1
00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:05,420
Please bow your heads as I pray.

2
00:00:06,180 --> 00:00:11,060
Heavenly Father, I come before you by the

3
00:00:11,060 --> 00:00:15,340
blood of your dear son Jesus of Nazareth,

4
00:00:15,780 --> 00:00:19,480
who shed his blood for the forgiveness of

5
00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:19,920
sins.

6
00:00:19,980 --> 00:00:23,780
I pray that you grant the grace of

7
00:00:23,780 --> 00:00:28,880
saving faith to someone here to where you

8
00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,680
awaken them to their lost condition.

9
00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:36,460
And that your spirit will come and disturb

10
00:00:36,460 --> 00:00:37,320
folks.

11
00:00:37,660 --> 00:00:40,520
That they will see where they're going.

12
00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,840
That they're going straight to a devil's hell.

13
00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:48,420
That you will open their ears so they

14
00:00:48,420 --> 00:00:50,740
can hear your voice.

15
00:00:51,060 --> 00:00:55,280
That you open their eyes and turn them

16
00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,580
from darkness to light and from the power

17
00:00:58,580 --> 00:01:01,020
of Satan onto God.

18
00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,760
That they may receive forgiveness of sins through

19
00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:07,920
a revealed Christ.

20
00:01:08,340 --> 00:01:12,400
That they may look unto you and be

21
00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:13,200
saved.

22
00:01:13,620 --> 00:01:16,760
That they'll be blinded by the cross and

23
00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:21,240
turn from their wicked ways and turn to

24
00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:25,660
a bleeding and dying Christ who loved me

25
00:01:25,660 --> 00:01:27,780
and gave himself for me.

26
00:01:29,140 --> 00:01:33,660
Make someone here feel your love for a

27
00:01:33,660 --> 00:01:37,580
world of guilty sinners and change their heart

28
00:01:37,580 --> 00:01:41,280
by your grace so they can believe on

29
00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,080
Jesus your son.

30
00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:46,060
So they can be saved by Jesus.

31
00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,800
So they can be changed by Jesus.

32
00:01:50,460 --> 00:01:53,020
So they can live for Jesus.

33
00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,760
So they can fall head over heels in

34
00:01:57,760 --> 00:01:59,480
love with Jesus.

35
00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,500
I pray these things in the strong name

36
00:02:03,500 --> 00:02:04,620
of Jesus.

37
00:02:05,260 --> 00:02:06,080
Amen.

38
00:02:07,479 --> 00:02:10,640
I want you to pay attention to this

39
00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:14,260
message today friends because it may be the

40
00:02:14,260 --> 00:02:17,060
most important one you'll ever hear.

41
00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:21,660
Because it concerns your eternal soul.

42
00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,700
Yes, I said your eternal soul.

43
00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,560
You have a soul within your body that

44
00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,260
will one day through death take you out

45
00:02:33,260 --> 00:02:35,940
of this world and take you into another

46
00:02:35,940 --> 00:02:36,660
world.

47
00:02:36,660 --> 00:02:40,640
Either the glory of God's heaven or the

48
00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:43,320
miseries of a devil's hell.

49
00:02:44,340 --> 00:02:46,960
I'm not going to sugarcoat things for you

50
00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,880
today friends like some preachers do by telling

51
00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,060
you what you want to hear so that

52
00:02:54,060 --> 00:02:55,140
you'll like them.

53
00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:57,940
I don't care if you like me or

54
00:02:57,940 --> 00:02:58,460
not.

55
00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,500
It doesn't matter a hill of beans what

56
00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:02,420
you think of me.

57
00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:04,940
I died a long time ago.

58
00:03:05,660 --> 00:03:08,240
But it does matter to me what a

59
00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:10,720
risen Christ thinks of me.

60
00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,720
And I must preach Christ and him crucified.

61
00:03:15,740 --> 00:03:18,780
The title of my message today friends is

62
00:03:18,780 --> 00:03:21,540
blinded by the cross.

63
00:03:21,900 --> 00:03:25,100
And I'm going to give you the undiluted

64
00:03:25,100 --> 00:03:27,500
gospel of the cross.

65
00:03:28,340 --> 00:03:31,220
Like we say in the south, I'm going

66
00:03:31,220 --> 00:03:34,460
to give you the oil straight from the

67
00:03:34,460 --> 00:03:38,000
can because I care about your soul.

68
00:03:38,700 --> 00:03:42,480
Turn with me friends in your Bibles to

69
00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:43,680
the book of Acts.

70
00:03:43,900 --> 00:03:46,940
We will be in chapter 22 and we'll

71
00:03:46,940 --> 00:03:49,700
be taking a look at verses 6 through

72
00:03:49,700 --> 00:03:50,400
9.

73
00:03:51,220 --> 00:03:55,700
This striking passage of scripture is the apostle

74
00:03:55,700 --> 00:03:59,420
Paul's own testimony of his conversion.

75
00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:02,680
So it's pretty important I think we better

76
00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:04,220
pay attention to it.

77
00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,140
Here now is the word of God.

78
00:04:07,740 --> 00:04:11,220
And it came to pass that as I

79
00:04:11,220 --> 00:04:14,460
made my journey and was come nigh unto

80
00:04:14,460 --> 00:04:20,220
Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven

81
00:04:20,220 --> 00:04:23,920
a great light round about me.

82
00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,240
And I fell onto the ground and heard

83
00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:33,060
a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why

84
00:04:33,060 --> 00:04:34,940
persecutest thou me?

85
00:04:35,460 --> 00:04:38,940
And I answered, Who art thou, Lord?

86
00:04:39,300 --> 00:04:45,060
And he said unto me, I am Jesus

87
00:04:45,060 --> 00:04:48,640
of Nazareth whom thou persecutest.

88
00:04:49,620 --> 00:04:52,480
And they that were with me saw indeed

89
00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,000
the light, but they heard not the voice

90
00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,320
of him that spake to me.

91
00:04:58,820 --> 00:05:00,980
I will stop there friends.

92
00:05:01,660 --> 00:05:05,800
Paul was blinded by the cross that day.

93
00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:09,520
It literally turned him upside down and knocked

94
00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:11,860
him off his horse that day.

95
00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,760
He was stopped dead in his tracks and

96
00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:20,420
he heard God's voice and he saw God's

97
00:05:20,420 --> 00:05:21,280
son Jesus.

98
00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,880
And he made an about face from the

99
00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,520
direction he was going in to turn and

100
00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:33,200
go in a different direction altogether and go

101
00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,460
smack dab straight to Christ Jesus.

102
00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,000
Listen to me friend, if God's going to

103
00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,520
save you, it will be a work of

104
00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:48,560
grace because if you really saved, it's because

105
00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,780
God gave you saving faith.

106
00:05:52,100 --> 00:05:55,340
You don't find salvation in a decision you

107
00:05:55,340 --> 00:05:55,780
make.

108
00:05:55,980 --> 00:05:57,640
You must find Christ.

109
00:05:58,020 --> 00:06:01,540
You were saved when you receive a revealed

110
00:06:01,540 --> 00:06:05,620
Christ and the spirit of God works regeneration

111
00:06:06,140 --> 00:06:09,720
on the heart and you experience change.

112
00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:15,800
All men come into this world with a

113
00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:19,260
poison in their blood because of Adam's sin.

114
00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:23,240
You were born with a rune nature and

115
00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:24,560
a bent toward sin.

116
00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,400
Men go through life in a pursuit of

117
00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,800
this world and give little thought to where

118
00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:34,420
they will spend eternity.

119
00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,620
It's like they're in a boat, casually going

120
00:06:38,620 --> 00:06:42,300
down the stream, tasting life's pleasures as they

121
00:06:42,300 --> 00:06:47,440
come and go, carelessly drifting along, consumed with

122
00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,800
the journey of this world and ignorant of

123
00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:52,880
the fact that at the end of the

124
00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,820
stream is a dangerous precipice with a vast

125
00:06:56,820 --> 00:07:01,240
chasm that will plunge you into outer darkness.

126
00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,620
Your trouble is you've never heard a preacher

127
00:07:06,620 --> 00:07:10,500
warn you before of your great danger of

128
00:07:10,500 --> 00:07:11,860
dying in your sins.

129
00:07:12,300 --> 00:07:15,340
They just sugarcoated the gospel for you.

130
00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,120
You've never had a God called preacher address

131
00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,340
you and be honest with your soul and

132
00:07:22,340 --> 00:07:25,740
cry at the top of his voice warning

133
00:07:25,740 --> 00:07:29,960
to you, fire, fire, flee from the wrath

134
00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:30,740
to come.

135
00:07:31,060 --> 00:07:32,640
Don't go to hell friend.

136
00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,280
Repent before it's too late because men are

137
00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,340
failed to be warned.

138
00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:44,940
It's because men are burnt up, but I

139
00:07:44,940 --> 00:07:48,100
didn't come here today to make you happy

140
00:07:48,100 --> 00:07:51,320
or to make you laugh, but to warn

141
00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:51,820
you.

142
00:07:52,460 --> 00:07:54,200
This is a solemn warning.

143
00:07:55,060 --> 00:07:58,240
You must get your sins washed into blood

144
00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,500
and you must be born from above or

145
00:08:01,500 --> 00:08:03,520
you're just going to go on to hell.

146
00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:09,900
Notice two things here in our text.

147
00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,280
Paul was blinded by the cross.

148
00:08:13,540 --> 00:08:17,300
It changed his life's direction and he heard

149
00:08:17,300 --> 00:08:22,360
God's voice where his traveling companions did not.

150
00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,700
If you get saved from this message today,

151
00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,140
friend, it won't be because you heard my

152
00:08:29,140 --> 00:08:33,940
pitiful crackling voice, but because you were blinded

153
00:08:33,940 --> 00:08:37,080
by the cross and you heard his voice.

154
00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:39,679
Let me tell you about Jesus.

155
00:08:40,620 --> 00:08:43,940
Jesus came down here so we can go

156
00:08:43,940 --> 00:08:44,800
up there.

157
00:08:45,060 --> 00:08:47,960
I know you've heard about all the good

158
00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:51,040
things Jesus did when he was here.

159
00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:55,660
Jesus came into the world doing good.

160
00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:58,520
Jesus healed the sick.

161
00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,400
Jesus fed the hungry.

162
00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:04,920
Jesus gave sight to the blind.

163
00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,240
Jesus gave rest to the weary.

164
00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,840
Jesus even raised the dead to life.

165
00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:14,560
Yet what happened?

166
00:09:15,020 --> 00:09:18,760
Men cried away with him and nailed him

167
00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:19,920
to a cross.

168
00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:23,720
They placed a crown of thorns on Jesus'

169
00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,640
head and they crucified Jesus.

170
00:09:27,140 --> 00:09:32,180
Between two criminals there up on Calvary's hill,

171
00:09:32,740 --> 00:09:34,660
the son of man was crucified.

172
00:09:35,820 --> 00:09:40,640
Roman soldiers drove nails into Jesus' hands and

173
00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:41,560
feet.

174
00:09:41,940 --> 00:09:45,340
There Jesus hung on that cross.

175
00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:49,160
It's a bloody spectacle for all to see.

176
00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,920
Look at that man on the cross, friend.

177
00:09:53,700 --> 00:09:56,620
Look at that blessed man on the cross

178
00:09:56,620 --> 00:10:01,680
hanging there with his arms outstretched, beckoning you

179
00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:05,660
to come to him and believe on him.

180
00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:10,620
Look at that bloodstained savior from sin as

181
00:10:10,620 --> 00:10:13,620
he wrestles under the weight of sin.

182
00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:18,580
Look unto me and be ye saved, all

183
00:10:18,580 --> 00:10:21,420
the ends of the earth, for I am

184
00:10:21,420 --> 00:10:24,420
God and there is none else.

185
00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:28,700
Look at that blessed man on the cross,

186
00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,940
friend, as he squirms in agony and pain.

187
00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:37,300
I am the way, the truth, and the

188
00:10:37,300 --> 00:10:37,960
life.

189
00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:43,060
No man cometh unto the Father but by

190
00:10:43,060 --> 00:10:43,720
me.

191
00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:47,960
The cross is the place where wicked men

192
00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,640
sought to get rid of him, but by

193
00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,200
his death it becomes the place where his

194
00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:58,120
saving power flows out to all who come

195
00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:03,500
in repentance, confessing their sinners and own them

196
00:11:03,500 --> 00:11:05,880
as their Savior and Lord.

197
00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:10,780
Herein is love, not that we love God,

198
00:11:10,980 --> 00:11:14,040
but that he loved us and sent his

199
00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:18,820
Son to be a propitiation for our sins.

200
00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:21,040
Don't go to hell, friend.

201
00:11:21,540 --> 00:11:24,900
Hell is a region of demons, of outer

202
00:11:24,900 --> 00:11:25,560
darkness.

203
00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,180
It is a bottomless pit because it's a

204
00:11:29,180 --> 00:11:33,620
prison that holds hundreds and hundreds of millions

205
00:11:33,620 --> 00:11:35,880
of the souls of the damned where they

206
00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:39,080
cry day and night in the smoke and

207
00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,880
torments of burnings.

208
00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,880
But the only way a sinner will get

209
00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:49,760
into God's holy heaven is for that sinner

210
00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:53,260
to be justified by Christ's blood.

211
00:11:53,260 --> 00:11:56,520
Listen, friend, I know I am a sinner

212
00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,820
and I need a substitute for sin, and

213
00:11:59,820 --> 00:12:02,820
so do you, friend, so do you.

214
00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:07,440
The only way this poor preacher will get

215
00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:11,660
into God's holy heaven is when Christ's life

216
00:12:11,660 --> 00:12:14,940
is laid down and applied to me.

217
00:12:15,580 --> 00:12:17,280
Do you understand that?

218
00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,480
Let me explain it to you this way.

219
00:12:21,620 --> 00:12:25,580
There's a story I heard years ago, and

220
00:12:25,580 --> 00:12:28,200
it helped me understand how to get to

221
00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:28,700
Jesus.

222
00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:31,340
And if you want to be saved, friend,

223
00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:34,620
you must get to Jesus and believe on

224
00:12:34,620 --> 00:12:35,160
him.

225
00:12:35,500 --> 00:12:38,480
I'm almost done with my sermon, so sit

226
00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,280
up and pay attention to the story about

227
00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:45,480
how a person gets to go to heaven.

228
00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:50,060
It's the story about a man traveling through

229
00:12:50,060 --> 00:12:53,440
the city of St. Louis, and it is

230
00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,680
a Sunday, and he is a Christian, so

231
00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:00,060
he parks his car at a downtown church

232
00:13:00,060 --> 00:13:02,120
and goes inside to worship.

233
00:13:02,900 --> 00:13:06,900
Once he's in there, he realizes he's the

234
00:13:06,900 --> 00:13:10,100
only white person in an all-black church,

235
00:13:10,140 --> 00:13:13,080
so he takes his seat on the back

236
00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:13,640
row.

237
00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:17,180
Up on the platform is the well-dressed

238
00:13:17,180 --> 00:13:21,440
elderly pastor who's speaking on a subject that

239
00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:22,520
Sunday morning.

240
00:13:22,980 --> 00:13:24,620
His subject is heaven.

241
00:13:25,380 --> 00:13:30,600
He begins a sermon by saying, Some folks

242
00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,160
call heaven paradise.

243
00:13:33,940 --> 00:13:37,700
Other folks call it Abraham's bosom.

244
00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:40,980
I like to think of heaven this way.

245
00:13:41,660 --> 00:13:45,960
Here is Jesus, just returned from his earthly

246
00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:46,600
ministry.

247
00:13:47,340 --> 00:13:51,500
He stands there at the pearly gates, and

248
00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:54,120
old Gabriel comes to greet him.

249
00:13:54,740 --> 00:13:55,840
Hello, Jesus.

250
00:13:56,620 --> 00:13:59,400
Sure is good to see you, Jesus.

251
00:13:59,780 --> 00:14:02,620
We sure missed you up here, Jesus.

252
00:14:03,300 --> 00:14:06,940
Sure is good to have you home, Jesus.

253
00:14:07,700 --> 00:14:10,640
But wait, who's that with you?

254
00:14:11,020 --> 00:14:13,120
Is that that thief from the cross?

255
00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:14,520
Oh, no, sir.

256
00:14:14,860 --> 00:14:17,500
We can't have no thieves up here.

257
00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,380
He's not welcome here, Jesus replied.

258
00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:23,500
Never you mind, Gabriel.

259
00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:25,420
Never you mind.

260
00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,520
And just then, Jesus put his arm around

261
00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:33,300
the thief and declared, He's with me.

262
00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:38,020
If you get saved, friend, it's because you

263
00:14:38,020 --> 00:14:41,160
were blinded by the cross, and that man

264
00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,680
on the cross was revealed to you as

265
00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:47,220
the only remedy for sin.

266
00:14:47,700 --> 00:14:50,840
But you must get to him and believe

267
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,100
on him, so that when you stand at

268
00:14:54,100 --> 00:14:58,700
the judgment, even though your sins condemn you

269
00:14:58,700 --> 00:15:02,960
as a guilty sinner, you will hear the

270
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:06,880
voice of the Savior say, He's with me.

271
00:15:07,300 --> 00:15:08,980
She's with me.

272
00:15:09,500 --> 00:15:13,760
Blessed are they which are called unto the

273
00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:16,680
marriage supper of the Lamb.