He's interested in knowing the living God, so he's reading God's
Word, seeking the Lord, walking in the light God gave him. And
you know what God did? God sent him a preacher. And what took
place between that earnest seeker in that preacher. What took place? Look at Acts 8, look at verse
30. And Philip came to him and heard
him reading the Bible, and he said to him, here's where he
started. Some preachers say, well, I don't know where to start.
I'll tell you where to start, I know. Start where that center
is. Start where it is. You know what
Philip did? Philip asked him this question, do you understand
what you read? Do you understand what you're
reading? Now, see what he's reading. Isaiah 53. Turn over there a
minute. Isaiah 53. Do you understand
what you're reading? Do you know what the Prophet
is saying? Do you know what he's saying
about you? Isaiah 53, verse 6. Oh, we like sheep have gone astray.
We've turned everyone to his own way. Your way is not God's
way. Don't you lay the blame on God
for your corrupted, Evil, wicked, foul heart. Do you blame God
for that? Don't you make God an ally of
your sins? You haven't turned to the way of God, you've turned
to your way. You've gone your way. All of
us have gone our way, and our way is not God's way. Look at verse 4 and 5. He talks
about our griefs and our sorrows. He talks in verse 5 about our
transgressions, our iniquities. Our iniquities. My friend, ain't
no use to talk to a man about an offering for sin until he
is convinced that he's a sinner. Now, verse 10 talks about an
offering for sin. Thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin. But there's no use me preaching
to a congregation an offering for sin until that congregation
is burdened under the weight of sin and can't get rid of it
and realize their offerings are no good. No use to talk to a
man about justifying many. That's what he says down in verse
11, "...by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many." He shall justify many! But no use talking to a man about
being justified if that man's not convinced he's guilty. Start
where he is. Guilty. Then down in verse 12,
it talks about him being numbered with the transgressors. That's
identification. That's representation. But no
use talking to a man about identification who's not a transgressor. And then he talks about intercession,
making intercession for the transgressors. But no use talking to a man about
someone being his mediator and someone opening a door for him
if he's already got a door. And no use talking to a man about
a way into God's presence who already has a way, a way of his
own making. Do you understand what you read?
God's Word was not given to comfort only, it was given to convince. The Holy Spirit didn't come just
to comfort, he came to convince the world of sin! And there's
no way that he'll ever speak comfort to a man's heart until
he's first of all convicted that heart of sin. There's no way
he'll ever clothe a naked sinner until he's stripped him! There's
no way he'll ever be able to firm foundation under a sinner
until he's torn out the old rotten foundation of sand and flesh.
There's no way he'll ever give life until he's slain the sinner. Do you understand what you're
reading? Do you understand God's hatred for sin? Do you understand
God's judgment against sin? Can you say with David, my sins
are ever before me? Or are you justifying your sins? Do you understand that salvation
is a gift of God? Read verse 10, look at it. It
pleased the Lord to bruise him. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. He
made his soul an offering for sin. The pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand. Do you understand that you are
a hopeless, helpless sinner without God? That Almighty God cannot
by any means be appeased or gratified or satisfied by anything that
you do. Do you realize that salvation
is totally, completely from Alpha to Omega, from beginning to end,
from its purpose to its consummation, the gift of God? That's what
Scripture says, the gift of God is eternal life. The salvation
of the righteous is of God and of Him only. Salvation is of
the Lord. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. I will be gracious to him, I
will be gracious. No man's going to find anything
unless he goes where it is. No man's going to find anything
unless he goes where it is. Now, if I lose my key, there's
only one way I'm going to find it, and that's for me to go where
it is. I'll never find it if I go somewhere
else. And salvation is in the hands of God. Eternal life is
in the hands of God. Eternal life is the gift of God.
Redemption is in the hands of Christ. And if you are redeemed,
if you find life, if you find a vital living union with Christ,
you're going to have to get it from him. I'll go to Jesus, though
my sins hath like a mountain rose. I know his courts I'll
enter in, whatever it may oppose. For prostrate I'll lie before
his throne, and there my guilt confess. I'll tell him I'm a
wretch undone without his sovereign grace. I'll to the gracious King
approach, whose scepter pardon gives. Perhaps he'll command
my touch. And then the sinner lives. Perhaps
he will admit my plea. Perhaps he will hear my prayer. But if I perish, I will pray
and I'll perish only there. I can but perish. If I go, I'm
resolved to try. For if I stay away, I know I
shall forever die. Hear old Peter as he sank beneath
the waves, Lord, save me or I perish. Lord, save me. Do you understand
these two things? Do you understand what you reap?
My transgressions, my iniquities, my griefs, my sorrows, my inability,
My dead condition. Do you understand that? Do you
understand? He hath made his soul an offering. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grieve. He
did it. And the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand. Grace is free. But grace is freely
given from the hand of a God of purpose. Now, you'll never turn a sinner away,
but that sinner is going to have to come to him, because that's
the only place that you'll find life. Hold Isaiah 53 a minute and let's
look at another question. Do you understand what you read? And then the Ethiopian eunuch
asks the question, verse 34, he says, Of whom does the prophet
speak? Who is he talking about? Who is this tender plant, this
infant of days? born to a virgin maiden, wrapped
in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger of hay, surrounded by
shepherds and poor people. Who is this tender plant? Who
is this root out of dry ground, this Jewish carpenter born of
a nation whose glory is all gone, whose power is all gone? A nation
whose hope is all gone, this root out of a dry, thirsty, dead
nation. Who is this root out of dry ground? Who is this despised and rejected
man, this man of sorrows upon whom everybody who was anybody
turned thumbs down? Who is this man? Who is this silent sufferer brought
as a lamb to the slaughter? Who is this despised, rejected,
betrayed, denied, mistreated, persecuted, maligned, lied on
man who hears these false witnesses, lie on him and answers not a
word? Who is this man who stands before
Pilate with a crown of thorns on his head? in his own blood,
covering the stone voyage. Who is this man? Who is this
mutilated, beaten piece of flesh hanging on that crested cross
between two thieves, who hardly looks like a human being? Who
is this man whose body hangs between heaven and earth, rejected
by earth and deserted by heaven? Who is this? You better find out who that
is. I'll tell you who he is. Verse
1, Isaiah 53 says, he's the arm of the Lord. What is that word
on power? Power. He is the power of the
Lord. He is the strength of the Lord. He is the glory of the Lord.
God was in Christ. He's God Himself, that's who
He is. Who is He? Look at verse 9, verse
12. He's our representative. He was
numbered with us, the transgressors. He's one of us. Yes, sir. Christ
in me and me in Christ. Bone of my bone, flesh of my
flesh. God Almighty in human flesh.
Our representative, numbered with the transgressors, yet no
deceit in his mouth. A perfect man! Perfect God and
perfect man! Two natures in one. Who is this man? Who is this
man? He's our substitute, verse 4.
He bore, not his grace, my grace, not his sorrows, my sorrows.
We did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted for what?
My transgression, my iniquity is the chastisement of my peace. My substitute, that's who he
is. He's my sin offering. He's my mediator. He maketh intercession
for me." He was buried and rose again. He's seated at God's right
hand. Who is this man? Well, I'm here to tell this whole
world, this whole world, from the bottom of Hades to the
last praising saint in glory. I'm here to announce if I had
the microphone that was tuned to every ear of the universe
that ever lived. Who is this man? Well, he's not
a defeated moralist, and he's not a frustrated reformer, and he's not a little silly sentimental
superstar. Who is this man? He is a successful
Savior. That's right. That's right. He did what he came to do. He
fulfilled the task that God gave him. He completed the ransom,
paid the price for our sins. He shall see the travail of his
soul and be satisfied. He's a satisfied Savior. He's
a successful Savior. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He was numbered with the transgressors,
and he bared the sin of many. And by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many. If he bore my sins, I don't bear
them. If he died my death, I will not die. If he redeemed my soul,
I am redeemed. I am redeemed." He didn't come
down here to make an effort to do anything. He came on a mission,
and that mission was planned and purposed and decreed in the
covenant of grace before the world began, and it's moving
on schedule. I'll tell you this, if I was
you, I'd sure become a seeker, that I may win Christ and be
found in him. that I may know him and the power
of his resurrection. I don't want to just know a helpless
god of stone or god of marble, do you? I don't want to just
have a religion. I just want to go through the
motions like the Buddhists and the Confucius and the Mohammedans
and these people who worship a human being. I tell you this,
I want to bow at the feet of him who made this world. I want
to bow at the feet of him in whom we live and move and have
our being. I want to bow and worship and
have fellowship with the King of kings and Lord of lords, not
one who waits to see what I do, but who has the power over my
will to do. Somebody says, God can and he
will if you let him. I don't want that kind of God.
I don't want that kind of God. I don't want a God who can't
do except what I let him do. Because I know that's not the
God who made this earth. And I know that's not the God
who keeps the sun in its proper place. And I know that's not
the God who created this universe and the stars, who makes the
grass to grow and the birds to sing. I know that's not the God
of the Bible. The God who is helpless and frustrated
and defeated. But the God of sovereign grace
and the God of sovereign purpose and the God of sovereign glory. He whom who is king, I come before
his throne with a rope about my neck and say I ought to be
hung. But you're plenteous in mercy. Huh? Plenteous in mercy. Let thy blood
be propitiation for me on the mercy seat." And look, the third
question, and I close. The eunuch asked Philip another
question. And he said in verse 36, they came to water, and the eunuch
said, Here is water, what doth hinder me? What does hinder me
from being baptized? Or what does hinder me from being
a Christian? What does hinder me from identification
with Christ? That's what baptism entails.
That's what it pictures. It's identification. A man ought
not be baptized who's not one with Christ. No use going into
the water if he hadn't gone to the cross for me. No use going
into the water in burial unless he's gone to the tomb for me.
No use pitching a lie by coming out of the water saying that
Christ arose for me. What does hinder me from being
identified with this crucified, buried, risen Savior? I don't
know what hinders you. You have to determine that. What
does hinder you? Maybe it's an unbroken will,
maybe you're a smart aleck. That's right, and I'm not being
a smart aleck by saying that. Our Lord said, He hath hid these
things, listen to me, from the wise and the prudent. You think
you're wise, you think you're prudent, you think you're smart,
you think you're intelligent, you think you're educated, you
think you're above this bloody slaughterhouse religion. Well,
go into hell then. That's what's hindering you. You can't be broken, you can't
be humbled. You can't become a nobody, a
nothing. You're not a nothing, you're
a something. That's what's hindering you. Your pride's hindering you. You've got a stiff neck and an
unbroken heart. God'll break it one of these
days and he'll bend your neck, and you'll bow your knee and
you'll confess that Christ is Lord, not here but in hell at
the judgment, but you'll break. Maybe that's hindering you. What
does hinder me? I'll tell you what's hindering
you. Pride. What's hindering you? Your unbroken
will. Christ said, you will not come
to me. You know how you're coming to
Christ? You know how you're coming? You're coming on your knees,
or you're not coming. You're coming in the dust, or you're
not coming. You're coming empty-handed, or you're not coming. You're
coming with a broken, contrite spirit, or you're not coming.
The preacher's not trying to be hard, I'm trying to be honest.
I'm trying to shake you. You know these things. You understand
them? I understand them. What does hinder me from being
a Christian? Your pride's hindering you. Your pride is damning your
soul. Your unbroken will is taking you to hell. Your unbelief. When he's come,
he'll convince this world of unbelief. Unbelief. Your love for the world. If any
man loves the world, the love of God's not in him. You can't
serve two masters. You can't love God and your riches.
You cannot please God in your flesh. You can't do it. You make
up your mind. What does hinder me? You know
what's hindering you. You haven't been broken yet,
you haven't surrendered unconditionally, you haven't stacked your arms
yet, you haven't said, Lord, take everything I've got away
but lead me to Christ. Tell you something else that's
hindering you, the honor of men. You seek the honor that comes
from men and not the honor that comes from God alone. When you
become a simple, broken, humble believer in Jesus Christ, It'll
wean you from all of these glories of men and honors of men that
you covet so desperately. Which you want to hear Christ
say, well done, thou good and faithful servant? Or do you want
to hear these people of this world pat you on the back and
rub your head and say, you're smart, you're one of us, we like
your company? If you come to know Christ, they
won't like your company. I'm being honest with you. I'm
being honest with you. What does hinder me from being
a Christian? Anything hindering you from being
a church member, you can join anybody's church in town, most
of them will be glad to have you. If you give good, if you can teach a class, they'll be glad to have you. Nothing hindering you from being
a church member, but I'll tell you this, there's some things
hindering you from being a Christian. Being identified with Christ.
Telling the truth when you go in that water. Telling the truth
when you go in that water. And the thing that's hindering
is an unbroken heart and an unbroken will and pride and self and unbelief
and love for this world and panting after and seeking the glory that
comes from me. Don't become gospel-hardened. We're so unused to preaching.
In this day, we're so unused to preaching. People go other places and they
hear all this rhetoric and oratory and nothing, and they say, well,
I'm not getting anything. And then they come out here and
I preach a sermon like this, and they don't want that either.
What do you want? The Lord said you're like children
in the marketplace. One scratched your back and you
didn't like that, another blew a trumpet and you didn't like
that, one mourned and lamented and you didn't like that, and
one laughed and you didn't like that. Everybody's his own preacher
now. That's right. Everybody's his own pastor. Everybody's
his own Bible interpreter. Everybody's his own doctrinal
teacher. That's right. Nobody listening. God, there
ain't nobody listening. Maybe somebody will. Maybe there's
an earnest seeker somewhere, and God'll send him a preacher.
And that preacher will tell him the truth, and that preacher
will strip him. Strip him. Just strip him. Just tear the
hide off and pour in the salt, humble him and break him, and
you'll fall blinded in the dust. Cry, what must I do? And God
will visit him in mercy. Maybe, maybe. But the Lord's
not in the cooperating business. He's not cooperating. He's not
hurting. His heaven won't be empty if you don't make it. That's
right. But your heart will be awfully
empty if he doesn't visit you. A sinner is a sacred thing, the
Holy Ghost has made him so, so rare, so hard to find. Our Father
in Heaven, Lord, don't leave us in our pride, don't leave
us in our selfish, arrogant self-righteousness, don't leave us in our form of
words. Our doctrines and our man-made
religion visit us in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.
O God, strip us, show us what we are, humble us under thy mighty
hand, and turn our eyes to Calvary, where we can behold him who loved
us and died for us on the cross. Whatever it takes to break us,
whatever it takes to wean us,

An Earnest Seeker Meets a Faithul Preacher

What does the Bible say about seeking God?

How do we know that salvation is a gift from God?

Why is reading the Bible important for Christians?

What hinders people from becoming Christians?

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An Earnest Seeker Meets a Faithul Preacher

What does the Bible say about seeking God?

How do we know that salvation is a gift from God?

Why is reading the Bible important for Christians?

What hinders people from becoming Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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