Acts 4

Thank you all very much from Guerneville for allowing us to be here and the privilege of speaking as a representative of this assembly. I recognize there's a great deal of accountability goes along with taking this platform. That's why when it comes to preaching the gospel, I'm humbled that God allows clay lips to speak such holy truth.

That can affect eternal destinies of people. So I'm looking at young people and older people and all of us likely within a hundred years will be either up in heaven or down in hell. And perhaps that decision that will make that happen will happen here today.

If you're on the road to a lost eternity, this is a golden opportunity. We were preaching the gospel off the deck of a boat on the south coast of Newfoundland one time where there was no roads. So they thought this was a remarkable thing to have a boat come in and a loudspeaker playing hymns and the whole community heard it and the whole community came down into the wharf, several hundred.

And while the gospel was being preached, people never moved and never left. So one man, Mr. George Campbell, was standing out and he could, once he got going, he was like a little machine gun. He could really lay it out and he got on the roll in the gospel and he was preaching.

There was a few kids sitting on one of the ropes that tied our boat to the wharf and while he was preaching a little girl flipped over backwards from that, off that rope, and dropped down between our boat and the wharf. And if our boat had come in at the wrong time, she'd have been squashed to death right on the spot. Mr. Campbell dropped his Bible and jumped overboard in a moment, a flash.

And he caught a hold that little girl before she even came to the surface and brought her around to the edge of the wharf and took her to the shore and her people were all aghast, but her mother was there screeching. And he delivered this little girl into the hands of the mother who grabbed her and ran for the house. She was okay.

Later, after the meeting was over, this call came from the wharf, ahoy aboard the boat. We slid the door open and here's the mother and little girl and the little girl had a great big loaf of fresh bread. And we invited him aboard the boat and the little girl, a mother, little girl was kind of shy, but she was hanging under her mother.

And there, I, there must have been four of us there. She didn't look at the rest of us. She looked at one man, Mr. George Campbell.

The little girl, when it ran over to him and put her arms around his leg, she said, thank you for saving me. And we all felt that something important had happened that day. She said, I've got something for you, and she gave him the loaf of bread.

I'm going to speak to you about being saved. That little girl was rescued that day. She wasn't just rescued from dying on the spot, but her life was saved as well.

I've never seen her since, but hopefully the things that they heard in that community will bring somebody like her. The same as I'm hoping for you here tonight, or this afternoon, that you were not saved, you young children here, and teenagers, and little girls. I don't care your age.

God saves people when they're young. And God wants to rescue you. So he didn't just have a people on a boat, but God moved all of heaven in order that somebody could come and rescue you, and save you, not only from dying in your sins, but save your life, and save you for heaven.

And with that in mind, I'd like to read in Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. What had happened, some men were preaching the gospel, and they were really disturbing the peace, and so they were quite fussed up, the people of the community, particularly the leadership. And so in verse 7, And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we be this day examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you, and all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him, doth this man stand here before you holy. This is the stone which was set in not of you builders, which has become the head of the corner.

Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. What do you think of God? If I was to talk, I see some little girls here, and boys, what do you think of God? You say, what do you mean? Okay, what do you think of me? Well, you would say, you're old, or you're kind of loud when you talk, or you, I don't know what you would say, but we all have things that we say, so what would you say about God? And I'll probably ask some of you, if I can catch you, after this meeting is over, if you're 10 years old or younger, I'll probably say to you, what do you think about God? And I'm going to look for an answer, I'm going to listen for one. So I'm going to ask you another question.

What do you think God thinks about you? You think he likes you? Think he's interested in you? You think he knows your name? Do you think he knows whether you're good or bad? What do you think about God, anyway? Or what does God think about you? See, in the Bible, this is very different than what happens in religion. In religion, there's all kinds of ways that people try to deal with the sin problem that's so prevalent in our world. But really, what's involved is you and God.

God made this world with words. Let there be light, he turned the sun on. And he made everything by the word of his power.

And God made you. You are alive, because God has given you life. I don't know whether you folks realize, but that's since 1973 in the United States of America, between 1973 and the year 2000, we've killed 43 million of our children.

That's a lot of people. Well, people say, well, they weren't born. They were human beings who were given life by God, just like you.

And people are trying to excuse themselves and saying, well, that's just the way the law is. No. God made you, gave you life.

You were conceived as a person. And at the moment of your conception, you started a journey that's going to last forever. And it'll take you through this life, and it'll take you right out into the life in the future.

Either to everlasting happiness or everlasting misery. And you and I are alive now. That's why we're still alive here in the world, so that we can all make sure we are prepared for the future.

That's why God has demonstrated his love to us. And so when we use the word, like, rescued, that means we're rescued from something. That's what happens when a person is saved.

They're rescued from hell. But there's something else happens. They're rescued from sin.

A few months ago, earlier on this year, we were having gospel meetings in a place, and there was probably 50 or 60 young people there who didn't have a functional family. Some of the children, their parents had divorced. And some of them, their grandparents were raising them, because the mothers didn't even know who the fathers were.

There was a lot of sad children, and most of them were in their teen years. And they didn't know who to call daddy. And one day they would go to one house, and another day to another, and another day to another, and their grandparents sometimes had them.

But there's some Christians, and they cared for people like them. So when we were having gospel meetings every single night, those, that family and some of their friends, made a meal for 60 kids. And brought them to a gospel meeting.

They did it night after night. So that these people, who didn't know anything about love, they didn't know anything about somebody who really cares for them. They really didn't know who, why they were in the world.

And a good many of them didn't even know who God was. Until those Christians began to show the love of God to them. And they would come into the meeting.

And before the meeting started, you'd think it's going to be one, one tough meeting. But once we opened the Bible, and began to sing, the respect came over those young ones. And I told them the very first night, the same as I'm going to tell you, I do love you, in Christ's name.

And I'm talking to you here like a grandfather would talk to his children, grandchildren. And I said to those young people, night after night, I told them the whole story of my life, for two weeks. And another man spoke, who was younger.

And one night, I said to him, now I don't do the receiving line thing here after a gospel meeting, but I do sit up here in these front steps. And if you want to have a talk, I'll talk to you. One night, three girls came up.

They said something like this, Mr. Goff, do you really think God knows who I am? I said, yes, I've been talking to you from his letter. This is the way God talks to people today, in this book. And I said, everything that we have said to you tonight is proof that God really cares for you, whoever you are, or whatever you have done.

Most of those girls had lost their virginity in junior high school. And they felt bad about themselves, and life just seemed to be awful. And one girl, she tried, she was tough, she tried not to show it, but she went like that.

She said, why would anybody love me? I said, because he gave you life, and he knows who you are, and he's no respecter of persons. But he wants to give you real life. The life you have is not the real thing.

He wants to give you everlasting life, eternal life. That's the kind of life that makes people happy. I was saved when I was a teenager, and she said, what was, I asked her how old she was, 14.

Well, I said, I was your age when God saved me. She said, you really think God knows me? I said, he knows your name, he knows everything about your past, but he's willing here tonight to give you a brand new start. He calls it born again, and here's how he does it.

Because he knew that over our heads, there's this great black cloud of sin that cover separates us from God, and we can't get through it. Some people try to pray and think God will open the door so they can go in, and some people figure that if they do good things, well, then the door will open up, and they can go through that black cloud of sin that separates them from God. Well, I said, God knew that we couldn't do that, so here's what he did.

One day, 2018 years ago, up in heaven, the day came when God the Father said to the Son, the time has come. It's time for you to go. And Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

And not only that, it says, just at the right time, in the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem us that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons or of children. I said, God sent Jesus here, and I call her by name, that he would be able to adopt you into his family, just the same as he would you young people here. She said, is that for real? I said, yeah.

Well, she said, how can I connect with God? I said, the same way I'm connecting with you. I said, God doesn't speak out loud because he'd scare the daylights out of you. And so God doesn't show up in a body form because we die in his presence.

He's holy. So God did it the best way so that we can know over and over again exactly what he says, and he wrote it down in this letter. And he told you that this is what he's done.

The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, and that means you. She said, well, how can I how can I connect with him? How can I? I said, talk to him. She said, you mean just like now? I said, what would be wrong with that? You're talking to me.

But she said, I don't see it. I said, you have talked to people you haven't seen. You talk on the phone sometimes.

Well, she said, you mean God would hear me right now if I spoke to him? I said, the Bible says God said himself, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. So I said, would you be willing to speak to God here? And then I left her. The other two girls went along with me, and we went back, and that girl just stood there, and she kind of looked up sort of to the corner of the building, and then she turned and looked at me.

I'm way back at the back of the building. She said, it's true. She said, there's relief.

I think I'm saved. I said, how would you know that? Well, she said, I hardly know. Well, I read her this verse.

Neither is there salvation in any other, for there's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. I said, the name of Jesus is what God calls us to call upon him. I told her, and I let her read it for herself.

She said, then that means I'm saved. And she kind of looked at me with a question. I said, now are you asking or telling? And so we stopped, and I let her read it again.

I said, read it out loud so your friends here can hear it. Neither is there salvation in any other. There's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

She said, I did say Jesus saved me. I said, did he? Well, if he died for me, then he did. I've seen that girl, and the other two watched her.

Three nights later, the three of them came and waited after. The other two girls had both made a confession of being saved. They're still moving among the Christians.

Their home life is still bad. The things that they do have been changed. They have come to understand who they are.

You and I must be saved. It is imperative. We cannot go to heaven unless we are saved.

Now, I'm going to just tell you what I think I did the other day, but I'll do it again. I heard the gospel a lot, but the moment came when I had finally seen, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And that was Jesus' blood shed on the cross for me.

And God said, when I see that, I'll pass over you. In other words, I do what God said. I put my trust in the Lord Jesus, and God passes over me and makes me his child.

First voluntary prayer that I ever made in my life. Lord Jesus, thank you for shedding your blood for me on the cross. I appreciate it more than I can say, and I meant every word.

Now, are you saved? Okay, I look at you boys here first. You can nod if you want. Are you saved? I'm getting two or three nods.

How about you boys back there? Are you saved? Getting a few nods back there. How about you girls? You can nod. You don't speak here.

You can just nod. How about you girls? You people saved? Oh, you old folks. Getting a few nods there.

So there's a few saved people here. How about over here? You children saved? If you're not, would you like to be? Okay, I'm getting a couple of nods there too. I want to make this personal, because when we walk out of this door, those that are saved are walking out on our way to heaven, and those that are not saved are walking out on their way down to hell.

I just want to make that clear. We must be saved. But not only that, read with me in the Gospel of John, chapter 3, and I want to read verse 17.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. I can't preach the gospel without telling stories, so you old folks will have to hang in there with me. We must be saved.

That's a fact, and there is no other name under heaven given among men except the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we can be saved. Because he paid the price of sin when he died on the cross. He came down through that black cloud, came into this world, and bore our sins in his body on the tree, and suffered to bring us to God.

And he demonstrated his love to us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And in that way, he paid the full price of sin with his life. We were preaching up in North Dakota in a tent.

And one night I happened to mention my respect for those who served in our military. We live in freedom in this country because people died. And so I said, if any of you here are veterans, then I would like to personally thank you for what you've done so that we can have freedom to preach the gospel like this.

Thank you very much. And I said to anybody around there, I said, if any of you see people that you know, thank them for what they've done. At the close of that meeting, there's a man.

He had come across the border from Canada. We were right up by the border. And this man said, was sitting by an old gentleman that had come every night.

He'd never been married, lived on a farm. He was around 80. That's how old I'm, nearly there now.

And he was sitting there and he lived kind of by himself, to himself. Oh, he would smile and shake hands, but seemed awful sad. So this man from Canada said to him, as the meeting was closed, he said, did you serve in the military? Yes, sir, he said.

I did. He said, I went ashore at Normandy, 7th of June. Or was it the 9th, whatever it is.

I think it's today or yesterday is an anniversary. What is it? 6th, 6th of June. And he went to shore Normandy on the 6th of June.

And he said, you know, he said, it was kind of quiet. He said, then I went all the way through France and into Germany. He said, I lost and buried more people than I can count.

And that, he stopped. The man from Canada reached out his hand. He said, would you accept my thanks? And that old man said, he started to cry.

He said, it's way over 50 years and that's the first time anybody has ever said to me, thank you for what you did for us. And so, the younger man put his arm around the older man's shoulders, and he said, I really mean that, sir. Yeah, he said, I believe you do.

And as they walked out, were walking out through that tent, the younger man said to the older man, he said, have you ever said, thank you to Jesus for dying for you? The old man stopped, and the younger man said, because he had a personal battle that he had to fight, and he died that you and I might have freedom now and forever. Jesus died for us. And the old man said, I have never, ever thought about doing that.

Well, the next night when he came to the meeting, we were standing by the door, and I see him coming out of the vehicle, and he'll pick up truck, and well, it looked like a sunrise on his face. His whole face was lit up, and he said to me, as soon as we, he said, I got down on my knees in my kitchen, and I told Jesus that I thank him for dying for me. And he said, a relief has come over me that I have never known for 60 years.

That's what happens when we understand that God demonstrated his love to us, and that while we're yet sinners, Christ died for us. He didn't send Christ into the world to condemn the world. He sent him here that we might be saved, and that's exactly why he came and what he has done.

Now, have you children, you teenagers, you adults, ever bowed your heart and your will and your knees and said, Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you that you commended your love to me. Thank you that you haven't condemned me to hell. Thank you for dying for my sins.

Have you ever said that? Surely you can't be that hard-hearted. I'm afraid some of you are, and have never done that. I know some Christians' children will say it can't be as easy as all that.

Well, you tell that to the Lord Jesus. Ask him how easy was it for him to die for you on the cross. Ask him how much pain he endured that your sins on mine might be taken away.

Go on your knees tonight and ask him, Lord Jesus, why did you do it anyway? And he'll say that you might be saved. We must be saved, but the Bible says we might be saved. So then there's another verse that tells us in Acts, another man who got in a storm like he had last night, only they had an earthquake went along with it.

I imagine there's all kinds of lightning and maybe rain and all the stuff like you have here in a bad storm. But I don't know whether you've ever been in an earthquake. We were at a conference in Seattle one time and we were just getting starting for the meeting and the man I was going to preach with was up praying.

But they had benches there that we're sitting on and the benches started to slide and shake and I thought, well, he's really getting through to the Lord tonight. And then I opened my eyes to see if he's all right and I saw the lights going back and forth like this and we were in an earthquake. And I realized that sometimes people don't understand what it's like when the ground starts moving out from under you.

Well, I see this man. He'd heard the gospel like you've heard the gospel. He knew about being saved like you might have heard about being saved.

And he heard Christians singing hymns and he heard them pray like your parents pray for you or like the Christians do when they sing hymns like we've sung already tonight. This man said, what must I do to be saved? See, this is where you start. If you understand that Jesus has already come and our Lord Jesus has already paid the price of sin with his life on the cross and he's already been buried and raised again the third day so that we can have life in him.

If you believe that, if you understand that's happened, and if you can accept that happened for you, then I call upon you here to trust him, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. He will save you tonight here in this auditorium. If some girl, some boy, some older person will bow their head, and I wouldn't be at all embarrassed.

In fact, if I was wanting to be saved, I would see people getting down on their knees. I saw a young man, 19 years old, do that in a meeting one night, and he was shy, but he was that earnest that he got down on his knees right by his chair, and he understood as many as received him. To them gave he the right to be the child of God, even to them that believe on his name.