Gospel—Paul House
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Dear God and Father.
We thank thee tonight.
We have this opportunity to hear one more time of thy love.
We thank thee.
For the Lord Jesus, my beloved Son.
The one who was thy delight in heaven past eternity. It is thy delight now and will be forever.
And we thank thee that for many of us here in the room, he is our delight too.
Lord Jesus Christ, we are so glad to belong to Thee.
But tonight there may be somebody who does not belong to the yet, and we feel so sorry for them. And we just pray that they'll help us to be able to turn to the verses that would exercise their conscience and help them to see the need that they have and the love that doubt us have for them. How thou is willing to die.
And take their place on the cross. Help me, Lord Jesus, to represent thee well here. Give me strength.
And help me to show a little of thy love here in this room tonight we pray in thy name, Lord Jesus, Amen.
I want to read a couple of verses right at the beginning.
The first one that was written, perhaps?
Well, over, well, maybe almost 3000 years ago.
Isaiah 53.
And verse 6.
Isaiah 53. Six.
It says this.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
I have to admit that there was many years when I didn't understand this verse.
And there were many years that I didn't care about this verse either. But let me tell you that tonight I love this verse because this verse is very fundamental to the story of the love of God.
First of all.
Begins with all and it ends with all.
The first all is different than the second all, and the first all includes all of us here.
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Everybody in the world, every person, it says all we like sheep have gone astray. And I want to begin tonight with that thought. And I want everyone in this room to realize that this is not my words. I read them in this book. And if you have this book on your lap, you can read them for yourself. They're the words of God.
All we, like chief, have gone astray. These are the words of God were astray.
We're lost. I hate being lost.
We went the wrong way yesterday. I hated it.
It took us longer to get here than I wanted it to. We had to go through more fog along more treacherous roads. I want to stray. But this is talking about being distant from God. From God. And tonight, if you've never accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you are still astray from God.
And you don't have to answer to me.
For your sins. But we're going to have a little word tonight from the thank you Paul. We're going to have a little bit of more of the words of God.
And we're going to see that you're going to that you're astray from God.
And that's far more important to think about than being a stray from me or some other person.
Being astray from God is not a joke.
People Slough it off today in this world, but when they leave this world and they're far from God, then what?
Doom.
Judgment. Those are words we don't like to hear about. And you know, there's another word and it has four letters and it starts with H and it's spelled, it's spelled this way. HELL, people don't like to talk about that either. But people that are astray from God and go through this life without getting to know the Lord Jesus Christ and having their sins forgiven.
Go to hell when they leave.
I want to tell you a little story. This shook me really a lot, and I'm sorry it's about me, but it's something that I went through.
I have a customer. I had a customer had a customer. I don't have them anymore. I had him.
We were going to do a bathroom for him.
His job was to go and pick the tile that he wanted around the tub that we were going to replace for him.
He picked it out and the tile came in and where the store, the store called me and said you're the tile for this man is in. So whenever you need to do the job, just come ahead and pick up the tile. And I said great thanks. And I called the man back and I called him back and I called him back and I called him back and he never answered my call. And one night after meeting, I called him. It was about 9:15.
He answered. The phone sounded completely normal.
And I said, well, your tiles in, we'd like to do your job and you know what's a good time for you? He said. Well.
He said I really have a problem. I said oh OK. He said I can't remember anything.
Said you can't remember anything.
He said yeah, my short term memory is gone.
He said anything that we talk about tonight, I will not remember in the morning and he said I'm absolutely terrified.
Because I can't remember anything.
Few days later.
This man died. He had cancer in his brain.
I didn't know that he had died, I just didn't hear from him again day after day after day. And finally I got a call from his son-in-law.
Who is the executor of his estate?
And he said we'd like you to put the tile up that my father-in-law chose.
I was sad.
You know, we had talked about a few things that night.
One was his soul.
But you know, the problem was that he couldn't think.
The cancer had gone to his brain.
Tonight you have the opportunity to think and God has given you a brain that works and God has said all we like sheep have gone astray. And perhaps this is the last chance you're going to have to come to God as a loving God to accept the Lord Jesus Christ, his beloved Son, as your Savior. This might be it.
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You know, I talked to that man about his soul, but he couldn't think.
He knew he needed his furnace cleaned and he asked me, please, I'm going to forget this. Can you get somebody to clean my furnace? I don't clean furnaces, but the guy who did some plumbing there, he cleans furnaces. So I said, can you do that at the same time the furnace got cleaned? But this man is in an eternity tonight. How about you?
You who are astray, God wants you tonight.
God loves you.
His son Jesus died for you if you'll receive Him as your Savior. The second verse I'd like to look at is in First Peter chapter 2.
First Peter chapter 2 Says this.
Who his own self bear our sins, and his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live on to righteousness. By whose stripes ye were healed. Now that verse in Isaiah 53, it talks about the stripes. By whose stripes we are healed. And so.
The story of the gospel is quite simple, actually.
God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, came down into this world.
He was put on a cross and he died.
And anyone who will accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior and the punishment that he received for their sins can be saved. And the answer is very simple. It's not complicated. Anybody can come. Anyone can be saved tonight.
There's a lot of people, though, that may say why. Why do I need that? We're going to talk a little bit about that in a few minutes.
Before I do, I want to tell you another story.
This story is a story that I heard probably two years ago that.
Kind of.
It's a solemn story, really, but.
It's almost unbelievable.
It goes like this. There was a man that I know that's an insurance and this man came into his office and said.
Oh my, my house burned down on the weekend.
This man who is in insurance looked at only.
Your house burned down on the weekend goes yeah, my house burned down on the weekend. So they'll probably be an insurance claim you'll see this week.
And.
The man who told me the story, he thought, that's strange, My house burned down. I wouldn't just say, well, my house burned down on the weekend. I would say my house burned down on the weekend. I lost all my photo albums. I lost my hockey stick that I really liked. My skate burned my heart, my stamp collection burned. I lost everything. But this man said, oh, my house burned on the weekend.
Expect an insurance claim.
Well.
The insurance man got a got a claim all right, but he also got a call from the insurance company a couple days later and they said we won't be honoring that claim.
For the man whose house burned down on the weekend.
Because one of the neighbors had a security system on their house.
And we found out about the fact that they had a security system and we asked them for a copy of the video of the tape.
Of the last week of time and on the tape there was a very clear image of the man bringing a can of gasoline into his house and the house then becoming totally engulfed in flames.
And so, putting two and two together, they figured that the house burned down because the man lit his own house on fire and then wanted the insurance money from it.
So the insurance company said, no, no, we're not going to honor your claim.
Your house is burned down, it's your personal loss because you burned your own house down. And if you ask anymore, we'll take the video to the police and then they'll deal with it.
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And you say, well, why are you telling me this story? Well, I couldn't believe that the man had burned his own house down to get the money for the house. I guess this is common.
Unfortunately, in this wicked world that we live in.
You know, many times we forget.
About God, don't we? We live our whole life.
We just kind of do whatever we want.
And we forget that God is watching.
Every moment of the day. Let's turn to 1St Corinthians or Second Corinthians Chapter 7 for a little verse there.
2nd Corinthians, Chapter 7.
And just a little phrase in verse.
12.
2nd Corinthians Chapter 7 partway through verse 12 it says.
But that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you. Now, this is the apostle Paul speaking to believers who he really cared about and was seeking to help them. But I want to change the context a little bit tonight and just speak a little bit about those, those four words, the sight of God.
Tonight we're sitting here in this room.
We all have respectable clothes on, we're all looking like we're paying attention, but.
Let me ask you a question. When God looks down from heaven into your heart, what does he see? What does he see? Does he see you in all your sins, all over you, dirty, vile. You say I'm not that bad compared to God.
One sin is enough to keep you from the presence of a holy, spotless God.
Let's turn to a book back in the Bible to Psalm.
54 We'll look at a verse there.
I.
53.
And verse.
We'll read a few verses here just to get the connection. Verse 153 The fool has said in his heart there is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity. There is none that doeth God. Good God looked down from heaven upon the children of men.
To see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Everyone of them has gone back. They are all together, become filthy. There is none that doeth good. No, not one.
God looked down from heaven.
When God looks down on you, what does he see?
Does he see someone who has accepted the Lord Jesus as their savior? Does he see you with a new life, the life of Christ? That's perfect?
Or does he see you in all your sins, your wretched sins, your iniquities that have separated you from him? Abominable iniquity, You say, Well, I haven't done that many bad things, but have you told a lie?
Have you had a bad thought?
Have you ever said a bad word?
That's just three things.
If I started to count the many sins that I did, I wouldn't count half of them, a third of them, a tenth of them.
I'm 56 * 365 multiplied by the thousands of sins I do every day.
If I had to pay.
I'd have to burn in hell a lot.
But you know the Lord Jesus Christ, he died on the cross. I.
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I accepted Him as my precious savior.
You know, when he died on the cross of Calvary, He paid for every one of my sins. Can you say that tonight? Can you say that the Lord Jesus Christ died for me? I hope at the end of this you can. Before the end of it, even whenever you accept the Lord Jesus, you'll be able to say that.
OK, now let's look at Romans 14 verse 12.
I.
I.
Says this so then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.
You know, it's verses like this that people do not want the Bible around for.
They just want to get rid of the Bible, don't they? They don't want it in the school. They even don't want it in the library, except as reference and in the far corner, maybe.
What does this say?
So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.
You know, some of the things that I've done that were wrong before God, I did with other people.
But you know, and there's a day coming when I won't be able to say, well, it was because of him or she did this or whatever the Lord wants to know about me.
And for somebody in their sins that has to answer for everyone of their sins to God, they're going to have to answer for themselves why they did this and why they they did that and why they did this and why they did that. So then every one of us.
Shall give account of himself.
To God.
Now Matthew 21 is the next one I'd like to spend some time on.
Matthew, Chapter 21.
And this is really what I had in my heart to talk about tonight, Matthew 21. And we're going to read this story from verse 33.
Down to verse 42.
Matthew, 2133.
Hear another parable. There was a certain householder which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged the winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandman, and went into a far country. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandman, that they might receive the fruits of it.
And the husband men took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants more than the 1St, and they did on to them likewise. But last of all he sent on to them his son, saying They will reverence my son.
But when the Osbourne saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the air, Come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the Lord therefore the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard onto other husband.
Render him their fruit in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them. Did you never read in the Scriptures the stone which the builders rejected? The same has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in her eyes.
Generally when I read this account.
I read it in the book of Mark.
And in the book of Mark, there's a few extra details or different details that are given about the parable here that Jesus told.
But there's one particular detail in this chapter that I read tonight.
In verse 41 in Matthew.
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The answer as to the consequence of killing the son of this man this this householder, was that he would miserably destroy those wicked men and let his vineyard onto other husbandmen, which should render him the fruits in their seasons. In Mark. It doesn't make the distinction that it was the people listening to the parable that gave what the.
Was going to be.
But here in Matthew, the people answered this story. They said, oh.
This man's son, his son that was sent, that was killed by this group of terrible people, they're going to get wiped out. There's a consequence that's going to come because of what was done to this son, this special son. It says, last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying they will reverence my son.
You know, in the book of Mark it says a little bit more as to.
That the people, the religious authorities at the time when Jesus told this story, they knew that he had spoken this parable against them.
And they hated the Lord Jesus because they knew that they wanted to get rid of him, just like this son in this story. And he was saying that he was the son and God was the husband, was the the householder. And they rejected him as being the Son of God.
Now.
We're approaching the holiday season.
And in the holiday season, there's a lot of time spoken about.
The birth of Jesus into this world, right?
Let's turn to Luke chapter 2 and we're going to read about that.
Luke chapter 2.
I.
And perhaps there's somebody here tonight and you keep Christmas.
But you don't love Jesus.
And you've never accepted Jesus as your Savior.
I want you to be exercised tonight.
About Jesus.
Let's read the story about the Lord Jesus.
Chapter 2.
Luke 2 And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed, verse three And all went to be taxed, everyone in his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, onto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered, and she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a Manger. And tonight that is exactly where most people who keep Christmas that do not love the Lord Jesus Christ thought. They put a period right there.
And you know what? It doesn't stop there.
Keeps going. Let's read what it says because there was number room for them in the end.
Jesus, the Son of God.
The son who came in the story that we read about.
He came here and where was he born?
The eternal Son of God was born in a barn.
And the world says, oh, isn't that beautiful? He was born in a Manger and they have all these stories and songs and all kinds of things, but there was no room for him in the end.
And let me tell you tonight, there's no room for Jesus Christ in this world either.
As soon as you start talking about the Lord Jesus Christ to people, they back away.
They start to get worried.
And they start to get worried because of their sins.
And tonight?
If you keep Christmas but you don't love Jesus, then you put a period where in this verse where it should not be because you have no room for him either in your heart. And tonight we started with, have you any room for Jesus? I want to ask you that, do you have room for him? Do you have room in your heart for the Lord Jesus? Do you ever accepted Him as your Savior?
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Tonight, you can.
If you've laughed him out, you got room for pleasure, room for business and everything else, but you have no room for him.
I feel sorry for you.
You've missed out on a lot.
If you leave this world without it, without the Lord Jesus, to your peril, your eternal doom. And that's the warning for tonight.
The good news is that.
This is just the beginning of the story of Jesus on this earth, and he was born in a barn.
And shame on us. I'm Speaking of mankind. There was number room. Can you imagine? At the Ramada, we're all there and this lady comes in the door and she's about to have a baby any moment. And the hotel says, I'm sorry, but the the hotel is, is full. But there's a barn up the road you can use instead.
You can sleep there tonight. Shame on us.
If we didn't say, well, you know, in your condition, maybe you could have my room.
But no one was willing to say that when the Lord Jesus was born. So the Lord Jesus was born in a barn, the very Son of God. Shame on us.
Shame on men.
You know the story goes on. Lord Jesus grew up a perfect man.
He started his public ministry when he was about 3330 years old.
And he preached to the people that unless they changed, they were in trouble. You know, it's no different than what I'm saying tonight. Unless there's a change, you're in trouble. Unless your sins are forgiven by a holy, righteous God, you're in trouble.
And I think down deep, each one of us can say, yeah, that's right.
You know, if you're in your sins tonight, God sees you just the way that you are, and you know God wants you just the way that you are, because God can take you and God can forgive you, and you can have your sins forever washed away in the blood of His precious Son.
And you know, that's the story that's so remarkable to me. You know, we read in Matthew the Lord Jesus told the story of this man that sent his son to get the fruit from the vineyard. And they took his son and they killed him. They got rid of him. They said, hey, he's the heir, let's kill him. Then the vineyards ours. We'll have the world the way we want it. That's what they said when Jesus was crucified, Get rid of him. We don't want him to reign over us. We wanted our way.
And the people said, oh.
The the man that owns the farm, he's going to come and wipe out all those guys that killed his son.
And you know, naturally that's what we would say too. They had it coming to them. But what did God do? God said, you know, when my son was crucified on the cross?
He died for the sins of any person that would come to me to be forgiven by my sons payment for their sins.
You know, God is love, God is mercy. We would say, yeah, wipe out all those people that killed the sun. Sure, they deserve it. What did God say? God says I'm loved. They killed my son. They treated him so bad he was born in a barn. And then they put him on a cross. But I'm willing to forgive them if they'll receive my son as their savior.
That's the remarkable story of the cross.
And we're going to talk a little bit about that now. So let's turn back to Matthew Chapter 27.
We're going to read a little bit about the cross.
Because this is part of the story that's so precious to me.
I love the story of the cross.
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But I can tell you something and that is this.
There was a time when I hated when gospel preachers would read about the cross.
I remember sitting in meetings like this. I came with my mom and my dad to Bible conferences, but I never accepted the Lord Jesus as my Savior.
Until I got a little bit older. Shame on me. I should have come to the Lord Jesus earlier. I would have been saved from a lot of sin.
And a lot of sorrow.
But thank God, I did come. But I hated when people would sit and read about the cross and how the Lord Jesus was taken and crucified and that's I just didn't want to hear that story. I'd heard it before and I didn't want to hear it again. But now I love to hear that story because the Lord Jesus Christ died for me.
He paid for my sins and so I love him.
For doing that for me. But that's read about what the people did to the Son. So let's read in verse.
11 And Jesus stood before the governor, the Roman governor.
OK, so let's drop down to.
A 24 When Pilot 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 to it Pilot was the governor.
And so the religious authorities that brought Jesus to be crucified, there was an argument as to whether he was guilty or not, and between the the governor and them. And the governor, rather than giving justice, he allowed the Lord Jesus, who was perfect to be crucified.
Verse 25.
Then answered all the people and said his blood be on us and on our children.
Horrible, but they took responsibility for this verse 26 then released he Bravisson To them this was a man that was going to be released. They had accustomed to release a prisoner and the governor had wanted to release Jesus and they had said no, we want this wicked prisoner instead. So he the governor released Brevis and when he had scourged Jesus.
He delivered him to be crucified.
So this is what the people did to the Sun.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered on to him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet rope. And when they had planted a crown of thorns, they put it on 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 34. They gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall, and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled by the Prophet. They pardoned my garments among them.
And upon my vesture did they cast lots, and sitting down they watched him there. 39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroys the temple in Bilaston in three days, save thyself. If 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 now deliver him if he will have him, for he said I am the Son of God. Verse 45 Now from the 6th hour there was darkness over all the land until the 9th hour and about the 9th hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying Eli, Eli Lama Sabachthani, that is to say.
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Some of them that heard 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.
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Now turn over to John, chapter 19 please.
We'll pick up in verse 29 about the vinegar. Now there was sat a vessel full, full of vinegar, and they fill the sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said.
It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.
The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, he saw its pilot, that their legs might be broken, that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers and break the legs of the 1St and of the other, which was crucified with him.
But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came throughout blood and water. And he that saw it bear record, And his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
For God so loved the world.
That He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God looked down from heaven, He saw men and women, and he sees men and women tonight in their sinful condition.
He sent his son. His son was taken.
First his son was born in a barn, then his son lived here perfectly, but he was taken and put on the cross.
And instead of coming and destroying the wicked people that did that to his son, instead he said those who want to be forgiven of their sins can be come to me in all their need and have their sins forgiven. There's a verse I want to close with in Acts chapter 17 and it goes like this it says.
Acts 16 actually.
It says.
Verse 31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
We're out of time.
I'm going to pray now.
There's a few quantum jumps perhaps that I've taken tonight, and I apologize for that. I'm a failing.
Preacher.
But I represent a perfect savior.
And tonight, if there's things that you want to ask me about or someone else, please do that. But don't leave here tonight in your sins, because if you do, you may not get another chance of going to heaven and having your sins forgiven. Jesus is the way. Jesus can forgive tonight, and Jesus will take you just as you are.
So come to him.
God didn't destroy those people. Instead, He showed His heart of love. But those who reject His love will have His judgment in a coming day.
Let's pray.