Gospel—Dan Brown
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Good evening. This is the Gospel meeting. As it's just been announced that means.
We have good news for you tonight.
Let's begin our meeting.
With this little hem sheet singing #38.
#38.
I know not why God.
'S life.
Is for everything we need for our lives of all. But I want to know why. I want to be able to hear you in the dream that you're in the life of you and I can't hear you and I can't do it. I can't do anything right now. I can't do anything.
I am alone. I have a mistake.
There will be really far.
Into my life.
19 yesterday.
When I come here.
Entrepreneurship.
Before I get into the message this evening, I'd like to just say how this little hymn convicted me.
Just yesterday morning.
Seems like a lot has happened since then, but.
In our family, we're able to normally have a reading each morning, and yesterday morning as we're reading, it's our habit to sing a hymn and this was the one we were seeing.
In the middle of the hem the phone rang and my wife looked at the caller ID and said.
Better answer this. We don't normally interrupt things for that, but we did.
And I was given the phone and I heard a brother that I respect very much say Dan.
Well, after introducing himself, he said Dan.
We'd like to for you to speak at the Gospel meeting Saturday night.
Oh, I don't know how many of you have had that request. Some of you are are gifted at this and have done this several times.
But I've been just singing I know whom I believe and I enjoyed that hymn and I was enjoying the song and now what would I say? I know who I believe, but I would really rather not talk about him.
00:05:04
Have any of you ever been convicted that way? Probably not quite that definite, but felt a conviction to talk about the one you believe in. Most of you do here.
What are you going to say to that conviction?
Well, I, as you can see, I said yes. I won't tell you how much hesitation went into that, and not because of any doubt of the message. And I, most of us here wouldn't doubt the message at all, that we just doubt our ability to get it across.
But is that faith too?
Well, we'll leave that in his hands tonight, and I'd just like to simply ask a few questions tonight.
Leading up to that first question.
The apostle Paul who wrote these words, you can see in your hymn sheet that it's in quotations. It's quoted from what the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy.
Near the end of his life, he still had confidence, full confidence in the one he believed in.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
But what do you believe about him? And before I get to that question, I'd like to ask.
Just two or three other questions first.
The first question is, what do you believe about this book?
Some of you that are younger may hear different things about this book called the Bible.
Your As you get older, you might hear that it's pretty good literature.
You might read that or hear that it has good moral values, but what do you believe about it?
It's a book that we know was some of it was written over 3500 years ago, and even the most recent part of it is more than 1900 years old. Is it still relevant to you? What is it do you believe?
Well, let me read.
Of what one man said who wrote part of it, A man we were talking about today. Let's if you want to turn to it, it's in second Peter.
Peter was one we were talking about today if you were here at the meetings this afternoon.
He was one that, as we said this afternoon, he had his doubts.
But he was, well, I shouldn't maybe shouldn't say doubts. He had his failures.
As each one of us does. But he was fully persuaded and in the first chapter of his second epistle.
He said in verse 16.
We have not followed cunningly devised fables.
But when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, that were eyewitnesses of His Majesty.
For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Peter, as you perhaps know from what we were talking about today, and if you don't?
He was one that walked with the Lord Jesus when he was here on this earth for the full time of the Lord Jesus ministry on the earth more than 3 1/2 years and he recognized in Jesus.
He made the statement that he was the Son of God, the Messiah, that he knew that, and here he says to those.
To whom he wrote this epistle, he says.
That he saw these things and most of these books that are written, I should say most of the things that are written in this book. And we call each individual part of it a book sometimes, don't we? Often by the writers name, they're written by people who had maybe not eyewitness, but a direct relationship with God and several of them a direct relationship with this man Christ Jesus that we're here to talk about tonight.
They saw these things and they were so convinced of them.
The ones that walked with him, that all were willing and most did go into death. Perhaps not John.
I all died obviously, but were willing to be martyred for the name.
That they preached the Lord, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:10:03
That's the foundation of this book. Do you believe that?
What do you believe about it?
I ask you, you don't have to answer me, but I want you please answer your conscience, what you really believe about it, what you really think about this book. And then if you say I believe it, then there's some things in it.
That should follow that you would accept, but they can be twisted. Let's just go through just a few more questions.
About what this book says about you and each one in this earth.
I'm going to stick mostly with two men.
One who saw and walked with Jesus.
That would be John, and we mentioned him a lot today and another who was, he says, born out of due time. That would be Paul and they wrote much in this book.
Their words were born out of a direct association with this one, the Lord Jesus. One who saw Him revealed in vision and heard special things from him. That would be Paul and the other John, who actually walked with him, knew the love of his Lord personally and rested in that love.
We spoke a lot about John some in our readings this afternoon.
At that trying time, that prelude to the cross.
The second question is what do you believe about sin?
This book teaches us.
That all have sinned.
We'll look at Paul's account of it, since we can stay in the center part of this book if we do that.
In the epistle that he wrote to the Romans. And we'll also look at what John wrote in his Gospel, but for now.
We could look at the beginning of this book, but because it describes how sin came in. But Paul in Romans 5 gives a summary of what happened.
Why this world is in the state it's in right now.
In the 5th chapter of Romans.
He says there are several verses we could look in at. Perhaps the 12Th 1St will do.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world and death.
By sin so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned. And he says in the 17th verse.
If by one man's offense, death reigned by 1.
Much more, they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by 1 Jesus Christ.
He doesn't want us to linger in despair, does he? Sin is definitely in the world, or do you believe that?
There are those that would teach that man is inherently good.
It just needs a little help.
That's not what this book says.
What do you believe?
Can you?
We're somewhat sheltered in this country. There are some countries where.
Where the results of sin, at least as far as outright wickedness.
Are more apparent and reference was made.
Today, if you had lived in Germany especially.
During the Holocaust.
You would have no doubt that wickedness reigns in this earth.
But you can look at your newspaper or.
Or just listen.
With a willing mind to what's going on around you. And I don't believe you can deny that sin is into the world now.
I think most of this audience has heard about the fact that we have all sinned.
I'll reinforce that earlier. Didn't he in that same epistle?
00:15:00
The third chapter, the 23rd verse, he said all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But what do you personally believe?
Do you accept this book as the word Word of God? And so do you accept that statement about you personally that you're part of those that number of all have sinned?
A third question.
That I think maybe needs to be asked to give that relevance is.
Does it even matter?
Is that shocking or?
But does it?
For that.
Answer. Let's go to what John revealed about.
The Lord Jesus in that chapter that most of you know.
The third chapter of John's Gospel.
Why does it matter that olives? And if everybody is in the same boat, do we just continue on in sin?
There's something within you that says.
What about my eternal existence?
It's interesting, the man that asked the question that led up to the story of the Good Samaritan.
What did he ask? He asked.
What must I do that I may inherit eternal life? He had no doubts that there was such a thing. He wanted to know how to get it today.
There are those that say there is no God when you die, that's the end of you.
That's not what we've been taught. That's not what Jesus said.
What did he say in those well known verses? Let's start with the 14th verse.
John 3, verse 14.
As Moses.
Lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
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.
And the last verse of the chapter, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.
And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
There's a lot in those verses, but what I wanted to point out just for now from those verses is.
There is such a thing, Jesus, the one that this book speaks of, says.
You can have everlasting life. He also warns of the consequence of not believing.
This message about Jesus that he came to offer this.
Everlasting life by belief in Him.
It means.
We call it a soul. That part of you, your spirit and your soul is conscious.
Of your existence. It's able to think things about you and why you're here and what your purpose is, and that part of you has meaning to the one who created you.
He desires to have your company. It's an amazing thought, but I'm jumping ahead of the story a little bit. I wanted to.
Bring before you this question. Do you believe that part of you continues on forever?
If you only believe.
That when you die, that's the end of you. It's what the atheist, the one who says there's no God, prefers, because then he's not responsible.
But if you believe that, then you have a responsibility to do something about it.
What do you believe about what's written in this book?
With those things in mind.
And I hope you believe what this book is written. I'm not going to be able to convince you in one hour, but.
00:20:07
I trust that each one in here does believe that. If not, search these things. Search this book. See how it reveals God's plan for you. But our question tonight is, what do you believe? First of all, at least, what do you believe about Jesus Christ?
And I suggest that everyone of you believes something about Jesus Christ. And I think most of you here believe.
That he died for your sins, but you believe something.
Even those around who have heard very little believe something, either that he was a good man or.
Some just believe that his name has power. They use it.
There is something different about Jesus Christ. Most people will acknowledge that.
But what do you personally believe about him? At least? First of all, I'm asking the question in that way. What do you believe about Jesus Christ?
Turn off just back a page or two again listening to what John?
Wrote about this one Jesus Christ.
I'm going on as if you.
Have accepted that fact that you need to do something about your soul.
And that, Jesus, is the answer.
The very first of John's Gospels, he begins with this message in the beginning.
Was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning.
With God.
All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
As you read through this chapter, you discover that John is talking about the one he walked with Jesus.
He believed that Jesus.
There are two things in this portion that I want.
To ask you if you believe.
The word.
In other words, that which God sent as a message, or that which God sent to reveal his plan to man or.
I'll call it a revealer.
God is invisible. Jesus came to reveal that which is invisible, or at least as much of it as we can understand.
Do you believe that about Jesus Christ that he came?
That he was God and he came to reveal God and what God had planned for you. The other part of it is.
All things were made by him. Without him was not anything made that was made. That's a pretty sweeping statement, isn't it?
All things were made by him.
God created all through Jesus.
The other night when I was.
I farmed so there were opportunities for me to be out in the country and I can see the stars.
Maybe you don't see them that often up here with all the city lights, but.
It's an incredible display when there's no other light around.
And the number of them is immense. Something like well.
The latest guest is what, 50 million galaxies? And each one of them has 100, I'm sorry, billion galaxies and each of them has 100 billion stars?
When you talk that many zeros, does it matter?
Another number I'll throw at you that you've heard of Albert Einstein. I think probably we think of him as an intelligent man, his guests at the circumference of the universe.
Was you take a 21 and you put 22 zeros behind it.
That's how many light years it takes you to get around the universe. That's huge, isn't it?
All things, everything was made by Him, all that was made by him, and yet He came to this earth for you. Do you believe that?
Their creator.
00:25:02
Came to this earth for you.
That's what this book says. That's what people who walked with the Lord Jesus.
They were convinced of it.
That's what God, through His Spirit, revealed to these men.
That he created everything and that yet he's interested enough in you to come here.
And offer to you a plan.
He's the revealer, he's the creator. Do you believe those things?
Those things are important and they set in perspective perhaps how great this plan is. And they also.
I hope speak to you.
Of the power of God, wouldn't you want to be on his side? Why would you identify with anything that goes against that? If we read through this book, we find that there's an enemy who seeks to take away from Jesus, the Son of God.
Our goal is tonight to present to you the One Jesus Christ who desires to have you for Himself.
And he has the right to ask that. He's your creator.
The next.
Question I would like to ask you about Jesus.
I believe the book teaches that Jesus is a substitute.
Or is available as a substitute for you.
We use the word savior and that's a little more all-encompassing, but I want to narrow it down to the word substitute. It's something that.
Man has difficulty accepting and so I believe it's presented in this book.
Several times.
As a concept, so that we could begin to grasp that.
There's a substitute available for us.
Abraham was called to offer up his son.
As a type of what God would do.
But a substitute was found. A RAM was found.
Isaiah was given to write specifically about the Lord Jesus. He was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. He was a substitute.
Is that too simple for you? You say it can't be that easy.
I believe that's why it's reinforced in those.
In those pictures.
Because God knew that we might have doubts about salvation working in that way.
So all through this book, that idea is upheld.
Let's look back to Romans back in that same area, the 4th chapter.
We'll start in just in the middle of verse 24.
If we believe.
On him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Who was delivered for our offenses?
And raised again for our justification. I didn't mean to ignore the beginning part of this and it talks about his righteousness being imputed to us, but I wanted to focus on this one thought that He was delivered for our offenses.
That's what Paul was given.
Knew the Old Testament very well. He was. He knew all about what Isaiah wrote.
And he was given those things he had from God.
And he is saying there is available for you a substitute.
Sin brings in death.
Death is the judgment for sin.
But.
If you believe that message that Jesus gave that we read in the third chapter of John.
00:30:00
Then there is a substitute for you. You have life.
Because of that.
Can it be that easy in the way of salvation? Be that easy, Just believe.
That's what Jesus said.
Believe.
Well, there's a little more that goes with that.
I've asked so far, what do you believe about Jesus?
I'd like to change the question just slightly.
And asked you if you believe in Jesus?
You can know those things about him. You can know that he was a wonderful man that did miracles.
But do you believe in him? Do you believe those things about him? But do you believe in him?
Is he the Son of God sent from heaven?
Displaying God to you and then offering himself.
For you.
In our reading meetings today, we've been leading up to that time when Jesus.
Went to the cross willingly. A sacrifice.
A perfect substitute. I don't know if you caught that reference to the lamb.
A perfect lamb and the time of testing before it.
But Jesus was.
The perfect substitute for you. Do you believe that?
Jesus says to us that on that decision of yours, whether you believe that or not.
Hinges.
The destiny of your soul, that you have a soul that exists forever. And on that simple question of what you believe.
Hinges your destiny.
Do you know him?
When you know him.
He takes a position in your life.
It's not just.
A formula. And we can tell you what to say. We can tell you that you must confess that you're a senior.
We're already told that. Why not confess that?
You can ask Jesus to be your savior if you mean that.
Then he is your Lord.
What does that mean?
It means many things.
He's the one you answer to.
Let's go out of my comfort zone here and we'll move back to Luke.
Luke's Gospel, Chapter 6.
There's plenty for you to consider in just those first three chapters of John and those.
Chapters 3-4 and five of Romans plenty to convince the willing mind of the necessity of these things, but.
When we believe in Jesus Christ, He becomes our we use that word, our Lord and Savior, don't we? Sometimes. But does he mean that to us? If we believe He really is our Lord, that means He changes the direction of our life. Is that something you fear?
He tells us that that lordship is an easy yoke. It's a path of happiness. But let's read the verses.
Why call ye me? I'm sorry, Luke 646.
Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?
Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like, He is like a man which built it, built in house, and dig deep, and laid the foundation on a rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock.
That he that heareth and doeth not is like a man, that without a foundation, built a house upon the earth.
Against which the stream did vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. You could sing this, don't you? The wise man build his house upon the rock.
00:35:10
What's the beginning of this story? Calling Jesus Lord? That's how you build your house upon the rock.
It's a house built.
That brings satisfaction.
You here in the.
Assembly at Addison have lost a dear brother recently and Justice. Before he went home he was able to speak to his family after 91 years. I have no regrets.
He rejoiced in a life lived for the Lord, calling in the Lord.
His Lord.
It wasn't the hard path. It was a path that led to a firm house, a firm foundation.
But it's a question to us. We call Jesus Lord.
Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
That would speak to our hearts, wouldn't it?
What do you believe about Jesus as Lord of your life?
Another searching question for each one of us.
If you believe in Jesus as.
Your substitute believing that you have sinned.
And God is righteous and cannot have sin, but there is a substitute offered.
Then your soul is saved for all eternity. We have that in those verses we read in John 3.
But we can go on to other things.
Things that encourage those of us that do believe that. I'd like to ask just a few more things of what you believe about this one, if you've come with me that far and answering those things that you believe about Jesus Christ.
Do you believe that he is risen?
Paul.
In the next epistle that he writes.
Says that that's crucial.
That you believe that Jesus is risen. He says that in the 15th chapter, One Corinthians.
He says.
Well, he puts it in the negative. First. He's saying that if you don't if.
He's saying if it didn't happen, you have no salvation. But he's saying.
In verse twenty of First Corinthians 15.
But now is Christ risen from the dead.
And become the first fruits of them that slept.
It's important that you believe this about Jesus Christ because it affects.
Your destiny, it's all tied in with that question about do you believe that there is eternal life because.
As you observed.
This body dies. We do believe that Jesus will come for us and we won't go through death, but up to now?
People that have inhabited their bodies on this earth have died and the body has gone into the grave. But.
Jesus said we'd have eternal life. How do you justify those things? Well, this is the chapter that Paul wrote about how that how those two things are put together.
And if you read this later.
He speaks about that body.
That's sown in death and raised and all through, as we just referred to Jesus as the Creator all through his creation. There are pictures of this happening.
Life cycles that go through what appears to be death and raised again in a different form.
There are seeds, as we know, that go through.
A swelling process, a dying process, if you will, and a sprout emerges all through God's creation. There are pictures of this happening. And Paul says you believe these things, it's going to happen to you.
00:40:00
You may die, and he's addressing those that had seen death.
If that happens to you, you will be raised.
It's part of what God has promised to those that call Jesus Lord.
The other part of it, I guess, would be what I just referred to. We believe that he's coming.
And we might not go through death.
Do you believe that?
I just want to before we go to the, just the last question I have about.
What you believe in Jesus?
I'd like to just bring one last verse.
To your attention and back to Romans again, The apostle Paul, Romans 10.
And.
Verse 9.
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus.
And shall believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved.
That's what Paul got from God as a statement to deliver.
As a promise to you, each one of you.
And those two things are connected.
Believing in your heart, but also of confessing with your mouth.
If it's real in your heart, wouldn't you want to tell others about it?
Even if, like I was, even if you're afraid you might mess it up, you might say something wrong.
I was encouraged by the fact that.
We mentioned in the afternoon meeting that we all fail, and we do.
But we have a responsibility. If we've believed in our hearts, we have a responsibility to confess it with our mouth, to speak about our Savior, our Lord Jesus to those around us, those that may not know as much as we do.
That's what Paul says leads to salvation, and we've talked about what salvation is, right?
The need to be saved from that sin that has fallen upon all of us.
I want to read one last verse.
I like to dwell on.
The wonderful blessing that God has provided for us.
But God is faithful and I'd just like to read your Sunday school verse that some of you will say tomorrow.
The last book of the Bible. And John also wrote that, didn't he?
Near the end of it.
Diversity. You're going to say tomorrow, some of you.
Whosoever.
Revelation 20, verse 15.
Whosoever.
Was not found written in the Book of Life. Was cast into the Lake of Fire.
Our hymn that we began with said, I know not why. There may be some things we don't understand about why some of these awful things have to happen, have to happen, especially as we're younger. Why does this have to happen? But do you know Jesus?
Can you trust in him that he says this is the way it has to be?
As you get older and study this and you'll find there's plenty more to learn about Jesus.
You begin to maybe understand a few of these things. You learn about God's righteousness.
You learn about some of these things, but.
Will you accept this As what?
John got directly from God a warning.
About those and how are we in the book of life?
00:45:00
Well, it's by that belief that we just talked about.
We go back to that statement that we have everlasting life through belief in Jesus Christ.
If we have that life, we're in that book.
Let me just I said that was the last verse. I apologize. One more thing that John wrote. You won't have to turn back many pages.
The 5th chapter of John's first epistle.
John wrote some letters as well, as well as his gospel.
I just want to read verse 10.
First John 510.
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself, he that believeth not God.
Hath made him a liar because he believed not the record that God gave of his Son, and God used this man John to record.
Those things that we read about Jesus Christ.
Have you thought about the fact that the opportunity, the alternative to believing these questions that I've just brought before you, the alternative is saying, God, you're a liar?
Is that a scary thing to you?
God, you're a liar. Would you say that?
We know there are people that say that. Well, they say there's no God.
Essentially, they're saying God is a liar.
A statement like that, it's.
It's solemn and it requires that judgment that we read about in the last book of the Bible, that those that make statements that persist in that statement, I should say I'll be cast into the lake of fire.
But there's so much. The message is so much happier than that. It's just a warning, but the message is about life.
It's called the Gospel for a reason. It's a message of joy. Life is offered.
In Jesus Christ.
Let's sing one last hymn about our Lord Jesus.
There is a savior.
1.
Three.
For you and me, He's a loving Savior. Come now to Jesus. Let's give him thanks.