Sermon Central
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A Soul Weighs In The Balance
Contributed by Michael Dephillips on Feb 8, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: 1875 William Booth preached a prophetic message on the greatest threat to modern Chrisitanity would be a watering down of the Gospel message. No conversion without Conviction!
"Your soul weighs in the balance"
My greatest fear is that one day the Lord Jesus might tell me that during the ministry he entrusted me with, I had failed to proclaim a clear gospel message to someone of how they come to be saved.
Ezekiel 33:6 "But if the watchman see the sword come and blow not the trumpet and the people be not warned, if the sword come and take away any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand."
Beloved in keeping with the mandate of the Lord Jesus Christ it is my solemn duty before God to preach how a soul is saved that it not be taken away in it’s iniquity. In 1875 William Booth shared a message of the greatest danger to face the people of the now past 20th Century. Mr. Booth proclaimed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit for we shall soon see that it came to pass and that is only in keeping with what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do in John 16:13 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak and he will show you things to come."
His message was that somehow the church and it’s preachers would no longer have the ability to teach people how they are truly saved by the blood of Christ shed at Calvary. He said that these warning signs would accompany this departure from the truth of the gospel.
1) REGENERATION WITHOUT REPENTANCE
2) CONVERSION WITHOUT CONVICTION
3) SALVATION WITHOUT LORDSHIP
As we have just seen in Matthew 7:22 these people are from the church and have been cast into outer darkness because Jesus never knew them. Never knew them! For all the times that they prophesied in his name and for his name, they never knew him! For all the times that they cast out devils in the blessed name of the only son of God, he never knew them! For all of the wonderful things that they have done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, they never knew him! They never knew him! They never knew him!
That seems to be a pretty good introduction for what we’re about to hear this morning so now I’m gonna preach a little while and let you listen to me. Then beloved I am going to draw a line in the blood of Jesus Christ in this church and give you the opportunity to either accept him or reject him. Spent the last few months dealing with something in my heart and know beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Lord intends to call me to evangelism because there aren’t many preachers that even know how to really see people saved. Haven’t taken any undue airs on myself but have simply listened to the whisper of the Holy Spirit and remained pliable in God’s hands to become what he wants of me. I know full well that most of you have heard a gospel message that has no power to change the soul because we want sad stories and for the preacher to tell us how easy it is to follow the Lord Jesus and we don’t have to change but can just keep on going on like we are, The Lord understands. Want to deal with the first work of the Holy Spirit and let you know that until a heart is placed under conviction for sin, there can be no repentance. Until God reach down under the power of the blessed Holy Spirit and convict us of our sins, we have never been led to the place of repentance because we have had no godly sorrow placed on our hearts.
So in keeping with what God would say to us from his blessed word this morning, I want to preach a one point message on this topic,
NO CONVERSION WITHOUT CONVICTION!
1) First work of the Holy Spirit when he comes to us to save us is to convict us of our sins!
a. John16:7-9
"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Of sin because they believe not on me…"
Of sin because they believe not on me! They never knew Jesus and are a part of this crowd maybe that are cast into the burning pits of hell. May have been in church all their life, may have come to church and served in many capacities and they may have been the finest church member to ever come to Hurricane Baptist Church… but they have never believed on the Lord Jesus Christ! They never knew him!
