This morning we talk to you about the
three different ways that the Sovereign God goes
about bringing people to a saving knowledge of
Himself through Christ.
In a very quiet way, He opened a
merchant for the name of Lydia's heart to
the extent that she listened to the Word
of God.
People cannot perceive except by hearing the Word
of God.
Now, it is definitely true that God requires
belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.
But, unless God gives you that faith, you
can't do what God demands that you do.
Faith is both your act and it's a
gift of God.
It's foolish to go out there and tell
sinners, who are not in the shape of
the one we're going to have before us
tonight and this morning, and it's criminal, you're
all told a trembling sinner, a seeking sinner.
He told them to do that.
Alright, let's go out there and say, now,
just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
you'll have the Savior.
Well, if you don't, you just don't.
But we're sending people to hell because we're
not paying attention to the Bible.
And I've met this before.
But all a sinner can do is to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but he
can't do that unless God enables him to
as he listens to God's Word.
Is that right?
Faith cometh, it has to come to him,
and God brings it to him as he
hears his Word.
That's what the Scripture plainly teaches, alright?
And so God came along and opened this
woman's heart.
You know, anybody that wants to hear what
God's got to say to Jesus, if you've
learned faith, they don't want it.
They're not interested in it.
God is a saving God, though.
And we had the story this morning of
the young fallen sireless men of David, saying,
these are the servants of the Most High
God, which do show unto us the way
of salvation.
He did that for many days until finally
he fell dead.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
on his authority, he commanded the demons to
go out.
I wish that you'd take me seriously.
You've got power around here to command demons
to go out.
If you was a church, you would have.
Huh?
You mean to tell me that demons are
not all over this community, in the home?
You mean to tell me there's not a
lot of people in the reach of this
little building that are demon possessed?
Sure there are.
These boys that drive hundreds of miles an
hour on the highway, you mean to tell
me they did that?
No.
These folks that killed somebody, they don't want
to team over men.
They just did it.
Demons, brother, demons are all around.
And the Lord taught God's church.
He said he's going to build a city.
He's going to give it power and whatever
it bounds.
He considered it bound in heaven.
Do you find the devil around you?
We're bragging about being a church, unless you
know how, on your knees and with the
word of God.
That's fine, see.
I'm telling you, you ought not claim to
be a church, unless you are representing the
Christ who said, my church will have power
to bind and power to loose.
Amen?
That's Bible.
And old Paul had it for God to
help us if we don't, if we don't
have it.
And then we had the story about a
man who apparently, just like that, got under
conviction.
We're not told a thing about this jailer
until we find him in verse 23, when
they laid many stripes upon the jailer.
They whipped him and then they cast him
in the prison and charged this gentleman to
keep him.
And so when they told him what to
do, verse 24, he took them and put
them in the inn of prison and made
their feet fast in the stalks.
And now the scripture for the evening.
And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and
sang praises unto God.
And the prisoners heard them praying and singing.
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so
that the foundations of the prison were shaken.
And immediately all the doors were opened and
everyone's bands were loosed.
And the keeper of the prisoner, waking out
of his sleep and seeing the prison doors
open, he drew out his sword and would
have killed himself.
Supposing that the prisoners had been fled, but
Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do
thyself no harm, for we are all here.
Now watch it.
Then this jailer called for a light and
sprang in and came trembling and fell down
before Paul and Silas.
And then he brought them out and then
he said, Sirs, what must I do to
be saved?
And they answered him.
Because he meant business, folks.
He meant business.
Know where they were.
Now listen to Brother Barney.
Do like the Bereans and go on and
search the scripture.
Huh?
All right.
Know where in the Old Testament or in
the New Testament did anybody ever do personal
work like this generation of Baptists have been
doing?
Do we go out and try to get
people to say they'll accept Jesus?
They've been taught to do them.
Huh?
But they didn't do it in the Bible?
No, sir.
The only time anybody was ever told what
to do to be saved is when they
came to somebody and asked them.
You see?
And the word came.
If you want to hang around, the word
preaching to lost people is seek the Lord.
You see?
You know anybody seeking the Lord?
You see, I charge that this generation of
Baptists, it is some miracle if any of
you saved.
But you had to get saved in spite
of what you've been taught.
Because nobody will ever be saved until they
desire the Lord Jesus Christ with all of
their hearts.
Not for what he can do for them,
but for just what he is more than
anything else in the world.
Nobody will ever be saved until he becomes
a seeker.
And nobody such a seeker as your mom
and your papa and everybody put together can't
get him to stop.
He said, I'm going to find the Lord
or die trying.
Now, your mom was embarrassed with understanding.
But most of you are so young, I
don't expect you to.
But that's been in the Bible all the
time.
You know when you're going to get saved?
The Bible says, in the day when thou
shalt seek me with all thine heart, I
shall surely be found in thee.
And what I'm trying to get churches to
do is pay a little attention to the
Bible.
I told you young pastor, he was 24
years old, get him a tape recorder, if
he ever gets the money, listen to himself
preach and correct himself while he's young.
Lord, I will need some churches.
That is, people make up churches and public
preachers.
There is so a lot we've been passing
down away.
And we'll begin to study this book.
I believe the methods that Jesus used are
good enough for us.
And I believe the methods that Paul used
are good enough for us.
I know we think we've improved on them,
but I think we've made a mess of
them.
And I'm telling you now, what needs to
happen is a breath of revival.
And I won't tell you what revival is.
I don't like the term.
I believe the New Testament would call it
the disturbing presence of Christ.
Well, if Jesus Christ would find that so
it wouldn't make him become the friend of
Satan, and he would make his presence known
in this little village, he'd disturb everything in
this town.
For a demon would disturb when Christ was
present here.
The earth was disturbed.
He left nothing undisturbed.
And what we call revival, if you get
that from the New Testament, I call the
disturbing presence of Jesus Christ.
I looked him in the face and told
him, you better quit quoting that scripture where
two or three are gathered together unless you
put in there in my name.
That means to do business under his authority
in my presence here.
He was quoting that little pious verse of
the Lord's Prayer.
He had been around to disturb him twenty
years, I doubt it.
You mean to tell me he comes to
the churches today, no sir.
He'd have to wear sin if he did.
But two or three are gathered together in
his name.
That's the key to it, brother.
Under his authority, preaching his message, using his
name.
God bless your heart, then he'll come.
Ladies and gentlemen, you better listen to me.
There's just one power between heaven and earth
that can bring conviction to lost men and
women, and that's the presence and power of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
You talk about two lives, look at who
are alive people, see Jesus in you, that's
a bunch of sassafras.
There's just one person.
When men are confronted with the Holy Christ
and his presence is manifesting, all hell is
disturbed.
Now that's what I call alive.
Amen.
Is that what you want?
God knows what we need.
And I'm here to tell you, bless your
little hand for a while, but I'm here
to tell you that if you're going to
pay some attention to the fact that you've
got the mind and the head, be under
his authority.
Hear me?
Under his authority.
If you're going to have his presence.
And when Jesus Christ, if he ever decides
that he wouldn't be violating the holiness of
God, for he said, I'll be sanctifying them
to draw near to me.
He ain't fixing to come around to an
institution called a secular church, unless that institution's
filled with people who panic, hunger, and thirst
for holiness, for he's a holy God.
We've got to face these things.
We've been running our churches for two generations
without the presence of Jesus Christ.
What we desperately need now, and we've got
to have it, or we won't be able
to keep going much longer.
We have to shut up.
But Jesus Christ finding it so that he
would please, Hey, it's in the order of
the Bible.
There's no way around it.
He can fix it soon.
He's got to show up.
But if he doesn't take to show up
at the non-services, tomorrow's going to be
worse than it is today.
As sure as I'm preaching right now.
What I'm here to tell you, the congregation
that have paid much attention to that little
expression, where two or three have gathered to
do business under the authority and direction of
the living Christ.
He's the boss, he's the head of the
church.
Amen.
And does anybody want to be pleased to
say, a church that's situated a half an
inch from the deep and jaws of hell,
in experience of the disturbing presence of Jesus
Christ in its midst, and all hell up
and crashing around.
And the recipe for his appearance is in
this passage of scripture tonight.
There are just three things that I see
in this passage of scripture as quickly as
I can.
I'll leave them with you.
Hell, witnessing, faith and Christians.
Now folks, there are not any other kind.
There are not any other kind of Christians
except Christians who are witnesses.
And there are not any other kind of
Christians except Christians who live lives of prayer.
If you do not live and see heaven,
you are not saved, you know that.
If you do not live in a state,
S-T-A-P-E, state of continual
prayer, you're not a Christian.
For prayer is the very breath of Christian
life.
Prayer is something that you do not say
all the way, but it's a reaching out
continually in your soul after God.
You pray while you're washing dishes.
You pray while you're engaging in conversations.
If you're a Christian, that's right, folks.
If you're a Christian.
The mark of spiritual death.
If somebody calls you a Christian, you live
in faith in such a wonderful way that
you'll never be satisfied with everybody else.
The experience of the wonder and power of
the Christ that he comes to know.
That's right, folks.
If you keep your mouth shut from writing
on Jesus, you are not saved, and you
know that.
You know that.
And with your life in one breath, out
breath, continually, in the psalms early in the
morning, you're not saved.
If the first thing you think about when
you wake up in the morning, the last
thing you think about if you sleep at
night, it is not him who's there to
use and love the children of God.
If you're not saved, then you know it.
You know you're not saved.
Christ will not share a second place in
anybody's heart.
He doesn't need more than you.
And if they are put together, your children,
your family, everybody else, you don't know all
of them.
That's all.
But we believe in this day, where there
have been some miscalls, and we're all here
talking against this, and 10,000 obstacles out
there, and you're not in the battle.
What I'm praying for is for our people
who know the law, and I'm taking for
granted that somebody in this congregation, I believe,
will really save people.
And I'm preaching to you, for I say
the whole day, to stand in between this
town and hell, only humans pass out.
We give unto God's people.
I'm not asking unsaved church members if I'm
speaking to anybody like that.
I'm not asking you to witness the rose
and the bad, no, see, it's a game.
You just keep your mouth shut, and go
to hell as fast as possible.
But it's not optional whether I'll be a
witness, if God saves me, doesn't say, I
hope you'll be my witness.
He says, you are my witness, and so
on.
It's not optional whether a Christian will be
the light of the world.
He doesn't say, I hope you'll be alive.
He says, you are the light of the
world.
Isn't that a responsibility?
It's not optional whether we are here to
save others.
God bless your heart.
You can't possibly live to do anything else
if you've ever been rescued from the fiery
clay yourself.
Isn't that right?
What I'm pleading for is congregations of saved
men, women, boys, and girls.
I say that every town and every city
ought to have one institution that's called a
church, that as a church is representing the
Lord with its lips of praise and with
its intercession and prayer.
There are only two references God's given His
people to accomplish what He's given us to
do.
That's the proclamation by Archimedes with the book
of the blessed story of the cross of
Jesus Christ and an intercession of prayer.
If you've got one without the other, it's
no good.
If you haven't got either, it's no good.
You've got to have them together.
It's not just enough that this church preaches
the truth unless it's soaked with the tears
of the membership of prayer.
It will not be what God sends it
to do.
Paul preaches the daybreak on Mr. Sturgeon, but
he never preached the sermon of the midway
church in London that underneath the great high
pulpit stand where he stood down in the
basement 300 of the choicest men of his
church never heard him preach.
They're down there on their knees praying while
he is preaching.
God bless you folks.
I'm telling you what's fact that we're going
to keep on butchering soul all the time
to call folks into accepting Jesus or we're
going to face the fact that when Jesus
Christ is around and men are confronted with
him some are going to curse him but
others will begin to scream like this old
sinner Is there any hope for me?
What must I do?
I was very smart at that but I
always couldn't stand this other stuff.
Where I go, I say Lord maybe I'll
see it again.
I'll see some old sinner trembling and say
do you reckon a holy God would save
a sinner like me?
How'd you like to get people talking?
That's where we used to talk when we
threw the Bible away and began to repeat
what we've been told.
Your daddies and mothers used to pray God
bless you.
Our 50 years grown their heads attracted me
and now if we're preaching they have more
time than we do better punch a page,
Papa.
I understand that.
But somewhere or another if our churches don't
fix it so they can wait in some
time to meet together all on their faces
like they used to.
The men were not there and prayed for
an hour and the women were not there
and prayed for an hour and the seekers
came for the more of us things.
You never seen them like that, did you?
That's the way they used to be.
And the men left their prayers and the
women left their prayers and the royal people
the royalty were saying they were deaf and
they'd come in and they'd stand on their
side and smoke or talk or something like
that.
They'd come for the more of us things.
And when time for me the preachers said,
oh brethren now let's start and the seekers
will go back to their secrets.
I would cease and I would take care
for the more of us things.
In a way it's quite so right for
me.
But I'd sure love to see some people
seeking the Lord.
I sure would.
Well, God bless your heart.
Witnessing, praying Christians.
Let's be honest.
If there ain't but two of you can
I'll tell you what you can do.
You can get the air of a God
who sends earthquakes and shakes things.
If you tell me that's not so I'll
never go over to another meeting.
I know it is so.
God bless your heart.
Paul and Silas had to get in jail
for showing people the way of salvation.
Amen.
What'd they do after they got in jail?
They prayed and sang praises unto God.
Amen.
What'd God do?
God sent an earthquake.
That's what we need now.
And if that's not what you want I'd
appreciate it if you'd tell me.
My back's hurting.
I'd love to go home.
If that's not what you want God ain't
gonna worship Paul for me.
If you wanna go along going out here
trying to get somebody to take Jesus if
you don't want him don't feel the need
of him, do you?
Huh?
Ain't you full of excuses?
Why, when you eat and go out here
and invite somebody to come to what's called
church they'll leave you with the promise that
they'll try to come one night before the
meeting's closed to get rid of you, won't
they?
You know, how many of you people know
some sinners around here that's screaming and begging
God to save them?
Do you?
There's a man who's trembling but he didn't
tremble apart from the witnessing and the praying
of these two Christian men Paul and Silas
two witnesses two people of real salvation and
they get praying that only God can send
an earthquake only God can unlock those prison
doors only God could set those men free
Listen to me, I'm going to tell you
again the so-called gospel that's been 60
years in the mirror has produced people who
believe that God can't, that God doesn't save
sinners that sinners save themselves I believe you
can't have any praying in our churches I
believe you folks will come and visit for
preaching time but when I talked to them
about the church on its stage I said,
I'll lose you you have to believe what
they call the gospel that poor little God
has done all he can do and now
he's just got his hands folded and can't
make a move of it and he has
to wait for men to make their move
go around and wave at this place and
that I believe in a God who sent
a messenger that will follow you with Jacob
and that messenger wrestled with Jacob all night
long and old Jacob fought as hard as
he could and you better listen to Brother
Barnum now are one of you people ever
going to get saved if you can help
me now you better listen you'll never get
saved if you can help me if God
almighty don't break your old stubborn will and
your old black heart and you beg your
life and cry to leave it up to
you you'll never get saved and old Jacob
said, I'm going to surrender not me and
finally the messenger smote him and cried to
him and then old Jacob came to his
senses and God never saved the sinner yet
and he didn't cry to him for a
sinner don't want to be saved he don't
want to go to hell he don't want
to be united to the Lord Jesus Christ
and then the sinner in this town that
wants to die and go to hell but
they don't want to live a holy life
for you is that right?
and if you could let them say, seek
prayer they say, ok brother that's for me
seek prayer they say, that's for me seek
prayer they say, that's for me but I
say, seek God and he said, no, no,
no not me not me I thank God
that I wouldn't waste my life going up
and down, being raised in my family most
of the time for 28 years preaching to
little old people of God like that God
I preach is the same God you send
a messenger and cripple Jacob and when Jacob's
crippled he has some sense first time and
when Jacob was crippled and the messenger started
to lead him he and Jacob called him
his propitial and he said, you can't lead
a messenger until you're blessed and I believe
in the God who in the fear of
the soul and conscience he's going down the
road to Damascus to kill some old Christians
and Jesus Christ met him right square down
in the road and revealed himself to him
saved him by his grace and because I
believe in that I believe if we had
some churches for the people who believe that
God's still doing business and don't believe this
family of a liar that preaches all over
this country that God's done his part now
he's waiting to see what the sinner will
do God's done some but he ain't through
yet brother he still has Christ we don't
believe that, but do we?
we put jolly on about the good old
days and in fact he was saved now
and the stars make this a place of
prayer looking up into the face of God
the same God who stifled old Jacob to
grow and caused him to seek it the
same God who blinded sore apostles and saved
them the same God that if a mother
believed in him she'd look into the face
of God and say oh God, there's my
boy he won't listen to me he won't
listen to his daddy he won't listen to
his preacher he won't listen to anybody oh
God, do something and I believe that God's
still alive and if you did this would
become a prayer in church and you move
forward I don't know anybody that can save
sinners except God they've been getting saved for
a long time without God it's time we
face that amen Paul and Silas witness you'll
save, you'll witness Paul and Silas prayed they
prayed together and God did the same thing
Hallelujah and folks we're just about to face
it we've used every trick and every device
known to man has run out every last
one of them has failed we just got
one thing left close our doors we'll get
on our faces and say oh God this
generation jazz crazy crazy mad money crazy sex
crazy dress crazy this religious culture in general
is a bit too much for us will
God interfere?
if you think there's one weapon left that's
the one weapon we've been doing it out
for so long weapon of God
since the earthquake when the earthquake came amen
this is a better old day life knew
he was in the presence of God this
church is a place where God almighty manifests
himself through you do not be convicted if
you're not convicted you're a malice to the
Lord if you don't speak to the Lord
on that that bird that started that story
about Christians on the work for Jesus on
the oil and the oil there's nothing you
can do for Jesus but if he ever
gets saved he'd do us a favor through
you he doesn't ask you to do him
no harm nothing on earth that he can
do for you but if he saves you
he saves you at any moment through you
he may manifest himself it's his presence that
men tremble at isn't that right?
that's what I'm pleading with you and when
this earthquake came that old Jesus said this
is God this is God he comes out
and says sir what must I do to
be saved the fellow in that seat isn't
it wonderful that you can preach the gospel
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ they tell
a story down in Georgia during this time
they had slaves old Sambo he was the
colored star waltz of the plantation and the
colored people had their annual revival meeting they
got a picture to come in preach for
them they took out at night all the
colored people went to their meeting and the
man who owned the plantation the white cross
he sat down one night to see if
they were behaving themselves and he stood out
in the fringe of the crowd he saw
all the people standing all around the white
cross stood out there and first thing he
knew the men were listening the old Negro
preacher and he kept on listening and that's
why the service is over and the next
day the white cross rang in the Sambo
cross in the plantation and he said Sambo
sit down to your meeting last night Sambo
said yes sir boss I'll sleep with you
down the night he said you got a
good preacher he said yes sir boss he
declared the Lord's counsel is done he said
you know Sambo I've got come here to
listen to what he's talking about and Sambo
said praise the Lord he said Sambo according
to what that man preaches if I die
I'll be right straight to hell he said
Sambo said that's exactly where you want to
go well he said Sambo he said I
don't want to go to hell and old
Sambo said no Sambo I'd rather hear you
say that else you're going to pay and
you get some sense in your head and
he said Sambo he said I ain't got
no time for thought I've been thinking about
where I'd live if I die I've been
really busy making money making this plantation I
ain't sleep so good last night that's going
on for me he said Sambo would you
tell me how to get straight Sambo said
boss you should really want me to he
said sure do Sambo well Sambo said boss
I want to tell you he said you
know that there are horsemen out there that
are out on the street he said you
girls have got that horse in you and
you climbed over that rail of fence and
stood over in the northern corner where the
horse have got their muzzle and you get
down on your knees right in the middle
of that horse muzzle and close your eyes
and then start to have mercy on yourselves
and he's like hey and the boss man
gave a curse and he said oh Sambo
he said I'm serious I didn't want you
to do Sambo said he didn't care about
anyone's soul and they parted and that night
his friends went up he decided he better
go down and see if the colored people
had any sort of behavior and he got
down there and listened to that old colored
preacher preach he didn't know much but he
knew his soul and he preached him and
the next day the white boss looked over
to Sambo and he said Sambo Sambo got
back down and listened to the preacher last
night Sambo said yes sir boss so glad
to see you well it stayed a while
after the preaching we asked God did you
get no rest did you go to sleep
you couldn't sleep nor eat did you begin
to call on God for his mercy well
he said something's sure I said I didn't
sleep a wink last night I said I'm
scared Sambo I don't want to go to
jail he said Sambo don't joke me like
you did yesterday if you tell me how
to be saved Sambo said yes sir boss
in case you really want to know well
he said I sure do he said well
I tell you boss you go to the
left back there and you find where the
red fence and you get over in the
northeast corner where the house is right there
in the middle you get out right in
the middle of it when you leave you
close your eyes lift up your face and
ask God to have mercy on you because
he's going to do it and the boss
man gave him a curse he said I...
you're just joking I meant business and you're
joking but that night he went down and
he had to preach again and he went
along walked the floor got out on his
knees tried to pray he didn't know how
got out of his Bible it was all
weak to him he never had it open
before and he walked the floor and left
the bed he tossed and tumbled and finally
about three o'clock in the morning he
got up put on his clothes got around
headed out towards the plantation house of Sambo
the straw-colored boss ran with him knocked
on the door let go sleeper eyes Sambo
came to the door opened his eyes opened
again and said Lord have mercy bless my
heart I'm a man he said Sambo don't
joke around he said I can't sleep he
said I feel like I'm dropping ice straight
into the hill he said Sambo please tell
me God please get God to save me
Sambo said boss do you really want me
to he said I sure do Sambo said
boss I want to he said you better
let that hope in and you climb over
the railing fence and get over that northeast
corner where the horse got their milk you
get down on your knees close your eyes
and ask God to have mercy on you
he said he's going to do it boss
man just turned around landed low and headed
for the offbeat old Sambo watched him fall
at him dreadful boss man got up there
and started climbing over the railing fence old
Sambo watched him he straddled the fence started
climbing down along the road side had one
more run to go Sambo said one more
one more and boss man hung by one
foot in the air and held on to
the rail and Sambo said boss did you
actually plan to do that well he said
Sambo I don't think that in a sense
in that I don't understand why a man
got to get over in that mud hole
to grab and save him well he said
I want to be saved and that's the
only way he can tell me to do
it that's what I'm going to do and
he straddled and got one foot in the
mud and Sambo said hey boss he said
you don't have to actually do that you
just got to be willing to you see
when a man is willing to be saved
on God's terms then telling God how to
do it no matter how foolish they are
it's foolish foolish that God would save you
the only person to keep you out of
hell is that person and that's
the only person to keep you out of
hell that's the only person to keep you
out of hell only person to keep you
out of hell that's the only person to
keep you out of hell that's the only
person to keep you out of hell that's
the only person to keep you out of
hell that's the only person to keep you
out of hell that's the only
person you out of hell that's
the only person to
keep you out of hell that's the only
person to keep you out of hell that's
the to keep you out that's the to
keep you out of hell that's
the only person to keep you out of
hell that's the only person to keep you
out of hell that's the only person to
keep to keep you out of hell that's
the only person to keep God works now
in your name, Lord, this way.
You died on the cross, and because it
did, you put him on his home, and
he reigned there.
You gave him the reins of the government
and the hearts of the kings.
You turned all things over to him.
We commit this congregation that you pray that
God's Son may get glory out of this
time we've spent here together tonight for his
dear name's sake we pray to you.
Amen.
God bless you.
See you tomorrow night.
Amen.