Love Worth Finding

Adrian Rogers: Does God have a deadline? Listen closely to Adrian Rogers. Can a man spiritually pass the point of no return? Can he so stubbornly and arrogantly sin against God? Can he be so willfully rebellious that God will give up on him? The answer to that question is yes.

And that's a frightening thing. There is a deadline. That is the point of no return.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the profound truth of the gospel simply stated in the teachings of Adrian Rogers. Can a man spiritually pass the point of no return? Can he become so willfully hardened that God will finally give up on him?

The answer frighteningly is yes. God is indeed a God of infinite love, but He is equally a God of wrath and judgment. There is a deadline, and that's why we must heed the warnings that God so graciously gives us before we reach the point of no return.

If you have your Bible, turn to Proverbs chapter 29 as Adrian Rogers warns us of crossing God's deadline.

Adrian Rogers: Would you take your Bibles and turn, please, to Proverbs chapter 29? And we're going to look at one verse.

Now, sometimes when a pastor preaches from the word of God, he will take a chapter. As a matter of fact, I believe the chapter headings were put there to keep preachers from preaching too long. And sometimes he'll take a paragraph.

But today we're going to take just one verse, and we're going to look at that one verse because it is so rich. It is so strong. It is so powerful. It is so pertinent.

Can a man spiritually pass the point of no return? Can he so stubbornly and arrogantly sin against God? Can he be so willfully rebellious that God will give up on him? The answer to that question is yes.

And that's a frightening thing. There is a deadline. And if a man, woman, boy, or girl crosses that deadline, his doom is sealed, and he has no hope. You say, but pastor, God is a God of love, infinite love. Yes, He is. But he's also a God of wrath and a God of judgment.

And when you say that God is a God of love, that is truth, but it's not all of the truth. It is part of the truth, and when you try to take part of the truth and make part of the truth all of the truth, that part of the truth becomes an untruth.

So, we need to see all of God's word. I want you to look at this verse of Scripture because it is terrifying in some ways. Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 1. He that being often reproved and hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. He that being often reproved and hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy.

There's a time, I know not when. There is a place, I know not where, which marks the destiny of men to heaven or to despair. There is a line by us not seen which crosses every path, the hidden boundary between God's mercy and God's wrath. And to cross that line means that there's no hope for you.

I've been told that in the Niagara River, I've never seen it, but in the Niagara River that rushes down to Niagara Falls, at first, the Niagara River is very placid and very slow, but it reaches a point where it rises and picks up speed. And there's a sign there, I'm told on the riverbank, which says, "The Point of No Return."

Now, you can be in that river for a long time, but when you come to that place, you're not going to turn around and go back. That is the point of no return, and you are going over the falls if you pass that point. It is the point of no return.

Now, there are four definite proofs that are in this one verse. And so, I want you to take Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 1 and keep it open in your hand. And if you don't have a Bible with you, listen to it again. He that being often reproved and hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Four thoughts I want to lay on your heart today, and I pray God the Holy Spirit will etch them upon your consciousness and rivet them into your mind. The very first is spiritual conviction. God does convict us. We are often reproved.

Now, nobody goes to hell unloved, unwarned, unconvicted. Not a one. He that being often reproved. God strives with us. God knocks on our heart's door. God reproves us. God calls us over and over and over again. The Bible says, "He that being often reproved," many times reproved.

It would have been glorious mercy if God had just warned us one time, wouldn't it? But over and over and over and over again and again and again and again, God reproves. God speaks to us. Now, how does God speak? How does God reprove? Well, by His Holy Spirit.

There have been times when you've been driving along in your automobile, doing dishes, maybe you've been out on the football field. Maybe you are just about to go to sleep, and you feel the Spirit of God speaking to you, and you know that you're a sinner. You know that you're doing wrong. You know that you need to be saved. And God's Holy Spirit is gently but strongly speaking to your heart.

I know it did to mine when I was a teenage boy before I came to the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no way to describe it except the dearest, precious Holy Spirit of God was speaking. And if God's Holy Spirit is speaking to you today, I beg you. I plead with you, listen to the Spirit of God.

But not only does He speak through His spirit, He speaks through sickness. Have you been sick? Have you been in trouble? Have you been to the doctor and gotten a bad report? Well, God speaks through that.

You know, the Bible says, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray." What does sickness do? It's a messenger from God to tell us that we are going to die. And every one of us here has some kind of a sickness, and for some, it's going to get worse and worse. You say, "I'm not sick." Well, you might be using glasses like I am. That means your eyes are sick.

You might be getting gray hair, or it's falling out. That means your scalp is a little sick. Uh, dear friend, your your posture is not what it used to be, and your muscles are not what they used to be. You are dying, and God speaks to us that way and says, "You're not going to be here upon this earth forever."

We're winding down to the grave. Not only does God speak through His Spirit, and not only does God speak and reprove through sickness, but also through sorrows.

Maybe when you went to the graveside of your mother, you didn't know the Lord. And you thought to yourself, "I'll never see my godly mother again unless I get saved." Maybe God has spoken to you through the death of a child. Maybe God has spoken to you through some financial reverse. God speaks through His Spirit. God speaks through sickness. God speaks through sorrows. God speaks through sweetness.

And if you're saved, thank God for His goodness. But if you're lost, thank God for His goodness. The Bible says, "The goodness of God leads thee to repentance." And God will reprove just by simply the smile of a baby, the the beauty of a flower. God speaks through these things. God speaks to you through His servants.

The songs that we had today, "Victory in Jesus," "I've been crucified with Christ." Uh, the greatest song of all. Uh, "Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past." God speaks to you through those songs. That's the reason that we are a singing church. God speaks through His servants.

I'm not the best preacher in the world. And there are others who can preach the gospel better than I can, but nobody can preach a better gospel than I can, and I never preach a sermon till I've soaked it in prayer, and God brought you here today. To hear this message and God speaks through His servants. God speaks through His soul winners.

Maybe somebody has witnessed to you. Maybe somebody shared a gospel tract with you. Maybe you took it and crumpled it up. Maybe you threw it on the floor. Maybe you scoffed. Maybe you laughed. And God sent a special messenger of love to you. A young man was getting ready to go out on a night of sin.

His precious mother loved him so much that there by his cap she put down a gospel tract. She knew he'd see it. He picked it up. He looked at it. He said, "Mother, would you stop doing this?" He said, "Today when I got off the bus, somebody gave me one of these. I wish you wouldn't do that. Where can I go where people won't give me these things?"

She said with tears, "My son, you can go to hell. Nobody will give you one there."

God speaks. And there's not a mother's child in this building today that has not been spoken to by the Holy Spirit. Listen to this text, "He that being often reproved." God has spoken to you, precious friend, I don't know all of your names. But I know this much about you. Over and over and over and over and over and over again, God has reproved you. If you're not saved, He loves you too much to let you go to hell without being warned, without being reproved.

Every time I open this book to preach, God is speaking to you. That's the first thought, spiritual conviction. Here's the second thought, stubborn rebellion. Stubborn rebellion. He that being often reproved and hardens his neck. That means what we say today is is blowing up the neck. Just saying no, jetting out the chin, saying, "I will not do what God would have me to do."

How do you harden your neck? Well, you're in Proverbs 29. Just go back 27 and look if you will in verse 1. Some harden their neck by procrastination. Boast not thyself of tomorrow. For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. You have the idea, "Well, yes, God has spoken over and over again. One of these days, one of these days I'm going to give my heart to the Lord, tomorrow."

But God's word says, "Don't boast about tomorrow." You know, there's an interesting story. Now, Egypt had a king, the Pharaoh. He was a vile, wicked, lascivious, and arrogant man. And so God, in order to touch Pharaoh and allow God's people to go, God began to send plagues into the land of Egypt. And and one of the plagues that God sent to the land of Egypt to get the Pharaoh to let God's chosen people go that they might go to the promised land.

One of the plagues that God sent was the plague of frogs. I don't mean one frog. I don't mean two frogs. I don't mean thousands of frogs. I mean millions of frogs covered came up out of the Nile River and covered the land of Egypt. There were frogs everywhere.

The din must have been thunderous as these frogs were croaking all over. You put on your shoe, there would be a frog. A woman would open their kettle to cook, and there'd be a frog in the kettle. Uh, you would get down between the sheets, there would be frogs under the sheets. Little boys would be squishing frogs between the toes when they went to school. There were frogs everywhere.

They they covered the land. I mean, you might think it's funny, and it sounds funny, but if you were living in Egypt, I'll guarantee you it would not be funny. They're killing frogs, dead piles of frogs, smelly frogs everywhere, the stench unbearable, the noise cacophonous. It was horrible and terrible.

Pharaoh had had enough. He said, "Moses, ask God to take away the frogs." And I'm going to read from Exodus chapter 8, verses 9 and 10. And Moses said to Pharaoh, "Except the honor of saying, 'When I shall intercede for you, for your servants and for your people to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.'"

Now, Moses said, "Okay, Pharaoh. You just ask me, and I'll ask God to stop the frogs. When do you want me to do it?" Now, here's something you won't believe this, and he said, that is Pharaoh said, "Tomorrow." Tomorrow. Now, there are frogs everywhere. He's up to his ears in frogs.

"Now, Pharaoh, would you like me to take away the frogs?" "Yes, I would." "All right, Pharaoh, when?" "Tomorrow. Just give me one more night with the frogs." Isn't that an amazing thing? Isn't that an amazing thing? And there's some of you, sickness, sorrow, pain, discomfort, all of these things.

And I say, "Do you want to come to Jesus?" "Oh, yes, I do, pastor." "When?" "Tomorrow. Just give me one more night with the frogs." I don't want to be saved today.

There's an old story about a convocation of demons that got together to try to damn mankind, and and then and they were trying to cook up some schemes and plans, and one demon said, "Let's tell them there's no God." The other demon said, "Oh. The fact of God is so obvious. Only a few would believe that."

"Well, then let's tell them that that God is not a God of love." "Oh, no, no, no, no. God's handiwork, God's love is shown everywhere." "Well, let's just tell them there's no hope." "Oh, no, the gospel has been preached around the world."

Then one demon, malevolent, known for his craftiness and cunningness and wickedness, according to this fable, stood up and said, "I know what to do. Let's tell them there is a God, that he's a God of love, that he has made provision for people, that they need to be saved. They ought to be saved, but tell them just simply to postpone it."

And applause broke out in that convocation of demons, and they said, "Yes, that's the plan. We'll get more people by procrastination than any other way. Uh, people who intend to be saved, but they when they're reproved, they harden their neck by procrastination."

I'll tell you another way that people harden their neck, not only by procrastination, but they harden their neck by pride. You know, I'll give an invitation at the close of this service. I'll say, "Come, accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and make it public."

And the devil will come in to and sit right next to you, and he'll say and he'll say to you, "Hey, don't go down there. You're going to make a fool of yourself. Everybody will be watching you. Don't don't humiliate yourself. Don't admit your need."

And pride will escort you to hell in chains forged on the anvil of a hard heart. So many of the people in America are egomaniacs strutting to hell. And when the gospel is preached, that pride comes up in them, and the Bible says, "Only by pride. Pride goes before destruction." He that being often reproved and hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed.

The other way that people harden their neck, some through pride, some through procrastination, but others just the pleasures of this world. I mean, they're having a big time. And the Bible speaks of these in Second Timothy as lovers of pleasures, more than lovers of God. And and and there are those who are sitting in this building, and God has spoken to you time and time and time again.

But you think of your sin. You think of the pleasures of this world. It may be vile sin, it may be homosexuality, it may be adultery, it may be fornication, it may be drunkenness, it may be thievery, it may be violence. Or it may not be those things. It just may be your lifestyle.

And you have the idea, "You know, if if if I come to Jesus, look what I will give up." And so the Holy Spirit of God is speaking to you over and over and over again, but you harden your neck through the pleasures of this world. The Bible speaks of those who are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

Now, let me say this. I would not for a moment tell you there's no pleasure in sin. The Bible speaks of the pleasures of sin, but the Bible says they're for a season. The Bible also speaks of the pleasures of righteousness. And the Bible speaks of our God and says that "Thy right hand of pleasures forevermore."

Don't get the idea that when you come to Jesus, you give up something. The Bible says, "The Lord Thy God is a Sun and a Shield. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." If it will make you happy, if it will make you holy, if it will make you healthy, God says, "Help yourself." God is a good God. God is a good God.

The Bible says, "God gives us richly all things to enjoy." And every time God says, "Thou shalt not." God has just simply saying, "Don't hurt yourself." And every time God says, "Thou shalt," God is saying, "Help yourself to happiness." Remember that.

But friend, I know people who are so wrapped up with the pleasures of this world. I met people, I believe, who would give up coming to church before they'd give up getting a new television or a new refrigerator.

There are people when I give the invitation, the devil will whisper to them, "Now wait a minute. Don't don't turn your back on this. Don't turn your back on that. Don't turn your back. Don't you go down there and make a commitment to be one of those old Christians." And so you may harden your neck by procrastination. You say, "Well, I'll do it later."

Or you may harden your neck by pride and saying, "I'm not going to go down there and make a fool of myself." Or you may harden your neck through the pleasures of this world and say, "I am a lover of pleasure more than lovers of God."

But now there's a third thing I want you to see in this text. Now, look at it. He that being often reproved, that's spiritual conviction. And hardens his neck, that's stubborn pride. Uh, then notice, there comes also our stubborn rebellion. Then there comes sudden destruction. Sudden destruction.

Look at it. He that being often reproved, spiritual conviction, and hardens his neck, stubborn rebellion, shall suddenly be destroyed. Sudden destruction. That's what God's word says. There comes a time when you cross the deadline.

Now, God will bring judgment. God is a God of love, but He's also a God of wrath. Now, how may that sudden destruction may come to you? Well, first it may come to your mind. Not merely to your body, it may come to your mind. Not merely to your soul, the destruction may be in your head. God will destroy your ability to think right.

You say, "Pastor, where is that found in the Bible?" Well, I want to give you a passage of Scripture. And if you want to turn to it, you can turn to it. Or if you just want to listen to it, it's found in Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 11 and 12. The Bible says, "For this cause God shall send them strong delusion."

God sending delusion? Well, Pastor, I thought God was here to teach us the truth. Do you mean God would delude a person? You know what delude means? It means to be deceived. "For this cause God will send them strong delusion." Well, why would God send people strong delusion? Uh, well, he goes on to say that "They should believe the lie."

You mean God wants people to believe the lie? That's what it says, black print on white paper. Well, you say, "I don't understand that." Well, it gets worse. "That they all might be condemned." Damned.

Now, wait a minute, Pastor, are you telling me that God sends delusion, that people would believe lies, that they might be damned? That's what it says, black print on white paper. Well, why would God do that? He goes on to say, "These are the ones who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

God spoke to them. God gave them truth over and over and over again. Now, in this passage, and listen very carefully. The opposite of truth is not error. It is sin. You see, you're faced with the truth, and you know that if you receive that truth, that you'll have to turn from your sin. So here's a man over here, he has truth. Over here, he has sin.

And so, when he's faced with the truth, he refuses the truth, he embraces his sin. The opposite of truth here is unrighteousness in this passage of Scripture. And when that man turns from his truth, he's being often reproved. He hardens his neck. He turns toward his sin, then the baggage that he has is strong delusion. You see, that is the baggage. That is the just judgment.

Guest (Male): And with that, we'll conclude Adrian Rogers' message for today. Don't miss part two coming up tomorrow. And if you have questions regarding your faith in Jesus, we would love to offer an insightful resource on our website. It's the Discover Jesus page. You'll find resources and materials there that can answer questions you may have about how to begin a relationship with Christ.

Go to LWF.org/radio and click the tab that says Discover Jesus. We can't wait to hear from you today. We're so glad you joined us for this study in God's word. Today's program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a non-profit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters like you.

To give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVE-GOD. Or you can write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also connect with us online at LWF.org/radio or text the word radio to 90181. Thank you for listening today, and tune in next time for the convicting conclusion of Crossing God's Deadline right here on Love Worth Finding.

Guest (Male): We were so encouraged to receive a note from one of our international friends who shared this, "These teachings have made me see that my life should glorify the name of God. You are a huge blessing to my life." You know, at Love Worth Finding, it's our privilege and joy to provide resources that give wisdom and hope in difficult times.

And when you donate to the ministry right now, we want to send you one of our favorite devotionals, Calling God's Name. God has more than 30 names listed in Scripture, and each one reveals something He wants you to know about Him personally. Discover them all in this 30-day devotional. Request the book when you call with a gift at 1-877-LOVE-GOD. 1-877-568-3463. Or give online at LWF.org/radio. And thanks for your generous support of Love Worth Finding.