I Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ~ No on is predestinated. One has to choose. Free will has always been the kicker. Men choose NOT to believe in God of their own free will. You know why multitudes of grown men and women aren’t coming to Christ like they were in the Reformation and Great Awakenings? They don’t want Him! That was then, and this is now.
You know why they are not coming to God on the street corners, in bus ministries, huge evangelistic meetings, Gospel Blitzes, at the football games, gay pride parades? They don’t want Him! They want lucre. They want sin. They want pleasure. They want gratification. They want drunkenness. They want drug binges. They want carnal desires
The religious don’t want him either. They want buildings and temples. They want salaries. They want their own lives. They want education. They want man made ministries. They want systems. They want status. They want position. They want religion. They want a form of godliness. But they don’t want Him! I heard a wise man say once, Men are seeking fulfillment at every source but the direct source.
Our Lord said, Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:14 Many times in our ways of doing the public ministry all we really do, if truth were told, is find a sinner who is at his wits in, tired of drugs alcohol, and the affairs of this life. All these names and phrase we have for things we do! I.e. soul winning, gospel blitzes, passing out tracts, street preaching, door to door visitation. We are all reforming!
God didn’t draw them, nor did they seek him, they repented after worldly sorrow. Maybe they wanted to simply change their ways. Maybe they had a horrible day at work and took it as a sign! Maybe they wanted a change of luck. I have witnessed some that just wanted the preacher to shut up and leave!
Then, in our pride, and lust for another notch on our belts, we give them a worldly sorrow which worketh death. We continue on in our act of so called street preaching, witnessing, soul winning or whatever we call it, oblivious to the lack of the real spiritual working.
I have witnessed this in many visitation programs, youth camps, bus ministries, and other ministries like these. In retrospect, I have witnessed this in my own dealings with men. I had to repent of this error. Men seeing the obvious rejection of the bible, God and Jesus Christ, he scoffing at the blood, and yet, the soul winner persists? They don’t want HIM! By all means preach the word, and stand in defense of his name and gospel, but sinners have to choose. Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation.
Any man can be prompted at their lowest occasion of depravity to turn over a new leaf. Usually just out of guilt alone for their lives of shambles, ruins, and broken dreams, and the working of their own hands.
II Corinthians 7:8-12
8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
8 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
9 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
10 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
12 Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.
Is this why you street preachers are on the corner? Is this why preachers invite gospel grenade throwing evangelist to prod the sheep unto submission? If you could write a letter to the lost, would it match your preached words on Saturday afternoon in front of the people coming and going in their chariots?
Second Corinthians 7 is obviously dealing with those of faith. The importance of using it to this point, is the “repentance to salvation” we see in the passage as opposed to the “sorrow of the world” that worketh death.
Theses people who you profess “battle with” as you “fight the devil” and his crowd, the cults, the sodomites, the lasciviousness, and the Atheist, may have already been drawn, and it’s obvious they have rejected, and some of them, God may never knock again. And this is to whom we go to preach? Many have no root in them. You say, “Well someone has to tell them”. You think you are the only way for them to hear, so you will forcibly and with great boldness, make your self the seed, instead of the word of God.
These are the people we go to? The 50,000 at the sporting events? The Spring breakers sowing their wild oats and enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season? Yeah, there minds should really be drawn of the spirit. They should really be free from all distractions to hear the spirits call to salvation. Or maybe the 300 in a bar on a Friday night enjoying times with their selected friends. They were not drawn of the Spirit to these places. And neither were you preacher! The same flesh that brought them out, brought you out.
They need God just as much as anybody right? Sure! But they are not in a place that is conducive to hear it. Of course we should attempt to win the lost at any opportunity. But we can’t wait for the opportune times? We make them in our own haste or at our own appointments. We keep to the same appointments as the world. This is not the spirit, this is the letter. The same flesh that brought the world out to revel, brought you to revile! The holy spirit did not guide you, and you did not ask of him. These events are premeditated and traditional. You went, and you preached, in your own flesh.
They were drawn of their friends, acquaintances, and their own free will, much like the zealous street preacher. You want act this way unless you have soldiers around you to protect you. So you are drawn of your friends and your acquaintances as well. Why do you never see these men by themselves? They have other tough looking guys around them as body guards to protect them.
This world, they know of the Christ your preaching, and they don’t want him. They want the Christmas and Easter Jesus, but thats it. And they really don’t want to have anything to do with the Christian on the street corner.
The Lord Jesus Christ Christ was against this wayward spirit. Of course the Lord took liberties. He was God people! It’s HIM, the spirit of God that brings the condemnation, not you. Many at such events are closed to it. Seared, reprobate. Why? Why do you persist? Do we never think we are the great stumblingblock to them? Why do we never beg the question?
Do we never consider the statement that Peter posed, judgment must begin at the house of God? What word did they receive? How did they receive the word? The sinners response has to do with how we are putting it out. (Romans 10). They have to receive it first before they can believe it. They are not receiving the spoken word as the word of God, but as the word of men, because that what most of it has become.
I Thessolonians 2:10
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
You could listen to anyone of the confrontational street preachers out there, and rarely here the gospel of the grace of God. You will hear about the wickedness of the world, sodomy, fornicators, judgment, hell, repent ye, etc. All Biblical, but not all applicable. Many of you should hear the lunacy out there.
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