S. The Living Christ

THE LIVING CHRIST

TEXT: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold I am alive for evermore. Revelation 1:18. In the service this morning I called your attention to a certain subject with the accompanying statement that that subject would be preached upon tonight - a living Christ. I repeat again tonight that there has never been a time in my life that I have not been impressed with the force and power of the historical argument proving the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But no matter how strong that demonstration may be, it might be as high as heaven, and no man might be able to see a flaw in any part of the argument, it yet would be a powerless argument unless proofs of Christ’s living could be shown. It would serve no purpose as affects us to prove that He was alive eighteen hundred years ago. In order for it to be a special benefit to us there must be a kind of argument that conclusively proves to us that He is alive yet. The Scripture read in your hearing tonight is a case in point. Years had passed away since Christ arose from the dead, and yet the Apostle Paul preaching in Lystra, saw a man in the audience with impotent feet, who never had walked; he had been lame from his mother’s womb. And the poor, helpless cripple was intently listening to the sermon Paul was preaching, and Paul caught his eye and perceived that that man had faith to be healed, and in the name of Jesus Christ he commanded him to stand upright, and he leaped and walked. That is to say, Jesus Christ was alive then, and His power was just as great in healing that cripple at Lystra as it was through the instrumentality of Peter and John in healing the beggar at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and just as potent as it was when Jesus in the flesh raised from the dead the sleeping maiden, or the lame young man, or Lazarus four days resting in the tomb. Now it is the affirmation of this text tonight that He is alive forevermore. He was dead, but He is alive forever more; that He is as much alive tonight and as accessible tonight and can hear our prayers as well tonight and can read our hearts as readily tonight, and tonight has power on earth to forgive sins as in the days of His flesh. And that Christianity, by whomsoever preached or advocated, that does not furnish proof of a living Redeemer, is not worthy to be offered to the acceptance of the people. And that preacher who does not see in his Saviour a living Christ with present power to save, had better surrender his credentials. And that church that has not faith in a living Redeemer who can now furnish proofs of His life and His power and His majesty and of His glory, had better disband and not mock the world with a form of godliness after having denied its power. So far as I am concerned, if the whole world were to stand up before me, they could not make me believe that I did not in my heart and by faith see the Lord Jesus Christ in the hour of my conversion, and by His divine power was freed from my sins. There is a personal experience, a matter of inward consciousness that is more satisfactory to the one who is the subject of it, than the thousand false theories, than ten thousand speculations of philosophy; it is something a man has; it is something that teaches him; and he is a witness concerning a gift which has come to him from God. He is more competent to testify of it than everybody else in the world. I would like to see this matter fairly tested tonight. I have never been afraid to accept any fair challenge of the power of Jesus. Across the sky of my soul there does not roll one speck of the cloud of doubt that He is tonight mighty to save. Let us look at some of the points which go to establish this. I shall not take your time to ask you to hear the arguments upon the evidences of Christianity, but I call your attention to things that now are, and these are the proofs convincing to my mind, overwhelmingly convincing, that Jesus Christ tonight has power on earth to forgive sin. I call attention first to this: He can hear us we know, and He can answer our petitions we know. I know that just as well as I know that you hear me and that you can grant a request of mine. There is no more question with reference to the throne of mercy which He has established, that those who approach that throne of mercy, as prompted by His Spirit and offering prayers that are in accordance with His will, that the answer comes, and readily comes, and sensibly comes-there can be no more question of that than of our own existence. I know He has heard and answered prayers offered today. He is near enough to us to send a response inside of twelve hours; he is near enough to us to send a response even while we speak the petition; so near that He can anticipate, and before our lips have completely voiced it, the answer is like an echo to the first part of the prayer, and God has granted what we desired and so soon that He did not give us time to ask that it be done. He said that if He arose He would give gifts to men, and these gifts are here in this house tonight-fresh gifts, gifts that are not old and musty and ancient, like documentary proofs on parchment, but gifts that the heart cherishes; gifts of power, gifts of utterance, gifts of prayer, gifts of discerning spirits, gifts of faith, gifts of hope, gifts of love; they are here, right here in this house. And the dead cannot give gifts. He said that if He arose He would be with His people. That was His promise: “Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world.” He is risen. If that promise is fulfilled in your heart, or in my heart, or in the heart of any member of this church; if Jesus in His Spiritual power is with you and you feel His presence, then is He risen indeed; then is He alive. Then being risen, being alive, being present, He has all the power with which He was ever invested. By those gifts and by that presence Jesus is risen and is alive. He said, “It is expedient for you that I go away. If I go not away the Comforter will not come. If I be raised from the dead I will send Him and when He is come He will convict the world of sin.” If there is in this house tonight one sinner that trembles at the thought of God; if there be one mind here uneasy at the fact that the Lord God omnipotent reigneth and the judgment cometh; if there be here tonight one soul that is lamenting sin and grieving over it and mourning because of it, then Jesus is risen. There can fly no arrow of conviction from the bow of a dead archer; but if He be living, then with an unerring aim He can select this man and that man and send that shaft dipped with fire and tinged with the blood of redemption into that heart and make that man who a short time ago was careless and indifferent, now full of deep concern and ready to cry out: “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” If, since this service commenced, one trembling sinner whose mind was darkened by his memories of iniquities and his apprehensions of judgment, who has passed out of that state of trembling and fear and found rest and peace in believing in Jesus Christ, then Jesus Christ is risen, and that conversion stands for the present day and for the present generation as a more convincing argument in favor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than all the books that ever have been written upon the evidences of Christianity. That is practical. That is personal. That is satisfactory. It convinces the subject and convinces him in such a way that his mind cannot turn away from it, for it is a present possession of light and peace and joy. Then, is Christ risen! Men may doubt that He has risen when church members assemble and feel no presence of God. Many may doubt that He is alive when sinners are convicted and are not converted, but if there be a felt presence of God; if there be the exercise of fresh gifts bestowed by His divine hand from the throne of His power; if sinners tremble and then rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, how can men doubt that Jesus is risen? If you can find one, just one, on whom some crushing calamity has come, one heart into which the finger of God’s chastisement has been placed and has snapped every tuneful chord and filled it with unspeakable sorrow because a dear loved one has been taken away from earth forever, and while that heart is swelling and while the soul is in gloom because of a vacant place, or a vacant chair, or because of the strange fixed look of some picture on the wall that has no earthly representative, that into that heart there comes consolation so rich and sweet that death and separation cannot overcloud its light, then is Jesus risen. And these are the proofs we want, and these are the proofs which we want in this meeting and that we want here tonight. And I would be ashamed to invite any sinner to come to an empty tomb, to bow before a dead Saviour; to ask of one who cannot give him relief from any burden of whatever kind. But it is the present and all-powerful Son of God that we hold up before you tonight. I care not how black the heart, how seamed and scarred the soul may be with sin, how distant the wandering, how confirmed the habits of vice, if you have faith to be healed and will bring that heart under the blood that falls from the riven heart of Jesus Christ you tonight shall be washed whiter than snow. I do not know anything about tomorrow. I know tonight there are people in this house who are lost, lost! Some that are old, but lost. I know that there is a place of awful hazard if you remain there for one moment, and in my mind I can see the soul near that precipice, beyond which rises the flame coming up to meet him, the smoke of torment already rising, and thus on the brink of eternal death I can yet speak to that soul and say, “Even you tonight by grace divine can be made alive unto God and saved forevermore, if you have faith to be healed.” I ask you to try it. I put the whole matter before you into an act, into a deed, a deed of faith, a deed that will set the seal of your sincerity. Will you from the heart ask God for Christ’s sake to forgive your sins? I could not feel this any more deeply I could not believe it any more sincerely if the Lord Jesus Christ and the twelve Apostles were standing here, and if I had this afternoon seen Him raise the dead and heal the sick and comfort the sinner I could not more confidently ask you to come and trust Him here tonight and receive the benefit of His power; and I know that if you come sincerely and hold out your hand to Him that you will be saved. He says, “Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” I do not believe He ever did cast any one out. I do not believe that hell could furnish a single witness who could truthfully say, “In yonder world I penitently kneeled at the feet of Jesus and said, ‘Lord save me.’” I am going to ask you to try to venture on the promises of God. There are here all around us men and women who tell you that they were once lost and felt the burden and anguish of their sins; they penitently asked God for Christ’s sake to forgive them and He did forgive. And these tonight will reach out to you the hand of sympathy, the hand of prayer; they will try to bring you to Jesus, knowing that if they can get you to Him, your petition is answered and your soul is saved. Oh, may the Spirit of God shine into your heart, drive away your doubts, fix your attention, awaken your faith, move your lips to speak and your heart to feel, that you may this night find precious peace in the salvation of your soul! I invite you to try it, any of you, all of you, that are without God and without hope in the world. I can scarcely control my feelings. I do not know how to put what I feel into words, but I do know that I have the most intense longing to go right out and take you by the hand, lead you to Jesus and say, “Lord, save this sinner; save him now!” Sinner, come to Him! Come to Him now! While we stand and sing, I want to ask every one in this house who sincerely desires to be saved to come and give me your hand.