Almost persuaded (2 Timothy 1) - Gospel

… I read this book called The Apostle Timothy, chapter 1, and it's the middle of verse 12. For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto you against that day. Now let us review the Acts, chapter 26. I will read from verse 13. At midnight, I saw in a way a light from heaven, about the brightness of the sun, shining round about me, and men which journeyed with me. And when the Lord called to be kept, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou thee? It is hard for thee to kick against the bricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But why do you stand upon my feet? For I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness, both of these things which thou hast seen and of those things in which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the evil and from the Gentiles unto whom thou liest, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance amongst men which are sanctified by faith that is in thee. Third one, O King of Israel, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly bishop, but showed first unto them of Damascus, and of Jerusalem, and throughout the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, and turn to God, and do what is needful for repentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. Having therefore gained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both the small and the great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come, that Christ should suffer. We have the suffering of Christ before us this day. That Christ should suffer, and that he should be cursed that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles. And as he does speak of himself, this I say with a loud voice. O, thou art beside thyself, much learned of me in man. Why, he said, I am not man, most noble precious. But speak four words of truth and soberness. For the king knows of these things, before whom also I speak freely. For I am the slain, none of these things have him from him. For this slain was not done in a corner. Can a prophet believe this without the prophets? I know that I believe this. Then I will not say unto you, Paul. Almost none persuades me to be a Christian. There are a few verses in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 16, verse 19. There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and prayed sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate with sores, and decided to be fed with crumbs which fell from the rich man's head. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died and was buried. And in hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeing Abraham far off, and Lazarus in his bosom, and cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. And sent Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and call my name. For I am commended in this way. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and thou art commended. And beside all this, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed, so that thee which will pass from hence to you, Hannah, neither can they pass to us that will come from hence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, Father, I will send you to my father's house, for I have five brethren, that you may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Giveth, I am saying to him, they have motives and prophets, but neither, and he said, nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto them, if they hear of motives and prophets, neither will they be persuaded, nor are they moved from the dead. In the first scripture, we have a man who was fully persuaded. In the second scripture, Abraham, he was almost persuaded to be a Christian. In the last scripture, we have those who were never persuaded. During our campaign, you know, at Trinity, we thank the Lord time and time again for the blessing that he has blessed us with, and saved many precious souls coming to the Lord. And you know what the verse is, that has attracted our hearts more and more in those last closing days. It's a verse in Columbians where Paul says this. Knowing the terror of the Lord, he said, I desire to persuade men. I hope tonight, by the time this meeting comes to a close, you and the same friend tonight might be persuaded to be a Christian. Knowing the terror of the Lord, he desired to persuade men. I would ask you to come with me and read four words out of the Old Testament, and four words out of the New Testament. The second book is chapter five. The second book is chapter five. I want to take a few words out of verse 11. A few words out of verse 11. Nehemian says, I thought, I thought. Verse 15, middle of the verse, I know. I thought, I know. Now, the Acts again, chapter 36, chapter three, read already. Chapter 36 of the Acts. Verse nine. I thought. Verse three, I know. I thought. Those two men, although they lived on the Jews of Giza part, they said the same thing. They called their neighbor, Nehemian, he was a leper, and he needed to be cleansed. And we know that the leper, say, speaks of sin. But you see, the both of them said the same thing. They're trying to let the both of them to change their minds. And you know that's what repentance means? It's a change of mind. It's an out of it turn. I wonder what your thoughts are tonight. Nehemian, you know, he was a wonderful man, wasn't he? Captain, honorable. Great man he was in his day in this position. But he was a leper. And he's like many people today, you know. He thinks, I should do this and I should do that to manage salvation and cleansing. But he was wrong, you know. He was wrong. He said, I thought, I thought. You remember, he went to the wrong person. He went to the people of Israel. He's still at the wrong door. But tonight, friends, we want you to change your mind. Change your mind. And of course, after he was cleansed, our Lord and Prince, listen to his language, I know, I know, I know. Grant me this to be able to say, I know, I know. Behold what I know, he says. After he was cleansed of his leprosy. Oh yes, he put away his thoughts. He had changed his mind. Behold, I know that he was a God, but a God of Israel. The Apostle Paul said the same, you know. I thought, he thought he was doing, he thought he was doing very good things, so to speak. Passing the intercession and so on. I thought, I thought this. I thought that. But oh, it came to the point where he could say, I said, friend tonight, for I know, for I know. I know I do my part, believe. And I am persuaded that he is evil. He is evil, yes. I was taken off those words today, you know. The ability of Christ. The ability of Christ. Paul knew something of it, you know. He begins this, he begins this chapter by rejoicing in God saying, that God has saved us and called us with a bolder calling, not according to our works. Oh, and we men went today, you know. And they tell us when we come in contact with them, I do this, I do that. And they are trying to merit the good works to get to heaven, so to speak, and not take me wrong, you know. I wonder if there is one in this room tonight who has wronged such in connection with God in his wonderful salvation. Without money and without Christ and is with whose mother will. I wonder what do you think of Christ tonight? You remember the great question which was raised? What do you think of Christ? I wonder how your thoughts are covered tonight as you hear once more of this wonderful Savior. Paul knew something about it, didn't he? When he would say, I know, I know. Thinking of all the men and women of Jewish those who do what, you know. I was taken off the job today. Job says, I know. I know that my Redeemer lives. Yes, he had a sexual relationship of resurrection. I know that my Redeemer lives. I wonder if you would use that line tonight and say, I know that my Redeemer lives. Think of the blind man in chapter 9. Okay, John's lustful. Blind on his back. Yes, they were discussing one thing and another. But listen to his language. He says, one thing I know. One thing I know. Once I was blind, but now I see. Oh, I hear tonight. I wonder if you could use this language. One thing I know, Paul says. One thing is equal. One thing I know. Once I was blind, but now I see. And oh, when we think of the activities of the Godless one who is blind in the land of men that we're meeting about tonight. Bless the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine upon them. Bless the light of the glorious gospel should shine upon them. They're being blinded by His word this way. My Lord tonight, in simple faith and trust, we want you to come to the Savior. Listen to the words of the Apostle again. I know in whom, in whom. It's a person you see. It's the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who is able to save. Not only able to save, but is able to keep us until that day when he'll present us to himself that glorious gospel without spot or wiggle or any such thing. Are you going to come tonight? Are you going to be truly persuaded and say, I know in whom I am worthy? I was just reading a little article, you know, in the shop during the weekend. About two men. One who changed his mind and one who didn't change his mind. One who was a millionaire. His name was Cecil Rhodes. You've heard of him? The other man was a simple believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. A man who read just a few copies when he died. By the Lord, he was a true priest. And you'll get that well-liked, though cruel and faithful servant. He was William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. The two of them, though, did not agree at this decision. And no one could have made it up. How about that? Six million are declared to the students according to the reading of this article. You know what he said? You know what he said in his last 14 days? Well, it's according to the list in this article that you were given all to have the simple faith to believe in the Savior, William the Believer. What shall it cost in a man? To be in the whole world and lose his own soul. What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? I wonder what you would give to the man in exchange for your soul. If this was the last night you lived to live, I wonder what you would give in exchange for your soul. God doesn't ask great things. It's a simple message to simple people. And I will give you rest. The Apostle Paul who says, I know, I know. Are you going to be persuaded tonight? Are you going to be a little persuaded to see I have hope in whom I have believed? What a wonderful destiny it would be to join those in heaven over one sinner that defended him. And we want you to come in simple faith and trust tonight and meet the Savior by being fully persuaded. Now we will come to the 26th chapter of the Acts. The Apostle Paul, he never forgot his first personal experience with the Lord Jesus. If you've never read through the Acts carefully, you do this. He tells his conversion three times. I'll tell you something. If you come to the Savior tonight, you'll never forget that personal experience with Jesus. And the Apostle Paul, you know, on the road to Damascus, threatening the saints, persecuting them, putting them in prison and so on. But you know, he was not alone. Unsuddenly, the Scripture says, unsuddenly, there was a light shone from heaven, a voice from heaven, I am Jesus, who knows the ways of Jesus. Oh, I wonder tonight if the Lord Jesus is speaking to someone here. Well, the Apostle, he said he was a happy man. I didn't read the first half of the chapter. He was a happy Christian. Are you happy in the Lord tonight? We don't meet very many happy Christians today, you know. Are we not happy, blessed people, joyful, secure? I was very, very blessed with this guy. He was happy. The King, he was a happy man. Why was he happy? Because he was trusting in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he stood before King Nebuchadnezzar, and of course, what did he preach to him? He preached Christ, and that Christ should suffer. All this has been brought before us, Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit, that Christ suffered for our sins. Mind you, he did not really die for sins. The Apostle Peter says, he suffered for sins, for appreciation, the just, for the endless, substitution, that he might bring us to God, bring us to creation. What a wonderful Savior he had. He suffered for sins. Can you imagine Paul preaching the Gospel here? How Christ suffered, and he was buried, but he preached the whole Gospel. He nodded his head, crouched on the cross, he was buried, he rose again, exalted, he's been exalted again, and he's to come out again and save the earth. What a wonderful Savior he had. The one who became dead, but who is alive forevermore. And he comes to King Nebuchadnezzar and he says, look, he says, this thing was done in a corner, oh man, you know, it was done in a corner. It wasn't done in a corner. What do you mean? I'll tell you what it meant. That Christ was lifted up, from the ashes, he hung, he came heaven and earth, this thing was not done in a corner. Oh, I wonder what the sludge, what sludge man threw in Nebuchadnezzar's life as he was reminded of this. Could I remind you again? This thing was not done in a corner. Mind you, we'll never remember that, no, we'll never see the nail prints in his hands. We'll never forget it, you know. When we see him, we shall see the nail prints in his hands. We'll be reminded of how it was just, this thing was not done in a corner. The Lord Jesus Christ in John's Gospel, he tells us, three men, he was lifted up, as Moses, lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so was the Son of Man, he was lifted up. Why? We have no other thing to preach tonight. The apostle says, we preach Christ to survive, buried and risen, by glorifying, and he's coming again. That's the whole Gospel, you know. Jesus is coming again, and we see the King of Heaven here, he says. We see the apostle Paul say, the King of Heaven, was not done in a corner. He was a man, listen to his words, almost devoutly, persuasively, to be a Christian. The first year of the war, there was a, a man came to visit me, while I had many scrooge-y memories, and, coming in from the sea that weekend, it was a bright afternoon, I remember it very well, he came to my door, I had to see him for a number of years, and he didn't quite know that I was a Christian, I'd been converted to Christianity, a short time before this, and I remember saying to him, well Johnny, what about a walk, it's a lovely afternoon, a nice walk, down the coast, and they had gone by the fishers road, and we went down there, and we talked about it, many things about it, we spoke about Jesus. And I can remember standing, at the top of the fishers road, Johnny, and we halted and paused for a few moments, and he was almost a scrooge, to be a Christian. He was almost a scrooge, to be a Christian. But some would say, he didn't, he was a scrooge, he couldn't be a scrooge. And coming from the walk, he came back to the house, and he had tea, and he partied. And you know, that man like myself, And you know, that man like myself, is very older now, we went to the school together, I saw him at one of my wife's sister's funeral, and his near sister was dead, and she fell asleep in Jesus. Wonderful sister she was, in her way. But as far as I know, my near friend, my near school boyfriend, has never been persuaded to be a Christian. I tell you, I tell you this young people, because, if he had been persuaded that day, he would have saved himself from many pitfalls. Because that man, you know, he landed in prison, I think he was in prison for about nine months. And as far as I know tonight, he's still on the broad road that leads to his function. And I always remember that day, he was almost persuaded to be a Christian. I wonder if there's one in this hall tonight, who has come to this point, of being almost persuaded to be a Christian. Well, could I give you a word of warning from that word of warning? My spirit shall not always strive with men. If the spirit of God is striving with you tonight, I want to tell you, from the youngest to the oldest of you, if you're under the protection of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment to come, we were reminded about the arrangement of all Godhead, is in activity tonight, to the salvation of your precious soul. And the spirit's work tonight in this room, the one who occurs, is convincing men of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment to come. I wonder if you're almost persuaded to be a Christian. Well tonight, my dear friends, getting on, we're coming nearer to the close of this gospel meeting. And how sad it will be to see you going about this room again, almost persuaded to be a Christian. We've had a man coming from Preston Farms now to the meetings. He came one of the first night, John Fletch was there. A man in the name of Andy Gallagher. John Fletch tells me, he praised on him every day in his church. Every day. Every day. He told him at the last meeting, I think Brother John Anderson or whoever I am speaking about, he's come down to him every meeting. We've had it to the clock. And you know, Brother John Fletch had him to the point almost persuaded, and he's still unseated. Almost persuaded. And Brother John Fletch said to him at the last night, and he says, Andy, your name is mentioned in my house every day. You might be saved. Oh, I'm sick of this man. He's come down week after week, week after week. And he's listened to the gospel message time and time again. He's hoping that you'll convince him. And he's still unseated. Unseated. This is not a story two years, but you know, this is up to me. Almost persuaded. Thank God, we've seen something along the way. Full of persuasion. The last night of the year, Brother Fletch had a five-pound soul save. What a sight. Tears rolling down the cheeks. Under the condition of central leaks. There they were. Full of persuasion. What do you mean, Brother Fletch, the devil's cry? I want to be safe tonight. Do you want to be safe tonight? Would you like to be safe tonight? I tell you, this is the night for you. You could be full of persuasion. All that you like. Come and touch this area. Don't hope that you'll convince. What a sad condition to be in. When I think of this man again, this man who's lived in clubs all his days, this man who doesn't want to tell me about. He's lived in clubs and bars all his days. Almost persuaded. When you're in your 60s, but tonight, Mario, how sad it would be if the Lord Jesus Christ was to come tonight, and you were left lost, lost in your sins. The last picture I read is a very solemn picture, wasn't it? I'm in hell. He lifted up his eyes. You know, they don't like the preaching of hellfire these days. I remember speaking to a Jehovah's Witness in the shop room. He told me that they didn't believe in hell. I said to them, could I read this picture to them, and I read this picture to them. I said, would you like to hear this picture? Oh, there's many of you here who know that I can tear some pages out of the Bible. But you know what can't be done? There are many tonight in a wash in Germany, because that's where hell is, you know. It's at the end of a Christless life. If you reject Christ in part, you'll miss Jesus in Germany. Well, you'll find yourself in hell. Never again be persuaded to touch the Savior. In this wonderful day where the Gospel is being faithfully preached, day and night, so to speak, the Spirit of God is here convincing men of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment to come. And yet, men and women are tithing, tithing with their souls, in death and salvation. Could I work on this again? Paul says, knowing the terror of the Lord, he desired to persuade men. I wonder whether you must try to persuade a person to become a Christian. You know, if we give honest, straight words, and God said, you see, I'm not saying as the Apostle said to the King of Heaven, to turn from your evil ways and come unto God, a soul saved for a time before their day, joy in heaven, over one sinner, one little sinner that we may be. Wouldn't you like to cause joy in heaven tonight? Well, if you can't bring your sins, we'll remind you of men who said, I've thought, I wonder what your thoughts are tonight. Well, won't you change your mind? We can tell you many people in the Scriptures who changed their mind to take to Jesus. If you come tonight and see Him in all His glory and beauty, His long-suffering up there in that ancient church, that all should come to Him and live, you'll change your mind. As I've said, what is the change of mind? It's repentance. You know, God's standard is high, and it never alters. Repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that's the way to go tonight. People think they can make other beliefs, you know, I've thought, I've thought, they tell us to be. I've thought, I'm doing this, I'm doing that. Oh my dear, all that's involved there is real salvation. Salvation is out for all of us. And there's no other meaning other than heaven came to us and we're going to be saved. And by and through the precious, fearless name of Jesus. Would you like to receive it tonight? Would you like to leave furiously and see the Apostle Paul with us tonight? I know, I know, I know in whom I as a person would want you to come and touch with Jesus. This glorious man, the man of Calvary, the man of God's control, the man of glory I just want to briefly speak about, the coming one, he's come again. We want you to know him now as your own precious and precious saviour. Or are you going to still hop between two opinions? You know, the Bible never tells us another thing about him, but it doesn't tell us he became a Christian. I think it's very sad hearing this. Almost there. I swear to you, he became a Christian. Almost there. Would you like to leave us free tonight? Well, there'll be an opportunity for you at the end of the meeting, if you want to get saved now. Last night I was with John Fletcher and I was saying to him, he invited himself to come forward. And I was really right in front of him. One of the five came forward. I said, yes, it's the same gospel, it's the same Pope. The Apostle said he wasn't ashamed of the gospel. No, he's not. The Bible is a book of life, unto salvation, to everyone in the world. If you want to believe tonight, know that it is the expected time. Know it's the day of God's salvation. Amen. …