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ABC Prayer Crusade

Path to the Heart

Glenn Coon

1-Jesus Only

Dear Lord, make me a nail upon the wall, fasten securely in its place.

Then from this thing so common and so small, hang a bright picture of thy face, and we thank you in Jesus' name.

If you'd like to turn with me in your Bibles To Matthew chapter 17.

We have the story there of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ There are parallel texts Mark the ninth chapter and Luke the ninth chapter cover the same transfiguration scene.

We're not going into all of the details of the transfiguration, but it says that the Lord Jesus led his disciples on a high mountain and I believe that's symbolic it says that as the Moses and Elias conversation closed and the voice from heaven said, this is my beloved son, and the great glory passed away.

It says, they saw no man save Jesus only.

Luke says they were left alone with Jesus.

When I used to read that many years ago, I thought it was just an incident.

It was a wonderful experience, But little did I realize that was symbolic.

And then I read from 1 of the most marvelous authors of the last century.

And this author said that in the words, Jesus only is found the secret of the life and the power of the early Christian church.

And as I read that, I said, think of that, how easily it is for you and me to read the Bible and not to realize the full significance in the name Jesus.

And Jesus only is found, that tremendous power, Pentecostal power, a gospel message, a witness that covered the entire known world.

My heart reached out and I said, Lord, if that's the secret of the life and the power of the early Christian church, then I know what is the secret of the life and the power that should mark God's church today.

There are many many wonderful things, there are beautiful doctrines all through the Bible, but the most wonderful thing of all is Jesus Christ.

All eyes turning to him and being fixed on him and following him will find that the life is changed for 2nd Corinthians 3 18 says we beholding his glory are changed in the same image by the Spirit of the Lord.

As I studied it more and more, I said, dear Lord, I want as never before in my life to focus my conversation, my gaze, my study, my study of the scriptures on Jesus Christ.

No doctrine has any real practical power except as we find Jesus Christ and his beautiful character in that doctrine.

You know, Peter didn't realize the value of that name during the trial of Jesus.

And then he captured Jesus, pitying, loving look at him in the judgment hall.

He went out, wept bitterly, gave his heart to the Lord.

Peter was preaching the sermon on the day of Pentecost, uplifting Jesus Christ in all of his glory.

And not long After that, he and John went up to the beautiful gate of the temple, you remember?

And the crowds gathered together, ready to almost worship Peter and John.

Don't you look upon us as though we by our power of goodness, our holiness have made this man whole.

He said it's the name, through faith in the name of Jesus Christ, that has made this man whole.

It would do well for men and women professing the Lord Jesus Christ today to learn the lesson that Peter learned.

Jesus Christ to be silhouetted in our thinking, in our study, and in our conversation.

And that's what's going to happen to men and women who are ready to meet Jesus Christ when he comes again.

Think of it, The next day after Christ healed that man, Peter and John were hauled into court.

There was Caiaphas and many of the other great leaders who had seen Peter just a few weeks before denying the Lord Jesus Christ.

But as Peter boldly, courageously, filled with the Holy Spirit, told them of the mighty power of Jesus Christ, I can imagine that Caiaphas quailed before that tremendous picture of the power of Jesus.

Perhaps the maid was there before whom Peter had denied the Lord.

Can this be the Peter who had denied his Lord, who is now saturated with power from on high, oh, that spells hope for you and me.

If you and I have found ourselves rather afraid to witness to the majesty and the power and the salvation of Jesus, Remember that God will change us as he changed Peter if we'll just lay all on the altar Bring all that we have to Jesus.

He said before them as found in Acts 4 12 There's none of the name under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved He was upholding that name now that he'd covered with profanity.

None other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

When I was a little boy at the age of 6, my mother told me the story of Jesus.

I don't know how many times she told it before, but I want to tell you, friends, as she went into the story of Christ there before the trials, and then that famous march to Calvary, and then Christ hanging on Calvary, my young heart was broken, and I repented of every sin of which I was conscious.

Mother told me how to claim 1 John 1, 9 for forgiveness and cleansing, and a little boy 6 years of age knelt down there with his mother and found Jesus in all of his beauty.

I'm sorry to say that there were many times after that, that right in church, I heard things that didn't seem to have Christ at the center.

And I found myself backsliding in so-called doctrine because Jesus was not at the center.

Beloved friends, those of you who know Jesus Christ, be sure to let men and women know that Christ is the center of your conversation, the center of your life.

I remember later as I was finishing school and went as a missionary with my wife, I determined to uplift Jesus as never before in all my life.

Started a series of meetings, 06:00 in the morning it was held.

And it was held in a large church in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and friends, I want to tell you, that church was packed morning by morning at 06:00.

As I sought, though maybe clumsily, to uphold Jesus in all of his beauty, I could sense that angels were just filling that auditorium.

Along toward the close of the week, we had some testimony services.

I like those old-fashioned social meetings, don't you?

Where people get up and tell how they love the Lord.

1 of the men that stood, as he began to tell his experience very briefly, he stated that he'd been reared in a Christian home.

But he explained that his father was a very critical Christian.

He'd been living on the husks of the mistakes of others.

And it seemed that he had just filled the home with the atmosphere of negatives.

And this man, as he was standing, he said, I got so fed up with that kind of Christianity that I wanted nothing to do with religion because I had the impression that all Christianity was like that of my father.

And he said, I went out into the world to taste of its sensuous pleasures.

And I was surprised to find that the world didn't give me a satisfaction.

He said, I finally came to a place in my experience where every time I saw a funeral procession moving down the street, I wish that I had the privilege of being in that box.

Death was greatly to be preferred to life.

But he said, this week, and then his face was wreathed in smiles, this week everything is changed.

He said, I've captured a picture of Jesus, my Lord.

I've given my life to him, and I give him all that I have, all that I am.

My friends, thank God that men and women are finding Jesus and they're finding a personal relationship to Jesus Christ.

No matter how far they've wandered from the Lord.

A doctor friend of mine told me of an old man that was living just off side the campus.

And he said, I've known him, he said, for years.

He's been a member of the church for 40 years.

But he said, during these 40 years, this man has been the most critical man in the whole neighborhood.

He said, this man criticizes his neighbors, he criticizes his fellow church members, He said he criticizes the ministers.

And he said, the man isn't ready to meet his Lord.

I wonder, Brother Kuhn, if you would be willing to go over and maybe we can help him.

2-Enamored With Jesus

The topic today, enamored of Jesus, has to do with a tremendous principle of soul winning, the law of choice.

And our opening text of scripture is found in Joshua 24, 15.

There are 2 great philosophies in the world today concerning how to win our loved ones to the Lord Jesus.

We were standing on a hill overlooking the great city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, some time ago, with a fine Christian lady whose husband was not a Christian.

As we stood there together in his presence, she turned to us and said, how can I get my husband to be a member of the church?

Others have come to me and they've said how can I get my wife to stop smoking the wife is listening Many individuals come to us and say how can I somehow persuade men and women to be good like I am?

If we can learn the Lord's way, for remember friends there are 2 outstanding philosophies of soul winning.

1 is the philosophy of nagging, belittling, condemning, hoping thereby to bring people to conviction, you see, when conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit.

The other method is to present Jesus, to draw aside that curtain, so that they can see the loveliness of Jesus, and they will so completely fall in love with Him, that they choose to fall at His feet, and worship Him, and give their lives completely to him.

And if we have been using the wrong method, shall we ask the Lord today to change our methods so that they shall conform to that which will cause people to want Jesus, to choose to serve him, of their own volition to say, ah, this is the 1 that I want to serve.

Now in order to know how to use the new method, let us turn to Song of Solomon, chapter 5, verse 16.

And notice the way to really win people to Jesus.

Let us notice how to persuade them to accept him.

This is my beloved, and this is my friend.

How can we get people, how can we persuade people To choose Jesus on their own volition, it is for them to know that his mouth is most sweet, his character is delightful, he is someone that we cannot get along without.

There was a little girl whom her mother was tucking into bed 1 day and it seemed that this little girl, only perhaps 4 or 5 years of age, noticed for the first time her mother's hands all scarred.

She said, mommy, why do your hands look so ugly?

And you imagine how it must have cut the mother's heart.

She said, when you weren't quite as old as you are now, a fire broke out in the bedroom where you were.

Your bed was on fire, but I hastened quickly to your rescue, and she said, I was able to extinguish the flame, but in doing it, my hands were severely burned.

But she said, honey, In doing it, I saved your life.

Friends, those hands appeared to that little girl from then on as the most beautiful hands she'd ever seen in all her life.

But 1900 years ago, there was 1 who was wounded more than the sons of men.

There was 1 whose hands were nailed to dark calvary.

But when we realized that he was crucified, he was wounded, he was disfigured because he loved us and he saved us.

1 day the teacher said, Jimmy, would you try to spell the word friend?

It seemed to him as a rather big assignment, but he struggled through it, and he spelled it.

And the teacher said, Jimmy, that's wonderful.

But you know how little boys and girls are?

They'll tackle anything till they get into their teens.

He said a friend is a fellow who knows all about you and loves you just the same.

If you and I can persuade people as to that kind of a friend whose mouth is most sweet, who is altogether lovely, he is my beloved, he is my friend, we don't have to nag anymore.

We don't have to try to take the place of the Holy Spirit consciously or unconsciously because here is 1 whom they want to adore.

Now Jesus methods are so different from our methods in Hosea chapter 2 verse verse 14 We find the Lord Jesus revealed himself in an outstanding way in the Old Testament days to many individuals including Hosea the prophet.

We're not going to relate the whole story of Hosea and Gomer, his wife, except to say that his wife, Gomer, had fallen for someone else, maybe several 1 else.

She had now been living out of wedlock in a very unworthy life.

But the man who had taken her to be his concubine, himself found her so unworthy that he was ready to dispose of her.

And in thinking it over, he decided that an auction sale would be the best way.

So he announced that he was gonna take Gomer up to the auction block and sell her to the highest bidder.

Now here is Hosea, a holy man of God, a righteous saint of God, a prophet if you please.

How is he going to win this character back to the love of Christ?

Will he go up to that auction block and say, listen, Gomer, I want everybody to know that you have been 1 of the most rotten characters in this whole neighborhood.

But still, I may condescend to put you on trial for a while.

And if you live up, I'm going to condescend from my high and holy estate, and I'm going to be so, so marvelously kind to accept you back.

But Gomer had learned of the fabulous of him who was altogether lovely.

And the very Christ was living within him.

And Christ in him said this, Hosea 2, 14.

And so he went to the auction block and he bought her and he allured her and he spoke comfortably to her.

Many years ago, I read from a book that I love very much entitled The Desire of Ages.

On page 826, a marvelous quotation about Jesus.

I said, whoever wrote that certainly had the concept, the true concept, the concept of Jesus.

3-Jesus Prepares You

Dear Lord, just make me a nail upon the wall, fasten securely in its place.

Then from this thing so common and so small, hang a bright picture of thy face, and we thank you in Jesus' name, amen.

Friends, our opening text of scripture is found in John 5.30, Jesus speaking.

Jesus, who came all the way from glory land, as the God-man, made this statement.

This is the secret of soul winning and then with that, that marvelous statement by the Apostle Paul found in Philippians 4 13, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

I can of my own self do nothing, but I can do all things through Christ.

So many, many people have come to me through the years and they've said, I'm not prepared to win souls, I have no talent, I don't seem to be able to get it all together and help men and women to find the right way.

I'm depending on people who have the talent but I don't have the talent.

Friends let me share with you what God can do with the individual who comes to that place in his experience where he says, I can't do it.

Then he reaches up and takes hold of the power of Jesus Christ and says, I can do all things through Christ.

I'm going to unite my weakness to his strength, my ignorance to his wisdom.

Just a little while ago, they were interviewing us on the radio, and as we concluded our half hour interview, the announcer was saying, what special message would you give to your hearers?

I said, for them to say, look, I'm stopped going to try to do it by myself.

I will relax, and then I'll reach up and take hold of the power of the Lord.

And my friends, it not merely sounds good, it is good.

It is the foundation of all missionary endeavor.

Several years ago my wife and I were at a gas station my car was up on the the grease rack And while they were working on it, a man walked up to me and I thought he was the manager of the station.

And then I thought to myself, I acted so happy that I'm afraid maybe he thinks I'm touched a little bit.

So I said, shouldn't a man be happy who has found Jesus Christ as his personal savior?

And he looked me in the face with a countenance full of reverence.

And when I said, who has a savior like this?

He said, I take him with me everywhere I go.

And friends, it thrilled me from first to last.

He said, 5 years ago, I was a confirmed drunkard.

I was a manager of 1 of the big linen companies of America but he said they were trying every way to salvage me they would move me from 1 place to another so that the people wouldn't catch up with me and realize that I was no contribution really to my company because I was an alcoholic I was a drunkard he said and after they had tried again and again through many years, they finally gave up on me.

He said, when I was dismissed from that important position, A death of a relative would not have meant more to me.

It seemed there's no hope He said they said well you can you can become a salesman So they took me on as they would take on a green salesman without any experience whatsoever.

He said my wife and I sat down and we talked it over.

We said you know We have never once given God a thought in our lives.

He has been no part of our existence, of our family life.

He said the next Sunday, we found ourselves sitting in a Baptist church.

And he said after we were there, attended about 3 weeks, we decided why don't we give our lives to Jesus.

He said after that I didn't get drunk, but I still drank plenty of cocktails, I smoked, I danced, I did almost everything else that the world does.

And he said in that situation, that condition of mind, we continued going to church for about 3 years.

He said then 1 Sunday morning, our minister got up and spoke on the subject of a paralytic who was brought to Christ on a cot, born of 4 men.

And the preacher said, since there were 4 men and there are 4 corners to a cot, evidently each man must have taken the corner of a cot.

And then the preacher developed the thought and he said, look, probably none of these men could have healed that poor cripple.

Each could take the corn of a cot and bring him to Jesus.

And he said, as a minister made the appeal to the congregation, you may not be able to preach or sing or pray publicly, but can't you carry a corn of a cot and bring somebody to the meetings where we'll present to him the beauties of Jesus?

And he said, I was so impressed, and my wife was so impressed, that right after the meeting was over we walked up and shook hands with the minister we said preacher we're going to make a deal with you if you'll agree to our conditions he said I can't preach I can't teach I cannot pray publicly and I cannot sing If you'll never ask me to do any of those 4 things, I'm willing to take the corn of a cot and I'll bring people to church.

But preacher, if you ever ask me to do any 1 of those 4 things, I'm through with the church, completely.

The preacher looked into our faces with a look of sweet, wholesome assurance.

And he said, alright, I make that agreement.

I'll never ask you to preach, I'll never ask you to pray publicly I'll never ask you to teach publicly and I'll never ask you to sing he said all right subject to those conditions I'm going to start inviting people to church he said I decided I'd get a ball And I'd have a young man whom I knew go out and invite people who had no church relationship and no transportation to come to church if we'd pick them up.

He'd put their names on this ball and give it to me.

He said I went down to the hardware store and I told the salesman about it and the salesman said okay I'll give you another 1.

So he said I had 2 I gave 1 to 1 young man another young man they put the names of individuals who had come to church and he said I brought 2 the next Sunday.

The following Sunday there were more than I could bring.

In a few Sundays there's more than I could bring than a friend of mine and then that we conceived the thought why don't we get a bus?

Presented at the church we worked on a regular route inviting people to come he said before we almost almost before we knew it we had a bus full of people.

And he said, as I was inviting people to come and filling up 1 bus after another, and he said, we finally filled up 10 buses.

I found myself relating to the people whom I was inviting to come to Sunday school and church, I was relating to them my own experience in finding Christ.

Here I was doing the very thing that I told the pastor never to ask me to do.

He said, and then they invited me to give my experience to the inmates of a prison.

And he said, as I went down and I told him my experience in finding Christ, I realized I was giving my first sermon.

And I was still carrying on my work as a salesman for the company.

He said, I bought myself a little movie projector, a screen, I'd put it right up in a motel court, invite the people there to come and watch this special message.

But before the message was given on the screen or after, I would tell them the story of how I found Jesus.

He said, I found myself becoming a revivalist.

Here I was preaching and men were coming and giving their hearts to Jesus Christ.

I said, that happened about 2 years ago, you started this special work?

2 years ago, when I decided that I would carry the corn of the cot, I said, how in the world can I win people to Christ if I'm still smoking, drinking cocktails, going to dance parties and so on?

So he said, my wife and I surrendered everything to Jesus that was questionable.

And we felt the presence of the Lord as he went with us.

That's why I was saying to you, I take him with me everywhere I go.

I said, brother, about how many, can you say that the Lord has used you as an instrument in his hands during the 2 years to win to Christ?

And friends, I can't describe to you the sweet reverent wholesome humble expression on that man's face as he said 2000 from drunkard to revivalist how By recognizing that he had nothing in himself and then reaching out beyond himself, uniting his weakness to the strength of our Lord, his ignorance to the wisdom of our Lord, you see, his heart to the heart of our Lord, and he united his will with God's will and man's will becomes omnipotent.

Friends have you said to yourself I just can't do it others can I can't Don't forget how the drunkard became a revivalist?

And what God has done for others, he'll do for any of us.

We're told in Philippians 2.13, it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

It is God that gives us even the will to do.

He was 1 of the world's worst stammerers.

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Series

Path to the Heart

4-Jesus, The Argument

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