Jack Jurgens's Ministry Library

Gospel tent meeting with Peter Ramsay and Kory Crawford.

[0:00] If you have a Bible with you, I’d like to read in the book of Acts this evening in chapter 10.
We’ve been going through this book, and we’ve jumped a few chapters here and there, but, a well-known story here in Acts chapter 10.
And really, if you consider what has happened in the word of God in the Bible until this point. It’s really a monumental event that we’re going to read about. That for years in the Old Testament would tell us that the Jewish people, Israel, were God’s chosen people, who he chose to work in and work through. But here we’re going to find a man outside of the tribe of Israel, a man who’s not a Jew, and he is going to hear a message from God for him. And so tonight, friend, we’re going to to read of a man who heard the gospel preached in his own home.
And we break in here at verse number 34.

[0:58] It says here in Peter, Then Peter opened his mouth and said, In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality, is no respecter of persons.

[1:10] But in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him.
The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ, He is Lord of all.
That word you know which was proclaimed throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him and we are witnesses of all of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him, God raised up on the third day and showed him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with him after he arose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who was ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead.” Now take note of this verse, verse number 43.
To him, all the prophets witnessed that through his name, whoever believes in him.

[2:39] Will receive remission, forgiveness of sins. What a tremendous message. It’s very interesting as we we have gone through this book of Acts to note that the preacher’s message, the disciples, the apostles’ message has not changed.
But it is this Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified.
He says here again, who you hanged upon a tree, but him God raised up, why?
That we would be able to preach as they did so many years ago, that through his name, through faith in his name, whoever believes in him would receive the forgiveness of sins.
You’re looking to be forgiven tonight.
I can’t give it to you.
Maybe if you’ve offended me, there’s some form of small forgiveness you could search out for me.
But each one of us tonight in our sins, we need to consider this.
Yes, maybe having offended our neighbors, our parents, our spouses, our children.
Nothing wrong in searching out forgiveness from them. But each day in our life, because of our sins, we’ve offended God.

[3:51] And it shows us right here in a very sincere and simple way.
The way in which one can be forgiven.
Not a 10-step process, not a ceremony, not a fulfilling of different creeds or commandments.
It says so clearly here in verse 43, that through his name, whoever believes in him.

[4:17] Will receive the remission of sins, the forgiveness of sin.
This message, this sermon that Peter preached to this man, Cornelius, and those who are in his home.

[4:30] He begins with a very important message from God in verse number 34. He said this, that God is not, he shows no partiality. He is no respecter of persons. In our lives and in the society we live in, oftentimes we show partiality. Sometimes in a good sense. In Costa Rica, where you go there, I don’t think it’s the case here, but any building you would go in, bank, grocery store, whatever it it is. If a senior citizen comes and is in line, immediately they’re taken to the front of the line. When you go to the airport there, they even extend the grace they’re showing. They have a sign there about a man with a cane, someone in a wheelchair, and a pregnant woman. I don’t know how they group those three types of people together, but if you fall into any one of those categories, even with children, there’s a special line just for you to go right to the front. And having small children, oftentimes, I take advantage of the partiality that is shown right to the front of the line, without any guilt, without any shame. And we show partiality. The book of James in the Bible speaks of how easy it is to show partiality to those who are rich. We will give the rich person the better seat. But if someone came banging out the street, we would say, well, we’re all full here tonight. It.

[5:51] Happens often. Partiality showed to one another in society in which we live. But it says here so very clearly that God, the, God of heaven, He shows no partiality. He is not a respecter of person. He says that, but every nation, no matter what nation you come from, no matter what country you come from, if you were to fear Him, He would receive you.
He would not turn you away. And the great revelation of this message that now the gospel, God is a God who reaches out to all nations.
There is nowhere you could be on this earth where God could not reach out and see.
The Word of God is now, I just noticed tonight, the Word of God is now placed in the outhouses there in the back. So if you have to leave the meeting and go to the bathroom, you know what, God could save your right there.

[6:42] But he was wounded for our transgressions. I read the verse.
Bruised for our iniquities. God is not partial.
He’s no respecter of persons. And while that is tremendous good news tonight, whosoever will may come.
At the same time, hopefully it will stop you right in your tracks and make you understand this.
That no matter what I’ve done in myself, no matter what good works I have done in my life, before God, He doesn’t respect me any more than the man who’s in prison tonight.
Why? Because we’re both sinners before God.
God is not a respecter of, He shows no partiality. Doesn’t matter your citizenship, your creed, your culture, your class, it does not matter.
God is not a respecter of persons. So tonight, where you are, Maybe you could just leave outside the tent tonight.
Whatever creed you’re a part, whatever religion you might associate yourself with, it doesn’t matter.
God is not partial. God shows no partiality.
And as Peter preaches this message to Cornelius, he really tells him that God has sent us to preach three things.
And the first thing we find in verse 36, he says this, preaching peace through Jesus Christ.
Do you want peace tonight?
There’s lots of wars going on around the world tonight. And you might pray for peace.

[8:05] But do you yourself in your own heart personally before God want peace?
There’s the GPI is the Global Peace Index, which is a report that is put together by the Institute for Economics and Peace, which measures the peace in each nation around the world.
It’s developed in consultation with the international panel of peace experts from peace institutions and think tanks that have 23 criteria points in which they measure the peace of each nation.
And so tonight, if you’re looking for peace in this world, you know where you should move to?
The country that has been number one on the peace index for four straight years, Iceland.

[8:50] It probably gets cold there, so bring a parka. If you want peace in this earth, according to them, number one, Iceland, four years running.
I remember in the news last year, and this is how it came to mind, Costa Rica took great pride in landing at number 38 on the global peace index, the second highest in all of Latin America, Costa Rica.
Number 38.
And of the, I think it’s 190 countries that they rank, Not a bad place to fall, not a bad place to live.
Number 38 in the world for peace.
New Zealand, another recommendation has been number two for three of the last four years.
If you’re looking for peace in this earth, you can move to New Zealand.
The USA, unfortunately doesn’t fall too high in the rankings all the way down at 129 this past year.
And so you would say, well, maybe that’s why I don’t feel at peace.
Maybe I need to move from the United States and search out a place in Iceland. You know what?
You could fly all the way to Iceland and find yourself a nice little chalet right on the water out there in Iceland.
You still won’t have peace with God.
You still won’t have peace with God. No matter where we go, no matter where we search out peace on this earth.

[10:08] There’s only one way we can have peace with God. And Peter was preaching the message.
It has been our desire to preach the message in this tent.
Preaching peace through what? Through religion? No.
Preaching peace through baptism? No.
Preaching peace through giving to the church? No. He said this, preaching peace through Jesus Christ.
Message hasn’t changed.
That is what we preach here tonight. Peace through Jesus Christ.
It’s a message of eternal peace.
When the prince of peace came into this earth and he defeated our greatest enemy.

[10:43] The enemy of our souls, the devil. He led, as scripture says, he led captivity captive.
He freed, he made a way free for the slaves of sin to find freedom. True peace tonight is found And not a place, not a religion, it’s in a person.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, preaching peace through Jesus Christ.
The gospel is the uniting of peace with mercy and truth and righteousness.
I love the psalmist, I could say, “‘Surely His salvation is near them that fear Him.'”, Mercy and truth are met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
What a tremendous verse.
Salvation is this righteousness, one being made right before God and finding peace at the exact same time.
What a tremendous message. Preaching peace through Jesus Christ.
It reaches to the farthest ends of this earth.
And when you compare the peace that the gospel brings with the peace that is found in this world.

[11:49] Jesus Christ himself could announce it, could explain it like this.
He would say, my peace I leave with you.
He would say that to his disciples. My peace I leave with, not as the world give it, not the sort of cheap peace that you might find in this world.

[12:07] Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. The peace I give unto you is not the peace that the world gives.
And maybe you’ve been able in the goodness of God, in the graciousness of God, been able to carve out a little piece of paradise here on earth where you feel completely at peace.
Completely at peace.
There’s areas of this world, and I’m sure in the United States and Canada, where people in the whole town maybe don’t even lock their doors.
Why? Because they feel at peace. They’ve been able to obtain something of the peace in this earth.
But if you were to die tonight and face God, do you have peace thinking about that?
Maybe easier to find peace in this earth than living in a blessed country, a blessed continent like North America.
But do you have peace with God?

[13:00] If that little piece of paradise of peace that you’ve enjoyed maybe your whole life in some part of New Jersey or wherever you’re from, if that were just to be taken right from under your feet and you were to come face to face with God this evening, do you still feel that peace?
There’s peace available through Jesus Christ. Preaching peace through Jesus Christ.
You could think, comparing the peace that Jesus gives, that Jesus Christ offers and the world offers.
You could think of its duration. How long is it good for? You know, there’s many peace hacks that have been made around the world, you know, you see wars going on and even current wars, you just hope they come to a peace agreement. And maybe Maybe they will and maybe soon, but for how long?
For how long?
Until the next.

[13:49] Country decides to break a pact or another country decides to invade another whatever it might be, it’s temporary. The peace offered by this world is temporary. The peace that has come maybe from your pension or your investments and you would say, I got peace knowing, I don’t have to worry where the next paycheck’s coming from, but for how long? In the blink of an eye, all could be gone.
All could be taken, all could be, all could crash. It’s temporary.
The peace that is offered in this world, but the peace that Jesus Christ offers, the peace that is available through him, through faith in his name is this.
It’s not temporary, it’s eternal.
That this very day you can know my sins are forgiven. Today, tomorrow, and forever.
That’s the peace that Jesus Christ offers. It’s eternal.
You can say it’s scope, well, you know how many people in this world live in the sort of peace that is enjoyed in North America?
Not very many.

[14:52] Peace on this earth, while a blessing to find it, it’s a rare thing.
Many countries around this earth don’t enjoy the sort of peace that we in the first world enjoy.
Its scope is not that broad, the peace that this world offers, but as we’ve already seen, the God who is not partial, the God whose hand is not shortened, that it can save to the farthest realms of this earth.
The scope of the peace of God is this, for God so loved the world, that whosoever believes in Jesus Christ will not perish, but how they’re lasting.

[15:34] What’s the cost of peace? You know, many billions, if not trillions of dollars have went in to try to secure peace in this world.
In different wars, different, different agreements that have been made, different investments in peace.

[15:50] Maybe it’s a money well spent, and maybe it is. It’s nice to live in peace, but it’s a tangible number.
It’s a number, you know, it’s a big number, no doubt, but it’s a number we can measure. You know what it cost God to offer you peace tonight? It didn’t offer him all the riches that this world has. It didn’t cost him everything in every bank in this world. It cost him his only son. If, you want to measure the value of the life, if you have a child of their life, You can never put it into a dollar, a dollar amount.
The psalmist could say the redemption of a soul is a costly thing.
And so friends, when you think of the cost, what it costs God for your peace.
I hope tonight that you will consider the one we are preaching.
Preaching peace through Jesus Christ.
Why? Because he paid the price.
He paid the penalty for our sins on the cross when he hung there on Calvary.
Wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities.
That was the cause.
And Peter continues preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. He says that he is Lord of all.
He is the anointed one.
He did that which was good, healing those that were wounded by the devil.

[17:12] And it says he died and the Lord raised him up.
And so Peter here, he tells the story. He tells he tells the the journey of the Lord Jesus Christ in this earth.
He came into the world.
He was sent. He was Lord of all. He healed and he died.
And he was buried and he rose again. And he says the message that we preach is not just preaching peace through Jesus Christ. What do you say in verse number 42?
And he commanded us to preach to the people.
And to testify that that it is he, Jesus Christ, who was ordained by God to be judge, the judge of the living and the dead.
Friend, tonight, the same one who is offering you peace by the blood of his cross, if you were to reject him, if you were to just take a step back and say, another time, and you were to go out into eternity, you would be confronted with one who will no longer offer you peace, but he will stand before you as your judge.

[18:19] You may say, what about my religion? What about the things I’ve done?
What about what I’ve given?
Jesus Christ himself would speak of a day when there’s many that would come to him.
And he would say, there’s not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven.
And you may even call in word tonight, Jesus Christ, Lord. But he says this, those people come to him in that day.
And they’ll say to me, and many will say in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name?
Have we not cast out demons?
Many great deeds we have done in your name. The focus on themselves.
And friend, if you were to have your encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ tonight, if your life were to end and you were to begin to tell everything that you have done, I was part of this religion.
I went to church. I was faithful.
The answer that will be received is the same one he speaks about in that day.
I will declare to them, depart from me.
Depart from me, workers of iniquity. Depart from me, you sinner.
And so, friend, it comes right down to this tonight, that when you stand before the judge, what could you ever offer?

[19:37] What great deed could you ever convince him with that he has not already done?
He paid the price in full, yet we in our minds think that we can add to that.
We add our 10%, we add our 25% when Christ has done 100%.

[19:53] And he offers it, peace tonight. And we find out how, as he said in this last part of verse 43 that he spoke about.
That he preached peace through Jesus Christ, but he also preached judgment.
And friends, now there is judgment to come. Those that are on the road that lead, those who are not prepared for heaven, Those who have not trusted in Christ, the Bible says, there’s a way that leads to condemnation in many of their people that go in there, that are on that road, that follow that route.
A way that seems right onto a man, but the end thereof, is the way of death.

[20:33] Where do you find yourself tonight?
When the judgment day comes, will you have your debt forgiven? Will it already have been paid for, cancelled, paid in full, erased every single one of your inequities?

[20:49] Or you stand before God condemned, guilty, trusting in self, trusting in works, trusting in origin.
He is judge of the living and the dead.
The last thing that Peter wanted to preach to the people wasn’t just peace, wasn’t just the judgment that comes, but he says this in verse number 43, to him, all the prophets, all the prophets witnessed, all the Old Testament was pointing forward to him, witnessed to him, that through his name, whoever believes in him will receive the forgiveness, It’s the remission of sins.
The release from bondage is the idea of remission.
The friend tonight, the chains of sin, while they might not be visible, you know about them in your own life, and in the secret of your room, wherever the secret sins of your heart take place, you know, I’m a slave, I’m captive.
I can’t do anything to free myself. It says, through his name, faith, whoever believes in him, will receive the remission of sins.
And there’s a cost of freedom. There’s a cost to remission.
Forgiveness in the Bible, it says this in Hebrews. And without shedding of blood, there is no remission.
There’s no forgiveness, friend, tonight for you, for me, without the shedding of blood.

[22:17] And so for that, we understand why it was that Jesus shed his blood.
He shed His blood because that was the cost of your freedom.
That was the cost of my freedom. That was the cost to be able to offer you peace and forgiveness from your sins.
And what will you do with that pardon?
What will you do with that offer of salvation? when the meeting is over maybe you’ll stand up have a nice refreshment and you’ll say this good message I enjoyed it but as the pardon was offered out not by the preachers not by a church but by Jesus Christ himself what would you do with that part.

[23:12] There’s a very famous preacher, the name of D.L. Moody, who recounted a time when he was, called to a maximum security prison there in the state of Illinois, and the governor of that state, had spoken with him, and he was friends with the chaplain, with the pastor of that prison, and he said, I want to release five men, give a pardon to five men based on good behavior in six months, but don’t tell any of the prisoners. And as you’re spending time with the prisoners, and you’ll have to pick out the five that have displayed the best behavior.
And the governor said, I’ll sign their names, I will sign the pardon of their freedom.
And so that day arrived six months later when the roll was called.
1,100 prisoners filed out of that prison.
As they did day after day, not thinking anything special of that day.
And as the governor walked in, they noted that it was rare for him to make a visit to the prison.
And he stood up and he announced and he said this, I hold in my hand, parties for five prisoners. And there was a deathly silence across that prison.
Imagine that feeling.
Fine. Out of those 1100.

[24:33] Then the commissioner held out the first name and he gave it to the chaplain and he read it out.
The first name that he read out he said this, Reuben Johnson, will you come and receive your pardon?
Nobody moved.

[24:53] He looked at the name again to make sure he had it right and he yelled out again in a loud voice, Reuben Johnson, come forward and receive your pardon.

[25:05] The men all looked around, looking at one another, and eventually it was the cellmate of Reuben Johnson, who noticed him also, Reuben Johnson, looking around all the prisoners, and he nudged him.
He said, that’s you, that’s you.
And as that man trembling walked up and took that pardon from the hand of the governor.
He went back in line.
In front of all those hardened men, he began to weep as a child.
He’d been in prison 19 years.
And as he looked at his name on that paper, he could not enter into it, he could not comprehend, how is it possible that I have been pardoned, that I had been forgiven for what I have done.
And as those other four names were read out, and as the disappointed prisoners, shuffled back to their cell, Reuben, just by habit, he turned around and put the part in his pocket and started walking back to his cell.
As he was leaving that main room, that main congregation room, the chaplain stopped him.
He said this, he said, and you don’t have to go back to your cell.
You’re a free man. You can go home.

[26:25] And friend, tonight in the very same sense this evening, Jesus Christ has a pardon with your name on it. He paid it in full.
And he extends it out to you tonight.

[26:38] Would you receive it? It says, whosoever believes in him will receive the forgiveness of sins.
And what are you trusting tonight? You can close the cell door of the slavery of sin tonight, and you can go home a free man, a free woman, a free child, knowing this, I’m forgiven before God.
Because Jesus Christ paid my debt.
And that preacher some 2000 years ago, preaching in the house of man named Cornelius, he would tell whoever believes in him receives the forgiveness of sins, and some 2,000 years later, the 10 here in New Jersey, the message has not changed.
Whoever believes in him will receive the forgiveness of sins.
May the Lord bless His word to your heart. Wonderful to have peace.

[27:34] Do you have peace?
Are you at rest?
You know, there are Christians that go through very difficult times.
Christians are not immune from problems, and things can happen.
Do you know what a Christian has that someone who’s not a Christian, they don’t have?
A Christian, even in the storms of life, have peace.

[28:09] They may have tears, their pillows may get wet, but they are right with God.
There is no peace in the heart until there’s peace with God.
And as you’ve been listening to Corey this evening, the words from the Bible, you, these meetings are good news in that peace is available to you.
We had a beautiful cake for supper tonight and the woman who provided it asked the decorator at the store to write good news on the top of the ice cream cake.
And I think she was hoping that the decorator would say, So what’s the good news?
Well, she didn’t get asked. But you know, what you’ve just been listening to, is there anyone that would dare put up their hand and say, that is not good news?
That is not good news? The fact that Christ offers you peace and the forgiveness of sins?
What does your religion offer?

[29:25] Say, well, down the road, it should all work out. No, that’s not what you’ve been hearing.
Tonight, you can have peace with God and you can have your sins forgiven tonight.
You can become a possessor tonight of eternal life. And that is good news.
You know, good news is against the backdrop of something that’s bad or potentially bad.
I was trying to think of an example driving to the tent this evening of what might not be great news.
People probably wouldn’t come to a tent like this if a cure had been found for cankers.

[30:08] People say, well, it’d be nice to know what the cure is, but you know, cankers go away in a day or two and we can all live with cankers.
So good news about a cure for yankers may not bring a lot of people to a presentation. Change the K to a C?
Good news for cancer? A cure?
No tent in New Jersey would be big enough to hold the people who would flock to a tent, to hear about a proven cure for all types of cancer.
Good news against a backdrop of very bleak, bad news.

[30:59] Do you know this? I was thinking, cancer as bad as cancer is, all a cancer can do to any one of us is take us to the grave, to the cemetery.
It’s all cancer can do, Take us to the cemetery, to the graveyard.
Do you know what sin can do?
Sin will take you to hell. Cancer will take you to the grave.
But if your sins aren’t forgiven, the awful disease of sin will take you to hell, not just to a cemetery.
And that’s why we proclaim the good news that there is a cure for your sins.
You could leave this evening. every one of your sins forgiven.
Is no one interested in having their sins forgiven tonight? We’re going to read a story in Mark’s Gospel, Chapter 10.
You know, there’s a very serious side to the gospel message.
I’m looking at the audience tonight, we’ve had bigger audiences, we’ve had all the seats filled.

[32:14] But in an audience, I want you to listen to this, in an audience this size, It’s highly probable that at least one person that’s in this tent tonight will never be in heaven.
Do I need to say that again?
It is highly likely that someone in this tent will be in hell forever.
And if that was you, Don’t you think it’s very serious? It’s highly unlikely that everyone in this tent will receive Christ in this life and trust Him as their Savior.
It is highly unlikely.
And that’s the very serious side to this message.
Here’s a man we’re going to read about. He literally came running to Jesus.

[33:17] There are many heartbreaking stories in the Bible, but this one stands out in particular.
It’s recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, a man who came running to Jesus in search of eternal life, but he’s lost forever tonight.
Just because someone comes to a gospel meeting doesn’t mean they’ll be in heaven for eternity.
This man came right to Jesus, not just sauntering along. He actually was running, kicking the dust up behind his feet.

[33:54] But when he weighed it all up, he turned around. With tears in his eyes, he walked away from Jesus.
In a meeting like this, it’s highly likely that someone will walk away from Jesus.

[34:14] Will it be you? Mark chapter 10, verse 17. When he was gone forth, when Jesus was gone forth into the way, There came one running and kneeled.
So he came running, he kneeled to him and asked him, good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him, why do you call me good? There is none good but one, that is God.
You know, I’ll just put some modern day pronouns. You know the commandments.
Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness or do not tell lies, defraud not, honor your father and your mother.
Jesus didn’t do all the 10 commandments, he just went over a few of them.
And I think that young man breathed a sigh of relief.
He thought, oh, he didn’t touch all the 10 commandments.
What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. I’m not gonna volunteer any extra information.

[35:26] And so he says, verse 20, he answered and said unto him, master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Then Jesus beholding him loved him. You get the picture?

[35:44] Jesus, standing on the road, and a young man anxiously wanting eternal life, eye to eye.
And the Bible says Jesus, looking on him, loved him.
You know, there will be people, loves forever, that Jesus loved.
But people didn’t love him. They love something else in their life more than Jesus.
That’s how the story goes.
Then Jesus beholding him, loved him and said unto him, one thing you are lacking.
Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor and thou shall you shall have treasure in heaven.
Come take up the cross and follow me.
And he was sad at that saying and went away grieved.

[36:48] And if you want to do some research after this gospel tent service and look up the original word for grieved in the Greek language, that young man didn’t go away whistling Dixie, turn his back on Jesus laughing.
He went away with tears running down his face. It is the same word used for the sorrows that Jesus experienced in Gethsemane’s Guard.
When Jesus cried so intensely, taking in the cross, this man thought, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t for eternal life.
And he went away free. There are people who come to a tent service like this and they say, my, it would be nice to know for sure you’re going to be in heaven.
It’d be wonderful to have what Corey talked about, wonderful to have peace.
It would be wonderful to know in this life that your sins are all forgiven.
And then people think about, but what would my family say? I’ve lived this religion all my life.

[38:01] Oh, I just think I’ll carry on.
This man went away grieved. He had great possessions. His problem was his money.
And Jesus looked around about and said unto his disciples, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Do you know that one thing will keep you out of heaven?
Just one thing, it’s all it takes, one thing.
And I want you to ask yourself what your one thing is. What are you wrestling with this evening?
My one thing is, what is it?
You’re thinking about salvation, you’re thinking about Christ, you’re thinking about the forgiveness of sins, you’re thinking about having eternal life, You would like to be sure you’re going to be in heaven when you die, but there’s one thing that keeps popping into your mind.
Do you know that one thing that keeps popping into your mind could be the very thing that keeps you out of heaven.

[39:17] We’re dealing with things that are very, very, very important tonight.
It’s time for you to address them. There was one thing missing in this man’s life. He had many things in life. What an impressive thing. He was a rich man. He was wealthy. He had accomplishments.
He had assets. If you look and study it closely, he was probably under 40. Some have wondered if he was a religious lay reader, a Pharisee on retainer who filled in for the regulars, like a substitute teacher would do, and these people were paid well, they lived a very careful, scrupulous life before the community, they weren’t party animals or anything like that, they lived honorable lives because they might have to substitute for the rabbis, for the teachers.
And the Bible says, for wealth, an abundance of possessions. I don’t know what it was.
Here he’s going over his inventory of all his assets, and he says, I’ve got this, I’ve got that, I’ve got this, and what are my stocks doing today?
Huh? Well, good.

[40:26] And he looks at all these things, and then he thinks, but I don’t have eternal life.
I may have a golden chariot.
I may have a beautiful home. I may have lots of money in the bank, but I don’t have eternal life.
I don’t know what assets you have, what accomplishments you have, but if you don’t have eternal life, you’re poverty stricken.
As rich as you might think you are, you’re living in poverty every day if you don’t have eternal life.
Oh, God is offering you eternal life tonight. It’s a free gift.

[41:10] Would you like eternal life? Do you know eternal life isn’t passed out after someone dies?
My father used to have that notion.
He thinks he got it from his grandma.
That someday, Judgment Day, we’ll go out to meet God and there’ll be this big set of scales, and God will take all your bad things and put them on this side and you’ll put all your good things in your prayers and everything over here.
And then God will step back and look and see which way the scale is going to…
Oh! Come on in! Eternal life.
But nothing could be further from the truth. It will not be like that.
If you don’t have eternal life before you breathe your last and your pulse is gone, you’ll never get eternal life after you die.

[42:01] You must have eternal life in this life, or you’ll never have it for eternity. This man, I don’t know whether it was a dream.
It may have been a close call.
Maybe he was going around the corner in his chariot and the wheel went over there, almost into the ditch and he almost tipped. I don’t know, the Bible doesn’t tell us.
One thing jolted him to his senses.
I don’t have eternal life.
Oh, what happens if I die tonight?
I don’t have, but do you have eternal life?

[42:41] Something woke this man up. How do I know he was awakened? Something was missing in his life?
I know this. When a rich man bolts out his door and starts running, the neighbors all put up their blankets and say, oh, what? He’s in a panic. He’s running.
Rich men don’t run. Calm, cool, eclectic, even when their hearts are churned up inside, rich men try to pretend everything’s under control. Oh, but this man didn’t care.
They didn’t care whether the neighbors were laughing at him.
All he thought is I don’t have eternal life.
And he’s running, running down the road, kicking up the dust under his feet.

[43:37] Did you ever run for eternal life? Or maybe not physically, but did you ever come to a tent service like this and say, Oh, I have to get eternal life.
This is urgent.
For this man, it was urgent. Eternal life is worth running for.
One thing was missing in his life.
Eternal life was missing. There was one thing wrong in his thinking.
So it was one thing wrong in his thinking, he doesn’t earn it.
He had a lot of right thoughts.
He was right about his urgency.
Eternal life is worth running for. He was right knowing that Jesus is the one to run to.
You don’t run to a church.
Eternal life isn’t found in a religion.
Eternal life, as you’ve been hearing about in forgiveness of sin, is found in Jesus Christ alone.
And that’s exactly, he was right about that. He came to Jesus for the answer.
And his need for eternal life was correct, but he had one fatal thought.
What is it I have to do? I’ve done everything else in life to get where I got.

[44:43] And a lot of people stumble over that. I wonder if you’re stumbling over it.
Is that your one thing?
You say, but there must be something I have to do. It can’t be just as simple as that, that Jesus paid my sin debt in full 2,000 years ago and all I need to do is trust him as my savior, and thank him for shedding his blood for my sins.
If there must be something I contribute, absolutely nothing you contribute.

[45:16] You can’t gain eternal life, you are given eternal life. So there’s one thing missing in his life, there was one thing wrong in his thinking, there was also one thing hidden in his heart.
One thing. Remember when Jesus said, well, what about the commandments?
Honor your father and your mother.
Yes, I was a good son.
Honor my mom and dad, yes.
Any others on that list?
Yeah, don’t bear false witness. Don’t tell lies to the neighbors.
Leo, check mark there.

[45:56] Don’t commit adultery.
No, I’m fine there too. I mean, oh, I’m going to.
But Jesus didn’t go over the 10, and that man wasn’t honest enough to say, Jesus, you know, there’s another commandment that I am, I’ve never kept.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. He didn’t tell, see, the Lord Jesus didn’t go there.
He wanted to see if the man was going to be honest. And Jesus didn’t say it. And the man didn’t volunteer the information. He didn’t say, you know, that thing about not having any other gods before God himself. I would have to say in my life that money was a god, and I’m guilty of breaking that commandment. No. What Jesus doesn’t know, I’m not going to tell him. I’m not going to offer any additional information. Do you know if you’re ever going to be in in heaven, you will have to be 100% honest with God, about who you are.

[47:03] This man wasn’t honest. You see, people don’t like, sometimes when we speak from the Bible like this, and they don’t like reading the Bible because you know what the Bible does?
It cuts through. The Bible, Hebrews 4 says, it’s a living word and it’s sharper than a two-edged sword, and all the camouflage, all the facade, all the screening we may have.
When you open the Bible, it cuts through all the layers, just like peeling an onion.
How many layers does an onion have? How many layers do I have?
How many layers do you have?
If you’re ever going to have eternal life, if you’re ever going to have the forgiveness of sins, you’re gonna have to be 100% honest with God.

[47:54] He was nothing he could do, what he was lacking, he was lacking honesty, he was lacking eternal life.
You know, he treasured possessions more. As I’m in my 60s and I’ve traveled around a little bit and I’ve preached to quite a few people.
And I can go from the East Coast to the very West Coast, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
And I can think of people, their faces come before me, just while I was sitting there listening to chorale.
I was just thinking of people who sat in gospel services.
One university student dropped out of university. He was so bothered about his soul and his relationship with God.
He dropped out of universities until he got right with God. And I remember being in the living room and I walked in and he had Bibles open on the floor and he just could not believe.
His problem was on the leap.
And to this day, he’s rarely ever come back to a gospel meeting, reached that corner in his life.
Toronto, Canada. I remember just after 9-11, Jeannie came. She was a awkwardly mobile business person, and she came and sat intently in the gospel meetings, took notes, shed tears, went out for coffee with us.
Coffee with us?” It condoned her boyfriend out in California.

[49:22] And I remember that she came to one more meeting, laughing and talking and said goodbye.
Her boyfriend, her one thing was, would she lose her boyfriend?
I think of a young man in the West Coast. He’d come up right to the front at the end of the meeting and he said, that sounds amazing.
Do you have all your sins forgiven?
We went out for breakfast the next morning And then he said, but I love poker too much. That was Sean.
A young lady just down the road here, it was her family.
I want Jesus, but what impact will it have on my family?
I just saw her last month. That was a way back in the early 2000s.
And that young lady wrestled with that because her family had a different belief system.
I’m glad Kristen made the right decision.
She chose Christ. I wonder what your issue is tonight. This man, when he realized it’s my money or Jesus.

[50:38] He realized my money is more important. Money is a God of my life.
I don’t want the God of the universe.
And he turned around and he walked away. I think he was probably sobbing, walking away from Jesus, the one who could give eternal life.
He’s walked away as we close the meeting this evening.
But here’s one thing, you’ve heard wonderful news that you’re gonna peace this evening.
You’re gonna have the forgiveness of sins.
But as you listen, So one thing that keeps coming into your mind, yes, but…

[51:20] That is the one thing, if we could roll back the curtains of eternity 2,000 years later, and talk to that man in his 40s that came to Jesus on the road that day and say, Sir, do you have any regrets about the choice you made on the road that day?
Say, one thing haunts me, that I looked into the very eyes of one who loved me, and I loved something else so much, that I turned around and I walked away from him.
Something, that one thing, whatever that one thing is this evening, if you lose your soul over it, it will haunt you forever.
Offer. Our prayer is that you will just put to the side any obstacle and focus on the Lord Jesus Christ tonight, and He offers you eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, and peace is all available to you. Don’t turn away from Christ is our plea and is our prayer.

Filed under: Gospel Series, crawford-kory, ramsay-peter