On the Out and Out for God

A London minister was out walking with D.O. Moody one day, and as they walked, he asked Moody a question. The man said, I am a Doctor of Divinity, and when I sign my name, I add the letters D.D. But I notice, when you sign your name Moody, you add the letters O.O. What degree is that? Moody replied, I have no degrees, but I sign O.O. Because I am on the Out and Out for Christ. All one has to do is pick up a biography on D.O. Moody and quickly see how he lived his life on the Out and Out for God and the gospel.

I'll never forget as long as I live. The day I spent out in Northfield, Massachusetts, at Moody's home and grave. I have been to that sacred spot many times through the years, but this particular day was memorable.

At the time, I was earnestly seeking a deeper experience of God and more usefulness to Him. The Moody campus back then was a ghost town. The girls' school that he started had been closed for years, and the house he was born in was all locked up.

And the house he died in was falling into disrepair. That day, I had the whole place to myself. I spent the morning sitting on the back porch of the little home he was born in, reflecting on his large life and how Almighty God had so remarkably used him.

Especially over in Great Britain, where scenes of revival followed him everywhere. And as I spent several hours sitting on that little porch and reflecting on his life, I got up and walked up the little hill to Round Top, where he is buried beside his wife. And as I stood over Moody's gravestone, tears began to stream down my face, as I prayed to the God of Moody, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the great God, the Most High, the Ancient of Days.

And in a choked voice, I prayed out loud in desperation, Lord, you used Moody because he firmly believed that the world has yet to see what God can do through a man fully consecrated to him. And Moody said, by God's grace, I will be that man. Lord, I believe that too.

I believe in a big God, one that can do anything through a completely yielded man. Make me that man, Lord, like Moody. Lord, by your great grace, I pray in the name of Jesus, amen.

And as I walked down that little hill, I felt a power I had not felt before. I was on the out and out for God. And praise God, after all these years, now that I'm an old man, I'm still, by his grace, out and out for him.

Well, that's my little introduction, friends, to my message today, which is entitled, On the Out and Out for God. Allow me to begin my message with a statement. I firmly believe that as a believer, you are one of two ways.

You are either out and out for God, or you are on the outs with God. You can't serve God with a divided heart and expect him to use you. You can't have it both ways.

And I say this, when you are on the out and out for God, you are on fire for God, and others can feel the heat of that unquenchable love for Christ Jesus, but if you are on the outs with God, then you are out of step with God, out of touch with God, and out of favor with God. Let's go over these one by one. If you're on the outs with God, you are out of step with God, because we see in God's word in Amos 3, 3. Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Well, the answer is no, friends, they cannot.

You cannot walk in a intimate walk with God, and he won't walk in a intimate walk with you. Sadly, there are pastors trying their level best to manage their congregations with all their human resources, but it's all wood, hay, and stubble, because they are out of step with God. You can't walk with God, friend, with one foot with him and one foot playing footsie with the world.

You may be well liked by your people, but you won't have any power. There will be no anointing. Secondly, if you're on the outs with God, you are out of touch with God.

There's great danger here, because by being out of touch with God, we will make bad decisions, give erroneous counsel, and lead others astray. Some of the most painful lessons I've learned in life were the result of going one way when God was going the other way, and I paid dearly for it. We must have close fellowship with God to be in touch with him.

We see the conditions for this in Psalm 24. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Here we see God's requirements of clean hands and a pure heart.

Clean hands represent the horizontal line in our life or dealings with our fellow men. Have I worked deceit with another? Have I told a lie? Have my business dealings been shady? Have I in any way defrauded another or wrongfully injured their reputation? Our relationship with man is the horizontal bar. Next, we have the vertical line, the vertical bar, which signifies our walk with God.

Am I guilty of serving God with a divided heart? For whatever the reason, sin separates us from God. If we are not fully yielded to God in a life of surrender, then we are out of touch with God. Our prayers go no higher than the sealing or ministry and service to God will have no lasting impact upon eternity.

It's just all flesh, flesh, flesh. The spirit of God is a million miles away. Oh, friends, I know of which I speak.

I know what it's like to serve God in the energy of the flesh with no lasting fruit for his glory, and I know his power. Philippians 3.10 declares that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death. Listen, friend, you cannot have the power of his resurrection without the fellowship of his sufferings.

The lost doctrine in the church today, I believe, is the cross in the life of the believer. Thirdly, and lastly, if you are on the outs with God, then you are out of favor with God. He won't use you, and he won't reveal himself to you in a deeper way.

God declares in his word in Isaiah, for thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabited eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place with him also, that is, of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. If we are on the outs with God, then we must repent and return to God. God has a promise to all who are sincere in heart.

In Malachi, God declares, return to me, and I will return to you. God gets serious with those who get serious with him, friends. Are you sincere in your desire to be more useful to God? Are you willing to be honest before him in sincere repentance, in an earnest seeking of him? Do you want power from on high? Do you want that anointing? Do you want to see others' lives transformed by your ministry? Then you must be like that clear mountain stream, free of any debris, so it can flow down that mountain with force and power.

God is looking for a clear and empty channel he can flow through as a means of blessing to others. Moody was an uneducated man. He couldn't even spell the word bed, but he was serious with God, and he served God with an undivided heart.

And he lived his life as a simple, clear, clean channel for God, so God could flow through it as a means of blessing to the world. Moody did more than all of us put together, with his large life lived on the out and out for God. How about you, friend? How bad do you want it?