Now what I'm going to do tonight is
to read the scriptures and then I'm going
to give a demonstration of what it means
to be a Christian and then I want
to give three facts about receiving Christ.
And I think the service will be over
just after half past.
Now I'm going to read from John 1.
If you haven't got a bible I shall
read it as correctly as I can.
John 1 and we'll read from verse 1.
John 1 reading from verse 1.
In the beginning was the word and the
word was with God and the word was
God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him and without
him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life and the light shineth
in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.
There was a man sent from God whose
name was John.
The same came for a witness to bear
witness of the light that all men through
him might believe.
He was not that light but was sent
to bear witness of that light.
That was the true light which lighteth every
man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world and the world
was made by him and the world knew
him not.
He came unto his own and his own
received him not.
But as many as received him to them
gave he power to become the sons of
God even to them that believe on his
name.
Which were born not of blood nor of
the will of the flesh nor of the
will of man but of God.
Now God will bless to us the reading
of that word.
Now I wonder if Jonathan would come up.
Now in the first few
words I'll
preach on just for a few moments is
the one that I read in verse 12.
As many as received him to them gave
he power to become the sons of God.
Now I believe in meetings like this the
spirit of God comes very close to the
congregation and I believe I can say this
from my heart and I'm not imposing my
will in this present in this hall tonight
there is the very presence of God.
And I believe as you are sitting there
already you are beginning to realize the closeness
of Jesus Christ and there comes a moment
in your life when the Lord comes to
you and he wants you to do three
things.
He wants you to receive him as your
sin bearer, your savior and your sovereign.
Now what does it mean sin bearer?
In our country there was a brilliant surgeon
whose name was Professor Rendall Short and for
two years he worked in the heart of
Africa at the end of his surgery life
and he came back to Westminster and there
were 3,500 people there and he told
a story that I want to relate to
you that shook 3,500 people.
He said he met a chief and he
was a prince who did not know how
wealthy he was and all his wealth was
in ivory, diamonds, gold, bronze and so on.
And one day there came a man to
him that was I suppose a primitive accountant
that he had and said that two of
his best diamonds were stolen and he sent
out his old town criers and they went
through the town saying that the culprit court
would be beaten with 30 rods that was
to the point of death but they couldn't
find the culprit.
A few days later five of his best
diamonds were stolen amounting to thousands of pounds.
Again he called these primitive compound criers and
they went throughout the compound breathing out threatening
and slaughter telling the culprits that he would
be beaten with 30 rods.
Then he lost his best diamond and someone
said to him it's someone in your house
and so he brought in a primitive detective
and his job was to serve at his
table and one day hid in the throne
room where they kept the jewels and in
came the prince's mother.
She opened this safe, took out two diamonds
and was apprehended.
The news was leaked out and all the
compounds were discussing this.
If one of us had been guilty and
we stood before him we would be beaten
with 30 rods.
What will he do to his own mother?
Would he be just?
Well they said if he's just he's not
very loving.
Well if he's loving he's not just and
thousands assembled to hear the case.
Unfortunately for the prince the mother stepped forward
and she confessed that she had stolen all
the diamonds and she let out where those
diamonds were.
What would he do?
And it took him five minutes to make
up his mind and then to the surprise
of the whole of the court he sent
his mother to the post of beating and
they all whispered just, just.
Now dear friends Griffiths if you die in
your sins the wages of sin is death
and that is eternal separation from God and
that's a tragedy and that's why you must
be saved because we've all sinned and that's
the judgment.
Then all of a sudden they watched the
prince and he started to disrobe until his
back was bare and then he walked down
from the very place where he found his
mother guilty.
He went to the post of beating pushed
aside his mother and said to the men
that were going to administer the judgment tie
my hands they wouldn't do it and this
is what he said.
I made that law I'm going to fulfill
it tie my hands and they did and
the mother stood by her son and every
rod that cracked over his back she was
heard to say for me, for me, for
me and when the 29th rod hit him
his back was broken his spine was cut
and he was dead.
The mother fell on him apologizing weeping it
was too late he was dead.
When Jesus Christ died on that cross the
judgment that should have come upon us came
upon him and when he said finished the
work was done but there's a difference.
The mother wept over her son but he
was dead.
God has raised him from the dead and
you can go and weep at his feet
now and ask God to forgive you for
your sins but we need something more.
A young man came to me and I
shall never forget this I'm not going into
the details it's too sordid he was only
21 had three good a-levels and when
I looked at him I knew he was
finished he was hard on heroing not long
ago may I say this to young people
I have seen hundreds spoiled by sin I've
never seen Jesus and that boy came to
me with a trembling hand and he said
mister I would like to have my sins
forgiven but how could I live this life
how could I get off the needle how
could I stop smoking how could I stop
drinking you see the problem well he needs
a daily saviour.
You know years ago in London when you
went to school everybody had to have a
basin of art and there was one fella
called Johnson and he was a wizard at
maths but hopeless at art he never even
had a gene that was called art in
him and when he lined up to go
into the art class it was always a
nightmare hated it he got in the classroom
and he used to try and get right
at the back so that no one would
see his masterpiece and then they were all
told to paint a rose and the moment
he grabbed hold of the paintbrush he was
holding it like a cricket bat he hadn't
a chance and he started to paint the
intensity was so great that the perspiration was
falling from his forehead and then it smudged
his work and stupidly he got his elbow
and did that and a hole went in
the paper and after 24 minutes of struggling
and striving he threw down the brush and
he didn't know the art master was watching
the pantomime and he slapped him on the
shoulder and said Johnson you're absolutely hopeless he
looked up rather afraid and said a greeter
he said what are you going to do
with that he grabbed it into the smallest
ball he could find went out in the
front and threw it in the waste paper
basket he didn't say this out loud but
he said hooray glad to see the back
of it there comes a time in your
life when you go into the presence of
god and you say lord i can't make
it i'm a poor loss you must help
me right says the art master get a
new piece of paper and he did a
brand new piece of white paper it looked
lovely now he said clean those paints and
he did he said that's awkward enough for
me and so he had to clean them
now he said take that piece of white
paper up clean the desk and he did
and when there was a new piece of
paper and everything clean he started now that's
what god wants to do in your life
he wants to cleanse your life from all
sin through the precious blood of christ and
he wants to give you a new life
entirely and put the holy spirit within you
right he says take hold of the brush
not like that laddie hold it like this
he did and then he slipped his hand
over his and they started to paint a
rose and the boy couldn't believe it his
eyes nearly popped out on his cheeks he
saw a rose coming no longer was it
like the world in its chaotic state it
was now a rose he couldn't believe it
it was wonderful then the art master said
laddie let your hand go limp let it
go like a piece of wet fish he
knew that language and he gave himself completely
to the art master and then he finished
the painting you see the art master was
painting through him now please note this when
you become a christian he removes your sin
through his death now watch this into your
life comes the holy spirit and jesus relives
his life in you think through your mind
sees through your eyes speaks with your lips
serves through your hand it's christ living in
your life you says where's your scripture for
this here it is i am crucified with
christ said the apostle nevertheless i live yet
not i but christ liveth in me and
it's christ reliving his life in you he
asked the art master could he take it
home he said yes so when the art
master had gone craftily he put his name
underneath and then and when he got home
they had an old-fashioned mantelpiece you don't
see them now i can't explain it to
you all made of wood and he stuck
it with a pin right on this wooden
panel his mother was at work to keep
him at school he had lost his father
and he was doing his sums or some
algebra matter of fact and in came mum
now she was a typical cockney lady and
she looked at him and she looked at
that painting and you know what mums are
she went up slowly and looked at it
and smiled and saw his name and she
liar he said what do you mean you
didn't paint it i did she looked did
you hold the brush yeah did you put
the brush to the paper yeah well she
said the days of miracles are not over
ah but he said i've told a lie
it was the art master doing it through
me what do you mean through you well
he held my hand and did it through
me and that's what christ can do with
a life relive his life through you lastly
and with this i close we must receive
him as sovereign now i do want to
make this clear it's a wise thing to
know where you're going and it's a wise
thing to know that if you die in
your sins you will die away from god
and i want to say this with all
the love that god can give me there
is a hell but my dear friends i
must say this just to get saved from
hell is not sufficient there must be repentance
and what is repentance it means this i
turn to god from my sins or put
it in other language where filth and sin
reigns jesus christ reigns now could i say
something in love that's hard there are some
christians and they just go once the church
on sunday morning and they think they're saved
because of that the rest of the week
they please themselves you'll never get to heaven
like that that's total deception when a person
is going to be a christian he makes
jesus savior and sovereign and may i say
this is the best master you could have
we were having a mission in eggsmouth in
devon and the lady stopped behind a very
wealthy lady very fashionable lady and she said
i've been every night as you know yes
i said it's been very nice to see
you and i would like to be saved
that's lovely language so i was just going
to ask the lady to pray and i
said no there's one more thing i must
ask before you have faith there must be
repentance and that means instead of you being
lord of your life jesus must be lord
and you know what she said i make
him savior but i can't make him lord
well i said madam you can never be
a christian like that unfortunately she got up
and went out and i was very disturbed
about two years later i was back in
eggsmouth and i was having a meeting in
a house and the room was packed and
i didn't see all the people that were
there but when they all left suddenly this
lady came from behind the door and who
should it be the lady i had spoken
to two years ago who wouldn't accept so
she said are the terms the same i
said madam when that book changes the terms
will change and then i read her a
scripture if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the lord jesus and shalt believe in thine
heart god hath raised him from the dead
thou shalt be saved it's confessing him as
savior and lord now i said i'm not
going to argue i gave her a slip
of paper and on that paper i put
three words not so lord and then a
line of demarcation now i said if it's
going to be just savior cross out the
word lord if it's going to be savior
and lord cross out the word not so
and i told her where it was found
that lady in whose house the meeting was
on was mrs german and i said quick
let's pray there's a woman right near the
kingdom and we really laid hold on god
bring her right through lord and when i
got into the room it was as though
the light of heaven was there she had
obliterated the word not so and she left
the word lord and she got down on
her knees and this is what she said
lord lord lord save me and she was
gloriously saved wouldn't it be lovely if someone
did that to you know we mustn't now
put natural pressure but i believe that the
lord is in this building and i believe
he's come to two or three people tonight
don't miss this opportunity he's standing at the
door knocking receive him now as your savior
and lord