It's so refreshing to hear a
song like that. You know that much thought has
gone into the selection of the song because of the words as
a real message, and Bill did a wonderful job. Now I'm gonna
operate on us tonight. You know, uh, if a message is
from God, it's going to It's going to cut, it's going to bruise,
it's going to wound, it's going to call for some thought. And tonight's message, I can
say this, I don't know of any message that I have prepared
and preached in the last few years that has
meant more to me than this one has, my own personal experience. There was a young minister who
took a church in Lexington, Kentucky a few years ago, and he got up the first Sunday
and he preached on the evils of alcohol. And one of the deacons
saw him after the service and said, He said, I guess you are aware
that Kentucky is bourbon country. And he said, we got a county
by that name, Bourbon County. That's where it was born. And
he said, we got a lot of folks in Kentucky that make their living
making alcoholic beverages. So I don't tell you what to preach,
but it might be wise if you don't say too much about the evils
of alcohol. So the next time he arose to
preach, he preached on the evils of tobacco. And that didn't go
over too good either. He met that same deacon, and
the deacon was rather apologetic. He said, Pastor, he said, now
I don't want you to misunderstand me, but he said, I don't want
to tell you what priest, but I guess you've heard of Kentucky
Burley, haven't you? He said, you see all these fields
around Lexington? He said, that's where they grow
that stuff. And he said, I'm sure you're aware that a large
portion of your salary will be paid by these tobacco farmers
and growers and so it might not be wise if you have too much
say about that. Well, a few days later he preached
again and he took gambling to task. And the same deacon was
really apologetic this time. He said, now Pastor, he said,
I know you want to get off on a good foot here, and I know
you want to have a good ministry here, but he said, I know that
you're also aware that this is horse racing country. And he
said, we just don't say too much about these racetracks around
here. And the preacher said, well man,
he said, what can I preach again? The deacon thought a minute and
scratched his head, and he said, why don't you get on them heathen
witch doctors? He said, I don't think there's
one a thousand miles of Lexington. That would be easy to do tonight,
but I'm going to get on me. That'd be all right? Herbert,
some of these preachers, and I hope some of you. Preacher's
not worth much if we bring him three or four hundred miles to
preach to us and he tries to get along with us. But I'm going
to do a little confession here before the message. One of the
things that gave me a great, and I'm not old, I'm half a 90. I was 45 last, a week ago today. But I've been around. I'm like
that fella that, uh, He said he's been around. He said his
daddy owned a saga mill and he rode the mule and he's really
been around, you know. And I have. I've been around. I've done a lot of preaching
and one of the things that gave me a lot of trouble was my drive
and determination to be consistent. I wanted to be consistent. But I found that consistency
with a system instead of consistency with the word of God will get
you in a whole lot of trouble. Spurgeon one time said this,
a man who tries to be consistent with himself will find when the
day is done and the battle is over that he's been consistent
with a fool. I got afraid of methods. I had a fear of any kind of method. I got afraid of certain statements. I'd hear people talk about winning
souls, you know, and that'd kind of shake me up a little bit because
I believed salvation was of the Lord. But you know the Bible
talks about winning souls. He that winneth souls is wise. And then I got to hear people
talk about the man God uses, the man God uses. But that's
true. There was a man sent from God
whose name was John. And you'll find that all the
way through the scripture. There was a man sent from God
whose name was Paul. God is pleased to work through
a man. If God speaks to you, he'll speak
to you through a preacher. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. And then I heard people
talk about an invitation, you know, or a decision for Christ.
There's not a thing wrong with that if you'll think about it
a little while. You're gonna make a decision tonight, I guarantee
you that. When our Lord came to a place
that said there was a division because of him, some believed
him, some didn't believe him. Well, there was a decision made.
Some decided that they were going to believe him. That's right.
They said, we believe. They made a decision. Like a
man going down the highway and he sees a sign, speed limit 45. He'll make a decision. He'll
either raise that foot and obey that speed limit or he'll decide
not to and ram it on down into the carburetor. But he makes
a decision. You make decisions every day
of your life. And you're going to do something with what I have
to say tonight. If the Holy Spirit is in it at
all, you'll have to do something with it. And we get even afraid
sometimes of Scripture. You know, Paul talked about persuading
men. I persuade men, knowing the terror
of the Lord, I persuade men. What did he talk about? He put
them under pressure, that's what he did. He certainly did, he
put them under pressure. Now if this building was on fire
tonight, and we really believed it, and we believed that our
children were back there in the nursery, I wonder how many of
you'd sit in here and say, well, if the Lord's will for them to
get out, they'll get out. I just don't imagine too many
would do that. In fact, we'd talk all over one
another trying to get back there to get them out of there. Well,
we're not that indifferent about physical things and material
things, we must not be that indifferent about something as important
as a man's soul. That's right, I'm telling the
truth. I ain't preaching, I'm telling the truth. And you know Paul said this too,
I beseech you brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present
your body for living sacrifice. Oh acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable The Bible does not say that a man can't
seek the Lord. It says he won't. You're commanded to seek the
Lord. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him
while he is near. I know our Lord said no man can
come to me except my father which sent me draw him. But the same
master looked into the eyes of his healers and said come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you
rest." He said, you will not come to me that you might have
rest. I know man's nature. I know original sin. I know the
corruption of the human heart. I know men love darkness rather
than light. But that same Lord Jesus Christ
stood before those people and said, come to me. Come to me. The prophet said, turn ye, turn
ye, why will you die? Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. He said in the book of Proverbs,
a day will come when you'll seek me, but I won't be found. You'll
call upon me and I will not hear you. Now I want you to think
with me a little bit tonight. I want you to turn first of all
to the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms. Now let's
really dig into this subject a little bit. And let's see if
we can't ask the Spirit of the Living God, who motivates all
things for the glory of our God and for the good of His elect.
Let's ask the Spirit of God to give us an open heart, a willing
mind, and ready steps to walk in consistency with the Word,
and not with a dead and not with a denomination,
and not even with a man teacher, but in consistency with God's
Word. Now nobody here can deny, not
one soul can deny, that all the events surrounding the death
of Christ were purposed, planned, and foreordained of the Heavenly
Father. That's the truth. That's the
truth. You either have all chance or
all God. You can't have both. You either
have all blind faith or you have all God. I prefer all God. I
don't believe in luck. My life is not dependent upon
luck, it's dependent upon God's providence and God's purpose,
and yours is too. And all the events surrounding
the death of our Lord were purposed by the Heavenly Father, foretold,
pinpointed. Every word he spoke, every step
he took, he said the works that I do are not mine, but the works
of my father that sent me. The words that I speak are the
words of him that sent me. Now here in Psalms 22, you have
the crucifixion scene. Look at verse 1. My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? Psalms 22, these are the words
of our Lord on the cross. Hundreds of years before he died,
David is writing this messianic psalm foretells exactly what
Christ will say on the cross, and exactly what the people will
do to him when they know him to the cross, and exactly the
events that will take place surrounding this cross. They were prophesied,
they were foretold, they were purposed. Look at verse 2, Oh
my God, I cry in the daytime, thou hearest not in the night
season, and am not silent. You know on that cross, while
Christ hung there, there were three hours of light and three
hours of darkness. He was separated from the Heavenly
Father. This is the light and the darkness
of that hour. Verse 7, All they that see me
laugh me to scorn. They shoot out their lips, they
shake their heads, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would
deliver him. Let him deliver him now, seeing
he delighteth in him. If God will have you, Let's see
if he'll have you now. As they walked around that cross,
the apostles reported in their gospels, they shot out their
lips and laughed at him and mocked him and ridiculed him and said,
let's see if God, you trusted God, let's see if he'll have
you now. It's exactly what God said they'd say. And you look
down here at verse 16, dogs have compassed me, the assembly of
the wicked have enclosed me, they've pierced my hands and
my feet. Verse 18, they parted my garments
among them and cast lots upon my vesture. All the events surrounding
the death of our Lord, purposed and planned. Look over here at
Zechariah, if you will. Turn to the book of Zechariah.
Zechariah chapter 11. Zechariah 11 verse 12. Now you
know how that Judas, one of the apostles, came to the high priest
and he said, you want Jesus of Nazareth. If you give me 30 pieces
of silver, I'll lead you to him. He's going to be in the garden
of prayer tonight, and there'll be these other disciples there,
and I'll walk up and kiss the one on the cheek that is Jesus
Christ. That'll be a signal to you that
this is he whom you seek. Give me 30 pieces of silver.
Well, he did that. And you know how that afterwards,
he brought the 30 pieces of silver back to the house of God and
tried to give it back to the high priest. and they wouldn't
take it. They said that's the price of
blood and he threw it on the floor and went out and hanged
himself and they picked it up and they went out here and they
bought a potter's field. That's a poverty field where
they buried people that can't afford a lot in the cemetery.
Now you read Zechariah chapter 11 verse 12. And I said to them,
if you think good, give me my price. If not, forbear. So they weighed for my price
thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, cast
it unto the potter, a goodly price that I was prized at of
them. And I took the thirty pieces
of silver and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord."
The scripture is accurate. Isaiah 53 says he was despised
and rejected of men, wounded for our transgression. For by
his stripes we are healed. The crucifixion is there. Now
turn to the book of Acts. Acts chapter 4 verse 26. Acts 4 verse 26. Now I'm leading up to something
here and I want you to stay with me. Acts 4 verse 26. Then the kings of the earth stood
up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and
against his Christ. for other truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
who prior to this were enemies, with the Gentiles and the people
of Israel, who prior to this were enemies, got together all
of the powers of earth, the powers of the Roman government, the
powers of the Hebrew ecclesiastical hierarchy, the powers of the
people, all got together To do what? To do what they wanted
to do. To carry out their hatred against
this man Jesus Christ. To rip themselves off him. To
nail him to a cross. To crucify him. Read that next
verse. They were gathered together to
do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to
be done. In other words, when you read
the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, if you read it before you read
the Old Testament prophecies, how he would be born of the tribe
of Judah, the family of Jesse, of the house and lineage of David,
of a virgin in Bethlehem, how that he would select his disciples
from among the poor, how he would be betrayed, if you read the
death of Christ before you read those other things, you're reading
the last chapter of the story. You're seeing how it came out.
But if you go before, you'll see all these things were prophesied. They said, don't go to Jerusalem.
He said, for this cause came out of this hour. This is the
appointed hour, the appointed day, by the appointed Savior,
for the appointed people. That's so. Turn to the book of
John, if you will, chapter 10. Now look at this, John chapter
10. Stay with me, if you will. John chapter 10. And in verse
23, John chapter 10, verse 23. Now listen to it. And Jesus walked
in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about
him, and they said to him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you,
I told you, and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not because you're
not of my sheep. As I said unto you, I told you
this before, my sheep will hear my voice, and I know them. Depart from me, he said to those
in Matthew 7, I never knew you. You mean the Lord didn't know
when they'd be born? Didn't know they were going to be born? Didn't
know they'd have an existence on this earth? Don't be foolish.
He created them. He gave them life. Of course
he knew they were here. And what does the word know mean
here? It means to accept. It means to love. It means to
love with a complacent love. I know them. I know my sheep.
Adam knew his wife. There was an intimate personal
communion between them. That first time he met her? No.
He knew of her existence before, but when they came together as
husband and wife, it says he knew his wife, she conceived
and bear son. Christ said here, you don't believe
because you're not of my sheep. My sheep will hear my voice because
I know them, and they know me. Now there's no denying that.
There's no denying that all the events are foretold, they're
prophesied, they're purposed by God, there are no accidents
with God, God's program is on schedule, or He's not God. That's all there is to it. All
I'm trying to do in my ministry is call on people to let God
be God. There's only one place a man
will worship, and that's at the throne of a sovereign God. Now
he'll argue with an equal, he'll bargain with an equal, he'll
quarrel with an equal, but he'll worship a sovereign. That's the reason most people
don't worship God, they don't fear God. The God they've heard
preached is such a fuddy-duddy and such a weakling, he's trying
and he can't do it, he's disappointed, he's disillusioned, he's defeated,
and they don't worship him because he's not worth worshiping. But
when men hear of the God of the Bible, the God of creation, the
God of providence, the God of salvation, the God who has the
keys of heaven, hell, and death, They're going to do some business
with him. And the kind of business they're going to do with him
is going to say, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. The only place a man will find
any certain hope is at the throne of a God who can save him, who's
able to save him, and who can move heaven and earth to save
him. It takes a big God to save a sinner. I've heard about a preacher holding
a meeting in Kentucky, up near Harlan, Kentucky, a long time
ago. And he's preaching to a little church, and preached about two
weeks, and nobody moved. Nobody made a decision. Nobody
came forward, you know, to profess to be saved. And on the last
night, he said, now, folk, he said, God's tried for two weeks
to save you, and you wouldn't let him. Now he's gonna send
you to hell. And one old boy that was a little
braver than the rest of them and maybe knew a little more
than the rest of them said, he ain't gonna send me to hell. And the
preacher was rather shocked, you know, he said, the fellow,
he said, that's pretty dangerous. He said, no, no it isn't. If
he tried for two weeks to save me and I wouldn't let him, when
he tries to send me to hell, I won't let him. Now that works
both ways. That works both ways if God's
too weak. to save my soul, he's sure too
weak to send me to hell. That's so. I was holding a meeting
down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana way back in 1951. And the fellow
that I was holding a meeting for is now president of Louisiana
Baptist. We're friends. We've maintained
a good friendship through the years. We don't see each other
very often, but we're friends. And boy, I was a, I was a, believer
in free grace, sovereign grace, and he wasn't too much of a believer
in it, you know. We'd argue. A couple of young
fellas, you know, about all the time we had together, we argued. Oh, we'd go back and forth. And
one day he said, Henry, he said, God's trying to save everybody. Well, I said, Perry, why doesn't
he do it? Well, he says he can't. I said,
why can't he? He said, they won't let him.
I said, now, brother, Let's just don't discuss this issue no more.
We're talking about two different kinds of gods, two different
gods. And he said, well, for a good service, let's pray. I
said, to whom? He said, to God. I said, what
for? Well, he said, let's ask him to save people in the service
now. I said, he can't do it. He can't do it. You got through
telling me just a few moments ago that he wanted to save them
and he couldn't do it. And now you tell me to get on
my knees and ask him to do what he can't do. I'm not going to
do it. I'm going to go to the sinners
and ask them to let God save them. I'm not going to do business
with God anymore. He can't do it. They can. So let's quit asking him to do
it and go to asking them to do it. He said, you know, you got
something there. I said, I may not be able to
put it in words, but I've got something. I know I've got something. I know that God's on His throne,
and He never has turned this business of salvation over to
anybody else yet. David said, salvation's of the
Lord. The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord, and of Him only. It's God that showeth mercy.
And brother, if you go to hell, it'll be your fault. If you go
to heaven, it'll be God's fault. I can't explain all that, I just
know it's so. All these things are foretold.
Now wait a minute, let's come to something else here. Turn
to Matthew 26. We do not deny that. We know that's true. A man just
be a fool and fly it in the face of God to deny these facts that
are laid down in the scripture. All the events All the words
surrounding the death of our Lord were planned, purposed,
foretold, prophesied, and carried out on schedule. But now turn
to Matthew 26 and verse 37. The Lord Jesus came to the garden
of Gethsemane. He took with him Peter and the
two sons of Zebedee. And he began to be sorrowful
and very heavy. Then he said to them, My soul
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Carry ye here and
watch with me. And he went a little farther
and fell on his face, and he prayed, saying, O my Father,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not
as I will, but as thou wilt. What are you saying, Preacher? I'm saying though we know and
confess and believe that all the events, all the words surrounding
the death of our Lord were planned and purposed and had to be carried
out to carry out the will of the Heavenly Father, yet you
cannot deny the real agony of the garden, the real conflict
of the garden, and the real surrender and submission in this garden.
Brother, that's so. It's right there. The Lord Jesus
Christ submitted. The Lord Jesus Christ surrendered. His life was predestined. His life was ordained. His life
was purpose. But there was still that personal
conflict, even for the Son of God. And there was still that
personal agony, and there was still that personal surrender. And you can't rule it out. Even
as the Lord Jesus Christ was no robot and no dead stump, neither
am I. And the scripture says, thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. Let's ride that power,
but let's don't forget that willingness. I know who makes them willing,
but I know they're willing. I know where the strength comes
from, but I know the strength is evident because it is shown. Our people shall be willing in
the day of our power. All things work together for
good to them who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Sure, he calls them according to purpose, but they love God.
The love of God is shed abroad in their hearts for the Holy
Spirit, but it's still there, and they love him. You see what
I'm saying? God's not going to pick me up
by the hair of the head and take me to heaven. God gave Noah the dimensions
for that ark. We know that, no question about
that. You can turn over there, and you can see how that God
gave him the dimensions. God told him how to build it,
God told him who was going to ride in it. 120 years before the art was
ever finished, and before the bear was ever thrown open. But
do you know when the time came to enter the art, that Noah went
in that art willingly? that God Almighty said, Noah,
come into the ark. And Noah went into that ark just
as willingly as the rest of them stayed down. And that's so. You cannot destroy and deny and
do away with human responsibility. Jesus Christ the Lord died on
the cross for sinners, but any sinner who partakes of that death
and the benefits of that sacrifice is going to willingly, lovingly,
intelligently, obediently receive Christ as his Lord and Savior. God gives the light, but my dear
brother, you're going to walk in it, and you're going to do
it willingly. Scripture says in Romans chapter
10, turn over there with me just a minute, here's an invitation
verse we quote real often, it says here in verse 9, now watch
it, Romans chapter 10 verse 9, that if thou shalt confess with,
what does it say, thy mouth, not the Holy Spirit confessing
for you, The Holy Spirit enables you to confess. The Holy Spirit
shows you your sin. The Holy Spirit shows you the
only Savior who can save you from your sin by death on the
cross. But you're going to confess Him
with your mouth. With your mouth. And you're going
to believe, watch it, in thine heart. Salvation is an act of
the heart. It takes place in here. It's
submission in the heart. It's surrender in the heart.
And thou shalt believe in thine heart God raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved. Who's going to believe it? You
are. Who's going to confess it? You are. Now I want to show you something
here that I think is most significant in the life of a man. Genesis
chapter 12, by the name of Abraham. Now there's no doubt in my mind
and no doubt in your mind that Abraham was God's servant, that
God determined to make a covenant people from Abraham, that he
determined to send the Messiah through Abraham, that he determined
to raise up a chosen people through Abraham. There's no doubt about
that. We know that's true. But I want you to watch fair
surrenders that Abraham had to make. He knew God's that God
was calling him and speaking to him, and you and I know that
God was calling him and speaking to him. But Abraham in each of
these incidences had a conflict he had a surrender to make. He
had a personal decision to make. Now look at Genesis 12 verse
1, Lord said to Abraham, he had a surrender concerning his soul,
himself. The Lord said to Abraham, get
thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's
house unto a land I'll show you. Didn't even tell him where he
was going. He just told him leave home. Now we don't think as much
of that as perhaps these people did back then. They lived in
tribes for protection, for security, for their wants, for their needs. They lived with the whole tribe,
the whole kinfolks all live together in the same location. And here
God was telling this man to take his family and leave his kindred
and leave his country and go to a land he was sure of. And
I'll make you a great nation, I'll bless thee and make thy
name great, thou shalt be a blessing. I will bless them that bless
thee and curse them that curseth thee and in thee shall all the
families of the earth be blessed. So Abraham departed. Abraham packed his bags. Abraham
acted on God's instruction. Abraham walked in the light God
gave him. He didn't know where he was going.
He didn't know why he was going. He just knew God told him to
go. He didn't sit around and argue and say, well, why can't
you make me a great nation right here where I am? Why can't you
bless my seed right here where I am? Why do I have to leave?
God told him. and Abraham acted on God's instructions. Now turn with me to Matthew chapter
10. Now look at this. Matthew chapter 10, Abraham believed
God and when God came to him and spoke to him and told him
to leave home, told him to get away from his kindred, away from
his family, he left. He did what God told him to do.
In Matthew chapter 10 verse 32, here's what the Lord Jesus says
to you and me. Whosoever therefore shall confess
me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is
in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before
men, Matthew 10 verse 33, him will I also deny before my Father
which is in heaven. Don't you think that I've come
to send peace on this earth? I have not come to send peace,
but a sword. I have come to set a man at balance
against his father. If a man believes my word and
believes me, he's going to stand for me even if it cost him the
fellowship of his own father. That's what he said. It cost
Abraham the fellowship of all of his kindred and all of his
kinfolks in his country. He had to get up and leave. Go
ahead. Christ said, I've come to set
the daughter against her mother. This daughter is going to stand
for what she believes and what she knows, even if it costs her
the fellowship of her mother. And the daughter-in-law against
her own mother-in-law, and a man's foes shall be they of his own
household. But he that loves his father
and mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth
son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that
taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me.
What are you saying, preacher? I'm calling on you to act on
what God has shown. That's what God called on Abraham
to do. He had to surrender. He had a decision to make. He
had a conflict. He had a submission. And when
God told him what to do, he did it. He did it. Now let me give you a definition
of faith. The pastor and I were talking
today about this subject of faith. And I told him of three subjects
that are hard for me to preach about. One of them is faith. One of them is love. One of them
is prayer. And I'll tell you the reason they're hard to preach
on is because I don't feel that I have the qualifications to
stand up before anybody else and condemn them for their lack
of faith or lack of love or lack of prayer. It's a tough subject. But let me give you a definition
of faith. This is the best one I've found yet. Faith is made
up of three things. And I take this from Paul's testimony. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. I am persuaded he's able to keep
that which I've committed to him. First of all, faith is knowledge. I know whom I have believed.
I'm not trusting baptism. I'm not trusting church membership.
I'm not trusting the law. I'm not trusting my denomination. I'm not trusting my morality.
I know whom I have believed. I know the one I believe, the
one I'm trusting, the one I'm looking to is Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, who died for me on the cross. I know whom I have
believed. He's real to me. That's knowledge. Secondly, faith is made up not
only of knowledge, but of confidence. Now, suppose Brother Bill James
down here has bought a home, and he owes $16,000 on it. And the night I walk up to him
and I say, Bill, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to
pay off your home. Well now, he'd probably just
laugh at me. Why would he laugh at me? Well,
in order for him to believe me, in order for him to walk away
rejoicing and run to his wife and say, we're debt free! In
order for him to do that, he's got to know two things about
me. Number one, I'm willing to do it. Number two, I'm able to
do it. And number one, I may be dead
willing to do it, but Bill knows I ain't able to do it. You see
what I'm saying? So he's not going to rejoice,
he's not going to be exuberant, he's not going to run and tell
his wife, he said, well, Brother Mannion's heart's in the right
place, but his pocketbook's awful flat. So it ain't no use us getting
all up in the air, because he's not able. Paul said, I know whom
I have believed, and I'm persuaded he's able to save me. He's not
only willing to save me, but he's the only one who can save
me. It takes God to save a sinner. It takes the death of the God-man
to save a sinner. It takes the blood of the Son
of God to save a sinner. There's none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. I'm persuaded,
he said, he's able. What's the last thing? Now, that's
as far as we Calvinists get. He said he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him. That makes sense to you? So faith
is knowledge, confidence, and committal. You can't separate
faith and conduct. Christ said that, as a man thinketh
in his heart, so is he. So is he. You can't separate
belief and obedience. If a man believes the thing,
he'll act on it. If I believe there's a smallpox
epidemic, I'll get a vaccination. If I tell you I believe it and
don't get a vaccination, you know I'm lying. And man tells
me, I believe the Bible. No, you don't believe the Bible
either, brother. Don't tell me you believe the
Bible. A man who believes the Bible is saved. A man who believes
Christ died on the cross for sinners is saved. A man who believes
the word of God, the record that God has given us eternal life
and this life is in his son is a saved man because if a man
believes a thing, he'll act on it. You don't believe anything
until you experience it. Now that's so. Faith is knowledge,
confidence, and committal, or surrender. And if you know Christ,
You believe Christ is able to save, I guarantee you, brother,
you're gonna put it in his hands. You're gonna say, Lord, I cast
myself on you, sink or swim, I go to him. That's what Abraham
did. God said, leave, he left. God's
saying to you tonight, believe, confess, and if you believe him,
you'll confess him. Now watch this second thing,
turn to Genesis 13. Genesis 13, now I'm going to
go to meddling right here in just a few minutes. Genesis 13
and verse 6. Now the land, you know Lot was
out there, verse 5, Lot went with Abram, he had flocks and
herds and tents and servants and cows and sheep and all these
things and the land was not able to bear them. It's just getting
crowded around there. that they might dwell together.
Their substance was great and they couldn't dwell together.
And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram as cattle
and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle and the Canaanites and the Peruzzites
that dwelled in the land and Abraham said, Lot, son, let's
don't have any trouble. Let's not have any strife between
us. Now, son, I pray thee, between
me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen, we are brethren. Now, I'll tell you what I'm going
to do, Lord. You see, I'm the oldest one here. You know that,
don't you? And I'm the one that God called out here in the first
place, and incidentally, you just tagged along. And after
all, I am the hit man, and I am number one. I'll tell you what
I'm going to do, son. There's a good, I remember up
there in the hills when we came through there four or five days
ago, I saw a spot of land up there, son, and with a little
hard work, it'll be all right for you. Now I want you to take
your crowd, and you just go on up there, up there where that
little spot of land was, and I'm going to give it to you,
son. Yes, sir, it's all going to be yours. You know, that's
the way people give land to build churches. I passed a little church
in Chattanooga, it's sitting in a hole. Had a hill up in front
of it, and it's sitting down in a hole, no parking space,
you know. And you know how it got there?
You say, why wasn't it out on a pretty field with a lot of
parking around it? Oh no, a fella gave it to the
church. He said, it wasn't any good to
plant corn or raise cattle or nothing else, and he said, I'll
tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna give the church a spot
of land to build a church on. No, it's not. If his heart had
been in the right place, he'd have done what Abraham did. Here,
look at verse 9. Abraham said in verse 9, the
whole land's out there in front of you. Separate yourself from
me. And Lord, if you take the left
hand, I'll go to the right hand. And son, if you take the right
hand, I'll go to the left hand. So there it is. Just take what
you want. Now, brother, don't tell me that
was easy to do. So tell me that was easy. This man Abraham was
a human being. And this man Abraham I know had
pride. I know this man Abraham had ambition. I know this man Abraham didn't
want to climb hills the rest of his life anymore than I do.
That he'd like to settle down on a fertile plain. But he stood
right there with genuine compassion in his heart because he knew
God and he let his brother have the first choice. And don't tell
me that was without conflict either. And you know something? In letting Lot have the first
choice, Abraham wound up right where God wanted him. Now Abraham
had acted in selfishness and in covetousness, he'd been out
of the will of God. He'd went down there on the plains
and pitched his tent near Sodom, because that was the best looking
place of all. And that's where Lot went. Lot was a little greedy
and a little covetous, and you saw where it got him. I believe
he was a saved man. I believe he was a righteous
man. God said that, didn't He? But you saw how he wound up,
didn't you? Now you just keep on believing that if you're going
to be moved, God will move you, and you keep on believing that
if you're going to be sweet, God will make you sweet, and
you keep on believing that if you're going to be generous,
God will make you generous, and your tightwadness and your graft
and covetousness will bring you out of where Lot came to. He
lost his family and his home and his wealth and everything
else. It's a surrender. Don't tell me it's not. I know
God's sovereign. Nobody believes that here more
than I do. I know God's King and He's on the throne. He has
a purpose for men's lives. But sometimes He lets their greediness
take them. Even the wrath of man will praise
the Lord. And if you want to bear the rod,
you go right ahead. That will praise the Lord too.
But if you want to live on the mountain, if you want to walk
in joy, Fulfill ye my joy. Be in compassion and kindness
and love toward one another. If this thing of loving the brethren
were automatic, God wouldn't keep on commanding it through
the Bible. Husbands, love your wives. Wives, be in subjection
to your husband. Children, obey your parents.
Look not on your own things, but on the things of others.
These are commandments, and we're going to have some con- sure
it's not easy. It's not easy to turn the other
cheek, but Christ commanded it. It's not easy to dig deep sometimes,
but Christ commanded it. It's not easy to say I'm sorry,
but Christ commanded it. It's not easy to see the things
you've given your life to broken and submit, but God commands
it. And it takes a decision, it takes
a consecration, it takes a conflict, and it takes a surrender. And
that's what Abraham did. He stood right here and swore
to his pride. And in doing so, he fulfilled
the will of God. But it was real to him. It was
real to him. It was real conflict. Am I going
to let this young squirt have the best place of all and send
me up yonder on the side of that hill? Yeah, yeah you are. Because that's the kind of man
you are. That's the kind of man you are. Now I want to show you
something else. Genesis 14. Abraham had a surrender
concerning his possessions. Now businessmen, now I want you
to listen to me here a few moments. In Genesis chapter 14, Lot was
down there in Sodom and these wicked kings came in and they
took Lot and everybody else captive. And they went off. Abraham heard
about it, he got together a little army, and he went after him,
he gave him a good lifting. And he rescued Lot, he rescued
the king of Sodom, he rescued all these, these fellows, you
know, that weren't too godly. But he rescued them, he brought
them back, and it says in verse 20, verse 22, verse 21, that
the king of Sodom said to Abraham, Now you just give me the people
and you take all the goods to yourself. That's pretty good
opportunity there, isn't it? is offering Abraham, he's standing
there, Abraham's gone down there and rescued all of them, brought
them back, and he's standing there saying, now we're so glad
you rescued us, I want you to take all this goods, all this
gold and silver and diamonds and precious stones and these
herds and everything, I'm gonna give it to you, Abraham, and
we'll just go our way. Abraham said, hold on. He said
to the king of Sodom, I've lifted up my hand to the Lord. The most
high God, the possessor of heaven and earth. In other words, Abraham's
saying, I've asked God to supply my needs. I've asked God to bless
me. I've asked God to honor his word,
do for me what he pleases. I've asked God to supply my needs. I'm not going to take a thread,
even a shoelatchet that is yours, lest you say I made Abraham rich. Uh-huh, you like that? Boy, I
do. Abraham said, I've trusted God this far and I'll trust him
the rest of the way. I don't need the king of Sodom
to make me wealthy. Now brethren, God cares how you
get your money. God cares how. I'll tell you
a little experience I had one time. I bought a car from a fella
and he was a deacon in my church. He got them on the auction block.
And I said, now Smith, I said, this is a pretty good car, fit
to Plymouth. And I said, it's a pretty good car. He said, Preacher,
this is a dandy. He said, it had a little accident,
but all it did was dent the front fender. And I said, well, all
right. I said, what do you want for
it? He said, $1,700. Well, that's a pretty good price.
It didn't have just a few hundred miles on it. but didn't cost
him near that much because that car had been in a wreck. I'm
almost a total wreck. In fact, a fella's following
me down the street one day, and I was driving, he's driving behind
me, and he stopped me and he said, fella said, did you know
that that car won't track? I said, what do you mean? He
said, it's running down the street like a dog, sideways. He said, the
back wheels are sitting over here, and the front wheel's sitting
over here. I said, I never noticed that.
He said, well, the way your tire's out, So I put it up on the rack
at a filling station. I had a friend look at it and
he said, I'll tell you why it's doing that. He said, the frame's
been busted and welded this way. Now that ain't fair, is it? That's
what you call a crooked deal. But some fellas, and I told my
chairman of the board of deacons about it, I said, now that's
a pretty raw deal. And I'm going to get rid of that
car and buy me another one. But I said, I'll tell you what
I'm going to do. I'm going to tell the man that I traded into
what it's like. He said, I wouldn't. He said,
let's let him find out for himself. Brethren, that's not Christian. That's not Christian. See, those
are decisions. Those are little old decisions
you're going to have to make every day. I'm telling you the truth.
I'm telling you the truth. When you buy that house and and
you go to sell it and you know the beans aren't in good shape,
don't take the man's money. If you know the car's in bad
shape, don't take the man's money. Don't let the devil make you
rich. You've lifted your arms to God.
The preacher, listen, if I deal squarely and honestly, yeah,
finish it. Well, I'll lose my shirt. God'll
clothe you. He said he clothed the lilies
of the field. How much more shall He call you, O ye of little faith?
These are decisions! These are surrenders! This gets
out of the theological realm into the practical living realm,
doesn't it? And that's where we don't want
anybody to be meddling. But I'll tell you this, if you're
not with God in the practical realm, you're not with Him in
the theological realm. If Christ is not your Lord, He's
not your Savior. God cares how you get your money,
He cares how you use it, and He cares what your attitude is
about it. The love of money is the root
of evil. Possessions and money will ruin
you quicker than anything I know. Covetousness is idolatry. A man cannot worship the living
God and love the world. And that ain't talking about
the picture show or showing the backer either. Loving the world
is a system. Loving the world is a principle.
Loving the world is possession. Loving the world is the system
of this thing. The attitude of it. We can't
be swept along with the tide. We've got to come apart. We've
got to be different. We've got to be separate. That's
what Abraham did. He said to that king of Sodom,
I've trusted God and I'm not going to depend on you. that
he had to make a decision. Now last of all, let's turn to
Genesis 22. You see what I'm saying? All
of this was purpose, and all of it was planned, and all of
it was ordained of God, but you can't rule out that human responsibility. You've got to act. You've got
to come to a conclusion on this matter, and you've got to say,
Lord, here I am. I believe you. I'm taking you
at your word. I'm stepping out and I'm depending
on you to take care of me. And Genesis 22, now watch it,
it came to pass after these things that God did test Abraham. And he said, Abraham, he said,
here I am. Now brethren, it can't be a test if there's no conflict.
It can't be a test if there's no decision. There can't be a
test unless there's something to be tested. And God said, take
your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and get thee into
the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering
upon one of the mountains that I'll tell you of. Now brother,
if you think this thing's automatic, you ride with Abraham for three
days. That's how far that mountain
was from where he lived. That old man rode a donkey or
walked along beside it with that boy who was the apple of his
eye and the beat of his heart, knowing he was going to take
him on a mountain and kill him. And I know he thought, I've been
through this just a little bit, and I know he thought in his
heart, I cannot give him up. I cannot let him go. I cannot
kill my son. I cannot do this. I must do it. God says do it. I can't do it. I must do it. I know that went
through his mind. And I know as that lad lay there
and slept at night by the fire as they camped out. Abraham didn't
sleep. He sat there and stared into
that fire and the heavens were silent. The heavens were voiced.
God wasn't speaking. He had his orders. And he sat
there by himself and stared into the fire. Thought, how can I
do it? How can I do it? God, why? Why did you call on me to pay
this price? Why? Why? You see that surrender? And then he got on top of that
mountain. And you look, I want you to turn over again to Genesis
22. I want you to watch the conclusion
of this thing. And God, and he put that boy on that altar, and
he raised that knife. Verse 10, Genesis 22, and he
raised that knife, and took the knife to slay his son. And the
angel of the Lord said, Abraham, he said, here I am. He said,
lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto
him. Now I know that thou fearest
God. Well, God knew that all along. God knows everything. God knew
the outcome of this thing. But he said, now I know. He had called upon Abraham to
respond and to submit and to surrender and Abraham did. And
then God said, now I know. And while you're trying to work
that out, people are going to hell. But that's what it says. That's being consistent with
the word of God. What do you want me to do, preacher? I want
you to believe God's word, and I want you to step out publicly
and acknowledge it. I want you to do what that Ethiopian
eunuch did. When Philip preached the gospel
of Christ to him, he said, I believe that. What does hinder me from
being baptized? And Philip said, not anything.
If you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, he said, I do.
And they stopped that chariot and got out and baptized him.
That man was acting on what he believed. Have you ever publicly,
publicly identified yourself with the gospel, with Jesus Christ,
with the Christ of the cross, with the blood of God, Gotha,
with the hope of eternal life through the Son of God? Have
you ever publicly identified yourself with Him? Well you say,
no I haven't. How can you claim to be saved?
I'm here to tell you you're not. Is that bad? Is that wrong? I
don't think so. I think Abraham had to do what
God told him to do. what God told him to do. And
if Abraham had disobeyed God and refused to act according
to the instructions God gave him, I just don't know. I just don't know. I think a
man reveals what he believes by what he does. And all I can
do is tell you what my Lord says. He said he died for sinners and
if you believe him, confess him, trust him, make it known.