In this sermon, the preacher focuses on James 4, emphasizing the urgency of getting right with God. He appeals to the listeners to take action immediately and not delay. He shares an illustration about a person caught unprepared in a storm to illustrate the consequences of not being prepared for spiritual challenges. The preacher then quotes Isaiah 54:7 to remind the listeners of God's mercy and everlasting kindness towards those who fall. He invites those who have fallen to come forward and pray for forgiveness and restoration, emphasizing the importance of a sincere heart in prayer.

Can we all stand please? I wonder if you would mind just standing. Thank you that I can be here today. I am so grateful to be back in the home of Denny and Jackie. I thank the Lord for them and their dear children and it's been a great joy and again a great privilege just to be able to sense their godliness and their love for Christ and I am indeed privileged to have been able to come back to your lovely country. And the first home I come to, this godly home. I do thank you and I thank God for the privilege of being in your pulpit again. I don't know, nobody knows tomorrow, each day God gives us as a gift. We worship him for another day to serve him as the day comes. Those words I think I say every morning is all thank the Lord has given me another day to serve thee. It is so good that I have been spared and you have been spared that we can all be back together and I think we were very privileged today to be under the ministry of a man of God and I feel very very privileged to stand in the pulpit in the same day in the same meeting this very great and dear man of God. We will pray for you and not forget what God has done for you dear sir and we bow in prayer please. Father we thank thee for what we've heard and we ask thee to bless thy servant and his family and all the fruit of his labor and to give him that which his vision and his dream and his longing and in his faith. Many many many many tongues in India coming to God. Oh Lord so much prayer has come up for that lovely land, beautiful India but all with so much sorrow and darkness and thy people have prayed for years and years and the millions I would say Lord for that land. Perhaps this is thy answer to many millions of people who have gone, who did pray for India. Thank thee for thy faithfulness in thy right time. Come protect him under the blood of Christ and oh our God honour him and thy glory to rest upon his ministry. Now Lord in these moments we pray for mercy. Keep us safe from the powers of darkness under the holy blood of the Lamb of God. We pray that the risen resurrected power of Christ might be manifested here in our midst through thy word. We pray thou in mercy upon me will wash me in the blood. I have nothing to commend myself. I have nothing to trust in but the blood. I have nothing to hope for that God in mercy wouldn't meet with anyone in this meeting other than thou dost wash me in the blood afresh. There is nothing I can trust in but the blood. To give me the right to stand in the pulpit of God I come longing that thou would have mercy on me and wash me through and through with the blood of Christ and fill me with the Holy Spirit and stand beside me in the pulpit of God and take this remaining part of the service and make it something so holy and precious to everyone as thou dost take thy word by the Holy Spirit alone. The letter killeth, the spirit giveth life. Come give life to thy word oh God for no man can especially this poor man. So our expectation is in thee and thee only. Come by thy grace alone and mercy upon us as thy people and make thy word very very holy and precious and bury it in our hearts and bring life and fruit through it that is of eternal value. In Jesus Christ's holy name we all ask these things of thee our Father in heaven. Amen. Can we be seated please? I'd like to do something here today that I haven't done before. To those of you who have been in the meetings when I have preached here before, I'd like to do something oh so different. I'd like to bring you a short bible study as a basis, as a foundation to the sermon, to the thoughts I'd like to bring after. But there were certain notes that I've made that I just put down here on these two pages before me that I'd like to carefully just take a short bible study concerning this topic. And I don't know if you should all page through the bible because almost every verse and I think without doubt every verse I'm to read you probably can quote, all of you. They're the most loved and well known of our verses so instead of us all paging back and forth, if you'd like to page back and forth you're welcome, but it might take you a while to keep up where I'm going. But trust me I'll just bring as it stands what stands in God's word so that we don't have to all be paging back and forth but perhaps just today just to trust this poor man standing here isn't saying anything out of its context. So I feel so led of God in these last two three days since I heard I used to preach here to bring this short bible study as a stepping stone. The topic is when the godly fall. That's something you've never heard preached as a whole sermon. When the godly fall. When the godly when the godly the godly fall the fearful thought but it happens it happens and it staggers the world it could happen to you maybe it has happened to you you were godly you were holy but you've fallen not just some small mistake or some little sin that others would overlook but you've fallen into sin. Now I would like to bring a few points the first is God's condemnation God's condemnation of the godly who fall. Don't doubt that now. God's condemnation of the godly who fall. Now we read in 2 Samuel 12 14 concerning David's fall of God's condemnation of David falling like that because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. They're still blaspheming the enemies of the Lord you know over what David did all these thousands of years later it's still bringing shame on God's name. Oh God's condemnation of the godly who fall. David the man after God's own heart by this deed thou has given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Ecclesiastes 10 verse 1 dead flies oh it's an awful verse to me dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking saviour. Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking saviour. So does a little folly a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour oh what damage a little folly can do to God's name if a godly man falls. Oh God keep me from a little folly keep me from even a little folly. God's condemnation of the godly who fall. Secondly oh secondly God's compassion God's compassion towards the godly who fall. Any man who stands in the pulpit of God bringing the condemnation of God that doesn't in the next breath bring the compassion of God is not from God. He has no right to be in the pulpit but you know he's from God if he condemns without any sparing the awfulness of what you've done the horror of what you're doing. But the compassion toward you from God God's condemnation of the godly who fall but then secondly God's compassion toward the godly who fall. Don't doubt that don't doubt that please don't doubt that. Psalm 37 verse 23 the steps of a good man the book says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way though he fall though he fall he shall not be utterly cut down he shall not be destroyed literally God promising you that for the Lord upholdeth him with his hands the Lord grasps his hand when he falls literally. Micah 7 verse 8 and 9 rejoice not against me or my enemy don't you rejoice when I fall I shall arise when I sit in darkness the Lord shall be a light unto me I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned I can't hide it I have sinned against him until he plead my cause and execute judgment for me he will bring me forth to the light and I shall behold his righteousness again oh God's compassion toward the godly who fall though he fall he shall not be destroyed I won't let you be destroyed if you're a good man whom I've delighted in God's condemnation of the godly who fall God's condemnation but then God's compassion toward the godly who fall thirdly God's consolation to the godly who fall this is precious to me God's consolation to the godly who fall Isaiah 57 verse 15 Isaiah 57 verse 15 God's consolation to the godly who fall thus says the high and lofty one that inhabits this eternity whose name is holy I dwell in the holy the high and holy place I dwell in the high and holy place but with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit that's very important you'll find there's something here that God reaches out at these two words of theirs no matter how deep you fell no matter how far you fell no matter how blessed him you brought on his name when you fell if God could just see this in your life with him also I'm willing to come down to dwell with him that is of a contrite a broken repentant and a humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble to revive the heart of the contrite ones for I will not contend forever neither will I always be rough for the spirits will fail before me the I've made but the iniquity of his covetousness I was rough I smoked him I hid me and was rough with him and he went on throwedly in his way of his heart turning away to the way of his heart then verse 18 but I've seen I've seen his way and I will heal him I will lead him also and restore comfort unto him and to his mourners I will heal him oh God's consolation to the godly who fall is very precious to me it is as if he cries out you've fallen but listen to me I will come and dwell with you again if you just humble yourself if you just humble yourself Isaiah 54 verse 7 beautiful words oh this book is beautiful if you believe these words to be God to you how could you want anything but the word of God for your day Isaiah 54 verse 7 God's consolation to the godly who fall for a small moment I have forsaken thee but with great mercy will I gather thee in a little rock I hid my face from thee it's true it hurts me what you've done it grieved me I was rough but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on thee sayeth the Lord thy Redeemer this is the waters of Noah unto me for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth so I swore that I would not be rough with thee nor as the mountains oh the mountain shall depart the hills shall be removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed say the Lord that have mercy on thee the whole chapter is one of the most precious cries from God to to those who have grieved him who has turned his face in a little rock God's consolation firstly God's condemnation of the godly who fall secondly God's compassion toward the godly who fall thirdly God's consolation to the godly who fall fourthly God's commandment to the godly who fall this is so important God's commandment to the godly who fall what does God say now it is grief but it is love it is consolation what does God say God's commandment to the godly who fall James chapter 4 verse 4 what a mighty book James is what a holy man the brother of the Lord the brother of the Lord who never called the Lord his brother but his God when he realized oh now James 4 a holy holy passage a staggering passage God's commandment to the godly who fall and here in case you don't believe in appeals here is such an appeal that James makes listen to this appeal what you're going to do now now not tomorrow now if you want to get right with God if you believe God in his love and what he says now get right now what an appeal he makes let's start from verse 4 chapter 4 of the holy book of James he adulterers and adulteresses he's not speaking here about a man being unfaithful to his wife he's not referring to a woman who's unfaithful to her husband not that adultery no he's speaking about you who've become unfaithful to God in his context there's nothing here about a man or woman it is you you've become unfaithful to God and he calls you what you are you adulterers the grandstands of heaven as they watch you singing the praise of God and walking out there and doing the things that break God's heart they cry adulterers you've become unfaithful to God you've become unfaithful to God the adulterers and adulteresses know you're not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God no you're not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God you're standing there with God's enemies those who hate him do these things those who hate him watch these things. Know ye not that the friendship of the world is the enmity of God with God, whoso therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God? Terrible! Do you think that the Scriptures sayeth in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? Do you think that the Scriptures sayeth in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? Do you think that the Holy Scriptures tell you for nothing that the Holy Spirit that God has put in you is jealous? Does it matter to you that the Holy Scriptures say God is a jealous God? You've never felt jealousy, you've never felt pain as the Holy God does over you when you betray him. Wherefore he sayeth, God resisteth the proud. Oh, staggering! Do you think that God tells us that his jealousy is there and it was for nothing? But now James does something staggering, James does something holy and this is what makes him a holy man of God, him who calls you in adultery, him who cries out what you are. You're standing with the enemies of God, he cries out what you're doing to God, the grief. Now he cries these words, but, but, don't think he's given you up, but he giveth more grace. Oh, I love that word. There's no harsh word in this book that doesn't throb with love. The cruelest word a man of God utters from the pulpit of God, if he is a man of God, throbs with love. Otherwise he's not a man of God. This man was of God. What crueler word could be said to you and me who are betraying God, who've fallen, the godly who've fallen. And now he cries out, but, but, don't give up on yourself. Don't believe he's given up, but he giveth more grace. He giveth more grace. Whether he says God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. He has this word, humble again. And you'll see toward all those who grieve him, the only thing he's waiting for, you know, if only you'd do it, he'd restore you all. He giveth grace to the humble. Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. I don't care how far you've drawn away. Draw nigh to God now, child, and he will draw nigh to you. Call the devil a liar, call anyone a liar, but don't call God a liar. He giveth more grace. He giveth grace to the humble. God resisteth the proud. You see, this is why he says he giveth more grace. The next verse, wherefore he sayeth God resisteth the proud. The only way he can give it to you, the only reason he won't give it to you, wherefore he sayeth God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. How do you humble yourself? How do you humble yourself? How do you humble yourself before God? Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. God will make sure of that. All the powers of heaven will be on your side. All God waits for is this one movement from you that's sincere and true to humble yourself, to get back right with God. All God says is, I'm just waiting, I'm just waiting. I resist the proud, I resist you, I resist you, I resist you. But I will give grace to the humble. Oh, submit yourself therefore right now to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners. And purify your hearts, ye double-minded. He's not speaking to the unsaved, he's speaking to those who've become adulterers, those who's unfaithful to God. Come, cleanse your hands, ye sinners. Oh God, oh God, when I look at the things I've done, how do you cleanse yourself from the things you've done? Oh, confess. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners. Purify your hearts, ye double-minded. You who are on the fence so easily, going down on the one side and the other side, when the people of God are there, oh, you're down with them. You're double-minded. Terrible state to be, you know. To be pretending you're right with God when you're with the people of God. But oh, how easy it is to go double-minded and off with the people of the world when the people of God are not watching. Purify your hearts, let the blood go deeper. Through and through. Create in me a clean heart, oh God. In you a right spirit in me. Oh, purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Imagine preaching that in 1998 in this world. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. We're so scared to get people afflicted and mourning and weeping. We say, don't offend them now. Let's get them all walking and leaping and praising God, you know, so long as we keep them happy. And so sinners are there singing with us in their sin. Christians are sitting there in their sin. But God says, if you're guilty of this, be afflicted, mourn, weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning. You have no right to have laughter as if you're right with God. You have no right to shout hallelujah. You've caused such grief to Him. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up. No matter how far you've fallen. Draw nigh to God. He will draw nigh to you. He longs to give grace, but to the humble. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord right here today. Right now. And He shall lift you up. Oh, don't let the devil tell you God won't. He'll lift you up to the close walk you once had and even closer. Even closer. The wonder of God's love. God. God's condemnation of the godly who fall. God's compassion to all the godly who fall. God's consolation to the godly who fall. God's commandment to the godly who fall. Micah chapter 6 is an amazing word. Micah chapter 6. God's commandment to the godly who fall. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings? With calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams? With ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression? The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Oh, He has told thee. He has told thee, oh man, what is good. What does the Lord require of thee? But to do justly. To love mercy. To walk humbly with thy God. Now, you look in the Marge in the Hebrew, it says, To humble thyself to walk with God. It literally means, this is what God requires of thee. Not you bringing your child. He doesn't want sacrifice of any form. There's only one thing He will look to. There's only one thing He waits for. Humble thyself to walk again with God. What does the Lord require of thee? But to do justly. To love mercy. Oh, love it. Today, to humble thyself. To humble thyself to be able to walk again with God. That's all God's waiting for. That's all God's waiting for. Now, let us look at three godly men who fell. What they did once they fell. Now, this is going to perhaps hurt some of you. God didn't put anything in the book that isn't for you and me to find a vital relationship. It was never meant as history. Every word to Israel, God said was written for you. You may know how He deals with us as individuals. What He says to us. What promises He held out to them. Every promise in the book is mine. Every chapter. Every verse. Every line. Don't doubt that. This book is throbbing with God's voice from the first verse of Genesis to the last in Revelation. If you want to hear what He would say to you. Now, I want us to look at three godly men who fell. What they did. What they did once they fell. We see David's confession. David's confession that he fell. We see Samson's indignation. Indignation that he fell. We see Saul's confusion. Once he fell. What do you... We see David's confession that he fell. You all know where that is. Psalm 51. Amazing. Amazing prayer. No wonder God restored him. We see David's confession that he fell. Listen to this prayer. That made God look at a man that did those terrible, terrible sins. And God restored him that moment. And do you know that God said that David is a man after my own heart. Of the relationship that he had after his fall. Now, that's staggering. God didn't point to what happened before and said, There, he was a man after my own heart. No. It's such a restoring you can have to God. That God can say of you in one moment, If you could pray like this, This is a man after my own heart. And he can tell the whole world. In spite of the fall. There's nothing God can't restore. Though it grieved and though it still brings blasphemy on his name. Years and years later. To your dying day, maybe. But God will cry out and the world will hear it. Let me tell you. This is a man after my own heart. Let God do that. Let God do that. David's confession. That he fell. Have mercy upon me, oh God. According to thy loving kindness. Oh, he believes in the loving kindness of God. According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions. Blot out my transgressions. Wash me. Thoroughly. From my iniquity. Cleanse me, God, from my sins. I acknowledge my transgressions. My sin is ever before me. Oh, sin is a horrible thing. If you are godly. It's ever before you. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil. And I shout. That thou mayst be justified when thou speak'st. And clear when thou judge'st, Lord. Verse seven. Purge me with gist. I shall be clean. Wash me. I shall be whiter than snow. Verse nine. Hide not thy face from my sins. And blot out. Hide thy face from my sins. Blot out all my iniquities, God. Create in me a clean heart, God. Renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence. Take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, God. Uphold me with thy free spirit. Verse 16. For thou desirest not sacrifice. Else I would give it. I would give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, wilt thou not despise? It all comes back to one thing. Broken. Humbling yourself. Don't carry on laughing. Start weeping. Don't carry on pretending. You're in agony pretending. If you can shout hallelujah, sir, in your sins, that must be hell on earth. If you ever tasted before a true relationship with Jesus. Oh, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, wilt thou not despise? Thou would not despise? So we see of these three godly men who fell, what they did once they fell. We see David's confession that he fell. Secondly, we see Samson's indignation that he fell. Samson's indignation. Oh, the anger that he let this happen to him. Oh, the indignation. Samson's indignation that he fell. Judges 16. A horrific prayer, but an amazing prayer. Judges 16, verse 28. Samson called unto the Lord and said, Oh, Lord God, remember me. I pray thee and strengthen me. I pray thee only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged. Oh, remember me. Strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once. Don't let me die like this, God. Don't let me die like this. Please, just this once, God, strengthen me again. That before I die I can do more damage to the devil than I ever did before in my whole life. And you know God answered his prayers. Don't let me die like this, God. So meet with me. So visit me. So restore me. So strengthen me again that, Lord, before I die, I may do more damage to my enemies who have done this to me than I ever did in my entire life. And you know God kept you unto his prayers. How could God say no? How could God say no? David's confession that he fell, or to confess in Samson's indignation that he fell, when God was as indignant as he was that he fell. God restored him and did such damage to the enemy who had done this to him. The enemy never quite recovered. For a man who'd fallen so, oh my, what God can still do to you and me. Yes, praise the Lord. Now the tragedy. David's confession that he fell, Samson's indignation that he fell, but Saul's confusion. Once he fell, Saul's confusion. Once he fell, you know I have wept over Saul. My father used to weep through the whole Bible. Sometimes I didn't know whether it was tears of joy or broken heart. He just wept through the Bible. And he wept through it again and again and again. It's all thrilled him. He lived everything like he relived the whole occasion. I've wept over Saul. How can you not weep that there's such a thing like this? Saul's confusion. Once he fell. You know Saul, the only words he ever brought himself to say concerning all his sin and all that happened and all the wrong that he had turned and become, all the hurt he brought on God's name and God's people, all the damage. And you know Saul, the only words he brought himself to say were these, I have played the fool with the things of God. I have played the fool with the things of God. Now beloved, that is not enough. It's not enough to acknowledge you've made a mess of things when it comes to all God could have done and should have done and would have done. It's not enough to say I've played the fool with things I should never have played the fool with. It's not enough. There was no brokenness. There was no repentance. What difference was there between David and Saul? Oh, I've heard sermons preached on the difference. I only see one thing that I weep about. Saul didn't believe in himself or God to restore anything. Somehow he gave up on God's mercy. David didn't. David made sure heaven stood still as he groaned and cried and wept such a prayer that I don't know how you can't weep through. That man could have prayed such a prayer. Oh, Saul couldn't pray that prayer. The tragedy, the tragedy that a man could come to a place where he just couldn't see hope of ever being restored to a vital walk with God. It would do more damage to the devil than all the things the devil managed to do against him. So David believed in mercy and sought it in a way God had to give him mercy. But Saul didn't believe in any more mercy. He didn't think there was any real mercy. He didn't have any hope that there could be such mercy that could so come as grace upon him and restore him. What a tragedy that I weep about. Do you know how many people I've met? I'm talking about hundreds and hundreds. In the last 27 years that I have preached have come to me, ministers have come to me and they believe with all their hearts that they've gone too far. There remains no more sacrifice for them. They've committed the unpardonable sin the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. They honestly believe. You cannot believe how many people standing in the pulpit believe this. I have been staggered. I remember the first preacher who came to me and told me as he opened up his heart of how as a boy he contracted all these sicknesses and diseases to such a degree that he became like a hallucination. And in his state of mind and torment and his agony and suffering and grief in his old body clanging with pain and suffering weeks and weeks and weeks he began to curse God. He was a boy. Every filthy word I'd heard in my life that I'd never said I started screaming at God. He said, Do you know the devil never let me forget? Here I'm a preacher and I've never been sure has God ever forgiven me. I have this haunting me, crying at me. You have blasphemed against the Holy Ghost. You could never be forgiven what you did in your sickness. And I looked at this fine young man and I said, Oh, the devil's a terrible foe. Oh, don't you dare believe that you cannot be forgiven or haven't been forgiven. Don't you dare. The fact that you have any interest the fact that you have any remorse, any concern that you did it means you haven't done it. A man who has committed the unpardonable sin a man who has committed the sin against the Holy Ghost who cannot be forgiven he has no ability to feel remorse. He has no ability. There's no such thing as groaning or weeping or worrying or fearing or longing or even talking to someone about it. No, you haven't done that. Believe me. Oh, they come, you know. They just come. I see them coming. And I can almost put the words in their mouth when they start the first sentence and they sometimes minister. I can't believe that the devil has ministers full of fear. Oh, my. They say, Yes, but you don't understand, Keith. I willingly, willfully said, after I was saved. And according to the book of Hebrews there's no mercy, there's no second chance when you've lived and gone, you've failed deliberately. I said, Let's look at the book of Hebrews. So I make them take their Bible and they always say, Hebrews 6. I know exactly what they're going to say. So they open up and I say, Show me where God says to you that you will never be forgiven, that you can never be forgiven, that there's no sacrifice remaining for you. And they say, Hebrews 6.4 is the first one they always take me to. And there you can always see the tear marks that must have been on that page through the years as the devil used Scripture like he used Scripture to the Lord Jesus. That's all he brought to Christ was the Scripture. Twisted. Twisted. Hebrews 6.4 It is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift, who were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, have tasted of the word of God and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away to renew them again. It's impossible to renew them again and to repent and seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God, the fresh and put them to open shame. Oh, what a verse. And I say to each one that's come to me as I did to that young preacher, the first one that ever came to me, many years ago. I said, have you got a pen? Get a pen quickly. Now I want you to write something in the Bible. I want you to write next to that word, seeing, in verse 6. Seeing they crucify to themselves. That word means while. That word means while. The only other words that you could ever faithfully say are the exact meaning or as long as. As long as. Otherwise, there is no meaning for that word. Now write down next to seeing, seeing, while, or as long as you do that. There is no such a thing. If you want to come back to God then you repent from that. It's a terrible thing. But only while or as long as you won't turn to God again in remorse and brokenness. You know the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, by the by. I've never met anyone, and I've met many people who felt they've done that. And many, many people who as I've looked at others said they're committing the closest I've ever seen to the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. And I said, no. No, I've never ever heard a man doing that. You know what that is? The only sin God said He would never pardon, that Christ said He would never pardon, was when He looked at the Pharisees. And for one reason, these men went against conscience. In their envy, in their fury, in their jealousy of Christ. And they saw the miracles of God coming through Christ, being performed. And they said, He does this by the power of Beelzebul. The devil, that which Christ is performing, literally those miracles Jesus Himself performed are of the devil. The devil doing it through Him. And Christ said these words, One, this is the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. This is the only sin that will never be forgiven. I've never met a man to this day who said that of Christ. That it's the devil who works through Him in the powers that were manifested in His ministry. So be very careful now that the devil doesn't accuse you. Be very careful. Don't ever believe that there's no hope for you to be forgiven and restored if you've fallen. Can I repeat that? Don't ever believe that there's no hope for you to be forgiven, to be restored if you've fallen. No matter how far you've fallen, no matter how long you've fallen, Saul didn't have hope for mercy. He didn't humble himself. Now I want to show you something concerning mercy and closing. The book with the highest standard ever, ever laid down before Christians in the Holy Bible is the letter of 1 John. There's no doubt. It's not Roman. There is no standard so high, John Wesley said, as the writings of the first epistle of John. Standard you and I are scared sometimes to preach. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. He cannot sin. For he is born of God. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen God neither known Him. By this we know the children of God and the children of the devil. Oh! Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. Cannot sin! What a standard! But do you know, God is so careful in this holy book that we don't need to go off on a tangent about that and all sit in darkness because in the same letter He spoke twice about if a Christian falls. Not just a little sin, but if the godly fall into sin. In this standard, both times He speaks where the godly can fall and that there is mercy. There is compassion. There is immediate restoration no matter how far He has fallen. The same book with the highest standard. I don't have to take you to the other side of the Bible and say, look way back there there is another verse. Right in that book, John made sure that no one was going to get into a place where he couldn't be restored through the standard He is standing before us. Any holy man would make sure you are not going to be in darkness by a standard He presents to you. That's not holiness. That's heresy. God doesn't stand over you with a rod of iron and say, just you fall, I'll smash you. That's not holiness. That's heresy. God stands over you with arms of love, beloved. And you've got to know His harshest word is in crying out to you. I love you. I love you. I don't want you to waste another moment of life separated from the tenderness of the walk with me that's the fullness of joy. I want to restore you now no matter what you've done. In the same book, twice, John speaks of when the godly fall. First in chapter 2, verse 1 and 2 and then in chapter 5, verse 16. Firstly, he speaks of what you must do as a godly person if you fall. If you fall, my little children, these things rightly unto you that ye sin not. That's the standard, by the by. Don't stand up and give a sin excusing doctrine and say, look, this is the way. You can just live in sin all the time and just come to God. No, no, no. My little children, these things rightly unto you that ye sin not. That's first. That's cry out. If you're not preaching that loud and clear, you don't have a right to preach the second part. The second part is to those who sin not. To those who've come to a vital repentance from the life of sin. To those who've come to a true, vital reality with God who are on the broad road leading to destruction. They turn. They repent it. Repent ye therefore. Be ye converted. Your sins may be blotted out. They turn. They're on the narrow road. They can't be hid. All those on the broad road can't miss you. That's why you're persecuted. All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, God says. You can't avoid it. And here on the narrow road, it's panning out like a sore thumb, condemnation to all who part. Their hearts are condemned. Looking at this man doesn't do these things. This man's in a totally opposite direction on the narrow road. You can't be missed. But God knows that on the narrow road to the celestial city with all the powers of darkness against you, there's the possibility of falling. You who sin not, you who turn from a life of sin, I write these things to you that you sin not. But if, if, if, God says, not whenever, if, as you live this holy life, if on your road to the celestial city the devil makes you fall, don't give up. Get up! You have no right to give up, child. Because the same God who promised you to save you, you put your faith in that promise. I give you a promise now. If you fall in your victory, in your repentance state, I give you the same God. Now you have to believe me. And you believe me there. If all my little children, these things I write to you that you sin not, that's what you do. You don't have to fall. But if, it's not the end of you. If any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He is the propitiation for our sins, for Christian sins, not the unsaved, He's speaking here. He's the mercy seat, literally. That's the word propitiation. He's literally the way to God for mercy, no matter how far you fall, no matter how heavy you fall, no matter how terrible you fall, I won't let you go. If you fall, get up now. Let me help you up, just by your faith in my promise to restore you. Oh, get up now. We have not a high priest which cannot be moved with a feeling of infirmity, with an old point tempted like as we, yet without sin. Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need. You can come boldly because God says come. Come, let's reason together here. If you fall, it's not the end. Get up. Get up now. Never give up. Never give up. You've heard of George Thurber from Operation Mobilization with the Jew loss and the low guard slips. George Thurber came to South Africa when I was just saved about 30 years ago and we went along to hear this man preaching on the ship. I'll never forget an illustration he used. I've got to tell you where I get the illustration from concerning if a godly person falls, if someone who's truly repented falls. What happened? He says, you're looking out the window one day and you see the storm clouds gathering and suddenly there's rumbling and thunder and lightning and rain and you say, oh, what a terrible storm. And as you look out the window you see a man walking along the road in front of your home and he hasn't got an umbrella, he hasn't got a raincoat and he looks up and he's caught unprepared. You think, oh, this man didn't know he was going to be facing this storm. He didn't bring an umbrella. He didn't know he was going to face a storm when he left home. He's totally unprepared for what he's in. And you look at this man and suddenly the storm comes and this man begins to run and he slips down, down on his face in the mud. The man fell. You run out. You say, oh, sir, you fell. I'm so sorry you slipped in the storm. Let me help you up. And you know what the man says? The man looks up and he says, no, I'm not getting up. I'm not going on. I've fallen. You say, but is something wrong with you? You've got to get up. No. You think the man deranged. But you know how many Christians, they fall and there they are. How long after, the devil's got his foot in them and they're squabbling in the mud because they fell. The devil's got them down there. Get up. If you fall, I don't, I don't ask you. I don't take away your right. I say, get up! Right now. Come boldly. You grieve me. But all I want is you to humble yourself and cry out to me for cleansing. And I'll restore you. I'll restore you. Oh, beloved, two things that this holy man of God holds out who presents the highest standard ever written in the pages of the Scriptures to Christians. Firstly, he tells us in chapter 2 verse 1 what you must do if you fall, what we must do if we fall. Secondly, he tells us what we must do if we see someone else fall. Another Christian fall in chapter 5. Now, this is a bit staggering, isn't it? 1 John 5, 16. If any man sees his brother sin, now, I wonder if that's ever happened to you. If any man sees, John says, his brother sin, what do you do if you see someone sin? What do you do if you see some sister sin who's had a holy life and death? He's really sinned now. Oh, this man's really, he's gone to sin. He's sinned. What do you do if you see your brother sin? You go quickly and start spreading the news. He's a hypocrite. Oh, he has no right to preach. Never again. Well, isn't he? Good as man and elder. They said, excommunicate him. He must be rebuked. What do you do? Oh, let me tell you what I saw. He sinned. I saw him sin. What do you do? Do you do what God says? If any man see his brother sin, a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he should pray for it. All unrighteousness is a sin. There's a sin not unto death. If any man see his brother sin, a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask. Now that word ask, if you have any iota of true godliness in you, this is what you do. You won't run to anyone. You won't repeat it to anyone. You'll flee to God, and the only one you'll speak to is God, but you'll ask in such a way, you'll implore, you'll intercede with such compassion for the name of God to be protected, for this to be protected under the blood that God will come and restore him through your agonizing prayer. When I was at Bible school, many years ago now, we had an evening where we joined ranks with the other Bible school of people training for the mission, two Bible schools in Cape Town that train most missionaries that have ever gone into South Africa or Southern Africa. And here we'd come together for an evening of fellowship. And we used to have a time of social sort of talking and little games, big fellows, you know, 18, 19, 20, we'd all run about then, 21. And there we all carried on like little kids, as big as we were, playing games against this other Bible school. Then we'd have a devotional time afterward, sharing testimonies, etc. But that game time, and it's one evening where we came together as the two Bible colleges, which happens about three times a year, each year. And we were playing this game and they had a big pile of socks all rolled up and they were hitting these sticks, you know, against the other team trying to get the socks. Something like hockey or something I think you'd call it. But there we were playing around and running and getting along with our socks over this floor, this cement floor in the dining hall. And suddenly one of the ladies, one of the students was running and she slipped, but she slipped and she lifted up and she came down but it was like her hands couldn't stop her. She hit her face on the ground. Pow! And her body, pow! And there was just a gasp. And here I was standing looking. But you know what I looked at? What I noticed was the reaction of everybody in that room when someone had hurt themselves like that and fallen. I was stunned within seconds, just a few seconds, of looking at how different people react. I suddenly saw people laughing, a whole group of girls who probably didn't like her. So they crisped in. Something that they just despised. They sat there laughing, shaking their heads and stuck at her. I looked at people's reactions when somebody falls. There were others who were closer than I was. And do you know they just stood incapable. Shocked. They fall but they're incapable of doing anything. They just watch. They just look. Just look. All the reactions. I just pushed my way through. And I went and I lifted her up. I lifted her up. And I held her and I looked in her eyes and I said, oh, I won't let you go. Don't worry. She was more hurting through shame and humiliation than she was physically. Though she was hurting physically. You know I was the only one in that room that had the privilege of seeing in her eyes gratitude and respect. I was the only one that had the privilege of seeing in this girl's face respect and gratitude. And I held her and I said, I want you to know something. I'm not going to leave you. Doesn't matter who's looking. Doesn't matter if they love you. I'm not going to let you go until you look me in the eyes and you can say that you're ready to be left. You can stand by yourself. I won't let you go until you can say that. You take your time but I'm going to stand here holding you up until you can stand yourself. You know what God says in the Bible? Ye that are spiritual. You want to know who's spiritual? Watch when someone falls. And you'll see who's spiritual. Within seconds how they react. Those that aren't spiritual, oh, look at them. Oh, you'll have a lot to say. Ye that are spiritual. Oh, you'll see the spiritual ones come forth to lift them up. Taking care of themselves that they don't fall but lift them up. Ye that are spiritual. You'll soon see who has what I owe to spirituality in this church when someone falls. They say that Paul said rebuke. I'll tell you something that will shock you. When you think you have the right to rebuke someone, I've seen people rebuke people in their sin. Christians who fell in sin. And every single person I ever witnessed rebuking another Christian who fell into sin, fell into worse sin, fell into worse sin. Be careful when you rebuke. Oh, be careful if you think you have the right to rebuke. You be so careful when the godly fall. When the godly fall. What do we do? Can I end with this? Neil Freve, the head of the Japan Mission, has done a great work for God in Japan. Neil Freve said that when the JEB, the Pan-Evangelical Band, formed and grew and was doing great things for God, there was a Japanese man, an old man, who began to make a mark for God. He was in the work, a missionary in Japan. There he was. This man became so holy, so respected, so revered, that as he walked down the street, men would bow, the Japanese bow when they revere you. And as this old man would walk down the street, they bowed. These unsaved Japanese people bowed as this Christian man would walk. Every time he walked down the street through the town, they would just stop everyone and bow in reverence to the holy life he lived. And then one day, this man fell into sin. Now it's possible. Let me tell you. It can happen. And there's many reasons, the main is you miss your quiet time. But this man fell into terrible sin. Such sin that the whole town was shocked. Shocked at what he did. And as he walked down the street, they wouldn't bow. They would scream and laugh, you hypocrite. You hypocrite. And in brokenness, he would walk down the street after all the respect of the world. Now the same people shaking their head at him, wagging their finger at him, walking away laughing at him. Oh, what a terrible thing when you fall. But do you know this man had a meeting with God again. The author there is a godly man of Japan. He said, this man met with God in such a way. And this is hard to understand, he said. He became more holy than he had ever been before the fall. And no one could doubt. No one could argue. In the end, the people were bowing everywhere but coming to Christ through him. God had so restored such a holiness to him, such a radiance, such a transparency that God began to use him mightily. One day they decided in the council of the J.E.B., this great mission, who was to be the next president of the mission in Japan. And someone stood up and said, this old man, this man. And there was a cry from somewhere, oh, look how he fell. You can't just blot that out. Look at the blaspheme that brought in the name of God to this man. Oh no, we can't let him. Some Japanese missionary in that council stood up and said, sir, he did fall. He did fall. And badly. And it brought great shame on God and on us. But he is so restored to God, showing the grace of God to us, that there is no one in this mission more holy than he. And no one doubted they made him the president of the J.E.B. The devil tells you, you'll never know what you could have known. You'll never know such a walk with God that will stagger Satan in the whole world because of your fall. But God doesn't tell you that. God tells you through this book the exact opposite. To me. Right now, God. See if I can't do for you what needed to be done, beloved. Come, let's all stand, please. Can we all bow our heads in prayer, please? Our Father, our God, our dearest friend, we love thee from the depths of our hearts for thy love to us. We love thee, our God, for thy everlasting love. We love thee for thy mercy, thy long-suffering, thy patience. Thy mercy is so overwhelming that we cannot comprehend it, but we believe it. Thy blood is there not only for when we came to thee, but if we've fallen into sin, let's become consistent perhaps. We bless thee and praise thee and let us cry out through this holy book if there's more grace. All the grace that's needed to restore us and all that's needed from us, Lord. No sacrifices, just to humble thyself to walk once again with God. Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. Join I to God. He will join I to you. O God, meet with us who have fallen by thy blood to restore us to becoming like Samson, someone who will do more damage to the devil, our enemy, who has done this to us than we've ever done before. Someone who in spite of the fall, God will look at and say, this is a man, a woman after my own heart. And he'll tell the whole world in spite of what the world can remember. God, help us to be restored to thee, for Christ's sake. I want all as our heads are bowed, those who today need to say to God, I humble myself today, God, in faith. I want to be washed in the blood from my falling. And I want to know a walk with God more close than I ever knew in my life before I became unfaithful to God. I want to be restored by God today and I put my faith, as weak as it is, I put my faith in thy promises, God, that thou would lift me up the moment I humble myself in thy sight and acknowledge and ask for cleansing by the blood. I want those of you that with all your heart need to do that to God in his sight now. I want you to lift your hands up, please, and say it to me. Keep them up now. Yes, I see hands. Yes, yes. It's quite something. Could I ask you to do something that will be a cost to you, but will be such a testimony to the church and glory to God. Could I ask you, while our heads are bowed, to come and stand in the front. Come, make your way now. It's going to cost. But imagine, imagine what it's going to cost you if you don't. Will God ever cry out again like this to you? Imagine going on to life's second best. Oh, come. Come and be godly from this moment again, you godly who fell. All of you standing in front, pray after me, pray with me. From your heart, God does not look at the words that proceeds out of the mouth, he looks at the heart from which they come. Pray with me, please. Don't care about anyone else right now, just God. My father, give me. I have so fallen, become so unfaithful. Blot out my sins, God, by the blood of Jesus. Foss me throughly, and I shall be white as snow. Let the blood go deeper, creating me a clean heart, oh God. Renew a right spirit within me, a constant, a constant, consistent spirit in victory, in holiness. Help others to forgive me, whether those in my home have to forgive me, or in this church, or out there in the world. Help my life to so shine from this time forth that they will sense I am more real now than I ever was before. Oh my God, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation through Christ. In Jesus Christ's name, Amen. I want all those that are standing here, don't doubt God now, don't listen to the devil. I want you to go out there and be so holy. You young ladies, you men, that you will be the examples of the believers in this church from this time forth. In spite of your fall or with such indignation that because of your fall, you're going to be better for God and more careful with God and the quiet time and no compromise because you know it can happen. You're going to be so diligent. I want you to fake the world for God and you will if from this day you never, ever miss the quiet time. Ever again. You're as safe as the quiet time. You're as safe as the quiet time. Now beloved, this was a long meeting and you all must be the most gracious congregation in America to have sat through these two long messages but the first one, brother, you couldn't have missed the thing out. You wouldn't have wanted it. And I just didn't know what to leave out the second message. As different as it is from all the other ministries you've heard from me, I really thank you for allowing me to bring what I believe God wanted me to bring. And you standing out there, careful. When you think you stand, you fall. Don't judge anyone. Just pray for them and help them and love them and never give them up. That will show you have something of God in you. No matter who falls and no matter how hard they fall, you lift them up back to holiness. Bless you. Brother Denny, oh, I've mixed up the leaders but brother, would you come anyway, seeing as I called you. Forgive me more. You just commit us to God. I don't want any further appeal, please. I know there must be other needs but this was the need God needed to deal with. Please pray for me and my family. You do for our dear brother. Pray for me at this convention and the other two conventions afterwards here in America. I so need God. I so need God. I pray that you would really uphold me in your prayers. That the Lord uses me in his mercy and it will only be his mercy if he takes up such an unworthy vessel as this. Believe me. So I really beg you pray for me that I don't fail God. Denny, will you please commit us to God now.