Samuel 1 (gospel)

… Guten Abend, meine Damen und Herren. Ich frage mich, ob Sie Ihre Bibel mit Ihnen haben. Sie können sich auf das alte Testamentbuch von Samuel wechseln. Das erste Buch von Samuel. Der erste Kapitel. Sehr einfach, liebe Freunde, heute Abend möchte ich Ihnen eine sehr direkte Frage stellen. Wohin geht es Ihnen? Auf welchen Wegen geht es Ihnen? Denn ich möchte Ihnen heute Abend klar sagen, dass es nur zwei Wege gibt, auf die Sie gehen können. Es gibt einen Weg, der zu Leben führt, und einen Weg, der zu Zerstörung führt. Welchen Weg geht es Ihnen heute Abend, liebe Freunde, in diesem Haus heute Abend? Sie wissen, viele von uns sind in verschiedenen Städten, um dieses Wochenende nach Halle zu kommen. Und wenn Sie wie ich waren, waren Sie perfekt sicher, dass Sie wussten, wohin Sie gehen. Sie haben die Mäpfe herausgebracht, und Sie haben auf die Straße geschaut. Vielleicht gingen einige Leute sogar so weit, dass sie eine detaillierte Mappe von einer der Motoring-Organisationen erhalten haben. Ich frage mich, was Sie hätten gesagt, wenn Sie zu der Organisation geschrieben hätten, für eine Mappe. Die Antwort kam, nehmen Sie die Straße, die Sie mögen, Sie werden in Halle enden. Sie hätten gedacht, das sei eine verrückte Idee. Und so wäre es gewesen. Sie wissen, wir leben in einem Tag, an dem die Leute Ihnen sagen, nehmen Sie die Straße, die Sie mögen, machen Sie nur das, was Sie mögen, und am Ende des Tages, werden Sie mit Gott in Ordnung enden. Aber ich bin hier heute Abend, um Ihnen zu sagen, dass es nur einen Weg gibt, auf dem jeder zum Himmel kommt. Und dieser Weg ist durch die Kalvarie-Kreuzung. Die Worte des Herrn Jesus hier sind sehr beeindruckend. Enter ye in at the straight gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction. There is a way, dear friends, which is going down to destruction. Make no mistake of it tonight, the Bible clearly tells us that there is a place called Hell. You may think that's not a nice word to say. And I agree, Hell is not a nice thing to say. Hell is not a nice place to talk about. But I have to speak about it, because it's here in the Bible. The Lord Jesus, if we read through Matthew's Gospel, will find that on at least 30 occasions, he mentions that there is a place called Hell. There is a place for destruction. And I will be failing in my responsibilities tonight, if I didn't make it absolutely clear that there is a place called Hell. That place, according to Matthew 25, was prepared for the devil and for his angels. And dear friends, which road are you on tonight? Are you on the road that will eventually end you up in Hell? Or are you on the road that will take you to Heaven? If you're on that road that is going to take you to Heaven, you have to go past Calvary's Cross. The only way that anyone here will ever reach Heaven is by Calvary's Cross. However good you might be, however clever you might be, the same way, by Calvary's Cross. Very simply tonight, I want to speak first of all to any of our young people here. We're all young at one stage. I had the privilege, as many have in this room, of being brought up in a Christian family, of being taken at a very early age to Gospel meetings, being taken to the morning meetings, and throughout the week. But you know what encourages me? That that never saved me at all. Going to the meetings never saved me. Just coming along to meetings will never save you. It is only Jesus who can save you. And that's tonight why I'm here, to point you to the Saviour, to point you to Jesus. He is the one that can save you. He is the one that can meet your need. And I'm sure that each one of us has needs. But not only do I want to speak to the young ones here, I want to look at Nicodemus, and speak to the older group. Perhaps for some of us you are like Nicodemus. Very decent living people. But you know, it's to Nicodemus that the Lord Jesus said, you must be born again. And every person must be born again. None of us can get to heaven on account of what we are. We are all sinners. We all come short of God's glory. In the story that we read in Samuel, if you want to read the last verse of the book of Judges, we find there it says, there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Pretty much like what we have today. We live in a world in which men seem to do what they think is right. We live in a world where if men want to rob, they rob. If men want to do something, they do it. Disregard to the law. And yet you know, in a world like that, there was a man called Elkanah, and his wife Hannah. And there was a couple, who we can say were godly. They trusted in their God. What a wonderful thing it is, that even today, in a world that has gone far away from God, there are those people, those parents, who love the Lord Jesus. And this couple, they had no children. In spite of that, yearly they went to the temple. And there they offered their vows. And if we were to have read the story, we would have seen, how Hannah prayed. She prayed earnestly, that God would give her a child. You know dear friends, the God that we're speaking about, is a God that answers prayers. And God answered Hannah's prayer, and gave her a child. And that child was Samuel. And this little child Samuel, was brought up in an excellent home. No doubt her father, his father and mother, would have prayed with him. No doubt his father and mother, would have talked to him about God. And perhaps tonight, there's some in this audience, who have Christian parents. Perhaps your mum and dad, have gone to the meetings, week after week. And perhaps they take you along, week after week. Perhaps they read the Bible to you, every night. Perhaps they say prayers to you, when you go to bed. All very good. And that's exactly what happened, I'm sure, in the household, where Samuel was born. There came a time in this household, when Samuel, was to be taken to the temple. There in that great building, he was to be given over, to Eli the priest. If ever there was a place, in the land of Israel, at that time, where God's name should have been honoured, where the name of God, should have been clearly spoken about, it was there in the temple. If ever there was to be a person, who ought to have known the Lord, here he was, Samuel. Here you know dear friends, the verse that we read in chapter 3, simply says, but Samuel, did not yet, know the Lord. What a fearful thing it is, that there may be young people, in this room tonight, that as yet, do not know the Lord. And I want to ask you, a simple question tonight. Do you know the Lord? Do you know Jesus, as your Saviour? Because in spite of the fact, that Samuel, had a very good upbringing, in spite of the fact, that his parents were godly, his parents we can say, would have been Christians, he didn't know the Lord. By the fact that your parents, have come along to this meeting, by the fact that they brought you, to this conference, by the fact that they have prayed for you, won't make you a Christian. It didn't make me a Christian, and it won't make you one. The only way in which you can be on the road, which leads to heaven, is by trusting in Jesus. Dear young people, tonight I want to tell you, that Jesus loves you, and Jesus loved you so much, that he died on the cross for you. What are you going to do, with the offer that Jesus gives? He's offered you tonight, an opportunity, to say yes to Jesus, to say yes to heaven, and to say no to hell. Think about it for a moment, young people. Hell is a reality. Hell is there, and heaven is there. Jesus is saying, come unto me, and I will give you rest. Is there not some here tonight, who realise, that they are a sinner? They have gone away from God, and they need to come to Jesus, and he is the one, that can save you. If you're ever going to get to heaven, it is by Jesus. There's no other way possible. It's only through Jesus, that you can be saved. And so I appeal to everyone here tonight, do you know Jesus, as your own saviour? Do you know him tonight, as the one that died for you, upon Calvary's cross? Because if you don't, what a wonderful opportunity, is open to you tonight, to simply trust, in what Jesus has done. But perhaps someone here, is a little older. Perhaps you like to stand on the fact, that you are pretty decent. And I have no qualms about that. Perhaps there are many people here, that are very decent living people. We read a story in John, of a man who was a decent living person. Indeed if we were to read, through the New Testament, we could look a long way, to find a better person, than Nicodemus. He was a man of the Pharisees. Now of the Pharisees themselves, they were men that read the law. They were men that read the Old Testament. They were men that ought to have read, and knew the Old Testament part of the Bible. And here was a Pharisee. Not only was he a Pharisee, he was a ruler of the Jews. He was a person that the Jewish nation, put in a position. He was a highly respected person. You know it was through a person like that, that the Lord Jesus said these words, You must be born again. May I say that if Nicodemus, needed to be born again, everyone in this room, needs to be born again. Nicodemus cannot get to heaven, on the grounds of who he is. He may argue that he's a good man. He may argue that he does many good things for the nation. But that's not good enough. That falls short of God's standard. Nicodemus, he must be born again. And so must everyone in this room. If anyone here is to get to heaven, if you're going to get off the road, and to lead you to a lost eternity, you need to be born again. And you're only born again, through the finished work of Jesus, upon Calvary's cross. Dear friends, I ask you the question, are you saved? Do you know Jesus as your own personal Saviour? Let's forget about how good we think we are. The Bible says, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. You know, it reminds me of a story of a boy, who went to the beach with his father. They walked down onto the sand, and the boy said, Dad, what's that up there? He said, it's the moon. And the little boy said, Dad, how far is the moon away? He said, it's about 250,000 miles. And the little boy looked at his dad and he said, Dad, did they measure it from the sand, or from the cliff? You know, it makes no difference. It doesn't matter how big a sinner we are, or how small a sinner we are, we all fall short of God's standard. You know, the wonderful thing is, dear friends, is that we don't have to finish here. We don't have to say that we all fall short. I'm sure each one of us, if we're honest, realizes that we fall short of God's standard. But we read that wonderful verse, perhaps the most wonderful and most well-known verse in the Bible, John 3, 16. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What a wonderful verse. What a verse that has been used to save hundreds, if not thousands, of precious souls. What a verse tonight. What I want you to think about for a few moments. I want to say first of all, dear friends, a wonderful fact. This verse tells me, for God so loved the world. And I want to tell everybody here tonight that God loves you. I don't care who you are. I don't care where you come from. I don't care what you do. God loves you. Forget about anybody else. God loves you as an individual person. God loves you and God knows you. Can you get this, dear friends? God really loves you. God cares about you. God tonight wants to save you. God wants to bless everyone here. Someone might say, but if God really loves us, why does He allow trouble? Why doesn't God intervene and stop all the trouble that is in this world? I tell you tonight, dear friends, that the day is coming when God is going to intervene, when God is going to stop the trouble in this world. But I ask you the question very simply. Are you ready for God to intervene in your life? Are you ready for God to intervene inside you? If God is going to intervene, He's going to intervene across the board. If God's going to stop anger, it's in your life and it's in my life. You know there's a verse in Peter which says, Through the long-suffering of God, He will have not the death of a sinner, but that all should come and be saved. God is waiting on this world in order that they might be saved. God is waiting, can I not say, in order that you might be saved tonight. That's why God doesn't intervene in this world. Because He loves it and He wants to save it. He wants to bless it. Tonight, the love of God goes out to everyone in this room. Indeed, to everyone in this world. God loves you and He wants to bless you. God so loved this world that He gave. What did God give? Well, in the Old Testament, we read that God sent the prophets. We can think of many of the prophets that came and helped the people of God. We think of Elisha, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah. Many of the prophets whose God sent. God could have sent an angel. At times, God sent an angel to deliver His people. Do you know, in the end, we find that God sent His only Son. What could God give more than His only begotten Son? God gave His very best. God gave the one that was precious to Him in order that you and I might be blessed. That's the proof of God's love. That shows how much God loves us. God loves you enough to give His Son. And I would say that if there was only one person who had sinned, God would have given His Son for you. What a wonderful God we have. What a wonderful Savior we have. That Jesus came into this world in order that He might save you and I. This verse goes on to say, that whosoever believeth in Him. I'm glad it says whosoever because if it said anything else, it wouldn't exclude me. I'm not a clever person. I'm not intelligent. But I come in this verse at whosoever and I know that everyone in this room tonight can say you're there. You're in the whosoever. God's offer goes out to everyone here and I will say that whosoever will come. Whosoever will come can have Jesus tonight as their Savior. Yes, the verse goes on to say, whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. There are only two ways to go. There's those that are on the road that is perishing. There are those that will end up in hell. And there are those that will be with Jesus and have everlasting life. Dear friends, tonight, what are you going to do? You've got to make a decision. You either got to say yes to Jesus and no to hell or no to Jesus and yes to hell. What is it going to be? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. You know, if we've looked at the Samuel and in the story of Samuel we see that it doesn't matter where you are of being born. It doesn't matter how your parents are or perhaps your Sunday school teachers have been good to you. That doesn't make any difference. If in the story of Nicodemus we see it doesn't matter how good you are in your own self. It doesn't matter how good standing you are or what you do to your neighbours or your friends. It makes no difference. We all need to come the same way. We all need to know the Lord Jesus as our own personal Saviour. And how is this all possible? You know, we said as we began there was no other way. We sung the chorus about Calvary's cross. You know, if you and I want to be saved it has to be at Calvary's cross. We've just read the verse that is well known, John 3.16. But of all the verses in the Bible the ones that we read in Matthew 26 are probably the most solemn verses that have ever been written. They're verses that show us something of what the Saviour suffered as He looked, thought, looked up, head to the cross. If we read these verses we find here that He goes a little further. He falls on His face and prays. Listen to the prayer that Jesus made. O my Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me. I believe that the Lord Jesus is saying here is it at all possible for sinners to be saved without Calvary's cross? Is it possible, dear friends for sinners to be saved without the cross? And is not this the question that the Lord Jesus puts to His Father? His Father who loved His Son who throughout those 33 years He had seen His Son moving back here and in every step that the Lord Jesus made down here what did God say? This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Yes, the Father ever as He looked at His beloved Son saw in Him beauty, the glory and everything was good about the work of the Lord Jesus. Yet when we come to this verse here that same man says to his Father is it possible to another way to be found where souls can be saved? And there was no other way, dear friend. The Lord Jesus prayed again those same words. Is it at all possible that souls can be saved another way? And there was no other way whereby you or I could be saved. It had to be Calvary's cross. And if you won't come to the cross, dear friends you'll never get saved. And the Lord Jesus He willingly accepts from His Father that He would go to the cross. We read as we carried on in chapter 27 When they came out and when they were come unto the place called Golgotha that is to say a place of a skull they crucified Him. Very few words. But what meaning what meaning there are in these words. You know in the cross of Christ we see on the one hand the absolute hatred of man. How man hated God. And how man said we will take your best God and we'll crucify Him. And they took the Son of God and they nailed Him upon a cross of wood. Let's get it straight tonight that the world in which we live in stands guilty at this very moment of the death of the Son of God. Later on in the book of Acts He says, speaking to the nation Ye have taken Him by wicked hands have crucified and slain. What side are you on tonight? Are you on the side of those that crucified the Lord of glory? Are you on the side of those that nailed Jesus to the cross? What else do we see at Calvary's cross, dear friends? We see there how much God really loves us. God loved us enough to see His Son taken to that cross. There to endure all that suffering. At the hands of man we can meditate for a moment at what He endured. At the physical sufferings that must have been Jesus's. As He hanged upon that cross. You know when we come to those hours of darkness where according to Peter again He says, in His own body bore our sins upon the tree. Dear friends, may I appeal tonight for anyone here who doesn't know this Saviour. He's well worth knowing. He's a wonderful Saviour. He went all the way to Calvary's cross in order that you might be saved. Tonight, He's saying, won't you come and trust Me? The work has all been done and all you need to do at this very moment is simply come and trust Him as your own precious Saviour. What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus. He indeed is an all the way home Saviour. Which road are you on, dear friends? Is there anyone here tonight who has to say that they've been trying to get to heaven by their good works? Is there anyone here who have thought that because of the family they could get to heaven? Anyone here who thought that for various reasons they would find their way to heaven? I tell you tonight on the authority of God's Word the only way to heaven is via Calvary's cross. If it was at all possible dear friends, for you or I to get to heaven any other way don't you think the Lord's prayer in the garden would have been answered? And there would have been a way, Father where you or I could be saved. There was no other way. The hymn writer puts it, there was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gates of heaven and let us in. And tonight I want to challenge each one. I want to appeal to you here. Do you know Jesus as your Saviour? Young people, remember Samuel. Wonderful, wonderful environment he was brought up in. But he didn't know Jesus. And I ask you the question straight tonight. Do you know Jesus tonight as your Saviour? Because if you go out of that hall not knowing Jesus as your Saviour, you go out of that hall and if anything happened, you're on your way to hell. Make no mistake about it. Don't want you to go out of here and say I made it unclear. It's absolutely clear in the Bible. If you don't trust in the finished work of Jesus, you stand condemned. And you'll end up in hell. But God loves you dear friends. And that's the marvellous side of it. God loves everyone here tonight. God wants to bless you. God wants to give you eternal life. God wants to give you a home in heaven. And it's all available. And it's all free. If only you'll come and trust Him. No matter who you are tonight. There may be some older people here who for years have gone on. Have come along to church and chapel or meeting room. And for year after year people have recognised you to be the Lord's. And yet you know you're not. You know deep down in your heart that you've never really taken that step of faith and trusted Jesus. Well I say to you tonight, this is your opportunity. An opportunity tonight to trust the Saviour. An opportunity tonight to come off the road which will lead you to destruction. Come on the road that will lead to life. The words of John 14 says, Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. You know Jesus is the one that we have to offer to you tonight. We have no one else to offer. We don't want anyone else. Simply tonight we say to you here in this hall, come to the Lord Jesus. He died on the cross in order that He might save you. Won't you come and trust Him. He's done all the work. All you need to do is to simply accept what He has done. There's no other way to get to heaven. The only way that you or I will get to heaven is by Calvary's cross. Simply come to Him tonight. Put your faith and trust in Him. Know the joy of having Him as your Saviour. Know the joy of knowing that one day we will be with Him in heaven. Dear friends, as we close this service this evening, we're going to close with singing number 268. And as we close, I'd like everyone here to think of these words. O Calvary, Calvary, where Jesus shed His blood for me. O Calvary, bless Calvary, whilst there my Saviour died for me. Remember, dear friends, tonight that on Calvary's cross Jesus suffered in order that you might be saved. He died there that you might live. Won't you tonight simply come and trust in Him and accept His offer of salvation and be saved for all eternity. …