Mission 25 - Who Would Have Thought?

Noel for leading the meeting tonight, it's good to be with

you again. And also the brother Fred for

singing and we always enjoy our brother singing and he didn't

disappoint us tonight. And of course the congregation

for singing too. The hand cannot say to the foot.

I have no need of the and as God's people, we are all in this

mission together. If you can get people in, you

are the people on the ground. Noah and I are the blowins for a

couple of weeks, couple of weeks.

And if you can get people in, well, then you'd be assured we

will preach the gospel of the grace of God with no interest in

anything else other than preaching the word of God.

I've got that watch off me at last.

I thought it was going to be a, a shackle round my my wrist

there, but it came off there for me.

Luke's gospel chapter 18, please.

Luke's gospel chapter 18. It's where we want to go tonight

in order to preach this old message of redeeming love.

There's a Saviour from all sin if you only let him in.

We're going to read a wonderful story tonight from the Word of

the Lord, words of the Saviour. Look chapter 18 and look at the

verse 9 and it says, and he that is our Saviour, the Lord Jesus.

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in

themselves that they were righteous and despised others.

Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one of Pharisee and

the other a publican. Now we tend to think when we

talk about publicans, we think about the boys that serve the

booze. But you will of course know that

the publican back in 1611 when our translation was translated

was the tax collector and nobody likes the tax collector.

I was always amused that the man who wrote to the Inland Revenue

to the tax collectors and he says can you take me off your

mailing list? I wonder how you got on with

that. I'd love to know if it worked

for have. It'll work for me.

But nobody likes attack. There's any tax collectors here

tonight, by the way, You just keep their head down and smile.

That's the fair thing to do. But this man was a tax collector

and the two went up into the temple to pray.

The one of Pharisee. You know what a Pharisee is and

they are a Republican. The Pharisee stood and prayed

thus with himself. Here's his prayer.

God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are extortioners,

unjust adulterers, or even as this publican.

I fast twice in the week, I give ties of all that I possess.

And the publican standing afar off, we'd not lift up so much as

his eyes on the heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God be

merciful to me, a Sinner. I tell you, this man went down

to his house justified rather than the other.

For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he

that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Amen. God will bless, I have no doubt.

What is really a short reading? What a very powerful reading off

the word of the Lord. Now seek the Lord now again in

prayer. Our Father, we thank you for the

meeting thus far. We thank you for the hymns that

we've been singing together. Hymns, Lord has centred largely

around the blood of the Lamb and the great cry.

Wash me in the blood of the Lamb, and I shall be whiter than

snow. Thank you for the two pieces

that our brother brought to us as well, using that gift, Lord,

that you have give to them, stirring it up and using it

again in the furtherance of the gospel.

We thank you for the reading of Scripture.

And now they are has come where the word of God is to be

preached. The Lord, thou hast said, we

remind thee as the Lord's remembrances tonight, we remind

thee that thou hast said that it pleases thee by the foolishness

of preaching to see of those that will believe.

And while our Lord are inside this building, or maybe they're

at home watching online, while we're there in Northern Ireland

or maybe further afield, Lord, it could be in the far end of

the earth watching in for all we know.

While nevertheless, Lord, we're praying that your word would

have free course and be glorified.

I need Thy power to preach the arm of flesh.

It will surely fail. We dare not trust our own, but

we look to Thee to bless thy word that'll have free course

and be glorified in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. I believe that many, if not

indeed all of Christ's parables that He told were based on fact.

In other words, there really was a sower who went out to sew.

He wasn't making that up. He was able to look round them

and there were people out in the fields, the sower going out to

sew. There really was a lost sheep, a

man who had 100 sheep and he counted, and one somehow away

from the rest. It got out through a hole in

their heads, through the gate or whatever.

There was a lost coin, a little widow woman looking frantically

for the coin that she had. There really was a prodigal son

when he had run away from home, broke the father's heart.

There really was a little woman in the back kitchen baking with

the leaven and therefore come. We doubt that there really was

two men who would go up into the temple and to pray.

Is it beyond belief tonight that one of them, the Pharisee, would

would boast before the Lord of his supposed good works like

this Pharisee did? His strategy indeed is very

common. We meet with it constantly.

Perhaps not so public as his very went up, no doubt to the

front of the temple, and he prayed that our men might hear

him, and many of soul would maybe shrink back at that.

Perhaps not so nasty in relation to ours, for I thank God that He

was not as a sole man was. But many have a lot in common

with the Pharisee. And if you were to ask that

great question that people sometimes ask in evangelism, why

should God let ye into his heaven?

They dwell with him forevermore. Why should He let ye into him,

into his heaven, when it is universally admitted that we

have all sinned? Why should He let you?

In A general answer, a far too popular answer would be Thus my

church attendant, come the Sabbath morning, some soul will

say, I am in my Pew singing the praises of God.

My envelope is in my hand, I put it in the little basket.

I support the minister. I, I help around the church,

someone else might say in the same line.

Well, I, I try, I try my best, I do good, I, I harm nobody.

And on that basis they hope they get him to heaven.

Well, such a position is miles away from that of the tax

collector. Yes, it would agree and line up

with what the Pharisee was saying, but we want to think

tonight about this poor tax collector, the one who spoke the

words of our text in verse 13. He says, God be merciful to me

as son. There's no great eloquence

there. You want eloquent prayers, then

you need to look elsewhere. There's no list here of

commendable virtues that he had are on display.

All we have here in one lane in our Bible is simply a heartfelt

cry. Oh, God, be merciful to me, a

Sinner. The first thing that we want to

see, number one, is why we need mercy.

Why do we need mercy? It's in those words, me a

Sinner. It might help us to see, I

think, what sin actually is and why, when we have considered it,

why we can only plead for mercy when we realise, as we must do

in order to perceive that we are sinners.

The first thing that I want us to see here just to describe

sin. And they open it up and they

show it in all its heininess and all its awfulness.

First of all, sin is a crime. It is a crime.

Sin is defined in first John 3 and verse 4.

Sin is the transgression, the breaking, the stepping over the

line. That's what trans means, the

stepping over, the breaking of the law of God.

And sometimes we break the law of God by Commission.

In other words, the things that we do, the act of things that we

do, and sometimes we break the law by omission.

The things that we don't do, the things that we ought to do, the

duties that are impressed upon us and we leave them undone or

we don't do them right. And when we fail in that, then

we have committed a sin against God.

It's a crime against the law of God because every one of us

tonight, everyone of us, are subject to the law of God.

And we are subject to the law of God because we are creatures,

His creatures. He created us and not we

ourselves. And not only are we creatures

who live in His domain, the earth being the Lords and the

fullness thereof, but we're also dependent upon Him.

The very breath that you're drawing now as you listen to

this message is sent to you from Almighty God, and we are

dependent upon Him. And sin is not only a crime, but

sin is also rebellion, as there's another facet of it.

It is not a mere error. Sin is rebellion, and it says of

the carnal mind of man that every one of us have if we're

still unsaved. The Bible says it is not subject

to the law of God. In other words, it will not

subject itself to the law of God.

And indeed, the Bible says the carnal heart of man is at

eminently with God. He hates the law of God.

And you see their rebellion in the hearts of men.

The parallel verse here is Lamentation 3 and verse 42,

where there the cry went up, the lamentation went up, we have

transgressed and we have rebelled.

Sin is rebellion against God, and such rebellion is high

treason against God, not merely against an earthly king, but

against the king of kings himself, against the one by whom

all the other kings and all the other Princess rule and decree

justice, this king of kings who can set them up and bring them

down in a moment of time, and that's high treason.

You know in the Bible there was a very wicked woman called

Athaliah and she had a very wicked reign.

However, there was a God driven revolution against her.

The true king was in hiding. He was just a babe and then when

he grew to a certain age, they came out, as it were, out of the

woodwork and surprised this woman.

She realised what was happening. Her days on the throne as wicked

Athaliah were over and when she could see what was happening,

what did she cry? Treason.

Treason. She cried, but she was a

traitor. She was the one who shouldn't

have been on the throne. She is the one who had defied

the law of God, who had challenged the high King of

Heaven and was guilty of treason.

That was sin is high treason against the Lord.

Sin is something else. You know, there's another facet

to this. Sin is robbery.

The question is asked in Malachi, will a man rob God and

you can rob God of his glory. It's not that he ceases to be

all glorious, but sin is to fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 323 all have send them. What comes short of the glory of

God because God says to you tonight, he says, My son, note

those tender accents tonight, my son, give me thine heart, give

me your life. That's what the Lord's asking

for tonight. Give me your life.

The old handwriter wrote the words.

He says, Take my moments and take my days old.

Let them flow and ceaseless praise.

But the rebellious traitor in our wicked heart would cry out

against that and say, who is the Lord?

Just like Pharaoh of old, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his

voice. Sin is the robbery of God.

Sin is something else. That's uncleanness.

It's uncleanness. We usually refer to uncleanness

as a sexual sin, as in morality. But the Bible says all sin comes

in under this term of uncleanness.

All sin pollutes the soul. Do you remember what it says?

And I say a chapter 64 and verse 6, it says we are all as an

unclean thing and all our righteousness is.

There's one full of Pharisee, isn't it?

Not merely our sins, even our righteousnesses, our filthy rags

in the sight of God doesn't know what Titus says to them that are

defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure, but even their

mind and their conscience is defiled.

And you know one of the saddest occasions is when that time

comes, when the Spirit no longer strives with man and God says,

let him that is filthy, let him be filthy still.

And the man has left to woal like the pig in the mire in his

own sinful filth. Sudden is something else.

Sin is vanity indeed. The Bible says it is vanity and

man of these because sudden really in what attracts men to

it is based on the devil's lie. We get a lot of information.

You get a little texts in your phone from your bank or your

building society or whatever. You see it on the television.

There's entire programmes almost dedicated to it.

The idea of the scammer, somebody coming along pretending

to be somebody else, some official agency or whatever.

They want your money, it's in your bank, they want it in

theirs. It's a big scam, and that's what

sin is. That's what sin is.

It's a big scam. The pleasures of sin are only

temporary. The Bible says they last only

for a little season, a little small little season.

Says again that even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the

end of that mirth is heaviness. Sin brings men down into death

and into hell. That's the earned wage of sin.

We reap what we sow It's the sow and harvest.

It's entirely just because God, He is the God of justice has

imposed it. And the Bible says the whole

world, including those self deluded Pharisees stand guilty

before God. The whole world stands guilty

before God. Every mouth, it says, will be

stopped. Listen to this, even the damned

souls in hell. Now and again, you know, the

Lord just pulls back the little curt, and we all get the chance

to look. And even the damned souls in the

hell will cry out in their torment and in their despair and

in their pain. And they say, Lord God Almighty,

just and true are thy ways, thy keen of Saints.

You see now why we all stand in need of mercy of any one of

those, any one of those things named is enough to bring us

down. But we tick all the boxes we've

got to say tonight like this man, me the Sinner.

But then notice secondly, we need mercy, not only because

we're sinners, but notice secondly here, who alone can

grant that's needed mercy? He's going to be merciful too as

well. He says here he cried out in

prayer and he says, oh God, oh God, be merciful to me, the

Sinner. And only God, of course can do

it, because first of all, he's the offended one.

We are. Who are we to grant mercy when

we are equally guilty? And even the holiest of Saints

in the Bible, the men who walked with God, the men who were the

friend of God, the men who were after God's own heart, they all

confessed their total, excuse me, their total worthlessness

and their sins. Because the Bible says not only

because of all our sin are we totally depraved, That is, the

whole man is depraved, but we are totally guiltless, our guilt

guilty rather, and we're totally helpless.

And only God against whom we have sinned, house the right to

extend order, withhold mercy as it pleases him, and only God has

the power and the authority to do it.

But God can do it, not only because he has he offended one,

but because he sent his Son into the world to die for sinners.

And the sinless Son of God, and that old rugged cross, that

emblem of suffering and shame, He took our guilt and He took

our punishment for us. The Lord led on him the iniquity

of us all. Yes, he was wounded, but it was

for our transgressions. He was bruised.

It was for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace

was led in him. And by his stripes are we

healed. You know, rebellions are usually

quashed. The high treason in the past day

was was a capital crime. About a month ago, maybe 5 weeks

ago, it was over in London, all of and I went over for just for

a few days in the first full day, but went to the Tower of

London and we were able to get in and see the big white tower

and all the other towers rounded.

We saw a place right in the banks where he could come up by

boat and go into the tower traders gate.

And when many a soul brought in through traders gate and taken

down into the dungeon and tried for treason and then they were

beheaded. We saw the place where Anne

Boleyn was beheaded. We saw the place where traitors

and the result were places all over London.

And when the traitor's head went on the block and the big acts of

the executioner fell upon that head, they were decapitated.

The head was taken off the the, the executioner would lift up

that head, what a gruesome thing, and he would shout the

head of a traitor. But you know God maketh the

rebel, The Bible says a priest and the king.

There was no mercy given from among the kings of the earth.

But the Kane of kings, confronted with the rebellion of

his subjects, sent his Son, his only begotten Son, the fairy

darling of his bosom. He sent them into the world to

take the sinner's place. Was it for crimes that I had

done? He groaned upon the tree.

Amazing petty grace or known love beyond the greed?

Oh, I bid you tonight, if this is your decision to turn away

your eyes from your own concocted righteousness, turn

away your eyes from an earthly institution, whatever church it

may be. Even if it's this church, turn

your eyes away from us and cry to God the merciful, the mere

Sinner. Thirdly and lastly, here we have

the effect of such mercy when it is granted.

What happened to this man when he cried?

What? What became of him afterward?

What's the end of the story? What's the sequel?

How did it all work out? Well, God heard his cry.

Isaiah 45 verse 19, I said not under the seed of Jacob seek ye

Isaiah 45:19

may in vain. They that seek him will find

him, and they find him as the Bible says, rich in mercy, not a

tremendous thing. God who is rich in mercy, the

great love or with he loved this, and he's not only rich in

mercy, but he delights and mercy.

That's a wonderful thing too. Sometimes you know, you have

some people and they've got all the ability to help someone out

of all the riches that are needed, but they're not too

willing to part with it. Never little use.

And then you've got people who would love to be able to help

you, but they don't have the world withal to help you.

And they can only look on and pity you and maybe try and bring

you a little bit of comfort, but they can't help you because they

haven't got what it takes. But our God, behold your God

tonight. Now what the Isaiah says, behold

your God. He's not only rich in mercy, he

delights in it. It pleases him.

There's rejoicing in heaven among the angels of God when a

Sinner repents, because a repenting Sinner finds mercy,

and God delights in mercy. Listen indeed, listen to this as

an overture of peace, because on the cross Christ made peace by

the blood of us, by the blood that he shed.

He made peace by the the blood of his cross.

And listen to what he says to you.

He says today, seek ye the Lord, while he may be found.

This man went into the temple to seek the Lord, to seek God.

He knew where to find him, and he lifted up his voice unto the

Lord. And he says, Lord, be merciful

to me, a Sinner. Seek ye the Lord while he may be

found. Call upon him.

That's what this fellow is doing while he is near.

Let the wicked, let the wicked forsake his way, and let the

unrighteous man forsake his thoughts, and let him return

unto the Lord. Why?

For he will have mercy upon him and let him return on the our

God, for he will abundantly pardon.

That's what this fellow needed as public in this tax collector.

He needed abundant pardon. He is as guilty as hell itself.

He knew it. He knew it in his heart of

hearts. He didn't listen to this other

fellow pray and then join in a similar prayer and say, well

Lord, I'm glad I'm not as greedy as some of my fellow workers.

I'm glad that I'm not this and that and something else.

No, the Bible says he just went and he stood before the Lord.

Do you see him there? Do you see the repentance?

It says he smote his chest. One of the old commentators

says. It's as if he was saying, Lord,

here's the problem. It's in here.

It's not my environment in which I have grown up.

It's not my education or my lack of it.

It's not my family tree that we're all in this business of

robbing people. It's not the wickedness of the

age. It has had an influence upon me

that is at the root of the problem.

No, he says He's smiting his breath sin here.

It's my own wicked, sinful heart that drives me to do these

things. And he says, Lord the merciful

unto me. And God heard his cry.

You know the ear of God does not have a that I cannot hear and

his arm is not shortened or lame that I cannot see if he's

listening for the cry of the Sinner tonight and that Sinner

who just can about put together this prayer and says to God,

Lord be merciful to me. God will hear that prayer and

God will answer that prayer. That's a tremendous thing Jesus

said him that cometh to me. I will in no wise cast out and

he didn't push out this man. You see, when our Lord died upon

the cross, he died for the ungodly.

It's sinners Jesus will receive. Send a word of grace to all.

Don't argue yourself out tonight of getting saved.

Don't argue yourself out and say, well, I'm not, I'm not that

big Sinner that needs to get Christ.

You start thinking like that. You're closing the door on your

own mercy. You are forsaking your own

mercy. You're putting a hole in the

bottom of your own boat and you'll sink your vessel and you

will be lost forever more. What happened to this man?

Listen to what it says there in verse 14.

I tell you, there's the emphasis.

This man, not both men, this man went down to his house

justified. You know what justified means?

It means that the record was his record of crime was gone.

It was just as if it's one of the old Puritans worded it just

as if when he had never sinned, his blood of Christ had washed

the way the blood of Christ had washed the way, all the sin,

because that's why the blood was shed.

That's what we were singing about.

Wash me, cleanse me in the blood, in the blood that he

shed. It cleanseth us from all sin.

The Bible asks a great question. It's it's God throwing down the

gauntlet, the hell itself, who shall lay anything, anything,

anything to the charge of God's elect.

It is God that justifieth. It is Christ that thy ye rather

is risen again. And none can lay anything to the

charge of God's elect. The records clear because Christ

has borne our sins on his own body to the tree and this man

went down home justified doesn't know what the Bible says.

Being justified by faith. Faith brought this man into the

temple. Faith brought this man to the

very throne of God. Faith encouraged him to cry, but

merciful to me, a Sinner. Faith claimed what God was

offering and he went down to his home, justified rather than the

other. The old Pharisee went down,

probably self satisfied. I've been to that church again,

I've stood up and everybody knows what a great fellow I am.

I'll maybe come back again tomorrow. 24 hours near to hell

than they've ever been before. God looking upon him.

You know, when our Lord spoke the sinners, he always spoken

the most tenderest of tones. They, they goered unto him all

the harlots, and all the the publicans, and, and all the vile

sinners. But when he spoke in anger, he

directed it at the Pharisees. Woe unto you Pharisees,

hypocrites, hypocrites. He wasn't very keenly in

nonsense towards them. He exposed them for what they

were, hypocrites, and he said they may make their converts

twofold more. The child of hell land

themselves. But this man, this man went down

to his house justified. He went home and he went to bed.

We had to go to bed sooner or later, didn't they?

And he put his head in the pillow that night and for the

first time he was able to say, it is well.

It is well with my soul. Not a tremendous blessing.

That's the sleep of the just man, isn't it?

Be able to say I LED me down and slapped.

I await for the Lord sustained me.

The grace that has brought me safe thus far will leave me

safely home. I wonder what will you do

tonight if you're still unsaved? See yourself as God sees you.

See yourself as your conscience exposes you too.

Get that X-ray of your heart. It's not good, it's wicked.

The heart of man, Deceitful of all things, desperately wicked.

Who can know it? God says, I'll give you a new

heart. That's the message of the

gospel. I'll make you a new creature.

That's what we'll call been born again, and without the new

birth, you'll not enter the Kingdom.

Will you come to him tonight if you're still unsaved?

Don't come into the House of God a Pharisee and go out a

Pharisee. Come in as a lost Sinner and go

home, justified by the free grace of God.

May God give you that grace to do so.

Just setting where you are in your seat.

You OfferUp our prayer to God. Be merciful to me, a Sinner.

Be merciful to me. Mean it with all your hearts,

not just the formula. Formal words, it needs to be a

heartfelt conviction, work of God in your soul and you're

perceived. If you want to meet with us

afterwards, know all here myself, Mr Greenfield, whatever,

we're willing to help you if we can maybe clarify something, but

go down to your house justified. That's what these meetings are

all about. May the Lord bless His word.