[0:00] All right, please find in your Bibles this morning, the prophet Isaiah and chapter number 55.
[0:15] The prophet Isaiah chapter 55. For those of you who are unaware of what I'm talking about next week with Brother Spurgeon, his name's David Spurgeon.
[0:32] He's an evangelist, a preacher, and an author. He's written a book about his life. He's an ex-motorcycle gang member, and he was pretty high up in rank and got himself into some pretty big mess and jail time, and the Lord, I'm not going to spoil it for you, but did something.
[0:55] And so next week, he's going to be here with us Sunday morning, and he's going to kind of give us his story, and then he'll be with us Sunday night, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night, preaching each night.
[1:06] And he's a great guy. He's a good friend. I really appreciate him. Looking forward to him showing up. The first time that he, when we were in Pennsylvania a few years back, the first time we were able to get him to come to our church, it was like a 10-year deal where I was trying to get him, and just things were tied up with the pastor, with just whatever.
[1:27] And he finally made it, and he pulled in the parking lot, and I hadn't, I've seen him maybe been a few years since I'd seen him at that moment. He pulled in, and I went out and met him and was talking to him, and we were just talking, and the pastor then comes out, and he's dressed in a suit and a shirt and tie, and it was like a, I don't know, it might have been a Wednesday afternoon that he showed up for that Wednesday night.
[1:49] And he looks over at the pastor who's coming up, and he's like, well, you're either the pastor or you're a cop. I thought, yep, that's him. That's the way he thinks. So, all right.
[2:02] He's a great guy. I'm looking forward to having him, and I hope you'll be able to make it. One more announcement is that October 17th is the Sunday that I hope to have the meeting with those of you who are interested in joining Bible Baptist Church.
[2:15] We'll call it the New Members Meeting. It is not to make you a member. It is just to inform you of what this church is about and what will be expected of you. And if you're interested in joining after that meeting, then we'll go forward with the next steps there.
[2:28] But for now, October 17th is the date, and I'll be in touch with each one of you that signed up for that, and if that's something you're interested in, there's a sign-up sheet for that still right out there in the foyer.
[2:40] All right. Isaiah 55. We're not going to be on a one-liner today. We're going to really try to get your hearts and your minds ready for what I'm praying the Lord does next week.
[2:52] So, let's read the chapter together. Isaiah 55, verse 1. He says,
[3:56] And let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
[4:11] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth, and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater.
[4:27] 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 whereunto I sent it.
[4:39] For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the fields shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
[4:58] Now this chapter speaks of God calling rebellious Israel back to himself. He's calling them to seek him in verse 6, and he's calling him to forsake his sin and to turn from his ways, and he's calling him, he's promising that I'll pardon you, and I'll bring you back, and I'll bless you.
[5:22] And his plans for that nation, as we're reading this prophecy of Isaiah, his plans for that nation are to restore them, and to redeem them, and to fix the mess they've gotten themselves into with him.
[5:34] He's interested in forgiveness, and he's interested by the end of that chapter, as he says, with blessing them. That's his will for his people Israel. Now he won't impose his will upon them, but he desires that rather than judging them, and cursing them, and destroying them.
[5:53] Now that's the case in this chapter, and that's the setting of what we just read. But in light of that, I want us to consider that even so, like God deals with Israel, even so today, right now today, God desires for the wicked, as he calls them, to seek him.
[6:11] And he promises that he'll offer them pardon, like we read in verse number 7. And that pardon and that mercy that he offers to Israel, he offers to sinners today because the Lord Jesus Christ has made a payment for the sins of man on the cross of Calvary.
[6:30] And so God calls to sinners today because of Jesus Christ, he offers them forgiveness, and he seeks to restore them to a relationship with him.
[6:41] Next Sunday, there's a man that's going to be here, the man that God has called to preach his gospel of peace, his gospel of grace and forgiveness.
[6:58] He has called that man to travel across the United States from church to church to church and just do it. It's a gift. It's a calling. It's something I have no interest in doing.
[7:10] Yet that man does it with excitement, not making money, not getting rich. He's doing it as a service to the Lord. He's going to be here. I can't wait for him to show up.
[7:22] And as that man comes here next week, and he's going to be standing here, God willing, right here in this place, there are a lot of what God would call unrighteous sinners around this area.
[7:37] And some that you know personally, you know them by name, and they need to hear the message that that man is going to preach. They need to hear the story of forgiveness, of God's pardon in his life, and come to understand how clearly they can receive it the same.
[7:59] They need to be here. And they're not just going to wander in and show up because they have a little itch they feel they need to scratch, and there's a church right there. Let's try that.
[8:09] That's rare. God's going to use you for him to get them to hear Brother Spurgeon next week.
[8:20] God's going to use you to get him here. And so for them to get here, and for them to hear the gospel message and the presentation of how God can save their souls, something's going to have to take place first.
[8:35] Do you know what that is? It's the same thing that we're reading God doing to Israel in this chapter. Look at chapter 55 again. Look at verse 1. He says, Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.
[8:50] He that hath no money, come ye, and buy and eat. Yea, come. Three times in one verse, he's inviting. In verse 3, incline your ear and come unto me four times.
[9:03] What God's doing is inviting them to come to him. The pardon, the mercy can be received, but first they've got to come, and there needs to be an invitation.
[9:16] This morning I want to preach to you the necessity of an invitation, and put the pressure on you this morning as God wills and will allow to do something this week in inviting somebody to come next week.
[9:31] There needs to be an invitation, and I'll give you four reasons why, and the first one's right here in the beginning of this chapter, is because man has a problem that only God can fix.
[9:43] In verse number 1, they're thirsting. Everyone that thirsteth. Everyone that's hungry. They're buying bread, they're spending money for something that satisfies not, in verse number 2.
[9:57] And he's calling man to come and get it where they can get it good. Because man has a problem, and he can't find out how to satisfy the thirst and the hunger of his soul.
[10:09] But God knows exactly how to handle that. And so he invites them to come to him. In verse number 2, he says, wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread?
[10:22] And so that's something man will do. He'll spend his money. He'll spend his money seeking satisfaction, seeking either pleasure or entertainment, or even try to assuage the grief and guilt on his soul for his sins.
[10:35] And he'll give and think that maybe that'll satisfy God. I'll put some money in the offering, or I'll give to a charity. Yeah, that's it. I'll show that I'm a good person. Knowing on the inside there's deeds that they've done.
[10:48] There's sins that they've committed, and they're dirty. And they're thinking, they're hoping that a little bit of money ought to fix this. I'll throw some money. I'll give. That's selfless, right? That'll outweigh my bad.
[11:01] So is the hope of their soul. So man spends money seeking satisfaction but can't find it. He seeks to give to still the anxiety that resides down inside the emptiness in his soul.
[11:20] He also labors. Verse number two says that your labor. Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not? They're laboring, working, offering services in hopes of easing the cry of his soul that's stained with his sins.
[11:40] Now oftentimes a sinner will just go on a bender, and he'll just go off and live his life without care, and just so in carnality and sin and not in care or caution or thinking about the afterlife or thinking about the Lord or about right and wrong, just the lust of his flesh and living that lifestyle.
[11:59] Sometimes he'll just go that route. But other times, other times there's a sobriety. There's a fear that weighs heavy on the heart of a lost soul, of a sinner, because they have a problem.
[12:14] And the money and the labor and nothing in this life can satisfy the hunger and the thirst of their souls. They'll go to the bar.
[12:28] They'll go hit the club, and they'll satisfy that desire for the night, or they'll get themselves in their mind off of the thoughts of their heart.
[12:39] But it doesn't last, does it? The next morning, the thoughts are still there. The fear is still there. The I don't know where I'm going to go when I die is still there. He has a need.
[12:53] And there needs to be an invitation, because man has a problem that only God can fix. The invitation is to come and get a drink. Keep your place there, but look at John chapter 4.
[13:05] The Gospel of John chapter 4, a story about the Lord Jesus Christ and him running into an individual. John chapter 4. I'll read the story in John chapter 4, beginning in verse 3.
[13:27] It says, He left Judea and departed again into Galilee. So he's heading or traveling north. And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samarica, which is Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
[13:44] Verse 6. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. And it was about the sixth hour. So it's noon.
[13:56] There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. For his disciples were gone away into the city to buy meat. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, asketh drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?
[14:09] But the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. That's a good question. It's true. They didn't like each other. But he asked her for a drink. And so Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God.
[14:21] Notice it's a gift. And who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink. Thou wouldest have asked of him. And he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with.
[14:33] And the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, For whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.
[14:48] But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him, a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
[15:02] And the woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. That woman got a, she, through the story then, she ends up bringing others.
[15:14] But there needs to be an invitation. Because man has a problem that only God can fix, a thirst within his soul. And he needs to be invited to come and get a drink of living water.
[15:26] Of living water. Look at John chapter 6 now. He also needs to come and be invited to get a drink, or sorry, to partake of not something, not bread that doesn't satisfy, but bread that's called the bread of life.
[15:42] John chapter 6 and verse 32. Here the Lord Jesus Christ likens himself to bread. Verse 32, Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
[15:58] For the bread of God is he, a person, which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore, give us this bread.
[16:11] Jesus saith unto them, I am the bread of life. And he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Later in the chapter, verse 47, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me.
[16:27] That's what it is. When he says that you need to come unto him, you need to believe on him. Believe on him. Hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life.
[16:39] Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead, but this is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. Verse 51, I am the living bread, just like the living water, which came down from heaven.
[16:56] If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Now, if you know your Bible, he's talking about Calvary. When he says it's my flesh, which I'm going to give for the life of the world.
[17:10] He gave himself on the cross of Calvary. When he says his flesh, he's referring to death on the cross. And they get mixed up right away. How can he give us his flesh to eat?
[17:21] And because of that, then there's denominations that think that we have to eat Jesus' flesh in order to receive him. And they don't understand their Bible at all, nor what the Lord Jesus Christ was speaking about.
[17:34] You believe on him, is what you do in verse 47, to obtain everlasting life. There needs to be an invitation to get a drink of water, living water, that you won't ever have to come back and draw from that well again.
[17:51] It's everlasting. It's everlasting. To partake of the bread of life, the invitation is to come and partake of living water and feast on bread, the bread that came down from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[18:03] That's a problem in Isaiah 55 that man has, and God can fix it. And he'll fix it in his son, but there needs to be an invitation. There needs to be an invitation first.
[18:15] Come down in Isaiah 55 again, and notice this time verse number 3. There needs to be an invitation to get the lost here under the preaching of the gospel, because number one, they have a problem, and only God can fix that problem.
[18:31] Number two is because God wants to speak to them. Look at verse 3. Incline your ear, and come unto me here, and your soul shall live.
[18:43] God has something to say. He wants them to hear. He has something to convey to them. He has something they need to hear. He wants their soul to live, in verse 3.
[18:57] He has something he'd like to offer them, eternal life. And they won't hear it on Facebook. They won't hear it on CNN. They won't hear it on Netflix and Hulu.
[19:08] They'll hear it by getting in church under the sound of the words of God and an offer of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[19:18] There needs to be an invitation, because God wants to speak to people. Now again, keep your place and turn to Romans chapter 10. They won't hear it from the world, but they will hear it from a preacher.
[19:32] They will hear it from a preacher. And this is the will of God to save the lost. And in Romans chapter 10, he's describing that very thing.
[19:49] Romans chapter 10, and I'm going to start in verse 8 and come down to verse 14. And he's kind of in the middle of this, but he says, What saith it?
[19:59] Speaking of the scriptures, the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the word of faith, which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[20:13] For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness. By the way, that's what Christ was saying. He that believeth on me. Faith. And with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.
[20:26] For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be a saint. For there's no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
[20:40] How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Now, I'm not trying to twist the scriptures here, but if I could add or keep it on theme today, we have a preacher coming.
[21:00] And he's going to preach the word of God and the gospel of peace as it says in verse 15. But how shall they hear if they're not invited?
[21:12] How shall they get here to hear the preaching if they're not invited? Because Lord willing, there'll be a preacher. And he's coming. They need, there needs to be an invitation because God wants to speak to them.
[21:26] God has a message. It's called the gospel of peace. In verse 15, it's glad tidings of good things that you can have your sins forgiven, that you can know for sure without doubting ever that your name is written in the book of life, that you possess eternal life and you can't lose it because God said so and that what he has promised he is able to fulfill.
[21:50] And you can know that for sure. There needs to be an invitation because God's got a message and he wants to speak. Something else from Isaiah that there needs to be an invitation because God wants to give them something.
[22:05] God's offering something and he wants them to get it. In Isaiah 55, in verse number 3, he says, Incline your ear and come unto me here and your soul shall live and I will make an everlasting covenant with you.
[22:19] An everlasting covenant, even the sure mercies of David. Now just like that was a literal thing with David and with his seed reigning on a throne after him, God just the same has an offer for every sinner that would walk through these doors next week and it's an everlasting covenant.
[22:39] He'd like to offer them everlasting life, a promise of eternal life through his son, one that he will not take back. So sayeth the scriptures. He wants to promise everlasting life.
[22:52] It's the sure mercies of David. What does that mean? David is a type of Jesus Christ, one of the strongest in this book. He pictures the Lord Jesus Christ and the sure mercies picture eternal security that you have in Jesus Christ and your everlasting salvation.
[23:09] David committed sins that were worthy of punishment, adultery and murder. Those two sins did not have an atonement in the law of Moses. In that Old Testament, there was no sacrifice for those sins.
[23:21] So David's going to have to pay up. But wait a minute, God made a covenant with him. He made an everlasting covenant with him, one that superseded, in his case, his sins.
[23:35] When David committed those sins, he had to reap for them in that life, and we studied that. David had to pay up in certain ways, but the covenant was still in place.
[23:47] The covenant was never affected by his sins, and so that is the case with the sinner. The sinner can come to Jesus Christ and receive what we'll call that everlasting covenant of eternal life, forgiveness of sins, the gift of God, the Bible says, is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
[24:06] And in doing that, he'll receive, verse 7, mercy and pardon that God offers to the sinner. God wants to give them something. He wants to pardon their sins.
[24:17] He wants to give them mercy. He wants an everlasting covenant with them. There needs to be an invitation because God's got something to offer. Have you ever been invited to those, what are they called, those little business schemes?
[24:32] They're like, if you come to our seminar, we're going to give you this. It's going to be amazing. You know, $500 of this, a gift card, Visa card for that, and you just got to come and sit for two hours of us squeezing you for our scheme that we're going to make you rich on.
[24:48] Have you ever been to that? They promised such a big gift that it's like, wow, I could do that for two hours to get the gift. I could do that. They make that promise and it just, after a while you realize, it's just not worth it.
[25:02] Not at all worth it. But you'll go to things when you know you're going to get something given to you. You know that's in your nature to take, to get.
[25:14] What if God offers something to a sinner and has that offer that's so great, they just need to be invited to come? Don't you think it's worth doing your part?
[25:26] Don't you think it's worth it for their sake at least to reach out, to try, to know that God wants to offer them pardon for their sins? Christ has already paid for their sins.
[25:40] Something else He wants to give them is in verse 4. He says, Behold, I've given Him for a witness to the people, a leader and a commander to the people. You know that God offers to give His Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost to a sinner to give them a new leader and a new commander on the inside to guide them in the way of righteousness, to guide them away from sin and from the wages of sin.
[26:10] And if a person would be invited and would come to church next week and would receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, not only will they get eternal life, not only will they get forgiveness of sins, that's all good, but they'll be able to enter into a relationship with God.
[26:24] They'll have the opportunity to know and get into the greatest thing they could ever know in this life. And God wants to give it to them. They get to experience and realize for certain God is alive, He's real, He wants to know me and He cares about me and He can navigate me through this life and has offered me and promised me things far better on the other side and it's real.
[26:55] It's not imaginary, it's not religion, it's real. It's the Creator that put this whole thing into plan, has a plan and you can get in on it. You don't have to be clueless, you don't have to be scared, you don't have to be ignorant of it all.
[27:11] God wants to give something, He has an offer, there needs to be an invitation, He also wants to give something else. Look at verses number 12, the end of the chapter in verse 12 He says, for ye shall go out with joy and be led forth by your new commander with peace.
[27:29] Well they could come into this church without peace, without joy, but they could leave with that. There needs to be an invitation because God's making an incredible offer.
[27:44] And these two things, there's no, this Bible's so pure, those two words that God's talking about prophesying to Israel, joy and peace. If you want to write it down, look at Romans 14, 17 and look at Romans 15, 13 and show those two words, they're in the Holy Ghost, they're in the Kingdom of God, those are spiritual qualities that God gives to the believers.
[28:13] And there He just throws them out there with a literal thing to Israel. But this book's pure, it's perfect, it has application to today because God wants to give joy and peace, those two specific things God wants to give.
[28:29] There needs to be an invitation, you need to invite somebody because God wants to give them something. Don't be the reason that they don't get it. One more thing, while you're at the end of Isaiah 55, look at the last two verses again.
[28:47] The Bible says, For ye shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
[28:58] Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree. And instead of the briar, shall come up the myrtle tree. And it shall be to the Lord for a name for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
[29:14] There needs to be an invitation finally because God wants to change them. God wants to change them. I want you to notice that the thorns in verse 13 and the briars, what are they doing on the earth?
[29:29] If you know your Bible, that came from the fall of man and from sin and the curse. And that's what they'll come in these doors with. The curse of sin on them, the thorns and the briars.
[29:41] But they can leave different. God wants to change them. He wants to wash that away, the blood of Jesus Christ, and send them out a new creature. The Bible likens men to trees more than anything.
[29:56] For an example, Psalm 1, He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. He's going to bring forth His fruit and His season. And that's what God wants to do with every man and woman on this earth is to change them.
[30:10] To have them come in with the remnants of sin and a sinful life on them, but to walk out different. To walk out being able to be fruitful.
[30:23] A tree. Something that can bear fruit and provide shelter. And there's so many other purposes that we don't even have time to touch that. And one other thing in verse 13, the last part says, It shall be to the Lord for a name for an everlasting sign.
[30:40] You know what that final thing is? That change is, that purpose it can serve of their changed life is that it's a sign. It's a sign to others. It's a sign to their families and to the world around them of the mercy and of the grace of God because how He changed them.
[30:55] How He took them from headed to hell and saved their soul and cleaned them up and sent them on a new way and put the word of God in them and grew them by the grace of God.
[31:09] God wants to change them. There needs to be an invitation. They can leave here being a sign to the lost of the grace of God. Now, all of this, God can fix that problem that He has, that thirst and that hunger in His soul.
[31:26] Only God can fix it and fill it. God has a message and He wants to speak to them. There needs to be an invitation to get them underneath that message. God doesn't just want to speak to them, He wants to give them something.
[31:38] An everlasting covenant of eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice on Calvary. A new leader and commander in life, joy and peace in their souls. He wants to change them from the sinful life they only know to something far, far better.
[31:57] To being a new creature in Christ Jesus. All of this without money. You know, in verse 1, He said, Come ye to the waters, he that hath no money.
[32:10] He said there without price. He said, Buy wine and milk without money? Without price. Why is that? Why is He calling them to come in without money?
[32:20] Why? Because Jesus paid it all. The entirety of what He offers has already been paid for. Completely paid for at Calvary. Jesus Christ paid for them.
[32:32] He paid for their sins. The debt of their sins has been covered when Christ offered Himself to God on the cross at Calvary. Wouldn't it be a shame for some individual that you know, some family member that you know and live with and work with, to drop dead, to end up in hell, to suffer the eternal vengeance and wrath of God against sin when Jesus Christ has already made the payment for all of their sins.
[33:04] They just needed to receive it. They needed to receive the gift that God offered to them. Wouldn't it be a shame for them to go to hell? There needs to be an invitation.
[33:17] They need to be invited. You can't make them come. You can't make them come and respond. You can't make them receive Christ and humble themselves and acknowledge their need. You can't do that, but you can do something, can't you?
[33:29] You can invite them and you can pray and then you can follow up. Those three things. Folks need to commit today.
[33:42] You folks here, Bible Baptist Church, need to commit today. You don't need to think about it. You need to commit. You don't need to pray about it for a little bit.
[33:52] No, you need to commit because you've already thought about it. You've already been presented with it more than one week. You need to commit. You need to say, God, I'm going to do my part.
[34:06] I'm going to invite somebody that I believe is not saved to try to get them here next week. I don't talk like this ever.
[34:18] I don't spend the entire Sunday morning talking about, get somebody here to church. There's a reason. I think you know with a reason. We're trying to get something done for Jesus Christ next week.
[34:30] I'm not trying to build this church. I'm trying to get the lost here to hear the preaching of the gospel. I think this is the will of God for this. I truly do. I try to convince you.
[34:43] I try to present it to you. But you need to commit. You need to decide. Am I in? Or am I just drifting around here? Are you in?
[34:56] Are you going to commit today? God, I'm going to take a flower with me when I leave. And I'm going to hand it out to somebody and personally invite them. Make it real.
[35:08] First, I want you to commit to inviting somebody and use the flyers that are right out that door. Secondly, I want you to commit to praying. Not just over lunch, but praying every day.
[35:21] I've already started doing it. I pray that you join me in doing it to putting some serious time before God for Him to do something and to be able to work next week.
[35:34] That's what I'm committing to. I hope you'll join me. More than you've ever prayed. Step it up. Take it serious. You'll take it serious if you actually invite somebody.
[35:45] If you take a step and do that, then you're going to be a little bit invested in it and then you're going to think about it and you're going to be praying for it because you're going to want to see it happen yourself. So what is it going to take to get you to take that step?
[35:58] It seems like this will be easy, but for some reason it's not. It seems like, yeah, that's all we do is invite people to church, but the truth is it's not. The truth is it's not.
[36:11] So we're making a push. Trying to make it easy. I want you to see who's committed and who's not and it's a choice that you're going to have to make. I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand because the pressure would be on just to raise your hand.
[36:25] That doesn't really get the job done. What I'm going to ask you to do is when we dismiss is to grab a flyer. Take one, take two. Don't just grab a stack and throw them. There's not that many.
[36:37] But take it serious and find somebody that you can invite. And then if you already have, write that name down on that piece of paper out there because I want to pray for them. I want to pray with you for that person that they'll come and that they'll have their heart open to the gospel.
[36:53] Let's bow our heads together. We'll be dismissed in a few minutes here before we do with your heads bowed and your eyes closed. I've been talking the whole time about next week, next week, next week. What about this week?
[37:08] There might be somebody here that's sitting underneath this and thinking, you know, you don't need to invite anybody because I'm the one that needs to hear this. I'm the one that's hungry and thirsty in my soul.
[37:20] And I don't know if I die today that I'd go to heaven. I hope I'd go, but I don't know. How can I speak with such assurance that I'm saved, that Jesus Christ has forgiven me of all my sins and that I don't have to fear losing my salvation?
[37:36] How can I speak with that assurance? Well, the answer is because the Bible says so. Because I believe the Bible. Maybe you don't have that assurance this morning.
[37:47] Maybe you're here with us this morning. You don't know for sure that if you drop dead today, that your soul would be in heaven with God. You can know that.
[37:58] As sure as you're sitting here, you can know it. And I want you to know it. I want you to have that confidence. That confidence is only found in the Word of God and what Jesus Christ said, believing on Him.
[38:13] It's not believing that He lived and died. It's not believing in a historic person of Jesus. Jesus is believing on Him. It's placing your trust and your faith in Him and what He did for you.
[38:27] That He died for your sins. That He paid for them. That God's wrath against your sin is satisfied. You need to believe on Him. You do that by faith.
[38:40] You do that by calling out to Him in faith. Realizing, I'm a sinner. Jesus died for my sins. So I'm going to take Him.
[38:51] I'm not going to offer God my goodness. I'm not going to be a good person anymore for Him. I'm going to just trust His Son. If you're not saved today, let today be the day.
[39:03] Let today be the day that you get that squared away. Is there anybody in this auditorium who says, that's me, I'm not sure and I want to be sure? Could you slip your hand up really quick and just put it down just really quick?
[39:15] Is there anybody in here? I'm not going to call you up here. But I sure would like you to leave with that assurance and knowing that you're born again.
[39:26] Then what about it, Bible Baptist? What about it? What about you? Are you in? Are you going to get in this thing?
[39:42] Are you going to invite somebody? Are you going to seek someone? If I know the Lord, I know how He deals with me, I'll bet He's already told you who you're supposed to invite.
[39:58] I bet He has. I kind of doubt there's anybody in here that's like clueless. So are you going to do it? I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me so you can do it.
[40:17] Are you going to be obedient and do it? There's joy in that, in your obedience and there's regret in your disobedience.
[40:27] So I implore you this morning to seek the joy, to obey the Spirit of God and to invite the lost.
[40:38] Commit today that you'll invite, that you'll pray. Let's stand together. We're going to have a quick song. 421. And we'll close the service with this song.
[40:53] 421.