Two Men Who Were Martyrs Able and Stephen — Svend Christensen

We're glad to see someone here this evening hour. We want to welcome you in the name of our wonderful Savior, the Lord Jesus. May you have a real blessing tonight. May the Lord speak to every one of your hearts as the Word is presented.

And we thank the Lord that we can come here tonight to just give Him all the glory. We have our chorus we're going to start with. His name is wonderful. We're going to stand and sing it through class.

Let's stand and sing it. You did such a good job last night. Continue the good work tonight. Sing it right out the door.

We're going to turn that songbook to sing one of our favorite hymns.

One hundred and seventy six. One hundred and seventy six. Oh believe it. One hundred and seventy six. You're my big choir now. You've got to be singing out tonight. Everybody sing it. Joy in your heart to the Lord.

You've got to believe it tonight brother. Amen.

There's a story of a new wonderful man. Who has the best that you can give.

Brother Mr. Hubert Tillman from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada to lead us in prayer. Mrs. Tillman. We would not come into thy presence in our own merits. But we come in the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son.

Thou has told us that we should come in that name. Because we know that he is the darling of thy bosom. And that we are his children. Tonight our Father. As we seek again. To give forth the gospel message.

We realize that we're absolutely dependent upon thy Holy Spirit. We pray that thy Spirit might be very manifest in our midst. We pray our Father that he might search hearts. That he might go from heart to heart.

And see the need that is in the heart. And that the message might be given forth that will satisfy the need that is in each heart. We thank thee our Father for the gospel that we have to proclaim. We thank thee for the Lord Jesus Christ.

We thank thee that he came from thy side. And that he lived among men a perfect life. So perfect that he was accepted of thee. That he could offer himself a sacrifice. And vowed to accept that sacrifice in our room instead.

We thank thee our Father that he gave his life. He took our sins upon himself. And then he gave his life as a ransom for our sins. He went to the tomb. He rose again. And he's now at thy right hand. Interceding for us.

We pray our Father for each one who is in our gathering tonight. For the need of each one. Some have problems. Some have illness. Some are aged and infirm. Thou knowest the problems that are in each one's heart.

We pray that thou would see the blessing for each one. We thank thee our Father for each one that is in our midst tonight. Some of our friends our Father who have come from other places. And are interested in a work elsewhere.

We pray thy blessing upon that work wherever they are. That the gospel there might be effective in bringing the lost of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we pray for our brother. We pray thou would give to him that which he needs tonight.

Make him conscious of thy presence with him. We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ might be glorified tonight. Through the salvation of some precious souls. We pray it in his name. Amen. Thank you Mr. Tillman.

It's a great joy to have visitors tonight. We welcome you all. We're glad to have you. We'd like to please sign our guest book as you go out. It's on the right side on the table going out. Give us your name and address so that from time to time we can let you know about our special meetings.

Park of the Palms is famous for our Bible conference. We have a Bible conference in the winter which lasts for three months. Thirteen weeks. Two meetings a day. Every day except Monday for thirteen weeks.

With a different speaker every week. And we really have deep real precious Bible teaching here. And so we'd like to send our brochures from time to time and let you know about these things. These present meetings, this special gospel series will last all this week through not Saturday night but every other night.

7 .30 through Sunday. Through next Sunday night. With our brother Mr. Sven Christensen from Orlando. Of course Mr. Christensen really comes from Denmark and spent many years in Canada. Came over here when he was young.

And he's worked and served the Lord in Canada. God has blessed him. But for the last 12 years I expect he's been down in Orlando, Florida. And God has given him a great work down there. Good to have our brother Sven with us.

Now one or two little details. And a local detail. Every Tuesday morning we have a, we call it our prayer meeting morning. We have a men's prayer meeting here in the chapel at 9 .30 every Tuesday morning.

We get about 20 men here. Praying and waiting upon God for his blessing. And then at 10 .30 a women's prayer meeting down in the lounge down by the lakeside. Because they get about 30 to 40 women. But we believe in prayer.

And God is answering our prayers. And then also this week. During this gospel campaign week. We're having another special prayer meeting for the men. 2 .30 here in the chapel. On Tuesday. The second Tuesday of each month.

We have a birthday dinner. Tomorrow is the second Tuesday of the month. So at noon tomorrow. We'd like to invite you. If you care to join us. In our dining room. They were asking me tonight. How many for dinner tomorrow?

I said 100. Maybe 110. So come and scroll the numbers. And there will be plenty of food. But you know we meet once a month. To celebrate our birthdays. And everybody who gets a birthday in that month.

We sing happy birthday to them. Fool around a bit. Have some candles on a cake. And blow them out. But we just enjoy ourselves. Because some people think. We're a lot of old people. But I think the singing tonight.

For one thing proves we're not old. We have a motto here you know. We say an old person. Is a person 15 years older than I am. Never mind how old I am. If I'm only 15. Well a person 30 seems pretty old to me.

But when I'm 30. It's the fellow 45 that's old. When I'm 45. I don't feel a bit older. But the man 60. He's old. And some of us are over 70. So we look upon to these up in the 80s. Let's be careful. There's some in the 80s here.

So I mustn't say it. But nobody's old here. But we admit one thing. We're getting older. But then that was true when we were 16 too. That we're getting older. So we try and keep young. Some of us swim every day.

And we sing. And we just enjoy life. We wanted to come and enjoy ourselves. If you can join us. Midday tomorrow at 12. Please do so. And all the meetings this week. If you can come. We have plenty of these little hand bill notices to give out.

Plenty of them. They're on the table there. Get some and give them to your friends and invite them. And for more of the others to go in the windows. And on the car windows and so on. There's plenty of them there.

We just want everybody to know about these meetings. And we want everybody to come. So please tell your friends. We're so glad to have you with us. I think these are all our announcements. Turn the rest over to Mr. Morris Anderson.

I sometimes call him Andy Morrison. And he doesn't like that. But his name is Morris Anderson. And we're so glad to have him leading our singing. Morris, do you think you're going to perform on your own again?

Thank you. We're going to sing Blessed Assurance. Jesus is mine. Number 41 in your song book. We're singing it crusade style. When it comes to the chorus. I think you all know that pretty well. It's up there in the middle line there.

This is my story. Number 41. One of the blessed songs of Fanny Cross. It's Mr. Anderson and his sister. Mr. Anderson and his sister. Tonight, King James Version. But I want to have two different scriptures before me tonight.

Abel and Stephen: Two Martyrs Who Came by Faith

I'll be turning forth and back. Last night we spoke with two men. Now tonight we've got two martyrs. One in the Old Testament. One in the New. So I'm going to speak about some of the comparisons between them first.

And then I'll speak the main message on one of these. How it illustrates what we have in the world today. Maybe I'll give you a little hint to religion. Now if you have the answer for the two men two martyrs, raise your hand.

Lady there, fine. Anybody else? This is Lady. I see you've got your hand up. Would you be afraid to? I know her. Able? She's very good. You had both. Did you have both of those? Did you have both? Now then, tomorrow night that's an easy one.

Two men who went to heaven without dying. That's really easy. Wednesday night may not be so easy. A pensioner maybe. Two chief of sinners. One in the Old Testament. One in the New. And I want you to keep in mind these are two chief of sinners that could save.

Keep that in mind. There's all kinds of bare colors back there. Some of them didn't get saved. These were men that were real much against the Lord and they were completely turned about. One in the Old and one in the New.

Now Thursday night three rules of the Bible. Three definite myths. Then on Friday night there were two big ships. Two ships on their last Sunday night. Two Jewish kings on whom was pronounced judgment and it was executed.

Fulfilled the very scripture. Very very exactly fulfilled. Now then you have your Bible turned first to the book of Genesis chapter three. We'll just read a few verses here. And Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bared Cain and said I've gotten a man from the Lord.

She again bared his brother Abel and Abel was a keeper of sheep. But Cain was the tiller of the ground. And once at that time it came to pass that Cain brought on the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

And Abel he also brought on the crust of the flock and the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. Cain was very rough and his countenance there.

The Lord said unto Cain why art thou rough? Why is thy countenance fallen? If thou do well shalt thou not be accepted and if thou do not well send off a lion at the door. Unto thee shall it be his desire and thou shalt rule over him.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother and it came to pass when there was a field that Cain holed up against Abel his brother and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain where is Abel thy brother? And he said I know not.

Am I my brother's keeper? And he said what has the voice of my brother crying unto me from the ground? And now art thou christened from the earth which hath opened up opened a mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hands.

And so on. Verse fourteen. Behold thou hath delivered me out this day. In Hebrews eleven I'll just read one verse there, verse four where we get the commentary of God the Holy Spirit about Abel by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain by the which he obtained witness that he was righteous for testifying of his gift and by it he being dead yet speaking.

And then in of course in Acts chapter seven we have the martyrdom of Stephen the first man to die but that is recorded to die for the faith of the Lord Jesus. Now I want to give you a quick, a few comparisons between these two men and I think there's several I've marked down eight you may find others or think of others how these two men compare.

Faith in Divine Revelation and Salvation

First thing is there were both obedient to the divine revelation as to the approach of God that both came by faith. Abel believed God he was justified by faith. God says to Adam and Eve the way you come is by the sacrifice through the shedding of blood, putting on the skin, foot and skin and that message was relayed to Abel and he believed that he had the offering of the lamb because without the shedding of blood there's no remission.

And in Acts chapter six and verse five you read that when Stephen was told there was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit he was a man that trusted the Lord Jesus and a man full of the Holy Spirit.

If any man had not the spirit of Christ he's none of his. There were two men that believed the revelation of God concerning salvation. Both was not by work but by faith. Secondly both had a testimony for God both had a testimony for God in chapter four.

Abel and Stephen's Testimony for God

Genesis verse four it says and Abel or he also brought of the first things of his luck and of the fact thereof. And we read in Hebrews 11 how God he had this testimony that he was accepted of God he was accepted in his sacrifice so he had a testimony he being dead yet speaking and Stephen he certainly had a testimony for God.

Look at Acts chapter six probably wise to hold your finger open in there and go to both these places. Verse ten they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Verse fifteen and all that sat in the council looked steadfastly on him so his face as it had been the face of an angel.

And all chapter seven is determined by Stephen testifying to the grace of God. Both had a real testimony for God. I wonder do you have a testimony for God? Are you tonight trusting only in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus like these men were?

Opposition from Those Trusting in Works

Thirdly the both hated by those who trusted in their own works. The both hated by those who trusted in their own works. And that's all was the case. It's not till after you're saved that those who are trusting in works will turn against you.

I remember when I got saved I had some religious friends before I was saved. People I kind of looked up to. They were religious and I thought when they hear about me getting saved they'll be so happy.

And to my amazement they were the ones that turned against me. They had religion but they didn't have Christ. And so, these two men were both hated by men that trusted in their work. Cain brought his works in his own hands.

These religious leaders that Stephen was addressing were men that were trusting in their own rights and having a righteousness of their own. The kind of to establish their own righteousness and all that.

And these are the people that are mostly at enmity against God. My friend, there's more people going to hell or religion than anything else. I hope you're not here tonight just with religion. Because religion can keep you from God.

The first time I ever heard the gospel was in Halifax. I remember hearing the gospel clearly. As my brother and I were there together. He was two and a half years older than I am. I'm the baby of the family.

I'm not a very young baby anymore. But as we came to the door, he recognized we were strangers. And he shook our hands and he said to my brother who was reading the way, he said, are you saved boys? And my brother said, we have our own church.

Out he went and right back there. We have our own church. It was an armor against the gospel, so be careful that you have nothing less than Jesus' blood and flesh. Then they were both accosted by those who resisted and rejected the truth.

Resisting God's Truth

Look at Genesis 4, 6, and 7. Cain is God's offering and God had no respect to it. And Cain in verse 7 was given an opportunity to bring us an offering, but he rejected that offer. And Stephen addressing these men in Acts 7, chapter 51, he says that ye sit next and circumcised in hundred years.

Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost that your Father did through to ye. They have resisted the truth of God. It's a terrible thing to resist the truth of God. Be careful if you're here tonight and you're not saved, you don't resist it just once through that age.

These are being awfully crude and his hundred necks shall suddenly cut off and they will not know many. They resisted the truth. Number five, both were accosted by ones whom God said their works were evil.

Evil Works and Rejection of the Prophets

I have a couple of scriptures in connection with that. I turn to the eleventh chapter of Luke. The eleventh chapter of Luke, and I want to tie it in with one of the first John. And also with this one about Stephen, so you'll see the connection.

The eleventh chapter of Luke, and we'll begin at 45. This is the last part. He says, Here these lawyers, they're saying to the Lord, Master, now say, now he spoke it up also. And he said, Woe unto ye, all ye lawyers, for ye laid men with burdens previously borne, and ye yourselves touched not burdens with one of your fingers.

Woe unto you, for ye built sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye are allowed a piece of your fathers. For ye indeed killed them, and ye built their sepulchres.

Therefore, to test the wisdom of God, I'll send the prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation from the blood of Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the temples.

Note that the wicked works again in verse 52. Woe unto you, lawyers, for ye have taken away the key of knowledge ye entered within yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. Now turn to 1 John, the first epistle of John, chapter 3, verse 12.

Ask Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. Wherefore slew he him? Because his old works were evil, and his brother righteous. So we see they were accosted by one whom God said had works that were evil.

Look at Acts 7 .52 -53, connected with Stephen. He says here to them, Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? Doesn't that sound the same as you get in Luke? And they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the just one of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers.

You talk about a man who is courageous. You know, Stephen is the full man, full of faith, full of the Holy Spirit, full of power, full of courage, full of the word of God. He is a full man in the right sense, and he charges them with their wicked works.

Anger, Martyrdom, and Death

That brings on more. Number six. Both were accosted and killed by angry foes. In the chapter 4, Genesis, verse 5, and it says Cain was very lost. He was very angry. And I'll tell you, friend, if you'll not repent of the gospel, and you'll cover up yourself with your own righteousness, and you hear the gospel, and it denounces you in the presence of God, you're nothing but a Lord's sinner, you'll become angry.

And they became angry, and the result of his anger was in their faith. They talked with Abel, his brother, and it came to pass when there went a field that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and he slew him.

Chapter 7, verse 54,. And when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. This is all about people being angry, gnashing with their teeth. Verse 57,.

And they cried out with a loud voice, and they stuck their ears, and they ran upon him with one accord, and they cast him out of the city, and they stoned him. And witnesses lay down their clothes, and the young man, see whose name was called, was killed by angry foes.

You might say both died for their faith. That's what a martyr did. Both died for their faith. And then, lastly, both preached after their death. That's in Hebrews 11, verse 4,. He being dead yet speaking.

And you know in Acts chapter 22, and verse 20, when Paul gives his testimony, he refers,. And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by. That scene of the death of Stephen, his face looking like an angel looking up into the face of Jesus, the face of Jesus was reflected on the face of Stephen.

And that scene never left Paul, and it left for his conversion. He being dead yet speaking. And so his servant still preaches on, as you'll read in the book of Acts chapter 7, how that man still speaks on.

Cain and Abel: Two Religions and Two Offerings

Well, let's turn now to the book of Genesis. We'll have a little bit about the two religions. In chapter 3, we have the first sin. Chapter 4, we have the first crime. I suppose Sir Cain will feel he has been watching television, seeing some of these murders going on.

Is that how he learned to murder his brother? Maybe he'd been reading them all in the newspaper and read about some of these murders. Thought he'd do the same, you know. There was no television from the West, there was no newspaper from the weeds, there was none of these wild stories, murderous stories from the weeds.

Well, how in the world did he know how to murder someone? By one man's sin entered into the world. It's the product of sin. The first man born from Adam and Eve was a murderer. Well, let's quickly look at why is this.

First, the two operas, Cain and Abel. Secondly, they're prompting. So what? Let them two bring the offering. Then the two offerings themselves. The two restocks. Lastly, the message. First, the two operas, the book, sons of the same parents, both at the same opportunity.

Cain, he was the first child. Just think, whenever he was born, when Cain was born, he was born as a beautiful little baby, held true by his mother. She said, I've gotten a man from the Lord, already forsaking God and fulfilling his promise about the Messiah.

The Universality and Inherited Power of Sin

But hidden in that boy's heart was that thing called sin, right in there. So when you tell a mother that's a new baby, there's another little sinner, because that's not a vein. They don't like that too well.

You can understand that, but it's true. There's another little sinner. With all the potential of putting the wicked heart, desperately wicked, distinct from above all things, that lovely little baby, my friend, that she poured into the world, became a murderer.

Right in there. People are born sinners. I got it from my father. He, from his heart, will go right back to Adam. You never have to teach a child to lie. You never have to teach them to steal, or to fight, or get into trouble, into mischief.

You don't have to teach them anything like that. It just comes out. It's as natural as a piece of cow being poured weeds without sowing it. You don't have to sow your weeds in your garden. No. It's right there.

That's the result of sin, and that's the evidence. And it's natural for a sinner to sin. Just as it's natural for a curse to produce weeds and thistles and all that stuff. Stuff like that. Now, this boy, he was born, and he came from a home that recognized God, that had dealings with God.

He had a very godly father. But you can have godly brothers, you can have a godly husband, you can have a godly dad and mother, you can have all kinds of godly relations, and go to hell yourself. It's not a question of who you're related to.

Humanly speaking, it's a question of who you're related to. Divinely speaking. You have to be rightly related to the Lord. You're in an orderly occupation. He was the son of a clown, a farmer, and furthermore, he was a religious fellow.

Had the same background, lived in the same home, brought up, taught the same way. He was a shepherd, the first shepherd. God, he's a beautiful picture to the Lord Jesus in that aspect. Here you have the two offers.

Two boys with all the same opportunities. Now, what made them bring the offering? What prompted them? The sense of guilt. They knew in their hearts that they were sinners, and they knew that they had to bring something that would make them accessible to God.

God's Revelation of Sacrifice

Now, they had been given the revelation how to be accepted in Genesis chapter three, verse twenty-one. Adam, altar, and his wife did the Lord God make coats unto them. He made coats of skins and clothes there.

I'm just as sure as I'm standing here tonight that Adam and Eve had his message on. How else would Abel have known? They both got the same message. They both understood that. They realized they must bring an offering.

But, you know, Cain was one of these fellows that he felt he knew better. Now, some people, you know, you can't tell them anything. They know it all. They get a little bit of education. They get lined up under a few sort of brilliant professors and so forth, and some of the good old-fashioned teaching they've had, they're going to throw it out the door and they say, these people, they're only old folk.

We know better. We're a new generation, and so on. With all that beauty, philosophy, and wisdom, Cain was one of these fellows. Now, Cain, the two offerings, Cain's offering was probably much more beautiful than Abel's.

The best that he could produce, beautiful fruit and vegetables. I can just picture in my mind a beautiful basket, something you'd like to see caught in a Thanksgiving time. Why would he be proud of that?

He's coming to present this thing he worked so hard for, to produce, and to present to the Lord. Work of his own hand. Awfully beautiful, but my friend, there's something definitely wrong here. It was offered in self-will.

He brought what he thought the Lord should have. In disobedience to the revelation of God, in self-will, that's how he brought his offering. Don't let's invert five, but under Cain and his offering, God had not respect.

Couldn't accept it. But what about Abel? It was the thrustering of the flock, isn't it? I like that. Abel, he ought to have brought the thrustering of his flock firstborn. Now, this wasn't a very beautiful thing to take a little lamb and kill it and shed its blood and pour it out.

But this is what God asked for. God says, I can without the shedding of blood there's no remission for sin. It's the flock that make a day at home, and when you come, you must come and bring an offering.

So when Cain came, and he built his home, and he put that lamb on there's frame, and shedding its blood, Abel said like this, Lord, I'm a sinner. I have no righteousness of my own, but this lamb is dying in my room and in my stead.

He's taken in my place. And he laid his hands upon the lamb. He identified himself with the lamb. He said, Lord, accept me in my offering. And that's exactly what God did according to Hebrews 11. God accepted Abel in his offering.

Christ as the Lamb and the Basis of Acceptance

And so we accepted in Christ as we said last night. We accepted in all the loveliness of Christ. And this lamb pointed forward to Christ. That's why John, when he came to see that he saw the Lord Jesus, he said, Behold, the Lamb of God!

Here's the one that Abel and speak about. And Abel and Lamb, of course, would have been a poet. They would never have pointed forward to the cross. Before the cross, they looked forward. They were saved by grace through faith just the same as we're saved today.

To sacrifice, to praise the Lord. He said, I'm not doing anything of my own, but it's my own work. Here's a lamb you'll give life to. And that lamb has laid down his life for me. It's time for me. And God accepted him.

God had respect in his offering. We accepted him in his offering. And that's the simple way of salvation. We have it there in Hebrews 11. Let me read it to you just once more. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain's.

By which? By the offering. He obtained witness that he was righteous. He was righteous. He was accepted in that offering. God testified of his gift. God vindicated him. And by it he vindicated Jesus. Tonight, when you receive the Lord Jesus Christ, God says, He that hath the Son hath life.

The one who has made sin God, who knew no sin, he becomes the righteousness of God in him. That's a tremendous thing to be paid, to be accepted in the beloved. And that was Abel's wife. Now, notice the two results.

Cain's Rejection and God's Call to Repentance

Cain was refused by God. He was prized at that. And the attitude of Cain was so bad here. God admonishes him. Isn't the Lord long suffering? Even though after he became angry, you accepted Abel, but you wouldn't accept mine?

God says, You can still bring a sin off me. I can only accept you like that. And, friend, listen, tonight, the only way God can accept you is in Christ. I don't care how good you are, how religious you are, how many good works you bring to God, how much money you may give to God, how much everything else you may bring to God.

God cannot accept it. Leave it all and come and just talk to Lord Jesus. But this man instead of listening to the grace of God, the loving entreaties of God, he went out and he did terrible things. What an awful thing took place there.

And then he gets going for himself. Notice Abel, commended, speaks the same today. God still treats Cain the same way. Now, what's the lesson for us tonight? There's a few practical lessons here. Look at verse nine.

You Cannot Hide Sin from God

The Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? You cannot hide from God. You cannot hide your sin from God. God is concerned. Last night we spoke about God calling out to Aaron. Aaron, where art thou?

Tonight he's asking a question again. Where is Abel thy brother? We're talking about the house tonight, one dear sister pointed out. Speaking to all those Christians, where is thy brother tonight? Where is your loved one?

Are they same? But here is a question evolving. Seeking to convict him of his sin. Where is your father? Will you hold up to it? And like his father he covers up. Like sinners, they want to cover up. Where is Abel thy father?

I want a straight answer. And one sin leads to another. He lies. After he's learned it, he lies. He says, I know not. Whole ways and lies. I know not. Be sure your sin will find you out. Jude 11 warns us of the way of pain.

The Way of Cain and the Judgment of Sin

It'll go to Jude verse 11. Think about going the way of pain. What's the way of pain? It's trying to get saved by your own work. Putting aside the message and the revelation of God going your own way.

Trying to be saved by your own righteousness. That's going the way of pain. And I'll tell you, friend, it'll lead to the same end of pain. A judgment was pronounced upon him. He'll back upon him. He'll wander the earth, and he went out from the presence of the Lord.

The awfulness of hell, the lake of fire will be forever separated from God. Banished from God. Outside. In eternal darkness, where there's weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. There'll be another kind of gnashing of teeth.

They'll gnash them steaming with their teeth. Sinners that have rejected the simple way of salvation in hell will gnash their teeth being in torment and cursing God. But it'll not change their location.

They'll still be there. Forever and ever and ever. Go not in the way of pain. Learn from Abel, who is willing to admit that he was a sinner. Willing to offer a lamb. And God has now a lamb offered for you already, the Lord Jesus, who has been offered to you once more at the end of days as he appears to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

And God will accept you in this lamb. And you're going to be saved tonight. You need to be saved. If you're not born again, if you're not washed in the blood of the lamb, you have not had an experience, a personal experience with the Lord Jesus Christ.

I don't care who you are tonight, how good you are, how religious you are, unless you're saved. You can't get in. I was visiting a couple, I'll say this in closing, the other night. And this woman, she really loves her husband.

And she just feels that he's pretty much perfect. He's been such a good man. So kind, so good to everybody. He's even kind to his so-called enemy. And she says to me, would a good man like that have to be saved?

Wouldn't he be all right? So I told her the story of Nicodemus. A man who was so good, so religious, such a fine, honorable man, a member of the highest court in the Jews, among the Jews. A member of the Sanhedrin.

The Necessity of Being Born Again

The Lord Jesus said, Nicodemus, you must be born again. Except the man be born from the blood, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. If anybody could get in by being religious, it would be my good.

Surely Nicodemus could have been in. The Lord said to him, Nicodemus. There's two religions in Iceland, man's religion and God's. Man's way and God's way. Cain's way and Abel's. Cain is man's way. His own wise way.