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"THE SAVIOR WHO IS AT HAND"
INTRODUCTION:
1. Recently I was asked, "Pastor John, what do you do if no one listens to you, if no one does what you tell them to do?"
2. I replied, "You mean, what do I do when people respond to me the way you do, which is to not receive my counsel, to not respond to my urgings, to ignore my preaching? I want to grab them by the shoulders and shake some sense into them."
3. My friend, nothing happens in the Gospel ministry unless and until the Holy Spirit of God unplugs the ears and opens the eyes of a sinner’s understanding. It is my prayer this evening that such a thing happens to you.
4. It is essential that you engage your mind while I preach. Commit yourself to being absorbed in the consideration of the truth as it applies to you. Cast off vain imaginations and petty concerns. Ponder only the great and majestic matters of God, sin, salvation and eternity.
5. God has commanded, through the mouths of His servants, and on the written page of His Word, that you be saved. But you know that your nature and disposition as a sinner is to rebel at God’s commands, to ignore His will.
7. But not today. Not now. Today, and now, let me tell you how to become a Christian, how to obey God.
1A. "COME!"
1B. Sinner? You Can Come To Jesus And Be Saved From Your Sins
You can see this from declarations, illustrations and invitations found in God’s Word.
1C. Matthew 11.28: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
2C. Matthew 14.28-29: "And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto
thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus." What a wonderful illustration of salvation.
3C. Matthew 19.14: "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
4C. John 7.37: "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me."
5C. Revelation 22.16-17: "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
2B. You Can’t Come To Jesus? Then,
2A. "TOUCH!"
There were some in Jesus’ day who had very little faith. Not enough faith to come to Christ. They had barely enough faith to extend a finger and touch Him as He walked by. But consider what happened with the slightest touch of faith.
1B. Two Illustrations In Which Salvation From Sin Is Pictured By Deliverance From Diseases
1C. Mark 5.25-34: "And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26And had
suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 32And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."
2C. Luke 6.19: "And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all."
2B. So, You Can Be Saved By Coming To Jesus. You Can Also Be Saved By Touching Him. Just Reach Out With The Finger Of Faith And Touch Him. Do That Now. You Can’t Do That? Then,
3A. "LOOK!"
Can you direct your eyes upon some object of attention or passing interest? Can you fix your gaze upon someone who is important to you? Then you can look to Jesus for salvation.
1B. There Was A Time When Men Were Afraid To Look Upon God, And With Good Reason
Exodus 3.5-6: "And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God."
2B. The Prophets Later Made Reference To Looking To God For Salvation
1C. Isaiah 17.7: "At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel."
2C. Isaiah 31.1: "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!"
3C. Isaiah 42.18: "Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see."
4C. Isaiah 45.22: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."
5C. Micah 7.7: "Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me."
3B. Then, When Jesus Became A Man, He Told A Sinner To Look To Him For Salvation
1C. He said, in John 3.14, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up."
2C. Numbers 21.8-9: "And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."
4B. You’ve Been Invited To Come To Christ. You’ve Been Invited To But Touch The Hem Of His Garment By Faith. And You’ve Been Shown That You Can Fix Your Gaze Upon Him For The Salvation Of Your Soul. Do That Now. Can You Not Do Even That? Then,
4A. "BELIEVE!"
You have enough faith in the electric company to casually flip the light switch without the slightest
doubt that the lights will come on. And you had confidence enough in the chair you’re sitting on to plop yourself down without any fear of falling to the ground. The point that I make is that you implement different types of faith each and every day without a second’s thought. Will you not now place your faith in Christ? That is, will you not believe in Him to the saving of your soul?
1B. Notice What Even The Faith In Christ Of A Little Child Accomplishes
Matthew 18.6: "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for
him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
2B. And To Be Sure, No Effort Is Required
1C. John 6.28-29: "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
2C. Acts 16.30-31: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
3C. First Timothy 1.15-16: "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."
4C. First Peter 1.18-21: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God."
5C. First John 3.23: "And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment."
3B. You’re Commanded To Come To Christ. You’ve Seen That You Can But Touch Christ. The Savior Himself Showed That You Can Fix Your Gaze Upon Him And Be Saved. And It Is quite Clear That You Can Believe On Him And Be Saved. But If You Feel Yourself So Incompetent, So Weak And Inept That You Feel Incompetent To Do Anything, Then There Is Something Else. These Are All One And The Same In Reality, Described Differently Because Of The Weakness Of Our Flesh, Using Different Imageries So As To Make Salvation Understandably Simple And Easy. Surely, My Friend, You Can,
5A. "RECEIVE!"
1B. Passive, You Being The Recipient Of God’s Son As Your Savior.
1C. John 1.11-12: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
2C. Colossians 2.6: "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him."
3C. First Thessalonians 2.13: "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."
CONCLUSION:
1. How much easier could it be to be converted? How much easier could it be to be joined to Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul?
2. If you go home tonight lost, it may be that the reason you remain unconverted is solely because you don’t want to be saved and not because of any confusion or ignorance on your part.
3. For it is clear to me that God wants you saved, Jesus wants you saved, the Holy Spirit wants you saved.