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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/eric-fowler/afar-off/
Now, before we open the Word of God, we'll speak to God in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the Savior that died upon the cross. We've been hearing that He was born, died upon the cross, was buried, and rose again.
We thank Thee for the message of the cross. We thank Thee for those that have told how and when and where God reached and saved them. We appreciate the dealings of God in our lives and the time when we come to know Christ and know for sure that we're going to be in heaven.
We rejoice in it. We thank Thee, Father, for the Word of God that we have, and as we open it now again and speak from it, volume, that we might know help still farther of the gracious Holy Spirit that of any be in our present meeting without the Savior, whether they be young or old, that this might be the very night when God would reach and save them.
We look to Thee for it, giving thanks in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Now we're going to read first of all from Luke chapter 16. Nice to be in Blue River here at the conference, and it's nice to have an opportunity to preach the gospel.
Others can preach it better, but nobody can preach a better story. It's a marvelous story it is indeed. Luke 17 and verse number 11, and it came to pass as he went to Jerusalem, that's the Lord Jesus, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee, and as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood far off.
And they left it up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified God and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks, and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answered, said, Were there not ten cleansed, but where are the nine?
There are not found that return to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. Now chapter 18 and verse number 10, four readings and both of them is in Luke.
Luke 18 and verse number 10, two men went up into the temple to pray. And one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are.
Are extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even has this publican. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote himself upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone that exalted himself shall be evased and he that humbled himself shall be exalted. Now chapter 15 and verse number 11.
And he said a certain man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that follow to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country and there wastes his substance with riotous living.
And when he has spent all, there arose a mighty famine in the land and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. And he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
And he would fain have filled his belly with the husk that the swines did eat. And no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father have bread enough in the spirit and I perish with hunger.
I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father.
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
But the father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it and let us eat and be married.
For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and they began to be married. Now chapter 16, verse 19, there was a certain rich man which were clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gates full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torment and seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art tormented.
And besides all this between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed. So that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from thence. Now God can end the blessing to the reading of his word and give a little help to speak from these portions that we read tonight.
We make no apology for reading much of the word of God. It's more important than what I can say about it. We want to look at these four stories tonight here. First of all, the story in Luke 17, the lepers were far off and they should be.
They are far off and they should be. Everything in the book of Luke, you will notice that is a far off. And we would bring this before you here, that they should be far off because they were unclean. And then in Luke chapter 18, here we find that they were far off and they felt it, felt it in their own soul.
This man has he near the altar and understood where he was standing. He realized he's in the holy presence of God. And when he realized how far off he was, he felt the need in his own soul as he realized I'm ungodly.
Just like we heard tonight, just like every individual must learn their condition before they ever cry to God for mercy. And it's mercy that we need tonight. We need the mercy of God and we need the grace of God to give us the wonderful gift that is found in the Savior.
In Luke chapter 15, here we find that this young man, this young man here is a far off and he didn't have to be. He was far from the father's house, but he didn't have to be. He was unhappy and he didn't have to be unhappy.
And we like to remind you tonight that if you're here and you're not saved, you don't have to be in that condition. You don't have to be a far off the night because God is calling you. He's calling the prodigal home.
Come without delay. Hear, oh, hear him calling, calling now for thee. Would somebody in our present meeting tonight would hear the tender voice of a father calling and that you would respond to him and come to the heavenly father that he might be able to forgive you, to open your eyes, to show you that the work is finished.
Luke chapter 16, this man finds himself far off and he couldn't change it. Oh, it's a solemn thing for any soul to slip out into eternity and find themselves in the flames and in hell tonight and cannot change it.
A solemn reality that there are those already from Christian homes that knew the story so well, that knew John 3 16 and could quote it backwards and knew that they needed to be saved, knew that the Lord would one day come from heaven and expected him to come and knew that there was only one way into heaven, that he was a door and the only door and yet put it off, put off God's salvation.
One step too late, slipped into eternity and was lost and are in hell tonight, far off and they can't change it on reachable. I had brothers and still have some. One of these brothers of mine got lost at sea, very solemn day, standing on the back part of the ship, some kind of accident happened and he was thrown overboard.
He had no life jacket and he couldn't swim 10 miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. The boys, the other brothers that was fishing with him, tried to reach up, tried to rescue him, tried in desperation to just be able to reach him but just couldn't do it, unreachable.
And the last things they saw is his hands as he threw up his arms and cried for mercy, mercy that he didn't find, oh that he would have cried to God for mercy and that mercy wasn't shown by the boys, they couldn't reach him, unreachable.
My friend, tonight you can be reached, you are far off tonight, you are at a great distance from God and you should be at a great distance from God because you're unclean. These lepers in the story we read here, they had leprosy, nobody else wanted that disease.
And as they got that leprosy, they were told, as you find in the Old Testament, they were to stand outside the city and when somebody approached them, they would cry unclean, unclean and the people would know, they would stand far off and they should be, nobody else wanted to touch them, nobody else wanted to move close to them.
And so it is with the sinner, far off and unclean, do you feel your uncleanliness tonight? I remember preaching in a town in Nova Scotia, in Sydney, in Nova Scotia, in a tent and a young man was coming, he was an unruly young man, he had gotten sunk deep into sand, far away from God.
He told me, he says, I have 14 pages that long, filled on both sides that the police have on me and he says, I know what it is to run across a field and when I'm running across a field, shots are coming at me as the police would try to arrest you here.
And he came, listened to the gospel and as he listened to the gospel, he learned that he was unclean. He knew that he was unclean. He told me, he says, I used to go home after the gospel meeting and he says, I get into the shower and I would shower and shower and get out and wipe and he says, when I stood there and had spent a half hour in the shower, I still felt unclean, I was filthy.
He says, the filth that I had was on the inside, it wasn't on the out and he says, it bothered me, it followed me and I knew that I was far off from God and I was unclean, unclean. Oh, my friend, tonight, do you feel the burden and the load of your sin?
Have God ever opened your eyes just a little that you might understand that you're unclean in front of a holy and a righteous God and that sin had made you filthy and dirty and you're away from God? Would that you would feel your uncleanliness tonight.
In Luke chapter 18 here, we find that they felt ungodly. This man, has he approached the holy throne? Has he stepped into the presence of God? He realized, I'm an ungodly sinner. I don't deserve to be here and he trembled as he neared the very, very throne of God and he wouldn't as much as lift up his eyes to heaven for he realized, I'm ungodly.
Oh, my friend, tonight, do you feel that ungodliness? I remember preaching in a large university and there was a Russian soldier that listened to me that fought in Afghanistan. He says, it came to me after listening to the gospel, he says, I'm an ungodly man.
I've shot people, he says, in war and I've come back to this country and I've joined the mafia and he says, I shoot on the street and my guilt follow me. Show me from the book, show me that an ungodly sinner that have gone down deep into sin can be cleansed and forgiven tonight.
Oh, my friend, would that you would feel your burden and understand you're unclean and understand you're ungodly and come to the scripture and find that Christ died for the ungodly. Ever learned that truth, my friend, tonight?
Did you ever realize in front of a holy God that you're ungodly tonight? Would that you would feel it tonight, that the spirit of God would make it real to you and the spirit of God would make that pressure upon your heart to such a degree that you would cry to God for mercy.
Just like in our first story here, they cried for mercy and found it. When they asked for mercy, this man in Luke 18, he found it. Oh, that you would cry for mercy tonight. Would that you would cry to the one that can truly give you mercy and forgive you all your sins.
You feel your burden tonight? Or we live in a world and you know, we live in a world of sin and you know, sin has a new category. They reclassify it and take away the weight of sin. Stealing is not stealing anymore, it's just shoplifting.
You live in adultery, it's not adultery anymore, it's just living together, common law. Oh, my friend, I want to tell you that sin is sin. God hates sin from the very moment it happened in the garden and he hates it to this very moment today and it's still the same.
He has not reclassified it in any way and the wages of sin is death. You understand that? Oh, solemn thing to slip out of the back part of a long liner and land into the Atlantic Ocean with no life jacket and can't swim and not able to be reached, my friend, tonight.
A very solemn day. The boy, my brother, hated the water, hated it, my friend, tonight and he was afraid of the water and he cried, cried for mercy, but he didn't find it from the bays, they couldn't reach him.
Oh, my friend, tonight, a solemn thing to learn that you're ungodly and not want to be reached. There's a story told in Russia of a woman who was a Christian and her husband wasn't and she had preached to him and spoke to him many times.
One day he came home, he says, I had enough of your religion, I had enough of your gospel, just slip out the door and don't come back anymore. Don't ever come back again and she left and went into her own home, found her place, but many years have passed and she heard that the man was dying.
She loved the man, loved him dearly and she just said, I just wonder if there's one more opportunity, I have one more opportunity just to tell him the story of the cross once more. Maybe he will cry for mercy.
She found herself down to the little garden and found herself to the little cottage home and opened the door, had every Russian door squeaks and she stepped inside and she moved towards the room where she knew he was dying and her two eyes meet.
He says, my mind has never changed. You take your God and your heaven and if you think so, I'll take my sin and my hell. You just go your way. Oh, my friend, I hope it's not that tonight. I hope the spirit of God will reach you tonight in your uncleanness and your ungodliness and as the prodigal son, as an individual that is away from the father's house, do you adhere to tender call of a father calling to you tonight?
Come unto me, all you that weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Would that you would hear his tender voice tonight and that you would respond not in a far country, that you would make your mind up and change your mind and turn and run to the father for mercy and you will find that if you come to God, if you cry to God, he is waiting for you.
Just like the story here, the father was waiting for the son to come home. He had shoes for his feet. He had a ring for his hand. He had new clothing and my friend tonight, he will make you a brand new person.
He will cleanse you up. He will forgive you all your sins and he will put joy in your soul and you know for sure that you're going to be in heaven. Do you want it tonight? Will you come home? Is there a prodigal person here that will come home tonight, that will come to the father, that will respond to the message tonight and come to him that he might forgive you all your sins?
Because listen, if you don't come tonight, you're going to find yourself in a place and you're going to be unreachable. Inhale and can't be reached by the omnipotent hand of God. Inhale my friend in the darkness and not even the power and the hand of an eternal God can reach you in the darkness my friend tonight, unreachable.
You're at a far distance, you're far off and it cannot be changed. It's an impossibility that once a soul slips into eternity without Christ that you will ever be saved. Tonight is the night you can be reached tonight.
Your uncleanness can be cleansed up. Your ungodliness can be changed my friend tonight and that unhappiness that you have in your soul can be replaced with joy as you realize for the very first time, I'm forgiven.
I'm forgiven. March 11th, 69 is a boy of 60. We'll never forget it. 10 minutes before 11 when the great transaction took place, far off and brought nigh by the precious blood of Christ. Not knowing any scripture from this book here, just the truth that Jesus died for ungodly sinners and I was an ungodly sinner, then Christ must have died for me, the ungodly sinner and was saved.
Anybody here tonight? And you'll listen to the voice of the spirit as he calls to you one more time. Come home, come home, come and I'll forgive you all your sins. You can be forgiven tonight if you simply come to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness.
We trust that as another brother speaks the word of God, that if you haven't come yet, you will. God bless his word.