Gospel—D. Gorgas
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Now that you're all comfortably seated, I'm going to ask you to stand up.
And sing hymn #6.
I don't know. I've taken that as a good Canadian custom. I suppose the Canadian conferences I go to, they have that practice of standing up at the beginning of the gospel meeting and singing A hymn, at any rate, gives the children a chance to stand up and not have to sit for the rest of the time. Or they can sit better for the rest of the time. Number six, God and mercy, send his son.
To a worldwide.
Towards horses near Jesus died.
Oh, the glory of the grace.
Joining.
The Savior's Race?
Darlington.
Jesus died and lives again.
In the.
Glory.
To bring the light.
For the glory.
Of the grave.
Joining.
The Savior's face.
Telling Sinner.
From above.
God is.
Late and God is.
Love.
All the way in his name he lived.
Everlasting life freezing.
Lord of all is Jesus now.
Every.
Day to him must fall.
Oh God, glory.
All blood Grace.
Joining in the Savior in space.
Telling.
Sinners.
From above.
God is light and God is.
Love.
Praise the Lord.
Will come again.
He will saw third ones will reign.
Every.
Turn at last Willow, Jesus Christ, his Lord alone.
All the globe.
Of the great shining.
In the Saviors face.
Telling sailors.
From above.
God is light.
Light and God.
Is love.
Please be seated, Lord. But first send a warm welcome to anyone who may have come in who's not been at these meetings during the two days that we've been having them.
And.
We're thankful for every person that's here.
And we just ask you to.
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Join with us now as we express our dependence on the Lord, Chapter One.
And I was thinking I mentioned it in the reading meeting, but I'm also freshly thinking about it.
What it must have meant for those men, and particularly John.
To hear the Lord speaking.
See him to hear him.
Contemplating.
The word of life.
John, particularly as he lay his head on the bosom of the Lord Jesus.
What did you hear, John?
What was the message you got?
Do you get any special message?
And I think most of us.
Myself included for a long while would probably say.
God is love.
We usually associate that with John's ministry.
But I was very surprised some years ago to notice.
In verse five of first John chapter one.
This, then, is the message which we have heard of him, Oh, John.
That's what we want to know. What did you hear from him?
And declare unto you.
Yes, we'd like to hear. We want to hear what you what you heard.
That God is light.
And in him is no darkness at all.
What?
That's what you heard.
God is light.
I'm sure most of us know that in the scriptures.
If I remember correctly, there are three things said about the nature of God. Many things about his attributes, but as to his nature.
God, first of all, is Spirit.
That's taught us in the 4th chapter of John. God is the Spirit.
Not something material.
Is a spirit.
And then we're taught as we have here. God is light.
God is light.
When I was first gathered in the.
Brooklyn meeting room.
There was 2 little texts up on the wall.
God is light.
God is love.
That burned itself into my.
Thoughts.
God is light.
In him is no darkness at all.
You know, the world has gotten a very strange view of God in recent times.
It's a shadowy picture of God.
Reinforced by.
Movies.
Such as what? I never seen it, but what I understand Star Wars and that sort of thing. The light side of the Force and the dark side of the Force. There is no dark side to our God.
But I'm glad for that. There's no dark side. He's light.
And in him is no darkness at all.
Anybody tells you that Star Wars is a Christian allegory? Tell them that's garbage because it's not a Christian allegory.
It teaches something fundamentally wrong right at the very beginning. It teaches there's a late sign and a dark side of the Force, The Force being God.
God has no dark side, and I'm glad for that.
But that's the first message that John gives us.
That he got from the Lord.
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
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No darkness at all.
When light was introduced.
In the beginning.
In the book of Genesis.
The Judge God divided the light from the darkness.
There could be no fellowship between light and darkness.
Don't ever be persuaded that there can be.
God is light.
God is lame. Does that make you uncomfortable?
You ought to.
If you're a Sinner and you're here without Christ, you ought to be uncomfortable to think that you are standing before one who is light in His very nature.
There are those who would have you believe that.
God is love is the main thought, the first thought you wouldn't even need the thought of God is love if he wasn't light.
If you could get away with anything in his presence, you can.
It's the very fact that God is light, and that light makes manifest all that is searches out.
If you're here tonight without Christ.
I want you to get that message and get it clear and straight.
Right from the Lord himself, from a man who leaned on the bosom of Jesus.
And got a message. And the message was God is light and in him is no darkness at all.
And it is until we get over into the 4th chapter.
Now listen to this. It isn't till you get into the 4th chapter that you get the other expression that was up on the wall in the meeting room in Brooklyn years ago.
The 4th chapter tells us.
In verse 8.
God is love.
God is love.
How can that be reconciled?
How can a being who is perfect light in his nature, not just righteous, but in his very nature?
Is light.
How can he also be loved?
Where do you reconcile that?
Well, we sang in that hymn, oh, the glory of the grace shining in the Savior's face, telling sinners from above. God is light, yes, but God is love.
And it's only in the cross of Calvary.
Mr. Grundy, we're hearing correctly, he led like that expression, Calvary, like Golgotha, he said. That's the scriptural expression.
I don't want to be picky about it, but I always think of him saying that.
Only that cross.
Are those two things clearly show now?
God is light and God is love.
Have you ever come into the presence of a holy God, a God who is light and there's no darkness? Have you ever come into that presence?
Have you ever?
Knowing what it is to have that light shine upon you.
And expose all that you are.
There's no cover up in this. You can't cover it up.
There's no way to cover it up. That light penetrates and shines and exposes.
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Let's go over to the Gospel of John.
And again in the Gospel of John.
It kind of surprised me when I first noticed this.
Maybe about 10 years ago I noticed it for the first time.
That John's Gospel doesn't speak of love first, it speaks of light first.
John Chapter one.
And verse four in him was life.
And the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.
Or apprehends it not.
It's a terrible thing to think about that.
God shining in light.
Into this Dark World.
Darkness doesn't apprehend or comprehend it.
Then there was a man sent from God whose name was John, not John.
The Apostle but John Baptist.
They call. In Latin countries, they call.
The evangelist, they call him.
Juan de la Cruz, John of the Cross.
Kind of a nice name to have, John of the Cross.
But this is John Baptist.
Verse six, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness.
To bear witness of the love of God. Is that what it says?
No.
What did John Baptist come to bear? Witness of the light?
Now he was not dead late, that's made very clear. But he came to bear witness of that light.
Verse 9 says that was the true light.
Which lighteth every man.
That cometh into the world. Another way that's put in another translation is.
Which, coming into the world, lighteth every man.
The Lord Jesus came into this world as light.
We read those verses earlier. He was in the world and the world was made by him.
The world knew him none.
I think one of the most moving hymns and our little hymn Booker is that 27 that was given out this morning. I often think of it.
Wandering as a homeless stranger in the world thy hands had made.
What a thought The creator of the universe entering into his creation as a man and wandering as a homeless stranger.
One found Joseph. Remember that he was wandering.
Wondering, I'll just point out that there's a difference between Cain was a Vagabond in the earth.
The Lord Jesus was a wanderer.
Is there a difference? Vagabond has no purpose. He doesn't know where he's going or why he's doing it.
Cain was a Vagabond in the earth. Jesus was a wandering stranger in the world his hands had made.
Does that move your heart? It does mine.
That precious savior coming into creation.
Entering into the creation that he had himself, his own hands had made.
You have to be careful of creeds. I think creeds can lead you astray.
The classical creeds and I don't want to kiss any shadow on them at all essentially, but.
They start out, I believe in God the Father, Maker of heaven and earth.
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That's not scriptural.
The one who made heaven and earth was the blessed Son of God.
And that blessed Son of God entered into this world.
Came here as the light.
To shine upon every man.
As that light shined into your heart.
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness.
Has shined in our hearts.
They give us.
Not light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Don't be afraid of that light.
Let it expose you for what you really are. Don't try to cover.
One of the terrible things that Adam did after he sinned was to hide from the presence of God. Did he get away with it? Did God find him? He found him.
And the question he asked him? A haunted question.
I want to ask you tonight, where are you? Where are you?
Hiding in the trees.
Come into his presence.
Come into his presence.
Easy, because he's also a God. Who is love.
If you want to go over to the.
8th chapter of John You can go through the Gospel of John and you'll find.
Many references to light. I think there are 17 references to light in the Gospel of John.
Does that surprise you?
17 references to the light.
Come on, John. I thought you were the apostle of love.
Yes, yes, thank God for that part of John's ministry. Thank God for John 316. God so loved the world, but would you need the love of God if you didn't have the light of God to expose what you were?
That's a solemn thought.
We need to be exposed and God exposes us.
Scripture says that.
Everyone who does evil hates the light. Neither comes to the light, lest his deeds be reproved. He doesn't want it.
Years ago when they were trying to.
Lower crime in an area of Brooklyn called the Bedford Stuyvesant area.
Brooklyn meeting didn't meet too far from the Bedford Stuyvesant area.
They put new lights in, made it like daylight.
Did it lower crime? Yes, it did.
Why? Because he who does evil hates the light. He doesn't want to be in the light.
Didn't change man's hearts.
Doesn't change men's hearts to put lights up.
But it exposed what was going on.
Let's go over to the 8th chapter.
The 8th chapter of John.
And verse 12.
And I know there's a hymn that is sung.
Quite widely in Christian circles, the light of the world is Jesus.
When there's a lot of truth in it, but I want to point out something to you that the Lord says.
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of light. By the way, I think that's the scriptural basis for what was said in the reading meetings.
That a person who is a believer is walking in light.
He's not walking in darkness.
That's the scriptural basis where the Lord himself said he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but you'll have the light of life.
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The Apostle Paul says to.
Folks, he says. You were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord?
Let's go over to the 12Th chapter.
And by the way, I think this chapter is the last place in the Gospel of John where light is mentioned.
The 12Th chapter of John's Gospel.
And.
Verse 35.
Yet a little while is the light with you.
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you.
For he that walketh in darkness knows not where he goes, whither he goes.
You know, many years ago I worked on my uncle's farm.
Just north of.
Vestal.
A little place called Cincinnatus, NY.
And work 5 summers on that farm. Uncle Henry's with the Lord now.
But one of the things we like to do is young men, teenage boys, we'd like to go see some visit some Christian girls that were lived in a pharma a little further up the the path from where we were.
And in those days, I don't know how it's the how it is there with that particular area, but there were no lights.
No St. lights nothing.
And we forget to take a flashlight many times and we'd stumble along, you know? And it was a little game with us to see if we could stay in the middle of the highway on our way to visit those girls.
And more than one time I fell in the ditch on one side or fell in the ditch on the other side. Why?
I didn't know where I was going, that without light, we don't know where we're going. And I want to tell you tonight, if you do not have the light of life, you don't know where you're going.
You may think you know. You may think you have a path laid out for you. And many a man has laid out a path. Many a woman has laid out a path for himself.
And they stumble and fall.
Because they're not walking in light, they're walking in darkness.
We learned to take flashlights after a while.
At least we could see where we were going. We didn't fall in this ditch.
Now the Lord says, Yet a little wild is the light with you.
The Lord also says.
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
So.
Are you saying, Brother **** that?
The Lord is not the light of the world. In a strict sense, no. We are lights. We shine as lights in the darkness. Now who are believers?
One of the things we'd like to do tonight is to direct you.
To the light of God.
To the one who?
Can make manifest all that we are.
Come into that presence.
Don't go on walking in darkness.
One of the things that's most distressing is to find the intellectual.
Pride that one runs into in universities where?
They think they got the answers.
On moral and.
Moral issues, they don't. They don't have the answers.
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I learned that when I was in college. I learned that very quickly. The mother, the brightest and most appreciated professors I had, were in darkness.
When it came to the things of eternity.
Because they were walking in darkness.
There.
Now verse 38 of John 12 The Lord says while ye have light, believe in the light.
That's what I want to challenge you with tonight. Have you believed in the light?
That you may be children of light.
There's two kinds of people in the world today.
There's the children of darkness and the children of light. And if you're here tonight without Jesus Christ as your savior, you're a child of darkness. You're not a child of light.
Would you like to be a child of light?
Would you like to change from being darkness to being light in the Lord?
There's only one way. While you have the light, believe in the light.
That you may become.
The Children of Light.
Verse 46.
Well, we'll start with verse 44, Jesus cried and said.
You know we read those verses kind of the monotone sometimes, but I believe that when it says Jesus cried and said we got to say he that believeth on me.
Because I believe that's what crying is crying out, isn't it?
He that believeth on me believe is not on me, but on him that sent me.
Who is that who sent him?
God sent his beloved Son. God the Father sent his beloved Son into the world.
And when you believe on him, you're not just believing on him, you're believing on the one that sent him.
And he that seeth me, seeth him that sent me.
That would be a blasphemous statement.
If it were not that the Lord Jesus were.
The person that he said he was.
The Son of God come into the world.
Light come into the world.
Dear Christian young person, You don't need to be apologetic about believing in what we believe in. These are certain things. They're real and they have the support of the word of God. Learn what the Word of God says and you can be confident. You don't have to go to people's mind. I think I believe this. I, you know, I my opinion is this.
46.
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
That is why the Lord came.
As a light into the world that you might not abide in darkness.
A man chooses darkness because his deeds are evil.
He doesn't want the light. He rejects the light.
They're in darkness.
Darkness, and that darkness is so thick right now.
I'm sure all of us have experienced it. You can feel it.
There was a darkness in the land of Egypt. The word of God says it was a thick darkness so as could be felt. Have you ever felt darkness?
Moral darkness you can feel.
And I believe that we are coming closer and closer.
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To that time.
When the world will be totally enveloped.
In darkness.
As believers are caught up to be with the Lord.
Forever. Where will you be?
Will you be still here?
I think most of us are familiar with a.
At least the fact that a number of.
Very successful books have been written called.
Left behind series.
And a brother persuaded me.
To read the first one of those.
He said you'll find it enjoyable.
And I read it in there that it the insinuation, the clear insinuation that a person who is left behind when the Lord comes, we'll have another chance to believe. I want to tell you right now, if you are left behind, if the Lord were to come now, you will not have another chance. You will be deceived.
God will send you a working of error, a strong delusion.
So that you'll believe the lie.
I was encouraged recently.
On a trip to Pennsylvania.
To hear.
From a Christian publisher.
Didn't have anything to do with those books.
But he's got his ear to the ground and maybe John Kaiser will be able to confirm that sometime to me that.
Tim La Haye, one of the joint writers of that series of books, is very disturbed that people are taking that inference from it and is about to make a statement. Whether he makes a statement or not, God has made this statement already.
If you're left behind, you're left behind for judgment.
There will be no hope.
And the Lord is coming very soon.
There's no sign to be looked for.
The stars in the sky.
The Lord is coming.
When you say don't you see things happening in Europe and then in developments and religion and such that are things that scripture speaks about? Yes, we do. But I often think of Charles Ajo's illustration and I value it, he said. When you're driving across Canada.
And you're heading to the City of Windsor ON, and I've never done that. Some of you, I'm sure have.
What's the first sign that you see, or the first thing you notice as you draw near to Windsor?
Is it the buildings of Windsor? No, he says. It's the towers of Detroit that are beyond.
And the things that we see now that are things that are.
Clearly, things that Scripture speaks of that will develop after we're gone.
Are just the towers of Detroit that tell us that Windsor is even closer.
We're not waiting for any signs. The Lord is coming.
And I want to plead with you tonight while you have the light. Believe in the light.
That you might become a child of light.
That you might move out of that place of darkness.
Colossians Chapter One.
Many scriptures we could look at but.
Being one that tends to be long winded, I'm going to try to be shorter than I usually AM and so.
I'm going to.
I'm not going to take the hour.
It's not that there aren't things that could be said. But I want to leave with you this solemn message that if you are not saved tonight, if you have not trusted Jesus as your Savior, you are in darkness and you nothing but judgment awaits you.
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I don't want to take away from that at all. Colossians, chapter one.
And verse 12.
Giving thanks unto the Father who has made us now who are the US?
They're the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're not a believer in the Lord Jesus, you can't.
Say I'm one of those, but if you are, you can rejoice in what it says.
Giving thanks unto the Father who has made us meet.
What does that mean? Meat.
Means suitable, suitable.
To be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light.
I like what old Brother Hale used to say about that, he said. All the light of God will never discover anything that the blood of Christ has not put away.
Sometimes.
When I'm going out to.
A meeting and I have the gospel in the evening. My wife gives me the once over and she says you've got a big dirt mark on that tie or on your shirt and I'm not as cautious of that as I should be.
God gives us wives for that, you know, to help us out with those things.
But suppose I discovered it too late to do anything about it.
What do I hope for? I hope that lighting is poor.
That right? I don't want to be exposed.
But you don't have to be afraid if you're in Christ, because all that blaze of light will never discover anything that the blood of Christ has not taken care of. Every spot has been removed.
There's a dear fellow in the jail where I go.
Who?
Maybe about a year and a half ago.
Came to our meeting for the first time. I happened to be away at that time and another brother was there, but the Jim Robertson was there.
It's a bilingual man.
Puerto Rican fellow.
He's there on a homicide charge.
Under the influence of narcotics.
Name is Eric. It's actually I found out that's not his name, it's.
That's an alias he's using, but he's stuck with it. That's the way the records are in the jail.
And Eric came that night, and he was one of two people who came out to the meeting.
Is it worth going into the jail if there's only one person or two people that want to hear the gospel? Yes, it is.
Because that night Eric put his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he was saved.
And that awful spot.
That awful spot on him.
Of homicide was removed before God, not before man. He's facing a 30 year prison term.
I don't know why he's still there in the county jail, but he's won many people to the Lord in the last.
Year and a half or so.
And he always says, oh, I'm so glad for that night when Brother Jim could give his full attention to me.
And tell me the gospel.
He passed from death to life.
He passed out of darkness and into light.
Verse 13 says who has delivered us?
From the power of darkness.
And has translated us into the Kingdom.
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Of his dear son.
Have you been translated?
I like translation. I do a lot of it.
What is that? Taking you from one language to another or from one place to another? In the case of Enoch, who was taking him from this world right into the presence of God? In the case of everyone who has, who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior is taking him from the authority of darkness?
And translating him into the Kingdom of God's dear Son.
Bringing him out of darkness and into light.
Would you like to be brought out of darkness into light now? I don't want to neglect the side of the other side in the in the Brooklyn meeting and you say Brother **** then you realize that there was 2 signs up there. Yes there were.
Because the light that has revealed all that we are.
And has made us afraid to be in his presence, The love says Come.
Into my presence, I've made provision.
In the work of my beloved son on the cross of Golgotha.
Dear friend here tonight.
Perhaps brought up under the sound of the gospel, I don't think there's anything that scares me more than the thought of someone who has sat week after week, come to conference after conference, heard a message like our brother Norm gave us last night.
And has never trusted in Jesus.
Never open the door.
To him.
And to think of them left behind forever and ever.
The one who tenderly says to you, now come.
Unto me.
I will give you rest that same one.
Someday will say to you, depart from me.
The workers of iniquity into everlasting destruction.
Remember one night, Albert? Hey, I was preaching the gospel.
And he mentioned that he said the last face you will ever have see.
As you pass into hell, is the face of that same one who wanted to save you, died to save you, saying to you.
Depart from me.
Into everlasting destruction. It's a solemn thought, isn't it?
It's a solemn thought.
You want to be afraid. If I could scare you into being saved, I would. But I know you can't do that.
It's the Spirit of God that has to work in your soul, and God is speaking to you through His precious word. He wants you to come.
He's made a wonderful provision, oh, the love that would send his blessed son into this world to wander as a homeless stranger.
In the very world his hands had made to be taken by his creatures and lifted up and nailed to the cross.
And by that very cross.
Provide the means of salvation for you and me.
Inscribed upon that cross, we see in shining letters, God is love.
The Lamb that died upon the tree has brought us mercy from above. What a precious words they are.
What precious words.
He loves you, my friend.
In spite of what?
Wicked perversions of the gospel have proclaimed that there are some that God doesn't love. I want. I'm here to testify. God does love.
God does love you.
And no one will ever pass out of this world.
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Saying nobody loved me.
God loves you.
He loved you and he proved it.
And this was manifested the love of God, that he sent his only begotten Son into the world.
That we might live through him.
Now will you reject him, or will you receive him?
You're going to be going out those doors in a short while.
Have you counted the cost if your soul should be lost?
Have you counted? Have you counted the cost?
Are you willing to take that risk to say well?
Some other time.
This is the time. Behold, now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. 2nd Corinthians 6.
Wonderful Scripture.
Now.
One of my favorite gospel stories is illustrations is The Story of Name and the Leper.
And I noticed years ago.
That Elijah said to him. Let him come now to me, now to me.
I can't guarantee you tomorrow.
I don't know where I'll be.
I said I was going to quit early than I am.
Fellow, just one more little story. I'll tell you, the young fellow.
One night was in the Gospel Meeting in the jail.
And went back to his cell.
That I don't know whether he received the Lord or not. I trust he did, but.
But somebody told me that he was reading a.
A Bible just before this happened.
But he went out on the basketball court for rec and dropped dead of a heart attack.
A little while after hearing the gospel.
We've heard of hundreds of cases like that of people who have despised the goodness and kindness and mercy of God.
Where do you stand tonight?
Are you saved? Can you say? Oh yes, I've passed from death to life.
I've passed out of darkness. I'm a child of light. May it be so, dear one.
I say the same thing our brother Norm said last night. If you are in earnest and you care.
And you're still in doubt about it. Talk to us. Come see brother N Put your hand up, Brother Norm, so they know who you are.
And there's plenty of others here that would do the same thing for you. We long to see you saved.
Don't take the chance of walking out that door without praying.
You may walk into a lost eternity forever and ever, and there's not going to be a second chance. Gordon Hay Hill wrote a little track not long before the Lord took him home, I believe. Or at least he published it.
Indicating that there would be no second chance.
Get ahold of that tract if you don't have it.