Gospel—Bernie Roossinck
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Good evening everybody.
What I honor and enjoy it is look at all these faces.
Friends, this is the gospel meeting. The gospel means good news.
And we have good news.
Good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Let's begin the meeting by singing #2 Their hymn sheets.
Come tis Jesus gently calling ye with care and toil oppressed.
With your guilt, however appalling, come and I will give you rest #2.
Come to Jason.
Or we open God's Word. Let's ask for his help.
Loving God and Father.
Thank you so much.
For sending your beloved son into this world to go into Calvary's cross and there take upon himself.
The punishment and the.
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Wrath of a sin. Hating God against sin. My sin. The sins of each one here in this room.
Our God and Father, thank you for loving us. We ask for help this afternoon. This evening. I pray, Lord, that thy spirit would be free to.
Work on each heart that the invitation of the gospel would penetrate and that souls would be blessed. Father, we need your help. I pray that anything that is not right would fall to the ground that the Lord Jesus would be magnified tonight.
Thank you again in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen.
See a lot of young people in here.
I would like to respectfully ask you for the next half hour, listen.
Carefully.
Never mind the person that's sitting next to you. I know that it's exciting to go play hockey and skate and you kids. I know it's exciting to rush away to the swimming pool. Please listen.
To what God is saying to you.
I have on my heart a number of questions to take up. Not sure how this will go.
Let the Spirit of God take this where He wants it to go.
My burden as I look across your faces. My joy, really first, as I believe that most all of you know and love the Lord Jesus already.
But I'm afraid.
There may be some in this room that, as we have written in Romans, they have not all believed the gospel friend.
The first question I want to ask you was one that it was asked by Pilot to the Lord Jesus about the Lord Jesus. Turn to Matthew 27.
The Lord Jesus was standing before Pilate.
And the accusations against him were coming out vigorously and loudly.
Away with this man, we don't want him. And Pilate asked this question in Matthew 27.
Verse 22.
All right, let's set unto them.
What shall I then do with Jesus?
Which is called Christ my friend.
The answer that you give to that question tonight.
Will dictate the destiny of your never dying soul. What shall I then do with Jesus, which is called Christ?
Friends, you may say to me, Bernie, what do I owe God?
I don't understand why do I have to decide Jesus?
The answer is.
We don't have enough time to answer this like I would like to. The answer is all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That means, friends, that because of Adam and Eve's decision in the Garden of Eden to disobey God, sin entered into the world and death by sin. We find that in Romans chapter 5 by 1 man sin entered into the world.
Death by sin. So death passed upon all men, and it's that reason.
That everyone of us is born in sin and shaping in iniquity.
I've often said this in the gospel, but I'll say it again. Nobody had to teach me how to be a bad kid.
I already knew how to do that, and I know that's true for everyone of you, that you were born in sin and shaping inequity because God said so.
And so.
I guess what's what this develop? Let's go to Genesis 3 for one of the first questions in the Bible.
So I guess the first question that God asked this is Genesis 3 verse 9.
The Lord God called unto Adam and said, Where are you? Where art thou?
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Friends, that question from God went out to Adam and it established 2 great facts #1.
Man is lost.
Did God have to ask where Adam was? He already knew where Adam was.
The question is asked, where are you, Adam? And it established that Adam was lost.
The other great fact that thrills my soul is that God asking this question tells us that God is seeking for you and he says, friend, where are you right now? Where are you in your soul? Does Jesus mean anything to you? Is he your Lord and Savior? Or is he just some historical person that we stand here and spend time?
Talking about.
Lord Jesus mean anything to you, Stephen.
Your message just touched my heart. And you know, I thought you were speaking about the Scarlet of Rahab there. You know, kids.
I'll give you an illustration of of this. God has woven throughout the word of God, His beloved Son, and the blood of Christ.
And so many passages, we haven't nearly enough time to take this out. I'll give you an illustration because I like boats.
During the British Navy, every single rope that the British Navy has has a red line woven throughout it. And the reason it's there is so they know who owns the rope. And if there's a red cord going through that rope, it belongs to the British Navy.
It's an illustration of the Lord Jesus and the work of Calvary's cross woven throughout the entire Word of God. That scarlet line, Steven, it's there right from the beginning of Genesis.
When God clothed Adam and Eve and coats of skin, and I think if Cain and Abel, you know, God had respect to Abel's sacrifice and he brings the lamb. You had to say to Cain, I can't take your offering. Why? Because he brought maybe of the fruit of the ground. Maybe it was a nice fruit basket or something, but it came from the cursed ground.
And so God could take that lamb of Abel's and say, yes, I accept that.
He had to say to Cain, I can't take that. And all the way through the Scripture, the Passover, the law of the leper, the serpent on the pole.
So many hundreds of beautiful examples of Christ Jesus woven into the.
Word of God now.
Sin. We all have sin.
There is no sin that can enter into heaven.
We are separated from God by our sins.
We're short. You know, if I asked the tallest person in here to to turn that projector on for us, Can't do it short.
Kids, young people, you're short of God's standard. And outside of the Lord Jesus coming into this world and going to Calvary's cross and laying down his life for you, you're short of God's standard. You're in debt. I'm in debt.
Somebody had to pay the debt.
The message of the gospel is Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and friends, God is seeking for you. Where are you tonight? What will you do with Jesus? Will you say yes to him or will you say I don't want you?
The answer to that question will decide your eternal destiny, and it's important to decide tonight.
You know, I, I could tell you so many instances in my time on this earth of people that have put it off. It's a dangerous thing to say. Not now, not today. So dangerous.
I think back to when I was in high school. I had a good friend, his name was Chris Waterman. He was on the ski team.
And.
Those of you that have been to Newfoundland and ski know that Marble Mountain is a pretty decent ski hill and Chris was on that hill. I was on that hill that day too and.
He got to the bottom of the slalom running. He dropped dead in his tracks.
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Gone instantly gone. Boy, what a shock to my, to myself and my friends. But you know, friends, we're not guaranteed tomorrow. We're not promised tomorrow. And there were so many other examples of God.
Beseeching and man refusing Don't do that.
Well, we don't have much time here. Let's turn over to Job 33 for a verse.
Jill, Chapter 33.
Verse 13.
Why dost thou strive against him? What a question. Are you striving against God tonight? Are you telling him I don't want your plan of salvation, My way is good enough. The Lord Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. One way, friends, to come into you blessing and to have your sins forgiven, and that is.
Through the Lord Jesus. And yet we find striving against God, fighting against Him.
You know God speaks to people.
I shared this story earlier this week with a brother, but I'll just tell you kids about this. This happened when my brother Reg and I were.
Probably 10 or less, but around that age, 8 or 10, my dad had a bus and he needed some work done on it. Faye, you probably remember this man Jim Sloan. Remember him? Jim Sloan was a wicked man. He would poke fun at the gospel tent unbelievably, brutally.
But it was a good fabricator and a good welder. Dad asked him if he would Weld a skid plate on the back of our camper. You see? Yeah, I'll do it. Bring it out. Zout and Lark Arbor where they was nearby where you were at Faye, Right.
Gets down in the fall.
Time to winterize things. And dad called him up and said, Jim, I got to have the bus back. He said come out Saturday and then it'll be ready. So we got out there.
And it would not start. Let's turn the key. And nothing, nothing, nothing. And they hooked up the payloader and they exploded the battery. Tried this ether that, nothing, nothing, nothing. Finally my dad said to him, Jim, I think the Lord wants us to pray about it.
Jim, sorry, go ahead.
So they prayed about it, turned the key. Same thing. Nothing. Wouldn't start.
And Dad was ready for the mockery to begin. You know what happened.
He sat there, he said cease. I've had this bus in my yard for three months. I get up in the morning, look out the window. Jesus is Lord on the front of it.
Come down for breakfast, Lookout the kitchen window. Jesus is Lord on it.
I walk out to my shop, there it is, Jesus is Lord. He goes really getting to me and he started to unfold throughout his life how God was speaking to him and dealing with him and warning him to flee from the wrath to come. He was, He told us he had a 1957 Chevy, a fast car.
Flipped it over.
Upside down on the railroad tracks.
Gasoline dripping off of him. Can't speak forth in his own pocket.
And they gather around because the trains coming and they're going to cut him out.
And you can imagine what the result would be.
The Lord preserved him. He got out of it.
At the time he was in a dump truck in the winter time. He said cease. I had the ears for a cigarette.
Yes, I try to reach for my cigarettes. I couldn't move a muscle.
It's beginning to be carbon monoxide poisoned. Woke up mile from the dump truck in the snow bank on his hands and knees. Don't know how he got there. He said cease. I know.
That God is speaking to me.
It's not the response that my dad thought would happen. I don't know if Jim Sloan ever got saved. He didn't get saved that day, but dad took that time to speak to him about his never dying soul. And when they were done he said Jim try start it now and he just touched the key and it was instantly running.
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And boy, I was impressed with that. But so was he. You remember him, Faye?
A wicked, wicked man.
A few years later, on a Sunday afternoon, he called our house.
He said cease, I'm in big trouble, come and see me went out there.
Spoke to him about his soul again. Put it off. Never got saved. I don't know what happens, but man is striving against God and the question is why? Why are you striving against God? He loves you, He wants to forgive you, and he sent his Son into this world to come to Calvary's cross and to be crucified. The most cruel death that mankind could ever come up with.
But it wasn't that crucifixion that paid for your sins.
He had to go to the cross and die In those three hours of darkness on the cross God poured out on his son.
The penalty and the punishment for your sins and my sins.
And so when it was done, he cried out, It is finished, completed. And God could look at that and say, I am satisfied. We find that in Isaiah 53 shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied.
And God could look at that and say that is payment for all those sins. Now, friends, the gift of God is eternal life.
You have a gift before you and you reject it. Say I don't want it. It's not really yours until you take it.
I know we don't have much time. I'll tell you tell you guys the story. This is how the Lord deals with people last year.
I work in agriculture. I was going up and down M37 in West Michigan and in the morning I passed the guy with a backpack pulling a suitcase.
And later in the day I passed him again.
He was a couple miles South of there.
And the Lord said to me he should talk to him about his soul. I told him, I'm afraid to do it, Lord.
Went into my office for a couple hours, came back out. I watched him walk by my office. The Lord said go talk to him about his soul.
Got in my truck, passed him again.
The Lord said, if it was me, would you talk to him?
Yes, Lord, I would. I turned my truck around and went up there. I said where you going, man? He said. I'm walking from Bately, Michigan to Allegan. That's a long ways, folks.
I said to him, Gideon, I'll give you a ride as far as I can.
I'm a chicken, brethren.
How am I going to talk to this man about his soul? How do I reach him?
I said to him his name was Owen. He told me about his life, addiction, broken family.
Said that when was the last time you ate anything? Oh and he goes, I'm starving. But.
OK Lord, can you use this? So we went through McDonald's drive through inspired and I held that out to him as no one.
This is a gift for me to you, but it's only yours if you take it. He says, oh, I'll take it. And he did. And that opened up an opportunity to share the gospel with him while I got down as far as I was planning to take him. And it was raining. And the Lord seemed to say to me, it's Bernie, if it was me, would you drop me off here?
Says no, Lord, I wouldn't. He goes, keep moving. And you get down through Grand Rapids. There's a lot of big highways. They can't let the men walk through all that. And then the rain, too.
This whole time we're talking about his soul.
They get down South of Grand Rapids and I thought, well, we're this far, we may still go all the way now.
So I called back and told her I'm going to be late for meeting, I'm on a special mission, but the Lord just put that on my soul to give him that bag of food and say this is only yours if you take it. And boy, he was glad to take it. Friend, there God is offering you salvation tonight. He said my son has paid it all and all I'm asking you to do is take it.
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Are you willing to do that? I hope you are, friend. That's God's offer of salvation.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord.
Shall be saved. It's that easy. Jesus has paid it all.
Yeah, we got down to where I was dropping him off. He said to me, thank you.
He goes, You're the second Christian man that's been kind to me this week. I know God speaking to me about my soul, and I don't know where he's at today.
My friends, the Spirit of God gives you something to do. Do it. Do it right then too. Anyway, I told that story about because I wanted to illustrate. It's only yours if you take it.
Now, we haven't really gotten to all the questions that I wanted to get, but we're almost out of time. I'll ask you one more.
Speak to you young people for a minute. The Lord Jesus asked this question.
In a couple of places what? So what profit a man if he gained the whole world?
And lose his own soul.
I know the pressure that you render in your careers.
I know the.
Pressure that you feel to succeed and to get ahead.
Friends, don't do it if it means putting the Lord Jesus aside. It's better to go into heaven's glory a pauper than it is the past eternally ruined into hell as a rich person.
And you know, God deals with people. Tell you one more story. Some of you know that I like racing.
There's a driver named Dale Earnhardt Junior that's well known.
He was in.
Sports car race in California a few years ago. Very good driver.
And this is during practice laps too. They weren't even in race yet and got on the throttle and the back of the Corvette came around and backed it into the wall and the fuel cell ruptured and it was instantly.
Engulfed in flames and I heard him telling the story. He was talking to a friend of his name, Boris said those two guys were racing together that day and he said I knew I had to get out.
And somebody just grabbed me and pulled me out of the car and I want to know who it was and think of them. Well, nobody pulled him out of the car that we could see. Friends. I think God pulled him out of the car and was speaking to him about his soul. And I heard the man that was talking with him giving him the gospel.
Don't put it off. God speaks once. Yeah, twice.
Yet man perceiveth it not. Don't put it off, it's so dangerous.
Last question, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? That's from Hebrews chapter.
Two, I believe it is, or three or three, Chapter 2, verse three I think it is. How shall we escape if we neglect our great salvation? The answer is you won't escape.
God's offer of salvation is open right now, but it may not be.
At 8:00 tonight, you could be an eternity, or the Lord could come.
And I believe, friends, that we are very, very close to the Lord coming back. This world is in an absolute demonic tailspin. It's unbelievable how quickly things are spiraling out of control. And God said, my spirit will not always strive with man. We're close, but whether the Lord comes.
You're called into eternity. If you've neglected the way of escape, it's too late for you. We had earlier in our meetings about.
Those that would hear the gospel of the Kingdom and the tribulation, but for those that have heard the offer of salvation.
Today in the day of grace and have said no God. That's what it says in.
Some can't remember the Psalm right off. We don't have time to dig for it. The fool has said no God.
Is that you? Are you saying right now to God, no, I don't want you, I don't want your gift of salvation, I reject it. Don't do that. There is no second chance for you. If that happens, says there in Thessalonians that they might all be damned that believe not the gospel. If you say to the Lord Jesus, I reject you.
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That question again that we started with What shall I do then with Jesus?
Which is called Christ. You have to answer that question. I think of the old hymn that says What will you do with Jesus?
Slip in my mind now. I'm sorry, brethren.
You can't not decide. To say later is to decide no.
Please consider where you're at in your soul. And you know, you may, you may sit there and say, Bernie, I'm in my mid 20s or more and everybody in here thinks I'm saved and I know I'm not, but I'm ashamed. I don't care and God doesn't care. He says come now.
Let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they be red like Crimson. I think I got that backwards, but you know what I'm saying. Come now, says the Lord. You kids is maybe you're hearing this for the first time and understanding Jesus died for me. Come.
Come and say yes Lord Jesus, I accept what you did for me. Come into my heart. Be my Lord and Savior to do that.
Let's close with him.
Sing number.
So many good ones in here listening #21 decide for Christ today.
And God's salvation see yield soul and body, heart and will to him who died for thee. Christ alone can save break the power of sin. Christ the fully satisfy the heart that cleaves him, 21.
This side.
Wake up. Power upstairs.
Rise and blood rings and his father.
And his new heaven.
How crazy people don't create the cities of the world.
Christ alone and say.
Great people.
Christ without moving, satisfied.
The heart that glazed through heaven.
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It's closing prayer.
Our God and Father, thank you again.
For your beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that one that came into this world.
And fully satisfied every single.
Demand against sinners fully paid the debt so that we could be brought right into thy family. O our God and Father, I pray for any boy or girl.
Young person, man or woman, that is yet in their sins that today they would come and accept the Lord Jesus and the work that He did on the cross.
Bless thy word.
In Jesus name, Amen.