1 00:00:00,580 --> 00:00:03,920 I feel it is of great importance tonight 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:06,860 to examine the subject of the Holy Spirit 3 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,140 and how the Holy Spirit brings conviction of 4 00:00:10,140 --> 00:00:11,820 sin upon the sinner's heart. 5 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,280 I fear that in our day of great 6 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,940 spiritual declension, there are few who understand how 7 00:00:18,940 --> 00:00:21,060 the Spirit of God works in the divine 8 00:00:21,060 --> 00:00:22,620 operations of conversion. 9 00:00:23,300 --> 00:00:25,820 This is a serious matter, and if we 10 00:00:25,820 --> 00:00:29,680 fail to properly grasp how God deals with 11 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,060 sinners, we will fail miserably in our attempts 12 00:00:33,060 --> 00:00:34,900 to point the unsaved to Christ. 13 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:39,400 I fear many today, in their eagerness to 14 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,000 win souls, make false converts because of spiritual 15 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:43,860 miscarriages. 16 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,640 Never tell an awakened sinner he is saved. 17 00:00:47,900 --> 00:00:50,760 He is merely an awakened sinner who still 18 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:53,120 needs to find Christ, and he is not 19 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,080 saved until Christ is found. 20 00:00:55,660 --> 00:00:58,840 Never tell someone they are now a Christian 21 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,580 because that is not your job. 22 00:01:01,940 --> 00:01:03,879 It is the office of the Holy Spirit 23 00:01:03,879 --> 00:01:05,060 to bring assurance. 24 00:01:06,380 --> 00:01:09,540 The way most of us preach today hinders 25 00:01:09,540 --> 00:01:12,980 the divine operations of the Holy Spirit rather 26 00:01:12,980 --> 00:01:15,860 than aid the Spirit in His workings on 27 00:01:15,860 --> 00:01:16,760 the human heart. 28 00:01:17,220 --> 00:01:19,680 We fail to preach the law before the 29 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:20,180 gospel. 30 00:01:20,580 --> 00:01:23,640 We offer the pearl of great price before 31 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,360 we even show a sinner why they need 32 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,400 Christ, for it is the law that is 33 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,400 the schoolmaster that brings men to Christ. 34 00:01:33,100 --> 00:01:37,020 Our preaching makes spiritual stillbirths because we hinder 35 00:01:37,020 --> 00:01:39,480 the work of the Holy Spirit by our 36 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,640 lack of understanding how God works on the 37 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,740 human heart in the process of conviction of 38 00:01:45,740 --> 00:01:48,260 sin and regeneration and conversion. 39 00:01:49,100 --> 00:01:52,640 My message this evening is entitled The Sinner's 40 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:54,440 Heart Under Conviction. 41 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,360 Our task as soul winners is to faithfully 42 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,140 present the Word of God so the Holy 43 00:02:02,140 --> 00:02:04,920 Spirit can operate on a person's heart. 44 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,639 Charles Finney, Pelagian as he was, knew how 45 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,100 to preach the law to bring conviction of 46 00:02:12,100 --> 00:02:14,600 sin, and old Finney could preach a lot 47 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:16,240 better than most of us today. 48 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:19,080 Finney used an illustration I like. 49 00:02:19,580 --> 00:02:22,720 He spoke of the old gristmill that operated 50 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,960 by the force of water upon two millstones. 51 00:02:26,620 --> 00:02:29,140 There was the top stone and the bottom 52 00:02:29,140 --> 00:02:32,560 stone, and these two millstones are laid one 53 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,260 atop the other, and as they turn, they 54 00:02:35,260 --> 00:02:37,400 grind the wheat into flour. 55 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:40,700 Finney said the bottom stone was the law 56 00:02:40,700 --> 00:02:42,960 of God written on the heart of man, 57 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,640 which is his conscience, from Romans 2.15. 58 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:49,360 The top stone is the preached law of 59 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,520 God thundered about the ears of the hearer. 60 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,740 When this occurs, then the Holy Spirit can 61 00:02:55,740 --> 00:02:59,760 operate by grinding upon the heart in conviction 62 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:00,500 of sin. 63 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:02,480 I like that. 64 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,560 You see, friends, the main problem with much 65 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:08,520 evangelism today is that we do not make 66 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,380 room for the Holy Spirit to operate because 67 00:03:11,380 --> 00:03:13,000 of our meager preaching. 68 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:16,740 When Jesus was teaching his disciples about the 69 00:03:16,740 --> 00:03:19,440 office of the Holy Spirit, he said to 70 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:23,500 them, and when he is come, he will 71 00:03:23,500 --> 00:03:26,500 reprove the world of sin and of righteousness 72 00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:30,840 and of judgment, of sin because they believe 73 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:34,540 not on me, of righteousness because I go 74 00:03:34,540 --> 00:03:37,260 to my Father and ye see me no 75 00:03:37,260 --> 00:03:41,040 more, of judgment because the prince of this 76 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:42,360 world is judged. 77 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,300 I have yet many things to say unto 78 00:03:45,300 --> 00:03:48,460 you, but ye cannot bear them now. 79 00:03:49,060 --> 00:03:52,240 How be it when he, the Spirit of 80 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,820 Truth, is come, he will guide you into 81 00:03:55,820 --> 00:03:56,800 all truth. 82 00:03:57,520 --> 00:03:59,960 And that's true, friends, for it is the 83 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:02,360 Spirit of God that takes the gospel and 84 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:03,840 applies it to our hearts. 85 00:04:04,060 --> 00:04:06,360 It is the Spirit of God that sets 86 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,320 on the word with power upon the conscience 87 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:10,180 of the hearer. 88 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:12,940 And there are two components to this action 89 00:04:12,940 --> 00:04:15,100 of the Holy Spirit, which I want to 90 00:04:15,100 --> 00:04:16,060 bring out tonight. 91 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:17,880 And the first is this. 92 00:04:18,260 --> 00:04:20,880 When the word of God comes with power 93 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,760 to the conscience in conviction of sin, it 94 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:26,740 shows sinners their true character. 95 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,940 It shows a lost person that they are 96 00:04:30,940 --> 00:04:35,300 lawbreakers, guilty rebels who have committed treason against 97 00:04:35,300 --> 00:04:35,880 the sovereign. 98 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,560 When the Holy Spirit comes in conviction to 99 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,400 a sinner's heart, it does a plowing work. 100 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,300 It breaks up the fallow ground and the 101 00:04:45,300 --> 00:04:46,980 hardness of the sinner's heart. 102 00:04:47,580 --> 00:04:51,300 Before conviction of sin, the sinner was oblivious 103 00:04:51,300 --> 00:04:54,300 to the evil of sin, unaware of the 104 00:04:54,300 --> 00:04:58,100 damning nature of sin, ignorant of his own 105 00:04:58,100 --> 00:04:59,760 sins as iniquity. 106 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:01,920 And he went on in his course of 107 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,660 sin without any fear of punishment from a 108 00:05:04,660 --> 00:05:05,160 creator. 109 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,740 But when the Spirit of God descends upon 110 00:05:08,740 --> 00:05:11,980 a sinner's heart and places him under conviction 111 00:05:11,980 --> 00:05:16,360 of sin, then that person's conscience begins to 112 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,100 grind under that conviction and they are shown 113 00:05:20,100 --> 00:05:23,200 their true character, which is that they are 114 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,560 lawbreakers who have transgressed the holy law of 115 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:30,320 God and they deserve punishment for the sentencing 116 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,220 of the law must be carried out. 117 00:05:32,860 --> 00:05:35,820 Thus, it shows a sinner his true character, 118 00:05:36,260 --> 00:05:38,940 that he is a guilty rebel who has 119 00:05:38,940 --> 00:05:41,600 broken the strict law of God and the 120 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,480 Spirit of God convinces him that he is 121 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:46,740 under the wrath of God and the curse 122 00:05:46,740 --> 00:05:48,980 of the law and that when the day 123 00:05:48,980 --> 00:05:52,120 of judgment comes, the law will be executed 124 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:56,240 with the utmost severity upon all that know 125 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,100 not God and obey not the gospel of 126 00:05:59,100 --> 00:06:00,220 Jesus Christ. 127 00:06:01,460 --> 00:06:05,200 And the second aspect of the divine operation 128 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:06,940 of the Holy Spirit is this. 129 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,220 When the word of God comes with power 130 00:06:10,220 --> 00:06:13,540 to the conscience, it awakens sinners to their 131 00:06:13,540 --> 00:06:14,680 lost condition. 132 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:17,760 For when the Spirit of God subdues the 133 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,540 heart of rebels, he attends the preached word 134 00:06:20,540 --> 00:06:24,680 with power, majesty, and authority, and quite suddenly 135 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,780 a sinner becomes alarmed to his great danger, 136 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,000 which before he never saw. 137 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:34,160 He now sees himself standing in direct opposition 138 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,720 to a holy God who must punish sin. 139 00:06:38,100 --> 00:06:40,440 He is now aware of his lost condition 140 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:44,380 outside of Christ and his perilous position under 141 00:06:44,380 --> 00:06:46,380 the condemnation of the Almighty. 142 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,960 He is brought to tremble under the sense 143 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:52,740 of divine wrath, for he knows his guilt 144 00:06:52,740 --> 00:06:53,900 and feels it. 145 00:06:54,140 --> 00:06:56,760 He feels the sentencing of the law being 146 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,900 carried out against him and the punishment which 147 00:06:59,900 --> 00:07:02,840 awaits him, which is the prison of hell 148 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:07,180 and its torments, where prior to this he 149 00:07:07,180 --> 00:07:09,220 never gave any thought to eternity. 150 00:07:09,700 --> 00:07:12,480 Now he is consumed with the subject and 151 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,380 quite alarmed to his great danger of dropping 152 00:07:15,380 --> 00:07:18,460 into a place of misery and torment called 153 00:07:18,460 --> 00:07:18,880 hell. 154 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:20,600 He seeks relief. 155 00:07:20,940 --> 00:07:23,200 He becomes a seeker of God and his 156 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:23,640 mercy. 157 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:26,220 He is completely shut up to God to 158 00:07:26,220 --> 00:07:26,940 save him. 159 00:07:27,500 --> 00:07:29,860 I know this sounds strange to us in 160 00:07:29,860 --> 00:07:32,840 our day of an apostate church, and few 161 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:36,200 pastors would even agree with what I'm relating 162 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,180 to you this evening, but when the gospel 163 00:07:39,180 --> 00:07:42,360 is preached in its purity and proper order, 164 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,200 then the Holy Spirit can attend the preached 165 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,140 word with power, which breaks the rock in 166 00:07:48,140 --> 00:07:51,160 pieces, for it is the Spirit of God 167 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,920 that convicts a sin and reveals to a 168 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:57,380 poor sinner his true character as a guilty 169 00:07:57,380 --> 00:08:00,760 rebel who has broken God's holy law, and 170 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:02,620 it is the Spirit of God which shows 171 00:08:02,620 --> 00:08:05,680 a lost person the peril of being outside 172 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,780 of Christ's blood and standing in their own 173 00:08:08,780 --> 00:08:11,680 merits and under the wrath of the Almighty, 174 00:08:12,140 --> 00:08:15,120 for divine justice must be carried out, and 175 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,380 when a person is undone and under conviction 176 00:08:18,380 --> 00:08:22,360 and shown their great danger and future punishment, 177 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,000 which is greatly deserved, then they are shut 178 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,820 up to God and his grace alone to 179 00:08:28,820 --> 00:08:29,480 save them. 180 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,059 They are made to see their need of 181 00:08:32,059 --> 00:08:32,620 a Savior. 182 00:08:34,100 --> 00:08:36,600 But we live in a land and in 183 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,620 a day, and when we experience what we're 184 00:08:39,620 --> 00:08:43,400 experiencing today, which is the remedial judgments from 185 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,420 an offended God, one of those judgments is 186 00:08:46,420 --> 00:08:49,500 the withdrawn presence of God, and we have 187 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:53,360 few true conversions occurring today because man is 188 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,700 making himself a Christian by taking the name 189 00:08:56,700 --> 00:08:59,380 of a Christian as he would take the 190 00:08:59,380 --> 00:09:03,440 name of a college fraternity, and many are 191 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:07,120 Christians in name only like in Sardis and 192 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:11,580 Laodicea, but in times of revival, God is 193 00:09:11,580 --> 00:09:13,900 afoot in the land, and His Holy Spirit 194 00:09:13,900 --> 00:09:16,320 is actively at work in the conversion of 195 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:16,720 sinners. 196 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:19,720 I want to read you an account this 197 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,660 evening taken from the revival of 1858, which 198 00:09:23,660 --> 00:09:24,840 occurred in this country. 199 00:09:25,340 --> 00:09:28,080 It's also known as the prayer revival or 200 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,460 the businessman's revival, and it shook America from 201 00:09:31,460 --> 00:09:32,420 coast to coast. 202 00:09:32,780 --> 00:09:35,840 It was the last spiritual awakening this nation 203 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:36,780 has ever seen. 204 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:40,140 In this brief account, we see how the 205 00:09:40,140 --> 00:09:42,800 Spirit of God is the one who works 206 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:45,180 on the conscience to bring a person to 207 00:09:45,180 --> 00:09:45,620 Christ. 208 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,400 The following account is given from a witness 209 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:50,380 to these events from 1858. 210 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:52,660 Here now are his words. 211 00:09:54,660 --> 00:09:58,220 Impenitent men have been found ready to hear 212 00:09:58,220 --> 00:10:01,020 and ready to obey the gospel call. 213 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:05,200 This very discovery has roused up the individual 214 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,580 faithfulness of Christians, and they have felt the 215 00:10:08,580 --> 00:10:12,280 value of personal effort as they never felt 216 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:13,040 it before. 217 00:10:13,340 --> 00:10:16,980 Since the days of first Christians, men have 218 00:10:16,980 --> 00:10:19,780 been surprised at the success of a little 219 00:10:19,780 --> 00:10:23,000 labor, and this has encouraged more labor. 220 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:27,800 One man has gone prayerfully and affectionately to 221 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:31,860 another and urged the importance of the hour, 222 00:10:32,380 --> 00:10:35,360 the space given him for repentance and the 223 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:38,160 necessity of improving it to make his peace 224 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:38,840 with God. 225 00:10:39,560 --> 00:10:41,720 When he goes to him a second time, 226 00:10:42,020 --> 00:10:44,800 he finds him in great anxiety of mind. 227 00:10:45,220 --> 00:10:47,840 He asks now, What must I do? 228 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:50,060 What can I do to be saved? 229 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,080 He finds that sleep has departed from the 230 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:53,420 man. 231 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,860 His days are restless, and night brings him 232 00:10:56,860 --> 00:10:57,800 no repose. 233 00:10:58,220 --> 00:11:00,020 What is the matter with the man? 234 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:04,000 Why, nothing, except that from his knees a 235 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:06,620 man has gone and spoken to him at 236 00:11:06,620 --> 00:11:11,640 an unexpected moment, with unexpected earnestness and unwanted 237 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:17,220 emotion, and with irresistible tenderness and love, has 238 00:11:17,220 --> 00:11:20,080 besought him to attend the gospel message. 239 00:11:20,260 --> 00:11:23,220 As a sinner needing an interest in Christ, 240 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,240 this is all, all that the Christian has 241 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:26,660 done. 242 00:11:27,020 --> 00:11:28,620 But this is not all. 243 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:31,800 It has pleased God to clothe that message 244 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,760 with amazing power, the power of the Holy 245 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,400 Spirit, and it will be so evident that 246 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:41,080 the work is all of God that the 247 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:43,980 Christian is humbled, while at the same time 248 00:11:43,980 --> 00:11:47,540 he is encouraged, even so, Father, for so 249 00:11:47,540 --> 00:11:49,600 it seemeth good in thy sight. 250 00:11:51,100 --> 00:11:53,820 That, friends, is a good description of the 251 00:11:53,820 --> 00:11:55,300 sinner's heart under conviction. 252 00:11:55,940 --> 00:11:58,880 The best biblical example of this I can 253 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:00,660 find is seen in the book of Acts 254 00:12:00,660 --> 00:12:04,720 in chapter 2 and verse 37, which states, 255 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:09,120 Now when they heard this, they were pricked 256 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,240 in their heart, and said unto Peter, and 257 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,060 to the rest of the apostles, Men and 258 00:12:15,060 --> 00:12:17,380 brethren, what shall we do? 259 00:12:18,340 --> 00:12:21,320 For when Peter preached this sermon on the 260 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,580 day of Pentecost, his hearers were pierced through 261 00:12:24,580 --> 00:12:26,860 the heart with conviction of sin. 262 00:12:27,300 --> 00:12:27,940 Why? 263 00:12:28,220 --> 00:12:30,500 Because the Spirit of God set home the 264 00:12:30,500 --> 00:12:33,520 word with power upon the consciousness of the 265 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:34,000 hearers. 266 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:36,680 For the word of God is quick and 267 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:39,540 powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword. 268 00:12:40,020 --> 00:12:42,680 That, friends, is the sword of the Spirit, 269 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:44,920 and a stab in the heart is fatal. 270 00:12:45,660 --> 00:12:49,640 Paul said, When the commandment came, sin revived, 271 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:50,780 and I died. 272 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,540 These Jews were pierced through with the sword 273 00:12:54,540 --> 00:12:56,680 of God, and they were gripped under the 274 00:12:56,680 --> 00:12:57,760 conviction of sin. 275 00:12:57,980 --> 00:13:00,800 The preached word, from the lips of Peter, 276 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:04,060 was attended with power from on high, and 277 00:13:04,060 --> 00:13:06,840 it struck their conscience, showed them their true 278 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:10,780 character as rebels who sinned against God, and 279 00:13:10,780 --> 00:13:13,480 it revealed to them their lost condition, and 280 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,340 it brought alarm to their conscience. 281 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,400 They were now awakened sinners under conviction of 282 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,100 sin, and when that happens to a man, 283 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:24,860 he is made aware that he is condemned 284 00:13:24,860 --> 00:13:27,860 by the law, for he has broken God's 285 00:13:27,860 --> 00:13:30,880 strict law time and time again. 286 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,940 He sees that he is guilty as a 287 00:13:34,940 --> 00:13:38,300 lawbreaker, and through this he is exposed to 288 00:13:38,300 --> 00:13:41,240 great danger, because he sees for the first 289 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:43,880 time that the punishment to which he is 290 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:48,260 exposed is eternal and misery in an everlasting 291 00:13:48,260 --> 00:13:50,600 place of punishment called hell. 292 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:53,880 He is convinced of sin and of judgment, 293 00:13:54,420 --> 00:13:57,560 for he realizes God is just to send 294 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:00,100 him to a burning hell, for he has 295 00:14:00,100 --> 00:14:03,320 committed treason against a sovereign, and the sentencing 296 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,700 of the law must be carried out, for 297 00:14:05,700 --> 00:14:07,560 God is a just judge. 298 00:14:08,140 --> 00:14:11,540 So the sinner's danger becomes very real to 299 00:14:11,540 --> 00:14:11,900 him. 300 00:14:12,500 --> 00:14:15,760 Before all this, he was a careless sinner 301 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:19,100 who saw no danger in his behavior or 302 00:14:19,100 --> 00:14:19,860 his state. 303 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,540 Now he is unable to rest at night. 304 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,880 He is alarmed to his lost condition and 305 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:27,740 his need of a remedy for sin. 306 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,420 Now that person is ready to hear about 307 00:14:31,420 --> 00:14:34,260 the Pearl of Great Price, the Lord Jesus 308 00:14:34,260 --> 00:14:37,000 Christ, who is the remedy for sin. 309 00:14:37,300 --> 00:14:40,260 Now the remedy can be applied, for the 310 00:14:40,260 --> 00:14:42,700 sinner has seen his need of that remedy. 311 00:14:43,100 --> 00:14:44,700 He is hungry for God. 312 00:14:45,020 --> 00:14:46,720 He is weary of his sins. 313 00:14:47,100 --> 00:14:48,740 He is thirsty for Christ. 314 00:14:49,180 --> 00:14:51,840 The gospel, friends, is for the hungry, the 315 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:53,420 weary, and the thirsty. 316 00:14:54,060 --> 00:14:57,080 That man can do business with God when 317 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:59,580 he gets in that condition, for when a 318 00:14:59,580 --> 00:15:01,760 person sees he is in danger of being 319 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,380 lost forever, he becomes alarmed to his perilous 320 00:15:05,380 --> 00:15:08,400 position outside of Christ, and he becomes a 321 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,340 seeker, for he cannot stand in his own 322 00:15:11,340 --> 00:15:14,680 merits against God's holy law, for he will 323 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:18,640 fail that test, because God requires perfection to 324 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:21,100 get into his heaven, and no man is 325 00:15:21,100 --> 00:15:23,940 perfect, for all have sinned and fall short 326 00:15:23,940 --> 00:15:25,180 of the glory of God. 327 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:27,740 He needs to stand in the merits of 328 00:15:27,740 --> 00:15:30,680 another, a sin substitute in the person of 329 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:34,460 Jesus Christ, so that person who now has 330 00:15:34,460 --> 00:15:37,660 been awakened to his lost condition and convicted 331 00:15:37,660 --> 00:15:40,480 of sin is entirely showed up to God 332 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:41,360 to save him. 333 00:15:41,660 --> 00:15:44,460 He becomes a seeker, a beggar for mercy. 334 00:15:44,900 --> 00:15:47,700 The Spirit of God is striving with him. 335 00:15:49,260 --> 00:15:52,980 This all may sound foreign to us in 336 00:15:52,980 --> 00:15:56,880 our day of sad spiritual declension where people 337 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,440 make themselves Christians and join the church. 338 00:15:59,860 --> 00:16:01,840 People save themselves today. 339 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:04,560 At least that is what they believe. 340 00:16:04,940 --> 00:16:07,360 We've taken salvation out of the hands of 341 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,600 God and placed it in the hands of 342 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:12,400 men in your day and mine, friends. 343 00:16:12,820 --> 00:16:15,600 There probably has never been in the history 344 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,740 of mankind a time when more lost people 345 00:16:18,740 --> 00:16:21,580 or church members who think they are saved 346 00:16:21,580 --> 00:16:24,160 and on their way to heaven, when in 347 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,280 reality they are quite lost and on their 348 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:28,060 way to hell. 349 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,040 They've never been awakened to their lost condition, 350 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:33,680 never convicted of sin by the Spirit of 351 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,940 God, and many rest upon a false foundation 352 00:16:36,940 --> 00:16:38,300 of carnal security. 353 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,300 The reason for this is twofold. 354 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,800 We have cheapened the gospel by diluting it 355 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,660 to make it more palatable to sinful man, 356 00:16:47,660 --> 00:16:50,420 and in the process we have grieved the 357 00:16:50,420 --> 00:16:53,220 Spirit of God away from our sanctuaries. 358 00:16:53,860 --> 00:16:58,120 Years ago, there was a God-consciousness in 359 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,680 our churches, but this is no longer the 360 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,380 case in America today, for we escorted God 361 00:17:04,380 --> 00:17:06,420 to the back door of the church and 362 00:17:06,420 --> 00:17:08,960 pushed him out and opened the front door 363 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:10,200 and let the world in. 364 00:17:10,660 --> 00:17:14,140 The withdrawn presence of God should alarm us 365 00:17:14,140 --> 00:17:17,220 today, for it is only the Holy Spirit 366 00:17:17,220 --> 00:17:20,260 applying the gospel to a hard sinner's heart 367 00:17:20,260 --> 00:17:22,000 that convicts and saves them. 368 00:17:22,579 --> 00:17:25,300 Our modern gospel has no power to save. 369 00:17:25,619 --> 00:17:28,660 There is no need of repentance or regeneration 370 00:17:28,660 --> 00:17:31,620 today, so it is never mentioned from the 371 00:17:31,620 --> 00:17:32,080 pulpit. 372 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:35,800 Man can save himself today, for we have 373 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:38,760 taken salvation out of the hands of God 374 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:40,980 and placed it in the hands of men, 375 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:43,820 and they join the church and live in 376 00:17:43,820 --> 00:17:46,920 sin and die in their sins and drop 377 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,960 into a burning hell because a lawbreaker will 378 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,920 be judged as a guilty rebel who deserves 379 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:56,360 punishment from an offended creator, and for the 380 00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:59,660 forgiveness of sin, God must have satisfaction. 381 00:18:00,820 --> 00:18:02,900 You are either under the blood of Christ 382 00:18:02,900 --> 00:18:06,100 and forgiven and have received pardon for sin, 383 00:18:06,260 --> 00:18:08,260 or you stand in a great place of 384 00:18:08,260 --> 00:18:12,260 exposed danger outside of Christ's merits and will 385 00:18:12,260 --> 00:18:15,060 be sentenced to a place of eternal woe 386 00:18:15,060 --> 00:18:18,740 and misery in a world of damnation, torment, 387 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:19,620 and flames. 388 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:22,640 Well, I hope we have learned a little 389 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:26,280 bit tonight about the sinner's heart under conviction. 390 00:18:27,020 --> 00:18:29,440 I'm going to pray for us now and 391 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,440 then leave you with a verse of scripture, 392 00:18:31,940 --> 00:18:34,720 and I hope you don't just hear this 393 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:38,080 poor preacher's voice, but you hear his voice 394 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:39,760 attending his word. 395 00:18:40,220 --> 00:18:41,420 Let us pray. 396 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:48,760 Great God, salvation is in your hands, and 397 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:52,320 you can give it or withhold it and 398 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:53,820 still be a just God. 399 00:18:54,260 --> 00:18:57,720 I pray right now for the Holy Spirit 400 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:02,320 to bring conviction of sin to anyone within 401 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:05,240 the sound of my voice who is outside 402 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:08,980 of Christ Jesus and in great danger of 403 00:19:08,980 --> 00:19:10,100 being lost forever. 404 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:15,060 Reveal to them, great God, their crime against 405 00:19:15,060 --> 00:19:18,300 you by breaking your holy law through sin. 406 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:23,280 Reveal to them the penalty for sin, which 407 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:25,500 is hell itself and its torments. 408 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:30,440 Bring conviction to them by your grace and 409 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:31,600 by your mercy. 410 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:35,340 Bring them to a place of seeking pardon 411 00:19:35,340 --> 00:19:38,940 through the blood of your dear son, Jesus 412 00:19:38,940 --> 00:19:42,940 Christ, the bright and morning star, the rose 413 00:19:42,940 --> 00:19:47,120 of Sharon, the prince of peace, the pearl 414 00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:51,200 of great price who suffered and died because 415 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,480 you, Lord, need satisfaction for sin. 416 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:59,240 Jesus, the sin bearer, who took your wrath 417 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:03,180 upon him so we would escape it under 418 00:20:03,180 --> 00:20:07,340 the shelter of dear and precious blood poured 419 00:20:07,340 --> 00:20:08,700 out on our behalf. 420 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:13,220 Have mercy, great God, and break up the 421 00:20:13,220 --> 00:20:17,540 false foundations that anyone is resting upon. 422 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,200 Break up the false foundations that sit in 423 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:25,660 stubborn rebellion to your truth, for it is 424 00:20:25,660 --> 00:20:27,820 in the strong name of the Lord Jesus 425 00:20:27,820 --> 00:20:29,280 Christ I pray. 426 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:30,380 Amen. 427 00:20:30,380 --> 00:20:30,660 Amen. 428 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:36,500 Let the wicked forsake his way and the 429 00:20:36,500 --> 00:20:41,160 unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return 430 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,900 unto the Lord and he will have mercy 431 00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:48,560 upon him and to our God for he 432 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,020 will abundantly pardon.