I have been speaking about the Son of Man seeking the lost; but now I want to take up the other side of the matter—man's side. I have learned this, that when anyone becomes in earnest about his soul's salvation he begins to seek God, and it does not take long for an anxious sinner to meet an anxious Savior.
What do we read in the 29th chapter of Jeremiah and 13th verse? "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." These are the men who find Christ—those who seek for Him with all their heart.
God is in earnest. Everything God has done proves that He is in earnest about the salvation of men's souls. He has proved it by giving His only Son to die for us. The Son of God was in earnest when He died. What is Calvary but a proof of that! And the Lord wants us to be in earnest when it comes to this great question of the soul's salvation. I never saw men seeking Him with all their hearts who did not soon find Him.
It was quite refreshing, one night, to find a young man who thought he was not worth saving, he was so vile and wicked. There was hope for him because he was so desperately in earnest about his soul. He thought he was worthless. He had got a sight of himself in God's mirror, and when a man does that he has a very poor opinion of himself.
You can always tell when a man is a great way from God—he is always talking about himself and how good he is. But the moment he sees God by the eye of faith, he is down on his knees and, like Job he cries, "Behold, I am vile." Job 40:44Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. (Job 40:4). All his goodness flees away. If the world would just come to God for salvation, and be in earnest about it, they would find the Son of God right at the door of their hearts.
There is nothing that men value as they do life. I understand some people have been afraid to come to this hall because there might be a cry of "Fire! fire!" and a panic, and they might lose their lives. Yet there are twenty doors to the building. People seem to sleep, and to forget that there is no door out of hell. If they enter they must remain, age after age. Millions of years will roll on, but there will be no door, no escape out of hell. "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near." Isaiah 55:66Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: (Isaiah 55:6).
Before I close, I want to ask you once more: What are you going to do? If the Lord is near, won't you call upon Him? Don't let that scoffing man next to you keep you out of the kingdom of God. Now, every true friend—and you all have friends—every true friend, if you could get his advice tonight, would tell you to be saved now. Don't put it off.
You may call too late. I have no doubt that those who would not pray when the ark was being built prayed when the flood came, but their prayer was too late. My friends, it is not too late now, but it may be at twelve o'clock tonight. I cannot find any place in the Bible where I can say you may call tomorrow. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2).
We see the Son of God weeping over Jerusalem, His heart bursting with grief for the city, as He cried, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" Matthew 23:3737O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37). He could look ahead forty years, and see Titus coming with his army, and besieging that city. They called upon God then, but it was too late, and hundreds of thousands of people perished.
Tonight is a time of mercy. It may be that I am talking to someone tonight whose days of grace may be few, to someone who may be snatched away very soon. There may be someone here tonight who may never hear another sermon; someone who may be hearing the last call. My friend, be wise tonight. Christ is inviting you to come. "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28).
Oh, may we all find rest in Christ tonight! Do not let anything divert your minds, but this night, this hour, make up your mind that you will not leave this hall until the great question of eternity has been settled.
Reformation Useless
If you are not born again by the Spirit of God, all your outward reformation trying to make yourselves better will come to nothing in the sight of God.