God Leave Me Alone

Well, it's good to be here tonight friends. I've been too weak physically to conduct a meeting like this for a while now, but God in his mercy has strengthened me to take on the devil once again. I have a very important message tonight friends, and please give me your undivided attention as I bring it before you as I preach a precious Christ who came down here so we can go up there.

Hear me now. In 2nd Peter we see two sides of God. In this epistle we see that we serve a double-fisted God, a God who in his one hand extends mercy to undeserving rebels.

This is seen in chapter 3 and verse 9, which reads, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness, but his long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. What that demonstrates is God's mercy, and it's our duty friends that we must repent or end up in hell. The other side of God, besides his mercy, is his unswerving justice, which is clearly seen in the same epistle in chapter 1 beginning in verse 4, which displays a two-fisted God who, in his other hand, meets out justice to those who will not repent and come to him.

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, and spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes. Look behind us, friend. Look over there at that gay bar.

Look how crowded that parking lot is. Look at the cars there while those Sodomites are inside that tavern right now. Hear me now.

God turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly. Listen to me, friends. Today, in our churches, we've taken out a pair of scissors to our Bibles, and we have cut out all the references to God as a judge, to God as a judge who must punish sin.

We did away with that kind of God. We didn't want that kind of God. We only want to love God today.

We only speak of the mercy of God today, and that's why no one fears God anymore. There's no fear of God in this country anymore. We can sin right in his face.

It doesn't bother us so long as our lusts are satisfied. The title of my message this evening, friends, is God Leave Me Alone. I want to share a story with you, friends.

Listen to me as I tell it to you. Years ago, I played golf with a giant of a man. He stood six foot five and weighed over 300 pounds.

He was a big man, but every time this man hit his golf ball, he cursed God. I never heard such a filthy mouth before. He kept taking God's name in vain.

Every hole we played, we were standing on a tee box, and I finally turned to him. I looked up, and I said, friend, can I ask you a question? Sure, he said. I asked, how was your relationship with God? He smiled a big grin and said, fine.

I have a fine relationship with God. I leave him alone, and he leaves me alone. That's what that big man said.

Listen, friend, all you have to do to wind up in the devil's hell is for God to leave you alone. I believe there comes a day in a man's life where God leaves him alone. He quits striving with man.

In the book of Proverbs, in chapter 29, in verse 1, we read, he that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. I want to talk about that this evening, friends. You listen to me while I bring the solemn subject before you, how God strives with a person, and how a person can harden themselves against God to their hurt and ultimate destruction.

That man told God to leave him alone, and there came a day in that man's life where God did just that. He left him alone. I can still see that man's big grin as he told God to take a break.

I can't leave him alone. He that being often reproved, our text says, God will strive with a person only for so long before God says, so long. Often reproved.

Well, we ask, what does that mean? A reproof is every time you hear the gospel or someone witnesses to you. A reproof is when you're handed a gospel tract or someone gives you a Bible or some Christian literature. Every time you hear a gospel hymn, that's reproof.

Often reproved. A man in his natural condition hates God and all things holy, so he hardens himself, hardens himself against God. I saw this happen to people time and time again.

Years ago, I was in a church where I saw God at work on a person's heart who, in the service, came under such conviction of sin that this person began to sob uncontrollably so loud that this person's sobs disturbed the rest of the church. Later, this person came forward for prayer, but before leaving the church was cold as a stone again as this person hardened themselves against God. As the next couple of months rolled by, this person hardened themselves more and more against God to such degree, before the year ended, this person had fallen into apostasy and was suddenly removed by sudden death.

He, that being often reproved, hardened at his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, so says our text. When God reproves a person and that person hardens themselves and does not turn to God, then what that person is telling God is this, God, leave me alone. God, leave me alone.

Now that's what some of you have been saying. Some of you here have been telling God to leave you alone. All you have to do, friend, to wind up in hell is for God to leave you alone.

Hear me now. You're heading there anyway in your natural condition, which deep down in your heart you hate God and all things holy. Why I'm so thankful that God didn't leave me alone.

Time and time again in my life he intervened to place a gospel witness. But then one day he brought me by way of Calvary. He showed me my ruined condition, my need of a blood-stained Savior.

Well, I got lost that day and I saw clearly I was heading for hell. And not only that, but I deserved to go there. I became a seeker that day and I became a beggar for mercy.

And God in his grace showed me mercy. Bless God he saved me. But he could have left me alone.

He could have let me go to hell. I believe the worst thing that can happen to a person while they're still in this world is for God to leave them alone. There's people in hell right now crying out in agony because God left them alone.

They said, God leave me alone. Suddenly be destroyed, our text says. We live in a day of sudden death.

We live in a land of sudden death. Statistics tell us today that one out of every two people who dies, dies suddenly. You can be about your daily business friend and be gunned down by a madman.

You can get in your car this evening to drive home and go down the street and from an unexpected accident your car can become your coffin. You can get on a plane and end up on the ground in smoke and rubble. Sudden death is all around us today.

Just look at the news. People are dying suddenly all the time because this nation has turned her back on God. I believe we're living in a day where God has turned his back on us and has left America alone.

I believe we're living in a day friends where God has left the American church alone. After all, we've been getting along fine without him for years. As we run our institutions on money and manpower, we make our own converts so we can get as many as we need to float our boat of a so-called church.

I believe we're living in a day where God has placed our nation in a state of reprobation. I hope I'm wrong. Heaven help us if I'm right.

God may be speaking to you friend at this very moment. He may be reproving you to repent of your sins, to turn to him, to cast yourself on his dear son the Lord Jesus Christ. What's holding you back? Why have you not come to Christ for salvation? What's keeping you away from God? Have you gotten out a shovel and maybe dug a trench around you to protect that sore spot in your life which is the sin that you refuse to give him? You've told God to leave you alone.

You put your hand up in his face, told him to keep off that particular area of your life which you love more than him. You've told God, God leave me alone. But if you want to stay out of hell friend, you must throw up your white flag of surrender to King Jesus.

Repent of your sins and own Christ as Savior and Lord. Listen friend, there's only two things you can say to a thrice holy God. You can say, God have mercy upon me.

Or you can say, God leave me alone. God have mercy on me a sinner. Or God leave me alone.

Which will it be friend? Eternity waits. Oh what is the last part of our text? Do you remember? After it says that person will be suddenly destroyed, what does it say? It says, and that without remedy. Do you know what that means? That means to die outside of Christ's blood without the remedy for sin.

Well I've been preaching this evening. There have been people dying, going into a crisis eternity. It's been estimated that 80 people die every minute outside of Christ.

People whom God has reproved. People who said, God leave me alone. Well I'm gonna sing a hymn friends.

And if God has been moving in your heart, through conviction in your heart, then I want you to throw down your shotgun of rebellion and come to Christ for pardon for sin. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.

Listen friend, Jesus is the only remedy and refuge for sin. He hung naked on a bloody cross for sin. He bore the curse, becoming sin for us.

Jesus was nailed up on that ignoble cross and was crucified as a common criminal. He suffered, died, and was buried. And he rose again where he sanded back into the very heaven he came out of to die for sinful man.

He now sits at the right hand of the Father. And he earned that right by way of a bloody cross. The cross was the place where wicked men tried to get rid of him.

But by his death it becomes the place where his saving power, hear me now, his saving power flows out to all who come in repentance, confessing they are sinners and own them as their Savior and Lord. I'm gonna sing that hymn now friend. You come to Christ and lay your sin burden down.

Cast yourself entirely upon him. Jesus is the pearl of great price. He's worth selling all for so he may be gained.

Jesus declares, him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. You can trust him friend, to save you friend, if you come to him. You come as I sing.

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take him at his word, just to rest upon his promise, just to know the saith the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him, how I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust him more.

Oh how sweet to trust in Jesus, just to trust his cleansing blood, just in simple faith to plunge me neath the healing cleansing flood. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him, how I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust him more.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him, how I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust him more.