Confessing Christ — John Ridley

The Biblical Defense of Open Evangelism

I would direct you please in our closing message to a defense from the scripture for evangelism as we know it today. That is the type of evangelism that Billy Graham practices, which Moody practiced, Pauline, Chapman, and to some smaller, very much smaller ways, I have practiced myself.

That is to preach to the world through a victorious confession on the behalf of Christ. Now some people don't like that. They say well it's emotionalism. People go forward, move by the impulse of the moment, and then they go back afterwards.

It's just a passing phase, and it's a disappointment to them. Well I know that even in the days of our Lord, some went back and walked no more rigid. I know that in the days of Paul, he lamented that all them of Asia have crowned against me.

Though that that is always true, I'm scared that it's strictly true. That does not discountenance the open confession of Christ. You may have your feelings about it, and opinions, and you may be right to them.

It's all right of mine, because I've proved the value of the open confession of Christ not only in my ministry, but in my own personal experience of confession. But after all, as Madam Hatch would I say, or what you say, it matters essentially what the Lord Jesus hath to say about open confession of himself.

Listen to two verses from the gospel. Matthew 10, verse 32, verse 33. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

And our Lord Jesus Christ never leaves us in doubt when dealing with God's equality. I'm both prepared to say he leaves us in doubt concerning some minor matters in the Christian walk, and walk never in a major matter.

Clearly and strictly he speaks about my Father in heaven. And then just as clearly he speaks about our attitude to him, and consequently to his Father. He takes up a wonderful word, I spoke about it last Sunday night, ever.

Me, you, anyone, and then our pleasure, because you see he was never obliged to pay trust, or criticism, or condemnation. He came to give his Father's message to the world. Shall confess me before men, that very confessor, will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

That's an order, my friends. That's the order of sowing and then reaping the harvest. It's the order of investing and then growing the dividend. I would say to you, sow and keep on sowing confessions of Christ before men, and you'll reap the great confession by Christ, the Father and the Holy Angel.

I would say invest confessions of Christ to the uttermost, and you'll be reaping in, gathering in the dividend, all down the corridor of the determinant. Then our Lord turned to the negative side, because it was always fully balanced, not lopsided, perfectly balanced.

He turned to the negative side, whosoever the praise or the praises were, like me, me, like me, you, personally, it personally means everyone here, and everyone else, right? Whosoever shall deny me before men, whom, him, that very denier, will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

So, any poor, fastened-cocked denier you and I may see today, by denying Christ, may it be perhaps a blasphemous denial, a blasphemous denial, a silent denial, a nervous denial, it might even be a religious denial of Christ, before men, will be more than outweighed when Christ denies you or me before the Father in heaven.

The Father, the Lord Jesus Christ promises, and His promises are all-powerful, He will confess every humble confession of sin on earth before men, at last before the Father and the angels in heaven. And the Lord Jesus Christ warns, is warning, awaiting, that He will deny every denier of Him before me in the presence of the Father and of the holy angels.

The Universal Confession of Jesus Christ

Am I right in saying that the real evangelist, the true evangelist, that is utmost, or should be his utmost, to us, the great confessant, shall also have my elect laws of kings, and given him a name which is above every name, that, at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess.

Now great consequences, dear friends, hinge in hand on the great confession. You might say, well, preacher, what do you mean by confession of Christ? Thank you for that question, that's what I wanted.

Who's in? Who's in? I mean, confession of Christ is the completion of the soul's conversion to God. And now, Lord, one says, except ye be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

You may enter many other places, but except ye be called together, God shall return, called together with Christ to God, you shall not enter heaven. Oh, precious, I tell me, how am I converted? You are converted by true spiritual doctrine working on your soul.

The Word of God is truth, not the opinions of men, not my ideas. The Word of God, truth, then the requited cause is which? And hope. Hope cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. And as the Word of God speaks into the heart, with the heart, men believe it, until righteousness.

That's what we read in Romans 10. Note, man does not build himself into righteousness, with one good work upon another good work, one merit upon another, until he gets right up at last to a righteous place.

Now, that doesn't go in the Scripture. He doesn't build himself to righteousness, however kind he is to his neighbor and thoughtful of others. Note that man doesn't try himself to be to righteousness.

Very good thing if you do get a large donation to your church, and another donation to the Salvation Army, and another donation to the Benevolent Society, and so on, but you can't find a way to heaven, or to righteousness.

Thy money perish with thee, said Simon Peter, because thou hast sought the gift of God, to be prosperous with money. You found thou yourself to righteousness. Very often you used to find yourself to righteousness, with all the spiritual cosmetics in the world.

You can put on a beautiful countenance. You can put on a pious style. You can put on all that's possible in the way of fulfilling a kind of ritual that you feel will carry you through, and beautify your life with every effort of piety possible.

That does not bring righteousness, because the Word of God says, man with the heart unto righteousness. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. I put my trust in Peter. I believe the Word of Jesus.

I received the favor into my heart. It's counted to me for righteousness. Then I say, Peter, I'm all right. I've got a nice, bright heart, belief in Jesus Christ, but I don't believe in all this putting up your hand, and standing to your feet, and going to the cross anymore.

After all this faith, I've got the bright heart to believe, and that's the thing to cut. But you're cutting on my conscience. Wait till I finish my text. It's in Romans 10. With the heart, man believeth unto righteousness, and, and I went to school there, I went to St. Johnston, joining two sections of together, and I think it's still there, joined two sections of together, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation, and what God hath joined together, let not man pull asunder.

And that's what thousands of people who profess to be Christians try to do, they pull asunder. The heart believes from the mouth, confession. No, whatever a man believes to be with his heart, he's glad enough to confess with his heart, or in some other way, that will permit it to be known.

I understand, I don't generally attend pictures, I haven't for many, many years, but I understand there's a picture that has been displayed lately on Ross Drift in Missoula, Washington. I studied that in the days of my preparations of the army, I know that it was at Ross Drift, and the one thing is this, that when Lord Chelmsford marched to the relief of Ross Drift, because he knew that Ross Drift was surrounded by thousands of murderous humans, and being held by a little group of down-to-earth soldiers, when he marched to their relief, early in the morning, they could see in the distance the blazing fire of the hospital that had caught fire from the fires.

And he feared that he had failed to get there, and the staff officers took their binoculars up, and looked ten miles away to Ross Drift, and suddenly one of the officers cried out, it's all right, my lord, the British flag is still flying.

They knew whether or not that if the Zulus had captured Ross Drift, the first thing that had been torn down would have been the flag. The flag contested the identity of the house, the building, or the battleship, or the place that Ross Drift was.

When I walked out of Union Station, Washington, D .C. for the first time, I stood still for a moment, three flags, flag poles, three lovely stars and stripes flags flying in your face. They were confessing that Washington, D .C. belonged to the United States in the star and stripes, and the flag contested the identity of the place, the house, or perhaps the position or the battleship that we defended.

Once it's captured, the flag goes down. God has given us a banner that it might be displayed because of the truth. It might be unfolded because of the truth. I want to tell you this, that the flag confesses the association with the flag.

Everyday Examples of Public Allegiance

Now my father used to wear the old-fashioned type of waistcoat, with the old-type drop-coat, a drafty waistcoat, and hanging from the waistcoat there was a little bag with a square and a compass, and as a little boy I used to wonder what it was.

Later on I came to recognize it was the bag of the Masonic Supremacy, and my father wasn't ashamed to have it dangling from his waistcoat. In the days of the Second World War, a number of women could be seen with a little silver brooch and a red cross right at the center of it.

They were members of the Red Cross Society and a splendid society it is. And numbers of men can be found in the streets of your great city and elsewhere, just wearing one of those bags which I've got on my lapel tonight.

The return servicemen's bag, soldiers, sailors, or airmen are a lapel bag. I had a lapel just as a matter of course, because it's nice to meet an ex-serviceman. I remember once, when my wife and I were playing the whole of the Nelson Air Music away out in the wild west, at a little western town trip, and a couple of fellas came down the street.

We're across this business all the way from Danden, within Dignation. My wife's wearing a little organ, myself standing there, the only member of the congregation. There was also the priest of Donnan.

And as they came down across it, I remember one of the ruff, going to his friend, saying, he's dead, he's a digger, don't touch him, he's a digger. He quite dug him a bag. He came up a few minutes later and he said, mate, there's something for the collection, and he put a few of them.

I said, no collection here, very low collection, you'll pay the most you're a digger. And he put another one on. The value of the bag, you see. And then when you come to think of it, the ex-serviceman considers the commodity.

When I was a young man, somewhere for about 30 or 40 miles out of Sydney, on the main western line, along the old rail station that they had in those days, with blasting weight loss, every two yards, everybody joked on him for Toby Jones.

Everybody joked on him for Toby Jones, for about 30 miles in the sweet ground. And I imagined the poor fellow, he was coming back from the wet, he's been travelling, and he's got an old thin rug on, and bitter winter weather, and he's wrapped the rug round him, and he's still shivering inside the rug, and he's got a bit of soot in his eyes, because he looked out of the window once, and it's the old days, brains are made back there, in the teens of this century, and he's caught that bit of stuff in his eyes, and Martin and the tears fall on him down, and the next he's actually being stopped.

And the great dawn of life comes, the day's great, as it's crashing on, the train's half-ticklish, ah! Everybody joked on him for Toby Jones, everybody joked on him, everybody, everybody joked on him for Toby Jones.

Mum said, I'm sure it'll be great, and I'll tell you when I get back, the wife won't expect me, but I think you might have her, and you might come unexpectedly. Oh, so glad to see you dad, come here, I'll get you some breakfast, and he hurries in, and Aunt of Boston puts down the breakfast, and she puts down before him a cup of tea, and a slice of beef, a cold slice of beef, and he looks at the beef, and the tea, and he says, well, haven't got anything else for breakfast?

And she said, no, what do you want? Well, I thought you might ask some Uncle Toby Jones, or something, I don't feel for breakfast, whenever I have it, I don't want it, she said. And that person looked at her and said, I've been cleaning it so long, and so constantly, I'm simply choking on it.

I suppose that's what happens, that's under my imagination, you know, but I suppose that happens, otherwise I won't get the bus. Now, of course, all those things are gone, but to the kind who will do it, it's an abstract of a conspiring of commodities.

But to say, Mr. MacLean, I wouldn't give a testimonial to Uncle Toby Jones, or to Astro, or to Paul Morris Tover and me like that, I'm a bugger. I'm a bugger. You are, Uncle Tom, commending to a poor sick friend the medicine that has brought a complete relief to you in the sputtle that that poor friend has suffered from.

More of a bug recommending to that weak, convalescent trade of wealth, the beverage that has built you up and strengthened you and Charlie. And God Almighty has ordained that if a man believes in his son Jesus Christ with his heart, he must confess it with his mouth to come to this conversion.

I wouldn't give a prick of the finger for a supposed conversion that doesn't want to talk about Christ, that doesn't want to confess Christ, that will hide behind any excuse rather than give Christ the glory.

Conversion Requires Confession

When silent speaker got his heart and his head and said, go after Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus said, Mercy, our Father, Simon, son of Jonah, flesh and blood didn't reveal it to you, but your mercy my Father has shown you.

Now I want the blessing of God. I want it more than any gift anyone can give me. I want the blessing of God. I know how to get it. You honor the Son. You honor the Son of God. You fight with you to God manifest in the flesh.

You give humble, open confession to Jesus Christ, and one day you'll hear, Silence, ye messengers of my Father, silence. It concludes conversion. And then the second point is that it's the challenge of Jesus Christ himself.

Christ's Challenge: Whom Do You Say That I Am?

Three Matthew, Mark, Luke and John with your eye open to the challenge. Reverse it. Jesus is speaking. What speak ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Obey him. Dost thou believe on the Son of God? Do it is all that I make believe on him?

Thou hast both seen him and heard him. This is he that speaketh to me. Lord, I believe. And he worshipeth him. Again, love us, thou knowest more than we. Yea, Lord, thou knowest the day that's due. For us, I'm confident, Lord.

Be mighty. Feed my land. Be mighty. Again, say that I am. For us, I said, well, one said before, Elijah, well, I heard another one say that he was John the Baptist. Well, that's funny. He's the one with the disciples.

I heard another say he was Jeremiah. Well, I heard someone say, well, no problem. Come back again. It's in the future. Isn't that true today? You pick up a magazine and you read an article, here's Professor Don't-Don't says that Jesus Christ was a philosopher and none of the people tell them.

What is philosophy to this day? Oh, he's just a philosopher, the Professor Don't-Don't. Then, maybe, your boy at high school comes in and says, the teacher gave us a course about comparative religion today.

And he said, of course, we have to recognize that Jesus Christ was just the leader of Christianity at the time of Mohammedan. Mohammed was the leader of the Mohammedans and Confucius of the Confucius people.

Yes, he's just one of the leaders of religion. See, Jesus Christ is just the leader of religion. That's all. That's all. There's a boy back at the teacher, I thought. Oh, well, that teacher has an opinion.

And we must respect opinions, that's all fine. And I know something of this, because I mingle with men, I've been in talks with men, I've heard men talk. Listen, Jesus Christ, they say, in an afternoon.

After all, he's only a socialist. So I'm going to know he's a communist. The only communist we ever really had. Oh, Jesus Christ of communism, anti-Christ communism, being attributed to the Christ of God.

Jesus Christ, a socialist, being attributed as a socialist, as a leader of religion, as a philosopher. Return to Jesus, whom do you say that I am? Now, leave the other people alone. Whom do you say I am?

My friend, in this building tonight, it doesn't matter much what the philosopher, or rather the professor, says. It doesn't matter much what the man at the street corner has said, or what the teacher has said.

Whom do you say that Christ is? Thou art the Christ, said Christ. Thou art the Messiah. Thou art the Forgiven One. Blessed art thou. I'm God's own man. My office is not to give that confession. You've got to have the courage to give it.

You've got to have the grace of God to give it. The Father must reveal it to you through his word. Look at that crowd of people gone up in the days of our Lord's ministry. Do you see them gathered round him?

Do you see his kindly word? See his kindly face and hear his kindly words? Do you notice how he touches one and is healed with the light? Do you notice how he comforts another, and is as loud and as calm to the face?

Do you notice how some adults go on crickets, movies, and take some notes of what he's saying, and thrust it back to him? But look at that poor woman. She's sweeping round and flying the pussy, and they're putting her back, and she's coming round.

They're putting her back again. Poor woman. Well here's a sufferer, or I may spend on the physician. Feel that awful grain of your blood that flows killing her. Oh, if I could only reach him, if I could only touch him.

He says, oh, I see an opportunity. A few of the gardens have grown up, the leaves and garments, and he could cut out his food, and purchase the things of his garments. He doesn't. Oh, she's cured. The brother's strong, she brings back what all she wanted, right back into the crowd.

Who touched me, said our Lord? Who touched me? Oh, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't. I didn't go round and then suddenly people said, well, they're all threatening you, the multitude is threatening you, and you say, who touched you?

Someone has touched me. I can see the blood is gone out of me. Who touched me? Now, for all my friends, I'd like to read it to you from the word of God. I wonder if you'd accept it any better if I read it to you than repeated it.

I'm so apt just to speak right off this word at the moment, but listen. And Jesus said, somebody has touched me, but I should see the blood is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not healed, she came trembling and falling down before him.

She declared unto him, before all the people, for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole.

Go in peace. Oh, I'm literally going to peace. What did you do that for, Lord Jesus? Why did you embarrass her like that? She didn't want to come out in front of all the people. She didn't want to be so embarrassed and upset as the moon's light for the sun to fall at your feet like that.

That's a monster, isn't it? Ah, is that so? Who declared unto them all for what reason she's touched him, and what blessing she's received? Daughter, be of good comfort. Go in peace. That's all she wanted.

She got all she wanted. She got a cure. She didn't want to say anymore. She wanted the side steps to confession. Jesus wouldn't let her. If you get a cure, he said, then confess me. If you get a confession, then confess me.

Give me the honor due unto thy name that I may die for thee. I will ask thy cure at a place called Calvary. I will procure thy redemption in the drops of my finger's blood. Ask thou exchange with me. Will thou not stash me before the fire and harmony before the world?

I don't mind whether you're for second distance or the ninth distance. I want to tell you, my brother, my sister, wherever you go, you'll meet the challenge of Jesus Christ, the confession or the knowledge.

One or the other. My doctor friend who treated me in my first breakdown told me this. He said, John, at the close of the cricket season we had a cricket banter. And after we had a wonderful spread, a comedy became about that decision.

And I listened. It was a parody. I'm nearer my God to thee. I rose from my chair. I walked straight to the door. I got outside the door and the chairman was on my heels. Doctor, he said, you're not leading us right this door.

Well, I'm not going to sit by and hear my savior insulted in that manner. I know, doctor, I'm sorry. And I assure you that we know more. You'll come back, won't you? Yes, but only if you permit me to carry me while I rest the pain.

Oh, my doctor, you can't. I've got time to finish a cricket banter. All right, I am going. Good night, Mr. Daniels. That's why I'm loyal to the Christ. That's what that noble man in old England, who when he was converted, truly converted to Christ, said, well, I'm not going to cut out all the pleasures of the world because I'm going to take Christ into them.

And being so fond of dancing, I shall certainly take Christ to the dance hall. And almost immediately after he'd been broken, he went to one of the great halls of those days, took his half-night, waltzed round a few times and then said to her, have you ever come to Christ as your personal savior?

She brushed words. This is not the time. You're cursed to talk that kind of thing, she said. He led her to the side, placed her down at his feet and said, well, I don't think this is the place for me.

And he left the hall room forever. And a certain man wrote this little verse on him. He died a shameful death on Calvary, that I, a guilty sinner, might go free. And yet you silence me and blushing say, it's not the time, not the place to talk that way.

Yes, sure, it's not the place for me. In my opinion, you're asking to go to a place where you can't confess Christ if you're a willful sinner. But if you can confess your savior mentally, if you confess your savior heroically, you might be used greatly in most difficult places.

Faithful Witness in Difficult Places

When I go to a reunion of my old battalion, my old comrades will bear me witness that my pockets are generally full of my trash. And if I'm asked to give a toast to the fallen comrades, I must forget that my comrades need Christ, the survivors of my battalion.

It's my opportunity to go love those men. I fought with them in the hardest places of the field. And I did anything the feelings chose, my son. And it was one of the cruelest of my life when an officer came up only a couple of years ago, who had ordered me out of the line when I had spent weeks in the son's lunch, and said, John, I've come to accept your cue after all these years.

My wife and I will be truly convinced. And we can see things now as you told us years ago in the old days. Who can tell what a faithful confessor will do? I want to say that the challenge of the New Testament, the challenge of the Gospels especially, and specifically of Christ, is to open confession.

And I am wonderfully helped by a brother Christian, sleeping on a floor like this in the heart of Liverpool at the beginning of my soldier experience in the first day of work, when he said, John, did you ever read the last few verses of John 14?

I said, read them to me, Lord. And he read them to me. And he said to the Lord, the peace of this world cometh and hath nothing in me, but that the world may know that I love the Father. And that the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.

And Lord, let us go ahead. Lord turned to me and he said, John, don't you think it pleases us that the world should know that we love the Father, that as a ministry world should know that we love the Savior?

That was a good word, my friend. I never forgot it. That was a throbbing of hope into my heart. Oh, whosoever should be ashamed of me that my words in this adulterous and sinful generation are being lost over the Son of Man, dear friend, come in the glory of his Father with the Holy Angel.

The Eternal Consequences of Confessing or Denying Christ

No wonder the great Lutheran commentator Bengel said, all should be put to shame before God, angels, and the spirits of the dust may fall. That will be plain, my friend. I want to gather up my message by saying, what are the consequences of grace possession or grace denial?

Bear me a few minutes, please. Whosoever confesses, I will confess. Commendation, eternal. Whosoever denies, I will deny. Condemnation as far as I can read the New Testament, if you call it. How solemn that is.

And I thank God for that hymn we sang that night when I had kept my feet, because I thought I was a good enough Christian, because I was a light bearer of a Sunday school, and was linked up more or less with the church of God, when that preacher said, hand your feet and confess Christ as a personal saviour.

Raise up now, and I put my head down, and the old enemy said, keep your feet. Well, all right, little good fellow, you don't need to stand. You don't need to do it all, but I want to know how you keep your feet.

And then by God's divine direction, he said, we'll sing the last hymn. 612. And I was standing up, and I was singing my condemnation, Jesus, and Janice Evergreen, a mortal man who breathed by the breath of his mouth, was ashamed to see, ashamed to see whom I used to strove, whom flawlessly strove through endless times.

God's battle has pierced my heart. I was on my feet the next day by God, and stood before Christ before the last crowd. I want to say to you, there are people ashamed of Jesus, but they're not ashamed of lesser people.

Oh, there's mother, putting her cram down the main shopping centre of Eastwood, the funny baby there in six months, but he's a lovely boy with bright cheeks, lovely smile. And then meet an old friend who hasn't seen the baby.

Nice man, oh, good man, an old man, friendly man, and he comes across and he says, is this your new baby? Yes, he says, let me see. Well, he said, he's the most lovely baby I've seen. Don't drink his milk, you see.

You must feed him well. Oh, he said, the same old thing, you know. But don't listen to this. You'll notice, I think he's the nicest baby I've seen for months and years. Now, I said to her, who do you mean that?

She said, women in their shoes. I said, well, I believe it too, that lovely, you know, God-blessed, and all he goes, he's one, and she goes, oh, well, she's great. Oh, she knew all the time. She had the best baby in the world, and now that kindly baby takes care of it.

Mother, she has brushed the crown of those guys of Bethlehem, born to rise the sons of God, born to give them second birth. That's a proud uncle. Oh, he's the nicest. Why, it's a great day for him. He can hardly do any work.

Get over it, boys. Their only child, Tom, has got right through with his medical course when he's a doctor. And the father's so happy, he goes to one of these lovely doctors, and then, suddenly, a plane goes to him.

Oh, that's a new man, too. Oh, he's a very high man, you see. He says, you'll excuse me, but I've just heard the news, and I want to congratulate you on Tom's success. You must be proud of that boy. Well, of course, you are, Robert.

I suppose he's a bit proud, perhaps, but you know, he's a guy like you said. You understand, Mother, I was saying last night, you know, we've never had any trouble with Tom, and now he's through with the doctor, and the old timey boy, and mighty wet emotions to him, and to Dr. Tom.

Wet sensations, his father says to the telephone, brings through to his wife, tells her about that meeting with the good friend, and his man, you know, what he said maybe that used to do the washing for her.

He was a poor woman, lived in a poor part of the city, but Mother said she had one great outstanding thing that she never forgot to talk about. He was a personal friend to Victor Trumper, when he was the champion batsman of Australia, if not of the world at that time, and Mother told me that when he got to the wash, come to the Monday, and was brashing about getting things in, and Mother was bringing some washed clothes in, and she said, oh Mr. Quigley, you don't know Victor, do you?

We know him well, I know him very well. We'll introduce you to Victor when we can, take a place for him, that'll go too. Always a personal friend of ours, personal friend, yes, lovely fellow, really a decent, excellent, he taught Victor Trumper all the time.

He knew him so well, he thought so highly of him. Can't you talk Jesus Christ back, not so acutely, but can't you talk Jesus Christ warmly to others, can't you commend this soldier of Charles Wesley, said I commend my saviour to you, can't you do that without feeling brash, and spiritual, and feeling deprived?

You're brash if you do it, you're on the Lord's side without doubt, you're a soldier of the cross if you do it, and you're going to get a confession, a confession that'll set the proof of eternity, and the glad one of heaven walking through your body.

Oh yes, you will. I will confess it before my father and before the angels. Isn't that wonderful? Whosoever denies will confess before the angels. Oh, Lord, you know we're in the cross, you know we've been right here along the way, and you know we've done so much for you, and it's your time, Lord, Lord, not everyone who says Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom, plead after us the will of my father, which is in heaven.

I will, your confession, will be absolute. I never knew that's the truth of the world. That's the cold in the desert, in the desert of the sun. That's the darkest paradise and fever denied by Jesus Christ, and my dear apostle Paul, long years after Jesus had passed up there through the clouds of Rome, said if we denied him, he will deny us.

Not just an idea, it's a fact. Good. Lord, my dear friend, may I pray to you as I pray to a fellow tonight, if there's anything that counts in heaven, sir, is the humble, honest confession of the Lord Jesus, who once hung on that cross in agony and pain and shame for you.

Once was made a spectacle to men and angels, the off-powering of all things, beneath the cross that was symbolized in the crown of thorns, but it was for your sake and mine. He suffered the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God, and it's our opportunity now to stand for him, and if we do stand for him, on that great day, he may stand for us.

The Final Appeal to Confess Christ Publicly

I mentioned Gettysburg last week when I came to propose a commission. I do the same this week. A year after Gettysburg, President Lincoln was dedicating the field at a national memorial to the United States.

At the close of that busy day, he took the arm of the governor of Pennsylvania and commenced the walk into the little church. I've seen it, and went right down the pathway where Lincoln walked. And behind Lincoln, there was an old soldier of the Union Army, who had fought a whole day at Gettysburg, and he followed the mission ground like a little dog would follow his master all the day.

And as I started to enter the ground, one or two of the attendants pulled him right out of the line and said, get back there, look at these gentlemen generals to come, you get out of the way. No, he said, I'm after all Lincoln's men, you get out of the way, and I said, and Lincoln's born, one of the loftiest characters God ever gave that great country, and Lincoln said, well no, oh, that's my man, he fought a whole day at Gettysburg, he deserves to be honored above all of us here, you let him follow me, I acknowledge him, he's my man.

And the attendants fell back on either side. The old soldier stepped in behind this big man, Lincoln, with his big shoulders, and he bowed to the attendants either side, and walked in behind the president, because the president was the first man in the land, and the president had been honored.

I acknowledge the realm of freedom, the freedom of the earth, because I will protect it before my time. I will protect it. All the fear of the world, all the criticism of time, will never, never, because the freedom, the freedom of the earth, the freedom of the world, has been honored, I acknowledge him, because he will protect me before my time.

Great confession, great confession, with the world to test the sea, great confession, great confession, Jesus, I will stand for him, and the cross shall give confession, I will never forget thy love, great confession that I give thee, here are and then above.

Of course, you want the confession, don't you? Now, some of you would like the current to do it, some of you know it's conversion if you do it, some of you know it's full dedication or consecration if you'll come up to the throne, because you'll find it there more than anywhere else in the realm of the Christian demise.

Some of you would like to be saved for tonight, I'd love to do it, if you'll humble your heart and just lift your hands for whichever I need prayer that I might confess by. God knows whether it is for your salvation, or whether it is for your restoration from the far country, or whether it's for your consecration to the great cause of the gospel, that he's going to bless you if you're humble enough to say praise for him, that I might be a hero of heaven, I might be a true confessor of my fear that he must.