In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the central belief of Christianity that Jesus is Lord. He explains that Jesus' Lordship is not just a theory, but a reality that was established through his sacrificial death on the cross. The preacher highlights that the gospel is the good news of this costly action by God on behalf of humanity. He also raises concerns about the current state of the gospel, questioning why it has become so popular without resulting in true transformation and conformity to the image of Christ.

Our visiting speaker again today is Evangelist Ralph Barnard from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Here now is Brother Barnard for the message today. In the Book of Psalms, at Chapter 9 and Verse 17, we find these striking words. God says, The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. Despite everything we hear today, and we hear it by not hearing the natural man, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. Many, many years ago, the Apostle Paul wrote, as recorded in the first book of Corinthians, and he wrote like this, As for myself, having come to you, brethren, I came not having my message demonstrated by transcending rhetorical display, or philosophical subtlety, when I announced to you the testimony of God. For after weighing the issues, I did not decide to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and this one, as one having been crucified. Not bringing the good news within the realm of philosophical discourse, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its true significance and power. These two statements, one inspired of God, the other the sort of a trophy of the Welsh revival, ought to serve to whet our appetites to seek an answer to the question, where has the offense of the gospel gone? What kind of gospel is being sponsored by Hollywood and Wall Street, by the noble and by the wise? How is it that all of a sudden the gospel has become so popular, and everybody is becoming a Christian without being changed? What happened to the gospel that was an ear's foolishness to the wise, and a scandal to the religious? What became of the gospel message that is under the call of both the wisdom and power of God? What kind of gospel is it that fails to transform, change, and keep on changing men, until they be conformed to the very image of God's only Son? Mr. Anderson, whom we quoted, was a product of a message that changed men and the nation of Wales, and the Apostle Paul saw churches born in such wicked cesspools as the city of Corinth. But neither of the two would be able to recognize the popular gospel of today. The New Testament declares that the cross is a stumbling block and an offense to the natural mind. The New Testament will say, but we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews, a scandal and an offensive stumbling block, and to the Gentiles it is sheer nonsense. The scriptures will say, behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling block and a rock of offense. The scriptures will say a stone that will cause stumbling and a rock that will give offense. The scriptures will say the offense of the cross. What's become of it? We need to have our souls burned and our souls afresh. That because the gospel was a stumbling block and an offense to the unregenerated man in olden days, it always created disturbance wherever it was proclaimed. By way of contrast, how nice and quiet our services are now. How terribly disturbing is the absence of disturbance in our angelistic campaign. We've got disturbance on the streets, disturbance in our nation, disturbance in our homes, disturbance in our hearts, disturbance everywhere except in the houses of God, and it's because of the absence of the preaching of a gospel that is offensive to unregenerated men. Listen, world famous world of figures today in commerce and politics and religion and in the entertainment world pay court to the evangelistic efforts that we're having these days and they all do it without having themselves had the new birth experience take place in their own life. These famous personalities seem to adore popular evangelism and at the same time to adore and worship the ungodly things of this present day. It would seem that there is no scandal, there's no offense, there's no stumbling block in the popular gospel today and how tragic that is and how unlike the new testament method and message we may be dead certain that the gospel message that does not cause offense is not the gospel of God concerning his son. When in these days when we have revivals that do not revive and people have salvation that doesn't save and doesn't change and leaves them still in possession of their heart's reign we need to come and give critical look today at the so-called popular gospel and ask again where has the gospel that was offensive to men gone and when that offensive gospel is gone the gospel of God is gone and the transforming work of God is nowhere apparent and i'm saying that we've got to be done with preaching a gospel that can be understood apart from the works of the holy spirit we haven't talked about today preach the simple gospel that a little child can understand but the wisest man that ever lived is helpless to understand the truth of the gospel except it be interpreted to him by the holy ghost for instance let me illustrate what i'm talking about what supreme foolishness it is to preach that a baby born yonder than him two thousand years ago who lived in nazareth from which the scriptures say no good thing ever came this baby who lived all his days in a small country called palestine we're hearing a lot about that country today this baby who wound up on a tree outside the holy city of jerusalem this baby who in his manhood was buried in another man's grave and whose body is still in that grave so far as this unsaved world knows what foolishness it is to preach that this one is the eternal exalted lord of all behold before whom all in time or eternity must bow and confess now i'm saying to you that this cannot be understood apart from the holy ghost nobody but an idiot or one who's been born from above could possibly believe that jesus is the christ to expect that the carnal mind which the scripture say is the seat of hostility to god to expect this carnal mind to accept this kind of preaching is silly it cannot be done apart from the work of the holy spirit in these services that this dear pastor will be talking to you about oh how we long to have you as a prayer partner and as one who will swell the attendance and swell the witnessing and get hold of the horns of the altar of god to the end that we might have some disturbance that men should not have a gospel they can accept and never know and the salvation they can get and lose it never miss it and some sort of experience that does not affect the change in them that keeps on changing them until they are literally transformed and translated into the very image of the son of god oh how we need disturbance how we need the unction and anointing of the holy ghost to come upon us everywhere as a gospel that offends a religious person and is downright silly to a wise acre but is the wisdom and power of god the humble babe who can how we beg you to pray that this may come to pass i'm so tired of our nice little sunday morning services oh we we have everything in the sunday morning services except the presence of christ and the holy ghost we preach the death of christ but everybody accepts that but the word of the cross the message of the cross that's what's offensive and that's what's left out today why the death of christ is accepted by all it brings offense to nobody jew gentile or moslem the modernist even preach the death of christ but they do not preach the message of the cross all the religious world today believes in the historical death of christ but not the word of the cross no wonder the jews turn thumbs down on the savior you just try to imagine a crucified messiah if you can't you tell me this can be accepted apart from the holy ghost i say they could not neither can anybody today believe that jesus is christ except by the holy spirit no wonder the world accepts in religious circles and everywhere else accepts the death of christ and rejects the christ who died imagine if you can complete surrender for time and eternity to a man who died on a cursed tree it just can't be done apart from the holy spirit oh if we leave out that part of the message of the cross that offends religious people and makes the wise people laugh outright we leave out the gospel itself as this dear pastor shall from day to day over this radio cry to enlist your services and your prayers and your help in these services we pray that you'll listen to it houston and other places where this broadcast will be heard needs to be disturbed disturbed by the god of the message of the cross and the power and auction of the holy ghost and now god bless you as you listen to our announcement this is a short radio message by brother ralph barnard on the living lord sometime ago i got a letter in my home in north carolina from a dear beloved brother in the lord and in that letter these words came or appeared on the letter and these words are as follows the business of men knowing a christ which has relieved them of their sense of guilt but knows nothing about a living lord is a delusion whatever errors you and i might be guilty of we must be sound on this you know this statement or this quotation from this brother in this letter lingers with me it haunts me as i go up and down the land seeking to preach the gospel to men this letter states both an accurate description of what passes for salvation in our day and it presents a challenge that we dare not ignore as to the latter the challenge one thinks of the errors of one's life and ministry you know the 2020 vision of hindsight how could we have been so sincere and yet so dumb and wrong in so many instances thanks be unto god for his mercy rejoice again that god can and god does draw many a straight line with a crooked stick we must all be reminded that after we've done the best we can we're all unprofitable servants god is ever the god of a new start as to the form of the statement of this brother this passes for what salvation is called today i wonder deeply if that description doesn't put a well pinpoint the status quo of present-day christianity somebody the old colored brother i think said that the expression status quo is latin for the mess we're in and god help us we're in a mess now when a polluted perverted mixed up saw stuff that's called christianity has taken the place of that which christ died for and is now yonder at the right hand of god interceding for namely eternal life let me read this statement again to you over this radio this morning this business of knowing a christ which has relieved men of their sense of guilt but leaves men knowing nothing of a living lord oh surely that is a delusion surely such a christ is the creation of a perverted and a watered down gospel which is not the gospel of god surely such a gospel and such a christ has no word and no healing for a world being rent asunder from all directions by reprobate men and reprobate forces surely we're at the very heart here of the reason what passes for christianity the 20th century brand is gasping for breath and anybody can easily hear the death rattle of the patient from a roman catholic layman writing in the saturday evening post of recent date come these words i quote there is always the danger after all that the concept of god may wither away altogether in this country not under attack but from sheer disuse modern american disbelief has crept like a white fog throughout churches in fact church going is quite irrelevant to it such disbelief is not incompatible with a mild ascent to religious truths or even a mild religious revival this man is saying that our nice little patronizing of god he's saying that religion is a handy convenience on a par with the chamber of commerce or the bridge club he's saying that our tidy little beliefs and our nice lit package fire escape from hell salvation uh that we preach this stuff with a nation headed for the dunghill he's saying that it'll never do and they're my way of thinking it all leads back to a christ who is not real in men's experience it leads back to a christ of a creed but not to a christ in you the hope of glory and there is no such christ in the bible or in history or in men's hearts the christ of the is lord of all and a salvation that does not so enthrone him is not god's so great salvation in other words the christ who men believe in and their sense of guilt is thereby relieved but leaves men knowing nothing experimentally of a living lord is not the christ of the bible the christ of the bible must reign r-e-i-g-n all hell can't stop it he must reign in human hearts as he must reign the world wide around some of these days now my friends i believe that the issue of all issues and religion in lost american christian entity is this i believe that churches must be evangelized before they speak to the antichrist spirit of this hour surely a church or an individual not bearing about the marks of the lordship of christ can only mark time as we seem to be doing now as the battle is being won on every side by the spirit of antichrist one is reminded of the message of king henry sent to crelon hang yourself brave crelon we fought at arkis and you were not here henry drummond of old said that most of the difficulties of trying to live the christian life arises from attempting to half live it his statement prompts the assertion that living a christian life is not simply difficult it is impossible the new testament emphasis is christ living in you not you live in a christian life but christ manifesting his life in and through you william law that saint of old said a christ not in you is a christ not yours and he said right a christ not in you is a christ not yours a man or a woman must know experimentally the living lord anything short of this experimental knowledge of a living lord who died on a cross but he didn't stay on the cross and god raised him and put him on the throne and gave him the very reins of men's heart that is salvation and anything that short of this fails to be new testament salvation and there's no other kind that's any good it is surely true that knowing of christ which relieves many of their sense of guilt apart from knowing the living lord is a delusion and it is further true that whatever errors we may be guilty of we must not bear here it is time to demand not only that men come to christ with an open empty hand to receive his mercies but it is time that men must be bitten and demanded to come to christ on bended knee with surrendered lives in a recent issue of the popular christian magazine christianity today seven questions about evangelism are asked by a maryland pastor i want to call attention to two or three of his isolated statements first he says evangelicals rightly insist that before a man can follow the ethics of christ that is the teaching moral teachings of christ before man can do that he must accept into my bible way he must accept christ as his gracious lord it would seem then that proper evangelistic methods would be one of our greatest concerns but is this so again he says can we assume that we have adopted evangelistic methods that are adequate for our age still one more time he asked the question invades all who will listen whether or not the converted man will have a new life a new purpose a new set of standards and a new philosophy of life this man says the bible says yes my observation to you this morning is that the bible tells the truth it does say yes maybe it's time for us to make sure that our converts are really converted before we take them into our membership before we hold them up as the unconverted to the unconverted as examples of what christ does for a man maybe it's time we stress emphatically that the christian life is more than an intellectual acceptance of christ as savior christianity we must insist is more than a creed or belief in a set of doctrines christianity we need to remind men everywhere is a way of life it involves men more publicly more and more than public professing faith in being publicly baptized in accepting a box of church envelopes it involves a life of self-discipline it involves a complete commitment to the will of god this business of men knowing the christ who has relieved them of their sense of guilt but leaves them knowing nothing about a living lord is a delusion and if you have this sort of an experience you'll split hell wide open do you know experimentally the power of a living christ in the power of the holy spirit in your daily walk is my question as i ask you to give faithful attention to this dear man as he tries to acquaint you with what is going on in his congregation and list your prayers and your support for jesus sake and soul sake amen this is the third in the series of messages by brother barner on the reality of the lordship of christ this is a short 12 minute message i speak to you today on the subject the reality of christ's lordship the basic confession of faith or the christian faith is very simple jesus is lord his lordship is real his lordship lies in the realm of fact and not a theory it is a matter of history not of idea for one to be lord does not mean for him to discuss or confer about the ideas of lordship and to persuade people in their minds that his rule is a good thing it is rather to meet men with terms to be accepted which if not accepted must be established by action lordship is an achievement not an idea lordship is a reality not a thought here then is much misunderstanding by friend and enemy christianity is not a way of looking at life of philosophy christianity is not a way of living and ethic christianity is not a set of ideas about god or theology christianity involves all these but it is basically other than these christianity is an event it is a deed an accomplishment a victory speaking of his of his own work our lord said no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first buy in the strong man then indeed he may plunder his house therefore in order to establish his lordship it was necessary that the ruler of this world be cast out and that was not done by conference it was done by costly action on the cross the gospel therefore is the good news of that costly action now this is not an idea this actually happened the early christians believed that god had acted in the behalf of men here is the very heart of the christian faith paul insists that this was not his only he said that he received it from the other apostles first corinthians chapter 15 verses one and three he said that he held this in common with them all and what was it that they had in common why my friends it was that the gospel was a proclamation of a series of events wrought by god in christ in behalf of men this one jesus brought the new age to men by dying for sins by rising on the third day and by ascending to the right hand of god where he now reigns in exultation as the scriptures say far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come he will also come again thank god to bring as the scriptures say to light the things that are now hidden in darkness and to disclose the purposes of the heart something wonderful has taken place it is neither theology philosophy or ethics it is a simple story of facts christ is lord because these facts are true his lordship is r-e-a-l real now if the lordship of christ is exclusive in that it supplants all other lordships it is also inclusive in that it covers the whole of life christ is lord of every aspect of human existence to the christian religion is not a part of life the whole life is transformed by christ for instance the bible will tell us that the mind is to be renewed by christ romans chapter 12 verse 2 the bible will say that the will is to be subdued and relieved of its folly by as the scriptures say the understanding of what the will of the lord is ephesians chapter 5 verse 17 the bible will tell us that the feelings are to be cleansed in the language of the scripture we quote i beseech you to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against the soul so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer by human passions but by the will of god first peter chapter 2 verse 11 and first peter chapter 4 verse 2 every element of human behavior is to be brought under the white light of god's will and god's purpose the scriptures will tell us in colossians chapter 3 verse 17 and whatever you do in word or deed do everything in the name of the lord jesus christ now praise god the lordship of christ shall one day be manifested in total victory at his reappearing not by persuasion but by power and then men who in this lifetime have refused so to do must bow their knees and with their lips confess that jesus is lord to the glory of the father not to their salvation but to the glory of the father the new testament church and the early christians and we desperately need to take them seriously these days lived in a period of tension much as they believed in the glory of what christ had done they lived in hope of something he was yet to do that which he had begun they believed he would complete faith in what he'd already accomplished in his first appearing therefore quickened hope at what he would do at his final appearing christ to them was not only the fulfillment of promise he also was the promise of fulfillment his lordship in which the church believed was at that time hidden it was seen only by the eyes of faith but since his lordship was real it must someday be openly manifested for all men to see that's what i hope is now what is true in the heavenly places where christ is seated at the right hand of god must be true in the whole created universe which up till now is in rebellion against him his rule and his right and his claim but at no point is the new testament more strange to our ears than in this respect it tells us does the new testament that the kingdom of god has come upon us and yet the new testament counsels us to pray thy kingdom come the bible of the new testament tells us that god has said to the lord sit at my right hand till i make thy enemies a footstool a stove footstool for thy feet and here the seeming contradiction is clear to sit at god's right hand meant that jesus was already lord and yet he is to sit there to await the time when through the subduing of his enemies he will be manifested as lord it's almost in the bible like saying be lord until you become lord but out of this seeming contradiction the deathless hope of the early christians was born tension between what had already happened and what was yet to happen marked their faith their gospel involved what god had done what he is now doing and what he would yet do living in the present their faith turned to the past to that glorious scene on galgos's hill and their hope turned to the future they believe that god will complete what he has begun they believe that there will be and in when according to the scriptures he the lord jesus delivers the kingdom of god the father after destroying every rule and every authority and every power first corinthians 15 verse 24 by in that glorious the lord jesus cannot lose he is lord he's lord of those who put the martyrs to death he's lord of adolf hitler the man who burned the bodies of six million jews and use their ashes to make soap to wash the bodies of the german soldier ah we live now in a time when men deny the reality of christ lordship we live now in a time when men pray of having him as a spire escape from hell but refuse to gladly bow to his rule and reign and crown rights in their life but we live in the expectancy of that time when his lordship which is now hidden only to the eye of faith shall be made manifest and men who today will not bow will be forced to men who will not now confess his lordship will be forced to so that we know that whether men bow now or then god shall be glorified in his son who leaves nothing undisturbed that he touches praise god for such a savior praise god for such a lord come to him come to him not a myth but a reality come to him where he is now at the right hand of the majesty on high gladly bow to him as absolute totalitarian dictator and lord of life and limb and do it now for salvation's sake is the prayer of this and we welcome you again to another free grace meditations program our guest speaker today is evangelist ralph barnard from winston-salem north carolina here now is brother barnard for the message today the lordship of jesus christ is a reality it is not a matter of speculation it is a matter of fact the most sublime statement in the entire word of god is the statement that the apostle peter made on the day of pentecost when he said in acts 2 36 therefore let all the house of israel know as a matter of fact that this same jesus whom ye have crucified god hath made both lord and messiah the lordship of jesus christ is a fact because it is an act of the triune god men do not make christ lord god has made him lord of all if this be true i want to bring today two or three suggestions concerning what this means to every individual listening now to the sound of my voice in the first place if it be true and it is that jesus is god's lord then he brooks no rivals he brooks and he can brook no rivals he is absolutely unique he is the only lord and god of all mankind the very name lord implies that he is ruler that he is one who has authority therefore all others are his subjects you and me included now this thought in the new testament goes much beyond the mere meaning of the title itself this meaning is drawn from the old testament the very heart of the old testament was this here oh israel the lord our god is one lord there is but one god and that god is absolute ruler of the universe men and nations are ruled by him and subject to his authority a friend of mine was telling me the other day that about a man who my acquaintance who lives in louisville kentucky this man happens to be a preacher and this friend was saying the only thing wrong with mr so-and-so is that he thinks that jesus is king of louisville but bless god he is king of louisville and of any other city in all the nations of the earth and since there is but one lord he is lord of all in the new testament calling upon jesus as lord was and is the same thing as calling upon god as lord now if this be true and it is true there are two implications that follow and the first implication of the reality and exclusiveness and the inclusiveness of christ lordship in which he brooks no rivals in which he is absolutely unique the first implication and this is serious for everyone who hears me now of this truth is that the lord jesus christ demands total absolute surrender he demands from men not their admiration many think well of jesus he doesn't demand sympathy he doesn't demand simply our interest he doesn't demand our approval he demands total surrender ladies and gentlemen to be a christian is first of all to bow the knee to jesus to crown him lord of all friend he is as well as counselor as well as example and guide but before all these he is absolute lord for the lord god our god the almighty reigns as the theme of the word of god and it was a theme song of the early church and it must become the theme song of everyone who names the name of christ today someone has pointed out that in this sense christianity is not a democracy but a monarchy it is not a constitutional monarchy wherein subject and ruler agree on the limits of rule it's an absolute monarchy men are subject to him not by compact they've made with him but because they belong to him his lordship therefore and thank god is not arbitrary for it is exercised and as an expression of his gracious nature but that gracious nature is not of our choice and his kindness is not the result of an agreement which we forestall him it is the free exercise of his own exercise of his own nature we receive but we do not contribute he reigns over men absolutely by virtue of his lordship it his lordship is our source of blessing that it that his his is an offer to he that his lordship is gracious god's people confront the world and not primarily with an offer to heal its ills or to solve its problems our first appeal is to rebels who've taken up arms against their creator and it is an appeal which is nothing less than the demand for our surrender the gospel faces the world with terms and does not simply suffuse it with a glow the message is still jesus is lord the terms bow down to him and that right gladly the lord jesus christ will not settle for anything short of the total absolute surrender not of our time of our money but of ourselves to him as god's lord for time and for eternity still another implication of christ absolute lordship is that there is no other way of salvation for man than to surrender to the lord jesus christ my how i need this today when everybody's trying to find something right and good in every kind of religion under the sun and mix it up and stir well and take the good and pour out the evil and say that there's so much that can be contributed by this and that to the word of god not so my friends in this sense christianity is absolutely intolerable both intolerable and intolerably intolerant both the old and the new testaments are clear here for the scriptures will say for i am god and there is in oh no other isaiah will say well what about it what then the conclusion is inevitable the word of god will say turn to me that's to god and be saved how many all the ends of the earth from the north and south and east and west black white yellow every kind good bad evil rich and poor turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth if there is no god but one then he's the god of all men and there can be salvation in no other the new testament says and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved this is true and here is offense and here is scandal especially today for instance how can the narrow stream of holy history recorded in just one book the bible about an obscure carpenter living in a tiny country how can that have meaning for all men of all ages how can the salvation of all men in all ages rest on the death and resurrection and exaltation of this obscure one in a remote corner of the earth two thousand years ago this is the offense of the christian faith but offensive or not this is the christian faith and there is no other christ does not just add to the world's knowledge christ is not the crown of a process christ is not the capstone to be placed on the pillar of other faith christ does not supplement other religions he supplants them thus our message is absolutely intolerable and adamant this world belongs to jesus christ all other offers and efforts at salvation are vain and twice vain all who are saved are saved by him my friends despite criticisms and they're growing now this dogmatic message this absolute call to surrender is not to be shrunk from if god has done what the bible says he has in christ and thank god he has it's not the mark of intolerance to tell men of his great act if one should be in a burning building with many doors but only one of which moved open should one not let desperate command point to that door alone and to keep silent in days such as these is to shame christ bring reproach on him god grant his spirit of boldness upon us to cry out to all whom we touch he is the door he is the only door he is the way he is the only way he is the lord he is the only lord bow to him now for your soul salvation's sake is my prayer and i beg you to listen to our closing words of announcement you've been listening to evangelist ralph barnard from winston-salem north carolina how much we need this message today in days of anarchy and lawlessness we need to have someone stand up and declare the lordship and the sovereignty of jesus christ trust that you'll pray for these meetings and tell others to tune in and listen to the broadcast tomorrow will you do that and we trust that you'll join us again tomorrow as we bring you another free grace meditations program we desperately need a revival of old fashion old time preaching of the great foundational truths that make up the bottom of the foundation upon which men shall stand and confront men and women of this generation with a living lord who died on a glory cross outside the city of jerusalem whom god raised from the dead and put on a throne and turned the conduct of this world men included over to him i do not believe that a revival will come to our land apart from this kind of preaching the preaching of the gospel is god's own and only way of reaching men and saving men sometimes i hear a comment concerning a service the service was so good that brother so-and-so didn't even preach but what in the last analysis does this prove i'm afraid it proves that preaching is secondary and nothing more than a necessary conclusion of a service which we won't have to put up with if we can stop it but i say that this is completely ignoring god's sacred and sealed method of reaching men and i am persuaded that revival in our day if it comes and god knows it must we must not ignore the bible imperatives and experience concerning preaching and this preaching must ring with a message which i believe is scarcely heard in our day we are called upon to remember that paul refers in the book of first corinthians chapter one to the foolishness of preaching but he doesn't talk about foolish preaching the preaching that we need today must ring loud and clear with a message that leaves nobody guessing as to its truth and its dire implications and i wish in this broadcast to suggest four things that this generation is not hearing and god help us it must hear before revival arrives the first great foundational truth of the word of god about which the pulpit is so silent today is the sovereignty of god what do we mean by the sovereignty of god which simply means that he is god that he's not a pretender that he is very god very god now this generation has heard so much in it from every of the weakness and the spurious type love of god that it has not only put the church to sleep but it's left this generation in a state not unlike noah's day or the day of sodom whereas the love of god as seen in the scriptures cannot be over emphasized and no one will wish to do this this generation has heard an artificial love preach until men and women think that god is a toy the man upstairs a living doll as some hollywood actresses say that they said this generation thinks that god is some sort of a religious toy to be played with and a god whose motherly type love is so sweet and sentimental that god wouldn't harm a flea and if he wished to harm a flea doesn't have power to do so but there was the preaching of the sovereignty of god that is his supreme rule and his supreme authority and his supreme dominion that kind of preaching which magnifies god's holiness and his glory and his power that kind of preaching would not only awaken we hope the church but would put on interfere which would give our overworked judges and our jailers and our policemen a lot of time off and that would be welcome today preachers this one included churches supporting preachers must come to examine the teaching of the word of god about the carriage of god his utter totalitarian sovereignty and begin to preach and proclaim and see under the heathen god reigns that we need in these days to soak our souls afresh in these days especially when salvation is preached as if god did part of it and man did the we need to bring men and women up short to such scriptures as romans chapter 9 verse 15 where a sovereign everlasting living god humbles men and if they'd listen to him it would make them come down off their high horse and tremble in his presence and bow at his feet and become supplicants for mercy and bankrupted sinners begging for a crumb of bread rather than the man in their right we need to hear such scriptures again as god saying i will have mercy on whom i will have mercy the sovereignty of god is the only message that if preached and heeded and absorbed and chewed upon and believed and taken to our hearts would save this nation from the awful ride of pessimism and almost fatalism in which we find ourselves now plunge the second basic truth that this generation so desperately needs to hear and i'm afraid to hear so little of is the utter absolute sinfulness of man you know i think this preacher's telling the truth when he says that this generation's heard so much about how man is basically good and how man is the master of his feet that now the biggest thing on earth to overcome in preaching is to get men and women to see their helplessness and their sinfulness when we try to tell men that they're dead in trespasses and sin and tell them that they're helpless that makes men madder than hornets today god have mercy on the person who started the lie that man is a free moral agent the whole phrase is completely false first man is not free the bible says he has a will but it's under the dominion of sin that he is a slave to sin that reigns in his mortal body in the second place man is not moral he is instead wretched and full of deadly poison in the third place man is not an agent man is dead only the holy spirit can wake men up and give them life i know this offensive truth it this truth is offensive but it must be heralded in our day it will be true to the souls of men and if not we'll be swallowed up in our own whirlpool of paradise man is sinful his only hope his only hope your only hope my only hope man's only hope is not in himself it is in god's mercy and sovereign grace if god does not show mercy to dead corrupt sinners there is no hope for any man the third basic foundational truth that this generation must share afresh with the anointing and unction of the holy ghost is the supreme unique righteousness of jesus christ you know i'm afraid we've almost lost sight of this saving and glorious truth for the flesh continually yearns for the kind of security that will enable it to feel that we can earn our way toward eternal salvation by some righteousness or goodness or perfection that we can attain to in this life men do not want to be in debt even to god and unless a man's willing to be in debt to god there is no hope of salvation but if men could earn by anything there are a due salvation if that were possible then our lord jesus christ need not have said i have not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it and because he fulfilled it perfectly men may be saved and made righteous and given wisdom and redemption by his obedience and death the phrase it is finished talking about the work not of men but of jesus christ is that which men must find their faith in that will save men nothing else will or can save men but clothed in his righteousness as safety and security and security which will receive exceed the righteousness of the law which itself cannot save my hope is built on nothing less than jesus christ as righteousness and then that truth that permeates the entire word of god that's so little talked about now and if it is talked about is added sort of as an addendum to our phraseology that truth that must be preached to this generation namely the lordship of jesus christ the lordship of this one who hung on a cross we hear a lot of talk today about accepting jesus as your personal savior but dear ones this language is not scripturally consistent his righteousness saves but there is more to the testimony of christ than his being personal savior he is lord he is lord that all the house of israel the bible will say that god hath made that same jesus whom you crucified both lord and messiah he is the lord god of heaven and earth he is seated on a throne his work is a finished work and his call is an effectual call and his rule is total or it's not at all therefore when one meets the lord jesus christ he is given a new master and comes under a new rule that that individual no longer lives that he pleases he no longer lives to the pleasure of sin he now lives to the glory of christ his theme song is not my will but mine be done on earth even if it kills me that cry comes continually from the lips of him who has been enabled by god grace to graciously bow to jesus christ as supreme lord i am saying to you that the mission and the message of churches today must come to these issues rather than our trying to prove our own peculiar views about this and that and if we do not we need not expect revival men are dying and going to hell while we're trying to prove our little shibboleths and doctrines the time has come now to open the word and under the anointing of the holy spirit to bring men up short to the truth of the fact that god is sovereign man is sinful jesus is holy and he's been made lord do you know him under god bow to him is the prayer of this preacher as he begs you to listen to our pastor