Gospel—Bruce Christensen
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Like to warmly welcome everyone tonight.
To the Gospel meeting.
We have a message to proclaim.
And that message.
Is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
And perhaps before we even sing the first hymn.
I might mention it's with a sense of responsibility.
That I stand here.
And it's a great privilege to once again.
Speak well of the Lord Jesus Christ the one.
Who died on Calvary's cross for me, The one who shed his precious blood.
That I might have a place in glory.
Perhaps we can sing.
The beginning and opening the meeting. A favorite hymn of mine and I'm going to ask someone to please.
Raise the tune hymn #31 Perhaps we could all stand up and sing.
On all of the crows.
See the sun?
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We look at these three stanzas of this him.
First it says I will sing of my Redeemer.
Then the second verse that says I will tell the wondrous story.
And we've had much brought before us this conference about sharing the good news with others, telling forth the blessed news of the Lord Jesus and His love.
The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
I think of that verse 2. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
The Christ Jesus came in to the world and save sinners.
I'm thankful for that because I was a lost Sinner and at one point in my life I realized that I was lost and that I was on my way to hell and I needed a savior.
The first verse here speaks of his death upon the cross of Christ.
And the refrain or chorus says, Sing, O sing of my Redeemer.
With his blood, he purchased me.
We are reminded that without the shedding of blood is no remission.
A related situation when I was asked to take the Gospel at the conference in Saint Louis about one of the earlier Deans of the Theological School at Princeton University.
And before.
Each graduate would go out.
He would bring them into his office and he would say to each one.
Make much of the blood of Christ.
And the churches today.
We have largely preached, we have largely preaching of a bloodless religion.
And that thread, the precious blood, runs through scripture.
We think of that night in the land of Egypt.
What was it that sheltered those? It was the blood that was applied.
And so tonight that is the only remedy for sin.
The precious shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have somewhat of a theme to my remarks tonight.
The threads might be a little loose.
Some of the stories might be disjointed, but I think that they follow the same thread.
Some years ago there was a radio common commentator. His name was Paul Harvey.
And he had a program where he would.
Review.
A new story, but he had a different perspective.
And his broadcast was entitled the rest of the story.
Well, often if you read a newspaper today, you're left wondering.
What has happened in this situation, or what has happened in that situation? How did it end?
I was struck just on Thursday when we were lining up.
For our flight in Newark to come to San Francisco and then on to Burbank.
There was a couple ahead of us.
And we were going through the TSA screening. Most of you perhaps are familiar with that.
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They ask you questions, one of the first things that you have to do.
When you get up to the desk, is to present your passport.
You present your ticket.
Well, there was a couple, probably they were in their mid 20s. They came up to the counter, they placed their tickets.
On the counter, the TSA agent said to them, do you have your passport?
No, we don't have a passport.
Do you have a driver's license? No.
We don't have a driver's license.
Do you have a utility bill or something to say or a medical card to say who you are?
No, we don't.
Well, I'm sure there were thousands of people that passed through that airport on Thursday.
And perhaps they were the only ones that were found in that same condition. I'm very sensitive when I fly. I make sure I have this form of identification and maybe even a backup form of identification because I'm afraid of being left behind.
Now we were the next ones in line, the agent said. You wait here, I have to call a supervisor.
Well, we checked through.
And I wish I knew what the rest of the story was in that case, whether that supervisor said it's all right, you can send them through.
But I know what the story or what the decision would be if you tried to enter heaven.
Without accepting the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
I'd like to turn to a few scriptures tonight and, following the same theme, the rest of the story. Some of these passages have already been referred to at the conference.
1St is in John's Gospel.
And it was referred to earlier today.
Beginning with.
Verse 35 John one again the next day after John stood.
And two of his disciples.
But before we continue this story, let's look to the Lord for His help.
Our loving God and our Father. Tonight we would think of many.
That are undecided and so we would just pray that they might.
Open their hearts and accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
We thank Thee for that death upon the cross of Christ, and we just thank Thee for the efficacy and value of that shed blood. We seek thy help, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Well, here again.
It says the next day after John stood and two of his disciples.
And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God.
And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Again. We think of our brother Bruce's message to us the other day about the need to follow.
And Jesus turned again. Think of our brother's message to us today.
And saw them falling, and said unto them, What seek ye? And they said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, Being interpreted, Master, where dwelleth thou? And he saith unto them, Come and see. And they came, and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day, for it was about the 10th hour. And one of the two which heard John speak, and followed him was Andrew.
Simon Peters, brother.
We're going to stop the story here.
We're going to stop after it mentions one of the two.
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But what is the rest of the story?
It says.
He findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah.
Which is being interpreted the Christ we have found.
Rather, we have found the Messiah and.
We see in verse 45 another person mentioned, Philip findeth Nathaniel, and saith unto him, We have found him. We have found him a person, not a religion. We have found him. Have you found him tonight?
I was thinking of our brother's admonition to witness to others.
And many years ago, my Uncle Guilford quoted a little line that has stuck with me concerning personal evangelism.
And that is a play on words. I'll quote it first without spelling it out.
But once we spell it out, I think we'll know what it means. Goes like this if each one won.
11 How many one ones would be one for Christ?
OK, the first one is WON.
The second one is ONE, so I'm going to repeat it again. If each 1111, how many one ones would be one for Christ?
I'm going to relay this story now that was brought to my attention some years ago.
By our brother Cam Wilkin, who brother Bill knows well.
He had a love for souls and was a personal evangelist.
And he said Bruce.
I'd like to recommend a little video on YouTube.
And after I got home from that conference, I looked at the video. The title of the video was The Man from George St.
Perhaps some of you have seen that video?
And I'm going to relate the contents of that video.
Some years ago.
There was a Baptist minister in London, England and at the end of the service.
A man raised his hand in the back of the church and said, could I give you my testimony?
And the Baptist minister said you certainly can. And he said a number of years ago.
I was in Sydney, Australia.
And I went down the street.
And a little old man jumped out in front of me.
With a pamphlet.
I didn't know what this was and he said to me, if you die tonight.
Where would you spend eternity?
Said this struck me.
Soon I went home. I was troubled all night.
I went to a local Baptist Church. I talked to the preacher.
And I was led to Christ.
Sometime afterwards.
This Baptist preacher in England had a chance.
To go to Australia and one of the first places he was at was.
Adelaide and Australia.
And.
He related.
That incident of this little old man in Sydney.
And.
He said. Is there anyone here?
Also would like to give a testimony concerning their conversion.
So there was a man that stood up in the back.
He said I also was on George St. at a certain time.
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And a little polite man came out to me.
Handed me a pamphlet and said if you die tonight would you go to heaven?
Again, he was troubled that night.
He sought the help of a Christian that he knew and was led to Christ.
This Baptist preacher's next stop was in Perth, Australia.
And.
He was invited out to dinner by one of the elders.
Of the church there.
And this elder said to him.
I was a regular churchgoer when I was young. I was in the Boys Boys Brigade.
But I wasn't saved.
But he said one day I happened to be in Sydney.
I was on George St. and this little old man came out with a pamphlet and said if you die tonight.
Would you go to heaven?
He said. That really irritated me, angered me.
And I went back to my home church and I told the pastor.
Pastor said.
That was a good message. You had better heed it. And as a result, he came under conviction and accepted Christ as his Savior.
Six months or so later.
The same Baptist minister from England went to a convention in Keswick, England, and after a series of meetings, he asked.
Those assembled there if anyone wanted to come up and give a testimony.
There were four people that stood up and all four spoke about a little old man, Gray headed man in Sydney, Australia.
That handed them.
A track and asked them if they died tonight would they go to heaven?
A little bit later he had to go to a pastors conference in the Caribbean. And again.
At the close of the meeting, he asked those in the audience if they wanted to share a testimony.
And five pastors got up and testified.
And confirmed the same fact that they had been presented attract on George St. in Sydney, Australia.
One of them.
Said before I entered the ministry, I was in the Navy.
And I lived a pretty rough life.
In fact, any time I was given leave, I would go to the nearest bar and I would really hit it up.
And I said, I remember this one night.
I was very drunk.
I wasn't thinking correctly, right?
I boarded the wrong bus.
And the bus dropped me off on George St.
Was that an accident?
No, it was a divine appointment.
And he went on to say.
I thought I had an apparition.
I thought I saw a ghost. This little white headed man came out to me, handed me a paper and asked me the question. If you died tonight, would you go to heaven?
He said when I sobered up, the reality of what he said hit me.
And he accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior.
About a year later, the same Baptist minister went to a pastor's conference in northeastern India.
Where there are roughly 500 missionaries assembled.
And he asked.
Anyone there to give a testimony concerning their salvation?
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And four or five individuals got up and mentioned that little man.
From George Street in Sydney.
One of the men said I was on an Indian diplomatic mission.
To Australia. I was doing some shopping for my wife.
On George St. and I was handed a track and it was a result of my salvation.
Now I'm going to tell you the rest of the story.
This by this time.
This Baptist minister was very, very curious.
And he wanted to know whether this little old man, as he was, referred to.
Was still alive.
And someone thought that he that they knew who he was and where he lived.
So he made a trip to Sydney.
And there he found out where this man lived. His name was Frank Jenner.
And at this stage of life he was getting quite feeble. He could hardly hold the teacup still in order to be able to take a drink of tea.
And this Baptist minister related.
The account that he had.
Been given.
And tears flowed from this man's eyes and he said.
In over 40 years that I've been out on the street.
I never heard of one person accepting the Lord as their savior.
This man, Frank Jenner, was in the Navy at one time, LED a very rough and wildlife, and he was saved when he put his trust in the Lord Jesus and the precious blood that he shed.
And.
He was determined to share.
The story of his conversion to others and.
He was not a man that was very eloquent.
But he thought that there was something that the Lord would have him to do and so.
He felt that each day he wanted to present.
A gospel pamphlet to at least 10 people.
And this went on for a period of 40 years that this man stood on the street corner.
Pleading for souls.
I think of that line of that hem, which is very sad.
God beseeching.
Man refusing to be made eternally glad.
As you sit here tonight and you hear of the claims of Christ, you hear of the love.
That blessed love of God that sent his Son.
What is your response?
And I don't want to be complicated in my in my remarks tonight, but.
Just want to be simple Even so even the youngest can understand.
And that message tonight is God loves you. Christ died for you.
And he?
Wants you to.
Be with Him in glory or in heaven.
I have a couple other incidents that I would like to.
Relate to concerning.
The rest of the story?
As some of you may know.
I taught history for nearly 37 years.
And certain aspects of history interested me very much.
And I'd like to relate a story.
Concerning.
A brother in the Lord who was useful.
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In many ways, a man by the name of Iris Sankey.
He was an associate the evangelist DL Moody.
On this one occasion, Sankey was coming back from a crusade.
In Europe he was on a ship. The ship was a little delayed, wouldn't reach port.
On the designated date.
So the captain of the ship knowing that Mister Sankey was aboard.
Asked.
Mr. Sank if he would lead a song service.
And so they gathered some of the passengers together on deck and they sang a lot of well known gospel songs.
And someone gave out that him. We don't sing it too much here now, but it's like a tender shepherd lead us.
And as they were singing that hymn.
Mr. Sankey looked over the audience as I am doing right now.
And saw a man with tears in his eyes.
And after the service.
Mr. Sankey approached this man.
And this man said to Mr. Sankey.
Were you ever in the Union Army?
Mr. Sankey said yes.
Were you ever stationed at Sharpsburg?
Mr. Sankey said yes.
He said I was in the Confederate Army at the same time.
And.
It was my position or I was actually a Confederate sharpshooter.
And he said to Mr. Sankey.
And, he noted, a date.
What was your duty on that date?
And Mr. Sankey said I was a union sentry.
Sent out to guard the perimeter of the camp.
This man said to Mr. Sankey, I was a Confederate sharpshooter and it was my duty.
To shoot and kill.
Any century that I saw.
And he said I stood there with my rifle raised.
I had the century in my sight.
And just as I was ready to pull that trigger, the century started to sing at him.
Like a tender shepherd, lead us much we need.
Thy tender care.
He said my grandmother.
Used to sing.
That him to me.
As she prayed for me.
And he said.
My rifle fell to the ground like a piece of lead. I couldn't pull the trigger.
Well, thankfully Mr. Sankey, the end of the story, the rest of the story was that Mister Sankey could lead that person to Christ that night.
I see our time is getting along. There were many things that.
Were before me.
But I'd just like to.
To jog my memory.
And.
As some of you may have may know that I'd like to visit cemeteries.
And I was very interested when Brother Bill was talking about that cemetery in London, a cemetery that I would like to visit.
Just this past August, we visited a cemetery in Halifax, NS, where 121 victims of the Titanic are buried.
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And it was very interesting to note that some of those individuals had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the tombstones said I've anchored my soul. Oh, it's important to anchor your soul, but what is it important to do? Anchor your soul on the Lord Jesus Christ and the blood that he has shed. But I'm going to read another epitaph.
That appeared on a tombstone.
And again.
There was someone that passed by.
That was very struck with the words.
I'll read it now.
In reading this as you pass by as you are now.
So once was I as I am now.
So you will be.
Prepare at once.
To follow me.
You're going to read it again. There's a lot to think about.
In reading this as you pass by as you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be prepare at once.
To follow me.
Brother Bill, if you were to reply to that epitaph, what you would you probably say?
OK, you've heard that before. OK.
It said later 1 passing by through the cemetery added the words.
While this may be, I'm not content unless I know the way you went.
Today each one in here is either saved.
Or lost. And if you died tonight in your sins, you would be in a lost eternity.
But if you accept Christ as Savior and that finished work upon the cross of Calvary.
You will be with him in that home that was.
Described and read to us in John chapter 14.
Going to note something else and again tell you part of the story.
And part of the rest of the story.
During the First World War, there was a popular song song by the soldiers.
Marching out the battle.
And some of the older ones probably have heard this song was Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile.
These men were some of them would not come back.
Didn't seem to be an appropriate him.
To be singing when you're going out to battle.
It's not an easy thing to pack up troubles and smile, smile, smile.
The only person that could smile is one that had assurance of their sins forgiven.
And.
I've always been thankful for the fact that at least during the.
American Civil War There were those on both sides that were concerned about the spiritual condition and welfare of the soldiers under them.
Both Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jackson.
Readily gave permission for ministers of the Gospel to come into the southern camps.
And preach the gospel.
Some time ago, my daughter.
Was able to get a book for me. It was called Christ in the Camp that talked about many of these efforts by those godly men that came in to speak to those soldiers just before they went out to the battlefield. I have a similar book too about efforts in the Union army to bring Christ and his salvation.
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Before men.
I quoted those words of that song. And there's another part of the story too. The rest of the story.
And the rest of the story is tragic, the very individual that penned the lines of that hymn later himself.
In despair, committed suicide.
We sing that hymn now. None but Christ can satisfy.
Boy or girl?
Man or woman present in the room tonight?
I can attest to the fact that the Lord Jesus is the only one that can give lasting joy.
And satisfaction.
But just a couple other brief mentions that I will make make of some individuals.
One happens to be.
A noted war criminal.
A man by the name of Albert Eichmann, who?
In its position in the Nazi government was responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Jews in concentration camps.
And he succeeded in fleeing Germany at the end of the war.
He ended up in Argentina.
And a number of the top Nazis ended up in either Paraguay, Brazil or Argentina.
But later on, the Israeli secret police were able to go down to Argentina.
Apprehend them, sneak him out of the country, and put him on trial in Israel.
And there was a Baptist minister.
That was given access.
To Adolf Eichmann.
We'll stop here for a moment.
And I'm going to tell you the rest of the story.
This Baptist minister struggled with the enormity of the crimes that were committed by Eichmann.
And.
He had a struggle.
Can I present this man?
With the plan of salvation, the forgiveness of sins. And then he was reminded of the Apostle Paul, who referred to himself as the chief of sinners. And he said, if the chief of sinners can be saved, I have the responsibility of presenting a clear gospel to Adolf Eichmann.
So on the appointed time, Adolf Eichmann.
I.
Had well Adolf Eichmann met with this Baptist minister?
And it was tragic.
To hear Eichmann's reply.
That reply was I neither need nor want.
The forgiveness of sins.
I neither need nor want the forgiveness of sins.
How many sins?
Are necessary to keep a person out of heaven. I think the youngest here could probably tell me just one. We are reminded in God's precious word, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Another individual I will just mention very briefly. I see our time is going.
He was a dictator, a cruel dictator in Uganda, Idi Amin, who put many of his own people to death.
And he again.
Was presented to the Gospel Presented the Gospel in a rather touching and unique way.
He sent his son to a mission school even while he was committing some of these atrocious crimes.
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One day his little son came to him and he said.
We've learned a little chorus in the mission school, he said. What is that chorus?
Can you sing it to me?
And so this little boy started singing the words. I took Jesus as my savior.
You take them too.
It's not the end of the story, sadly. The end of the story was the fact that Idi Amin.
Closed his heart to that message that his little son brought to him today. Have you closed your heart to the Lord Jesus? He's bleeding.
We think of that verse, Suffer the little children to come unto me, forbid them not.
For of such is the Kingdom of God.
We think of that word of invitation, too.
That is extended to all and we are realized too.
The brevity of this time.
Behold now.
As the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation, I'm going to close with.
Quoting of one of the saddest verses I believe that we find in the Word of God, and it's found in the book of Jeremiah.
And that would read something like this The harvest.
Is past, the summer is ended, and yet we are not saved.
Boy or girl, man or woman, have you accepted the Lord Jesus tonight and again if you were handed?
Attract and if you.
Were asked that question.
If you die tonight.
Where would you spend eternity?
Might we just close in prayer?
Our loving God and Father, we think of the solemnity of these words.
We.
Would think of the encouragement that we had at the outset of the meeting.
We think of those who sought to win others to the Lord Jesus, and may that be our desire to.
That we would think too of some prayers of a mother and grandmother that were answered and a soul accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior.
We would think two of those hundreds of individuals.
That were presented the gospel there on George St.
Accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior, and so tonight we would just seek Thy blessing upon Thy word, and we seek all of the glory for the Lord Jesus. Amen.
I may just point out in connection, I didn't have time tonight to go from John's Gospel to Luke chapter 5, but we see that Peter and those that are mentioned in John one.
Were commissioned to become fishers of men.
And I'm not a fisherman naturally myself. I have a grandson that likes it.
Loves it in fact, but I remember.
A hint.
Story about a hint that was given in terms of being a Fisher of men.
Some years ago, our brother Alan Hadley in Chatham, NJ, told Astoria of a man that took up fishing.
And he bought a fancy pole and that and everything else. He spent an hour or so by the river, caught nothing.
Then he caught sight of a pile of fish on the sand.
A little ways from him and he didn't see any fishermen there, but finally a little boy came out of the bushes.
And.
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This man said to him, I see you have a lot of fish there. What is your secret?
And this little boy said to him, first of all, you have to keep out of sight. And so anyone who seeks to win others for Christ has to keep out of sight and give all the glory to the Lord Jesus. Amen.