DEWITT TABERNACLE TEACHING SERIES

 

THE GOAL IS TO WIN SOULS

 

By C.W. Wood    March/April 2012

 

 

 

A Personal Note To Our Readers:  In the following four sermons, we have tried to reach beyond the limit of causing people to believe that God has mercifully sent us a prophet and direct our attention to the number one doctrine of Jesus Christ and of the Prophet, William Branham. We speak of the saving of souls, which is called “Being Born Again.” We do not take away from God’s way of using prophets; we only want to show that the Prophet, himself, is not the Way of Salvation, but only a means to that Way, which is through the Lord Jesus Christ. We want to show that the soul is not changed (saved) by believing that God sent a prophet, but only by belief in the Perfect Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The danger is this: A person can be taught the scriptures concerning a prophet to come in our day and they can even be made to believe that Br. William Branham is the one the Bible says was to come. And, in spite of this intellectual knowledge, they can still be un-converted! And so, we have chosen four sermons that have previously been published in our local newspaper, that deal with the number one goal of Message Believers (Bride) and have used them to make up our monthly sermon. Also, we take this space to speak to our supporters who may not have heard from us personally. We love you and pray for you, which is the best way we know of to repay you and to thank you for your faithful support. I believe we are so close to Rapture time that the Scripture is being fulfilled where the Lord said, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the Elects sake those days shall be shortened.”

          It seems to me that we have preached the “Soon Coming of the Lord” for so long now that at times our flesh grows weak and tired, and there is a tendency to grow lax as the Lord tarries His Coming. But, take heed, Little Bride, for when this Scripture starts to be fulfilled and we are wearied by the adverse circumstances, this is just another sign that our God is about to shorten our days here on this sin-cursed earth! But apparently, God has seen fit, for a little while yet, to cause us to strain every faith nerve we have in order to maintain victory. It has been my experience that when a battle with the enemy is over and victory has been apparent, it has taken every ounce of faith that God has given for me to stand the test and keep my testimony correct with the Word! But then, when a certain trial is over, that faith that held us steady for it has been made to grow even stronger and we are ready to hold our ground for an even longer time before God fulfills His Word for us. Never-the-less, in spite of all this, one day very soon now, we will no longer be testifying that the Rapture is near, but rather we will be looking over the banister and saying, “The Rapture is now history!” We will watch the Seven Trumpets of Revelation being blown all under the Sixth Seal, which will be during the three and one half years of Tribulation.

 

God bless, see you soon…

Br. C.W. Wood

 

 

THE GOAL IS

TO

 WIN SOULS

(NO. 1)

 

          How much more good would a few men, fervent for God and burdened for lost souls, be than a multitude of lukewarm ones? The multiplying of men who have called themselves into the ministry will produce very little. They may be but “cucumbers of the ground!” they may be like Achan troubling the camp. Every minister must search his own heart, examine his own conscience, and answer truthfully the following questions: Has it been the end of my ministry to save the lost and to guide the saved to a deeper faith? Is this my aim in every sermon I preach or write? Is this my goal in every visit I make? Do I pray and fast and work and weep? Is it for this that I spend my time? Is it my chiefest joy to be used of God for the saving of others? Have God’s people found any faith or refreshment coming from my lips and been helped on their way? Or, do I see no fruit from my labors? Am I content to see no spiritual growth in the congregation, or do I grieve when some seem to lag behind? Applause, fame, popularity, honor, or wealth – all these are vain, if souls are not saved, and if the saved are not made to grow spiritually.

          I seldom leave the pulpit but what my conscience smites me because I have not been more serious and fervent with my message. I am not convicted because I am not dressed right or because of mistakes in using the English language, but because I could speak of life and death with such a light heart! How can I tell the people what sin will bring them to and not be more affected myself in the telling of it? How terrible it is to have an insensible, un-softened heart. May the Lord save us ministers from such, or how can we be sued by God to save others from it?

          And so, we see that a minister must be called of God before he can call others to God. Paul said, “God hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” (II Corinthians 5:18).  Of all men, the minister is especially called to walk close to God! Everything depends on this. He is to fulfill this responsibility and receive from God what is to be given to the people. If he is truly “God-called,” he will receive an anointing that will enable him to hear from God. Romans 10:14-15, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent…”

          We do not call ourselves; we only agree to go “after” God calls us! We do not preach for “money”; God forbid that we beg the people for it. We are not called to see who can build the biggest building; God forbid that we enter into a “building race” that goes on all around us. We do not preach to make friends and influence people with our social standing. If the world loves you, preacher, you are in trouble with God, and if God loves you, you are in trouble with the worldly church (see James 4:4). “The friendship of the world is enmity with God!” Dear preacher friend, who are you popular with? Amen.

 

THE GOAL IS TO

 SAVE LOST SOULS

(NO. 2)

 

          Let it first be said that the following sermon is being written to the writer himself and then to any other minister who might be in need of the same message, the same reminder.

          There are some grave dangers to be confronted by those who are called to preach God’s gospel. We could call then “Dangers of Ministerial Professionalism!” To deliver sermons two or three times a week, to administer the Lord’s Supper occasionally, to visit members of the congregation, to baptize those who request it (whether they have repented and been changed or not), to hold many religious meetings, to add many names to the church rolls, to enlarge your building to hold those people who do not want to turn loose of the world but only desire to appease their consciences once a week, are some of those dangers. For the minister to encourage such people to continue to sit in church without warning them that they must truly repent and be justified, sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost, is what I am calling “Religious Professionalism,” or “Ministerial Professionalism.”

          Sometimes we ministers can boast of sermons that were admired and praised. We can put on the bulletin board how many we have baptized, but how many have we seen who have had their souls changed out and who are therefore truly converted and are growing in Grace? We may boast of our Sunday school attendance and of the good teachers we have, but are the young being taught to seek the Lord for that life-changing experience that is called “the new birth?” Or are they only being taught a better moral code?

          Have we, as ministers, not been chosen of God to be those who watch over the souls of the lost? Of what use are our sermons, our sacraments and our school if souls are not awakened to the need of repentance and salvation? If true, living Christianity is lost sight of, if the Holy Ghost is not sought after, if men are left to grow up and die un-prayed for, un-pitied, and un-warned, then we ministers are having a barren ministry.

          No matter what else we may boast of, the number one goal of our calling, to bring souls in, remains barren! Amen.

 

 

THE GOAL IS TO

SAVE LOST SOULS

(NO. 3)

 

          I recently spoke at a memorial service, and during the sermon I made a statement that I could tell put a big question mark on the faces of the congregation. I was encouraging the people to go to church, but I advised them to be sure the pastor of the church they chose was a saved man. People generally think that everyone who stands behind a pulpit and professes to be a minister is a saved man. I say this is what is generally believed concerning those who profess to be preachers, but it is wrong to take this for granted. What better way could the Devil find than to have some of his unsaved people leading people astray from behind a pulpit?

          Yes! It happens on a regular basis. II Corinthians 11:13-15 warns us of such men: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.”

          And so, I admonished the people to know the minister, check out his life; a thorn tree does not produce figs. We ministers should have as our first concern that we be saved men. It is simple truth that a preacher of the gospel should first be a partaker of it himself.

          Although this is simple logic, it is of utmost importance. If a man pretends to have been called to the ministry yet has not been called to “holiness,” and then preaches it, you can be certain that his call is not of God. It is not child’s play to “make your election sure” (II Peter 1:10 ).

          We ministers must search ourselves very thoroughly, lest by any means, after having preached to others, “we ourselves should be castaways” (I Corinthians 9:27 ). How wrong it is to be a preacher of the Gospel and yet be unconverted. It is a dreadful place to be standing, for such a minister has undertaken a work for which he is altogether unqualified. He may have some natural gifts, he may have a sharp mind, he may be able to quote many scriptures, he, perhaps, can preach a sermon and hold the people spellbound, but still be blind himself to the revealed Word of God. No doubt he will, by education, be able to preach the Gospel of 2000 years ago, but at the same time be completely blind to the Gospel for this hour that is right before him. Peter preached the Gospel for 31/2 years, then was told by the Lord that he was not yet “converted” (Luke 22:32 ). His conversion took place in the Upper Room, where he received the Holy Ghost.

          Dear minister friend, have you received the Holy Ghost “since you believed” (Acts 19:2)? If not, then our Lord has cautioned us to seek this experience, which is a requirement for all who would preach His Gospel. Amen.

 

THE GOAL IS TO

SAVE SOULS

(NO. 4)

 

          To pass from this life without the positive knowledge that you will live forever with Jesus Christ and His Saints is the most fearful thing that can happen to a human. A poor, sick, weak, trembling sinner, whose life is about to be taken comes in tears, and among other things, he says, “My sins are so great that I do not believe they can be pardoned!”

          But we say to him, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” He may then answer, “But my sins are very great indeed!” We answer him and say, “The Blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin.” But the lost one insists, “My sins have been exceedingly bad and repeated for many years, and sir, I am afraid to die!”

          Again we reply to his fear, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” But the lost one may say, “Sir, I have a hard time believing that God could ever forgive and forget all the evil I have done.”

          And so, while we are still ministering to this lost soul, we will put before him another test. We say to him, “Well then, stand up and look toward Heaven and say to the Lord, ‘Oh Lord, you have said you will abundantly pardon, but it is a lie.’”

          If you are one I am speaking to today, I challenge you to make that statement outright, because you are making it in your heart, and God is reading it there. This makes you twice as guilty, for added to your other sins, you have dared to call your creator a liar. But the enemy of our soul may still be hanging around, and he will say to you, “Your heart is so hard; you know you don’t feel as if God is going to help you.”

          However, the Bible says, “A new heart also will I give them and a new spirit will I put within them. I will take away the heart of stone out of their flesh and will give them a heart of flesh.”

          Then, precious lost one, if you still insist that this cannot be, here is your position: God says He can and He will, and you say, “He can’t and won’t!” And so, you have made him a liar in your heart, and your position is worse than before you ever heard the Gospel.

          Here is what you must do, and do quickly, before your day of grace runs out. Take the following Scripture into your mind and heart and hold to it for dear life, because your spiritual life does hang on the truth I am about to quote to you.

          Ezekiel 18:32, “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth (and is lost), saith the Lord God, wherefore turn yourselves and live ye.” Again God says, “Whosoever will, let him come.” (Mark 8:34 ) This invites every person living who is willing to come! If then you say, “I am not willing,” then we must leave you until you have been made willing, because you have as much as said, “I am not willing to be saved!” Your thinking must be badly twisted to chance the flames of hell and the wrath of God. Amen!