Gospel

I'd like to read in Matthew chapter 9 tonight. Nice to see so many out on this Saturday night. Matthew 9 and we'll read from verse 2. And behold they brought to him a man sick of the palsy lying on a bed and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy son be of good cheer thy sins be forgiven thee and behold certain of the scribes said within themselves this man blasphemeth and Jesus knowing their faith and thoughts said wherefore think ye evil in your hearts for whither is easier to say thy sins be forgiven thee or to say arise and walk but that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins then saith he to the sick of the palsy arise take up thy bed and go thine to unto thine house and he arose and departed to his house but when the multitude saw it they marveled and glorified God with which had given such power on to men and as Jesus passed forth from thence he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom and he saith unto him follow me and he arose and followed him and it came to pass as Jesus sat at meat in the house behold many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples and when the Pharisees saw it they said unto the disciples why eateth your master with publicans and sinners verse 18 while he spake these things on to them behold there came a certain ruler and worshipped him saying my daughter is even now dead come and lay thy hand upon her and she shall live and Jesus arose and followed him and so did his disciples and behold a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years came behind him and touched the hem of his garment for she said within herself if I may but touch the hem of may touch his garment I shall be whole but Jesus turned him about and when he saw her he said daughter be of good comfort thy faith hath made thee whole and the woman was made whole from that hour verse 25 but when the people were put forth he went in and took her by the hand and the maid arose and the fame thereof went abroad into all the land and when Jesus departed thence two blind men followed him crying and saying thou son of David have mercy on us and he was come into the house the blind men came to him and Jesus said unto them believe ye that I am able to do this they said unto him yea Lord then touched he their eyes saying according to your faith be it unto you and their eyes were open and Jesus straightly charged them saying see that no man know it verse 35 and Jesus went and about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people but when he saw the multitudes he was moved with compassion on them because they were they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd now the Lord will bless to us the reading of his precious word and what we've already heard in the fourth part of this gospel meeting when I think of these here I didn't I failed to read about the dumb man here tonight but there are seven individuals in this portion of God's precious word we see the paralytic man we see Matthew and we see the young girl that was a dying and we see the woman that had a disease for 12 years and then we see the two blind men and then we see the dumb man and you'll notice that every one of these had to come to the very same person they had to go to the Lord Jesus Christ and that's where every one of us have to come to we have to come to the Savior if we're ever to be reached and saved but here all these seven they were sheep without a shepherd can you imagine what that is to be a sheep without a shepherd tonight in this gospel meeting if you're not saved tonight in this gospel meeting you are a sheep without a shepherd that's quite a thing my friend to find out to be a sheep without a shepherd David can say the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want isn't that wonderful when a person can say these things the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want that's what gives a person a child of God peace within his soul when he comes to know the good shepherd that gave his life for the sheep now the Lord Jesus it cost the Lord Jesus at quite a price to redeem sinful man back to God he had to go to the cross he had to suffer he had to bleed he had to die and to think how cruel men so cruelly treated the Savior they said away with this man crucify him we don't want this man to reign over us and how many people in the world are still saying the same thing away with this man we don't want this man to reign over us when I think of this paralytic man a palsy man he was absolutely without strength but if you would read in Mark's chapter 2 you would see that there was four men stretcher-bearers they brought this man to the Lord Jesus they brought him right to where the Lord Jesus was and when we think of that tonight that is very solemn my friend here was four men they were so interested in this man he was helpless he couldn't get to the Lord Jesus but they saw the need for bringing him to the Lord Jesus when I consider that tonight and here's these men they brought him to the Lord Jesus but the house was filled they couldn't enter into the house and these men were not about to give up they went up to the housetop they began to take the roof off of the house and now if you would do that in a day and age that we're living in you would have to go to the authorities to get permission to take a roof off the house and you would never get that permission you'd have to wait for two weeks or wait for a month we'll go through and we'll bring it up and see what comes out of it but these men brought that man right to where the Lord Jesus was and as he was there he came to be healed this man wanted healing he wanted to have his full strength again he was a man that was without strength and you know what when he come to the Lord Jesus the Lord Jesus said when he saw their faith he says to the man son be of good cheer thy sins be forgiven thee now you tell me tonight how did that young palsy man if he was young I don't know don't make one bit of difference tonight whether he was young or whether his old how did that man know his sins forgiven there was only one way that he would ever know his sins forgiven the Lord Jesus told him how could everyone anyone ever know their sins forgiven on this side of eternity except the Word of God tells us what he did for us at the cross of Calvary and they thought he blaspheme who can tell someone the only God can tell someone that their sins are forgiven the Lord Jesus was God manifested in the flesh things that they didn't even know but my friend tonight the Lord Jesus saw that man's need far more than healing and before he could ever take up his bed and walk he had to know his sins forgiven and we had to find that out in our own life that we had to know our sins forgiven before we could ever walk for him when we think of the Word of God in Romans chapter 3 you would see that we have all sin and that we have all come short of the glory of God and that's something every one of us should come to know now there are some that say in the world I always know knew that I was a sinner so did I I thought I did but I'll tell you the night that God made me to realize that I was a sinner and I was without Christ and without hope a stranger to grace unto God that was all together different my friend when God makes it real to the individual that he has sinned and that he has come short of the glory of God I tell you it don't take long for the Lord Jesus to make it clear to you what he did for you at the cross of Calvary so when we think of this dear man he finally knew his sins forgiven and that wonderful tonight I'm glad for the night that I found out that my sins were forgiven I didn't have a scripture that come to me like that scripture that came to me was the one in Romans 5 and 6 that we heard about so much tonight how that Christ died for the ungodly when I think of that I was up in Newfoundland one time having gospel meetings and just starting a series in Parson Bond and that night in my first message I mentioned and there was one of the brethren that told his testimony tonight that had the problem with his believing and I said if there's someone here tonight and you're having a problem with believing could you just not trust the Savior tonight you know there was a young lady in that meeting that night and she said to herself well she says I can trust him I'll take him at his word and she got saved the very first night in that series of gospel meetings and a week later I mentioned on the Sunday night I said if there's anybody that gets saved in these meetings please tell us we all like to know if somebody gets saved tonight don't be afraid to tell us don't hold it back tell out the good news and the glad tidings how that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and to save you and that girl we went to visit her next day or so and Mr. Goff was there and he says to the dear girl he says he showed her several scriptures with the word believe in and he says I understand and you got saved and you believe no she says I never believed she says I just trusted the Savior well there's not too much difference my friend tonight but what God used to let her to see that just by taking him as his word that's what salvation is all about my friend tonight is taking God at his word owning before a holy God that I have sinned and that I have come short of the glory of God and that dear young lady that had been troubled for quite some time come to realize that night just by trusting him maybe there's a soul tightness meeting you have a problem with believing just trust him just take him at his word I'll never forget the night that I was saved I quoted that verse so many times in Sunday school if I didn't learn my verse I could always quote for when we're yet without strength and do time Christ died for the ungodly but you know that night when I was saved I pondered that verse for when we're yet without strength that come to me if there's anybody without strength here I've been trying to get saved all these times here I am I'm just without strength there's nothing I can do to save myself and there it said in due time Christ died for the ungodly at a set time Christ died for the ungodly and then I began to ponder who was the ungodly can you imagine that a person not saved and wondering who the ungodly was well the Lord showed me that I could never live to the standard of God so I must be the ungodlike one and right there for the first time in my life I found out that I was the ungodly sinner for the first time of my life I noticed there from God's Word that Christ had already died for this ungodly sinner friend tonight in this meeting the work of salvation as we've already been hearing it is finished the work of salvation the work of redemption is already completed at the cross of Calvary now when I think of the man Matthew the Lord Jesus came to him and he looked him right in the eye he says Matthew can you imagine somebody here tonight and the Lord Jesus looks you right in the eye and the Spirit of God begins to convict Matthew was convicted immediately when the Lord Jesus said Matthew follow me are you convicted tonight that you're a sinner are you convicted tonight that you have sinned and come short of the glory of God can you imagine friend tonight in this meeting how many times you have rejected the Lord Jesus how many times are you going to continue to reject him all be careful my friend David could say on one occasion there is but a step between me and death we've been reminded of somebody taking that step out of this life into eternity thanks be to God that he was saved but it was just a step little did he know that day that that was the day he was going to die little do you know the day that you're going to die you have no assurance of tomorrow the Lord Jesus said to Matthew maybe the Lord Jesus is speaking to you tonight for the last time follow me would you like to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Matthew immediately began to follow the Lord Jesus and he followed him right to the cross to see where the Lord Jesus was the one who was going to die in his stead Oh dear traveler to eternity tonight don't trifle with God he that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy are you a sheep tonight without a shepherd can you imagine what it is for a flock of sheep out there in the plains without a shepherd going astray all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all thanks be to God that God ever sent his son into this world we read for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him or trusted in him shall not perish but have everlasting life you could have everlasting life tonight without a shadow of a doubt but Matthew obeyed the message the Spirit of God so convicted him I hope the Spirit of God will convict you tonight of your sin and that you should become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ oh don't put this day in salvation off because tomorrow's sunrise you may never see it only takes a moment to die my friend tonight and then the great question is heaven or hell for eternity could you imagine tonight a soul dropping out of life and opening their eyes in hell where they'll be weeping and wailing and then eventually the lake of fire it's solemn my friend tonight don't trifle with God I think of the young lady 18 years old a dying and they sent her father a Jew to go to the Lord Jesus the Jews had nothing to do with him but he went to the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus was going to go and try to heal her but you know what that woman that had a disease for over 12 years spent everything that she had on her disease and still had the disease and she worked her way through that crowd there that day and as she worked her way through the crowd there that day she says to herself if I can but touch the hem of his garment I would be made whole oh my friend what faith did you notice the faith of the four five their faith and the woman she went through the crowd and she touched the Savior's hem of his garment and immediately she would made whole and it says here be of good cheer or be of good comfort thy faith hath made thee whole not their faith but thy faith now it's thy faith hath made thee whole they says the Lord Jesus says somebody touched me and those disciples says this thronging crowd and you say somebody touched me he said I felt virtue going out what a day that must have been when that woman touched his garment and he said thy faith has saved thee oh I wonder dear friend tonight would you put faith in the work of Christ alone the one who was uplifted at the cross of Calvary the one who bore our sin in his own body in the tree we quoted that verse once from the Old Testament all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way but the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all when I think of that verse tonight that touches my heart all we like sheep have gone astray that's universal tonight that takes in every soul in this world we have all gone astray we have all turned to our own way that's personal my friend to think of people turning their own way I turned away from God I got further and further away from God 18 years of my life I spent in my sins I was traveling a downward course going down to hell faster than time could take me but then it says all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way but the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all why did the Lord Jesus use that word iniquity there in the Old Testament the reason he used that word iniquity it's just another word for sin but it takes in every hideous sin that man could have ever committed on the face of this earth my friend tonight and the Lord Jesus bore it in his own body in the tree he put away our sin by the sacrifice of himself and I'm glad tonight that I know my sins forgiven I'm glad tonight that I'm not a shepherd without a sheep a sheep without a shepherd old friend tonight are you a still a sheep without a shepherd you don't have to be the Good Shepherd gave his life for the sheep he's waiting for you to come to him tonight he wants to give you peace he wants to give you rest he wants you to be saved he wants you to know your sins forgiven he wants you to know for sure that you're going to be in heaven I think of the two blind men when the Lord says and when he was come into the house the blind men came to him and Jesus said unto them believe ye that I am able to do this they said unto him ye Lord then touched he their eyes saying according to your faith now it's your faith according to your faith be it unto you and he touched their eyes and they were made whole was it the touch no it was their faith it's faith alone in the finished work of Christ that gives one redemption to know their sins forgiven and a surety of a home in heaven now the Lord Jesus was moved with compassion over every one of these and over everyone in this world that were sheep without a shepherd can you imagine tonight what it would be for a person to die without the shepherd to die without Christ to be lost forever to be down in hell when there has been so great a pardon made when the Lord Jesus said it is finished he finished the work of redemption for every person at the cross of Calvary why did he finish the work he died for our sins we heard tonight according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day we have faith in a living Savior one who finished the work of redemption he'll never have to do it again it was sufficient to redeem every sinner that's in this world but will you be saved my friend tonight it's up to you what you're going to do with God's plan of salvation you can receive him or you can reject him