Evangelism - Summing Up

[00:00:00] The 29th psalm. [00:00:08] This is a psalm about the voice of the Lord in a storm. [00:00:21] Ascribe unto the Lord, o ye sons of the mighty. Ascribe unto the Lord glory and strength. [00:00:29] Ascribe unto the Lord the glory due unto his name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. [00:00:40] The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of glory thundereth even the Lord upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars. Yea, the Lord breaketh in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip like a cull Lebanon and Syrian like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord cleaveth the flames of fire. [00:01:15] The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness. The Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kede. [00:01:21] The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to carve and strippeth the forests bare. And in his temple everything saith glory. [00:01:33] The Lord sat as king at the flood. Yea, the Lord sitteth as king forever. The Lord will give strength unto his people. The Lord will bless his people with peace. [00:01:50] Now we'll sing one other hymn. [00:01:55] Now, in these last few weeks we have been dealing with this matter of evangelism, and we have spoken quite a lot about the bigger subject of evangelism, the scriptural basis for it and the objective of it, and the scope of evangelism and the essential constituents in evangelism. And then we have made quite a number of practical observations. And then we have also spent some time on soul winning, the necessity, the need to win souls to Christ, and the command to win souls to Christ. And some examples that we have found of soul winning in the New Testament. And then finally, the way to lead souls to Christ. You remember those three little phrases, he findeth, he saith, and he bringeth him to Jesus. [00:03:08] It is in these three little phases that we discover the way to lead souls to Christ. Now, last week we spoke of follow up work, the necessity of follow up work, good follow up work. We spoke about some of the basic essentials that we must underline when a person has found the Lord, the five absolutely vital things to leave in their mind, if not all at the same time. Certainly in the succeeding weeks. Witness, they must learn to witness to Christ from the very beginning. That is the only way their salvation can be ratified. [00:03:55] Second thing is to know that they must know about reading and studying the word of God, feeding upon the word of God, prayer, obedience, absolute obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a thing I fear is so often overlooked in follow up work. If persons just come to Christ and they go away with this one thing clear in their mind, that whatever the Lord Jesus says to them, whatever he shows to them, they are to obey. This is better than anything else. And the last thing, of course, is fellowship. Now, this evening we've also talked about some of the problems connected with heresies. [00:04:40] We have spoke, spoken a little bit about some of these things that trouble us so much, unitarianism, christian science, Christadelphianism, Jehovah's Witnesses, unity's school of Christianity, spiritism, Mormonism, and so on and so forth. And we have spoken about how to deal with Orthodox Anglo Catholics and Roman Catholics a little, and Jews. And then last week, we finally ended talking a little bit about the way we need to deal with those with whom we're coming so much into contact in this town now, those of other religions, Buddhists, Muslims, Taoists, Sikhs, so on and so forth. Well, now, this evening I want, by the grace and ability of God, to finally sum up everything. I'm not going to sum up everything. Actually, you've got it on the tapes, so if you want to really listen to it more slowly, you can at your leisure. But what I want to do is take out one single matter that I think is of supreme importance in evangelistic soul winning and follow up work. It is the vital importance of the word God, the vital importance of the word of God in evangelistic soul winning and follow up work. Now, it may seem to some of you that it hardly needs to be said, but in actual fact, when it comes down to the practice of this, it is all too apparent, apparent that true believers do not use the word of God when they are dealing with men and women in need. [00:06:52] They mutter and mumble and babble many of their own ideas. [00:06:59] They may be good ideas, they may even be scriptural ideas, but it all bubbles out of their heart. And somehow or other, there's not the clarity and there's not the authority, and there's not the power in it. Because although we all say that the Bible is the word of God, and although we all assent to the fact that it has absolute authority and it is inspired of God's Holy Spirit, yet when it comes to it, we seem unable or incapable of actually using it. [00:07:38] And this is what I want to underline. We've said quite a lot in these last weeks about the word of God, the place of the word of God in these various things, evangelism, soul winning, and follow up work. I think perhaps the most vital and important thing we can stress in it all is the place of God's word. [00:08:03] No amount of singing, whether it's solo, duet, or choral. No amount of discussing, however gifted those who can debate are no amount of christian entertainment. And the Lord knows there's enough christian entertainment in christian circles today. Terrible amount of entertainment, but no amount of entertainment. No number of big names and big personalities to draw the people and somehow or other get the place full, can take the place of the word of God. You can have a big name, you can have a big personality, but if the word of God is not preached, there will not be, be real, a real work of God's holy spirit. Much of it will be superficial, and much of it will pass away as quickly as it took place. [00:09:07] Some people seem to think that it's a question of informality or formality. There are those who believe that evangelistic outreach should be more formal. They say people don't like to be embarrassed in an informal atmosphere. They like to creep into a definite formal service and sit at the back where they know they won't be embarrassed. There are others who say no, they like informality. But whether you have no amount of informality as such will do anything, and no amount of formality on its own will join. These are not really the essential things at all. None of these things can take the place of the word of God. You can sing until you're blue in the face, you can discuss until your tongue is so dry, your mouth is so dry you can't utter another word. You can persuade and you can argue, and you can bring all the powers of reason and emotion to bear upon people, and you might even, in the end, crack them up. But it won't be a work of God, because in the end, nothing can be a substitute for the word of God. [00:10:21] Again, we might say that in personal work we can talk and we can talk, we can argue, we can exert pressure, but it is God's word which is the abiding and governing factor. [00:10:39] Now, I am not saying that singing, a special singing is wrong, and I'm not saying that big names are wrong. Thank God for them. Billy Graham is a big name. Thank God for him, because if he comes, it draws a tremendous number of people under the sound of the gospel. But what we are saying, and of course, I might also add that it's not a question of that we should not debate or we should not discuss. There are times when we ought to sit down and discuss and debate. But what I am saying is this, that if those things come in the place of the word of God, nothing will result. [00:11:18] If they can be a vehicle, a vehicle for the word of God to come to people, then it is right and legitimate. [00:11:31] The Holy Spirit refuses to commit himself to anything but the word of God. [00:11:39] We might be the greatest person in the world, but if it is not the word of God we preach, the Holy Spirit will not commit himself. We may be the most humble child of God in the world, but we have the word of God. The Holy Spirit will commit himself. [00:11:55] The point is that the Holy Spirit refuses to commit himself to anything but the word of God. He may use many things, he may use many people, he may use many methods, but finally, it is always God's word by which he saves. [00:12:15] In the end, in the final analysis, it is the word of God which the Holy Spirit uses. In fact, we must say that so often all the other things obscure or compromise God's word. [00:12:34] I'm fearful sometimes when I've heard some of the things on my journeys and seen some of the methods and so on. I can't help feeling in many cases that we are obscuring the word of God and hindering the word of God. I could give you an example. I could give you many, many examples. But I think of one example when I was asked to preach the gospel and where we had first a solo, then a choral piece, then we sang a hymn, then we had a duet, then we had a special piano piece with guitar and something else. I think it was a cornet. And then after that I was asked to preach. After that we had another duet, then we had the collection, then we had the notices, and after that we had the choir. And I really did was surprised. I said to my heart, myself, in my heart, Lord Jesus, if anyone gets saved in this place tonight, it is truly and really a miracle, because we Christians have obscured the word of God. We put so much into the shop window that I'm quite sure we've dazzled the poor, unsaved ones in such a way that they don't really know what we've been saying. [00:13:50] This is what I mean by obscuring or compromising the word of God. I remember Alan Redpath used to be so. Gets so angry about collections after he preached the gospel, because he knew, and I think all of us do, how cleverly the devil seeks to divert and distract attention. When the Holy Spirit has spoken to the heart and someone is gripped, you can be sure that the devil will do everything he possibly can to somehow or other divert that person's attention away from what has gone into the heart. We need to. We need such wisdom. Maybe there's a place for a collection. I'm not talking about that tonight. Maybe there's a place for notices. I'm not talking about that. Maybe there's a place for singing. I'm not talking about. I'm just saying that sometimes these things can obscure and hinder the very objective that they are meant to pursue. [00:14:54] Why do we sing? [00:14:56] Well, we sing in order to reach people. [00:15:00] Why do we give out notices? In order to make them feel welcome. [00:15:04] In order to make them feel that they're in. Why do we click? Well, I think we clicked because we've got to have the work going on. I suppose that is the normal idea. We've got to support the work and we've got to see that the work goes forward. So we have a collection. But you see, these very things whose objective is sounding forth the word of life are in fact obscuring the objective and compromising it and hindering its actual fulfillment. [00:15:44] I think we must see that God is wholly committed to his own word. [00:15:54] He will honour his word, he will fulfill his word and he will work through and by his word. The understanding of this simple fact is all important. [00:16:09] If every one of us went out of this room tonight, not with it up here, but with it here, I dare say many homes and many offices and many friendships would be transformed if you and I could see that God honors his word. God is committed to his word and God works by his word. [00:16:35] This little but simple fact is all important in the light of it. We can. In the light of of the place that we give to the word of God in our evangelism and in our soul winning and follow up, we can judge every single thing. Now, my dear friend, judge every tract you read by this, whether you're going to use it or not. Judge the booklets that we use by this simple fact. [00:17:04] Judge them in the light of the place given to the word of God. Are they an exposition, an interpretation, an explanation of God's actual word? Or are they just what we think, what we think will catch people, what we think will interest them? This is the thing by which we can judge everything. Every single evangelistic method can be judged by in the light of the place which it gives to the word of God. [00:17:39] All our personal work, my personal work, your personal work can be judged by the place that we give in our personal work to the word of God. Our follow up work can be judged in the same light. This is the standard by which we can judge everything. [00:18:01] I think we must learn to give God's word its rightful place. From big mass evangelistic campaigns right down to the humblest personal counselling and work. Everything can be judged in the light of the place we give to the word of God. Now, I've said quite a bit. Now let's have a look at the word of God. Isaiah, chapter 55, verse eleven. [00:18:38] Isaiah 50 511. [00:18:42] So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. What a wonderful promise. [00:19:02] My word. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void. What a promise. What a promise. Just to be certain that we have the word of God, take the word of God with you. And we know that this word cannot return unto God void. I don't mean using it like a parrot or using it in a kind of mechanical way, like a bit of machinery. Press button. Automatic bit of machinery. No, I mean to use it, as we shall point out in a few moments, in a way that comes out of our own inner life with God. To use the word of God like that means that the word of God cannot return unto him void, but must accomplish that to which he has sent it. Now let's look at romans one and verse 16. [00:20:04] Romans 116. For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. To the jew first, and also to the Greek. I might just comment on this verse that Paul says, I am not ashamed. The very fact that he says, I am not ashamed means that sometime or another he has faced this matter of being ashamed. We often, whenever we say, I am not something, it is because we've had to face it. And so we say, I am not ashamed. Because, in fact, we have been tempted to be ashamed at one point. So we have faced the lion in the face. We have looked him straight in the eyes, as it were, and then we've got through. By the grace of God, I am not ashamed. Now, my dear friends, the devil uses this as his most. His most subtle weapon. Shame. [00:21:01] Shame. [00:21:03] Fear. [00:21:04] Fear of just not someone coming out and getting and losing their temper. But just that curl of the lip, just that little sneer, just that supercilious look, just that sort of look. To look at you as much. Oh, do you mean to tell me you believe that kind of thing? I thought it went out with Luther. [00:21:29] You know the kind of feeling that you get that someone is just treating you like a little kindergarten, empty headed simpleton. [00:21:42] None of us like to be treated like simpleton. None of us like to be treated like little children. And the whole world says, of course, if you believe this christian nonsense, if you believe this christian rubbish, this trash, you must be empty headed. You're just emotional. [00:21:59] You haven't got the powers to reason. So we feel ashamed of the gospel. We don't feel that we can, we can. We can speak to people about this glorious gospel of God's grace and power. So we stutter. Well, those of us who love the Lord and are devoted to the Lord, we know that we cannot forsake the gospel. So we do the next best thing. We don't actually use the word of God, but we put it in a lovely philosophical way that we feel is so nicely wrapped up that they must accept it. [00:22:35] In actual fact, we have put it through the minsa of our own minds, you understand? And it's come out rather differently to what it was intended to be. No, we must not be ashamed of the gospel. Why? Because the gospel is the power of God. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Oh, get it into your heart, the gospel. The good news concerning God's son is the power of God under salvation to everyone who believes. If you and I can only let God use his gospel in our work, in our evangelism, in our personal work and follow up work, we shall discover the power of God there. Do we need power? We won't have it in ourselves. Use the word of God and you will find the power of God there. Then again, turn to one corinthians, chapter one, verse 21. [00:23:34] For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom knew not God. It was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe. I have mentioned this before in these studies, that every one of us, if we're the least bit sensitive, not all preachers are sensitive, but if we are the least bit sensitive, then we are very conscious of the folly of preaching. It seems so foolish to stand up and preach. We know very well that only God can say. We know very well that if people listen to us apart from God, they'll only get emotional or feel that we might have wonderful brains or something else. It's all so foolish in a way. We stand up and we proclaim the gospel, and yet it has pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. [00:24:36] Then again, if you turn to Romans ten, Romans 1013. [00:24:50] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent even as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things. [00:25:16] Here again, it is the word of God. If you read in verse 17, so faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. Now, the other morning I woke up with a little phrase in my mind. How beautiful are the feet of them that bring these glad tidings. Them that bring glad tidings of good things. And the thought that occurred to me was, well, that can't be in the scripture. I thought, how stupid. No, I thought, I've misunderstood that it must say how beautiful is the voice of those that bring glad tidings of good things. Then I thought, no, it can't be. I know it's plural. So it must be, how beautiful are the lips of those who bring. Then if I started to look it up, I couldn't find it. And finally I was having a concordance. I knew it was in Isaiah. I found it in Isaiah. And then I found the cross reference back here to Rome. Then here it was. How beautiful are the feet. What a strange thing for the prophet to say that their feet are beautiful. It's their lips that they use, not their feet. But the point is this, that it is the feet that carry the lips. [00:26:33] And if someone doesn't traverse ground and take glad tidings of good things to people they can never hear. So cries out the prophet, how beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things. It's the feet that matters. [00:26:53] Whether you and I are obedient in going out to men and women to take the gospel to them. We've got to. I once heard misses Harrison Mahari before she was beaten up in the congo and came back. Just before she went back the last time before the Congo trouble, I heard her saying to us in her own characteristic concrete way, I heard her saying, you know that hymn, waft, waft, ye winds. The story is the biggest bit of nonsense in the whole hymn book. [00:27:32] Waft, waft, ye winds. The story. She said, the winds have never wafted the story. It's taken 2ft, two hands, a body and lips to go over the sea and take the gospel so she said, we can all sing at home and sing waft, waft, he wins the story and all get out of our responsibility for actually obeying the call of the Lord. Now, whether it is overseas or whether it is across the street, whether it is Jerusalem or Judea or Samara or the uttermost parts of the earth, the point is, it's the feet of those who bring glad tidings, the gospel that are so beautiful. It's our obedience in going out to men and women, not just believing that in some wonderfully ethereal way men and women are going to hear. But as we are obedient to the Lord and our feet carry us to them, so they shall hear through our lips the glory of the gospel. And then again, if you turn to Galatians three, two, five. [00:28:40] Paul says, this only would I learn from you. [00:28:46] Receive ye the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith. Verse five. He therefore that supplieth to you the spirit and worketh miracles among you. Doeth ye it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith. [00:29:04] Here again, we have the same thing. Everything goes back to the word of God. God's word shall not return to him. Void. It is the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation. It is the foolishness of preaching that is please God to use. It is those who are sent and preach the gospel by which people receive the gift of faith. And here again, even the gift of the Holy Spirit comes by the hearing of faith. They hear the word of God in their spirits, and they receive God's unspeakable gift. One thessalonians one thessalonians 213. [00:29:53] One thessalonians 213. And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that when we received that when ye received from us the word of the message, even the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God which also worketh in you that believe. Isn't that wonderful? They had received the word of God, and now it was working in them. The actual word of God was working in their lives. Do you believe that God's word has the power within it to work in you? It has. God's word is not dead, is living. And when the Holy Spirit brings it into our hearts, and when we open our hearts and are obedient to it, then it works within us. We're not only saved, but it works in us. Now there are so many other ways we can look at the word of God for instance, in Luke chapter eight, verse eleven, we are told it is seed. It is seed. Luke 811. Now, the parable is the seed is the word of God. [00:31:10] Here the sower goes forth. What does he take with him? [00:31:14] His own ideas, his own persuasiveness, his own intelligence, his own christian organization. [00:31:27] What does he take with him? He takes with him this precious seed, the word of God. [00:31:36] And it's a wonderful way to look upon God's word. Never forget it. Your words are not seeds, but God's word is seed. And, you know, we have to scatter the seed. [00:31:49] And sometimes the seed falls into the right ground and it germinates and it takes root and it starts to spring up and grow and in the end, barefoot. Oh, if you and I could just get our ideas, our mentality changed so that in our whole approach, it was the word of God that we were sowing. The word of God, actually taking the word of God and sowing it was a difference. Then again, it is a lamp. If you read in psalm 119 119 105, the word of God is a lamp. Now, I am using all these in connection with evangelism and soul reading. You do realize that they can be used in a much greater, much greater way than just evangelism and soul reading. Psalm 119 136 five thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. God's word is a lamp. [00:32:54] And we shall read another scripture later. The entrance of thy word giveth light. [00:33:00] We can take the word of God into a darkened human heart, divided from God, alienated from God. And that word can be a lamp, and it can shine into that heart. And in shining into the heart, something can happen. Either the person comes out into the light, or they run away from the light into the darkness. But God's word is a lamp. Now, your words can't act like that. They may be interesting. They might provoke anger or annoyance or admiration. But God's word is a lamp. It's light, and it goes into the heart and does a work. That's another point. Then again, God's word is a sword. Ephesians 617, Ephesians 617. Taking with you the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. We need this sword of the spirit in our dealings with these terrible powers that are not flesh and blood, that are principalities and powers in the darkness, in the invisible realm. We need the word of God, but we need the sword of the spirit in our dealings with men and women. For it says in Hebrews, chapter four, verse twelve, that the word of God is sharper than any two edged sword dividing between soul and spirit. It goes right into the very heart. Oh, that we would use the word the sword of the spirit in our dealings with men and women. Then again, when a person has been saved, we may have used the word of God as seed and as a lamp light, and we've used it as a sword. Now they need milk. Well, one, Peter, chapter two. And verse two says that we should desire the. The sincere milk of the word one. Peter two. Two newborn babes long for the spiritual milk which is without guile. Says the revised version. Spiritual milk. Milk for babies. Solid food for children. Hebrews chapter five, verse 414. [00:35:22] 514. [00:35:24] But solid food. That word meat, by the way, in the authorized version, of course, doesn't mean meat, actual flesh. It includes it, but means more. It means solid food. Solid food as opposed to milk. [00:35:40] Here we are. Solid food is for full grown men. God's word is not only milk, it's solid food. And then I wonder what you would do in your life if you didn't have a mirror. I'm not only talking to the ladies. What would you do without a mirror? Just think how indispensable a mirror is. I know some of us don't look as if we do use mirrors, but for the most part, we find a mirror indispensable. We have to look at ourselves in a mirror, just see that everything's in its right place. We haven't got spots of dirt where they shouldn't be and so on. We look at a mirror. God's word is as indispensable as a mirror. Imagine your house without a mirror. [00:36:35] I think you'd feel a little bit sort of self conscious and perhaps you'd feel you were dirty even if you weren't dirty, because you weren't able to look into the mirror and clearly establish that you were clean and tidy and well turned out. Able to go out and meet the big, bad world. [00:36:56] You've got a mirror, and it's part and parcel of life. And I think it's only when some of us travel or some of us go elsewhere that we suddenly find how indispensable a mirror is. [00:37:11] We suddenly find there is no mirror anywhere and we think, well, of course there are ways and means of getting wounded, but normally speaking, a mirror is part and parcel of our daily routine, life. Now, God's word is a mirror, and God's word is a mirror that shows us what kind of people we are. If we look into God's word, we ought to see a reflection in God's word, we should see ourselves, we should see what's happening to us, and we should be able to correct ourselves. We can say, well, I should have to scrub myself a little harder. [00:37:52] Let's look. James 125. He that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continuous being not a hearer that forgetteth, but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing. Verse 23. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he's like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror, beholdeth himself and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he is. We have to continually go back to the word of God. Some of us. We have a wonderful ability to evade things. But the word of God, if we read it and we are prepared to be obedient to it, will show us what kind of people we are. We need a mirror. And then can you imagine your home without any bowl to wash in? [00:38:44] Just imagine it if you had nothing. Now, I'm not even thinking of a beautiful sink with lovely chrome taps and so on. But just imagine that you didn't have a container in which to get a little bit of water, gather some water in order that you could wash, clean things. God's word is a laver. [00:39:05] A laver. In Ephesians 526, we that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the laver of water with the word. The actual word is labour. Washing of water. Water with the word. The laver of water, or the basin of water. The big basin that was in the temple was called a laver. [00:39:36] Somewhere where you wash. This is what the word means. Somewhere where you wash. Now, you see, God's word is where you wash. I wish we could all see that we are clinging to the word of God. I have a little more to say about that in a moment. Well, now, all that, I hope, is sufficient evidence to make us realize how every part of God's convicting and saving work, as well as the christian life, is related to the word of God. It doesn't matter what part you turn to in the christian life, whether it's before a person is a Christian, when they're actually becoming a Christian, whether it's the immediate aftercare, or whether it's the long process of being transformed and conformed into the image of Christ. The word of God is tied to every single step and phase of the way. [00:40:41] I think that ought to make us realize just how important it is. Now, I think, in fact, we ought to look at it even a little more closely. I do it quite swiftly through the word of God. Now I'm talking about evangelism, soul winning and follow up work through the word of God. [00:41:04] One, we are made wise to salvation. [00:41:08] How can a man or a woman become wise to salvation? [00:41:13] That is, they are made clear as to how they can be saved. Practically. [00:41:21] Wisdom is different to knowledge. It's not that they know the theory of salvation, but they are wise to salvation. That is, they know how to be saved. How to Timothy, chapter three, verse 15. [00:41:38] We read, thou hast known the scriptures or the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation. How can any man or woman become wise unto salvation? By the scriptures. [00:41:52] Secondly, through the word of God, light is given to us. Psalm 119 130 the entrance of thy word giveth light. The revised standard version puts it like this. The opening or the unfolding of thy word giveth light. If you and I were only to open or unfold the word of God, it would bring light to men and women. It is the entrance of God's word into their lives that matters. So if there's a person who one Sunday evening wants to come to Christ is in great need, and I say to you, or would you look after them? And they say to you, I want to become a Christian, but I don't know how to be saved. What are you going to do? Are you just going to talk and talk and talk? I say, well, it's a wonderful thing to be a Christian. You know, I've been a Christian for ten years, and it's a wonderful thing to be a Christian. What are you going to do? You've got to make them wise. Answer, how can you make them wise unto salvation? With this book. [00:43:03] This book. Supposing a person says to you, you know, I really want to be a Christian, but somehow or another I can't understand. [00:43:11] I can't understand. They say, I don't understand how this talk about the blood. I don't understand it now. [00:43:22] It is the entrance of God's word that gives life. You've got to take God's word and explain it to them. Not a lot, but just one few scriptures. Perhaps you would take something like, without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sins. You explain, you unfold it, then you go from there to one John from Hebrews, you go to one John one seven, and you say, the blood of Jesus Christ. Read it. God's son cleanses for all sin. [00:43:52] Explain it what he did on the cross. Then you look at verse nine. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It's the entrance of God's word that giveth light. Then again through the word of God. Thirdly, conviction is bought. Hebrews chapter twelve. [00:44:18] Hebrews chapter four, verse twelve. [00:44:21] Where we are told that the word of God is sharper than any two edged sword. [00:44:29] The word of God is living, active, and sharper than any two edged sword. Now listen. The word of God is living, active, sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and so on. And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do. God's word exposes the heart and brings conviction. [00:45:05] Your words may be blunt, they may be woolly. [00:45:11] God's word is active, living, active, sharp, because write it. [00:45:17] Then again through God's word we are saved. All faith is produced. Romans 1017. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. [00:45:29] Then again through the word of God we are saved. James 120 verse 21. James 121. Listen to this. [00:45:42] Wherefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. The implanted word which is able to save your words, receive it. We must use the word of God so that a seeker can receive the inborn word of God, they can actually receive the word of God, and then their souls will be saved. [00:46:09] Then again we are freed and delivered through the word of God. John 832. [00:46:18] You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. [00:46:25] It is the truth that makes a person free. How many times I have seen that when a person is bound and can't move, and we've just taken the word of God and explained it and then cleaned it for them. Cleaned it for and God acts, and the bondage is always broken. [00:46:45] It only needs two believers to get together in the name of Christ and demand that the word of God be honoured in that life. And it's honored. We had some cases of it even recently. We are freed and delivered by the word of God. Not through your words. Oh, how I wish christians could understand. They have a person in bondage, someone who says to them, I can't be free. I can't be free. I want to come to God, but I can't and the dear Christian sits there and they talk and they talk, and the person tells them about themselves and how they have been free. But it doesn't help the person. It's not really going in. It's the word of God that has to go in. [00:47:26] You show them the word of God where it says that Jesus was manifest to destroy the works of the devil. Show them how the Lord Jesus is absolutely triumphant. Show how the Lord Jesus in the word of God has led captivity captive. Let the word of God get in. The truth will make them free. God's word will do it, not you. Let God's word do it. And then again, by the word of God we are born God one Peter 123 where it says, we are begotten again, he begat us again by having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. Through the word of God we are born again through the word of God. And this is again, you will find this word in James 118, where the same word is used again of his own will. He brought us forth by the word of truth. How did God bring us forth? [00:48:28] How did he bring us to birth? He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. [00:48:36] Now all that is to do with actually being saved, and it is all through the word of God. [00:48:43] First of all, a person is made wise to God's salvation. Light is given, conviction is brought, faith is produced, salvation is wrought. In their lives they're saved, they are freed and delivered from whatever holds them back. They are born of God all through the word of God. [00:49:07] But there are just a few other things as well we need to understand and know. Assurance comes through the word of God. Sometimes a person does receive Christ. They have no shortage, and they don't know what to say. They say, I don't know, I don't know. I just wonder. I'm full of doubt. Well, what does God's word say? One John 513 listen, these things have I written unto you that ye may know that ye have eternal life? It is through the written words of God that we know that we have eternal life. John, chapter 20. [00:49:50] John, chapter 20, verse 31. [00:49:54] These are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing, ye may have life in his name. Name. Assurance of salvation comes through the word of God. Only when a person can rest on God's written word have they got assurance of salvation. And then through the word of God we are made disciples. [00:50:20] John 831 this is a ramble. I'm sorry. This evening it's not so much of a, a message as a ramble. Through the Bible, John 831. Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, if ye continue or abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples? You and I are made disciples by abiding in the word of God. That's how you and I become disciples, by abiding. [00:50:58] And then we are kept clean through the word of God. Ephesians 526, we've read together by washing of water through the word. [00:51:09] And again the Lord Jesus said in John 15 three, ye are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you. Have you ever found the purifying effect of God's word? If you have an evil thought, if you have something, you shouldn't be thinking you're troubled by evil, evil or vile or foul things. Deliberately think of the word of God and you will find that if you deliberately entertain the word of God, those things go, ye are clean through the word of God. If you can just read something of God's word, you find there is a cleansing effect of the word of God. Ye are clean through the word that I spoke unto you. Every day we have to come back to the word of God and be washed bathed in the word of the Lord. And then again we are sanctified. The Lord Jesus said in John 1717, sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. Thy word is truth. We are sanctified. But what is sanctification? Some people have got the idea that to be sanctified means that you become a pious clerk. [00:52:23] You become a pious quack. A kind of person who is abnormal, has no normal feelings, is quite inhuman, is somehow or other like a hermit, has no touch with the world at all. This is what it means to be sanctified. [00:52:40] It isn't. Do you know what it means to be sanctified? [00:52:45] Sanctify them in the truth. That word truth. Commit reality. [00:52:50] Thy word is truth. Thy word is reality. It means that everything in your experience is real. [00:52:58] You are separated from what is a lie. [00:53:02] You are separated from what is false continually by the word of God. You are being separated from all that belongs to the lie, all that belongs to the dark, all that belongs to the unreal things. And the unreal things are the things we often feel are the most real, the reality. The things that are reality are God. [00:53:30] And the things of God. Sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. To be sanctified means that we are separated from what we are naturally and joined to God, who is truth, and that the word of God begins to work in our hearts and lives. Hebrews 412. The word of God is living, active, sharper than any two edged sword dividing soul from spirit. How many christians do not know anything about dividing between soul and spirit? [00:54:03] Never dream of smoking, never dream of drinking, never dream, perhaps going to see a film. But the soul and the spirit are mixed up. To be sanctified means that the word of God has put you there, and Christ there has put your old nature on the cross. Your old man's crucified with Christ, and you are walking in newness of life. That is what it is to be sanctified. And it's by the word of God that it happens when the word of God is revealed to you by the spirit of God and you begin to see that you've been crucified, crucified with Christ, and that you are alive in him, to walk with him in newness of life. And lastly, by the word of God, we may be complete, fully equipped. Fully equipped. Two Timothy 316 17, where we are told, all scripture is inspired, is given by inspiration of God, and then it tells us that it is good for correction and instruction, and so on, that the man of God may be complete, truly furnished unto every good work, or furnished completely unto every good work. Or I like the revised standard version. Fully equipped. Fully equipped by the word of God. The man of God is made complete. He's fitted out and fully equipped for every good work. How are you going to, when you deal with someone who's come to Christ, you want them to go right on. You want them to be right in the front line in the end. How, how is it going to be? It's going to be through the word of God. As they allow the word of God to do its work in their life, so they are going to be fully equipped unto every good work, not by any other means. [00:55:58] Surely all this is sufficient to make us see just how important the place we give to God's word is. [00:56:09] Well, now we do summarize and close. What can we say? We can say, therefore, this we must give to the word of God the preaching, the preaching of the word of God its rightful place in all evangelism. [00:56:30] It doesn't matter what kind of evangelism it is. It may be a squad, it may be some other means. It may be some informal gathering in a home. [00:56:42] It may be an actual service, it may be a campaign or whatever kind of evangelism it is, whatever form it takes. We must see that the preaching of the word of God is given its rightful place. [00:56:59] We can have all kinds of methods and all kinds of types, all types of approach. We can use many things we can use, as I've said, singing. We can use testimonies. Oh, yes, let's use as many testimonies as we can. I think this is the best way of all of reaching men and women. All the world's interested in what happens in other people's lives. It's the way that some of the big popular newspapers are built up on, just taking little tidbits about misses so and so and her pussy, and mister so and so and his old horse that was sick and recovered. And then someone who risked their life to save a child, and then someone else who had a very sad life. And all people, they devour the papers. They're interested in that kind of thing. Testimony is a wonderful thing because we're all interested in people, all of us. And this is the natural, spontaneous way by which men and women hear the gospel through people saying, I have found Christ. [00:58:05] Those who really want the Lord Jesus, they hear and they wonder, and perhaps they think you're mad to begin. But if they really want the Lord, they begin to inquire. But we may use singing, we may use testimonies, we may even use playing, special playing. [00:58:21] But God's word must be supreme and unhindered. We can use all these things so long as the word of God is not obscured and hindered. If these things help the word of God, then use them. If they hinder the word of God and obscure it out with them, it's as simple as that. [00:58:50] We must seek to proclaim those of us who preach the word of God. We must seek to proclaim God's word in our preaching, not just our ideas and our feelings, but we must proclaim God's word. It must be an interpretation, an unfolding, an explanation of the word of God. [00:59:15] And we must pray for the unstopping of deaf ears, because it is the hearing of the word of God. Now, it doesn't mean physical hearing, it means inward hearing. [00:59:28] The ear inside a person can hear the word of God and it doesn't do a single thing. But it's when there is an unstopping of the spiritual ear and someone hears God's word, it goes right in that faith is produced and conviction and light is given, and they are brought face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. So the first thing we must say, then, in summarize, we must give to the word of God, the preaching of the word of God, its rightful place. The second thing we must say is we must let the word of Christ dwell in each one of us richly. Colossians, chapter three, verse 16. This is the one scripture we have not quoted this evening concerning the word of God in this way. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. [01:00:27] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. We must be mastered ourselves by the word of God. If we would reach others with the word of God. You know, people don't just get saved by, by quoting a scripture fashion. [01:00:54] People don't get saved like that. It's when the word of Christ is dwelling in you richly. And then by the spirit of God, you give the word of God to someone else that it's living and active and sharper than any two edged sword. So we must learn this. We've got to be mastered ourselves by God's word with a living experience of its power. Have you got an up to date experience, the power of God's word? Can you say that the Lord has shown you something today and that he's not only showing it to you, but you know something of its power in your life? You know how to take hold of the word of God. You know, you know how to live by the word of God. [01:01:42] This is what we need, a living experience of its power. We must not be hearers, but doers. [01:01:48] These people who always want to listen and listen and listen and they take notes and they go off to this convention and they take the notes and then they go off to that convention and they take the notes. And all the time they take the notes. [01:02:04] Oh my. I remember a lady who will be unnamed. I remember her. She was a missionary, a worker in this country, not a foreign one, but in this country amongst soldiers. [01:02:17] And she was so violently tempered, so violently tempered that her co worker nearly had a breakdown. [01:02:28] And it was thought at one time that she must be possessed of an evil spirit. She was so violent and so terrible, yet she used to go up to a certain church in London every week and there she took down literally pages full scat pages of what was said and if you would, she would sit down hours with you and tell you all that so and so had said. It was dead as daughters. All the boys used to flee from her. They could get out of there. They saw her with that notebook. They were gone. Gone because they knew what it meant. They were going to have a half hour session. The most terribly dry notes. Now no one's saying, for we all know the men concerned that his preaching was right was not. It was living and powerful. But you see, in that woman's life, the word of Christ was not dwelling richly, so it had no power. [01:03:28] We must ask the Lord that we have a living experience of its power, not just hearers and writers of notes, but doers that every time God speaks to us, we say, lord, I'll be obedient. Give me grace to be obedient. There is a living quality about the way a person handles God's word when he himself is experiencing its power. Have you ever noticed the difference? One person can quote a scripture and it doesn't do much. Another person quotes it. And my that scripture which has been so abused, prepare to meet thy God. My word. That scripture, I think, has been more abused in christian circles than any other scripture. And yet, Tommy used to say that he knew a woman who was saved by reading that word in scripture, and she used it again and again and again. She was tremendous over there, but she used it in such a way that people used to break down and cry genuine tears of repentance. [01:04:40] You see, it was a living. It was the living quality about the way she handled the word of God, because it was coming out of her experience. We are to let the word of Christ dwell in us. That means give it root. [01:04:57] Give it ground in your life for root. Let it really go down and get a grip of you. Let it, as it were, get down into the fertile soil of your life and take a grip in you so that it can grow strongly in the soil of your living. Let the word of Christ dwell richly. And then we must allow God to use his word through us in counseling others. The Holy Spirit only requires God's word. Through it, he can convict and convince. He can produce faith. [01:05:35] He can make wise to God's salvation. He can bring to spiritual birth, and he can do much else. All he needs is that you and I should be channels for the word of God. We should be the means by which the word of God should come to a man or a woman in need. The humblest person can become such a vessel for God, for God's word in this way, and they can see the Lord work mightily in them. Now, if you will only go home and take that with you tonight, that of everything we've said, the greatest need is let God do his works through his word in my life, so that others can be brought to Christ. [01:06:28] When we deal with people in need, we must know the word of God. We must memorize the word of God. We must learn how to handle the word of God. And the only way you can learn how to handle the word of God, by the way, is through experience. You'll make mistakes to begin with, but you'll learn to handle the word of God in dealing with others. Learn how to get it into the hearts of people. Some people don't know how to get the word of God into the heart. [01:06:58] How to get it in. You can tell when you're talking with someone with the word after a little experience whether the word of God is going in. If it's not going in, stop and really look to the Lord to get it in. Perhaps you'll have to ask a question. You'll have to get them to read it the themselves, but get the word of God into their hearts, and then learn how to use it in follow up work. And we must learn how to show those who have come we pointed to Christ, how they might let the word of Christ dwell in them richly, so that they, in turn might point others to the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, now, this evening, that may be rather long, rather of a ramble through scripture, rather than being more definite and concentrated, concise, but I think it's very important that every one of us should have underlined and emphasized tonight that it is the word, the word of God, which God uses, not our words, not our feelings, not our intelligence, although he does use our intention, he does use our feelings. But this is not the supreme thing. It is the word of God which God uses. And whoever you are, however young, however weak, if you could learn how to take God's word and to handle it, you can lead others to Christ. [01:08:37] Yes, you can. You can lead others to Christ. And church history is filled with quite humble people pointing men and women who are going to be greatly used. That little old cobbler in that primitive Methodist chapel who couldn't even speak the queen's English, so hopeless, who pointed Charles Haddon's spurgeon to Christ, he hadn't the faintest notion that he was leading by the word of God. He was leading a man to Christ who was going to be used to bring thousands and thousands and thousands to Christ. But that that man, all he did, he took one verse in Isaiah 45, look unto me, all the ends of the earth, and be ye saved. [01:09:33] And Spurgeon said that all he did was simply, again and again, repeat, look. Look. That's all you've got to do, he said. Look. Go on. He said, look. Look unto him and be saved. And Spurgeon thought he was mad to begin with. And then suddenly it dawned on him and heard such wonderful sounds. And this old cobbler who could hardly preach or hardly speak the queen's English. Suddenly it dawned on Spurgeon. All he had to do was look. And if he looked to Christ, he would be saved. Spurgeon said, I looked and I was saved. From that day to the day he gave his testimony. And on till now. Well, there are others too moody. And many others were saved in this way by quite ordinary, humble people who pointed them to Christ. You too. You too. If you can learn this simple lesson, that it is the word of God which is the governing factor. Shall we pray now? Lord Jesus, we pray that thou wouldst help us a warm, sticky close evening. But we praise the Lord that thou canst still write in our hearts indelibly one single lesson from all this this evening. Thou canst, Lord, just show to us that it is by thy word that thou dost work. Whether in the preaching of the gospel or whether in personal work, whether in leading a soul to Christ. Or in helping them after they have come to thee. Lord Jesus, teach us that it is thy word. Teach us, dear Lord Jesus, in such a way that we shall open our hearts. That thy word may dwell in us richly. That we may be mastered by thy word and obedient to thy word. And may learn how to rightly divide and rightly handle the word of truth. Lord Jesus, then by thy spirit, make every one of us, men and women of thy word. We ask it in thy name. Amen.