Gospel—Ted Sester
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Welcome to the Gospel meeting tonight. I'd like to start by reading a verse out of John chapter 10. You don't need to open your Bibles. John chapter 10 and verse 10 part of the verse.
I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. That we could start tonight by singing #4 #4 reads. Christ is the Savior of sinners. Christ is the Savior for me. Long I was chained, and since darkness. Now by His grace I am free.
Verse two Now I can say I am pardoned, happy and justified, free, saved by my blessed Redeemer. This is the Savior for me. Can you call him your Savior tonight?
#4 let's sing #4 Christ is the Savior.
For me.
Come on, I was strange things to install.
Now, by his grace, by hand free.
Praying save your slightly.
Shake your blood work.
This is the savior for me.
I don't like to say I am Father.
Happy and justified creation.
And my, my blessing being Jesus.
For me.
Save usage.
Like for my grandson, this is the savior for me.
What we're here to talk about tonight is really important.
I use my phone a lot.
I get a lot of emails, I send a lot of text.
Been known to send them out in this room.
Tonight I'm going to ask you to take your phones and put them in a spot where you're not going to use them for about 45 minutes.
There's nothing more important than what we're going to talk about. Not because of it being me.
In preparation for the gospel.
It was more of preparing me, wasn't preparing to prepare for the gospel. The things we're talking about tonight is life. It's life or death.
I haven't.
I'm not here because I have a perfect walk with the Lord.
I'm here because I love to tell about the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's a lot of people that need to hear about the Lord Jesus.
Satan does not want the gospel to go forth.
And he wants to discourage it from going forth.
And he'll do anything to distract you.
A friend texting you? The friend beside you? Someone else.
Maybe the speaker not knowing how to make a good delivery. You might think it's boring, but tonight I want you to listen to God's word. Not because it's me, but because it's God's word.
So let's ask the Lord for help.
We're going to sing another song.
Their song is number 19. It says, O Christ, in thee my soul hath found, and found in thee alone the peace, the joy I sought so long, the bliss till now unknown, now none but Christ can satisfy none other name for me there's love and life and lasting joy. Lord Jesus.
Found in thee.
Oh Christ and thee.
My soul.
Is my joy and I saw.
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My Christ starts this life and the life of my life. I don't think it's the beginning of the beginning of life.
There's a verse in the Bible.
I believe it's Matthew. It says what think ye of Christ?
That's a question I have for you tonight. What thinking of Christ? What do you think of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Maybe you've heard the gospel many times. Probably most people in this room have heard the gospel many times.
Is it just another gospel?
I actually had a man tell me that he liked hearing the gospel and he wasn't saved.
Maybe you like hearing what you call a good gospel and you still aren't saved. That is really scary.
My burden tonight is for somebody who has sat here over and over again. They sat through the gospel meeting last night.
And they sat through the gospel meeting the night before, and there still aren't saved.
We refer to you as Gospel hardened.
And the Word of God would like to break that rock in pieces.
You know, it says the word of God is quick, it's alive, it's powerful, and it's sharper than A2 edged sword.
It cuts the sender and it cuts the here.
It did some cutting on me this afternoon.
You know, the word of God is truth we heard last night. It tells the truth about you, and it tells the truth about me, and it tells us about our condition, and it tells us that we are dead.
In trespasses and sins, that is not a positive thing you say. Well, I came to the gospel meeting and I heard that gospel means good news.
The good news of the Gospel.
Is that there's life available tonight?
Tonight you can have life, but tonight everyone in this room is dying tonight.
If the Lord Jesus does not come in 100 years, there's not one person in this room that will still be alive.
The Lord Jesus coming very quickly.
We look forward to him to come.
But naturally, everyone in this room is dying.
Why?
Because as we heard last night.
Adam.
Fell and it says that death entered into the world by one man. Death entered in the world. But you know, tonight the good news of the gospel is that life has come into this world because of one man, and that man is the Lord Jesus Christ. And tonight you don't have to stay in your sins. Tonight you don't have to stay dead in trespassing sins.
People spend a lot of time thinking about dying.
They spent a lot of time. They worry about it.
There are studies that show that people are just subconsciously thinking about dying all the time.
Are you scared to die tonight?
I'd be scared to die if I was in my sins. You better be scared to die if you're in your sins tonight.
Death is a real thing.
You know, death is an enemy. God didn't intend for death to come in this world. It wasn't his intention.
Was not his attention.
But you know.
God has provided the Savior. God has provided life. God has provided that life could be, could come tonight.
Tonight, 2018.
December 24.
It still could be a gospel mean. We still can tell you that you can have life.
And tonight, it's not just.
You know.
Just a way to escape hell. That's not what God wants for you. Yes, you will escape hell if you accept the Lord Jesus Christ your Savior, but God wants to give you life. We read that verse in John 10 and I want to read a couple more verses there.
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In John chapter 10 and verse 10, you don't need to read read it. I can read it for you. It says the thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, that they might have it more abundantly.
I'm the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Tonight, the shepherd has died for his sheep.
Are you one of his sheep tonight?
Are you one of his sheep tonight?
I'm one of his sheep.
He gave his life.
A ransom for all?
Have you accepted that ransom? Have you taken the Lord Jesus as your Savior?
I think everyone in this room may know what that means, but I'm going to explain that a little bit. Let's turn to John chapter 4.
In John chapter 4 it is my.
Favorite story to tell in the gospel about the woman at the well?
But on the other side of that page in John three, I'm going to read the same verse that was read last night. It says, 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 does not want you to die in your sins.
God wants you to accept His love gift. He wants you to take eternal life. He wants to offer you tonight eternal life.
What made that possible?
God is holy.
God is holy and God cannot overlook your sin.
I don't think if I ask for a show of hands that there would be anybody in this room that would raise their hand and say that they haven't.
Did something wrong?
Sin.
You know, I got an e-mail this afternoon. This morning there was a spam.
And it said I have hacked your e-mail account.
It's very clever spam.
And it said that I know everything about you. I know every place you've ever visited, every website you've ever been to.
And I'm going to send an e-mail out to everyone in your contact list and show them every place you've ever been on the Internet.
And if you pay me $756 in the next 72 hours?
I won't do it.
And it went around my office this afternoon.
And I emailed the IT person. Please tell everyone that spam don't pay the $756.
If every single thing that you had ever thought you'd ever looked at on your phone, your computer.
Everything you'd ever done. Can you imagine? And it was right up here on the wall, right here.
If it was me.
Be really embarrassing.
But I have a God who knows every single thing about me and he still loves me.
You have sinned, the Bible says you have sinned. All have sinned and come short of the of the glory of God. You have fallen short. You have sinned against the holy God and someone has to pay for that sin. God is holy. He's going to demand payment for that sin.
And if you don't accept God's gift tonight, you're going to have to pay for your sins, and you will never be able to pay for your sins.
You forever.
Will be as separated from God in hell.
My sins were paid for by godson, it says right here.
God so loved the world, that's the people world that he gave his Son. God gave his Son for me so he could bear my sins and his own body on the tree, the cross.
The God punished Jesus his Son for my sins.
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All those bad thoughts I've ever had, all those bad things I've ever done.
God punished Jesus for my sins.
I can stand here and I can be clean.
And all my sins washed in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you say that tonight? Do you have peace with God? It says peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you have that peace tonight or are you still thirsty for that peace? Are you still looking for that piece?
Are you still looking for that next thing that's going to make you happy? What's the next thing that you think is going to make you happy?
You know the wisest man.
In all the Earth.
Solomon, he said all.
This vexation spur.
He had anything he wanted.
No, don't make her happy.
You can talk to people that have everything materialistically and some of them are the most miserable people you've ever met.
I kind of like flying Southwest down here, Southwest Airlines, because there's no first class. You know, some of those people are the most miserable people in the world. Every once in a while get to sit next to one of them.
It was just kind of fun, you know, it's like everybody's the same tonight. Everybody's same here. We're all, all have sinned, all have come short of the glory of God.
Now you know, tonight, if you've accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, your Savior, he doesn't remind you that you're a Sinner. You're not a Sinner anymore. You're a St. you're a cold one. You're chosen, you're adopted in the family. He wants you. He wants to have a relationship with you. See, God wants to have a relationship with you tonight. He wants to have communion with you. He wants to have fellowship with you. That's what he that's what he wanted from Adam and Eve.
He was walking with them in the cool of the day.
Can you imagine? Can you imagine walking with God now? They cool today. The Garden of Eden. Incredible.
Then there was a man by the name of Enoch, and it says he walked with God. That's what God wants to do with you right now. He wants to walk with you.
He wants to have fellowship with you.
That's what he wants, but fellowship has been broken because of sin.
You have sinned against the Holy God.
And you are. You have a desire, you have a thirst that the only thing that can satisfy that thirst is the Lord Jesus Christ. You can try everything.
I talk to a lot of people and they are trying a lot of different things and they come up empty every time.
We're going to read a few verses in John chapter 4. John chapter 4, if you don't have a Bible, it's okay, but it's about a woman that the Lord Jesus meets at a well in Samaria. And there's a verse in chapter 4 starting with verse four, it says and he, the Lord Jesus must needs go through Samaria, the Lord Jesus.
I say reverently must.
Have the Holy Spirit in this room tonight, working with souls he must.
Be in the summary is a picture of this world tonight. He's in this room, in this world, searching for souls. He wants you to be saved.
He has gone at great lengths. The gospel is going forth through way far out places, hard to get places. And tonight, right here in Southern California, he's made it very easy for you to come. You're comfortable in your chair. How are you going to say no?
You have to actually say no.
It's that easy. The gospel is being handed to you. It couldn't be made more simple the last two nights.
You have been rejecting the gospel. You've been saying no to God's Christ. You've been saying no, I want my own way. It says there's a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the ways thereof are the ways of death.
You're on your way to hell tonight. If you don't have Christ, all you have to look forward to is death.
And I'm not just talking about your death of your body.
You will be put.
And do what scripture called hell.
It'd be one thing, you know, men want to think that you just die like a dog.
When your body's done, but there's a resurrection.
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From the dead and the one that's called from among the dead.
That second death.
Is when you'll be raised to go to the Great White Throne and be judged for your sins.
And God will.
Have to put you in hell.
There's no decision that needs to be made at that time. You your decision is being made right now.
You know, you say, well, I'm not really decided.
The Gospel of John.
Says you're condemned already.
That's what God says. You are condemned already.
Do you have a thirst inside tonight?
Do you want happiness? Do you want?
Satisfaction.
Or what are you numbing that with? Are you still thinking that this world will give you the next?
Fun time.
Let's read about this woman here.
In chapter 4 verse seven of John, it says there cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water.
Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
It makes sense. There's a well, there's a lady there. She's pulling water out of the well. The Lord Jesus is there.
Let's skip down to verse 9. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him. How is it that thou, being a Jew, ask a drink of me which I'm a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. The Samaritans were despise people, but the Lord Jesus, he knew this, and he was there for a purpose.
And he was there for more than just a natural drink of water likes in his bottle.
Verse 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that says to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our Father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
What's the answer to that question? Is the Lord Jesus greater? Yes, he was greater.
This woman was standing in front of the Creator of the universe.
Do you know tonight that the Creator of the universe came down?
As a baby into this world.
Human flesh.
To go to the cross of Calvary.
The creator of the universe.
Came down and took a body.
And that man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is standing here at this well in Samaria.
He's the same man that went to the cross.
And died for my sins. And he is talking to this woman.
It's not a crowd, you know, tonight people don't get saved in crowds. This is one-on-one. This is you and the creator of the universe, the Lord Jesus Christ. He wants you to be happy. He wants you to be satisfied, and he wants to give you a drink of water so that you never thirst again.
And the only way you can come.
Is to have your sins washed away, and you got to come to the cross and you got to leave your sins.
At the cross.
We're going to see that.
Verse 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him.
Shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hit her to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go call thy husband, and come thither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus saith unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband.
We just read something.
The Lord Jesus knows everything about you. Thou God sees me.
Verse in the Bible he knew everything about this woman he knew all of her past and he knew exactly what was going on tonight. You have to have repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. You can't just say well you know I just want to get saved. I just want to accept.
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That's it. You have to be sorry for your sins, repentance towards God. You have sinned against the holy God and your sins will take you to hell.
And you're on the way to destruction.
Death is before you, and there's nothing you can do except for come to the.
Besides coming to the Savior, this the Savior here, the Lord Jesus.
Says here.
I think we can relate with this tonight. This world is in a very low moral state. Very low.
What does he say here?
Go call thy husband. Do you think the Lord Jesus didn't know she didn't have a husband? She'd have a husband.
Thou hast had five husbands.
And he whom thou now hast, is not thy husband this woman.
As not only living in immorality.
But she's looking for love. Are you looking for love tonight?
You're not going to fight in this world, you're not going to find it and the best relationships of this world, you will not find a satisfaction like you can find if the Lord Jesus Christ, he will satisfy the longing heart.
Tonight the Lord Jesus is the only thing He created you, and He is the only one that can satisfy that heart that He created.
Tonight do you have a thirst, a longing and a void, and you don't know what that is? It's an emptiness.
This woman had that.
What does she do?
Verse 19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Religion is not going to help this out situation.
I have heard more excuses going to the nursing homes when I was young with my dad and my grandpa.
My grandmother was a Sunday school teacher. What does a grandmother being a Sunday school teacher have to do with anything? This is personal.
I've heard so many excuses. I played in the choir.
I was a pastor at this church.
It doesn't do any good for you. This is serious business right here. Where? If you die tonight, where will you spend eternity?
You need to think about the excuses that you give other people.
If you put your head on your pill tonight and you don't wake up, where are you going to go?
This woman right here.
She had some excuses, but let's see what happens. Verse 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship. You know not what we know, what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship him.
You mean the father seeks a Sinner? A woman who's had five husbands and living in sin?
That's what my Father does. My Father is seeking sinners.
That's what it is. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.
Those that are wholly not a physician. If you're not sick tonight, you don't need what I have for you.
That's what Scripture says.
But Scripture also says for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Is there someone in this room?
Just trying to wow can't use my cell phone without anybody seeing.
Got 7 more minutes like those bears through it and it just won't be till next year. Maybe you only come to conference once a year. You only come to the gospel once a year. I don't know. Maybe you avoid gospel meetings.
This is important. Last night in a prayer for the Gospel, I was quite touched. There's a man in this room right now. He was saved at this conference when he was eight years old. It was a long time ago.
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I always say that the gospel mean there could be someone in this room that's not saved right now. I can't tell. But God knows exactly inside your heart if you're saved or not. It's a scary thing to be lost. It's scary.
God wants to have a relationship with you.
It says he's seeking worshippers.
Verse 24 we learn more about God. It says God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him.
In spirit and in truth.
You know, people say, well, can you prove to me there's a God?
I can't prove to you there's a God.
Why is that? It says God is a spirit.
God can be everywhere.
He can be on in this area, he can be somewhere else.
Don't try to put your reasoning around God. My thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not your ways.
That's what it says in Isaiah 55.
Let me read read that verse.
Believe it says that the heavens.
Started with verse six. Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found, Call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thoughts, Let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
You know, we have in scripture that phrase, I thought.
Leave your thoughts. If your thoughts are not thoughts from the Word of God, your thoughts are wrong.
Leave your thoughts.
The Lord Jesus tonight wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to have fellowship with you.
The Lord Jesus loves you.
Verse 28 says the woman then left her water pot and went her way into the city and said to the men, come see a man which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?
This woman.
Found the answer.
Do you want to come clean tonight? You don't have to come clean to me. You can just bow your head right where you're at and you can tell the Lord Jesus I'm a Sinner. I have sinned against you.
And I accept your gift of your death on the cross.
Your blood to wash away my sins.
The load was off. This woman, she's telling the men.
And the city?
A different story than she used to tell them.
She's saying here's the Messiah, here's the sent one from God, here's.
A man that knows everything about me and still loves me.
The way I am.
Do you think?
That there be anybody that could stand behind this pulpit.
Based on their good works and telling everybody just to do a better job and.
If it wasn't for the cleansing blood of Christ, no one would have a right to ever stand here and say anything. There would be nothing to say.
Be nothing to say it's not of works, lest any man should boast. That's what scripture says.
And in Ephesians it says, let's turn it. Ephesians, chapter 2.
It says for by grace in verse eight, are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. And then that verse not of works, lest any man should boast tonight. Maybe you don't have faith. You say I don't have faith.
I agree with you. You probably don't have faith, but he's willing to give you the gift of faith. Just ask him for the faith to believe.
God.
Had to punish.
The Lord Jesus for my sins.
The Lord Jesus.
Suffered on the cross of Calvary for my sins.
Can you say he's my savior? There's a verse that we started with says.
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What thinking of Christ?
There's another verse that says, Is it nothing to you? All ye that pass by? Is it nothing to you? Is this gospel mean nothing to you? Just mean nothing.
Is your heart still hardened if you hear the word of God? Does it mean nothing to you? Are you not affected?
Do you feel the weight of your sins? Do you feel the knocking?
The Spirit of God in your heart.
You know, there's a verse in Genesis that says my Spirit shall not always strive with man. What if you've gone to hundreds of gospel meetings?
And tonight you say no in the spirit of God stops knocking on your door. If he stops knocking on your door, you won't be able to get saved.
My spirit will not always strive with man. I didn't write the verse, it's the word of God.
Tonight, take the Word of God serious.
Are you going to accept Christ?
As your savior.
Tonight is this decision is easy. It's Christ or tell.
Let's commend ourselves.
Our Father.
We thank thee for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee for sending him to this world, this poor, wicked world, men like ourselves, women like ourselves that would take the Son of God.
Treat him so cruelly.
On that cross. But we think of those three dark hours where he suffered and was made sin for us, the one who knew no sin.
That we could be set free tonight. We pray that if there's a center in this room that has not accepted thee as their Savior, that they would come tonight. We pray that they would take this very seriously. Our Father, we just ask this in my precious name, Amen.