Gospel—Paul House
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Might ask Lord's help.
Dear loving Lord Jesus.
We are so thankful that we've been able to be encouraged this afternoon.
To hold on to what we've we have.
And Lord, we think of the many people that are in this room this afternoon, and perhaps there's one.
That is still not dying.
And so as we spend just a few minutes on the gospel of thy grace, of thy love, Lord Jesus, that by thy Holy Spirit there may be a great work here, that some soul would turn to thee, you think of how there was just one of the 100 that was lost, and perhaps there's just one here.
They know who they are. Help them to listen.
The urgency of the gospel is such thy coming us so soon. We just ask for blessing tonight in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
Let's just tell a little story to back up what John said.
On our way here.
Was getting late.
And I was getting sleepy. So part of the story about us, but.
Wanted to get a cup of coffee.
So we pulled off at Cortland and the Starbucks was closed. So we went to Dunkin' Donuts and said the Dunkin' Donuts has a mobile station gas station so.
I went in the men's bathroom with the boys, did too, and then my wife came out of the ladies bathroom.
She said well, she said there was a a park in calendar.
And attract in the ladies bathroom.
She said it must have been put there by somebody coming to the conference.
I said, well, isn't that nice? So we know it wasn't John that put it there because it was the lady's bathroom and I found out who it was.
But they don't know that I found out who it was, and it wasn't Eleanor either, although she's very faithful in the gospel, for which we're thankful.
The reason I say that is for encouragement.
Each one of us.
Men, women, children, we can give the gospel to others. It doesn't have to be into a microphone.
It can just be when we go to the bathroom, we can leave a track.
You know that's effective. People have a little bit of time to read.
We need to take the opportunities that God gives us.
I wanna read just a couple of verses, a few verses from a couple of different spots.
I want to talk a little bit about the assembly that I live in in Rio Ferry.
It's a little assembly in a little town in the middle of nowhere.
A while ago we got a letter from somebody.
And he happens to write a lot of Christian material.
And his Christian material is being sent all over the world, but particularly into the countries where there's interest in the Word of God.
In the truth of gathering.
In the truth that our brother.
David mentioned to us from the Apostle Paul the truth from John's ministry of the family.
There's hunger for that truth in a lot of places.
Unfortunately, there's not much here. Where we live in North America now, there is some.
And he told a story about a man in Ottawa that he got a letter from.
Just recently, who said this book that you've written? Is there anyone in the Ottawa area that meets On the principles of the One Body?
And he was very happy to direct them to the assembly in Ottawa. So there is those that are hungry for the truth of God in this area of the world too, and we're thankful for that.
Tonight.
00:05:00
My privilege is to tell the gospel one more time.
And tonight I would like to speak to.
The people here tonight that aren't safe and I hope everyone is.
And if everyone is safe tonight?
That's such a glory to God.
Each trophy of his grace, grace of God. But if there's somebody that's not saved, won't you listen tonight? And more than that, won't you get saved tonight? You know how there's nobody here that doesn't know how to get saved?
You children have heard the gospel many times. I know that your dad, your mom, your grandparents, they pray for you and you know it. They love you. But God loves you so much more. And he proved his love, didn't He, on the cross. I just want to read some verses. Maybe we should just read those verses.
That we had in Acts chapter 13.
1St.
Acts chapter 13 that our brother David read to us.
That the apostle Paul faithfully preached verse 38. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man his priest, unto you, the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that belief, are justified from all things from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses.
The forgiveness of sins.
Tonight, how is it with your sins?
Are they forgiven?
Are they forgiven?
Now, maybe I'm different than you were, than you are.
But before I was saved, I could remember my sins. You say you could remember your sins. I could remember some of them, the ones I thought were really bad.
I can remember those, and I'm sorry for mentioning you personally. It's not right, but it makes the point. The point is that you if you're not saved, you have a guilty conscience about your sins. Tonight you do, and before God, you know that you're a Sinner.
And if you're a Sinner, you have a problem before a holy God because you're in your sins. They're all over you. You're dirty before God. Now tonight we've talked a little bit about the forgiveness of sins and who but God can forgive sins. And our brother Bruce made that point. Well, the Lord Jesus was God.
That's how he could forgive sins. And tonight the Lord Jesus is standing.
Are you seated? I'm sorry in heaven and he wants to forget. Forgive your sins right now.
But how could he do that if you're not willing to come to him and confess your sins, to repent, to say that you're sorry and that you have sinned? So we have tonight the forgiveness of sins. Who was this preached to?
This sermon that Paul gave in this chapter.
The Lord used Luke, the Doctor, Paul's doctor, to write the book of Acts. You learned that?
But Paul gave this sermon to the Jews, and if we think back to the book of Luke, at the end the Lord Jesus gave a Commission to his disciples to preach the gospel, and he told them to begin in Jerusalem.
That was the headquarters of the Jews and the apostles in the Acts. They went to the synagogues. In fact, I think it's in this chapter you have verse 14.
They went to the synagogue in Antioch and Presidio. Why? Because that's where the Jews were in that area. They were at the synagogue. So once again, they preached to the Jews 1St and the gospel was presented to the Jews faithfully by the apostle Paul. I don't know how many thousands of people have got saved through this first 37.
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But there's thousands, just like all the other verses in the New Testament and in some of the old.
The Spirit of God has used this first countless times to save souls and may it be that when you think of your sins and that the Lord Jesus wants to forgive them tonight, not tomorrow, tonight you need to have your sins forgiven.
We may be here tomorrow, you may have the opportunity tomorrow to be forgiven, but now is what you have. The Lord has given you now to be saved.
Well, I was thinking of how this story goes on a little further. There was much interest in the gospel among the Jews, but that started to wane.
And if we read through this, we don't have lots of time, but it says that, umm, verse 44. The next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. And when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said it was necessary that the word of God should first have been.
To you, but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life low we turn to the Gentiles. I don't ever remember speaking the gospel from this verse before, but this was the verse that the Lord put on my heart to speak from tonight.
Is there somebody here tonight and you've heard the gospel time after time after time, and you've turned away from it?
That's a tragedy.
It's a sorrow. The heart of the Lord Jesus is towards you. He wants to save your soul and you're turning away. You know the Jews, that's what they did. They rejected the gospel. They turned away from these, this blessed news that Apostle Paul told.
So the Apostle Paul said.
Had to go to you first. And the Lord Jesus himself directed it that way, He said. We turn to the Gentiles. You know, there's places in this world where people are getting saved. There's an interest in the word of God. They want to hear more. But is there people here that don't care?
Maybe you're not safe and doesn't really matter a whole lot to you. Are you gonna miss out for all eternity?
When there's those who are so interested, you say, Oh well.
Now the Jews went further than that.
They drove the Apostle Paul away later on in this chapter.
They actually made it hard, so hard for him that he moved along in his gospel work to another place.
To me, this is such a sad thing. We're seeing that all around us, aren't we?
People don't wanna hear the truth of the gospel, the truth of the loving Lord Jesus in our country.
Perhaps we have a little bit of a reprieve right now.
But may not stay that way.
It may not.
We turn to the Gentiles.
Tonight, there's somebody here that's not saved. This may be your last chance to get saved.
This was the last chance for the juice in this story and.
And then the gospel went to the Gentiles.
Verse 47. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed, And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
So we're thankful.
For the areas of the world where there's hunger for the Word of God.
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You know, I was thinking about that verse.
About the, uh, the fields being white onto harvest and how they're the prayer. Our prayer is to be for laborers to enter into that harvest. I'd like to read another series of verses in Luke chapter 14.
Luke, chapter 14.
This passed on another little thought.
Our brother David mentioned about the number of epistles and works that the Apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament and how many there were.
Recently, a brother at home mentioned that Luke contributed by the Holy Spirit a lot of the New Testament as well.
Even though we only have the Gospel of Luke in the book of Acts that we think we're by the same person.
They represent a tremendous amount of pages and verses in our Bibles.
Just a little tidbit, Chapter 14 of Luke and we'll read uh.
For 16.
Then said he unto them, a certain man made a great supper, and bade many incentives servant at supper time to say to them, that We're bidden come, for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it. I pray thee, have me excused.
And another said I have bought 5 yoke of oxen.
And I go to prove them. I pray that you have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, therefore I cannot come. So that servant came and showed his mass his Lord, these things. Then the master of the house being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hit her the poor and the maimed, and the halts, and the blind, and the servant said, Lord.
It is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the Lord said unto his servant.
Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
I appreciate the desire of the local brethren here to have another gospel meeting right at the end of the conference. You know, it's as it were, to give you one more chance.
If you didn't take it last night, you have one more chance now to get saved. But how many times have you heard the word of God presented? How many times have you said no to the Lord Jesus? And I want to ask you tonight, what is your excuse?
So here we have 3 excuses.
So the first excuse was that this man had bought some real estate.
He bought a piece of land and so he couldn't come because he was just too busy with his business.
Why are you too busy? Why are you not interested?
What is your excuse? If you're not saved here tonight, what is your excuse? And when you're in hell, what do you think my excuse for coming to hell and not going to heaven was? Is there anything worth it in this world to exchange?
What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What is your excuse tonight?
I put that out to us as believers, too.
Why is our interest?
In the Lord, not what it should be.
What's our excuse?
Mine is probably different than yours.
But if we're not walking as closely to the Lord Jesus as we know we should, why not? What's the excuse?
When we stand before the Lord and He reviews our life and He's so thankful for everything that we've done for him, what are we going to say?
00:20:01
Well, I was more interested in what's the excuse?
Now what's the next one in our story?
5 Yoke of oxen.
He's got to go and prove them. He's got to try them out. He bought them before he even tried them.
Not real good to do. That's what he did, you know. Is there any reason why you wouldn't come to the Lord Jesus tonight? It's worth anything. It makes any sense.
There isn't anything that could keep anyone from Christ and His love. There's no logical reason.
To say no to the Lord Jesus tonight.
Another said I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. Our time is up. May it be that if you have an excuse for not coming to the Lord Jesus.
That tonight you will realize His love for you, His desire to wash your sins away in His precious blood, and they won't say no any longer. And when I pray tonight, just ask the Lord into your heart.
He wants, he wants you. Great.