Gospel—David Harman
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My privilege to welcome you to the Gospel meeting tonight.
I'd like to begin by singing #7 in the hymn sheets.
God loved the world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall.
Salvation full and highest cost He offers free to all.
#7.
God loved the world.
Of Sinner's life and real life.
Nowadays, you can't fall asleep and come in on the first day of the fall.
01111 1.
1111.
129 Five.
Seven and together. I'm not going to come back and browse Rapprock. Run, run, run, run, run, run.
Anything surprise so I'm on.
The message tonight is the message of sin and salvation.
And with the Lord's help, we'll consider it in the context of choices for choices.
I'd like to begin in the book of Genesis.
And I would mention too that.
You need not.
Feel obligated to turn to all the passages. If we turn to a number of verses in the in the scriptures, I would be happy if you would just listen. It's up to you. Genesis chapter 2.
This first choice that we're going to look at.
As.
Do all of the choices that we'll consider tonight, Lord willing has a particular setting in which it was made.
In this setting was in the Garden of Eden.
This earth, having fallen into a state of chaos and darkness, had now been recently remade by God, and now it is pristine.
Conditions could not be better.
God had made man as the crowning glory of his creation and declared.
That all things were very good.
And so he placed man in the garden in the best of conditions, and he gave him one commandment, and we're going to read that commandment in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 16.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Chapter 3.
And verse.
Well, we'll start 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 hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye 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.
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Shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
So the stage is set for the first choice.
God's commandment.
And Satan's contradiction.
God gives the commandments, but he gives man the ability to choose.
So what was the choice? Many here, no.
Verse six of chapter 3. 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 did 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 sewed 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. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God.
Amongst 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.
That's as far as we'll read.
So God's commandment was to not eat.
Of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
And Satan's contradiction was that they wouldn't surely die. God just doesn't want you to be as he is.
And so the woman was deceived, and she partook of that forbidden fruit.
She made the wrong choice.
And immediately.
They knew the consequences.
A conscience of their condition and a separation from God.
Sin separates.
And we're told in Isaiah that your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sin has hid his face from you that he will not hear. And so if you're hearing your sins tonight without Christ, you are at a distance from God, and he is seeking your fellowship as he was seeking Adam's fellowship here. Where art thou?
If you don't feel that distance, God does. He longs for your fellowship, but sin has come in between you and Him.
God can have no fellowship with sin.
He has a pure eyes, and to behold iniquity, and cannot look upon sin.
And so your sin has separated you from your God.
So Adam and Eve, they realized the consequences of this choice immediately.
But the consequences of that choice have continued on down through the ages. The setting of this choice that was made here was roughly 6000 years ago.
And sin is still separating you from your God today.
You are part of a sinful condition of a sinful race.
Romans tells us.
That by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
And so by being born into this world, you became partakers of that.
Sinful race.
That is at a distance from God.
And cannot be reconciled in the presence of sin.
You might ask.
I'm not so bad. Why do you say I'm so sinful? You're telling me that all the people around me are sinful?
I see kindness every day.
Well, you and I were made in the image and likeness of God.
We have.
An innate desire to to love and be loved.
And.
To be liked.
And Mann has built himself a society that began in the days of Cain, when he went out from the presence of God and built a city.
Mann has built a society in the absence of God. He shuts God out.
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And he gets along.
By, uh, by doing kindnesses.
And perhaps with their desire to be, to receive kindness in return, to be liked, these are natural things.
And there are there are checks that have been put in place to restrain the hearts of men, governments, law and such like.
But we are seeing increasingly.
With greater frequency every day in the news.
That man is becoming more and more defiant of any sort of authority or restraint.
And if any, if there's any possibility that there will be no retribution for an evil deed?
Then there's no restraint.
The heart of man is fully manifest.
And so the the restraint that is present in our society is a thin veneer at best.
The heart of man is still the same.
Lost and sinful.
And you might think that you're better than your neighbor because your neighbor does these things and you would never do that.
Uh, but that's not what the word of God tells us. There's no difference.
I'll read it to get it right.
Romans, chapter 3.
We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They're all gone out of the way. They are together, become unprofitable. There is none that do with good. No, not one.
There's No Fear of God before their eyes.
All the world has become guilty before God.
And so you can't stand here or sit here tonight in any sort of complacency thinking that you're OK.
God says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And so the consequences of that choice made in the garden are.
Present to this day.
And if you're here without Christ?
You are lost and on your road to a lost eternity. The wages of sin is death.
God told Adam in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
They didn't drop dead physically.
But they became dead spiritually.
And they began to die physically. Death came upon all men.
And so now God says that we are all dead in trespasses and sins.
That's your condition tonight, without Christ.
The sad consequences of the wrong choice.
The setting for the next choice.
Is.
Outside of space and time.
And where the Godhead?
Had counseled together they looked down upon this world in its sinful condition.
Man, his creature who rebelled against him.
And God Southern loved the world.
Why did he love the world?
Because he chose to.
He chose to.
The God who created all things. The God who created you.
Was not in any way obliged to love us. He could have easily snuffed us out.
And made a fresh start. But he chose to love us.
So God Southern loved the world.
That he gave his only begotten Son.
In Isaiah we read a a vision that he had saw the Lord sitting on his throne, high and lifted up.
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And he heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send?
As a messenger to my people, who are all unclean, who shall, whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
And the answer came here am I send me? And he said go.
So God chose to love us.
And he chose to send his Son, and the Lord Jesus chose to come.
And so when the fullness of time would come.
God sent forth his Son.
Made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them, that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons.
At the appointed time.
God sent forth his Son.
And we read in Philippians.
Chapter 2.
Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God.
Thought it not robbery or a thing to be grasped at, to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
So the eternal sun became flesh, the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.
That was God's choice.
And I'd like to, uh, with your permission.
Inject a little bit of perspective on this thought that the Word became flesh.
No doubt some of you have heard it before, and if you've heard it from me before, which you may have, I beg your pardon. But to me it's astounding.
The world we live in is pretty big.
8000 miles, approximately in diameter.
But how big is that really?
The Milky Way Galaxy in which we exist.
Is 100,000 light years in diameter? What is a light year? So speed that light travels in one year approximately 6 trillion miles.
The Milky Way Galaxy is 100,000 light years across.
And by man's best estimation, right now the known universe is 93 billion light years in diameter.
8000 miles doesn't sound very big anymore.
Little bit of perspective if you scaled the earth from 8000 miles in diameter down to one inch size of 1/4.
The Milky Way would still be 1.1 billion miles across.
And the universe would be 184 light years in diameter.
What if the Milky Way became one inch across? You can't even see the Earth anymore. It's it doesn't exist, it's so small.
The universe is still 15 miles across.
So 100,000 * 6 trillion miles has now become one inch, and the universe is still 15 miles across.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Isn't that astounding? Why?
Why here? Why us?
Because he loved us.
He chose to love us.
The setting for our next choice is approximately 2000 years ago.
In the city of Jerusalem.
The Son of God has walked this earth now for 30 approximately 33 years.
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The Word became flesh.
He has lived a perfect life.
Perfect obedience to the will of His Father, fulfilling all that he was sent to do.
Bestowing kindness and healing on all he came in contact with in the face of man's wickedness and rebellion.
Matthew 26.
The Lord Jesus.
Has been betrayed Now, at this point in time, has been betrayed by one of his friends into the hands of those who sought to kill him.
Verse 59 of Matthew 26.
Now the chief priests and elders and all the council sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death, but found none. Yeah, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. And at the last came two false witnesses. And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose and said unto him, Answereth thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace.
And the high priest answered, and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said, Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
And the high priest rent is closed, saying he has spoken blasphemy. What further need have we have witnesses? Behold now ye have heard his blasphemy, what think ye? They answered and said he is guilty of death and then did. Then did they spit in his face and buffeted him.
And others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophecy unto us, Thou Christ, who is he that smote thee? Imagine the audacity of the human heart to rebel against the Creator and spit in his face.
Chapter 27.
Verse 11 And Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
Then said Pilot unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word, insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
Now that feast, the governor was want to release unto the people a prisoner whom they would, and they have then a notable prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you, Barabbas, or Jesus, which is called Christ?
There are the options.
That's the choice to be made, Jesus or Barabbas.
Verse 19 When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto 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 of the twain will you 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.
What a choice.
What a choice.
Did it take God by surprise? No, Remember.
He made that choice a long time before this.
In the book of Acts we read that it was by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.
That they took him with wicked hands and crucified him.
Didn't take God by surprise.
That's what He chose. That's what He chose. That's how much He loved us. That's how much He loved you. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
Of course he knew how they how they would treat him when he came.
But he sent him, notwithstanding all.
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I'd like to read this.
More of this 27th chapter.
To follow on in the in the wake of this choice that was made.
When verse 24, when Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing with 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 to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us and on our children. Then released Hebrew rabbis unto them. And when he had scourge 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 plotted 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.
Verse 35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Prophet. They parted my garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots, and 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. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyeth the temple, and villast it in three days, save thyself it thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
Likewise also the chief priest, 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. He trusted in God. Let him deliver him now if you 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 under the ninth hour and about the 9th hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying Eli, Eli lamas the back then I that is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias, and straightway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a Reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
The hymn writers put it this way.
Well, might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in.
When Christ the Incarnate Maker died for man, his creature's sin.
The Son of God.
Ever the delight of his Father in a past eternity.
Ever his delight in his pathway on this earth.
Constant communion and fellowship throughout his pathway.
Then in these three hours of darkness, when he bore your sins and mine.
In his own body on the tree.
God turned his back.
Forsook him.
As he poured out his wrath and his judgment on those sins.
That were ours.
Became the sacrifice.
For sin.
He paid the price that you and I could never pay.
There's no way that we could. Ever.
Take away our own sin.
None can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him. I can't save myself. I can't save you. You can't save yourself, you can't save me.
Because the sacrifice would not be perfect.
The sacrifice had to be without blemish and without spot.
Have you ever tried to wash a car with an oily rag? Doesn't work. All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. None of them could atone for our sins.
There had to be a perfect sacrifice.
And that could be none other than the perfect Son of God. Thank God he was willing to come. Thank God he chose to come.
For you.
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The setting of the fourth choice.
Is.
Regina, SK, July 30th, 2016 7:30 PM.
Call Ritchie Center.
God commandeth all men everywhere to repent.
There are two things you need tonight.
If you are still in your sins.
You need repentance toward God.
And you need faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is commanding you to repent. You've offended God with your sin.
God is holy and just and pure.
And he is offended by your sin.
And he commands you to repent.
What will your choice be?
John's Gospel, chapter 3 and verse 36.
Says he that believeth on the sun.
Hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
There's your choice.
Everlasting life or the wrath of God?
Don't put it off till tomorrow.
For you know not what a day may bring forth.
You could be taken away in death, unexpectedly. No man knows his time.
Or the Lord Jesus may come. He has promised to come quickly.
And take all those that have put their trust in him to be with himself forever.
Then it will be too late.
We don't know when that will be.
And the consequences are enormous.
You are standing on the very brink of a lost eternity.
From which there will be no repentance, no return.
Your sins must be dealt with.
Either by yourself.
Or by substitute.
We saw little.
Consider the seriousness of sin.
Eternity is not long enough for you to atone for your sins.
Script Scripture speaks of the blackness of darkness forever.
Separation from God. Your sins have separated you from God. That's your condition now. And if you don't repent, that will be your condition for all of eternity.
Separation from God.
Separation from any trace of love.
The blackness of darkness forever.
Where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched.
Torment.
Or everlasting life.
What's keeping you back?
What's hindering you from making the right choice?
Anyone with a trace of intelligence, with the facts laid before them, knows what the right choice is. You know what the right choice is.
What's holding you back? Is that your stubborn pride?
You think you're not bad enough for this?
Is it your desire for just a little more pleasure?
Pleasures of sin for a season. It's only for a season.
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And you don't know when that season will end.
Make the right choice.
He that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life.
And he that believeth not, shall not see life. There's no hope.
Shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Do you know the wrath of God is abiding over you tonight?
When is it going to fall?
You don't know.
I don't know.
The message does not include an expiry date.
Now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
Choose Life.
Choose tonight.
Can we sing?
#18.
God loved the world so tenderly, His only Son He gave, that all who on His name believe is wondrous power will save. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
#18.
God loved the world till tenderly and lonely.
And rolled up against me and it's one of the dress while I'm a question today, a a a or on my solo cover up and he gave it all into one.
Lord and Lord.
You're not very tired.
That happened to the dark. I am very dangerous being in the last 9:50.
No life ever right? But now that my eyes make my life.
I have Prince and he never left one wife while I having the one for education just 0183 49 behavioral environment followed by anything there's a lot of.
Work or God blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Uh, that's not how you're doing. It's all aspirin. Maybe. Maybe I have to stand with him, to him.
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Run down and after while he's alive.
I want to leave you with a thought.
That though you are a Sinner as all who as all in this room once were.
So you are a Sinner. God loves you. God loves the Sinner.
And he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
It's God's desire for you.
He is still seeking restoration of that fellowship that was broken in the garden by sin. Don't let your sin continue to keep your keep you away from God. Don't turn your back on that love you have the choice to make tonight.
Choose life, let's pray.