Gospel—P. Jennings
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Would like to welcome everyone here to the Gospel meeting. Let's begin our meeting by singing #7.
God loved the world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall. Salvation full at highest cost He offers free to all.
Oh, towards love was wondrous love, the love of God to me.
It brought my savior from above to die on Calvary. Let me start that, please.
I'd like to start tonight by looking in Second Kings.
Second Kings chapter 5 for a short time to get a little context to get a beautiful story of a man in need and a man whose needs were fully met.
Second Kings chapter 5, verse one.
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had delivered unto Syria.
Excuse me, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper, and the Syrians had gone out by companies.
And brought away captive out of the land of Israel, a little made.
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And she waited on Namm's wife, and she said unto her, mistress, Would God, my Lord, were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would have recovered him of his leprosy.
We'll go down to verse 8. And it was so when Elijah the man of God, had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and his Chariots and stood at the door of the House of Elijah.
And Elijah sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan 7 times, and thy flush shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth and went away, and said, Behold, I thought I would surely come out, He would surely come out to me, and stand and call in the name of the Lord is God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper are not.
Urbana and far par rivers of Damascus better.
Than all the waters of Israel, may I now not wash in them and be clean? So he returned, and went away in a rage, And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My Father, if the prophet had had bid thee to do some great thing, would it not thou have done it? How much rather than when he said unto thee, Wash and be clean?
Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh came again, like unto the flesh of a little child. He was clean.
Well, this is a beautiful story of God meeting the needs of man.
And if we were to read farther, we would find that through this experience, this man was brought into a relationship with God.
But as in the beginning, I would just like to say that as I read began reading about this man, I realized that this story is an expression of the heart of God.
Here we have a man of Syria.
He had no.
He had no promise by birth.
That God would bring him into blessing.
He couldn't say that through my lineage, God.
IS is required to meet my needs. He was a man of Syria. I take this to be a Gentile. At this time in God's history, God was channeling His blessing towards a people, but they weren't the Gentiles. And so as it says in other parts of the scripture.
Naaman was without hope and without God.
In this world, his position was not favorable.
The receiving blessing from God.
Really.
There isn't anyone who stands.
Before God, saying God, I deserve your blessing. Yes, God had determined that he was going to pick a nation and he was going to show his favor to that nation, and they were going to be a display to all the world of a nation that was under the love and care of Jehovah God.
But Naman wasn't a part of that, and so right away.
We see an example of God's grace.
And this evening I can look around the room.
And I can see everyone sitting in here in this room who has received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior is an example of the grace of God. There is not one who has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior who did it with any thought that God owed it to them because of who they were.
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And so this man actually had two strikes against him. He wasn't.
A part of what we might say the right ethnic group. And he had leprosy.
But you know what? There isn't anything.
That the grace of God.
Can't overcome.
You know, it wasn't an accident that this, this man finds himself.
In the in the direct channel of God's blessing.
Naman.
Set to receive blessing wasn't an accident.
We see that in God's Providence, even while God was dealing with his disobedient people.
God was thinking about Naaman.
God wanted to see that man come in to blessing.
He wanted his fellowship, and we can say that tonight. I look around the room.
I know that.
That it's far more of the rule than the exception. That the soul sitting in this room.
Know of the blessing of God because you've tasted it. You've tasted and you've seen that the Lord is good.
You've come at some point in time to know this God, that it was out to heal Naaman and to make him one who, no matter what his circumstances were, he would become a worshipper, even if he had to go back to his land.
And use some foreign soil.
That reminded.
Of God's chosen place, well.
We see.
That in God's love to this man, he puts a little girl into his house.
He brings.
Above in this man's life.
The beginning.
Of a work that was going to bring healing to his body and to his soul.
Little girl.
So I lookout over the room tonight I see some little girls.
There's not a whole lot of them, but you know what? I want to encourage you if you're a little girl.
God wants to use you.
If he's put your love, his love and your heart, He wants to pour his love out of your heart and dispense it to some needy soul like Naomi. Here she was. She was just a little girl, and here he was. He was a big, important man who had already been used by God to do a work.
But we're going to find that even though he was a great and honorable man.
He came into blessing like a little child.
Just like you and I did, or just like you will. If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will come.
To the Lord Jesus like a little child.
Well, we see that this is an interesting story.
Because.
It's a journey for a big, important man. One.
Who is sure, because of his accomplishments, because of those around him who think good things about him, that that's going to count something with God?
But he's just slightly mistaken.
We're going to find him coming like a little child.
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And tonight?
I look over the throughout the room.
And I'm looking really at a bunch of little children.
Before God.
That's what we are.
If we came like a little child and if we learn to grow up in the grace.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Will never really think of ourselves as anything more.
And a little child.
The one who will be magnified in our lives and in our hearts.
Will be the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he'll be the one.
That will be exalted.
And so.
We see that because of all the confusion of the ignorance of those that got involved in meeting this man's need.
That God had to intervene several times to get Mammon to the right place.
Came to the king. The king had no knowledge of God. Maybe that's the case with somebody in the room or somebody you know.
That as you've been on the journey seeking the Lord.
You've come across people who had actually, maybe they were even in positions of.
Religious leadership.
But they had no idea.
How to get your needs met? I read a book recently. It came from BTP and I guess I'm not supposed to read books like this because it was a book about a little girl. Name was something something I can't remember. And you know, things don't stick in your memory when you're standing in front of people. But anyway, she spent most of her life searching.
For God.
God had begun a work in her heart and for some reason in his wisdom He had chosen to take her down a road that you and I would never expect God to take one of his children down and we'll know an eternity why he chose to take her down a Rd.
Where she was searching for God and there was just every single obstacle was in her way.
And she kept having this longing in her soul for a relationship with her Creator.
She wasn't born in a home like you and me.
Maybe.
I was born in a Christian home. I have had every privilege that.
Is known to 1 so favored as being born in a Christian home.
Not everyone has that, and that's the importance. I look out over each one of our faces and say that's the importance of us being ready as God brings us into contact with the Naamans who have leprosy. They don't know. They don't have a solution.
For their need.
God, like this little girl, wants to use us.
She was filled with the knowledge.
That God was able.
To meet this man's need.
That was enough.
She wasn't real, real intelligent. She didn't know a whole lot, I'm sure, about this God of Israel. Actually, all she knew was there was a prophet in Israel.
There was what someone who was who possessed the power of God, and God's power was that which was what Naaman needed. Well.
As this man went along.
He needed some people to intervene for him.
God placed people in his life.
To intervene for him we have.
The king of Egypt, the king, king of Israel. Oh yes, he was someone who was supposed to know the way. He was responsible to the Lord in a very serious way, but he hadn't been faithful in that responsibility. He could do nothing.
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For them.
And that's basically man in his religion.
Man who?
In.
Profession.
In Outward.
Garb, you might say.
So as I I'm in a place of favor with God.
But doesn't know him well.
Then Naaman does come in contact with the prophet of God, the one who is in possession of the power to meet his need.
And.
He gets a surprise.
He gets a shock.
Reality is brought home to his soul.
What God was looking for in order.
To be blessed.
In order to be healed.
He gets instruction.
From the prophet. From the prophet Elijah.
Who said?
I can take care of your needs.
And I want you to go and wash seven times in the River Jordan.
Well.
We can marvel at the grace of God.
Because.
His first reaction was to despise.
God's remedy for his need.
But that didn't stop the Lord.
From intervening.
Maybe there would be one here. Who?
I have to say, I think you've probably heard the gospel many times.
And maybe you just keep despising it. Maybe you don't want to take that place of a little child.
Maybe you don't really.
Really care.
Whether God gets any honor from you?
And so.
You just despise his remedy.
Elijah had given this man a remedy for his leprosy.
Of course, we haven't touched on the the type of what leprosy is, but I think we all know that it's.
Condition that reflects our condition of sin.
As the children of Adam.
We.
Are born.
In a condition of sin.
We have a nature.
That.
Or automatically.
Go its own way.
And will automatically do its own thing.
Will automatically.
Turn its back.
Upon a loving God who is holy.
This condition.
Automatically produces death.
And this leprosy is the most vivid form, I think in scripture of sin.
I don't know. I've never seen leprosy. I used to read Jungle Doctor books and they would talk about leprosy and it doesn't seem like it was a very pleasant situation and.
Maybe today, through modern medicine, there's there's ways to control or to to to.
Heal leprosy. But back then there was nothing that can be done but to just be shunned, to be put in a place where that dreaded disease would not spread. The truth about sin is you can't even isolate it. You can't put it off into a separate place and say.
OK, you've been affected by sin. Now don't get near me because I don't want to be affected by that horrible, horrible thing that is dishonored. God just so happens that when we're born into this world, we're born with the infection.
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And its result.
Of death.
As Scott had a remedy for Nam, he has a remedy.
Percent.
It's not a remedy that makes man look.
That puts man in a favorable, favorable condition, in a favorable situation, in a favorable light. God's remedy for sin was Calvary's cross.
Where God punished.
His son.
For our sins.
That's not a very pleasant thing to think about.
God's remedy for sin.
Was to righteously deal with it.
And that righteousness demanded.
A spotless victim.
One who could bear.
Our sins instead of us.
One who did not, who was not affected by that which?
Had come in through Adam's race. All of you just want to read how the Lord Jesus came into this world. You will see.
Something completely different about the Lord Jesus.
He wasn't born like you and I. Do you remember?
That when God brought his Son into this world.
He was born.
Of a virgin.
And he was conceived.
Of the Holy Ghost.
He was sinless.
He was, is and always will be because of who He is, the Son.
Of God.
He was God's remedy for man's condition.
He was the only remedy because we all were in the same condition and God's righteousness demands a payment for sin just.
A just payment.
That payment is death.
Do you know what the Jordan River speaks up?
Prophet Elijah, he said. Go.
Wash yourself seven times.
In the River Jordan, it was a dirty river.
Wasn't the place the first choice?
For someone to want to go swimming in.
And there is nothing.
There's nothing.
That is palatable about the cross.
But that's where we have to go.
We have to go to the place.
Where God?
Punish sin.
We have to identify with that place.
We have to receive the blood.
That was shed at that place.
So that our sins.
Be washed away.
You know God values blood.
Because with blood God sees life and He is the creator of life.
And that gives us a little sense of how terrible sin is, because God had to take that which he valued so much.
And use it as a payment.
For sin.
It was the blood.
Of a spotless victim. It was the blood of Jesus.
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God's Son cleanses us from all sin. It is the precious blood of Christ.
Oh, I wonder tonight if there would be someone who would leave this room and say the blood may be valuable to you.
And it may be valuable to God.
But I don't see any value in the blood of Jesus.
Oh, I tell you, that's a serious thing, because God values that blood.
And he speaks about one who would trample.
On the blood of Jesus.
Who would think it only worth that which our feet?
Would walk on.
Dear friends, tonight I hope.
You love the blood of Jesus.
Because it has the power to cleanse us from all of our sins.
Well, we find that when Naaman got down low enough, he was able to take the plunge.
He got some encouragement. God had somebody there to say please, please, just do what the prophet has told you to do. We don't want to see you in this condition. I've said please, please just do what the prophet told you to do. That's what we would say.
We would say just please.
Accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior. He'll cleanse you from all your sins.
He'll make you clean.
Oh, he'll make you happy.
You'll change your life. You'll make it new. That's what I want to talk about from here.
I want to talk about how the as our him wrote.
As our him said.
Love brings us glorious fullness end to the loss makes known salvation from from the power of sin through faith in Christ alone. Well, that's pretty much what I had on my heart with this chapter.
Now if we'll turn over to Romans chapter 6.
I would like to talk, you know, the Jordan.
And Scripture has a special place, especially to those children of Israel who are God's favorite people.
And so as we go along, we'll talk about what the Jordan River speaks of.
Let's turn to Romans chapter 5. I'm sorry, Romans 5.
Because I want to introduce this subject, we've spoken about how God has provided a payment for the penalty of your sins, how God has offered his Son on the cross and who shed his precious blood so that you will not have to suffer God's.
Holy judgment for your sins if you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
You will not be accounted. You will not be found accountable.
For your sins, because the Lord Jesus Christ bore them in his own body on the tree. But you know what, dear friends?
Naaman lost his leprosy.
But you got.
The flesh of a little child.
He got cleansed. There was no sign of anything that had ever taken place with regard to that ugly, awful disease.
You know, it's my desire to spend a few minutes talking about how God provides a full and free salvation from the power of sin.
Oftentimes our gospel messages will take up the question of man's guilt and the penalty of sending it. Well, it should, because man needs to know, women need to know that the Lord Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the tree. But I say that there's more in the gospel message. There's more in that death of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's more that God.
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Saw needed to be done.
In order for us to receive a full.
And free salvation. I hope I'm not misunderstood. The question of sin has been taken up and dealt with.
God is satisfied with the work of Christ as regarding your sins, not one single sin.
Will ever come up before God with any guilt attached to it because of the Lord Jesus shed blood on the cross of God. It's a payment that has been made that is completely satisfied God.
Now I'd like to speak of began by Speaking of one man.
And I'd like to just try. I don't know how this will go, the Lord's help. I'd like to speak of two men now.
And he's a friend of one man.
He's a, excuse me, he's a friend of the one man, Naaman. The one man is the other man was a relative of Naaman signed in the New Testament. And I don't want to create too much confusion.
But I want to bring before us this evening what we have in Romans chapter 5 and verse.
13 In verse 12. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world.
And death by sin. And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
I want to present this man as the relative of.
Naman.
Naman was a child of Adam.
Man was a part of a race that God had created.
And made Adam as we've been speaking about in meetings the head of I enjoyed that thought about.
The matter of Satan maybe at sin first.
But Adam had been made.
The responsible creature for this creation and Adam has held responsible.
For what took place.
And so we find if we read this chapter.
We find two men in this chapter.
By whereas by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin. And guess what?
We're all the relatives of that man.
But God didn't stop with the failure of that man.
God introduced another man.
And let me tell you that this man.
Takes the primary place.
In God.
'S purposes.
The other man that God has introduced is his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the primary focus of all of God's purposes. Adam.
Was secondary.
It was necessary for Adam to be introduced into this world.
To take the responsibilities and the leadership and the governance.
Of this world in order for God to prove.
That man apart from his son.
Would not be able to bring glory. How soon was it that the 1St man Adam?
Became as we've been speaking in these meetings.
Like his father, Satan.
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I hope I said that right.
But he began to bear the resemblance.
Of a deceiver, of a murderer.
Of one that had no regard for the glory of God.
That man Adam, because he chose to be disobedient.
And to go his own way. For all we, like sheep, have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. That's our condition.
And that's Adam.
And you and I.
By nature.
The way we're born into this world, we have our connection.
That first man.
But in this chapter we have another man introduced.
And it's that man that is going to glorify God.
For all eternity.
I'd just like to read a verse before we go into this.
In Ephesians chapter one.
This is what God has in mind for the human race.
Or eternity.
You know, there's been a lot of pain, there's been a lot of sorrow connected.
With the human race.
And as some have said, where is God in this?
We were talking about the concentration camps and a horrible incident that took place in the concentration camp and one of those poor souls said where is God in this?
Another one.
Either thought it or spoke it.
And he said God is here.
We don't judge.
Are gone by the condition of the world.
And which it became under Adam.
I want to read this verse because it gives us.
The realization.
Of what God's full purposes are.
Ephesians chapter one and verse 10. That in the dispensation of the fullness of times.
He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven.
And which are on Earth even.
In him.
Adam has been a big disappointment.
Because of sin.
Because he listened to a liar, to a thief.
To a robber.
To one who sought their own glory above God's.
But as we've been speaking in our meetings, that's never happened with the 2nd man, the Lord from glory.
Never.
That won't.
All we've been going through, John.
In our readings at home.
In the meetings, in the assembly, and we've been seeing how beautiful it was for that, for that one who became man, yet he was the Son of God to never act.
Apart.
From his father's will. So different than the 1St man.
Is it any wonder that God wants to gather everything up?
In him.
I say, dear friend, I just want to tell you if you're in that first man, Adam, if you have not received a new life.
Please don't remain.
In Adam.
Don't have your association with the one.
That God has fully tested and we're going to see.
Condemned.
At the cross.
And so God has presented to you this evening what His plans are.
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His plans are to gather all things up.
And he's already begun.
And his son?
Are you and him? You know, sometimes we take up these truths.
We just can't quite grasp them.
But you're either in atom.
Or you're in Christ.
And when you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
God takes you from Adam.
And he puts you.
In Christ.
You will have all your association with the one who is fully satisfied and glorified God.
Is that what you want?
You want to be seen in him, please.
Please think about these things because this is the day of grace and what grace it is.
God is. It's a day of patience and how patient God is.
But today of grace will end, and God's patience will be through.
And that might be?
Tonight.
I want to go on a little bit more and I have no idea where we will end with this thought of these two men, but if we were to read in Romans a little bit, in Romans chapter 5, we would find the characteristics of both of these men. I don't know that we have time, but the characteristic of Adam.
Was disobedience.
Unrighteousness.
And sin.
And death.
Death is not just.
When we take our last breath.
Death is a condition in which man is not in relationship with God.
You know.
If you're without Christ tonight, you take.
The risk?
Of being without Christ.
For all eternity in the condition of death.
Eternal separation from God.
Oh, are you going to be like Naman?
Although it was hard.
For him.
To take the solution that God had for his.
Leprosy.
Are you going to be like him and say, OK, I will?
Take God's remedy for my need of sin. Yes, I will bow at that cross for the Lord Jesus died. I will associate myself with that awful place.
Place of darkness, of wrath.
Judgment.
Horrible place the cross was, but it was God's remedy.
Or send.
Than you can be in Christ.
But as we find in Romans chapter 5, as we speak of these two men.
We find that the 2nd man and I want to read a verse which has been so helpful for me understanding that in this chapter. It's sometimes said that in Romans you have the question of sin in chapter one through 5, verse 12, and you have the question of a question of sins, those sins that we commit and how God dealt with them in the first five chapters.
512 Through 512.
From 512 Chapter 8 you have the question of sin, the nature, but I believe that in these few chapters there is more.
That God reveals to us then, that just the subject.
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Of the sin nature as I've been bringing out, God reveals the two men.
And I believe it's important for us to see the two men first because all of the truth.
That goes on through Chapter 5 and through Chapter 6 and through Chapter 7 is connected with the two men.
So if we see the two men clearly.
And we will understand better.
The deliverance that comes.
In the subjects that go on through these chapters.
And so I want to introduce you how the Spirit of God introduces you us to the to the man, the Newman, the 2nd man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, in verse 14, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even to them that had not sinned. After the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him, that is, that was to come?
Who is the figure of him that was to come? Who is him that was to come?
It's the Lord Jesus, the one who God wants to place us.
In all of the perfection.
Of his son.
He's the one.
God chose to introduce Adam 1St to see.
What man apart from God would do?
And then God chose to reveal the 2nd man, the one that would head up all things.
In connection with the human race and show us what one.
And perfect dependence and obedience.
And who only had the honor and glory of His Father.
And then?
God says.
I want to build a new race.
In him.
And so we find as these two men.
And the at the end of chapter 5 are compared and contrasted. We see the effects.
The results, the actions of the one and all of the horrible things that Adam introduced you and I to as a part of his race. But then as we see this new man that God had in mind all along.
And we see his obedience.
His righteousness.
Is grace.
His free gifts.
And.
No, Adam's race it only took.
It only destroyed.
What Adam brought into this world was not for the blessing of man.
But what Christ has brought in through his perfect.
Place as a responsible man before God.
Has brought.
A free gift.
Of grace has brought eternal life.
We know that nothing is apart from his death.
So as an obedience to his Father.
That he went to the cross in order to provide a way in which you and I.
Could be established before God in a relationship of spotless righteousness.
But that has been done.
The Lord Jesus has provided God with everything He needs to bring you.
Into relationship with himself.
We were to turn back to Ephesians. We would see that God wants to accept you.
In his beloved.
Isn't that wonderful?
Can't say God doesn't love us.
He wants to accept you.
In that which is the dearest thing to his heart, he wants to accept you.
In his beloved.
I can see we probably won't go where I thought we might have gone.
Speak of the Jordan. But I'm kind of glad we didn't.
Because I want you to understand.
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You're in peril.
If your connection is only with Adam.
You know the cross.
Was where God said.
Adam.
Your time is up.
I've tested you, I've seen whether you are going to produce any fruit.
For my glory, I've seen whether you would turn away from yourself, be obedient to me, and bring glory to me. And what was the result?
You took my son.
When he came in love and grace.
You took him.
And you crucified him.
That makes for a guilty race.
And there's wrath from a holy God.
That is going to be dispensed.
On this world.
For that act he came in grace. He came to display the heart of God.
He came speaking for God.
He didn't come.
To condemn this world.
He came to save it.
And what did Adams race do?
They sat away with this man.
We won't have him.
To reign over us.
Do you see the guilt?
Of Adam's race if you are here tonight.
And you're refusing the invitation.
Not that I am giving, but God is giving.
If you are.
Pushing away those little girls, as it were, who have come to say there's a remedy.
For the condition of sin.
That all of us are found in.
And you're saying I don't have time for that? I don't believe that. That doesn't mean anything to me.
You will remain.
In Adam's race.
But there's a bright side tonight. There's a beautiful side.
If you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
You will be taken.
From Adams race.
To be in Christ.
And that will never change.
God doesn't make it dependent upon you, doesn't make it dependent upon me.
When we are seen in Christ, we're seen in all of His.
All of his beauties, all of His work, all of what he is to God.
And all he's done to satisfy God.
To plead with you this tonight.
Think of these things.
And may the Spirit work for your blessing Spring.