1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:05,660 The Apostle Paul exhorted his disciple Timothy with 2 00:00:05,660 --> 00:00:08,700 the following words, which apply to us today. 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,180 You may turn in your Bibles to 2 4 00:00:11,180 --> 00:00:11,680 Timothy. 5 00:00:12,140 --> 00:00:14,740 We're going to be in chapter 4 and 6 00:00:14,740 --> 00:00:16,520 in verses 1 through 5. 7 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,400 Paul is telling Timothy how to preach and 8 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,240 reprove sinners and rebuke sin, to exhort his 9 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:25,380 hearers with doctrine. 10 00:00:25,380 --> 00:00:29,380 Paul even describes our sad spiritual condition today, 11 00:00:29,860 --> 00:00:32,860 where we've picked for ourselves teachers who will 12 00:00:32,860 --> 00:00:35,280 scratch our itch and nothing more. 13 00:00:35,900 --> 00:00:38,420 Here now is the Word of God for 14 00:00:38,420 --> 00:00:39,180 us today. 15 00:00:55,380 --> 00:01:00,640 Season out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with 16 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,340 all longsuffering and doctrine, for the time will 17 00:01:04,340 --> 00:01:07,500 come when they will not endure sound doctrine, 18 00:01:07,940 --> 00:01:11,240 but after their own lusts shall they heap 19 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,780 to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they 20 00:01:15,780 --> 00:01:18,220 shall turn away their ears from the truth 21 00:01:18,220 --> 00:01:20,640 and shall be turned unto fables. 22 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:25,120 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, 23 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,580 do the work of an evangelist, make full 24 00:01:28,580 --> 00:01:30,140 proof of thy ministry. 25 00:01:31,380 --> 00:01:34,600 I'm sorry to say, friends, that we don't 26 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,500 have many preachers today who reprove or rebuke 27 00:01:38,500 --> 00:01:41,900 anything, much less preach the great doctrines of 28 00:01:41,900 --> 00:01:42,500 the gospel. 29 00:01:42,500 --> 00:01:46,420 Sadly, we live in the day, friends, of 30 00:01:46,420 --> 00:01:49,660 a diluted gospel that's been so watered down 31 00:01:49,660 --> 00:01:52,580 it no longer has any teeth or power. 32 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,620 It grieves me how the American church has 33 00:01:56,620 --> 00:02:00,620 become seeker-friendly, politically correct, and a house 34 00:02:00,620 --> 00:02:01,520 of entertainment. 35 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:05,380 Many preachers today do not even know what 36 00:02:05,380 --> 00:02:08,199 the gospel is, much less know how to 37 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:10,920 preach it to bring sinners to conviction of 38 00:02:10,920 --> 00:02:15,160 sin and salvation through repentance toward God and 39 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:16,940 faith in Jesus Christ. 40 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,240 A seminary does not teach you how to 41 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:21,180 preach the gospel. 42 00:02:21,180 --> 00:02:25,280 I know, I've graduated from two different seminaries. 43 00:02:25,580 --> 00:02:30,520 They taught me theology, church history, apologetics, and 44 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,120 biblical studies, but not how to preach the 45 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:34,740 gospel of the Son of God. 46 00:02:35,020 --> 00:02:37,040 I had to learn that outside of a 47 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:38,400 seminary classroom. 48 00:02:39,260 --> 00:02:41,820 We live in a day of not only 49 00:02:41,820 --> 00:02:44,880 a diluted gospel, which is diluted of all 50 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,340 its power, but we live in a day 51 00:02:47,340 --> 00:02:50,540 of a perverted gospel that damns its hearers 52 00:02:50,540 --> 00:02:53,420 and gospel-hordens them to the real gospel. 53 00:02:54,180 --> 00:02:57,540 Listen, friends, it's hard to visit churches and 54 00:02:57,540 --> 00:02:59,900 even hear the true gospel preached today. 55 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,480 The reason is we have a nation of 56 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:05,920 teachers today and not preachers. 57 00:03:06,300 --> 00:03:09,160 Most men in the pulpit like to lecture 58 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,080 and impress you with their knowledge and win 59 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:13,840 you over with their personality. 60 00:03:14,630 --> 00:03:18,080 Many resort to the popular method of fill 61 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,200 -in-the-blank program teaching, where you hold 62 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:23,920 your church bulletin in one hand and a 63 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:26,160 pen in the other and fill in the 64 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:27,600 next obvious word. 65 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,740 All this does is occupy a congregation and 66 00:03:31,740 --> 00:03:33,160 give them some information. 67 00:03:33,980 --> 00:03:36,940 But there's a vast difference between teaching and 68 00:03:36,940 --> 00:03:37,440 preaching. 69 00:03:38,060 --> 00:03:41,280 Teaching informs, preaching transforms. 70 00:03:42,540 --> 00:03:45,620 I can sum up the American church with 71 00:03:45,620 --> 00:03:46,980 the following observation. 72 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,760 A Chinese pastor recently came to America to 73 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,660 visit this country's churches and to hear what 74 00:03:54,660 --> 00:03:55,980 our preaching was like. 75 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,440 Upon asking his impression of the American church, 76 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,980 he replied, first karaoke, then a lecture. 77 00:04:04,740 --> 00:04:06,140 And that sums it up, friends. 78 00:04:06,140 --> 00:04:09,260 But he forgot to mention, first warm up 79 00:04:09,260 --> 00:04:11,200 the crowd with a few jokes and funny 80 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:11,780 stories. 81 00:04:12,180 --> 00:04:15,019 That's the sad condition of the American church 82 00:04:15,019 --> 00:04:15,620 today. 83 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,440 This morning, I'd like to spend some time 84 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,920 on the important subject of what comprises gospel 85 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:23,420 preaching. 86 00:04:24,020 --> 00:04:26,200 And the title of my message today is 87 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:27,860 How to Preach the Gospel. 88 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,900 If you learn what I share with you 89 00:04:30,900 --> 00:04:33,620 today and do it, you will be preaching 90 00:04:33,620 --> 00:04:36,280 the full counsel of God and warning men 91 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:38,880 of their great danger of dying in their 92 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,720 sins and being cast into hell and its 93 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:42,480 torments. 94 00:04:43,500 --> 00:04:47,100 As a revival historian, I have spent decades 95 00:04:47,100 --> 00:04:51,040 studying spiritual awakenings and revivals of religion. 96 00:04:51,940 --> 00:04:55,320 Often, there is a link between them and 97 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,040 that is many revivals have begun when the 98 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,880 doctrines of grace are preached with conviction and 99 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:02,540 authority. 100 00:05:03,340 --> 00:05:06,560 And when I visit countless churches and listen 101 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,120 to what takes place behind most pulpits in 102 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,000 this country, there is a good reason why 103 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,800 we are not seeing revival break out among 104 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:15,200 us. 105 00:05:15,620 --> 00:05:19,680 We refuse to return to the old paths 106 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:22,560 and preach what our fathers preached who saw 107 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:23,980 revival in third day. 108 00:05:23,980 --> 00:05:27,540 We must warn men about their danger of 109 00:05:27,540 --> 00:05:30,260 dying in their sins and being cast into 110 00:05:30,260 --> 00:05:30,800 hell. 111 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,040 The outline of my message today is as 112 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:35,600 follows. 113 00:05:36,020 --> 00:05:38,940 We should preach the gospel in its purity 114 00:05:38,940 --> 00:05:40,540 and proper order. 115 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:43,720 We should not be afraid to preach the 116 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,720 great doctrines of the gospel, which are redemption, 117 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:51,080 repentance and regeneration. 118 00:05:51,900 --> 00:05:54,080 And we should preach the gospel in its 119 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,820 proper order, which is as follows. 120 00:05:57,260 --> 00:06:00,240 Number one, first preach the law. 121 00:06:00,620 --> 00:06:04,280 Number two, then preach man's duty of repentance. 122 00:06:05,140 --> 00:06:09,400 Number three, preach man's necessity of regeneration. 123 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,760 Number four, call men to Christ with the 124 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:14,260 gospel. 125 00:06:14,820 --> 00:06:17,940 I'm not talking about giving an invitation for 126 00:06:17,940 --> 00:06:19,400 someone to walk in hell. 127 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:22,860 I'm talking about calling lost sinners to Christ 128 00:06:22,860 --> 00:06:24,940 with the rulings of the gospel. 129 00:06:25,900 --> 00:06:28,780 Did you know that the majority of church 130 00:06:28,780 --> 00:06:32,020 members in America today, friends, never have been 131 00:06:32,020 --> 00:06:34,580 told that they had a duty to repent 132 00:06:34,580 --> 00:06:37,160 of their sins and that they needed to 133 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,340 work a grace upon their heart through regeneration? 134 00:06:41,300 --> 00:06:44,040 Most of them just made a decision to 135 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,940 become a Christian and they joined the church. 136 00:06:47,620 --> 00:06:51,440 Ministers today fail to preach the full counsel 137 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:54,460 of God by preaching the law to shut 138 00:06:54,460 --> 00:06:55,720 sinners up to God. 139 00:06:56,060 --> 00:06:58,440 They fail to warn men of their duty 140 00:06:58,440 --> 00:06:59,200 of repentance. 141 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,560 They fail to inform sinners that they need 142 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,060 to work a grace upon the heart through 143 00:07:06,060 --> 00:07:08,320 the new birth if they ever wish to 144 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:09,100 get to heaven. 145 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:12,620 No, we make it real easy for people 146 00:07:12,620 --> 00:07:15,380 to join the church today because we need 147 00:07:15,380 --> 00:07:17,420 their money to pay our big bills. 148 00:07:17,860 --> 00:07:19,480 So we just give them enough of the 149 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:23,060 gospel to come forward and accept Jesus so 150 00:07:23,060 --> 00:07:24,660 they can join the church. 151 00:07:25,100 --> 00:07:27,020 And we have a lot of entertainers in 152 00:07:27,020 --> 00:07:30,140 our pulpits today who are mainly comedians. 153 00:07:30,940 --> 00:07:34,040 But where oh where are the Jonathan Edwards 154 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:36,940 and the Asahel Nettleton's of our day? 155 00:07:37,420 --> 00:07:40,880 You see, friends, men of former days knew 156 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,500 how to preach the gospel effectively. 157 00:07:43,500 --> 00:07:46,780 To make room for the Holy Spirit to 158 00:07:46,780 --> 00:07:48,600 work upon a sinner's heart. 159 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:52,580 Our fathers knew how to thunder the terrors 160 00:07:52,580 --> 00:07:56,240 of the law around a hearer's ears until 161 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,380 they saw a sign all together on a 162 00:07:59,380 --> 00:08:02,600 smoke and were bowed before a great God 163 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:03,920 of majesty. 164 00:08:05,020 --> 00:08:07,900 The law was preached first to awaken a 165 00:08:07,900 --> 00:08:12,680 sinner to his lost condition before the gospel 166 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:17,040 of the pearl of great price was presented. 167 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:22,820 George Whitfield, the great British evangelist, illustrated it 168 00:08:22,820 --> 00:08:23,560 in this way. 169 00:08:23,780 --> 00:08:26,820 He said, one must first bring a sinner 170 00:08:26,820 --> 00:08:29,780 to Mount Sinai before they can be brought 171 00:08:29,780 --> 00:08:30,880 to Mount Zion. 172 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,880 Both George Whitfield and John Wesley preached the 173 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:40,600 law before grace and preachers in former days 174 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,600 understood the work of the Holy Spirit in 175 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,600 bringing conviction to sin and how it is 176 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,340 the spirit of God applying the word of 177 00:08:49,340 --> 00:08:51,920 God to the heart that brings a person 178 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:52,900 to salvation. 179 00:08:53,980 --> 00:08:57,960 But today we have taken salvation out of 180 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,140 the hands of God and placed it in 181 00:09:00,140 --> 00:09:01,200 the hands of men. 182 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,320 Even Charles Finney understood the proper use of 183 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:06,560 the law in preaching the gospel. 184 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,900 Listen to how Charles Finney explained how the 185 00:09:10,900 --> 00:09:12,940 gospel was preached in his day. 186 00:09:13,500 --> 00:09:16,600 Charles Finney used the example of the old 187 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:21,000 gristmill that operated by the force of water 188 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,140 upon two millstones. 189 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:26,780 There was the top stone and the bottom 190 00:09:26,780 --> 00:09:30,340 stone, and these two millstones are laid one 191 00:09:30,340 --> 00:09:33,120 atop the other, and as they turn, they 192 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:34,900 grind the weed into flour. 193 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:40,240 Finney said the bottom stone was the law 194 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,700 of God written on the heart of man, 195 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:46,660 which is his conscience from Romans 2.15, 196 00:09:47,140 --> 00:09:50,360 which declares, which show the work of the 197 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:54,720 law written in their hearts, their conscience also 198 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,400 bearing witness and their thoughts to mean while 199 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:02,520 accusing or else excusing one another. 200 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:06,800 So the bottom stone was the law of 201 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,940 God written on the heart of man, which 202 00:10:09,940 --> 00:10:11,040 is his conscience. 203 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:14,000 The top stone is the preached law of 204 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,980 God thundered about the ears of the hearer. 205 00:10:17,340 --> 00:10:19,820 And when this occurs, friend, then the Holy 206 00:10:19,820 --> 00:10:23,200 Spirit can operate by grinding upon the heart 207 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:24,820 and conviction of sin. 208 00:10:25,500 --> 00:10:29,900 Listen, friends, the main problem with our evangelism 209 00:10:29,900 --> 00:10:32,460 today is that we do not make room 210 00:10:32,460 --> 00:10:35,940 for the Holy Spirit to operate because we 211 00:10:35,940 --> 00:10:38,680 do not preach the gospel in its purity 212 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:40,280 and proper order. 213 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,280 We must change the way we preach to 214 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:45,800 make an opening through the spirit of God 215 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:47,920 to work upon a sinner's heart. 216 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,820 So the law must be preached to show 217 00:10:51,820 --> 00:10:54,500 a lost person that they are a sinner 218 00:10:54,500 --> 00:10:57,320 in need of a savior or weakness in 219 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:00,740 our evangelism today is that we offer people, 220 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:04,600 Jesus, the remedy for sin before we even 221 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,100 show them why they need a remedy for 222 00:11:07,100 --> 00:11:07,520 sin. 223 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,580 If a man is not sick unto death, 224 00:11:10,900 --> 00:11:12,680 he will see no need of a medicine 225 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:13,680 to save him. 226 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,300 He will refuse the medicine or casually take 227 00:11:17,300 --> 00:11:20,340 it without applying it to his need. 228 00:11:20,820 --> 00:11:23,820 But if that same man is deathly ill 229 00:11:23,820 --> 00:11:26,660 and there is a cure for his illness, 230 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,680 he will sacrifice no cost to obtain that 231 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:31,640 remedy which can save him. 232 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,060 So this matter of the gospel being preached 233 00:11:36,060 --> 00:11:38,880 in its purity and proper order is of 234 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:39,700 great importance. 235 00:11:39,700 --> 00:11:42,320 Friend, if we start on the wrong foot, 236 00:11:42,580 --> 00:11:44,640 we are off balance altogether. 237 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:49,480 First and foremost, the law of God must 238 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:50,300 be preached. 239 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:53,120 This is how the apostle Paul did it. 240 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:57,060 Listen to Paul from Romans chapter seven in 241 00:11:57,060 --> 00:11:58,560 verses seven through nine. 242 00:11:59,180 --> 00:12:01,220 What shall we say then? 243 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:02,880 Is law sin? 244 00:12:03,220 --> 00:12:04,120 God forbid. 245 00:12:04,820 --> 00:12:08,460 Nay, I had not known sin, but by 246 00:12:08,460 --> 00:12:11,560 the law, for I had not known lust, 247 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:15,160 except the law had said thou shalt not 248 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:15,600 covet. 249 00:12:16,340 --> 00:12:21,040 But sin, taken occasion by the commandment, wrought 250 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,300 in me all manner of concussions. 251 00:12:23,780 --> 00:12:26,460 For without the law, sin was dead. 252 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,600 For I was alive without the law once, 253 00:12:29,900 --> 00:12:34,160 but when the commandment came, sin revived and 254 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:35,160 I died. 255 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,700 Listen, friends, without the law, sin was dead 256 00:12:39,700 --> 00:12:41,080 like a snake in winter. 257 00:12:41,500 --> 00:12:43,840 But when the law shone its holy spotlight 258 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:47,240 upon the flesh and sin, it irritates and 259 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,000 quickens to where a man sees his sin 260 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:51,860 and the foulness of it. 261 00:12:52,140 --> 00:12:54,520 He feels the guilt of sin because he 262 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,020 has seen his sin and the great evil 263 00:12:57,020 --> 00:12:57,640 of sin. 264 00:12:58,660 --> 00:13:02,620 Paul said sin revived and I died. 265 00:13:03,020 --> 00:13:05,360 He realized he was a lost sinner who 266 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:07,840 was dead in sin and he needed life 267 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:09,740 found only in Christ Jesus. 268 00:13:10,420 --> 00:13:13,680 So the first step in preaching the gospel 269 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:16,380 is to thunder the law about the ears 270 00:13:16,380 --> 00:13:17,400 of our hearers. 271 00:13:17,820 --> 00:13:19,740 This is what you say to them, brother 272 00:13:19,740 --> 00:13:20,240 preacher. 273 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:24,500 Listen, you are a guilty rebel who has 274 00:13:24,500 --> 00:13:27,820 broken the strict and severe law of God. 275 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:30,360 And God is a God who must punish 276 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,840 sin for the sentencing of the law must 277 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:34,840 be carried out. 278 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:38,740 God requires perfection to get into his heaven. 279 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:40,720 And you are not perfect. 280 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,180 In fact, there is a common day, a 281 00:13:44,180 --> 00:13:47,500 future day of judgment where the judge of 282 00:13:47,500 --> 00:13:50,640 all the earth will try each man's case 283 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,140 and a person's life will be reviewed. 284 00:13:53,780 --> 00:13:55,920 Your sins will be stacked up against you 285 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:57,320 on that day, friend. 286 00:13:57,740 --> 00:14:01,180 Your sins are the evidence which show you 287 00:14:01,180 --> 00:14:03,040 your need of a sin substitute. 288 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:06,540 You cannot stand in your own merits and 289 00:14:06,540 --> 00:14:09,660 be held up against the strict and severe 290 00:14:09,660 --> 00:14:13,300 law of God because you will fail that 291 00:14:13,300 --> 00:14:13,940 test. 292 00:14:14,860 --> 00:14:18,420 Listen, friend, I know I'm a sinner and 293 00:14:18,420 --> 00:14:21,000 I need a sin substitute in the person 294 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,080 of Jesus Christ. 295 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:23,680 And so do you, friend. 296 00:14:23,820 --> 00:14:24,860 So do you. 297 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:29,220 But many pastors today offer people a casual 298 00:14:29,220 --> 00:14:32,280 Jesus like they would hand you a stick 299 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,560 of chewing gum and folks take that Jesus 300 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:38,240 and chew on him for a while and 301 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:41,320 join the church without ever first seeing their 302 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,100 need of a savior from sin. 303 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,700 So they remain in their sin because they've 304 00:14:46,700 --> 00:14:50,560 never been awakened to their lost condition, never 305 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,640 been convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit 306 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:57,080 and never have been truly born again through 307 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,320 a supernatural work of grace called regeneration. 308 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,800 Listen, friend, you are not a sinner because 309 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,420 you sin, rather you sin because you are 310 00:15:08,420 --> 00:15:09,260 a big sinner. 311 00:15:09,780 --> 00:15:12,560 My Bible says we are born with a 312 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:16,240 rude nature and that man drinks iniquity like 313 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:16,940 it's water. 314 00:15:17,340 --> 00:15:20,140 A person is either dead in sin or 315 00:15:20,140 --> 00:15:21,400 dead to sin. 316 00:15:21,940 --> 00:15:24,780 But our preaching must bring people to the 317 00:15:24,780 --> 00:15:27,820 place where they see their great danger of 318 00:15:27,820 --> 00:15:29,520 dying outside of Christ. 319 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,000 A person must be awakened to their lost 320 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,680 condition and shown they are a rebel who 321 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,760 has broken the strict and severe law of 322 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,100 God and who deserves punishment for that crime. 323 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,420 Their sins condemn them and the sense of 324 00:15:45,420 --> 00:15:48,460 the law must be carried out by a 325 00:15:48,460 --> 00:15:50,620 just judge who hates sin. 326 00:15:51,060 --> 00:15:52,800 He hated sin so much. 327 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,060 He sent his only beloved son into this 328 00:15:56,060 --> 00:15:59,600 world to hang on a bloody cross because 329 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:00,360 of sin. 330 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,980 And Jesus Christ shed his precious blood for 331 00:16:03,980 --> 00:16:04,940 sinful man. 332 00:16:05,380 --> 00:16:07,480 But one must stand under the blood to 333 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:08,000 be saved. 334 00:16:08,100 --> 00:16:11,200 Friend, let me ask you, friend, are your 335 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,640 sins washed in the blood of the lamb? 336 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,640 And are you born from above through the 337 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:19,540 new birth, which is the act of regeneration 338 00:16:19,540 --> 00:16:20,860 upon the heart? 339 00:16:21,660 --> 00:16:24,420 A sinner must be brought to the place 340 00:16:24,420 --> 00:16:26,860 where they see they are lost and guilty 341 00:16:26,860 --> 00:16:27,820 before God. 342 00:16:28,140 --> 00:16:30,120 They must see their need of a remedy 343 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:32,900 for sin in the person of Jesus Christ. 344 00:16:33,180 --> 00:16:36,020 And only the preached law can bring about 345 00:16:36,020 --> 00:16:38,940 this effect through the conviction of sin by 346 00:16:38,940 --> 00:16:39,800 the spirit. 347 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,560 We must shut men up to God and 348 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:45,560 have them begging God for mercy. 349 00:16:46,060 --> 00:16:49,360 With our preaching, we must make men beggars 350 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:53,280 for grace because although saving faith is something 351 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,480 God requires, it is only he who can 352 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:57,180 give it. 353 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,620 We must preach effectively to get men lost 354 00:17:01,620 --> 00:17:03,260 and shut them up to God. 355 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:06,260 This is the exact opposite of our pulpit 356 00:17:06,260 --> 00:17:07,300 preaching today. 357 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,880 That's why few are being saved today in 358 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:11,540 this country. 359 00:17:12,099 --> 00:17:14,500 A few preachers are given the Holy Spirit 360 00:17:14,500 --> 00:17:18,119 room to operate on a sinner's heart like 361 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:21,660 Finney's millstone, which grinds upon the heart and 362 00:17:21,660 --> 00:17:23,000 conviction of sin. 363 00:17:23,859 --> 00:17:27,420 So the gospel must be preached in its 364 00:17:27,420 --> 00:17:28,460 proper order. 365 00:17:29,060 --> 00:17:32,260 First, the law must be preached to awaken 366 00:17:32,260 --> 00:17:34,400 a person to their lost condition. 367 00:17:34,740 --> 00:17:37,740 Apart from God, they must see the peril 368 00:17:37,740 --> 00:17:40,800 of their lost condition before they can appreciate 369 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:42,800 the pearl of great price. 370 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,620 And the second thing we must do as 371 00:17:45,620 --> 00:17:48,460 preachers is to preach an exalted God. 372 00:17:48,900 --> 00:17:51,280 We have shrunken God down to our size 373 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,700 today to where he's just our pal. 374 00:17:54,100 --> 00:17:56,020 We look at him like we look at 375 00:17:56,020 --> 00:17:56,940 another man. 376 00:17:57,500 --> 00:18:00,580 But men of former days preached an exalted 377 00:18:00,580 --> 00:18:01,200 God. 378 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:04,160 They referred to him as the great God 379 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:05,440 or the almighty. 380 00:18:06,140 --> 00:18:08,240 And we must preach the full counsel of 381 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,400 God, which declares that God is a God 382 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:13,460 of wrath, as well as a God of 383 00:18:13,460 --> 00:18:14,100 love. 384 00:18:14,100 --> 00:18:15,540 Listen, friends. 385 00:18:15,780 --> 00:18:19,340 My Bible declares God is angry with the 386 00:18:19,340 --> 00:18:20,660 wicked every day. 387 00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:23,700 If he turned not, he will wet his 388 00:18:23,700 --> 00:18:24,200 sword. 389 00:18:24,580 --> 00:18:26,900 He had bent his bow and made it 390 00:18:26,900 --> 00:18:27,340 ready. 391 00:18:28,180 --> 00:18:31,380 We have today taken all the teeth and 392 00:18:31,380 --> 00:18:33,380 terror out of the gospel message. 393 00:18:33,660 --> 00:18:36,840 But we must be faithful preachers and warn 394 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:39,240 men of their great danger of dying in 395 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,940 their sins and being cast into a place 396 00:18:41,940 --> 00:18:44,080 of eternal misery called hell. 397 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:46,900 But we must preach that hell is hot 398 00:18:46,900 --> 00:18:49,540 and sin is black and the law is 399 00:18:49,540 --> 00:18:51,140 strict and severe. 400 00:18:51,420 --> 00:18:53,920 And man is a guilty rebel who has 401 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:55,780 offended a sovereign king. 402 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,580 And if you want to be saved, you 403 00:18:59,580 --> 00:19:01,900 must come to that king and throw down 404 00:19:01,900 --> 00:19:04,640 your shotgun of rebellion and repent of your 405 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:05,180 sins. 406 00:19:05,180 --> 00:19:08,560 You must surrender your all to a sovereign. 407 00:19:09,060 --> 00:19:11,640 You must bow to the living Lord. 408 00:19:12,260 --> 00:19:15,000 Jesus Christ sits on a heavenly throne at 409 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:16,340 the right hand of the father. 410 00:19:16,860 --> 00:19:19,180 And he earned that right by way of 411 00:19:19,180 --> 00:19:20,520 a bloody cross. 412 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,100 And if you want him friend, you must 413 00:19:23,100 --> 00:19:25,560 come to him there and bow to him, 414 00:19:25,860 --> 00:19:29,040 surrender to his lordship, because if he's not 415 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:31,060 your lord, he's not your savior. 416 00:19:31,500 --> 00:19:34,520 I can promise you that we live in 417 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,640 a day that hates the doctrine of repentance. 418 00:19:37,740 --> 00:19:40,500 We live in a day that hates the 419 00:19:40,500 --> 00:19:43,300 doctrine of the lordship of Jesus Christ. 420 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,200 We live in a day where the average 421 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:49,580 church member cries, we will not have this 422 00:19:49,580 --> 00:19:51,420 man reign over us. 423 00:19:52,100 --> 00:19:55,160 But but he is a living Lord. 424 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:57,740 And if you want him, you must bow 425 00:19:57,740 --> 00:19:59,860 to him now, or he will place his 426 00:19:59,860 --> 00:20:02,120 foot on your neck when he makes his 427 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:03,940 enemies his footstool. 428 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,780 Listen, friend, Jesus Christ never preached a sinning 429 00:20:08,780 --> 00:20:09,300 religion. 430 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,760 God's gospel is no less severe than his 431 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:14,140 than his holy law. 432 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:17,340 Jesus Christ did not come to earth to 433 00:20:17,340 --> 00:20:20,720 suffer and die on an ignoble cross, which 434 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:22,940 had his blood all over it because of 435 00:20:22,940 --> 00:20:23,400 sin. 436 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:25,800 So you could stay in your sins and 437 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:27,700 still believe you will go to heaven. 438 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:31,220 Listen, friend, God will have no rebels in 439 00:20:31,220 --> 00:20:31,740 his kingdom. 440 00:20:32,340 --> 00:20:34,800 You must repent, you must throw down your 441 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:38,000 shotgun of rebellion and surrender to the king 442 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:38,920 of kings. 443 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:42,240 So the third thing we must do as 444 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,140 preachers is to warn men of their duty 445 00:20:45,140 --> 00:20:45,860 of repentance. 446 00:20:46,660 --> 00:20:50,860 Jesus declared, except you repent, you shall all 447 00:20:50,860 --> 00:20:52,260 likewise perish. 448 00:20:52,980 --> 00:20:55,720 We live in a day of a perverted, 449 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,920 only believed gospel, and that is not the 450 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:00,460 gospel of the glory of God. 451 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,280 Friend, you must repent if you want to 452 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:03,960 go to heaven. 453 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,940 Hell is full of unrepentant church members. 454 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:12,660 The next thing to do when preaching is 455 00:21:12,660 --> 00:21:16,220 to explain to man their necessity of regeneration. 456 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:20,240 There was a time in this country about 457 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:23,840 150 years ago where you could not join 458 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:27,840 a church unless you provided clear evidence of 459 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:28,680 regeneration. 460 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:34,540 When George Whitefield was in Boston in 1740 461 00:21:34,540 --> 00:21:37,960 during the Great Awakening and he was preaching 462 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:40,840 in the open air on Boston Common to 463 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,060 20,000 people at a time, a minister 464 00:21:44,060 --> 00:21:47,700 approached him one day and asked, Mr. Whitefield, 465 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,740 how many converts have you had since you've 466 00:21:50,740 --> 00:21:51,800 been among us? 467 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,540 To which the great Whitefield replied, I don't 468 00:21:55,540 --> 00:21:58,120 know, sir, but I shall return to these 469 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:00,480 parts in a year or so and look 470 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:02,820 for the evidence of their salvation. 471 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,860 But today, most people join the church through 472 00:22:07,860 --> 00:22:11,320 a decision rather than through a regenerated heart 473 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:12,500 through the new birth. 474 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,980 They are merely decisionists who have believed a 475 00:22:15,980 --> 00:22:19,000 text or made a decision to become a 476 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:20,620 Christian based on a text. 477 00:22:21,100 --> 00:22:24,200 I fear there are many today in our 478 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:27,000 churches who believe in the death of Christ, 479 00:22:27,140 --> 00:22:29,440 but they do not believe on the Christ 480 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,260 who died today in our churches. 481 00:22:32,260 --> 00:22:35,640 You'd be hard pressed to find much evidence 482 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,080 of one's salvation through a new life. 483 00:22:38,620 --> 00:22:41,960 You see, friends, when you get saved, something 484 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:42,760 happens. 485 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,960 God takes the heart of stone and makes 486 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,080 it a heart of flesh. 487 00:22:47,460 --> 00:22:50,360 When you get truly saved, friend, a self 488 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:54,000 is dethroned and another is enthroned there, the 489 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:55,600 Lord Jesus Christ. 490 00:22:57,020 --> 00:23:00,000 The last thing to do when we preach 491 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,300 the gospel is we must call men to 492 00:23:03,300 --> 00:23:03,880 Christ. 493 00:23:04,340 --> 00:23:06,540 I do not mean ask them to walk 494 00:23:06,540 --> 00:23:09,400 an aisle or repeat a prayer, which is 495 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:11,700 the way most people do things today. 496 00:23:12,100 --> 00:23:14,440 No one gets saved by walking an aisle 497 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:15,640 or repeating a prayer. 498 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:17,700 That's not even in my Bible. 499 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,860 Just because a big evangelist made stadium invitations 500 00:23:22,860 --> 00:23:26,000 popular doesn't mean we have to follow his 501 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:26,620 example. 502 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,140 Our job as evangelists is not to get 503 00:23:30,140 --> 00:23:32,580 someone to walk an aisle or get them 504 00:23:32,580 --> 00:23:33,740 to repeat a prayer. 505 00:23:34,340 --> 00:23:37,200 Our job is to preach the gospel in 506 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:41,240 its purity and proper order, get men lost, 507 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:43,560 make room for the spirit of God to 508 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:47,420 work conviction upon a sinner's heart, then call 509 00:23:47,420 --> 00:23:48,480 them to Christ. 510 00:23:48,820 --> 00:23:51,580 We can call them to Christ by preaching 511 00:23:51,580 --> 00:23:53,060 gospel words to them. 512 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,140 Let me tell you who the gospel is 513 00:23:56,140 --> 00:23:56,680 for. 514 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,540 It is for the person who is conscience 515 00:24:00,540 --> 00:24:02,000 of their need. 516 00:24:02,540 --> 00:24:05,840 It is for the hungry, the weary and 517 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:06,460 the thirsty. 518 00:24:07,180 --> 00:24:09,340 Are you hungry for God? 519 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:11,420 Are you weary of your sins? 520 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:13,400 Are you thirsty for Christ? 521 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,040 Then come listen to these calls to come 522 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:17,780 to Christ. 523 00:24:18,100 --> 00:24:20,980 We must preach the gospel first and foremost. 524 00:24:21,460 --> 00:24:23,280 Listen friends to the gospel. 525 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:27,680 Seek ye the Lord while he may be 526 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:28,240 found. 527 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,960 Call ye upon him while he is near. 528 00:24:32,420 --> 00:24:35,560 Let the wicked forsake his way and the 529 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:39,540 unrighteous his thoughts and let him return unto 530 00:24:39,540 --> 00:24:42,340 the Lord and he will have mercy upon 531 00:24:42,340 --> 00:24:45,620 him and to our God for he will 532 00:24:45,620 --> 00:24:47,400 abundantly pardon. 533 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,220 Look unto me and be ye saved all 534 00:24:52,220 --> 00:24:54,720 the ends of the earth for I am 535 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:56,920 God and there is none else. 536 00:24:57,820 --> 00:25:01,120 All that the Father giveth me shall come 537 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:03,820 to me and him that cometh to me 538 00:25:03,820 --> 00:25:06,420 I will in no wise cast out. 539 00:25:07,120 --> 00:25:10,920 Come unto me all ye that labor and 540 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,880 are heavy laden and I will give you 541 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:14,400 rest. 542 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,640 Take my yoke upon you and learn of 543 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,580 me for I am meek and lowly in 544 00:25:20,580 --> 00:25:23,680 heart and ye shall find rest unto your 545 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,200 souls for my yoke is easy and my 546 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:28,520 burden is light. 547 00:25:30,060 --> 00:25:32,660 In the last day that great day the 548 00:25:32,660 --> 00:25:36,900 feast Jesus stood and cried saying if any 549 00:25:36,900 --> 00:25:39,840 man thirst let him come unto me and 550 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:43,480 drink he that believeth on me as the 551 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,660 scripture hath said out of his belly shall 552 00:25:46,660 --> 00:25:50,900 flow rivers of living water and the spirit 553 00:25:50,900 --> 00:25:53,660 and the bride say come and let him 554 00:25:53,660 --> 00:25:56,920 that heareth say come and let him that 555 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:01,480 is a thirst come and whosoever will let 556 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:03,880 him take the water of life freely. 557 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,740 Well I hope this little exercise has helped 558 00:26:08,740 --> 00:26:11,240 us today to be better preachers of the 559 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:12,980 gospel of the Son of God. 560 00:26:13,420 --> 00:26:15,960 Pray that the Lord of the harvest will 561 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:17,940 send workers into his harvest. 562 00:26:18,420 --> 00:26:22,260 Listen friends we need God called man anointed 563 00:26:22,260 --> 00:26:24,560 with the spirit of God to preach the 564 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:27,440 full counsel of God to this generation of 565 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:28,660 hell-bound sinners. 566 00:26:29,060 --> 00:26:31,480 Though we must warn men to repent and 567 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:33,260 that they must be born again. 568 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,640 Preach it brother preach it be like old 569 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:41,000 Paul and reprove rebuke and exhort with doctrine.