Well, thank you so much.
I'd like to say how very thankful I
am for the very real privilege that has
been mine each morning in this way to
share with you the good things of our
Lord Jesus.
And as this is the concluding session of
this particular series each morning, I'd just like
to Thank you Thank you for the privilege
of talking to you For the courteous way
in which you've listened And trust that beyond
your wildest dreams.
You'll continue to prove the adequacy of the
one Who is God in the man is
never ever?
less than big enough because That's the truth
That is the truth I can do all
things That would sound like the boast of
a braggart if it went for the fact
that the apostle then went on to say
Through Christ Who is my strength?
In other words, all I got to do
is let him demonstrate how big God is
And prepared to be in a man who
knows he's that small that apart from who
he is He is nothing has nothing and
can do nothing But because of who he
is living where he does all that he
is i've got I can't have more And
never in never need to enjoy less.
That's the sublime simplicity of the gospel The
christian life is a miracle Because a christian
is somebody who cannot possibly happen Apart from
Jesus Christ God looked into the heart of
a small young teenager boy With a bunch
of sheep on a hillside and God said
I've got a king I've got a king
Because you see as he looked into the
heart of that boy He knew that there
was a boy who knew that God was
bigger than bears bigger than lions bigger than
giants And was prepared by disposition of heart
called the perfect heart To let God prove
it And he did I got a king
For the eyes of the lord run to
and fro throughout the whole earth looking for
any boy girl man or woman anywhere Whose
heart being perfect toward him is prepared to
allow God to show himself strong On his
or her behalf So In other words david
had learned a principle to live by A
principle that was shared by His great great
great grandson Who learned from the first ways
of his father asa And from his father
david a principle to live by And in
the 116th psalm to which we'll turn this
morning david bears his testimony If I may
just mention to the folks back there on
my left in the corner Those folks coming
in who don't know where to sit tell
them to come straight down here There's some
very very comfortable seats here in the corner
just as hard as the ones you're sitting
on so Don't let them wander embarrassed at
the back.
Just push them forward.
There are some more here, too In this
116th psalm david bears his testimony, this is
what he says he says I love the
lord Because he hath heard my voice and
my supplications Because he hath inclined his ear
unto me therefore while I call upon him
Invoke his divine activity reckon with who he
is and let him loose as long as
I live.
I've learned a principle to live by I've
discovered that god cares enough to listen and
i've discovered that he's big enough to do
something about it It's a principle to live
by It's the principle that he learned as
a kid on the hillside when he knew
that god was bigger than bears and bigger
than lands and bigger than giants But then
surprisingly enough then in his testimony he goes
on to say in verse three the sorrows
Of death compassed me and the pains of
hell got hold upon me.
I found trouble and sorrow That's the cry
of a man in distress At the end
of his rope on his back What he's
saying is that I was afraid to die
and I wasn't even fit to live Because
you see david too Was numbered amongst those
of whom we read in god's word who
forgot To remember How kind god is To
remind us of these things That our noblest
and our very best Even though numbered amongst
god's friends and those whom he could choose
We're but an earthen vessel A vessel That
which simply contains the treasure That always and
at all times the excellency of the power
may be of god A god who knows
the worst about us and incredibly loves us
Just the same And there's only one who
loves like that And jesus is his name
He forgot to remember And there came a
day when committing murder by proxy Sending a
man to the forefront of the battle knowing
that he would die so that he could
steal his wife david david Forgot to remember
And as we sit here this morning you
can allow the holy spirit who searches the
hearts To remind us of those occasions when
we have forgotten to remember The sorrows of
death compass me the pains of hell get
hold upon me.
I found trouble and sorrow But then in
my extremity Then called I upon the name
of the lord.
Oh lord.
I beseech thee deliver my soul gracious is
the lord And righteous.
Yeah our god Our god is merciful The
lord preserveth the simple when I got back
to the basic simplicity of my relationship to
god He had mercy He preserves the simple
I was simple enough to realize that I
was nothing that god is everything That i'm
only at home base when i'm prepared to
be who he prepared to let him be
who he is the creator and I just
the imperfect creature I was brought low.
He says in verse six.
I was on my back And he helped
me Of course his confession as all of
us know is found recorded for us in
the 51st psalm against thee The only have
I sinned and done this evil in my
sight Renew renew a right spirit restore to
me that true disposition that lets you be
who you are Regnant within every area of
my being resident and president within my soul
In the totality of my humanity.
I want you to be god again restore
a right spirit within me Give me a
clean heart what I don't have And then
again Sinners will be converted because A broken
heart and a contrite spirit you will not
despise And david together with jehoshaphat was one
of those Who unlike asa forgot to remember?
but not too proud To be reminded So,
where did david rediscover the principle he had
known as a teenage kid on the hillside
In the moment of despair the sad thing
is this that You and I normally either
have to discover the principle that we never
knew or be reminded of a principle that
once we knew But then forgot When we're
on our bags When we're reminded of our
own inherent bankruptcy We are nothing have nothing
and can do nothing all that the lord
jesus was prepared though the creative deity The
god who threw the universes into space when
he came to assume your humanity and mine
Humbled himself emptied himself made himself all that
he knew man to be apart from god
nothing incredible And born a human being So
that for every moment of his days He
refused to allow there to be any possible
explanation for anything that he did or said
or was but the father as god In
his incarnate son as man without my father
I am nothing I can do nothing I
have nothing Even the words that I speak
unto I speak not of myself They don't
have their origin in me my father who
dwells in me.
He does the work We've reminded ourselves of
this his disposition Not a one who needed
to repent but that disposition that cannot but
be evident in those who've learned to repent
but My doctrine isn't mine He that believeth
on me said the lord jesus Doesn't believe
on me Extraordinary thing for the lord jesus
to say john Chapter 12 and verse 44
jesus cried and said he that believes on
me believeth Not on me, but on him
that sent me all i'm doing in the
discharge of my office as man is to
allow my father to make Articulate upon my
lips those things he wants to say so
when you listen to me speak you hear
what god says incredible That's why he went
on to say he that has seen me
has seen him that sent me Because my
office in the sinlessness of my humanity is
to be it's my father's office as god
to act That's why you see He saying
to us as my father sent me I
send you the spirituality of what you're doing
is never ever Ever to be determined by
the nature of the act only by its
origin He never to be the object of
your activity because then you become the origin
of that activity of which he is the
object at all times the lord jesus and
Exclusively must be the object not of our
activity doing your best for jesus.
He's got to be the object of our
faith That invokes his activity And then he
being the object of our faith becomes the
origin of activity and the world doesn't see
what we're doing for him The world sees
at last what he can do through us
And that's the christian life.
That's why it's a miracle But it's so
difficult to learn And we're so slow to
be reminded But what a wonderful thing it
is when it happens what release?
Of his divine energy what emancipation?
Said he if only you'll abide in my
word, you'll discover at last the truth.
That's the divine principle It recognized it represents
the divine logic and that truth the divine
logic will set you free that I am
through my indwelling holy spirit is indispensable to
you in your humanity as my father was
then by The holy spirit indispensable to my
humanity that truth will set you free Because
you'll then learn to look to me one
step at a time as I So gladly
looked to my father one step at a
time I suppose it must be 15 20
years ago And a pastor went into despair
in his backyard he sat under a tree
with his head in his hands and sobbed
like a child He was broken he was
not an sincere sincere man he was he
was a good man He loved jesus christ
he believed the bible he sought to minister
to his people week by week But he
felt inside bankrupt burned out despairing discouraged fit
to quit and did And then he stumbled
With tear-filled eyes back into the home
and on a table In the sitting room.
He saw a little paperback It was one
of the many books that people in their
goodness had offered him so that he might
be Encouraged in his ministry for they recognized
that he was discouraged, but he hadn't read
it.
He was sick and tired of reading books
But for some strange reason on this particular
occasion he picked it up and began to
read it it was a very excellent book
I wrote it It was Called the saving
life of christ mind you it isn't very
smart because It took me 12 chapters to
explain what god explains in one verse.
It can't be all that smart Romans 15
10 if when we were enemies we were
reconciled to god by the death of his
son There's the redemptive act that peter had
to discover But that verse goes on to
say if when we were enemies We were
reconciled to god by the death of his
son much more a million times Much more
than knowing that your sins have been given
that your destination has been changed that you're
going to heaven instead of hell Much much
more than that being reconciled.
We shall be saved by his life That
salvation comprehends not only the precious blood of
the lamb without blemish verily foreordained before ever
the world was But that we are born
again by his resurrection from the dead because
the life the only Man that then had
that life on earth for which man was
made since adam fell that life god's life
that he laid down Restored to him now
by him Is restored to us?
For the christian life is the life that
he lived then in his own body lived
now by him in yours and mine That's
why we can say to me to live
is christ.
I'm a christian For christianity is christ inuity
every moment of every day He made the
great discovery That though he had thanked the
lord jesus for his death for him and
with no little zeal and no little skill
and no little Sincerity he was doing his
best for him He had never come to
understand That the one who died for him
was the one who rose again to live
in him And he discovered the truth that
sets men free and it was Not he
then that went into the pulpit the following
sunday It was jesus christ at last clothed
with the redeemed humanity of a forgiven sinner
who had discovered the substance of his faith
christ Himself not his gifts not his blessings
not his ministry himself Because that's what it
takes to be a christian Now I didn't
know anything about this it was several years
later that I got on a plane from
new york via atlanta Heading for somewhere else
And there was a couple Who got on
that plane?
in atlanta and sat alongside And we got
into conversation and I discovered to my delight
that they too were christians And we had
a time of rich fellowship together ross and
of ella arnott And I discovered they lived
at morristown said that In september I was
going to be in knoxville for a conference
there and they were very delighted because it's
only 30 miles away They said we'll be
there and they were on the sunday morning
But you know in morristown there lived that
man who had gone out to his yard
and wept under the tree in despair And
they knew him And when he from their
lips heard that I was going to be
in knoxville with some delight.
He said i'll Come too Well, he wasn't
there on the sunday But you know just
towards the end of the message on wednesday
evening I could see through a sort of
glass screen at the back of the church
the silhouette of a couple of policemen And
one of them came in and had A
conversation with one of the officers of the
church Oh, he was trying to persuade him
that there was a real emergency and that
he should come forward and interrupt What was
going on and and make the announcement?
He was trying to persuade him that I
was nearly at the end of my message,
which was a very optimistic view of the
situation But finally anyway The policeman prevailed and
this man came forward had a little conversation
with the pastor And I could see all
this going on.
It was a little distracting.
So finally I said maybe somebody ought to
make an announcement and with some relief the
pastor got up and said is there a
Bob snyder here that was the name of
that pastor He said there's a message would
you please go to the back and he
went And when he went to the back
The policeman said there's been an accident Called
the hospital, it's your teenage boy And when
he did he learned that on his motorcycle
he had been involved in a wreck and
his back was broken His spinal cord was
severed And he'd never walk again And
I was told later that that face of
that man just lit up And his first
reaction Lord jesus Thank you You're big enough
Even for this He was They hadn't told
the boy they left it to be the
unhappy Responsibility of his dad to tell him
when he went to see him in the
hospital.
I didn't speak to him that night I
didn't know what had happened.
He was lying paralyzed totally from the neck
down And dan with somewhat of a smile
on his face said dad i'm going to
sell that motorbike Which was a pretty good
idea i'd say Not that there was much
left I understand to sell but he said
with what I get i'm going to get
one of those little motorbikes just for track
stuff You know in the hills And his
dad said dan You won't need that motorcycle
or any other You see son your back
is broken your spine is severed You'll never
walk again He said you're kidding No, son,
he said i'm not that's true.
I'm, sorry, but it's true The kid thought
for a bit And then his face lit
up he said dad If that's what the
lord jesus wants for my life That's okay
That's okay Dan has never walked again He's
in a wheelchair, but i'll tell you something
It's okay, it's okay I'm glad that a
man wept beneath a tree in his backyard
So that out of despair from a little
paperback he could discover that there is no
situation in life that can ever arise at
any time For which jesus christ can be
less than big enough And that it could
so demonstrate the truth of it In a
man's life that his son Would discover the
same principle from his dad That truth could
rub off in the reality of christ divine
indwelling clove with the humanity of a man
out of despair discovered The substance of his
faith now, that's what's so exciting about preaching
christ not christianity Not the needs of the
world just christ if there's anybody who's fully
aware and conscious of the needs of this
world It's our lord Jesus give him the
right to be god who came into this
world to seek and save that which is
That which is lost let our humanity be
available to him to let all god loosen
What do you think he will do in
our humanity made available to him who came
to seek and save that which is lost?
He'll be on the job.
You don't have to twist his arm He's
just on tiptoe to show himself strong on
the behalf of any boy.
Go man a woman anywhere He'll let him
show himself strong his strength make perfect In
our weakness I got a call a phone
call from sebastopol in northern california on one
occasion It was from the pastor of a
church wondered whether i'd have lunch with him
and one of his church members I was
in los altos at the time and he
came down and we lunched together and it
was an invitation to visit his church And
he introduced me to the man who came
with him he said it's this man that's
persuaded me to come and invite you His
name was fred gentler at that time united
airlines as the other airlines needed navigators and
he was one of them They don't need
them now Because you see the pilots don't
fly the planes electronic devices do but the
pilots still get paid Anyway You
see it was by the persuasion of this
particular gentleman that I was invited to that
church and About two and a half years
later.
I was there and I had a young
fellow traveling with me as I do have
now Hope some of you have met him
rick schoen.
He's the son of our director in sweden
And this boy I had the job leading
to christ when he's a kid at 12
also in florida he was in st.
Petersburg and My watch didn't work and so
I asked him if I could borrow his
and he said yes on one condition.
You don't wear it Because there's a link
in the chain that's weak and you get
excited when you speak and you begin to
wave your arms around And I know what's
going to happen to my watch So I
promised faithfully that I wouldn't wear it, but
I have to admit on the monday morning.
I forgot to remember And I wore it
and sure enough I got excited my arms
began to spin and up went the watch
bounced off the ceiling Landed on the floor
And now neither of us had a watch
That went The next morning fred gentner the
one-time navigator pilot of the united airlines
who's a very dear friend of mine saw
him again last fall Though he's now retired,
but fantastically in business And primarily amongst young
people sharing the good news that he had
to discover at infinite cost For he came
The following morning to me with this watch
the one i'm wearing right now.
He said my wife asked me whether you'd
receive it as our gift Well, I said
as a matter of fact, it meets a
very very real need at this particular moment
of time And i'm so glad that I
accepted the offer And received it It's a
good watch That afternoon he took me down
to san francisco where I had to british
To visit british airways to get a ticket
that needed some amendment and on the way
he told me the story of this watch
He said you see I only got converted
fairly late in life And I had a
singularly unhappy marriage until finally my wife died
in a mental institution And we were childless
But I married again, I married a widow
she had three sons And her marriage too
had been singularly unhappy For her husband was
a brutal man He was always involved in
fights and brawls and hostile He died And
we married and I had three stepsons He
said the younger of those boys was a
very sweet sort of gentle-hearted boy very
Tender and a little nervous Self-conscious, but
he was drafted into the united states services
and sent to germany and because of his
tenderness and sensitivity, he had a very rough
time his Commander gave him a very bad
time until finally he became totally depressed and
easy prey for those miserable wicked Individuals who
push drugs got him first hooked on marijuana
and then on the hard stuff until he
shot his brain He was discharged from the
united states services on medical grounds could hardly
find his way home And one night His
mother disarmed him took the gun out of
his hand But during the night he left
the home broke into his older brother's home
took a gun from his gun case And
they found his body the next day in
the woods he killed himself He said my
older son stepson he inherited the violent traits
of his dad He too would be involved
constantly in fights and brawls But during his
university career studying to become an architect He
got over that disability and finally one day
sitting in a restaurant discussing with the owner
certain things that needed to be done A
long-haired greasy hippie type came in and
was extremely vulgar to a girl and my
older boy rebuked him And this creature went
out got a gun waited for him and
shot him dead on the restaurant steps Within
a few months I lost two boys Happy
to tell you that my middle boy is
a fine christian at that time.
He was in bible school But he said
it was then that I had to go
on assignment to okinawa in japan And the
bottom had fallen out of life But I
bumped into an american service man, he was
a christian and I for no one better
to Tell the story I unloaded my knee
in my despair And that young man said
Why don't you go to the missionary bookshop
and find a little paperback it's called The
saving life of christ Well, he did you
know and there was just one copy and
I believe if I remember rightly it was
secondhand He took it to the hotel and
read it all night and made a great
discovery That the lord jesus whom several years
before he had received late in life as
his redeemer Was not only the one who
had changed his destination and get him out
of hell and into heaven But the one
who being risen from the dead came by
the holy spirit to indwell his humanity And
be in him at all times one who's
never ever less than beginner And he found
that release Of which jesus said when you
abide in my word, you'll know the truth
and the truth will set you free But
he said, you know, though I came back
and I Went and shared all this with
the pastor and gave him one of those
books poor man, and he had to read
it And that's why you're here now my
wife Never recovered four years The room where
my son Slept is today exactly as it
was four years ago.
Nothing's been touched I gave him this watch
when he was a kid And it's been
in my wife's handbag for four years the
symbol of her despair But last night when
she came back from the meeting She took
it out of her handbag and said would
you give that to major thomas and he
won't take it throw it in the river
and I realized That the clouds had begun
to open and the sun had begun to
shine She too had discovered that jesus is
alive the message of the early church This
jesus whom they crucify god raised from the
dead And of this we're witnesses not we
only but by the one Through whom we
share his life on earth the holy spirit.
He too bears witness that jesus is alive
He came to raise the dead That's why
i'm so glad I took this watch And
i've worn it much ever since to remind
me of a boy with a broken heart
Who killed himself And I wish only I'd
had maybe the opportunity long before it happened
to introduce him to somebody Who would have
been big enough even for those circumstances that
then seemed so heavy that they could not
but crush him What a wonderful gospel what
good news god has entrusted to you and
to me But it's sad isn't it that
whether it to receive him as redeemer Or
to enter into the good of his resurrection
we so often have to be on our
back Scraping at the barrel at the end
of our rope I was brought low and
he helped me return return now.
He said with some joy in his heart
return unto thy rest Oh my soul The
psalmist has discovered that rest is the natural
habitat of the soul.
That's united Under the sovereignty of a living
god mind emotion and restored to harmony recognizing
his headship The lord hath dealt bountifully with
me.
This is how he puts it Thou has
delivered my soul from death mine eyes from
tears and my feet from falling I'll walk
now i'm gonna walk Before the lord In
the land Of the living isn't that a
lovely expression?
He said i'm going to be numbered now
amongst those who have been raised from the
dead I've discovered a principle to live by
i'm going to walk before the lord ever
conscious cognizant that he's there Caring enough To
listen and always big enough to do something
about it.
I'm going to walk before the lord Do
you remember that verse that I quoted the
other evening from the amplified new testament in
the?
Third chapter of paul's epistle to the philippians.
This is what he meant Only that I
might know him this my determined purpose that
I may progressively one step at a time
walking Become more deeply and intimately acquainted with
him perceiving recognizing understanding the wonders of his
person more strongly and more clearly That I
may in that same way come to know
the power outflowing from his resurrection that which
it exerts over believers That if possible, I
may attain to the spiritual and moral resurrection
that lifts me out from among the dead
even while still in the body I'm going
to be numbered amongst those who by the
indwelling presence of christ have been lifted out
of that state of death in which I
In common with all mankind since adam fell
were born For he came to give us
life Walking before the lord in the land
of the living Lifted out from among the
dead even while still in the body I
know how to be abased and live humbly
in straightened circumstances I know also how to
enjoy plenty and live in abundance to me
now.
It's a matter of total irrelevance I've learned
in any and all circumstances the secret of
facing every situation whether well-fed or going
hungry Having a sufficiency and despair or going
without being ruined.
So what?
If only I'm in the place where god
put me strength for all things in christ
who empowers me I'm ready for anything equal
to anything through him who infuses inner strength
into me.
He is my life.
That is i'm self-sufficient In christ's sufficiency
Because in him dwells all the fullness of
the godhead bodily And i'm complete in him
in whom are hidden all the Treasures of
wisdom and of knowledge in whom i've been
blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly things
The one in whom I can reign in
life by one christ Jesus not just get
by but be more than conqueror through him
that loved me I'll walk before the lord
in the land of the living.
Is that where you're walking today?
walking before the lord not in self-opinion
Not in bravado, but in a consciousness of
your need having graduated out of despair recognizing
your bankruptcy That you were so engineered by
god that the presence of the creator within
the creature is at all times indispensable To
his humanity that man in normality is to
be distinguished from the animal kingdom by a
quality of life That cannot possibly be explained
apart from god in the man because the
christian life is a miracle It's not sensational
or spectacular, but it must be miraculous In
the nitty-gritty the little things that nobody
else notices those things that god looked at
in the heart of a teenage girl and
said to gabriel She has found favor Those
things that god looked at in the heart
of a little boy when there was nobody
around Save a lion and a bear and
they didn't live to tell the story But
god's eyes god's eyes were watching watching watching
He wasn't looking for anything spectacular in the
presence of the crowd who could applaud and
glorify the man Only jesus looking unto him
I'll walk before the lord in the land
of the living I believe therefore have I
spoken because out of my experience of his
adequacy i've got something to say What he
says verse 12 shall I render unto the
lord for all his benefits toward me?
What can I give to god that would
requite his kindness and his mercy?
How can I reward him?
And the service finds himself in a great
dilemma because he discovers that god is too
rich And he's too poor What can I
give?
And he comes to the conclusion that he
has nothing to give That isn't already by
right God's So says he In order to
requite his mercy that he might know my
gratitude Verse 13 I will take the cup
of salvation And invoke his divine activity knowing
that only that which has its origin in
him can ever be eternally legitimate i'll take
I'll take the cup of salvation and drink
deep I'll recognize all that god had in
mind in sending his son not to get
me out of hell and into heaven But
to get him back out of heaven into
me And all I can do now is
take Take and say thank you for said
he verse 17.
I'll offer to give the sacrifice of thanksgiving
And i'll call upon the name of the
lord You understand what that means in every
step he takes no matter what the situation
he calls upon the name of the lord
He invokes his divine activity.
He bows himself out and bows god in
marvelous Walking before the lord in the land
of the living take and say Thank you
Rejoice evermore pray without ceasing in everything give
thanks not for everything For there are many
things in life for which we could not
possibly thank him but in the midst no
matter how threatening how dark how dangerous In
everything give thanks because he's never big enough
never less than big enough And if he's
never left them big enough and you're prepared
to let him loose in the world in
which you live You're left with no option
but to do what god's word says the
19th verse fifth chapter last of the first
epistle to the thessalonians Don't quench the spirit
Don't quench the spirit in everything give thanks.
This is the will of god in christ
jesus concerning you Don't believe that you can
because you can't but know that He can
and he will if you let him if
you let him marvelous You know, it's my
privilege some years ago to be in aden
In the south arabian peninsula the invitation of
the sudan interior mission People whom i've learned
much to love in many parts of the
world I was there just for three days
for a mission which was not only the
sudan interior mission.
It was sort of intermission sparked by sim
We had to meet in the barracks because
of the terrorist activity we had barbed wire
all around us And some netting so that
nobody put a hand grenade in the offering
It was quite exciting I was staying with
a very delightful man called bud acord whom
some of you might know He's now the
representative of the western states lives near colorado
rather near uh denver colorado springs and He
hadn't a clue what I was talking about
not a clue When I was talking about
the life of christ the sole source of
anything legitimate that anything that we may do
no matter how skilled no matter how Devotedly
Devotedly With the best will in the world
can be of any ultimate intrinsic value If
it doesn't have its origin in jesus christ,
he'd been sweating it out for god for
so long That to comprehend the rest that
is theirs whose hearts have been united in
that recognition of his soul and exclusive lordship
Of our lives it just was so hard
to penetrate but you know on the last
Afternoon we had some prayer together with one
or two others in the team before the
evening meeting And I just turned to this
116th psalm take And say thank you I
didn't know because you seldom do That then
the holy spirit had taken the truth in
general and applied it to his heart and
made it the truth in particular That's his
business.
You and I can't do that That's why
you can't legislate righteousness and you can't twist
people's arms to make decisions for jesus if
you do You won't accomplish anything save the
wood the hay and the stubble of a
wasted life that will go out in flames
and leave you Standing in a heap of
ashes You can't do god's work for him
Well, I didn't know what happened in his
heart Until About nine months later.
He called me from los angeles.
He was so excited the wires nearly fused
well, I said come up to San bernardino
mountains forest home.
I was having a conference there with our
torchbearer friends and I said I can I
can Recognize at once that you're just bursting
to preach.
So you better come and do a little
preaching Come and tell us what happened.
So he did He says, you know when
you'd gone with my colleague we got down
on our knees and said god We've been
here for 14 years we've been two Times
back home on furlough and every time we've
come back any possible Fruit that we might
have recognized as such had withered and disappeared.
There was nothing left We've been here in
this blistering heat We've only known 14 people
who've shown any real interest And they've all
gone And we're sick and tired of the
whole rat race And yet out of sheer
dogged determination and loyalty to yourself We've stuck
it out and we both want to quit
but there's been a man here tells us
that if we'll quit and get out You'll
get in and do the job Okay You're
in business And said he if nothing happens
when you're in business We'll all quit Wasn't
that great?
You know god loves a man to talk
to him like that He said, you know
three days later There was a knock on
the door and there was an arab.
He said how do I become a christian?
Well, of course I didn't get the message
I said, sorry, I can't give you money
I could give you a little food and
I don't know how to obtain any kind
of housing for you or your family And
if it's a question of education in the
united states or england and the man's face
was blank He said I didn't say anything
about any of that.
I said, how do I become a christian?
And finally penetrated his thick skull that there
was a man there wanted to get saved
And he led him to christ And almost
every day For a couple of weeks people
were knocking on the door lining up to
get saved You won't believe this but you
can go and meet him.
He lives near colorado springs I'll give you
his address and i'll give you his phone
number and he'll be as excited today as
he was then because he is Anyway 14
days later they got down their knees again
and said god This isn't even funny Yeah
We've been sweating it out for 14 years
and in 14 days more people have knocked
on our doors without being invited Than ever
we thought in 14 years had responded to
our preaching Now said they to him if
this is you doing something send a woman
because we've never seen a woman respond a
couple of days later There was a woman
And he said the windows open and poured
us out such blessing that we could hardly
contain him And then when the british government
told us to all get out You might
have imagined that our hearts would have been
broken because this was what we had been
longing and praying for But he said we
couldn't care less Because we knew that it
was nothing whatever to do with us And
that if he could use us in that
way then he could use anybody else even
of those who had come to christ Without
a missionary And so we gladly left and
he had a whale of a time in
the lebanon Then he went to the west
coast of africa and he teaches Constantly in
our bible schools as excited today as he
was then about the fact that this jesus
whom they crucified God raised from the dead.
There's nothing we can offer to him save
a heart that takes And says thank you
and become expendable So Then you can say
I'm a christian Now let's pray Teach
us loving savior the sublime Simplicity of the
gospel Knowing that so easily satan is he
once in all his subtleties seduced and deceived
Eve We too may have our minds corrupted
from the simplicity which is in christ We
want you this morning lord jesus to know
That we recognize you to be the source
in us of anything that is legitimate That
we want to be involved in nothing that
does not have its origin In your sovereignty
exercised as king back in your kingdom That
only what you do in and through us
is of any validity And we're available We
have no preconceived notions as to what you're
going to do How you're going to do
it or where you're going to do it.
We recognize that is not within our jurisdiction
We are members of your body Of which
you alone and exclusively are the head We
realize that That involves for us no decisions
to make save to be obedient Only Instructions
to obey And you've promised to give them
and we don't even have to ask how
Because that being your promise that too is
your problem Thank you For a future that's
as big as god Every horizon beckons us
heavy with blessing golden with prospect And we're
glad As some may be in these days
will to graduate Out of despair The bitterness
Of self-discovery And To know our own
bankruptcy and trade Our poverty for your wealth
our weakness for your strength our defeat For
your victory We'll step out With a new
light in our eyes to take The only
way we can say thank you And let
you be god in action In your own
Peerless name Jesus our lord Amen You've
been listening to a sermon by major ian
thomas if you've been blessed by this sermon
You can find more sermons by him and
additional resources on this subject at path to
prayer dot com Again, if you've been blessed
by this sermon, you can find more sermons
by major ian thomas At path to prayer
.com as well as other resources