I'd like you to listen as I try
to read, and I want you to listen,
not to read along with me.
I'll have it work out.
I want, first of all, to read in
your hearing the Holy Spirit's description of the
Lord Jesus Christ when he came as a
man for us men.
I never try to read this, that I
do not recognize the other impossibility of fully
entering into the mystery of it, but I
pray the Holy Spirit will just be very
sweet to you as I read these blessed
words.
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently.
He shall be exalted and extolled and be
very high.
But before that takes place, something else.
As many were astonished that his visage was
so large, more than any man, and his
form more than the sons of men.
So he shall sprinkle many nations.
The kings shall shut their mouths at him,
for that which had not been told them
shall they see, and that which they had
not heard shall they consider.
Who hath believed our report, and to whom
is the arm of the Lord revealed?
Mystery of mysteries, who would believe it?
For in the providence of God it is
still true that he shall grow up before
him as a tender plant, and as a
root out of a dry ground.
He hath no form nor comeliness, and when
we shall see him there is no beauty
that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected of men, a
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces
from him.
He was despised and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried
our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he
was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him,
and with his stripes we are healed.
As for ourselves, we, like sheep, all of
us have gone astray.
We have turned every one to his own
way, and Jehovah hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet
he opened not his mouth.
He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers
is done, so he openeth not his mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment,
and who shall declare his generation?
For he was cut off out of the
land of the living, for the transgression of
my people was he stricken.
And he made his grave with the naked
and with the rich in his death.
Because he had done no violence, neither was
any deceit in his mouth, yet it pleased
Jehovah to bruise him.
Jehovah hath put him to grief.
When thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin, thank God he shall see his
seed.
He shall prolong his days, and the good
pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.
Then he shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied.
And by his knowledge shall my righteous servant
justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with
the great, and he shall divide the spoil
with the strong.
And all because he hath poured out his
soul unto death, and because he was numbered
with the transgressors, and because he bare the
sin of many, and because he made intercession
for the transgressions, saying, O barren, thou that
didst not bear, break forth into singing, and
cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with
child.
And then if you would like, I'd appreciate
if you turned to the 19th chapter of
the last book of the Bible, and would
read the Holy Spirit's description of the Lord
of the universe.
The next time he visits this old earth,
he didn't receive very good treatment the first
time.
But look at the Spirit's description of him
when he comes trampling on the clouds of
glory, with the armies of heaven in his
wake, to take charge on this earth.
At verse 11 we read, And I saw
heaven open, and behold a white horse, and
he that sat upon him was called Faithful
and True, and in righteousness he doth judge
and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns.
And he had a name written that no
man knew but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped
in blood, and his name is called the
word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed
him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp
sword, that with it he should smite the
nations, and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron.
And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness
and wrath of Almighty God.
And he hath on his vesture and on
his thigh a name written, King of kings
and Lord of lords.
And I feel vitally his presence here this
morning, that wonderful, worshipful spirit.
I feel like taking off my shoes.
I don't know whether I ought to try
to speak a little or not.
We don't need a Bible to tell us
that there was a man named Jesus, born
in a little town called Bethlehem, hung on
a Roman gibbet outside the holy city of
Jerusalem, buried in another man's tomb.
That's just a fact of history.
Thank God we do need a Bible, and
thank God we have a Bible to tell
us this world didn't get rid of him,
and that he's coming back under different circumstances
for a different purpose.
I wouldn't venture to try to interpret the
last passage of scripture I've read.
The older I get, the more dogmatic I
am about just one thing, and that is
him, and I hope my relation to him.
But it is blessed to soak your soul
now and then in victory, and praise God,
victory is on the way.
Our Lord Jesus Christ hasn't abandoned his mission.
He's sitting at the right hand of God
now, carrying on.
Praise God.
And one day his feet shall touch this
earth again, and men will have not a
man in humiliation, but a man in glory
on their hands.
I want to just exhort you a little
this morning with myself about one expression, describing
the glory, the majesty, the victory that shall
be the portion of him who, when he
came the first time, wound up on a
cross with his visage so marred that he
didn't look like a human being.
He must have looked like some sort of
a monster by the time they got through
with him.
Here he comes back, praise the Lord, to
get everything straightened out and turn a world
that has been brought back into subjection to
God.
Turn it over to the Father, that the
God may be all in all.
One of the descriptions of him as he
comes back in glory, on his head were
many crowns.
I don't know whether I have the proper
interpretation or not, but I have a longing
in my soul and a deep desire in
my very being when I shall see him
as he is and that's the way he'll
be.
Oh, what a picture of him, and shall
be made like him, that I shall have
a joy of finding out that one of
the crowns, one of the many crowns on
his glorious head shall have been placed there
by myself.
On his head were many crowns.
Men and women, boys and girls, in this
veil of tears, have the glorious opportunity and
privilege under God of putting a crown on
the head of the despised and rejected and
crucified Lord of glory, by faith, when the
world pays no attention to him, by believing
God's testimony about him.
There isn't any privilege like the privilege that
came my way and has come yours, to
put a crown on his head, not a
crown of thorns, but the crown of me.
Mystery of mysteries, wonder of wonders, glory of
glories, grace upon grace.
For some reasons that in thirty-five years
of trying to study the Bible and preach,
I still marvel more about it now than
when I first began.
For some reason, Jesus Christ wants you, he
wants you.
He came down here to get you, not
your time that already belongs to him.
Not your money that's already his.
He just came down here to get you.
For some reason he wants us.
And to get us, he gave himself for
us, and he gives himself to us.
He didn't send us a creed, he didn't
send us advice, he came himself.
The gift of God is God himself in
Christ.
For some reason, he gave himself, he identified
himself, and I'll state my whole life on
the statement I'm going to make now.
That he doesn't ask of you anything on
earth except you.
He just wants you.
And salvation is the portion of a man
or woman, boy or girl, who has responded
to Christ's giving of himself for you by
giving yourself to him.
Salvation is more than leaving something.
Salvation is one giving himself for sinners.
And the Spirit of God working on men
and women until they give themselves to him.
Saving faith is just the response of you
to the giving of him.
Any response less than that is an insult
to the glorious truth that in order to
win you, he gives himself for you and
gives himself to you.
Amen?
He wants you.
He wants me.
Wonder of wonders.
He wants me.
And there's just one thing I can do.
I got nothing to give it except the
rod and a blast it, but he wants
me.
Somewhere between now and the time you die,
he'll fix it up about whether it's as
in reference to what you call salvation or
not that will make you happy.
Some way, time before you go out to
meet him, I hope he'll have you.
I hope he'll have me.
You've heard it, have you?
I'm sure you have.
I repeat it, that Jesus man, the missionary,
preaching to an Indian tribe, and he preached
and preached and preached, and the old chieftain
heard him and heard him and heard him,
and after a while the old chieftain absented
himself from the services and sat in his
wigwam trying to digest what he'd heard from
the missionary.
And as all truth demands response, the old
missionary knew it was his move, and it's
always man's move when he faces any gift,
when he faces any truth and any provision.
And the old missionary cogitated the old Indian
chieftain.
Jesus gave himself for me, there ought to
be some response, and he thought and thought
and finally thought he had it.
He got up and oiled and fixed up
his favorite hunting rifle, until it was beautiful
to behold and cradling it in his arms
he went to the missionary's tent.
And he said, here Jesus man, you say
Jesus gave himself for me, me give him
my rifle.
And the missionary said, no chief, Jesus no
want your rifle.
And the old chieftain shook his head, Jesus
no want my rifle, no, Jesus no want
your rifle.
And with his rifle in his arms the
old missionary went back to his tent, put
it back up in the rack, and in
tremendous perplexity sat down to try to come
up with response that was proper to the
message that Jesus had given himself for him.
And after some time he got the most
prized possession he had.
He got his favorite hunting moccasins.
He took his taller, whatever it is, and
he fixed him up beautiful, cradling him in
his arms like this, like a little girl
with a dog.
He went again into the presence of the
missionary, and he said, Jesus, missionary man, you
say Jesus gave himself for me, me give
him my rifle.
And the old missionary went back to his
tent, put it back up in the rack,
and in tremendous perplexity sat down to try
to come up with response that was proper
to the message that Jesus had given himself
for him.
And after some time he got the most
prized possession he had.
He got his favorite hunting moccasins.
He took his taller, whatever it is, and
he fixed him up beautiful, cradling him in
his arms like this, like a little girl
with a dog.
And the old missionary went back to his
tent, put it back up in the rack,
and in tremendous perplexity sat down to try
to come up with response that Jesus had
given himself for him.
And he said, Jesus, man, me bring my
rifle, you say Jesus no want.
Me bring my moccasins, you say Jesus no
want.
Me bring me, cause Jesus want me.
And the Jesus man said, yes, Jesus want
you.
That's what he came down here to die
for.
He won't
stop the faith that will bring you to
him.
He wants you.
He got you.
That's something that will challenge you every day
of your life, to have me.
That's all now I belong to Jesus, to
have you.
And the glory, and the majesty, and the
mystery, and the wonder of it here.
That he'll woo you.
That he'll command you.
That he'll invite you.
That he'll influence you.
But in this day he will not make
you against your will.
Bring yourself.
The crowns that will be men and women
will.
Man willing if you please, but willingly.
Say I am Lord.
You want me.
What you want me, I don't understand, but
here I am.
Praise God.
He came down here to get you.
He came down here to get me.
And the only difference between this hour and
the hour of power, he's seeking men and
women who will willingly worship him.
Now, one day you'll have to.
Now bless God you can.
I want to just bring three words of
excitation as to why everybody under the sound
of my voice, the preacher included, and I
do it many, many times, never gets too
old and it's never out of order under
God.
If Christianity is a way, this I'm to
talk about this morning is vital.
I want to say that you ought to
give yourself in wholehearted response to turn yourself
over lock, stock, and barrel to the Lord
Jesus Christ to do as he is pleased
to lead you, to control you, to guide
you for his sake.
Under God, if I knew how, with my
own self and with everybody whom I preach,
I wish we'd be done with fiddle-faddle
and I wish we'd come up one face
again.
The Bible is either God's truth or it
isn't.
We ought not to trifle with it.
Jesus Christ is either the divine Son of
God and yet all men who left heaven
and came down here for us men to
bring us to glory, these things are true
and they are not.
And under God, if Jesus is what the
Bible says he is, under God, if Jesus
did for us what the Bible says he
did, he's worthy of me.
See, I tell you it's an insult more
than anything else except me.
It's an insult to have a kind of
religion whereby you give a nice little sum
of money and give him a little of
your time and once in a while think
of him, but that's an insult.
The only thing that's worthy of the Lord
Jesus Christ person and his glorious work is
the response of Ralph Barnett wholeheartedly.
Here am I, here am I.
He's worthy of you.
He's worthy.
Hallelujah.
We sing a little chorus as I go
about the country.
Only he is worthy.
Let us praise him.
Only he is worthy.
Let us praise him.
And that's so.
He is worthy of me committing myself.
And I know of no form of Christianity
in the Bible that doesn't call for a
new committal every day of your life.
I believe that as I daze, so shall
thy strength be.
And I would lift up my voice against
this stuff, this little convenient stuff they call
Christianity that doesn't confront you daily with the
demands of the living Christ.
Who is the Lord of all.
And say to you, this is the way.
Walk.
He is it.
The way for the day.
He's worthy.
What he wants with us is a mystery
to me.
But he'll settle not for some of your
time, not for some of your effort, not
for some of your faith.
He'll settle for you.
And if he can't have you, he won't
please.
He's after us.
He wants us and he's worthy of us.
I've always had a horror of nice people
that have some nice beliefs.
I tell you, the Bible brings us face
to face.
It's so or it isn't so.
The only response is like the little dog,
little witty, but the boy said he had
a dog and his name was Rover.
And when he died, he died all over.
And the Bible brings us to one of
two positions that at least is reasonable.
One is an all out response to Christ.
Or the other is to say there's nothing
to it.
But an in-between attitude is a lukewarm
warmness that is a stench in the nostrils
of a holy God.
I remember walking across the campus of Southwestern
Seminary years ago.
I ran smack into Hyman Appelman, a Jewish
preacher, some of you have heard of him.
He and I were schoolmates together and he
was crying as he walked across the campus.
And he said, Roth, you got a little
time?
I said, yes.
He said, if I don't talk to somebody,
I think I'm just, I just, I've got
to talk to somebody.
He said, if you've got some time, come
up to my room, just let me talk
to you.
And I went up to his room and
he told me this experience that last week,
Roth, was the most grueling week of my
life.
He said, my old Jewish daddy came down
from Chicago and got my home out in
Dickford, Texas, 50 miles from Fort Worth, where
Hyman was a student pastor.
And he said, my daddy stayed in my
home Monday night and left Friday afternoon about
dark.
And he said, for that week, instead of
staying in my room here, I drove each
day into the school and back at night.
And he said, my old daddy, talk to
me.
He said, you know, Hyman, of course, Hyman,
when he accepted the Lord Jesus as his
Messiah and Lord and Savior, he was banished
from his home.
And he, last time I'd seen him, had
never been in his mother and father's home
for 30 some odd years.
But at that time, Hyman hadn't been saved
too long.
Now he's in school, in a school, trying
to learn how to preach.
And his old daddy wouldn't let him come
home because that was against, he had, he
had, of course, insulted and disgraced the religion
of his father and the faith of his
father and mother.
And his old orthodox Jewish home was barred
to him.
But the old daddy got on the train
and came down to visit with his boy.
Hyman said, Ralph, he never said an unkind
word to me the four days he was
in my home.
He said, when I'd get home from school,
about three, four o'clock in the afternoon,
my daddy would be waiting for me.
And said, we'd begin the conversation pretty soon,
but daddy'd forget the conversation.
And he'd call me by my Jewish-Russian
name.
I can't pronounce it.
Hyman happened to be his firstborn son, and
that's precious to a Jewish family, born in
Russia, Jewish parents.
And he'd say, Hyman, my firstborn, mama sent
me down to bring you home.
Hyman, mama's kept your room ready for you.
She goes in and airs it, cleans it
up once a week.
Nobody's slept in your bed all these years.
Nobody's occupied your room.
Hyman, mama's grieving herself to death the way
you've done.
Hyman, give up your Jesus and come back
home.
And Hyman said, I'd have to get up
and run out and go out in the
yard.
He said that went on for four days.
My dear old daddy loved me.
He's a good man.
And he talked to him as much as
he could about other things, but he'd always,
in our conversation every day, get around to
that same conversation.
He said I came in Friday afternoon from
school, only a few minutes before I had
to take daddy to the train.
And he said my daddy's down in the
front room, he had his suitcase packed, his
overcoat and hat over on the chair.
I got his hat for him and his
coat, and he put on his hat, and
I pepped him into his coat, and I
reached down to get the suitcase, and I
had my hand on it.
And my daddy hugged me, just caught me
unawares, and hugged me in his giant embrace,
just with his arms about me in that
position holding on to his suitcase.
He said, Hyman, I'll buy the ticket you
can send for your clothes.
You haven't got time to pack now.
But Hyman, it'll kill, mama, if I come
home without you.
Hyman, give up your Jesus and come back
home.
Hyman said, Ralph, I had to do this,
disengage my daddy's arms, and I reached down
and got the suitcase and out into the
car we went.
We drove up to the depot and got
out, down where the train would pull up,
and in about a minute Eric came.
He said, I put daddy's suitcase up in
the vestibule of the car.
He kissed me goodbye, and I kissed him
goodbye.
He put his right foot up on the
step and his right hand on the rail,
and I thought I'd said goodbye, and then
he turned with speed of lightning and crushed
me in his embrace one more time.
Hyman said, Ralph, he just sobbed like his
heart would break, and he said, Hyman, give
up your Jesus and come back home.
Hyman said, Ralph, once again I had to
by means of strength and awkwardness take my
daddy's arms from around, and I held them
pinioned to his side.
While I held his arms, I looked into
his tear-stained face, and I said, Daddy,
I may be a Jew, but I am
not a dog, and Jesus loved me enough
to die for me.
I love him enough to give myself to
him.
Ladies and gentlemen, there isn't any difference between
a Jew and a Gentile now, and anything
short of responding to the love of Christ
by giving ourselves to him, I tell you,
just won't do.
He's worthy.
Thank God he's worthy of you, and he'll
settle for nothing less.
In second place, I bring a word of
exhortation.
Many people here this morning that ought to
give yourself in just humble, simple faith of
committal to Jesus Christ for your loved one's
sake.
Only God knows the heartache of a parent
for a child that continues to flaunt the
grace of God and continues to walk in
ungodliness.
Only God knows the heartbreak of a wife
who's got a husband that thumbs his nose
at the Lord Jesus Christ.
And more and more wives tell me of
husbands they can't even talk to about.
And more and more broken-hearted parents say,
how have we failed?
Where did we miss it?
In the heartbreak of God's people over a
loved one's flesh of their flesh and bone
of their bones.
Boys and girls and men and women ought
to yield to Christ, if for no other
reason than to mend the broken heart.
I went from Southwestern Seminary out to New
Mexico to be a pastor.
Sam Fletcher was the chairman of the Board
of Deacons.
And for some reason he took a shine
to me.
And he had a lot of money.
He was a big businessman.
I was just a kid.
And he went out of his way.
I never had a human being this side
of eternity could think up as many ways
to be nice to his pastor.
He seemed to just love me.
Oh, he just did everything.
And about six months after I'd been there,
after I went there, I got on the
telephone early one Monday morning.
I called his secretary and I said, I
want to speak to Sam.
She said, he's very busy.
I said, I know, but I want to
speak to him.
And she got him on the line.
He said, Preacher, I'm terribly busy.
I said, I know.
But I want an hour of your time
today.
He said, Preacher, I just can't give it
to you.
I said, yes, you can.
I want an hour of your time today.
I got something I want to ask you.
He said, could you tell me about it
on the phone?
I said, no, Sam.
I want an hour of your time today,
your pastor.
I want you to give it to me.
He said, well, let me look.
And he got it right finally.
He said, all right, can you be here
at my office?
I said, yeah, I'll be there and you'll
be ready.
And I went there.
And I sat down in his office.
He told the secretary not to disturb him.
And he said, what's on your mind, Preacher?
I said, I've come to ask you a
question.
He said, what is it, Preacher?
I said, Sam, do you know the Lord?
He said, I'm pretty sure that's the question
you're going to ask.
And then he began to weep.
He said, Preacher, I think you know.
I don't know the Lord.
I said, how'd you get in this?
He said, I don't know.
I made a profession of faith and I
was sincere.
Then he made me chairman of the board
of deacons and I got very prominent and
said, for these years there's been hell in
here.
And hell in my home, hell everywhere.
But I've been too proud to walk an
aisle and tell the church at which I
was the chairman of the board of deacons
that I was a stranger to the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Of course, Sam didn't know about his wife
that had been calling on him.
About the times wife and I had gone
to see her when she was almost at
the breaking point.
She'd say, Brother Barnes, I can't go on.
You don't know what hell goes on in
our home.
The children are afraid of their daddies.
Just one series of hell after another.
He said, I just can't stand it.
I can't.
And I'd say, let not the believing wife
depart from the unbelieving husband if you can.
Stick it out a while longer and we'll
keep building a fire under them in prayer
and preaching if we can.
And the crisis came on Sunday night after
the preaching service.
The little wife had come and said, Brother
Barnes, they reached up the breaking point and
said, come, I just can't stand it any
longer.
God must give me some relief.
And Monday morning I called him.
And in that office I believe he surrendered
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he got up off his knees.
I said, get your hat, Sam.
He said, where are we going?
I said, get your hat, Sam.
And he followed me and we got in
his car.
And he said, where are we going?
I said, we're going to your home.
And he drove to his home.
We came up on the front porch.
He opened the front door, went in the
front room.
And he cupped his, he first his lips
and said, Mary, I'm home.
I want to see you.
And Mary was surprised, wife busy about the
household duties.
Came and said, what you doing here now,
Sam?
He said, I brought the preacher.
And I said, Sam, talk to your wife.
And Sam told his wife what had taken
place.
And he said, honey, I hope you'll give
me another chance.
Under God, I'm a new man.
I'm a new man.
I'll never forget that little woman.
She looked at my face with the agony
of years of going through heartbreaking hell because
of an unbelieving, Christ-denying husband.
She looked at my face and she said,
preacher, can I believe it?
And I said, I believe you can.
I believe you can.
And then the pent-up agony of the
years bore forth, and in a heartbreaking stop,
she said, oh, thank God.
And they were in each other's arms.
And when they'd embraced and rejoiced a little
together, I said, Sam, call your kids.
And he had a 13-year-old boy
and a nine.
And when they got in, I said, Sam,
talk to your boys.
And he talked to them.
And when he got through, the 13-year
-old boy looked into my face, and again
he said, preacher, is it true?
And I said, yes, I think it is,
son.
And he ran to embrace his daddy.
And while they were embracing, I heard somebody
sobbing and talking.
And I looked him down on his knees
in the corner was the little nine-year
-old boy.
And over and over again he said, thank
you, Lord.
Thank you, Lord.
Little won't be scared when daddy comes home
again.
Thank you, Lord.
Oh, my soul, nobody knows how many kids
can't make good grades in the school because
they're living in hell at home.
Nobody knows the hard age that families have
that are divided over the Lord Jesus Christ.
I tell you, for loved ones' sake, you
ought to give yourself lock, stock, and barrel.
He came down here to get you.
Turn yourself over to him.
And in him you will find salvation.
I bring another word of exhortation.
You ought to give yourself, well, not something
of your mind, but just give yourself.
I don't want an act of your will,
an act of your affections, an act of
your mind.
I just want an act of you, the
whole kit and capoodle of you, Lord.
Here I am.
With all there is to me, I say
an eternal yes by the presentation of myself
to your eternal gift of yourself.
You ought to do that for your own
sake, for your own sake.
Times are wasting.
You're running a battle between the ravages and
the power and the cords of sin and
the certainty of death.
Times are wasting.
On Easter Sunday, years ago, in Okmulgee, Oklahoma,
the meeting was to come to close that
night.
They had a lower floor and two balconies.
And we'd had a great meeting.
And being Easter Sunday and the last day
of the meeting, the thing was packed out,
balconies and all.
And I stood up to preach.
I fooled around a little bit trying to
get something to say while I looked.
And finally I found my man.
He's an old man, 74 years old.
And the pastor and I had been dealing
with him all during the meeting.
He heard me preach that time, Isaiah.
And we'd go to see him at his
home.
We'd get out on our knees and pray
with him, pray for him.
He'd get up off his knees in his
home, and I'd ask him to surrender to
Christ.
And he'd say, I can't.
I can't.
The last Sunday morning of the meeting, he'd
come.
He'd got that lady wanting to get as
far away from me as he could.
And I finally spied him up in the
second balcony, in the extreme corner, on the
last row of seats, just as far away
from me as he could get.
And there he sat during the process of
the service.
We stood for an invitation, and I couldn't
help it.
I left the pastor with the invitation.
People were coming.
I walked down the middle aisle, the entire
length of the auditorium, down over the steps,
walked up the steps to the first balcony,
then the steps to the second balcony, made
my way to that last row, asked the
people to excuse me.
And I waited in there and put my
hand on the shoulder of that old 74
-year-old man.
And I asked him one more time if
he would surrender to my Lord.
And he looked me in the face.
There were tears there in his eyes.
And he trembled in his old age and
in his conviction.
And he said, Preacher, I can't.
I can't.
Of course, you're saying I can't simply means
I won't.
But that's what he said.
You can't give yourself faith.
But all hell couldn't stop you from saying,
Yeah, I am Lord.
What you want from me, I don't know.
But I'm on your hands from now on.
I don't guarantee God will save you.
He don't have to save you.
Whether he ever saves you or not, he's
your Lord.
You could respond to that, couldn't you?
Sure you could.
The Gospel of Grace says that he saves
people who do that.
But that's aside the point.
And the old man, for the last time,
has proved, as he has invited, to yield
to God's Son.
Through his tears, he said, Preacher, I can't.
If you want to take that and go
to hell with it, nobody will keep you
from it.
He did.
That afternoon at three o'clock he was
dead.
And out yonder, in the hands of a
God whose testimony he had refused to pass
upon for seventy-four long years.
For seventy-four years there had been a
controversy between that man and Almighty God.
And God kept saying, This is my Son.
This is the Son of my love, in
whom I'm well pleased here.
He, Him.
This is the one whom I set upon
my holy hill.
This is the Lord of glory.
This is the Son of my love.
And receiving him means to submit to him.
And the old man lived seventy-four years
on God's earth.
And the last response he ever gave to
an invitation to agree with God about Jesus
Christ, he said, I can't.
And he died.
He was stricken that afternoon.
He didn't attend the service that night.
He attended a session in the hands of
Almighty God, who invites and commands helpless sinners
to respond to him on his testimony.
Think or swim.
Live or die.
Survive or perish.
I will arise and go to Jesus.
And the grace of it is, he will
embrace me in his arms.
He wants you, dear one.
He came for you.
Will you give yourself to him?
Will you?
We're going to give you a chance to
do it publicly.
Do it right now.
And then I'd want you to do it
again tomorrow.
And then again the next day.
He gave himself for you.
He wants you.
For your sake.
Crown him now and be saved.
Crown him later and be damned.
But the crowns on his head when he
comes back, before he comes back and starts
judgment, will be crowns willingly placed on his
head.
Will you crown him?
Will you?
Let's stand and sing.
Number 108.
Men and women, boys and girls, to respond
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
This church receives people who come asking for
baptism as a public confession of their having
received it, committed themselves to it, given themselves
to it.
That's faith.
And this church receives people from sister churches
by statement or letter.
I don't know how many of you know
the Lord Jesus Christ.
But right there where you stand, make love
to him, commit yourself to him again.
Ah, that's wonderful.
Do it all over again, Lord.
It's so wonderful.
And somebody ought to yield to him this
morning.
And I think enough's been said.
I want you to do it publicly.
And I want you to do it right
now.
By coming down here and say, Brother Mahan,
I want you to get this church to
baptize me as my public confession to this
hostile world.
That this one on whose head they've plated
a crown of thorns to make mockery of
him, I want to crown him with myself.
I've got nothing to give him but myself,
but here I am.
Come on, let's sing.