1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,680 Noel leading the meeting tonight and her sister there and the 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:08,280 fellows who are their pieces in song, particularly that last 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:12,840 piece, I think is very fitting without refereeing on Prepared 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:17,200 to Meet Thy God. Luke, chapter 14, please. 5 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:22,440 I want to turn to that portion of God's Word, Luke's Gospel 6 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,880 chapter 14. Good to be back with you again 7 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,080 tonight. Encourage with you turning out 8 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,360 night after night, coming along and supporting the meetings. 9 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:37,160 It means a lot, of course, to everybody one another and 10 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:41,800 especially to the preachers. Luke chapter 14. 11 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,800 We're going to read from the verse 15, and we're going to 12 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:55,000 read down to the verse 25 or 24, Luke chapter 14, verses 15 to 13 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,840 24. Hear the word of the Lord, it 14 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:03,880 says, and when one of them that sat at meet with him, that is of 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:09,200 course with the Saviour, heard these things, he said unto him, 16 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:15,280 Blessed is he, blessed is he that shall eat bread in the 17 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,760 Kingdom of God. Then said He the Saviour unto 18 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:25,800 him, a certain man made a great supper, and be it many, and sent 19 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,880 his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden 20 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,160 come, for all things are now ready. 21 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:39,680 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. 22 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,480 The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I 23 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:50,880 must need to go and see it. I pray they have me excused and 24 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:55,320 an hour said I have bought 5 yoke of oxen and I go to prove 25 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,520 them. I pray they have me excused and 26 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:05,880 an hour said I have married a wife and therefore I cannot 27 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:09,400 come. So that servant came and showed 28 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:13,280 his Lord the things. And the master of the house 29 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,960 being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the 30 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:21,360 streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hit her the poor, 31 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,200 and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 32 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,480 And the servant said, Lord, it has done us, thou hast 33 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:30,920 commanded, and yet there is room. 34 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,440 And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out under the 35 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:39,640 highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house 36 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:43,360 may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of 37 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:49,400 those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. 38 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,920 Amen. May God bless the public reading 39 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:55,200 of His word. Just for a moment. 40 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:57,880 Again, let's seek His face in prayer. 41 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,160 Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the meeting that Lord we 42 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:08,400 are in at this moment in time and all that is gone before the 43 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:12,440 singing Lord of these lovely gospel hymns that always warm 44 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:16,880 and throw our hearts, although Lord we have sang them hundreds 45 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,680 of times, Lord have come home with fresh power. 46 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,120 Lord, even tonight and for the pieces that were rendered in 47 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:29,240 song, we thank your Father for a family whose heart is towards 48 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,040 thee. We think of Joshua who said As 49 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,600 for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 50 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:39,760 And those pieces, Lord, were rendered in Gospel's song with 51 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,040 that single aim, Lord, of your glory. 52 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,280 We thank you, too, for the reading of Scripture. 53 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:49,440 We have a book in front of us, Lord, from which we can read 54 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:52,680 freely tonight. And now the hour has come. 55 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:57,120 Blessed are for the preaching of a Word of God. 56 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:01,200 The need of the hour is for the preacher to know that powerful, 57 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,520 gracious infilling of a Holy Ghost. 58 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,400 Let Your Word Lord have free course and be glorified, and use 59 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:14,040 it, Lord, in the salvation of a lost soul, the restoration of a 60 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:20,560 backslider, the reviving and the edifying of the people of God. 61 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,960 For we ask it in Jesus name, Amen. 62 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,840 Amen. It's parable that the Saviour 63 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:34,120 told came on the back of an observation which was well 64 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:39,160 worded in verse 15. When one of them that sat at 65 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,000 meet with him heard the things, that is, the things that had 66 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,760 gone before, he said unto him, blessed that word blessed means 67 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:53,160 happy, powerfully happy, madely happy is he that shall eat bread 68 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:59,120 in the Kingdom of God. And then their Lord told this 69 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:05,280 parable to them and he talked about a great occasion, a great 70 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:08,120 supper to which many were invaded. 71 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,200 We would call it a big feed, wouldn't we? 72 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,640 That'd be the maybe our colloquial way of putting it. 73 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:18,360 There was a big feed and many were invited to go. 74 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:23,920 All things were were ready and all the guests had to do was 75 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:28,920 just to turn up, find a seat and they eat the good things. 76 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:32,440 But they are surprised if we were reading this for the first 77 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,040 time, they are surprised We would find that this gracious 78 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:42,800 and gentleness invite was turned down on block on block because 79 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:47,000 it says they're in the verse 18 there. 80 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:50,400 And that's what we're taking as our text tonight. 81 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,880 The verse 18. It says they're they all with 82 00:05:53,880 --> 00:06:02,600 one consent, with one agreement, they all began to make excuse. 83 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:09,040 I am sorry I cannot be there. I will not be coming because and 84 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:12,480 the excuses were all different excuses. 85 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:18,320 But you'll also notice that they were all silly excuses. 86 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:23,240 They didn't stand up to reason. If you look there at the first 87 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,640 excuse that was made, the first said onto him I have bought a 88 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:31,200 piece of ground and I must needs go and see it. 89 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,720 Now you would imagine, wouldn't you that he would have looked at 90 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:39,000 the ground before he bought it. And even if he hadn't the whip 91 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,640 to do that, surely he had the whip to know that the ground was 92 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:47,080 still going to be there in the morning time or whenever the 93 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,720 feast was over. So here's an excuse that just 94 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,600 didn't add up. And in the second fellow he says 95 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:59,160 there verse 19 and or said I have bought 5 yoke of oxen and I 96 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:03,400 go to prove them. And once again you would imagine 97 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,680 that all the proving had been done beforehand. 98 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,360 You don't buy oxen and then go and see if you have got your 99 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,000 money's worth out of them. You do your homework beforehand. 100 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:18,840 You go and you watch them in action. 101 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:23,120 And then if you think they're worth the money, well, then you 102 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:27,640 give the money. Or once again, if the deal has 103 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:31,640 already been done, then go after the feast. 104 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,640 And then we get this fella in verse 20. 105 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:40,480 And another said, I have married a wife. 106 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:43,120 And therefore people are smiling. 107 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,000 Is it the way I'm pronouncing this here? 108 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,600 Do you hear the little bit of mockery in my voice? 109 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:55,040 I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. 110 00:07:55,640 --> 00:08:00,240 You know, sometimes when young fellas are getting married, I 111 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,000 say to them, and this isn't marriage counselling. 112 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,440 And by the way, on my part of the little bit in in in jest to 113 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:12,240 them, I say to them, you start as you mean to go on and never 114 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,040 worry about the tears. And I'm thinking about your 115 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:18,720 tears. You start as you mean to go on, 116 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:22,920 and here's a hen packed husband if ever there was one. 117 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,680 I have married a wife. I assume he had only married her 118 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:30,560 and therefore I cannot come. Could he not bring her with him? 119 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,600 I'm sure everybody would have been delighted to see the new 120 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:39,000 bride if that's what she was. And if she was that odd, then he 121 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,200 could leave her at home and calmly. 122 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:44,440 I'd be glad to get away from her maybe for a night out. 123 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:49,760 But this was his excuse. He looks the servant in the eye 124 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:55,360 and he says I have married a wife and therefore I cannot 125 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,520 come. And they're they're all silly, 126 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:02,440 aren't excuses. And you can see that in verse 21 127 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:06,840 when word came back to the master of the house, it says he 128 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,480 was angry. He was angry because he was 129 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,000 snubbed. And then of course, he sent out 130 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:18,480 and and he invaded ours to come. And it's not hard tonight to see 131 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:21,640 the gospel here. If you have any knowledge of the 132 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:25,040 gospel. The Kingdom of God, verse 15 is 133 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,760 at the very heart of the gospel. It's the message of the new 134 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,640 birth. Except the man be born again, he 135 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:35,400 will not see the Kingdom of God. I look at the parable here. 136 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,960 I see this certain man, bearing in mind that it is a parable, 137 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:41,200 This certain man is God the Father. 138 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:44,560 I see him sending forth his servant. 139 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:48,320 It's always in the singular I I feel that that is Christ 140 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:52,120 himself. Behold my servant, mine elect. 141 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,760 And nowadays, nowadays it's the Christians. 142 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:59,440 It's the Christians who go out with the invite to the great 143 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:01,720 feast. It's the Christians that give 144 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,200 out the tracks and knock the doors and invading sinners to 145 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:10,120 come to the great Gospel feast because the Great Supper. 146 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:15,600 It's all the spiritually nourishing truths of the Gospel. 147 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:19,440 When we preach the gospel, we preach forgiveness of sins. 148 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:23,720 That's a tremendous blessing to have all your sins forgiven. 149 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:28,920 We preach cleansing by the blood, the pollution of sin all 150 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:31,720 taken away. The blood cleanseth us from all 151 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:35,120 sin. We we preach the the the message 152 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:41,400 of liberty deliverance whom the sun sets free is free indeed a 153 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:46,280 home in heaven when we die, not tremendous, all heading to the 154 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:48,600 grave. Or maybe we're heading to the 155 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,240 sky. The Lord might come first, but 156 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:57,560 whatever the child of God has a place reserved in heaven for him 157 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:01,600 who are the invaded ones, the gospel invitation, the free 158 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:06,520 offer of the gospel, whosoever will let him come, take freely 159 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:09,760 of the water of life. All things are now ready. 160 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:13,800 Because our Saviour on the cross cried. 161 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:18,280 It is finished. The glorious cry of the cross. 162 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:24,520 It is finished was His cry. And then later on you have the 163 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,720 mansion there. Special mention of the poor, the 164 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:33,360 hope, the Liam, and that's a picture of the Sinner. 165 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,440 But we have somebody else here we want to look at and 166 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:41,920 concentrate on tonight. We have the excuse makers. 167 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:44,600 That's where we're going to focus tonight. 168 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:49,560 The teaching is very obvious. It says there at the end, those 169 00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:55,360 men who made excuse would not make it to the Kingdom of God. 170 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:59,560 We come round a full circle. Blessed is he that eats the 171 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:01,960 bread and the Kingdom of God here. 172 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:05,560 Our people, they will not eat the bread, they will not be 173 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:08,480 there, they will be absent elsewhere. 174 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:14,440 The Saviour said to such Ye will not come to me that ye might 175 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:18,120 have life. We're going to think just for a 176 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:23,800 few moments that are left to us hear about some of these excuses 177 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:27,800 or one excuse in particular that may quote old Billy Sunday 178 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:32,360 again, I quote him regularly. He said a reason is not an 179 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:36,360 excuse. He said an excuse is just the 180 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:42,320 skin of a reason, but it's stuffed with a lie. 181 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,120 And sinners have the knack for its well honed now over a 182 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:52,240 thousands of years of inventing excuses as to why they will not 183 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:56,360 come to Christ. And tonight I want to take one 184 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,880 of these excuses. Always what we hear for a while, 185 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:03,200 but we're just going to take the one and we're going to refute an 186 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:05,840 excuse. Sometimes it is vocally 187 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:09,640 articulated. There are those who would dare 188 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:14,160 to say this thing, and then there's others who maybe 189 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,120 wouldn't articulate it, but this is what they're trusting and 190 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:21,400 they get them to heaven. This is why they will not come 191 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:25,520 to faith in Jesus Christ. What does this excuse men make? 192 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:35,600 Some say I have done my own deal with God, I have done my own 193 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:37,920 deal with God. And they believe that they will 194 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:42,720 get a specially negotiated pass into God's heaven. 195 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,800 And as a gospel preacher tonight, I must challenge that, 196 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,440 I must reject that, and I must expose that. 197 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:58,280 And here's why #1 I say to you, if that's your possession 198 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:04,520 tonight, you are in no position to negotiate with God. 199 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:07,880 You're in no position to negotiate with God. 200 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,480 You do not come to the table. He has not invited you to come 201 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:15,120 to the negotiating table. He has invited you to come to 202 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,880 the gospel table. And when you come to that table, 203 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:23,720 you do not come as an equal. Apart from the fact that God is 204 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:27,520 your Creator. He is the Almighty God, apart 205 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:31,320 from the fact that you are totally dependent on Him for all 206 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:35,200 things, including the very breath that you draw and your 207 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:39,720 ability to draw it. The issue goes much deeper than 208 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:46,760 that because God is the one against whom you have wilfully 209 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:53,560 and deeply sinned all your life. He is the holy God of heaven and 210 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,080 earth. You are the Sinner who has 211 00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:02,560 sinned against God, and you stand before him and all your 212 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:07,160 you stand before him. He is the target of all your 213 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:10,080 crimes. And my little rough notes that I 214 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:13,200 had and I had the word victim, and I wondered about that 215 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:15,720 because God is still the Almighty God. 216 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:22,080 I hesitated to cast him into the role of a victim, but he is the 217 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,080 target. I thought that might be a better 218 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,680 word. He is the target of all your 219 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:30,240 crimes. And not only that, he is also 220 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,720 the judge, but he's the judge of all the earth. 221 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:40,000 He is also the jury and he is also, as it stands, your 222 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:45,080 executioner. The reality is this, You have no 223 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:50,760 negotiating power at all. You have nothing in your hand 224 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:55,880 that you can bring but your past guilt, your present corruption, 225 00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:01,040 and your future fantasy. That God, when you come, that I 226 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:07,080 is going to roll out the red carpet and bring you in because 227 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:11,760 of your imagination, because of the vanity of your imagination, 228 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,320 you think he's going to open the door and he's going to invite 229 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:22,880 you in because you have struck a deal with him and as alone you 230 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:27,320 should stand down. Your claim it is but an excuse. 231 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:30,680 It's a fig leaf. It's an unreliable argument. 232 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:36,320 In this most serious matter. You're in no position to 233 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:42,320 negotiate, and you never were #2 God has already done a deal. 234 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,480 He has. The language that we would use 235 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:52,160 is that He has covenanted to save His people from their sins. 236 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:55,680 It's not that God is not interested in saving sinners. 237 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,760 We know, we know that He is. But the gospel may be summarised 238 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:03,400 in these great words of John 316 and 17. 239 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:08,280 For God so loved the world, this world of sinners lost, ruined by 240 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,280 the fall. God so loved the world that He 241 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:16,480 gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him 242 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,040 should not perish, but have everlasting life. 243 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:25,280 For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, 244 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,160 but that the world through him may perceived. 245 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:32,920 And the theologians tell us, based of course, on the 246 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:38,160 Scriptures of truth in the great past, eternity before time 247 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,000 began, before the world was created, we have God. 248 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:47,160 In the glorious Trinity of His Persons, we have God the Fower. 249 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:53,920 God the Fower planned to save his people from their sins, and 250 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:58,840 he planned to do that by sending his Son into the world, as we 251 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:03,920 have already quoted, to bear their sins and to provide their 252 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,600 righteousness. That's the work of God the 253 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,560 Father. And then in that great eternity 254 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,360 there was God the Son. And then this great covenant 255 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:16,960 that was made, He willingly undertook to come. 256 00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:20,320 He was not forced to come. He wanted to come. 257 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:24,360 He was willing to come. His delight, he said, as to do 258 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:29,640 thy will, O God my Father. And he would come and die on the 259 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:35,120 cross for his people, burying their sins on his own body to 260 00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:37,360 the tree. And then there's God, the Holy 261 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:42,320 Ghost, the Holy Spirit. He undertook to apply this work 262 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:46,680 of Christ, bring it to the hearts of those whom God had 263 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,960 determined to see. If they call this the covenant 264 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:55,680 of redemption, and it must be emphasised very, very strongly, 265 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,840 there's no other package, there's no other way and there's 266 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:06,600 no other deal. Peter when he preached of 267 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:12,960 Christ, he said of him, neither is there salvation in any other, 268 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:21,200 no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be 269 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:25,840 saved. Jesus himself in John chapter 10 270 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,560 said in the verse 9 he said, I am the door. 271 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:33,200 Notice a singular I am the door by me. 272 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:39,560 There's a singular again, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. 273 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:46,000 John 14 verse 6 Jesus said aye, there's a singular I am the way, 274 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:51,200 the truth and the life. No man cometh under the flower 275 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:55,800 but by me, and that blows tonight if there's one goer with 276 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,360 this thought, I have my own deal with God. 277 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,360 I am putting to you before your eyes. 278 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,560 Your deal is blown out of the water. 279 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:09,840 It has always been this way. That there's only one God and 280 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:11,840 one mediator between God and men. 281 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:16,920 It has always been this way from the very beginning of time, and 282 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:19,400 it will be to the very end of time. 283 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:25,280 Matthew 2414 says the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in 284 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:31,840 all the world for a witness, a witness to all, to all the 285 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:36,320 kingdoms. Then shall the end come, but 286 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:40,960 what you're saying, and in fact you're challenging that and 287 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:44,560 you're telling us here as it's going to surprise, as it's going 288 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:47,840 to shock us that you should think that this you're telling 289 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:54,160 us that God has changed his mind and this is not so because of 290 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:59,360 Malachi 3 verse six. He says I am the Lord who 291 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:03,320 changes not. Therefore you, sons of Jacob, 292 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,360 are not consumed, James says in the New Testament. 293 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:11,200 With God, there is no shadow cast by turning. 294 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:18,920 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. 295 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:24,960 And even if we were to downplay the Bible in this matter and do 296 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,280 so for the sake of argument, just to, just to boost the word 297 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:32,400 of God, I can go down this road. But even if we were to downplay 298 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,320 the Bible in this matter here, here, here's a question for you. 299 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:40,680 I, I hope your little deal can just take a little prodding 300 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,600 here. And I hope I can bear up to this 301 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:45,360 here. Here's a test for it. 302 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:52,680 If God did not keep his deal with his Son, whom He sent to 303 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:56,240 the suffering, and the anguish, and the abandonment of the 304 00:21:56,240 --> 00:22:00,400 Cross, at the Cross where He poured all the fury of the 305 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:05,000 Divine wrath upon him. For it says, God spared not His 306 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,120 only Son, but delivered Him up for us all. 307 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:13,360 If God has abandoned His deal with His Son, what makes you 308 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:18,080 think they and they are not tow you along, and then leave you at 309 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:21,120 the last with your supposed deal? 310 00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:26,960 Think of a young woman, nice young girl, marriage, 311 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,160 marriageable age. She falls in love. 312 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:37,800 She plans to marry a man. Not just any man, a man who 313 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:44,680 assures her that he loves her so much that he is willing to leave 314 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:53,280 his wife and his children, divorce her or just walk out and 315 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:55,920 marry this beautiful young woman. 316 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:00,560 What council would you give to a young woman like that? 317 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,320 Would you encourage your daughter to marry someone? 318 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:10,360 He went up the Isle of a church. He vowed he would love his wife 319 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:15,040 till death to part. But now he has cast his eyes 320 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:19,760 upon another and his first wife in the little family is blew out 321 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:26,040 because he says he wants to marry your daughter. 322 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,840 What? What counsel would you give to 323 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:34,480 your daughter like that? You would say this man, for all 324 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:42,280 his haunted words, he's a fraud, he's a liar, he's a cheat, he's 325 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,920 a perjurer. Don't marry him. 326 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,840 Don't go down that road. That must cast a dark shadow 327 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:55,520 across your so-called deal. Thirdly, we say that your 328 00:23:55,520 --> 00:24:01,160 so-called deal falls under the severe judgement of several 329 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:04,480 verses of Scripture. We're back on the Scripture 330 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,880 ground again. The first verse that come to my 331 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:12,120 mind was Proverbs chapter 28 and the verse 26. 332 00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:14,880 We quoted it earlier on in the week 1 must quote it again. 333 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:20,560 It says there he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. 334 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:25,040 And that's what they're doing. It wasn't God who negotiated 335 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:30,240 this deal with you. This deal sprung up out of your 336 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:35,080 own wicket and deceitful heart. And other words. 337 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:40,240 You're bluffing yourself. Or as it is worded in my second 338 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:46,120 verse, Isaiah 44, verse 20, it was said of one that He feedeth 339 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,320 on ashes. A deceived heart hath turned him 340 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:52,200 aside. To what end? 341 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:57,320 That he cannot deliver his soul. The failure and the cause of it 342 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,080 is LED bare here. It is a delusion. 343 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:05,280 Defeat in ISIS is is to be deluded and I cannot despite its 344 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:08,560 claim, despite how attractive it might look to you. 345 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:10,040 It has obviously appealed to you. 346 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,560 You're telling us this is my deal that I have done with God. 347 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:18,160 It cannot and it will not deliver your soul. 348 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,720 Third verse that it falls under any one of these is a fatal 349 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:29,160 bullet that will kill it. Proverbs 14 verse 12 There is a 350 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:31,680 way. There is a way that seemeth 351 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:40,680 right onto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death. 352 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:46,200 It does not deliver the soul, the everlasting life in heaven. 353 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:50,160 It doesn't book you a seat in the Kingdom of God where you'll 354 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:54,280 sit down and you'll eat the bread there with the Saviour. 355 00:25:54,800 --> 00:26:01,200 It leads a man at the last the everlasting death and an 356 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:05,480 everlasting hell. There's another verse. 357 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:07,720 There are a couple of verses together. 358 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,520 I think they're very fearful verses. 359 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:16,400 Second Thessalonians and the chapter 2 and the verse 11, it 360 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:22,240 talks about those who received not the love of the truth that 361 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,360 they may perceive. Listen to what it says for this 362 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:30,280 'cause this is judicial. That's how it's reasoning behind 363 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:33,280 it. Here is justice in action for 364 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:39,200 this, 'cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should 365 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:44,440 believe a lie, that they all may be damned who believe not the 366 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:50,360 truth, but had pleasure in on righteousness. 367 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:55,200 And if you want the slander God's character, which you are 368 00:26:55,200 --> 00:27:03,000 effectively doing, do not be surprised if God leaves you to 369 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:07,680 your delusion. If you refuse the love of the 370 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:15,000 truth, do not be surprised if you are given over reprobate it 371 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:20,800 to your chosen delusion. It's the same as Proverbs 14 372 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,040 verse 12. They end their off as the ways 373 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,240 of death. It says here that they may be 374 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,520 damned who believe not the truth. 375 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:36,480 How many people will stand on the left hand side of God and 376 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,640 that great day of judgement? And they will think to 377 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,920 themselves, I have done this great deal with God. 378 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:47,240 I told people about it. My heart told me that this will 379 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,520 get me into heaven. And yes, there were evangelical 380 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:52,520 type preachers. I sought maybe one night in a 381 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,320 gospel mission and he tried to make me doubt, but I held on. 382 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:01,440 I was so sure, I was so sincere in this matter. 383 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:07,880 What a shock, what an irrecoverable loss to hear God 384 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,320 say to you and your useless little deal. 385 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:14,520 Depart from me. He cursed. 386 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:18,840 It's a cursed deal. You have made a covenant with 387 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,960 hell. It's it's a lie and you have 388 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:28,040 believed that lie because there's no love in your heart 389 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:32,080 for the truth. Fourthly and lastly, Howard, 390 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:35,480 here's an exhortation. I exhort you in the name of the 391 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:42,200 Lord Jesus, the only Saviour, if you want to have peace with God, 392 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:45,840 if you want to have all your sins forgiven, you want that 393 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:50,760 seat at the table in heaven where all the redeemed of God 394 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,920 will be unhappy. You've got to come God's way. 395 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:59,880 I quote those verses again John 14 verse 6. 396 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:06,640 Jesus said I on the way the truth and the life I am the door 397 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:10,800 by me of any man enter in, he shall be saved. 398 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:16,520 And you come simply as a loss centre, not as a negotiator, not 399 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:21,520 as someone who can sit down and coach God and do a little deal, 400 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:27,960 meet you halfway or whatever. You come as a loss centre, a 401 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:30,360 loss centre to the cross of Calvary. 402 00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:34,000 You come as the beggar on the dunghill. 403 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:39,800 There's no preached last night. You come bankrupt, you come 404 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,240 naked, as it were, spiritually naked. 405 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:47,120 All your righteousnesses, you, you, you repudiate them as 406 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:51,240 filthy rags. You come as a Sinner to the 407 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,920 cross of Calvary. You know Calvary puts the nails 408 00:29:54,680 --> 00:30:00,600 into the coffin lid of yourself concocted and yourself delusory 409 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:01,400 level. Deal. 410 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,400 I just point you to the cross. I point you to the Son of God as 411 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:10,000 he hangs in Yonder tree, and I say that puts your deal not only 412 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:14,240 into the shade had ought to put your little deal into the grave. 413 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:18,560 The Sadducees grave never mention it again, never 414 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:24,560 resurrected it again. The Bible says while we were yet 415 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:30,640 without strength, no negotiating power while we were yet without 416 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:36,400 strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 417 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:41,320 See yourself as ungodly, see yourself as the Sinner. 418 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:43,720 Jesus came to see of common repentance. 419 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:47,920 You know what repentance means that it's root a change of mind. 420 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:51,320 If you've embraced this notion that you've done a wee deal with 421 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:55,080 God or any of its many variations I can see of myself 422 00:30:55,080 --> 00:31:01,120 or whatever, then then then cast it aside that there be a change 423 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:06,880 of mind, a casting off a leaving it behind common faith. 424 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:10,200 Put in all your trust in the Saviour. 425 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:15,080 Come now, all things are ready. All things are ready. 426 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:19,880 It is time now to seek the Lord while he is to be found. 427 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:28,200 Come and enjoy and know so salvation and that's worth 428 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:31,480 having. You see, the child of God is not 429 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:35,640 only saved, but he knows that he's saved. 430 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:41,160 He said I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that 431 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:48,360 he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against 432 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:51,520 that they. That's not based on our her 433 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:58,000 brain scheme, void of Scripture, void of reason and logic. 434 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:04,600 What you have is just an excuse and it's not going to stand. 435 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,240 Excuses don't work, they don't work. 436 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:14,080 They let you down when you need them most, but you come and base 437 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:21,880 your salvation on the written word of the unchanging God, God 438 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:28,200 who cannot lie, God who says he that believeth in me hath 439 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,680 everlasting life and shall not be ashamed. 440 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:37,400 He owned yet the day of judgement we talked about those 441 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:43,520 on the left hand side of God, the deal makers, the liars, the 442 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:45,960 murderers, the atheists, they're all there. 443 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:50,200 The religious people are there if that's all they have. 444 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:55,440 But there's a crowd on the right hand side that's the redeemed of 445 00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,880 earth. The sea of diverse shall go over 446 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:04,480 on the our shore under them. He says, Come, come, ye blessed 447 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:09,240 of my Father, you have an abundant entrance into 448 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:13,720 everlasting Kingdom of our God and Saviour. 449 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:20,120 Two ways this night before you lie, and you the choice must 450 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:23,720 make. The one leads upward to the sky, 451 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:29,200 the hour, the hour to the lake. The house is fast filling. 452 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:34,400 There is yet room to spare that a seat will be empty. 453 00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:39,880 Will you be there? That's by our heads in prayer. 454 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:43,160 The meeting will soon be over. We're just going to sing a 455 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:48,360 couple of verses of a hymn. And I want you to think in your 456 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:50,800 heart, just for a moment or two as we're praying. 457 00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:56,840 How do I stand with God? But am I leaning on tonight, say 458 00:33:56,840 --> 00:34:01,360 with a hymn writer, I dare not trust the sweetest fame, but 459 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:07,560 holy lean in Jesus name. The name of the Lord is a strong 460 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:12,360 tower into which the righteous run and is safe. 461 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:16,080 And just as you're sitting in your seat, you lift up your 462 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,239 heart to God. Say Lord, that's man's right. 463 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:24,639 That's man's right because he preached your word and he's just 464 00:34:24,639 --> 00:34:27,440 taken the rug from under me. And I'm confused about this 465 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:29,480 matter. Tell the Lord that in your heart 466 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:33,920 ask him to save you. That clinches the deal. 467 00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:41,440 Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 468 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:45,920 Or if you want to speak with us afterwards, well then we're 469 00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:50,199 willing to speak with you. But don't leave the meeting on 470 00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:53,880 converted. Let's get this matter sorted for 471 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:56,400 all eternity. Heavenly Fowler, thank you for 472 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:00,800 your word tonight. Thank you Fowler that the things 473 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:04,360 that need to be said, it's not always a pleasure to preach 474 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:08,160 things like this. We understand the even the the 475 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:11,120 way we wound people with what we say. 476 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:14,840 We can offend people with these things, but then we remember 477 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:17,280 that the Lord wounds and then he heals. 478 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:21,480 He cuts out all that is bad and all that needs to get out the 479 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:27,320 deadly stuff and he heals the wounded, broken hearts. 480 00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:31,480 Lest I were to each and every heart, we would pray in Jesus 481 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:33,360 name, Amen.