Gospel—A. Hayhoe
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For hymn #4.
Christ is the Savior of sinners. Christ is the Savior for me.
Long I was chained in sins, darkness.
Now we're going to fall from yesterday.
But we also sing together #17.
We just remain seated for the singing of this hymn #17. Have you any?
Turn with me tonight, please, to the book of Genesis Chapter 3.
Genesis Chapter 3 beginning at verse one.
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yeah, Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall he touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened.
And he shall be as God's knowing, good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and it eat, and gave also unto her husband with her. And he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.
And they sowed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
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And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God.
Among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him.
Where art thou? And he said.
I heard thy voice in the garden.
And I was afraid.
Because I was naked.
And I hid myself.
I want to speak to you on this tenth verse for a while.
And Adam said. I heard thy voice.
In the garden and I was afraid.
Because I was naked.
And I hid myself.
As far as I can discern, this is the first recorded utterance of man in the word of God.
Man finds himself in fear at the sound of the voice of God.
Now, perhaps you think of this as a story that happened a long time ago. Perhaps you picture Adam in his fear and nakedness and guilt before God. But I want you to realize, beloved, here tonight.
That you and I are also going to hear the voice of the Lord. You are going to hear the very voice.
That Adam heard. When Adam heard that voice, he was filled with fear. He sought out a hiding place, for he knew that he was naked. He knew that he was a Sinner.
And he wanted a hiding place. Oh, may I speak solemnly at the very beginning of this meeting.
To each and everyone present, that the day is near at hand, when you and I are going to hear not this voice, but the voice of the Lord, the voice of the Lord. I am looking forward. Thank God I can say it with joy and with confidence for the happy moment when I'm going to hear His voice calling me into his.
Own eternal presence.
As one who is redeemed by his own precious Blood.
You are going to hear that voice.
Too lest the day of grace might not even be prolonged until the closing of this meeting.
I would seek that you might ask your hearts right now at the very beginning of this meeting.
If the voice of the Lord were heard before this meeting came to a close.
Would you be found without a hiding place? Would you be found naked and lost and guilty before God?
All beloved, ask yourself that question now as under the eye of God, Are you ready for that moment when the voice of God will separate for all eternity the lost from the redeemed, the guilty?
Pardoned Oh, in which company are you found at this moment?
Particularly, as is often the case, I find my heart burdened as I look at these dear boys and girls whom I know are being brought up under the sound of the gospel. You have heard it from your father and your mother. You have heard it from your Sunday school teacher. You have heard it in the gospel meetings in the home from which you come.
And yet I would ask you, one by one, dear children, dear young people, and everyone present, if the voice of the Lord were heard at this moment, would you be found with the shelter and the hiding place that God has provided for you at such a cost?
That question used to burden my heart, for I was brought up in a Christian home.
I was brought up to hear the gospel from the praying lips of my Father.
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And my mother. I was brought up to hear it from my Sunday school teachers and from those who faithfully fled with us years ago in the city of Ottawa. But I have the sad memory of having sat down as you are sitting this night to hear that message, to know it, to be the truth of God, to rest my eyes upon the precious word of God that the speaker held in his hand.
And which I also had opened upon my lap.
To rise up from my chair without Christ.
Lost and guilty, I marvel at the long-suffering.
Grace of God.
That bore with me and brought me to my knees.
And redeem this guilty heart by the power of His precious Blood. And now with joy I look forward to the moment when I shall hear his voice and see his face. But in the midst of that joy, in the midst of that glorious prospect, our hearts are burdened ever so little compared to what they ought to be. But our hearts are burdened for Even so much as one.
In this company tonight, who may not yet know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, so much as one would the Lord care if we were all redeemed but one? What about the man who had 100 sheep, and he counted them that evening, 9798?
99.
There was just one missing That didn't matter very much, did it? Indeed it did. Indeed it did to that tender hearted Shepherd. And as the Lord looks up and down these rows tonight, looking into your very hearts, one by one He sees with joy the hearts of those redeemed by His precious Blood. But if He saw here just one lost boy.
One lost girl. It would matter deeply to his heart. And he is looking at you. He's looking at you with a love and a longing that my poor heart could never take in. He longs to see you numbered among the redeemed. I'm going to repeat an account that I may have mentioned before.
Some years ago I was talking to a man who has now passed away.
A very, very big man whose name was Mr. Lee.
His nickname was Moose Lee, so you know that he was an unusually robust man.
He had for many years been chief in the town where we live. He had attended many fires during his years of service there and in our conversation one day I said to him, Mr. Lee, have you ever had any very unusual experiences?
In your years here in the town and that service, well, he was a quiet man, not given to talking very much.
But he told me this story, which I must admit comes before me from time to time as I stand up and look into the faces of those who are gathered to hear the gospel. One day, Mr. Lee was called to a fire in our town. He knew practically every home in the town. He knew the people who lived there, for it's only a small town and as soon as he received word of this call.
He knew what he would probably find. He knew that the husband would be away at work.
He knew that the wife and her two children and her little baby would probably be at home, and he got to that home as quickly as he could open the front door and quickly sized up the situation there. The staircase went up and all around was the smoke and the flames, and he knew that he had time to run up that staircase once and once only and back down.
And there at the top of the stairs stood the mother, frozen with beard, And this side was her terrified little boy, and on this side her frightened little girl. And there in the carriage was a little baby. And Mr. Lee went up those stairs, and he took the trembling mother and put her on his back, folded her arms, and told her to hold on tight. Then he bent down, and he took up the little boy under this arm.
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And the little girl under that arm. And then poor Mr. Lee stopped in telling me the story.
I could see that he was deeply moved with the memory of the experience. He just felt he couldn't turn and go down those stairs.
Leave that little Bay where he knew he would never be able to come back.
And, beloved, it is a solemn, solemn thing to be gathered together for the gospel. It may be but a child, it may be a young person. It may be one of these grown-ups tonight, for whom the Lord has burdened our hearts in his own soul infinitely more deeply dear Mr. Lee.
He bowed down and clamped his teeth around the baby's clothes.
And went down the steps with the mother on his back, the little boy under this arm, a little girl under this.
And the baby hanging by her clothes from between his teeth. They all got out the door in safety.
My heart was stirred, too, when Mr. Lee told me that story. And immediately I thought of the Gospel meetings when I watched, when the meeting was over, and the boys and the girls, the fathers and mothers, have stood up from their seats and gone out the door. And the Lord alone knows whether they're on the road to heaven or hell, to eternal glory or eternal anguish. The Lord cares. The Lord longs to have you tonight hear the sound of His voice.
That would speak eternal peace and pardon.
Could we turn over to the New Testament and there briefly see a few occasions on which this voice was heard in love and in blessing, first of all in Matthew's Gospel?
Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 8, verse one.
When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
And behold, there came a leper, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Could this be the very same voice?
That struck fear into the heart of guilty Adam. That caused him to seek for a hiding place from his guilt and from his nakedness.
Ah, beloved, that same voice which speaks in solemn truth and holiness.
Speaks in wondrous love and blessing. We trust we may trace something of that as we go through the pages of this glorious book. I want you to know that the one whose voice caused Adam to be aware of his guilt in such a remarkable way this very night longs to speak, pardon and blessing to you, my beloved friend.
As by grace it has been spoken to me, here was a poor man who was a leper. Oh, you say? If I were in that condition, it certainly wouldn't take me long to be found at the feet of Jesus. If only I could be cleansed. Are the loathsome and fatal disease of leprosy. You've heard about it. You've perhaps seen pictures of leopards.
But all beloved here was a man in the clutches of this loathsome disease, and he knew his need.
He knew what was before him, and he longed for cleansing from this dread disease. And so he is found in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that voice, the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, says with power and with love, I will be thou clean.
Now, I'm sure there's not a leper in this company tonight.
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But I am sure also of this fact that what the word of God tells us about sins and its awful results.
Is far more serious than any condition of leprosy. And unless you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, unless as you sit here in this company tonight, you can lift up your heart with Thanksgiving and say my sins have all been washed away.
By the precious blood of Christ, I say, unless that is your testimony, your heart is stained with sin and guilt in the presence of God. Perhaps you don't realize it. Perhaps you are not conscious of it.
I know I have been impressed in other lands to see the way people will carry such tremendous burden on their heads.
And be completely unconscious of that burden, to all outward appearances.
They'll walk for miles under the blazing sun with these heavy burdens.
And I have often thought, as I watched them, how very conscious I would be of such a burden were suddenly placed on my head, and I were told to walk with it there. And I have thought of those whom I have met, whose hearts have been stained with sin in the sight of God, and they go on completely unconscious of it. Perhaps the reason is this. They have looked around. They have looked at the other young people that they are acquainted with.
And you have looked at your neighbors and perhaps compared your testimony with theirs.
Your reputation with theirs and you have come to the conclusion that you stand a much better chance than many you know of meeting God with favor in that day. First Samuel, chapter 2 would tell us this solemn, solemn statement. If a man sin against his brother, the judges shall judge him. But if a man sin against the Lord, who shall plead for him?
That's a solemn statement if a man sinned against the Lord.
Who shall plead for him? Have you ever sinned against the Lord?
Is there anyone in this company that would dare to rise and say that within your conscious memory you have never sinned against the Lord? You know you have. You know you can't recall your memory the number of times in which you and I have sinned against the Lord?
The word of God says, Who shall plead for him, all beloved, if it were not for the gospel of the grace of God.
If it were not for the substitute that God and grace has himself supplied.
The Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior, there would be no one to plead for me.
There would be known to lay his hand upon my shoulder, and say, Who is he that condemneth?
I would stand guilty before gone. So would you that oh thank God for him who has come into this world, has taken upon himself those sins, that guilt, that judgment that I deserve. And now, at a wondrous grace of God, I can hear his voice say, I will be thou clean. The stains of sin are gone. The stains of sin are gone.
Gone forever. Turn over, please, to Mark's Gospel, also the 4th chapter of Marks Gospel.
And the 36th verse.
And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him, even as he was in the ship, and they were also with him other little ships. And there are rows of great storm of wind, And the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow. And they awake him, and said to him, Master, carest thou not that we perish. And he arose.
And rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea peace.
Be still, and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
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I love these stories. I have loved them from my boyhood days, and I love them still. This voice is the very voice that has spoken peace and pardon to my troubled guilty heart. Oh, the voice that could look at a poor, defiled and discouraged leper.
And say I will be thou clean, and immediately the leprosy is gone.
This same Blessed One now is asleep on a pillow in the midst of this mighty Tempest.
And he is awakened. He stands up and looks around at the storm. And he simply rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, peace be still. And at the sound of that voice the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Oh, I say again, I love these stories and the word of God, for they tell me of the power and of the heart of my blessed Savior.
The one whom I long to present to you tonight as the one who knows all about the storms that you have been through, perhaps the storms that are even now besetting your troubled heart. And there is power in that blessed One who went to Calvary, that will steal those storms, that will say to your troubled heart, as he has said to mine, peace be still, there is no peace to be found.
Apart from him who took our guilt upon himself on the cross.
I love to think of this wondrous occasion. He arose and rebuked the wind, and said, under the sea, peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Would you not like to know this one as your savior? Would you not like to have him as the one who not only longs to be your savior, but to be with you too?
Through all the problems and the difficulties and the trials of your pathway through this world.
The Lord Jesus picked me up and saved my soul. In my boyhood days I thank him for it, and in the intervening years there have been those experiences which have brought sorrow and tears and burdens.
But it is a sweet and precious reality to have with us all the way through the journey, the same precious, loving, faithful Savior who could stand up and say to the storm.
Peace be still, oh dearly beloved young people, I want to commend to you.
Not only is one who longs to remove the burden and the stain of your sin.
But I want to commend you as one who longs to be your stay and your comfort, your joy and your companion.
Through the years that may be left to you here, the Lord Jesus Christ, oh how often we sing, What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. It's a joy to see those who draw near the end of their Pilgrim journey and have learned far more than some of the rest of us have learned.
Of the sweetness of the promises of Him who may have known as Savior from the days of their earliest childhood. Just such a short time ago, I went to visit a dear old child of God lying in the hospital. My wife and I went in to see him. He was, to all appearances, deeply unconscious. His eyes were closed, His mouth was wide open. My wife took one hand and I took the other, and we couldn't stir him in any way.
He was just so deep in that unconscious state that there seemed to be no recognition. So we had a word of prayer with him and left. I went back again. The nurse was standing by his bedside. There. He was still lying in that same condition. The nurse said, who did you wish to see? And I said, this gentleman here. Well, she looked at me rather surprised to think that I would even come to see someone in that condition.
So I reached over and took his hand.
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And dear old brother Luby's head slowly turned, his eyes opened, and he said the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. He lapsed back again, and that was the last he said. Down here, now he's with Christ, which is far better. That voice I'm going to hear again in the coming day.
In the song of the redeemed. But I thought, what a wonderful testimony.
That a dear old man who had walked in the joy of these things through his long pilgrimage.
Drawing near the end could wake up from that condition and the first and only word that I could hear were these The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Turn over please to Luke Gospel again, the 4th chapter.
The 33rd verse.
And in the synagogue there was a man which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, saying, Let us alone, What are we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace.
And come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him.
And hurt him not again one of these remarkable occasions.
When the power in the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, who could cleanse a 45 leper who could steal The Tempest, now has power to cast out demons. We were hearing of that in the readings today, and our hearts are thrilled with joy as we think of this blessed One who by grace is our Savior, our Redeemer, as the One who had this mighty power.
When here on earth, the very sound of his voice.
Could rebuke the strength and power of these demons and they come out. Our time is slipping by. Could we turn over to the 11Th chapter of John's Gospel?
And we will just read the 43rd verse.
And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice. Lazarus, come forth.
All the marvel is this. We have seen the Lord Jesus in the presence of leprosy, in the presence of that Tempest, in the presence of the power of demons, now in the awful silence of the power of death, Is this too much for the Lord Jesus?
Ah, no. He stands now in the very power and presence of death and he cries, Lazarus, come forth and at the sound of the voice of the Lord Jesus, He that was dead, dead 4 days came forth. Oh beloved, I want to present to you tonight one who has a heart of love and who has power that can cleanse you from every stain of sin.
Can give you life, life eternal and an eternal home with himself in the glory. What really touches my heart so deeply as I read the pathway the Lord Jesus and as I hear His voice uplifted in blessing and in love and in power? What really touches my heart more than all this?
Is to read that Psalm verse in the 53rd of Isaiah. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers. Is dumb. So he opened not his mouth. Isn't that solemn? Isn't that touching? Isn't that love divine?
Turn please, to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 27.
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I want to read a few verses here. And beloved, if your heart is not touched by the reading of these verses, I grieve for the hardness of your heart.
I want to read to you about the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to read to you about the one whose voice.
Could cleanse the leper whose voice could still The Tempest, whose voice could cast out demons, whose voice could raise the dead and now the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the sent one of God is bound in pilots judgment hall. What would we expect to find here? That voice could call for legions of angels.
And no hand could have been laid upon him. Follow carefully as we read from the 12Th verse onward.
And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word in so much that the governor marveled greatly. Now at that feast the governor was going to release unto the people a prisoner whom they would.
And they had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, pilots said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you, Barabbas, or Jesus, which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down in the judgment seat, his wife sent her to him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man? For I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him, But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude.
That they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas, Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why? What evil has he done? But they cried out the Moor, saying, Let him be crucified.
When Pilate saw that he could prevail, nothing but that, rather a tumult was made.
He took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person. See ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, his blood be on us and on our children. Then released Hebrews unto them, And when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.
And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had planted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a Reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews, And they spit upon him, and took the Reed, and smote him on the head.
And after that they had mocked him. They took the robe off from him and put his own raiment on him.
And led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyreny Simon by name.
Him they compelled to bear his cross, that when they were coming to a place called Golgotha, that is to say a place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall. And when he had tasted the Ravi would not drink, and they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophets. They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
Sitting down, they watched him there and set up over his head his accusation written. This is Jesus.
The King of the Jews then were there two thieves crucified with him.
One on the right hand and another on the left. The day that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads and saying.
Thou that destroyeth the temple, and build us it in three days, save thyself.
If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross, likewise also the chief priests, mocking him with the scribes and elders, said he saved others himself, He cannot save. If he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
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He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will have him. For he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. Now from the 6th hour there was darkness over all the land until the 9th hour.
And about the 9th hour Jesus Christ, Jesus cried, cried with a loud voice, saying Eli, Eli lamas aback than I, that is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
What a story, beloved. Here is the story of him.
Whose voice was filled with love and blessing and healing.
All during His pathway here now the moment of His own trial and testing and pain has come. Now the Lord Jesus is standing bound in that judgment hall. Cruel soldiers are all around him.
Pilot is by him the chief priests, the multitude are there crying that he is to be crucified, and the voice of the Lord Jesus.
I'm sure you noticed as we read these verses.
Absolute silence.
Not a word. He stands there and submits to it all.
They strip him and put on him that scarlet robe.
They crown him with thorns. They spit in his face, and the voice of the Lord Jesus is not heard. He opened not his mouth. Why is this, beloved? Why was his voice not open, when he could have been spared all this speaking naturally, I believe the answer is to be found in the words that the chief priest mockingly said.
He saved others himself he cannot save. Oh, I look out of this company tonight, and I can say by the wondrous, matchless grace of God that it was love in the heart of the Lord Jesus, toward you and toward me.
That caused him to hang there in silence while these accusations and this mockery were thrown at him. It was love to you and love to me that kept him silent in pilots, judgment hall and all, My friend, how responsible you are. How responsible I am to think that the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, has come down from that home in the glory.
Has taken upon himself that guilt, that burden, that judgment, in order that he might offer to you and offer to me an eternal pardon and a home in the glory. I say you are responsible, beloved, for your going to meet this man someday. You're going to hear his voice someday, either, to welcome you as one of his redeemed into that eternal home of glory.
Or to be banished from His presence forever in darkness.
This picture came solemnly and with power before my soul not too many months ago.
As I stood.
Overlooking the city where my savior was rejected.
I stood on Mount Zion and looked out over the guilty city of Jerusalem.
I looked at the temple area.
And at the streets which the Lord Jesus had trod. And this awful account came before my soul. And I stood there with bowed heads, with the knowledge that he went through all that for me, that that city spread out beneath me, was the city so beloved of the Lord Jesus that he would stand looking out over that city.
Knowing that they were going to do this to him, and he could say, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that stone us the prophets, and killest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered?
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Thy children together.
Gather thy children together as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not. And the tears flowed down my Saviour's face as he said those words.
And now, beloved, I look over this company and in the name of the Lord Jesus, beloved, I ask you to search and question your heart at this moment.
There are only two companies, those who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, whose sins are washed away by His precious Blood, and we're on our way homeward to eternal glory. And those who are lost, those who are guilty, those who are on the road to eternal hell. And you, beloved friend, are in either one or the other.
Of those two companies now and will be for all eternity.
Will it be an eternity with Christ in glory to join in the singing?
The describes praise to him whose precious blood has redeemed us.
Or will it be in that place of outer darkness where there is weeping and wailing?
And gnashing of teeth forever. Forever.
Forever.
We can't take in the meaning of those words, can we? I wonder if you have. I feel sure you have.
Close yourself in the solemn isolation of your room.
And tried to think of what eternity would mean.
You'll come forth out of that room with a deeply solemn sense in your soul of what it would mean to be lost and lost forever.
All the burden of my heart as well as I stand here, is as nothing compared to the sorrow that touched the heart of the Lord Jesus.
As he looked over that guilty city here, I say his voice was silent until that moment when he cried out. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? I wonder if we could just turn in closing to the Book of Revelation.
The third chapter of Revelation.
You notice that in the third chapter of Genesis.
The voice of the Lord gone.
Caused terror to the heart of naked guilty Adam, and he longed for a hiding place. Now in the third chapter of Revelation and the 20th verse, we find that which is such a sweet and lovely invitation. Behold, I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice.
And open the door. I will come into him, and will Sup with him.
And he with me behold.
I stand at the door and knock. I don't believe the Lord Jesus is knocking at your heart for the first time tonight. I believe that the Lord Jesus has not at your heart before this occasion.
I'm sure I speak the truth.
Just on Thursday afternoon before coming down here to.
Wheaton.
We laid away someone who was taken so suddenly. In fact, her body was not even found until she had been lying alone in her room for 24 hours.
No one was there to see it happen. No one knows just how it occurred. But we stood there in the presence of death, and there were gathered before us a goodly number of people, most of whom I had never seen.
Before I didn't know them by name.
And I suppose they expected me to stand there and give a glowing account of this dear one who had been taken away. What a fine neighbor she was.
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All the good qualities that they hoped would be mentioned at the time of her funeral. When I opened this book and began to present the solemn issues of eternity with Christ in glory or eternity in outer darkness, I could see a look of amazement, A look of, I'm afraid I must say, look at disturbance on the face of many of those who were gathered together.
They hadn't expected to hear language like that, my beloved, to stand in the presence of death, to stand and face those who were on their road to eternity, to stand and look into the faces of those who are going to hear the voice of the Son of God is a solemn thing.
And although these people were grown-ups, although they were all adults, we closed the little message by speaking to them as we have sometimes spoken to boys and girls.
But I feel I will do the same tonight. We ask them this.
We said that if the Lord Jesus Christ himself walked in that door, the Lord Jesus Christ himself walked and stood here, and he held up those piercing hands for you to see, beloved friend, and you knew who it was standing here before you. You knew that the account we have read of his ways of love and blessing were perfectly true. You knew that his voice was withheld in that day in wondrous love to you and then?
He came right down to where you were sitting and addressed you.
Personally by name.
And he held out those piercing hands.
And he offered you the forgiveness of all your sins and a home in the glory, and waited for your answer.
It's solemn, is it not? What would your answer be if, at this moment, beloved friend, the Lord Jesus stood before you with that wondrous offer of eternal pardon and a home in the glory, and waited for your answers?
What would it be? Would you hang your head in complete silence? Would you shake your head and send him away?
Or would you just open and accept him as your savior and Lord? Now if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
You know, back home I have quite a few friends who are deaf mutes. They're not able to confess with their mouth.
Jesus. But you know what they do, and I've seen them do it often. They take their hand and form the letter L in their own language and draw it lovingly across their hearts. That's the way they say, Lord, Lord Jesus. They point to the nail print.
Lord Jesus. And there are boys and girls, men and women here to whom God has given the ability to speak. You've never opened your lips to confess.
The Lord Jesus as your Savior, I say again, You will hear that voice someday. If you stop your ears and refuse to hear him tonight, as he pleads with you to accept Him as your Savior, you'll hear that voice. That voice in a coming day Voice is the sound of many waters pronouncing judgment upon everyone who has rejected Christ as we bow our heads in prayer.
Will you, beloved, if you have not yet done so, open your heart to accept the Lord Jesus as your savior?