This sermon discusses different groups of people who have encountered Christ in various ways, from those who see Him as a utilitarian solution to their problems, to those who seek status or emotional satisfaction. However, the focus is on the importance of encountering the holy God and the sovereign Christ, leading to a deep revelation of God's majesty, sovereignty, and holiness, resulting in true repentance, forgiveness, and a life lived for His glory.

When they prayed, God answered prayer. Perhaps someone else prayed and answered prayer. And they were impressed with the fact that God was tremendously useful and handy to know. Because they were in a dilemma. They didn't have any answer to it. Prayer brought the answer. They were sick and God healed them. Or they were otherwise in trouble and God brought them out. And so today they are extremely grateful. So grateful that they've joined the church, submitted to baptism, learned doctrines and tithes. But the whole of their interest in Christianity and religion is that they should be where God can take care of them if they're in trouble or in problem. They've met the utilitarian Christ. Today we have very popular a cult of the utilitarian Christ. We find that there's nothing to do whatever with this person as the sovereign God. It's just that faith in Jesus brings answers. And you'll find people whose lives are seemingly just indescribably wicked that have learned faith and then they write articles and say, I'm so glad I wanted to be the queen of Hollywood and so I asked Jesus and this utilitarian Christ made me a success. And this, I say, is a cult that lacks every biblical evidence of being a movement in the stream of Christianity. The utilitarian Christ. It has varying degrees. The forgiving Christ. The utilitarian Christ. Then there's a third group of people that have met the status giving Christ. They were born in such a way that they didn't have the privilege of belonging to the country club. They weren't very accepted in society. They felt they had gregarious impulse and need and so they were taken into the church. They found warmth and welcome and so because they wanted fellowship, this was what they accepted. They were willing to submit to the doctrine. They were willing to pray. They were willing to be baptized. They were willing to retire, to do anything that was required of them. But when they testified, their testimony is, I am delighted to be a Christian because there's such wonderful people in the church. I'm so happy because there's such grand people in the church. It's such a joy to be with such wonderful people and faith will be together forever in heaven. They've equated status with the whole purpose of God. Their status, satisfying their needs for social expression. And then out of this group is another group that become to some degree psychopathic and equate their own status in the truth with the glory of God. And anything that pushes them up is to God's glory. Anything that would bypass them or diminish their influence is just the opposite. And these are the ones of whom we spoke about a year ago when I gave you a quotation from Christianity Today's article of November 1960 entitled, Crucifying the Pastor. This is the group that you'll find all over America. Just this past week I've been with a group of 50 pastors down at Summit Grove and they've talked to me of some of the experiences they've had where people who have felt that somehow they were bypassed and their status wasn't recognized have used every nefarious wicked means it was possible to discover in order to bring grief and heartache into them. They would rather ruin the church than to let for one little moment their own personal status be affected. Well now this is on this third group, the status-giving Christ. So we have three, forgiving Christ, utilitarian Christ, and the status-giving Christ. Then there is the fourth group. This is the group of people that have met the emotion-satisfying Christ. Oh, they love to go to church because they enjoy the syncopation and the rhythm and the emotional appeal. And if they can weep or laugh or do both at the same time or in subsequent, then they go away saying, my, what a wonderful meeting. But the whole purpose of Christianity and religion is to satisfy their emotional needs primarily. And so we have people, they have all the same doctrines, they've all been baptized, they're all in the same religious organization. And when they speak of revival, the forgiving, those who know the forgiving Christ, say, well, I want to have others come to know forgiveness. And those that have met the utilitarian Christ say, well, I want to see others help. And those that have met the status-giving Christ say, well, I want to see others come into this wonderful fellowship. And those that have met the emotion-satisfying Christ say, well, I want to feel the way I felt back there in July 6th in 1903, back at that camp meeting. Oh, then we'll have revival. But it's all below the level. Then we have another group called number five. These are the people that have met the holy God and the sovereign Christ. These are the ones that have seen God in His majesty, have seen God in His sovereignty, have seen God in His holiness, have seen Christ in His glory. These are the ones whose eyes have been opened to God, that in the revelation of God they've seen their immense unworthiness and their terrifying sinfulness. Obviously, they've known forgiveness. For in that brokenness of heart, because they sinned against such a holy God, they cast themselves on the nail-pierced hands of Christ. They were forgiven. God has obviously answered prayer. And they have certainly found status as a child of the King. And their hearts have been satisfied with joy and peace. But this which we find in this fifth group are these who've had a revelation of the glory of Christ and are living only for His praise. They're broken. They've committed themselves to Him. They've submitted to His sovereignty. The cross has pierced them.