The one-handed sinner

Luke's Gospel in chapter 2 and verse number 10 please. Luke 2 verse number 10, And the angel said unto them, Fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord and so on.

Now come over and we'll notice how this relates to this particular man Simeon and verse number 25. And behold there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. The same man was just in devout waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by spirit into the temple when the parents brought the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law. Then took he him up in his arms, that is the Lord Jesus the infant, and blessed God and said, Lord now let us thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. A light to lighten the Gentiles, the glory of thy people Israel. That expression then took he him up in his arms and blessed God.

We've been hearing very very clearly tonight from Mr. Skates about things that are exceptional and I couldn't be in more agreement with that. Wonderful thing to be saved because I'll tell you salvation is an exceptional thing. There's many many places that people will go to tomorrow and the word saved or salvation is never mentioned, never heard of.

Maybe sung about in some of the hymns but if they do use it sometimes you were to ask them what do you mean by that because I've done that and they don't know. But people that attend gospel meetings like some of you young people here tonight know full well could tell it as clear as Mr. Skates and I would try to tell it tonight what it means to be saved. But I want to speak tonight not only of what is exceptional but I want to speak of something without exception.

Okay? I want to speak of one kind of an individual that will never have salvation. Never have salvation. No exception.

What kind of an individual that is? That's the one-handed sinner. One-handed sinner. Now I want you to notice and apply just the passage we've read together.

That here's the picture it's a very contrasting scene because you've got a baby born, an infant the Lord Jesus Christ and you've got this old man Simeon. Almost two sides of the equation of age itself and the two of them coming together. Here's a man that had lived and waited the whole of his life for this moment.

For this moment. Sometimes it surprises people when I tell them I can never remember a time in my life when I didn't sincerely want to be saved. I wanted to be saved.

Not just so I could get preachers off my back as I didn't have any on my back. But I wanted to be saved. I wanted to know what my parents knew without exception that I could know that I could be in heaven.

I would never be in hell and have to suffer for my sins. I always wanted that but I did not always have that. For a very obvious reason there are other things in my life that were equally important or at least I thought they were important.

Now for this man here nothing else mattered. Nothing else mattered. As you're hearing clearly from our brethren tonight whether it was Cal or whether it's Aubrey they came to a point where nothing else mattered.

Nothing else mattered. Didn't matter was the job. It didn't matter what who it was.

This is all it mattered. Now listen friend even though I may not know you that well in the meeting tonight I can tell you this about people that are saved in this meeting without knowing how they got saved, how and where it happened. It came to a moment where nothing else mattered.

Go to this man Simeon and say well listen you know we've got something important things going on in the temple. Oh no no no no nothing more important than this. Must have been something to see this old man do something very unnatural and that is take this child this baby into his arms.

Now I know there are some men that are very easy on it. I've watched them. It's very interesting.

They're just they can take a baby. When people have me a baby I'm very nervous. I'm very glad when they take it back.

Because I'm just not comfortable with a baby in my arms okay. I remember when our first grandchild, a grandson was born. I was having meetings at a place called Baneck Nova Scotia.

And our daughter visited with baby Timothy and I was going to make a visit of an older lady that wanted to see me in a nursing home, a Christian for many many years, Mrs. Robertson. And Joanie happened to just come in at the time. They're living in Halifax and I said Joan I'm just going out to visit Mrs. Robertson.

She said I can come along dad. I'll just bring Timothy with me and we'll just come along. You want we could stay in the car or go in and see Mrs. Robertson.

I said well I'm sure she'd like to see you. Come on and see her. I said she's always glad to accompany.

And she had her own little family. So I'll never forget. I could see the setting yet.

It was in the afternoon. The sun was coming in through that window and it was just a beautiful setting. That lady sitting there, Mrs. Robertson, very kind lady.

I'd known her for a number of years. And we came in there and without even, she didn't even look at me. I don't know if she looked at Joan.

But she saw that infant and instinctively out went those old arms and she said my dear can I hold your baby. And Mrs. Robertson, our daughter Joan said to Mrs. Robertson absolutely. She's here.

She just put little baby Timothy into those old arms. Suddenly she forgot about arthritis. She forgot about everything.

And those arms just instinctively picked up that child and started to move it. It's just a picture to behold. She was doing something that was absolutely natural.

When it comes to God's salvation you do something that is totally against nature. There's nothing natural about being saved. Everything's against it.

Here's a man. His name is Simeon. And he knew that there's only one way to depart.

That's to part in peace. Wonderful thing to be able to depart in peace. I had a thing happen in my experience after likely 40 years full-time, likely 45 years of gospel preaching.

I don't care if it never happens again. Okay. There's a lady coming to gospel meetings professing to be saved.

Susan likely could have been saved. But her husband Ken had no time for the gospel or me as a gospel preacher or anything else. However Ken was working as a electrician with a union in Western Canada and he had, it was important that he get to Moncton to the airport about 50 miles away this snowy cold blistery wintry afternoon.

And of course he doesn't call me up and ask me to take him in a four-wheel drive pickup. Boys have one. I would have taken their pickup and gone and taken Ken.

He gets his wife. Men are a coward. Women aren't cowards like men are.

Never. Never. You get a man that's a coward you got nothing.

So he gets her to call. So Susan calls up. She says Murray, Ken would like to go to the Moncton Airport.

Was wondering if you could take him. I said I can take him. I says you know what the deal is gonna be? She says I think I do.

What do you think it's gonna be? You likely want him to come to a gospel meeting. Exactly. Is he sitting there? Yeah she says he's here.

Ask him if we got a deal. She cups the phone. She says Ken, Murray says he'll take you.

But you've got to go to gospel. He says that's fine. I'll go to gospel meeting.

I said okay. Boy it sounded kind of an easy thing you know. So I picked him and her up and it was a bad stormy afternoon.

But hey if he's gonna come to a gospel meeting, we'll do it. I picked up Dina Rubling, another one of the Christians. I tell you on the way home I thought wow.

Last thing I need is to get caught in a snowstorm and her and I in the truck together. This would be great. So I picked up Dina Rubling.

Dina got in. Mrs. or Mr. Mrs. are in the back and I said Dina we got a deal on. We're taking Ken to the airport.

He's coming to a gospel meeting. Oh Dina says that sounds good to me. Yeah Ken's back there.

Yeah okay. Took him. Boy it was a bad storm.

Took him to Moncton. Got him up. Took him right there.

Carried his luggage. Got him on a plane. So I says Ken you know you've you've got trouble with that foot.

I said you know diabetes. Oh he says Murray I'm with the Union. I don't have to do a thing.

I said really. You just gotta be there. It's a government job.

They've got to have so many unionized and the rest of the guys. They do the work. I don't have to do any work.

I said you're flying all the way. Yeah yeah. That's just the kind of attitude, the mentality that Ken worked with.

He was no fool. This man was in his late 50s. So got him to the airport.

He's off to Alberta. Got home. I knew he was back home different times and I'd be away and I didn't have opportunity to call him.

Finally I made a call to that house. I said Susan I need to speak to Ken. Ken came on the phone.

Now this is five six months later. I says Ken I'm home and I'm speaking tonight and I would like to pick you and Susan up for the gospel meeting. Wow.

He let a verbiage of language come out of his mouth. Cursing and swearing and foul language like I've never. Listen I've met some rough characters in my time.

Rough boys. I was sure was gonna clock me and put me out. I never heard anything like this in my life.

I've never done it before. I hope I don't have to do it again. I just took the phone.

Not in a fit. Just I just put it right back down in the conversation. It's obvious Ken wasn't going to any gospel.

He didn't plan on it. One year later. It's just happened last month.

Girls down the bank blow their apartment. Susan was down the States and the girl the RCMP, that's our police, came in and they said you seen Mr. Berry lately? No they said we haven't. He usually comes down and he banks here.

We haven't seen him. Okay. Haven't seen him.

When's the last time you saw him? I couldn't remember the last time I saw him. So the police went and got permission. Got the keys they needed.

Went into that apartment and Ken Berry was dead in the floor. He'd been there 10 days. The stench was literally horrifying.

They could they couldn't believe how anybody around it. Now the bank is below it. He lives in an apartment above it.

Couldn't even stand the stench of it. Last time I went by that place the windows were open. It was being fumigated and painted.

But Ken was gone. When he gave me that language in the phone, I'll tell you it sent a tingle up my back that I didn't care if I ever felt it again until I heard how he died. Listen young friend or anybody in this meeting tonight.

You don't fool with God. You do not fool with God. You don't step into the ring with God.

You come out second best. All that language and all that was being carefully recorded in heaven. He likely put the phone down and laughed to Susan.

He says he think I'm going to a gospel meeting. I can just know the kind of guy. Maybe I'm surmising something.

I don't know. Did it matter? God heard it all. Was Ken gonna reach out for salvation? No.

He had other things he was reaching out for in life. He had done well. He had a bit of money, a bit of property.

Did it matter? Imagine dead for 10 days on the floor. I won't even use the language off the platform that the Old Testament uses of people that die in that way. Horror death.

Horror death. You sit in the comfort of this lovely auditorium tonight and say that won't be me. I'll never think.

I'll never act like that because I know better. Really. Really.

He's gone. Gone into eternity. Little did Ken realize or even think how little time he had left.

Much less how he was going to die. What about the boys he used to meet without the legion? Why weren't they checking on him? They were big friends, big buds. They drank together all the time.

Where were they? Nobody going to check on him? His wife was away? Hadn't been around for a number of days? You know the truth of it is nobody cared. Nobody cared. Understand in this gospel meeting tonight, not only God has an infinite interest in you, there is not a believer, a child of God in this meeting tonight that doesn't have an interest in your soul.

And wants to see you saved. That's the greatest thing for you. Wants you to have the experience that this man Simeon did when it come to the Lord himself.

And so he reaches out with both hands gladly and braces the Savior. The apostle uses language and words that fit into this when he speaks of laying hold of eternal life. You know what it means? Total embrace with nothing else in your mind.

That happened in my experience. I can remember the night that I got saved. I was telling them somewhere I was speaking.

We lived four miles from a little town called Fingal. It was a gravel roads. If I was told that if I went on my hands and knees and that summer warm night on the gravel to Fingal I could be saved, I know I was sure that when I got there I was ready to go.

How about you? How far will you go to know that you could be saved? Like you've been hearing tonight. That's so true. Come into this meeting without a thought about eternity, a thought about being saved.

And walk out those doors tonight saved. We have a young man. McLeod knows him well too.

His name is Bretton Bartlett. He's a real thrill to us. Six years ago at a Sussex conference Michael Penfold was preaching the gospel.

During that preaching that young boy trusted Christ. Before the meeting was over he come to the conclusion himself he wasn't saved. So he didn't tell anybody.

Didn't say a word. Carried on. Bretton would come to the conferences and you'd see him around and in university.

Next month he'll be 20 years of age. He came to the Sussex conference this year. Still didn't hear anything.

We're at the Cape Breton conference. That's where he lives in Cape Breton. His father's in Cape Breton.

That's where he got his name Breton. Here he is. Sitting.

Almost looking like he was interested in the meeting. Nobody had to ask him. It wouldn't matter if they did.

Finally told somebody. I said I'm going to tell you I get saved. When did you get saved? Really since I got saved six years ago at the Sussex conference.

But I never got the assurance of it until this year at the same conference. Sitting there. I don't even know if this is a gospel meeting or a ministry meeting.

I just heard his father who was thrilled to death and his mother who are in the assembly there. And it's their oldest of three boys. They have a daughter that's saved.

And saved. And the joy of it. And the peace of it.

The night that I came into a gospel meeting like this. In Surrey, Ontario. And sitting along those.

No wonder the preachers like to preach the gospel there. There's 60 of us. We all had to sit in the front row.

We wouldn't behave anywhere else. I don't know if we even behaved there. But my folks had a law and so do all my uncles and aunts that you either sat with them or you sat ahead of them.

Well nobody wanted to sit with mom and dad so you sat ahead of them. Good law. I tried to hide it as much as I could from my parents or anybody of my cousins.

I didn't want them to know I'm bothered. I do not know what Mr. Otto McLeod preached on that. He told me later what it was but I didn't know at the time.

But I come to this conclusion. If I could be saved tonight. Know my sins forgiven.

I want it tonight. I didn't get saved that night. That was a Sunday night.

Went to school the next day. It was the next on a Monday night. Back up to my bedroom.

Back to the gospel tracts. Fell asleep reading them the night before. Throughout little verse Luke 19 and 10.

The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. I realized there's one that loved me so much. He loved me and he died to save me.

Now I was not thinking about reaching out to him with both hands but I can tell you. Whatever. Okay.

See that's why the Lord Jesus wrote. Remember what the Savior said? He said if thy hand offended. What hand did he mean? What hand did he mean? The man that had the withered hand.

Which hand was withered? It was his right hand. You reach out for with your right hand. It's very very important to you.

And the reason that people don't go with boys and girls. Men and women don't go with both hands. The other hand's getting a hold of something else or someone else.

And it will not let go of that. Whether it is a sin. Whether it is some other friend or whatever it might be.

They are hanging on. They're not going to let go of it. Okay.

Or it can be very secretive. They wouldn't share with anybody. It's hanging on to something else.

There's a rich young ruler that literally beats his way to the Lord Jesus. Those disciples are just waiting for the moment when he leaves all and he follows the Savior. Never happened.

Why? Why didn't it happen? Because his hand was going back to some possessions that only the Lord knew about. He was hanging on to them. He was not letting go of those possessions.

No. No. Nobody was taking them from him.

And the Lord didn't take them from him either. And he went back to what he was hanging on to with the other hand. Did he get salvation? No.

No. There's a man that called for the preacher and asked him to come and preach. His name was Felix.

I've had one or two of those. Not very often. They asked me to come and preach.

I'll tell you about a man tonight but I won't take time to that did. And he's gone now. But Felix asked Paul to come and preach.

And Paul started to preach. Not to please the audience. He preached of righteousness, his temperance, and judgment to come.

And as he was, as the apostle Paul was waxing eloquent, he wanted to tell him next about a man in glory. About an exceptional Savior we've been hearing about tonight. But that foolish Felix cut him off.

He'd had enough. You ever had that? I've had people cut me off. No.

No. Don't want to hear more of that. Nope.

My own relatives. Well my wife's relatives. I have relatives that do the same thing.

My wife had an uncle. Uncle Ralph. I went to see him one time.

I said I'm visiting with Uncle Ralph and he led me to the door. He said you can come back. Wait a minute.

This is an elder in a local church. Okay. He said you can come back to my house anytime.

But he says I don't want this business about being saved. He says you over emphasize that. I said no no.

I said no no. When I went to Uncle Ralph's funeral, my wife and I went out of respect for the family. I'll never forget it.

There was his widow sitting there and the family sitting along the front and the pastor. He's up at the front and there's the coffin. It's open and on that coffin was a big plaque like this.

Ralph Long. Dedicated member. Elder.

Whatever else he was. To the lower Millstream Baptist Church. 40 years.

Before that service started, Mr. Pastor went over and picked that up. Folded it. Brought it over to the widow.

I'll never forget. She took it and hung on to it. And I thought my dear lady, is that all you've got to hang on to the hopes of your husband? Imagine.

What do you got for eternity? What are you carrying into eternity? He didn't carry that. She won't carry it either. No savior.

But it's very interesting that when the plaque is handed to her, out goes both hands and she's spazzing seat yet. Made you sick. I thought really? Really? And so did Felix? Oh no.

Read the Bible. What's it say? It's Drusilla. Say she was a Jewess.

It was old hat to her. She was only there because she didn't want him to have it. I've seen those kind of people come to meetings.

I know a case right now. I know two men back in Sussex. I know they would come.

Pardon me. But the missus won't let them come and they don't trust him when I'm talking to them. I know the one lady in particular.

He's a poly. Lives right in the town where I live. High school teacher.

Former high school teacher. When I'm talking to Ross, she's there. She will trust him anywhere else.

I know women that will trust her husband at a bar, at a dance, at places they shouldn't be. I wouldn't trust them speaking with Murray McCandless. You know why? Lest they become interested in their soul.

So what's, well how come Felix didn't get it? Well one hand he's hanging on to somebody that he was not going to let go of. And she's saying this won't work. Another man, his name is Agrippa.

Here's Agrippa. My dear apostle Paul is giving his testimony. He's preaching again to this man Agrippa.

The man says almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. I don't believe that he was that close to being saved at all. There's other reasons for when he said that.

Why did he not get it? Well there's a woman there by the name of Bernice. And Bernice you almost say her shaking her head. Almost like a couple I'd come to gospel meetings not that many years ago.

We're having gospel meetings. There's a good number coming and she was sitting right in the back. I can see her yet.

And she sat kind of sideways and kind of had her leg over swinging it and kind of tapping his leg. And he's trying to he's trying to listen. He's trying to get it in.

And she's around looking trying to distract him. I would hate to go somebody's hell like that. So Lord Jesus spoke of that as being the most terrible thing you could do.

Suffering those that are injured to go into the kingdom of heaven. She was standing smack in the way. I've had to tell some of them.

Listen if you want to go to hell then go there yourself. Don't you try and take your husband. I said that to husbands and wives both.

Were they going to reach out? No. No. The Lord Jesus talked about a rich farmer same thing.

That's all it consumed his thinking was his farm what he was going to do. And so is he going to well it's not that he didn't have some he don't read about the man swearing. There wasn't something that he didn't reach out but not with both hands.

Let me tell you what people that did. Oh think of that blind man. He had nothing to go back to.

No. No. No.

No. No. Maybe it's my imagination but when he cries out Jesus now son of David have mercy on me.

I see his hands going up. He can't see. He's casting away his garment.

He's hanging on to nothing. A Philippian jailer same thing. What must I do to be saved? Somebody said to him hey what about your job? Forget the job.

What about the jail? Forget the jail. What must I do to be saved? They said believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. A number of years ago in a place over in Italy called Mount Versailles.

Known because of its volcanic eruptions but there's been tremendous findings. Archaeologists have discovered many many things they've learned from what happened in Mount Versailles. This particular time when they were working away they came across a hand and they dug around and it was the hand of a little boy.

His hands were like right in the lava just literally in that lava. His hands were like this. They dug around what was once the features of that little boy.

Some of the junior archaeologists said to the senior men that were heading this they said what is he reaching for or who is he reaching for? You know what the senior fellow said you dig a little further you'll likely find out. So they very painstakingly started to dig away and they found another pair of hands reaching toward the little boy. As they dug a little further they came to a very quick conclusion that was his mother.

That horrific horrific eruption. That mother was reaching out for a little boy and the little boy was reaching out for his mother. Both of both hands and they never came together.

When the Lord Jesus picked up little children read the Bible picked them up in his arms. When the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary's cross arms are extended wide. Both hands saying come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden I will give you rest.

It was no one-handed operation for him. As far as the east is from the west so far they removed our transgressions from us. Listen friend he reaches out to you in this gospel meeting.

His hand is extended so he reaches out for you with both hands because he wants to save you. Okay think of the Lord Jesus taking the feet of disciples that were filthy feet. He knew where those feet had been.

He didn't put one hand in his hip pocket kind of look at the feet the other foot. No both hands he would took them up in his hands and he began to wash their feet. That's how serious he took what he was doing.

How serious are you taking it tonight? He said I'm just I'm just a young person. I don't have a farm. I don't have a lot of money.

Oh yeah but you're reaching back for something. There's something that holds you from being saved every sinner. That's why the hymn writer penned those beautiful words.

Nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I cling. Why don't you do that? Why don't you just put down the hands of rebellion not the full hand because in this heart same as mine my friend there's a heart that's a real in rebellion against God. They come to a complete surrender and repentance and faith in the one who died on Calvary's cross.

Let me just give you the words of this dear man here. Says this and he took him up in his arms and he blessed God and said Lord. If he'd never said another another word that's all he had to say.

No man confesses them but by the spirit. No man calls him Lord but by the spirit. When that man on the cross the repentant said thief said Lord.

He didn't have to talk about coming kingdom nothing else. It was a confession of Lord. He said Lord now not before this Lord now let us know thy servant and depart in peace because I've got a good feeling.

No he says according to thy word according to thy word for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou has prepared as he goes on and says before the face of all the people light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. What a beautiful passage. What a beautiful savior.

I tell you my friend this one is worth reaching out with both hands and said the Lord Jesus for those that can't do that he said if your hand offends you cut it off cut it off. Better said the Lord Jesus to go into heaven with one hand than to have both hands and be cast into hell fire. Where the worm dieth not the fire is not quite.

The Lord Jesus took it very serious and very solemn what you do with your hands. There's people in this world tonight as we've been hearing in a crazy sports world and there they are they'll do everything with both hands whatever. When it comes to salvation friend this this is just I understand I'm talking about something spiritual.

It's just a complete surrender of the entire being. It's a literally letting go of whatever's hindering you from salvation. Striving to enter this enter in the straight great gate is not grabbing for things it's letting go of what you've already got.

It's simply coming as a guilty sinner and trusting him for eternity shall we pray.