Chief of Sinners — Joshua Daniel

Welcome to the Lord's Challenge with Joshua Daniel. The Layman's Evangelical Fellowship International is a ministry reaching people from all walks of life since 1935. After a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ at the age of 16, Joshua Daniel has been declaring the marvellous deliverance from sin, which is freely given to all those who turn to the loving Saviour.

Wherever this message has gone out, broken relationships have been restored, sickness healed, ill-gotten money returned and thieves turned into givers. We now invite you to watch and receive the invaluable blessing that God has for you.

Christ Came to Save Sinners

Now folks, here in the first.

Chapter of Timothy and the 15th verse, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. You see, when I feel that I have sinned and come short of the glory of God, my sin becomes very real.

The Cross and the Death of Self

You know, I see a lot of people, we want God's blessing and preachers themselves. I say, I don't want to have a crossless preacher on my platform. Someone who has not experienced the power of the cross.

You see, the cross spells death to self-life. Perilous days will come in the last days when men shall be lovers of their own selves. You see, fathers have lost their responsibility. The very word father has not got the connotation that it should have and is meant to have.

And so, the children say, I don't relate to my father. And some say, I don't speak to my mother. What? How sad. And there is in the midst of this jungle, moral jungle. You see, the connotation of sin itself has gone, thrown to the winds.

And so, the cross is not presented. You see, and we have a crossless Christianity. I should have it, you know, sumptuously. I should buy this and buy that. You know, contentment, godliness with contentment is great gain.

There's no contentment. People are not, you know, satisfied. One can almost question what is going to satisfy you. You know, I asked a man who had been in Saudi Arabia, how many wives do they have there?

And the answer was, depending on how rich you are. You see, my dear friends, even wives have become a dispensable commodity. And we are living in a moral jungle. And if we are going to say, I am fine and I'm content, what are you content about?

Content about being in a jungle? Oh, dear folks, we should not be blinded by the lies of the media depicting a false, artificial, tinsel picture. I am chief of sinners. Earlier, he says, Christ has put me in charge of the ministry.

Who was before? A blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious. You know, St. Paul makes no bones of his old state or while he's described his old state. He put it factually. See, now I don't see any talk of sin.

God will bless you. God will prosper you. Okay, we live in a cheerless world. We live with much suffering around us. There are many unemployed people, depending on the country which you're speaking of.

And money, of course, is in short supply. And therefore, people are at sixes and sevens. There is no moral responsibility. Now, many years ago, you know, having been and I always address a lot of students and young people continually, I asked a teacher in America, how about cheating in the examinations?

Moral Responsibility in Education and Society

He said, oh, it goes on. There's so much of it. What? Cheating in the examination? We used to be debarred for some years if we were caught cheating. We couldn't write the same examination for some years.

That's how it used to be. But today, even professors teach others, the students, how to cheat. You know, I have had students tell me, oh, the invigilator professor came by and he said, you're doing the wrong thing.

This is how it goes. And I declined his help. I said I would rather fail the examination than cheat. So, my dear friends, in every way possible, cheating is going on. I heard a word which I never heard before.

When I started preaching in America, oh, he is cheating on his wife. What? Cheating on your wife? I'd never heard that phrase before. But mark you, dear friends, living as we are with this kind of wild society around us, how can we be, what shall I say, passive as though we are not involved?

The trouble is we do not know the seriousness of sin. You know, we were talking this morning John was of that great reformer Wilberforce, William Wilberforce. But what is not mentioned generally is that he had two objectives.

Wilberforce and the Reform of Public Morality

One was abolition of the slave trade. And as was pointed out, the economy rested upon the slave trade at that time. And here was a man who took on these powerful groups of merchants and others. The royal family was against him.

The cabinet was against him. And when he first put out the bill trying to show the British nation how immoral this slave trade was, oh, it was laughed out of court. It was defeated by a great big majority.

And his second objective was to change the English manners. What? English manners. And that was a difficult thing to do. You know, the artificiality and all that goes with it. He took it on and he was partially successful.

But it is hardly known or mentioned that he did so. Now, in the episode to the Philippians, the third chapter, sixth verse, you know, St. Paul speaks of how he was a scholar, a Pharisee, and then concerning zeal, persecuting the church.

Paul's Persecution and the Need for Daily Crucifixion

You know, Paul, Paul, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? You see, we don't see our relationship to the cross. Sin becomes a habit and almost a play thing. You know, why do we want the cross when sin is no problem?

Why do you need the cross? That's why the cross of Jesus is hardly mentioned. I need the cross every day I do. I need to be crucified with Christ. Otherwise, my evil propensities, the old man may come up again.

You know, who did no sin and in him was no guile. What guile? It's everywhere. You know, pretending to be what you're not. It's everywhere. It's on the pulpit. Why? The cross is not there. I never saw guile in my parents.

You know, my dear friends, truth was very precious to them. So, there was no pretense, no putting on airs, or taking glory to themselves. None of that. No greed, no covetousness. I don't know what the children are learning from you.

But St. Paul was quite aware of his old state. I was a blasphemer. I was a persecutor. And when the blood of thy martyr, Stephen was shed, I also was standing by. My, he had hardened himself so much. The way people are killing each other in numerous countries today, in African countries.

Freedom, Sexual Ethics, and Moral Restraint

Of course, recently, Mr. Mandela was spoken of so highly. All right. Freedom does not mean license. We take freedom today as license. License to do anything. So, America has chosen to say, okay, we will celebrate homosexual weddings.

And some churches have chosen to make such people their ministers. There is no more consciousness or awareness of that sin. And that heathen country, India, and the Supreme Court there has ruled that homosexuality is illegal.

You see, folks, the heathen are having to teach us, idolaters. Oh, what a sad day. What a shameful day. And so, here we see St. Paul in his testimony when he was arrested. He said, when the blood of your martyr, Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting unto his death and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

Here was Paul, who took a very active part in the martyrdom of Stephen. You know that consciousness, I am the chief of sinners. John Bunyan named one of his books, The Grace of God to the Chief of Sinners.

John Bunyan and the Consciousness of Sin

And as a matter of fact, he used to go and climb up to the steeple to attract attention. He was a naughty person and threatened to jump and would catch the attention of all the people. And one of the most foul-mouthed women in his town turned upon him one day and rebuked him for his foul language.

You know, that was John Bunyan, the writer of Pilgrim's Progress. Now, the consciousness of why the cross? It's because I am a sinner. My old man, my old life has to be crucified with Christ. No, you will find very little difference between the church and the world.

Moral Responsibility in the Church and Family

As long as people are in a building, which is called the church, they will sing, they will dance, they will do almost anything. But then they go out and there is no moral restraint or responsibility. What do you mean?

How can you call it the church? You know, one of the problems that is crippling great big cities and reducing them to bankruptcy is teenage illegitimate children. So, the state has to take care of three babies, illegitimate children, and the man runs away.

And these children don't relate to each other. They belong to various fathers. My, no moral responsibility. And the church is full of such people who have shown no regard for virginity. Christmas, for unto you is born this day of a virgin.

The values of Christmas are only for the shopkeeper to enjoy, for Oxford Street to grow richer. What? And the same values of complete irresponsibility, moral irresponsibility within the church. Just, you know, my dear friends, when it comes to marriage these days, I find that, oh, to participate in marriages, I find it to be a very grave responsibility because nobody wants to tell the truth.

What? My boy has got a psychiatrist's attention, which he requires. One girl, one godly girl got married and the boy tells her, I am a psychopath. I will make you one and goes on hammering her. You know, my dear friends, people want me to be present or preach at weddings.

I find it so difficult these days. Selfishness, greed, lying, cheating, everything comes into weddings and there is no peace. What a sad condition. This is a faithful saint and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

Prayer for Revival and Renewal

Let us pray. Lord, you came to save that which is lost. You did not come for the righteous, you said. Oh, let righteousness come out of this country. Oh, my father, we beg you, Lord, come and visit us with revival.

We need revival in our own hearts. Oh, God, we want that warmth of the Holy Spirit, that burning fire that consumes the tin and the dross, a state of ignorance where we are not even prepared to acknowledge the dross which needs to be burnt out.

Oh, God, visit us, we pray in Jesus' holy name. Amen.

His or Her Corner of the World. Please write and if you have a prayer request or concern you would like to share, please do let us know. You can email us at post at lefi .org or visit our website at lefi .org.

Our mailing address is LEFI PO Box 1072 Armidale WA 6992. Until we meet again next week, may God bless you.