Now the subject that's been given to me
is this, is God really there and what
is he like?
And trust that this might be a help
especially to those who are seeking the Lord.
For tonight we're going to read from the
second of Corinthians chapter 5 and we are
commence reading at verse 11.
Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we
persuade men, because we are made manifest unto
God and I trust also are made manifest
in your consciences.
For we commend not ourselves again unto you
but give you occasion to glory on our
behalf.
That ye may have somewhat to answer them
which glory in appearance and not in heart.
For whether we be beside ourselves it is
to God, or whether we be sober it
is for your cause, for the love of
Christ constraineth us.
Because we thus judge that if one died
for all, then were all dead.
And that he died for all that they
which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,
but unto him which died for them and
rose again.
Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the
flesh, yea though we have known Christ after
the flesh yet now henceforth know we him
no more.
Therefore if any man be in Christ he
is a new creature or a new creation.
All things are passed away behold all things
are become new.
And all things are of God who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and
hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
To wit that God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses
that means counting up their sins and hath
committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ as
though God did beseech you by us we
pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to
God for he hath made him to be
sin for us whom knew no sin that
we might be made the righteousness of God
in heaven.
Now the Lord will bless to us the
reading of the Bible.
Could you imagine just for one moment that
we were all stranded on the desert island
and we really do believe we are the
only people on the island and then one
morning we wake up and we see fresh
footprints in the sand we examine the footprints
very carefully and we discover it's a male
because of the size of the footprint but
we do not know what kind of person
this person might be is he a friend
or is he a foe.
We see the footprints it tells us that
there's a man around but we don't know
what kind of person he is.
Eventually we follow the footprints and then we
come to a beautiful garden and we all
say together the man's a gardener but we
haven't seen him yet.
Then we get a little nosy and we
go up the garden path and we look
through the window and we say the man's
an artist look at some of those beautiful
paintings but we haven't seen him yet but
the works that is left in the house
indicate that he's an artist.
Then one of us might be a bricklayer
and say he can certainly lay these stones
beautifully lay obviously no cement but the balance
is almost perfect and then there's a carpenter
with us and he says the woodwork is
almost par excellence perfect and then we go
around the back of the house and we
see more.
We haven't yet met the man but what
he makes indicates what kind of person he
is.
Now we must ask a question can we
see in creation the footprints of a creator
I think we can.
The bible says the heavens declare the glory
of God and the firmament showeth forth his
handiwork what does that mean?
When we look at the milky way we
discover and that's the kind of sphere in
which our planet is there are roughly a
hundred thousand suns many of those suns bigger
than our solar star and when we realize
that there are galaxies and galaxies of stars
in fact there are so many that we
haven't yet found a telescope that can find
the edge of space and when we see
those great worlds all in their own orbit
all moving by precision then our minds begin
to say there must be an order behind
all this and where there is an order
there must be a creator.
Then we begin to examine the earth and
we begin to examine ourselves.
We look at the mystery of our own
personality and it's so deep we don't even
understand ourselves.
We look at man and we can see
that in man there's a faculty that the
bible calls the pneuma the spirit and it's
a faculty that must worship and then we
hear within us an inarticulate groan and it's
the muttering of conscience and as we examine
our own complex being especially our soul our
entity what do we say?
The footprints of a creator in our own
bodies and in our own souls but more.
We begin to understand that in creation there
are those vast things that are immeasurable almost
and there are those small things that the
naked eye never sees.
Millions upon millions of them some discovered some
never discovered and then we begin to chuckle
and say could all these things come from
the amoeba?
Could they all come from protoplasm?
Surely behind all this mysterious world of the
infinite there must be the footprints of God
and so we say God.
But now comes the next question what is
God like?
What is he like?
Now when we look at the western world
we find praise God that atheism has had
a shock.
75 percent of the western world and almost
65 percent of the whole world believes in
a intelligent spirit that's behind creation.
So atheism is beginning to go out of
the window but the big problem now is
this what is God like?
Now there are some people who are intellectual
and therefore they have a philosophical idea of
God but he is the God no bigger
than their minds.
A God that they have invented.
Then there are other people and they're very
nice people and they are very emotional and
therefore they have an emotional God therefore it's
a God that they have invented through the
medium of their emotions.
And then there are more primitive people and
they believe that their God is the God
of an image and therefore they will worship
images but they are the Gods of human
fabrication.
Now you will agree with me dear friends
if you are following the argument along this
certain line that I am now proceeding that
if there is a God behind the whole
of creation he must be transcendent so that
outside of time and space and can I
use language outside the immeasurable there outside of
it all there must be the eternal God
that looks upon matter as a small thing.
Secondly there must be an eternal God far
bigger than our minds that projects himself in
everything that he makes so that in the
tiniest germ the glory of God is seen.
Now my dear friends this causes the mind
to boggle but I want to show you
now that the God that we are representing
is not the God of our minds but
the God of revelation.
Now if we agree then that there must
be a God of revelation where has he
put that revelation?
In the Bible and therefore in this book
that gives us the revelation of God, God
explains to us very carefully that in creation
we begin to see the greatness of God
can I use another word the infinite greatness
of God and then as we look at
creation we begin to see the beauty of
God especially in the floral world and when
we look at creation and we see the
multifarious forms of life we see the profound
brilliance of God but we still don't know
him we're only getting flashes of him why
because we see this in creation then we
come a bit nearer and we begin to
see the justice of God in what?
You know ladies and gentlemen the world's justice
is still based upon the ten commandments and
that was given three thousand years or three
thousand five hundred years ago and when God
gave us the ten commandments he gave the
whole world once and for all a flash
of his justice and when you see a
glimpse of the justice of God you begin
to see it as fire as a trumpet
that sounds louder and louder so glorious was
that mountain when God revealed himself that not
even a beast could touch him the justice
of God and then my dear friends there
were those that were brought into the sanctuary
of God and when they were brought into
the sanctuary of God by divine revelation they
saw the exquisite beauty of God's holiness can
I put it to you like this if
one flash of the glory of God's holiness
came into this room every one of us
would be prostrated we little understand the glory
of the almighty God now my dear friends
I have given you very simply a resume
of God as seen in the old testament
we shall have another look at God as
seen in the new testament he is the
same God but he is revealed in greater
detail but now can you see now that
there is a problem everyone in this room
tonight I feel sure believes in the existence
of God 95 percent of the people here
tonight would believe in the glimpses that I've
given concerning the glory of God but now
there comes this problem is God knowable over
and over again in London and in Bedford
where I live people have actually said this
to me and they were perfectly honest when
they said it we believe now in a
divine intelligence behind creation good we believe that
the world is kept together by the atom
and God controls it you believe that good
but how can we human beings know him
one man said to me with tears not
very long ago he said if I could
know that God it would be the greatest
thing in the universe and that's true it
would but he says I'm living in this
little body here somewhere in the universe and
there's a big barrier between me and God
and so there is and that's why we
don't know him and therefore what I want
to talk about now is the need for
that barrier to be removed and so I'm
going to speak on the need of reconciliation
being right with God then I want to
deal with the subject the person who reconciles
and that is one of the most precious
subjects in the world and then right at
the end I want to take you all
by the hand secretively and show us the
act of being reconciled to God first of
all the need about 1500 years BC there
was a man by the name of Betheliel
and he was a brilliant artist probably one
of the greatest engineers that ever lived and
he was commissioned by Moses and Moses was
commissioned by God to erect a mobile dwelling
place for God it was called the tabernacle
now that tabernacle had a mystery and I
want to explain it to you it had
a place called the holy place where the
priest could go in a minister and then
there was a beautiful veil and on the
other side of that veil there was a
place called the holiest of all and no
priest was ever allowed to enter the idea
of a priest penetrating that curtain would be
completely out of this world again let me
say it he was strictly prohibited from ever
entering into the holiest of all why did
God put that veil there to show that
there was a barrier between the human race
and God and this is what the scripture
says your iniquities have separated between you and
your God and your sins have hid his
face from you that he will not hear
now why should God be separated from us
shall I tell you why because he is
three times holy and you know what the
word holy means separate and that means the
whole character of God is full of absolute
intrinsic perfection and anything that's inconsistent with that
nature is separated from God beloved could I
say this again if we caught a glimpse
of the glory of God we should understand
why there is a barrier now that is
why in the scripture God comes to a
conclusion and when God comes to a conclusion
it's final he's the only person that cannot
make a mistake always remember this there is
only one person in the whole universe that's
infallible and that's the almighty God and therefore
my dear friends when God makes a conclusion
it's final it cannot be added to and
when God made this accusation if you like
when he came to this conclusion he studied
the whole race from the first man to
the last he knew all about the civilizations
from the antediluvian right to the end of
the ages he knew every single person that
would ever live in this world and he
made this conclusion for there is no difference
for all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God now what does that
mean it means that we have missed the
mark and instead of pleasing God we have
pleased ourselves and therefore he says the whole
of the human race has fallen short of
his glory then he makes another conclusion he
says the scripture hath concluded all under sin
now what does that mean it doesn't mean
to say that we've all missed the mark
but we're all under the power of sin
now can I prove that to you would
you allow me every single person in this
room has a besetting sin a sin that
you cannot control that made you some people
it's bad temper some people it's lust some
people it's lying some people it's irritation some
people it's downright selfishness and some people perhaps
it's a gossiping tongue but everyone in this
room has a besetting sin that you can't
handle it was that poet henison who said
when he was struggling with his own besetting
sin oh for a man to rise in
me that a man that I am might
cease to be and he knew it in
fact the greatest moralist that ever lived apart
from the Lord Jesus said oh wretched man
that I am who shall deliver me and
therefore dear friends we have discovered that we've
all sinned and we've all got a power
within us called the flesh which constantly sins
within us and drags us down so that
our sin power overcomes our willpower now God
has done something that I believe is very
beautiful he actually gave the world 10 commandments
now here's the fact worked out by a
brilliant mathematician that the average person that lives
in Britain and I believe this might be
the same in Australia violates the 10 commandments
no less than 1 million times over a
period of 30 years just imagine going before
the high bar with 1 million offenses could
you say not guilty my lord now if
we violate the law of the road or
any other law then when we're caught we're
punished now listen to this we have broken
the holy law of God and God only
has one punishment and that's death you say
what does that mean does it mean when
we sin he puts the gun to our
head and that's the end if that were
the case who would be alive what then
does he mean by death physical death is
the separation of the soul from the body
spiritual death is the separation of the sinner
from God and that's why we don't understand
God because we are separated because of sin
now dear friends can I share with you
with a broken heart the greatest tragedy of
all because sin has separated us from God
because God is holy and sin makes us
unclean if we die in our sins we
are eternally separated from God and that is
hell and that's the greatest tragedy in life
and you know dear friends if you'll forgive
the tremble in my voice that makes me
a preacher there are nights when I walk
the bed from unable to sleep because of
thousands of souls perishing and that is why
all of us need to be reconciled to
God but then you might argue but surely
God could do something to have sinners in
his presence what a terrible thing that would
be would you like the almighty God the
very pinnacle of all holiness the source of
all truth to come down into this world
and bathe in the muddy pools of iniquity
would that sound right some of you ladies
in your kitchen there's a line of demarcation
between cleanliness and uncleanness isn't that right some
of you gardeners when you're doing your gardening
there's a line of demarcation between weeds and
cultivation isn't that right and some of you
medical men when you're operating isn't there a
line of demarcation between healthful bacteria and harmful
bacteria of course there is and there's a
line of demarcation between God who is light
and man in the darkness and if we
die in our sins we're lost and that
is why all of us urgently need to
be made right with God but then there
comes the awareness of being made right with
God Isaiah was one of the greatest prophets
that ever lived and on one occasion he
stood upon the pulpit of wood and he
said to Israel with his accusing finger I
imagine woe unto Israel five times because they
were an adulterous nation not long after he
gave that surgical address he was in the
presence of God praying and he saw a
vision of the glory of God and he
saw the throne of God high and lifted
up outside of time and space and then
he saw the seraphim specially created intelligence made
for the immediate presence of God and such
was the glory of God they had to
veil their faces with their wings then he
heard the symphony and they said one to
another in harmony holy holy holy is the
Lord God of hosts the whole earth is
full of his glory and the post of
the door moved at the voice of him
that spake and the whole house was filled
with smoke poor Isaiah couldn't stand it and
he fell into the dust and he said
woe is me for I am undone I'm
a man of unclean limbs and we would
all feel like that if we got that
vision ah but you say brother Peter that's
the old testament what about the new testament
yes there was a man in the new
testament his name was Saul of Tarsus the
only man that could ever say touching the
externals of the Lord blameless on the Damascus
road he caught a glimpse of the Lord
Jesus who was the very manifestation of God
the outshining of God and when he caught
a glimpse of that glorious man he said
that he was the chief of sinners now
dear friends can I figuratively take you by
the hand and lead you right into the
presence of God one day we're all going
to meet him and it's far better to
discover what you're like now than when you
stand before the great white throne where there's
no mercy amen and if God tonight through
the preaching of the glory of his glorious
character reveals to you the ugliness even of
your smallest sins thank him because you can
never be reconciled until you know your uncleanness
in the sight of God so man now
needs to be reconciled and who can do
it well dear friends there was no one
that can do it by God there was
no prophet there was no king there was
no angel there was no archangel who was
great enough and therefore we find here these
wonderful words God was in Christ reconciling the
world unto himself you see God in all
his grace and mercy instead of destroying the
world that rightfully deserved it he intervened and
he sent his son into this world now
who was Jesus in this narrative we are
told two things about him first of all
he knew no sin think of it if
we had time to go through human history
we would find even the great philosophers the
great kings were all marked by failure only
the other day i was reading about the
confessions of 40 british prime ministers and the
40 of them although great men many of
them they died with depression and failure because
they were not able to keep their promises
when you go through the old testament God
gives us a portrait of great men such
as Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and men
like Moses and Joshua and all of them
although great failed there was only one man
who ever lived who never sinned and that
was Jesus Christ and when he came into
the world he was not only a sinful
man but we are told in this narrative
God was in Christ that meant he was
co-equal with God now my dear friends
may I put it to you like this
for someone to come into this world to
grapple with the sin of the world needed
someone more than a perfect man none of
us could ever contemplate the sin of the
world the enormity of it and the vulgarity
of it would be too much for us
and therefore if Jesus was just a perfect
man a perfect man couldn't handle the sin
of the world so from this narrative we
learn that God was in Christ therefore he
was not only a perfect man he was
perfect God and therefore we have a body
that's not part man part God but a
body that has in it the harmony of
perfect man and perfect God and that was
the greatest mystery of the universe listen to
the dignity of these words God was in
Christ reconciling the world unto himself great is
the mystery of godliness God was manifest in
the flesh and therefore the reconciler the Lord
Jesus was firstly a perfect man secondly he
was perfect God and he came to deal
with the sin of the world now my
dear friends can I put it to you
like this if you could jump out of
your body right now and if you could
get where God is and if God would
show to you the sins of your life
you would have such a shock you would
never get over it we little realize the
profusion of sin do you know the bible
says the thought of foolishness is sin whatsoever
is not afraid of sin he that knoweth
to do good and doeth it not to
him it is sin even the thought of
lust that goes on in the mind that's
it even bitterness that sometimes fills our heart
that's it and if all our sins were
accumulated and we saw them we would have
a shock furthermore if God could take out
our smallest sin and if we could see
that smallest sin as God saw it all
of us would have a tremendous shock that
we would never get over now that's just
an individual it's someone dealing with the sin
of the world that doesn't mean to say
the sin of a generation but that means
to say all the generations if you look
at the word very carefully it means all
the believing generations right from the time of
Adam right to the time of the last
man that would be born into this world
the sin of the world now my dear
friends if you can calculate that in a
very small measure you are a genius none
of us can measure the sin of the
world and this is what the word of
God says he was made sin for us
now you will say well how can we
prove those facts in the garden of Gethsemane
just before Jesus Christ went to the cross
he anticipated the sin of the world and
when he was anticipating and plumbing the depth
of the sin of the world such was
the tension his sweat was bloodline and there
on bended knees he saw this massive monster
this Everest of vulgarity the sin of the
world and he staggered and yet he was
willing to go through it so there were
no surprises for the son of God on
the cross he knew it all when he
was hanging on that Roman gibbet now I
must speak in great reverence for three hours
he suffered before men he allowed them to
do their ugliest worst so that they treated
him worse than an animal and he made
all that hatred with father forgive them they
know not what they do and then it
happened from the sixth to the ninth hour
in those three hours and eternity took place
God brought together that infinite mess of evil
the sin of the world measured its judgment
and then turned all the lights of creation
so that he would release to the world
their darkness and their separation and in that
separation God was in Christ reconciling the world
to himself the wrath of God the righteous
wrath fell upon the son and for three
hours he was silent and then right at
the end when all the wrath of God
had been completely exhausted so that every sin
of a believer had been dealt with completely
he let out the cry I could hardly
say it tonight my God my God why
hast thou forsaken and abandoned me do you
know why can I point because he loved
you he took your sin and bore them
on the cross and then when it was
all over he said finished and he simply
meant this that the work was complete and
therefore the Lord Jesus was made sin for
us that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him but that's not all
immediately he cried it is finished then God
went to work you can almost imagine the
whole of heaven hilarious with divine and perfect
joy the judgment had fallen the son had
exhausted it so that now God could come
to the human family and join them up
to himself again and how did he illustrate
it he went straight down into Herod's temple
and the priests were all busy ministering and
suddenly they saw the curtain being split from
the top to the bottom and then they
looked into the holiest to signify there was
a way right into the presence of God
and the door is open but more on
the third day the resurrection day God went
down into that dark sepulcher and in mighty
power forgive my excitement but I can't say
this quietly raised him from the dead he
raised him from the dead in a different
way in which the Lord Jesus raised Lazarus
from the dead because he died again when
he raised the Lord Jesus from the dead
he raised him in such a way that
he would never die again and there's a
man in the glory that lives in the
power of an indissoluble life raised from the
dead and when God raised him from the
dead he was saying look I'm raising the
reconciler the one that can make people right
with him but there's something more than that
he not only rent the curtain not only
did he rent the grave but he's rent
the heavens the same one that died on
the cross the same one that was raised
has gone through principalities and powers and there's
a man in the glory that sits upon
the unshakable throne and all power has been
given unto him and that living Christ is
the great reconciler and dear friends can I
say this to you from my heart tonight
he longs to make you right with God
just as you sit there now what about
the reconciliation the act first of all the
proof you know when you get right with
God and you're really right with God in
the Bible way it will transform your life
this is what it says if any man
being Christ is a new creation old things
pass away all things become new we're going
to have our 50th wedding anniversary when we're
here and you know I met my wife
when I was 19 or 20 and I
met her in a Bible reading fell in
love with her and I hadn't been with
her for six months when I was being
changed I used to hate a white stiff
collar I used to hate dark suits I
had no time for good music but would
you believe it I was only with her
for six months and I love the white
shirt I love the dark suit in fact
I bought one at Burton's and some of
you have been in the old country will
know that and would you believe it I
started to enjoy handles you see what caused
the transformation I met my dear dear girl
when you're made right with God here transform
you friends and we'll see how he transforms
a man in a few moments you see
he puts you right in Christ we'll talk
about that one night but that simply means
you become a child of God and when
you're right with God and you're in communion
with God and with his word the transformation
takes place but then how is he going
to bring that transformation through preaching and this
is what the apostle says we are ambassadors
for Christ as though God did beseech you
we pray you in Christ's stead be you
reconciled to God now what does that mean
God takes up a poor sinner he breaks
him he cleanses him to use Bible language
he saves him reconciles him then he gives
him a gift and then he gives him
a love for souls and then he gives
him the ability to speak but it's all
of God and this is the job of
the ambassador to get alone in the sanctuary
and say Lord you know everyone that's going
to be there tonight I don't know give
me the message of God and until he
gets God's message and then he comes to
the people and he says one thing thus
saith the Lord and he gives you as
clearly as he can this great message be
reconciled to God but it's more than speech
not only does that man convey the message
of God as his ambassador he conveys the
compassions of God the love of Christ constraineth
me said the apostle do you know what
that means it's got hold of me like
a malarial fever knowing therefore the terror of
the Lord he had got a glimpse of
the holiness of God and that had gripped
him and therefore here was a man gripped
by the fear of God and the love
of God and when he preached it wasn't
a lecture in that man's body was the
compassions of God and he leaned over that
platform as though God was kneeling down before
those who were not reconciled pleading with them
to be reconciled to God and he gave
them the very feelings of God dear friends
may I say this to my Christian brothers
and sisters we need a new army of
preachers you know I remember as a boy
hearing men like Ruben Scammell, Fred Elliot, Ivory
Elias and those men when they stood up
and preached sometimes wept all the way through
the meeting and hundreds were saved and oh
dear friends tonight I do not want to
give you an icy cold sermon I want
the feelings of God to be within me
so that when I preach I beg with
God for people to be reconciled to God
oh how vital that is and then there
comes a moment when the spirit works and
God puts a circle all around a particular
soul and he says in a meeting like
this you've sinned you're guilty if you died
tonight you would be lost forever Christ died
for you and he wants to save you
and then the act comes you take one
look at the glory of God and you
look at your sins and you say something
like this Lord I hate sin I love
your holiness I want to turn to God
from this sin once and for all you're
nearly there then you look at the reconciler
the lovely Lord Jesus crowned with glory and
honour and you remember it was that one
that bore your sins and you stretch out
a figurative hand of faith and you say
something like this Lord I can't pray very
much but I'm just going to ask you
now to forgive my sins and save me
and the word of God says this whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved and in that meeting you
could meet him tonight that seeking saviour the
reconciler who longs to save you who died
to save you wants to take you into
the presence of God and plead the cause
of his death and God will willingly reconcile
you and there's no power that then can
separate you from him it was in a
meeting like this where God's spirit was moving
that one man stayed behind in Ireland and
it was in a large tent in Newtonards
I shall never forget this and he said
very nervously would you show me please how
to be saved that means to be reconciled
and I was going through the scriptures showing
all have sinned and he was nodding as
me the wages of sin is death yes
I realise I need to be saved I
was showing him how the cross died on
the cross for his sins and he wanted
to save him and I was showing him
from the scripture whosoever shall call on the
name of the Lord shall be saved and
then he interrupted me and said Mr Brendan
if you don't mind could you tell me
all that afterwards I want to get saved
now right now and he dropped on his
knees and he called out in a loud
voice Lord would you save an old sinner
like me and the Lord saved him and
the Lord has blessed him could I point
is there one like that tonight right now
then we'll have a time of quietness and
just thank the Lord right now let us
pray as we
are bowed in the presence of God should
there be any tonight and you see that
you're separated from God because of sin you
see the danger if there should be someone
who sees tonight that Christ on the cross
bore that sin and the judgment in his
own body on that cross at Calvary and
through that death God can forgive you and
if you see tonight you want to turn
to God from sin put your back upon
a selfish life so that your life comes
under the control of the Lord and you
can see that there's a reconciler the Lord
Jesus who was made sin for you that
you might be made the righteousness of God
in him then friends come just like that
man did in eugene arts and in the
quietness of your heart call upon him right
now just give you one lovely scripture the
Lord says him that comes to me I
will in no wise cast out just come
and trust the Savior now to forgive you
and cleanse you