Love Worth Finding

Adrian Rogers: Are you rebelling against God without knowing it? Listen to Adrian Rogers. God has told some women, men, children that you need to be saved.

Time and time and time and time again, God has reproved you. He that being often reproved and hardeneeth his neck. Have you done that? Just by procrastination or by pride, or through the pleasures of this world.

Have you put off giving your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you hardened your neck? You may cross that place where you are broken beyond repair, beyond repair. And then the Bible says that there will be no remedy. It'll be too late. I just beg you to come to Jesus while you can.

Kerry Vaughn: Welcome to Love Worth Finding. When inviting people into a relationship with Jesus, pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers said, I'm not inviting you to a funeral. I'm inviting you to a feast. I'm not inviting you to death. I'm inviting you to live.

As we learned in part one of today's message on Friday, God lovingly speaks correction and reproof to us in several ways, time after time. Yet sometimes when God convicts us, we still rebel. We harden our necks, as scripture says. But what happens when we've reached God's deadline, still entrenched in our rebellion?

If you have your Bible, turn to Proverbs chapter 29, verse 1, as Adrian Rogers gives this solemn warning in Broken Beyond Repair.

Adrian Rogers: Take your Bibles and turn to the book of Proverbs, chapter 29, and verse 1. If we ever had a solemn text, the text tonight is a solemn and a serious text.

He that being often reproved, hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy. He will be broken beyond repair. He enters into a situation that I would call hopeless. And the Bible tells us that it is hopeless.

To me, hopelessness is the saddest word in the English language. I want you to notice four definite thoughts that come out of this text tonight. The very first thing is I want you to notice God's merciful conviction, the spiritual conviction that God often gives. He that being often reproved.

Just underscore the phrase often. You see, God in loving patience deals with a sinner over and over and over and over and over and over again. We are often reproved. What patience God has. What love God has.

What mercy God shows. Now, if God had spoken only one time, it would have been more than justice demands. But God does strive with us. God's Holy Spirit does knock on our hearts. God does reprove our sins. God does call over and over and over again.

I don't know how God has spoken to you, but there's not a mother's child in this building that God has not spoken to. And and God speaks, we are often reproved. But I want you to see not only spiritual conviction, but I want you to see stubborn rebellion.

Notice what happens. He that being often reproved, hardens his neck. That means a person who stiffens his neck. He refuses to get right after God has spoken. And I've seen people harden their neck. I've seen people stiffen their necks. I've seen people stubbornly rebel against God.

Sometimes people harden their neck by procrastination, which is a form of disobedience. They say, well, I'll get saved, but not now. You're in Proverbs 29:1. Turn to Proverbs 27:1. God's word says, boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Some harden their neck by procrastination. I'll tell you another way that people harden their neck, not only by procrastination, but by pride. Did you know the reason that many people will not come down an aisle and make a public decision for the Lord Jesus Christ? They're afraid about what other people will think. If if they come down and and confess the Lord Jesus as their personal savior, they're going to say, well, these folks around here think, will think that I'm an old sinner if I go down there. That's right, Bud, that's what you are, an old sinner.

But so is everybody else, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So you stiffen your knees and you harden your heart and you lift up your head and you walk right on out to your doom because pride has kept you from coming to Jesus Christ.

I'll tell you another way that people harden their heart, not only through procrastination and pride, but through pleasures. Pleasures. The Bible speaks of these people, 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 4. They are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. There's certain things they say, well, if I give my heart to Jesus, then I'm going to have to give this up or give that up, so I'm not going to give it up.

That's so stupid, that's so foolish. Because the only thing God asks you to give up are things that'll hurt you. If it'll make you good, healthy, holy, wholesome, God says, help yourself. And my dear friend, what you give up is nothing compared to what he gave up for you. And thirdly, what you give up is nothing compared to what you get.

Who wouldn't give up dirt for diamonds? My dear friend, listen, I'm not inviting you to a funeral, I'm inviting you to a feast. I'm not inviting you to to death, I'm inviting you to life. My dear friend, the Lord thy God is a son and a shield. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

But you see, people harden their heart by these silly excuses, and indeed, they are silly excuses. Now, I've talked to you about spiritual conviction. I have talked to you about stubborn rebellion. Let me talk to you about sudden destruction. Notice what our text says, He that being often reproved, that's spiritual conviction, hardeneth his neck, that is stubborn rebellion, shall suddenly be destroyed. That is sudden destruction.

You see, there's an end to God's patience. God does speak, God does speak. But finally, God's patience wears out. Let me show you how a man may be destroyed. There are three ways that he may be destroyed. He may be his mind may suddenly be destroyed by strong delusion. There may be the destruction of his mind through strong delusion.

That's the reason that many people are in false cults today, Jehovah's Witnesses and other cults like this today. Because when they heard the truth, they refused the truth, and now they believe a lie. Second Thessalonians, the second chapter, verses 11 and 12, says this, For this reason, God will send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who receive not the love of the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Now, what does that verse tell us? It means that when a person hears the truth and he doesn't act upon the truth, God's judgment is that this man will be deceived. And there are many people who I said this morning that no man can believe until God opens his eyes. But this judgment is worse than that, not only does God not open his eyes, but God sends him delusion and judgment that he might be damned.

And so, so many times the mind, the mind is destroyed through strong delusion, and a person gets a lie firmly entrenched in his mind. But not only may the mind be destroyed, often there's the destruction of the spirit through spiritual desertion. What I mean by that is that the Holy Spirit of God can be insulted and sinned against until the Holy Spirit no longer speaks to an unsaved man.

The Holy Spirit just withdraws himself. The Holy Spirit just deserts the sinner and leaves him alone. You say, would the Holy Spirit just desert a person? Yes, he would. Let me give you some scriptures. Genesis chapter 6 and verse 3. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not strive with man forever. Or shall not always strive with a man.

Romans 1, verse 24. Therefore God also gave them up. Romans chapter 1, verse 26. For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. Romans 1, verse 28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. God gave them up, God gave them up, and God gave them over to a reprobate mind.

There's a verse of scripture in the Old Testament that says that Ephraim is joined to his idols, let him alone. Let him alone. There may be the destruction of the mind through strong delusion. There may be the destruction of the spirit through spiritual desertion. The Holy Spirit of God just deserts a person. That person is no longer able to come to Christ because he's no longer convicted.

Let me show you a terrifying passage over here in Hebrews chapter 6. Keep one finger where you are and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 6. Now, theologians have raised their theological motors about Hebrews chapter 6 and what it says. I'll tell you what I believe it deals with. I believe it deals with the unpardonable sin.

Hebrews chapter 6, verse 4. He speaks of an impossibility. Look at it in verse 4. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame.

Now this verse says, there are certain people that it is impossible to renew to repentance. Who are these people? These are people who have been often reproved. Notice, it is impossible for those who were once enlightened. The Holy Spirit enlightens you and have tasted of the heavenly gift. The Holy Spirit gives you samples of heaven, were made partakers of the Holy Ghost. The word partaker means have gone along with the Holy Ghost, have been dealt with by the Holy Ghost and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come. That is, God has worked on them. If they shall fall away, that is, if they harden their neck, there comes a time when it is impossible to renew them to repentance.

The illustration I can think of, if you go into the back of the supermarket sometime, I went into the supermarket and there was a lady there and she had little tidbits of sausage on toothpicks and to give you to kind of wet your appetite, just a taste, just a morsel. And the idea is that they do that to to show you what's in the showcase, to get you to carry it out and buy it.

Now suppose you go back there by the meat market and they're giving away little samples of cheese and we'll say that you're a cheese hound and and you really love cheese and there's a there's an exotic and an imported cheese and you taste that and you roll it around and on your tongue, you say, that's just what I want. Give me three pounds of that cheese. And so they wrap it up and you take it out there to the checkout counter and the girl drags it over that thing and the little thing says beep beep and you look up there and you see that it says $26.

You say, what? It's $26. What's $26 for? Well, didn't you buy that cheese? That's imported cheese. That's $26 for three pounds of cheese. That's right. You've got to be kidding. Put it back. So you just leave it there and go out. Now, that's exactly and in a way that's what this verse is talking about.

Here is a person who knows what he's dealing with. He has tasted the good word of God. He has been made a partaker of the Holy Ghost. He knows what is happening. But when it comes to paying the price, he says, put it back. I don't want it. It is not that he doesn't know. He does know. He has been enlightened. God has dealt with him. He has been often reproved, but he says, no.

The Bible says you'll be suddenly destroyed. There may be the destruction of his mind through strong delusion. There may be the destruction of the spirit through spiritual desertion, or there may be the destruction of the body through sudden death, through sudden death. Many times the body dies suddenly because a person says no to the Lord. It may be a physical destruction.

I read that in God's dealing with the Amorites in the Old Testament. The Amorites were wicked people, but God spoke to them and spoke to them and spoke to them. They did not repent. In Genesis chapter 15 and verse 16, God said that the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. That is, there's a time when iniquity is full. That is, there's a time when people cannot go any further.

I'm afraid that America is coming close to that place. And God said of the Amorites, the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. But if you continue through the Bible, do you come to Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 17, then God says something else about the Amorites. This time God says, thou shalt utterly destroy them.

Do you see? At first the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. God's patience dealt with them and God spoke and God warned and God spoke and God warned. But there came a time when their iniquity was full and God said, utterly destroy them. I'm wondering if the cup of God's indignation is filled to the brim with you today.

You say, well, I'm not a very wicked person. Friend, let me tell you something. The worst sin is not rape, it is not incest. Do you know what the worst sin is? Do you know what the the most vile sin in this world is? It is unbelief.

Now, you may not believe that, but Jesus Christ said to Capernaum, one of the most cultured and beautiful cities in his time. I've visited the ruins of Capernaum many times. There on the north shores of Galilee. Jesus said for that city, it would be easier for Sodom and Gomorrah in the judgment than for the city of Capernaum. And he explained why. He said, because so many wonderful works were done here and yet you did not repent.

You see, he said, if if these other cities had heard what you've heard, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. And I'm telling you, my dear friend, that you may be sitting here saying, well, God's cup may not be full to the brim with me, because at least I'm not living a vile, wicked life. Are you hardening your heart against getting saved? Are you taking the knowledge, the truth that you've heard?

I'm telling you there are souls in darkness who would leap for joy to hear what some people have heard in this building tonight. They tell us when Ralph Bethea was here, he told about being down in Kenya and handing out tracks and people almost tear them out of his hands, wanting the truth all over the world. But we sit in an air conditioned upholstered church and have a preacher tear his heart out and beg us to come to Jesus.

We think, well, maybe one of these days we might just do God a favor and give our hearts to him. I'm telling you, my dear friend, the cup of iniquity is getting fuller and fuller and fuller. You see, he that being often reproved and hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy. The mind may be destroyed by strong delusion. The spirit may be destroyed by spiritual desertion, and the body may be destroyed by sudden death.

There's one other thing in our solemn text that I want you to see and it's what I want to call not only sudden destruction, but a settled destiny. Look again. He that being often reproved, that spiritual conviction, hardeneth his neck, that stubborn rebellion, shall suddenly be destroyed, that's sudden destruction. Now, watch this, and that without remedy. That, my friend, is a settled condition.

Do you know what the Bible makes clear? The Bible makes it abundantly clear that once you have crossed the deadline, once you have come to this point and judgment begins, there is no turning back. I said that I I read this text in a number of different translations. Let me give you the way different translations give this. Ours that we just read is without remedy. Another says, never have another chance. Another says, beyond healing. Another says, broken beyond repair. Another says, he shall suddenly be done for.

Do you remember the story that Jesus told about the rich man who died and he went to hell? And when he got to hell, then he began to talk about mercy and begging for mercy and said, send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. And what was God's answer given to this man? It was 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 who would come from thence. What does it mean?

It means, dear friend, that when you're in hell, you never get out. There is no remedy. You are broken beyond repair. Now, I know there are a lot of people who believe in reincarnation. As far as I'm concerned, that just means putting the milk back in the can. There are a lot of people who believe you can be recycled. That's all of the devil.

The Bible says you'll be suddenly destroyed and you'll be broken beyond repair. Hebrews 9:27 says, as it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. It doesn't say once to die and after this a second chance. There is no way out once you're in hell. Let me give you Jesus' description of hell.

Matthew chapter 25 and verse 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment. But the righteous to life eternal. My friend, if hell is not everlasting, neither is heaven. For the same Bible uses the same words to describe the same condition. Hell and heaven are both described as everlasting. The duration of heaven and the duration of hell are the same. At death, when a man is destroyed, whether he is destroyed by the unpardonable sin, or whether he is destroyed by sudden death, whenever that happens, his destiny is settled forever and eternally decided.

Let me give you a verse from the Old Testament. Ecclesiastes 11:3. If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth. If a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where the tree falls, so shall it lie. And then God makes that application to the way that a man dies.

Someone wrote these words, as the tree falls, so must it lie. As a man lives, so must he die. As a man dies, so he will be all through the years of eternity. He's broken beyond repair. Do you know what hell is spoken of in the Bible? Among the many figures of speech and descriptions of hell, hell is also called a bottomless pit.

Now, friend, nobody can climb out of a bottomless pit because there's no way to climb. Hell is a place where you descend ever lower and lower and lower and lower. Ours is a solemn text tonight. And God has spoken to some hearts tonight. And God has told some women, men, children, that you need to be saved.

Listen to the text again. Listen to the word of God. He that being often reproved, hasn't God been good to you? Time and time and time and time again, God has reproved you. He that being often reproved and hardeneth his neck. Have you done that? Just by procrastination, or by pride, or through the pleasures of this world.

Have you put off giving your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you hardened your neck? Then God says you're going to be suddenly destroyed. I mean tonight may be the last call that God will ever give. Oh, you may not die physically, just something inside of you may die.

You may cross the deadline. You may cross that place where you are broken beyond repair, beyond repair. And then the Bible says that there will be no remedy. It'll be too late. I just beg you to come to Jesus while you can. Father, I pray that many in this building will say yes to Jesus Christ. Oh, Spirit of the living God, draw them to the Savior tonight. In His name I pray, Amen.

Kerry Vaughn: If you want to say an everlasting yes to Jesus Christ right now, would you pray something like this from your heart? Oh, God in heaven, I know that I am a sinner, and I don't want to harden my neck, stiffen my neck anymore. I don't want to rebel against you. I want to receive the free gift that you're offering me in Jesus. I believe He died in my place on the cross, and He rose again to new life, so that I might have my sin taken from me, and you would replace it with Jesus' righteousness. I don't trust in my good works. I trust in what Jesus has done for me. Come into my life. Save me, Jesus. Make me a new creation in you. I trust you now as Savior and Lord. In Your name I pray, Amen.

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