Transcript: Rev. Fred Proctor's Sunday Night Gospel Message - September 4, 2022

today Baptist Church dot com this is Reverend Fred Proctor senior the pastor and I want to let you know that we are very glad and happy that you are here you're either live or you will see this because it stays up but you can see on the captions we are glad that you're here and we truly mean it so I'm gonna ask you to just enter right into the service be a part of it and worship the Lord that's why we're here we preach the gospel we lift up Jesus Christ and we tell people how to be born again how to become a Christian and it's that's the most important thing that you will ever do is accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior now we have quite a few people who request prayer and let me just say this we had a lady who I had I had known since I was about 12 years old her name is Ella Agnes Kent. Agnes is all that I renew her by. I went to church where her and her husband and family went and been good friends with the family and today I made a little note because her son Sammy called me and of course we knew this was going to happen. He called me a little after one o'clock this afternoon and today is September the 4th 2022. And said Fred, mom went home to be with the Lord Jesus. And I just made a note and said Agnes Kent, age 98, and wrote beside of it, By P-Y-E, gone to heaven. We thank God for the life that Agnes Kent and her husband, who he'd been dead, I think, about 10 years, something like that. I don't remember exactly. But he was a great and mighty man of God. A deacon at West Court and one of the best Sunday school teachers that you'd ever want to sit under. So Ella Agnes Kent has gone home to be with the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that family. And it's never easy to say goodbye to a friend and especially to your mother or mother-in-law, whatever the case might be. So remember the Kent family. I had a special prayer request. I do not know this lady. The name that was given to me was Dorothy Rogers Yarbrough. I hope I'm pronouncing this right. Yarbrough, Yarbrough, Yarbrough, Y-A-R-B-R-O-U-G-H. Yarbrough, what it looks like. I don't know what her kind of sickness or ailment she has, but I was given this name and asked to put her on the prayer list. So Dorothy Rogers Yarbrough, you are on our prayer list and we're praying for you. Also, we've been praying for a lady. she's 90 years, 90 years of age Miss Case, that's what I've always known her, she is one of our daughter-in-law's mother, and she had been having a lot of problems falling, she lived by herself out in one of the apartments, I don't know, something to do with the housing, Title IX or something I think, but she had fallen broken her wrist and then broke a hip and broke something else and so we we've been praying for Miss Case and I saw her two or three days about three days ago I think and talked to her for a few minutes ask her how she's doing she said I'm doing a whole lot better and I said well and she didn't No, she wasn't aware of this. I said, you know, we've been calling your name out in prayer on brighterdaybaptistchurch.com and all of our other channels. And she said, well, I'll tell you, something's working. So we'll say to God, be the glory. To God, be the glory for Miss Case. Also, Mr. Melvin Johnson, fine, godly man. he's diabetic he's got something wrong with his legs and they've not been able to determine what it is please pray for Melvin Johnson his wife Judy Johnson and all the family all that Melvin Johnson family Travis Proctor that's a brother of mine he's two years older than I am hikes all the time has a hiking club climbs mountains I mean it's unreal they go on these hikes all the time but he was having some problems with his heart and I haven't heard the full extent of what what they found but from what I heard it was not too awfully bad so please remember Travis Proctor and a very special prayer that we've been praying now for about four months for Randy Kent that was his mother that this went home to Jesus today but Randy had a stroke about I think about four months ago and it affected his memory from the time he had the stroke forward up to now he doesn't remember he can't remember things everything previous to that he remembers it that's good memory for that but for Randy Kent and his wife Shane and all their family please remember them there are many people who who are who are hurting in this life we do have problems we do have troubles Bible says that man and that he says man he's speaking of man and woman man that is born of woman his days are but few and and full of trouble. So if you're in good health, you certainly should thank God for it. Thank God for it and pray for everyone. There are many, many, many people who are sick. I mean, just look at the number of people that are in nursing homes and assisted living situations and so there's a lot of sickness and we want to pray for every one of them so you bow your head and pray with me almighty god my heavenly father i come to you this day in the name of jesus jesus christ the son of god yea the very god himself god the son We come to you this day bringing these petitions of prayer for everyone, Lord, that we have called out their name, them and their families and friends and loved ones. And I'm praying and asking if it's your will, Lord, that you will touch and heal and raise up every one of these people. we know that you can we know that you have all power you're omnipotent which means that you have all power you can do anything that you want for you are God and there is none other besides you oh God I pray that you will just reach in and touch and however Lord it's none of my business but I'm just simply asking and praying and asking on behalf of every one of us. All of us have some kind of something that we wish we didn't have. At least if you don't, you will have. So I pray for everyone. Lord, especially those who have sickness that's manifested itself. I pray that you will help them, strengthen them, comfort them, draw them close to you, and then heal them if it's your will, for I know that you can. I pray for the Kent family, for Miss Agnes Kent. She's there with you. Thank God Almighty. Thank you for the life that she lived. I continue to pray, Lord, every day for brighterdaybaptistchurch.com and brighterdaybaptistchurch.org and telling the word and telling the story of Jesus and, Lord, all of these channels and these two radio stations that we're on preaching the gospel. I pray that you will just bless and prosper all of this according to your perfect will. And we thank you for every blessing of life. And in the name that's above every other name, the name of Jesus, I do pray and ask it. And thank you, Lord. Amen and amen. Now, I am going to read some scripture from the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 11, which is known as the roll call of faith or the hall of fame for faith. people who had faith. And the Bible said that without faith, it is impossible to please God. So faith is, I'll give you what the Bible says, but faith is believing when you don't see it. Faith is believing when you cannot literally see it with your eyes. Now, Hebrews chapter 11, beginning with verse 1, here is the explanation. Here is what faith is. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. it's the substance of things hoped for and you hope when you pray you hope and pray and ask that God will do a great work and touch you and help you and heal you or if you're coming and you're a sinner and you come and ask him to save you then it's through faith the Bible said for the just shall live by faith You got to have faith when you can't see it. But you say, well, how do I do that? First of all, you have to be a born-again Christian. You have to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. And then you take his word and you read it and you study it and you listen to it being taught and being preached. And then you believe it. You believe it There a I give you an illustration Of course I didn see it I don even remember when it took place But I've certainly heard about it many times. There was a man, of course, he was famous, and they stretched a cable across Niagara Falls. I believe it what I heard I've heard it quite a few times I think I'm right I think the length of the cable was 1100 feet and there was nothing that that means there was nothing no net if you fail if you tripped up and lost your balanced and fell so saying it's lights out because it's a certain death you're going to plunge in all the way down into into the niagara falls and and there would be no hope of surviving that this man walked across walked across uh uh then he took a little some kind of little stove very small that might have been one of those thermo flames but he and he had a little chair or stew he sat out on this cable just a cable and like I say anything any Bible any any miscue and it's all over he sat down he fired up that stove he cooked I think it says an omelet an egg at least ate it folded everything up got up got his little stool walked on the cross and then he took a wheelbarrow and pushed it across and then he put 50 pounds of weight in in that wheelbarrow and pushed it across several times and then well before that his manager the man who handles everything you know booking and everything he had his manager on his shoulders and walked all the way across on this high wire over Niagara Falls and then like say he pushed the wheelbarrow and pushed 50 pounds and there were thousands of people thousands of people there watching this and they all applauded you know when he pushed that wheelbarrow with 50 pounds of weight and uh and so he just pushed when he got to the other side he of course was on land and he pushed the wheelbarrow up to all this applauding crowds you You know, and he said, how many of you believe I could push a man, put a man in the wheelbarrow and push him across without falling? Oh, yeah. Yes. Yes. Everybody raised their hand. And he walked right up to a man and said, OK, you believe that? Yes, sir. I believe it. He said, all right. I want you to be the one. Would you get in the wheelbarrow? And he said, oh, no, not me. Not me. Well, did he have faith? No. No, that's not faith. Would I do it? I won't even take the time to think about it. I'll answer you right quickly. No, I would not. I don't care if he had three parachutes on. No, I don't want it. I'm not interested in going across on the High Wire Act. No. do I think that he could do it well not 100% but he done it more times than one so you see faith is reaching out and saying I know that he can do this I know that God can take care of me I know that God will deliver me out of all my troubles and trials and situations. Do we know that? Do we absolutely know it and believe it to the point where, you say, it'd be just like you're sitting in the living room on the couch and you get up to go to the kitchen and you just get up and go. I mean, you don't even think about it. You know that unless something drastic happens, you're going to get to the kitchen and back or wherever else you want to go. So faith is looking out, not seeing, but knowing what God has said and accepting this by faith and saying yes. So I'm going to give you this. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1 again. Now listen to this. This is the explanation of what faith is. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. Well, you can hope for something, but it's not there. But he says, faith is the substance. You pray and ask God, and if it's God's will, he will provide it. You know he's going to provide it. And I absolutely am not one of these name it and claim it preachers. I'm a conservative Southern Baptist minister. I've pastored eight Southern Baptist churches in 60 years. And I know that God can do anything that he wants. But it has to be according to the will of God. but now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen well how do you know that well right here in my hand is the evidence well I don't see any evidence well it's there the evidence of things I know that he's going to do it I know that he's going to do it. I don't think it. I don't think he might do it. I don't think he probably will do it. I know that he will do it. Because he said it. And the Bible over and over tells us that God cannot lie. If he says something, that's it. It's going to happen. Whatever he has written. In this entire book, like some old mountain people, a few of them down through the years, I've met some of them. And they would talk to me and say, so you're a Baptist preacher? I said, yes, sir. God called me into the ministry. Well, do you preach it from kibber to kibber? Well, it's cover to cover from the front to the back. I say, yes, I try to preach. I preach it. I believe it. It's the verbally inspired, inerrant Word of God, which means that it comes straight from God through the power of the Almighty God, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, and it is inerrant. There is no errors. There are no errors in the Word of God. Now, I don't know what translation of the Bible that you use. That's up to you. I use the King James Version, and sometimes in my studies, I do study other translations just to see how they say it. But I can tell you, there are no errors in the Word of God. If there was just one error in the Word of God, then it would cast doubt on the entire Bible. And you could say, well, since this was wrong, it might be that I just truly believe I'm saved, but it might be that I'm not saved. So there is no errors in the word of God. Verse 2, for by it the elders obtained a good report. through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear other words there was nothing God took nothing and made everything that he made out of it he made had nothing he had nothing I heard something about this a time or two that someone said well that's no big deal I can make something out of nothing well then let's see and this person I don't know if it's a it's a parable I don't know it's probably true he reached and got a handful of dirt and was told hold it that's not your dirt we're talking about making something out of nothing it's never been done it never will be done by man just reach out say reach out say hey you see my hands I'm reaching out I'm going to get a handful of nothing and I'm going to do this and do this and abracadabra da da da what do you got nothing because we do not have or possess the power to create something out of nothing. Everything that man has made came from something that God made. Man has made a mess out of many things, but there was something there that was right before man messed it up. so it is God that he made everything that we see and it was made of things not seen and then this entire chapter goes into like I say over and over is Abel and Enoch and and Noah and Abraham and Jacob and Isaac and Moses. This here, let me just say, I have a hard time passing up on Moses because there was such a great lesson that I learned years ago in studying and preaching on Moses. there was the children of Israel went down I think is like 60 or 65 of them went down into Egypt because there was a famine and no bread. Joseph was already down there. You remember his brothers sold him to a bunch of Midianites coming through and he wound up in Egypt and wound up second in command. And the whole point that I want to make on this, God does not always tell everything that he knows. I heard someone preach this, and I've mentioned it several times. God is omniscient. but that's not something I heard that's something I know that word omniscient means he knows all things at all times so we get the word omni omni omni omniscience o-m-n-i omni is a circle go up here and here's a circle well you You can't see it, but that light up there that's coming over this way is a circle. And you say, well, I'm going to get on. Here a road up here and it a big circle And you say I going to get on that road and I going to go to the end of it well you walk until you fall dead and you will never get to the end of it there is no end to a circle so omniscience and and then that other word is science that we know god is omniscience he has he knows everything at all times and i cannot understand this but god has never learned anything new ever. He's always known what he's always known. But he does not tell everything that he's doing. And I want to complete this. Satan, the devil, the snake, the serpent, he is not omniscient. So if you don't want him to know what you're going to do or doing, don't say anything about it. Don't, because he's listening he's always lurking and trying to tear down and destroy he hates everybody he hates you he hates you and wants to rip you apart as far as your life as far as your marriage as far as your family as far as your church but he does not know everything so don't tell it If you don't want him to know it, don't tell it. Don't tell anybody because he's listening. But God was working all the time in the lives of all these people. But this Moses, it's just been such a great blessing to me that the people of Israel grew and they became, actually became a mighty nation. and they became so mighty that there was a new Pharaoh and he hated the Jews and they said we're gonna have to put down to work because if we if we happen to get into a war with one of our enemies the Jews might side and go with the enemy and we'd be defeated so they started oppressing the Jewish people God's chosen people the Israelites but God was already working God was over here working and you know the Pharaoh came out with this executive order what I'll call it because he was the Pharaoh and you know presidents can come out with executive orders and so Pharaoh came out with this order and said ever to the midwives every boy every male that is born for them in the river for them in the Nile River throw them in the river every one of them you say how terrible well we've been doing the same thing only we're we're killing them before they're even born we're killing them we're murdering our own people in the womb through abortion I'm gonna say and I don't hesitate to say it I thank God that Roe versus Wade was overturned by the United States Supreme Court and there are people that oh that's our right no it's not you don't have a right to murder thou shalt not kill and if you have had an abortion and you feel terrible about it I want you to know that God will forgive you of that if you will confess it to him and ask him to forgive you he will but God was working when Moses was born the Bible said that his dad mom saw him and that he was a proper proper child a nice handsome child to look upon a great blessing and they didn't they didn't reveal it they hit him I think for three months and then they made a little basket and fixed it where it wouldn't leak and had Moses sister take it out in the reeds or E E D S these things that grow along on the bank of the river and this is where Pharaoh's daughter came to bathe and they fixed it she placed it there so that Pharaoh's daughter would see it and she saw it and told one of her handmaidens said what is that bring it fetch it bring it here and so they got it brought it she opened it and the Bible said that he began to cry he was just a baby he began to cry and it touched her heart so much she said this is one this is a Hebrew child never ever knowing that God was in all all of these things God was doing this see God is faithful this is what we're preaching about his faith Hebrews chapter 11 God was working all the time and even even the and God even fixed it to where Moses mother raised him and taught him about God and even received wages for doing it. Oh, the mighty hand of God. The mighty hand of God. Who knows what God is doing in your life? And I know there's people that will say this. I've heard it. Well, God ain't never done nothing in my life. Folks, I'm going to tell you, if we could see everything that God has done in our life, I think we'd pass out. We'd say, I never knew it. I never knew that God was doing all of this. Well, I'm going to tell you something. God is not some old man sitting around, you know, I don't know. No, God is almighty. He's omniscient. That means he knows all things. He's omnipresent. He's everywhere at all times. He is omnipotent, which means he has all power. There's no one that can overrule God. No one. So you see, he is all of these things. He is the mighty God. And they never knew. the Egyptians never knew until God well Moses forsook Egypt and was gone for 40 years and then he saw the burning bush and God sent him back down there they never knew that they were actually I'd call it aiding and abetting because it was Pharaoh's daughter fell in love with this little baby. And God had it all planned. And like I said, his mother raised him and taught him in the ways of God. They never knew until Moses and Aaron came back and said, God has said, let my people go. I wonder I wonder what many of those people thought my goodness this is Moses he grew up part of the time in the in the palace of Pharaoh but God didn't say anything to anybody Moses didn't know it Moses mother and dad didn't know it Moses' sister didn't know it. No one knew it. Satan didn't know it. So I'm saying to you that God does not always tell everything that he is doing. So just trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. I have a little personal experience that I want to share with you that goes along with faith. quite many years ago. Myself, I, and one of my daughter-in-laws went to Chicago for Great Lakes. Our firstborn son, Fred Jr., was in the Navy and was taking training there, and they were married. So I went with her. we drove up and drove through Chicago I remember it I had been to Chicago but I'd never been in downtown and I was amazed that at like 2 30 in the morning there was more vehicles out on the street than most places would have right in the rush rush air traffic I mean I remember us driving down I can't remember name of the big long straight and we had to do 70 to 75 miles an hour just to keep up with the traffic so there was a lot of traffic but anyhow took her up or went up with her and helped them because her her husband her son was in some training and he couldn't immediately come but he had secured housing and so we got everything fixed up and then I took a flight from Chicago which would end up in Asheville North Carolina this flight I got on in Chicago I'd been to that airport flew in there quite a few times but this flight the first stop was was Greensboro, North Carolina. I had never landed or you know been at that airport. I had done a lot of flying commercial and then of course I was a pilot and flew for several years but I saw something that I have never forgotten. You know they land and then there's people that that's their destination. They get off. Their destination was Greensboro. But they had quite a few people that were just getting on board, going to Asheville and who knows where else. But this is the only time in all of my flying that I saw this. The captain, the chief pilot, the captain, was standing there at the door. And as the new people coming on board, he shook hands with them. told told them who he was and he asked them their name and we talked a little bit and told and said welcome aboard and I had never seen that never before and never since but this one thing stood out in my mind a woman of course I have no idea who she was she was getting on going to Asheville, North Carolina. And the captain shook hands with her and told her who he was and welcomed her aboard and asked her her name and she told it. And she said, I have a question, Captain. Yes, ma'am. Go ahead. She said, can you guarantee me a safe flight to Asheville, North Carolina? And he didn't even think. He said, no, ma'am. No ma I cannot guarantee you that you will arrive in Asheville but I can guarantee you that myself and all the crew will do everything within our power to get you there Well, that makes good sense. They don't want to die. They don't want to crash. But he was honest because things go wrong. Things happen. sometimes machinery and a this was a jet jetliner sometimes things go wrong with the engine or it has been known that a wing broke off in flight or an engine just fell off so he would have been lying if he had said yes I guarantee you I will get you there Now, listen, this is not the way that it is with the Lord Jesus Christ, with salvation. God, can you guarantee me? If I become a born again Christian, I'm a Christian because I accepted you and asked you to come in. Yes, I'm a Christian. Can you guarantee to me that you will get me to heaven? And God says, absolutely. Absolutely. I guarantee it. My word, I am God. We have the Holy Trinity. God, the Father, Jehovah. God, the Son, Jesus Christ. God, the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit. they cannot lie yet there's three personalities yet one god and you say i don't understand that well welcome aboard neither does anyone else in the world we don't understand it but it's the holy trinity and the word is given god has never lost one he's never lost a person He's never lost a child that belongs to him. And we belong to him when we accept him as his savior. I'm going to give you a little something. Give me one second. Well, I think I can tell it to you. So what does it mean to be saved? imagine here is a pond or at the beach and the ocean and up here sets a lifeguard and here is a woman who's out let's say it's at the beach and she's out swimming and then something happens things do happen people have cramps and they can't if someone don't do something that's the end of it but this woman or it could be a man either one man or woman but we'll say this woman is out swimming and something happens and she is drowning and she begins to scream and holler help help save me and the lifeguard comes out of that seat goes in grabs that woman pulls her in to safety and does whatever he has to do you know and and she's saved or there's another example a man is in an apartment and he catches fire and you know uh fire is a terrible thing a burn is a terrible thing but i i think most people that die in a burning house or apartment uh they i guess they basically die from smoke inhalation i know i was we were my wife and i were at one of my cousins and his wife and uh they had a nice mobile home and it caught on fire and we were we were able to get it out without almost no damage, but I remember inhaling the smoke, and I couldn't get my breath. But you're in this apartment, and it's on fire, and you're screaming and hollering, and a fireman sees you, and he comes and picks you up and carries you out, and he saves you. He saves you. Well, you're not swimming, and drowning. You're not in an apartment or in something that's on fire, but you're in a whole lot worse situation than that. If you have never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life, you're in a whole lot worse shape. Oh, well, now wait a minute. You say, I'm not a sinner. Well, the Bible said, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You see, when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, I won't dwell on this, but we all know, God said you can eat all these trees in here. It's got fruit. You can eat of all of them, except this one that's right in the middle. It's a tree of life. You cannot eat it. you cannot eat fruit from it and you cannot touch it for if you just touch the fruit you will die well the snake beguiled Eve deceived Eve and she took and ate so that it was good she gave to Adam her husband and he did eat they sinned and sin became a part of the only way I know to put it Sin became a part of their DNA. And every human being, man, woman, female, male, female, I don't care. Everyone except Jesus Christ that's ever been born or ever will be born inherits that DNA and inherits the sin nature. We are sinners by nature. You don't have to say, well, I wonder what I have to do to become a sinner. You don't have to do anything. You're already a sinner. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now, I know children that don't know right from wrong, they're covered. I don't know. I never get into that. All I know is that Jesus said, suffer little children, come unto me and forbid them not. That word suffer means let them come. Yes, for such is the kingdom of heaven. And he takes care of them until they reach that age. But what I'm saying is the DNA, the sin nature is in you. and will be in you until you become like Nicodemus. Nicodemus was the ruler. If you look at the Greek word, he actually was the ruler, religious ruler of Israel. But he knew nothing. He went by night to see Jesus and he asked him and told him, said we know and he'd been talking to others we know that no man can do these things that you do unless he comes from God and Jesus told him Nicodemus you must be born again well that disfloored Nicodemus he said I'm an old man can I enter again into my mother's womb and be born again and jesus said no that which is born of flesh is flesh he's talking about a spiritual birth the soul the soul that is the inner you so you got a body soul and the spirit i can't explain that i just know that that's the way it is and uh until you come to this place and you pray a prayer, something like this. Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. And I know if I do not accept you as Jesus and believe, just have this faith. By faith. By faith. We can say, I don't understand it, but by the faith that I have, I accept you and ask you to come into my life and save my soul. Forgive me of my sins, O God, and I will follow you all the days of my life. Have mercy upon me because I don't want to die and go to hell. Folks, it's when you believe, not faith. when you put faith in Jesus Christ and then confess it. Confess. Yes, I've accepted Jesus. As the Bible said, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead. You know, he died on the cross to pay for our sins. He was dead. He was buried. And thank God on the third day, he arose again. And I stand here today to proclaim to you the wonderful news, greatest news that's ever been or ever will be. The gospel of Jesus Christ. That Jesus loves you. And God, I said there's three in one. It's God. There's one God. I don't understand it. But the Bible said, and I'll close with this. this is called the gospel in a nutshell john chapter 3 verse 16 for god so loved the world he loved the world and he's talking about us human beings everyone he tasted death the bible said for everyone for god so loved the world that whosoever now when you get to that whosoever you put your name in there Bill Bob Barbara Don Mike Fred whatever for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life now have you ever done that have you ever the Bible said for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved oh listen there is nothing nothing more important than making sure that you are in your you're a born-again Christian you're saved you're saved from hell and folks people that go to hell they do it because they want to or they reject God they're not interested and as well I will later know the Bible said today is the day of salvation now I'm going to ask you something will you right there Bow. If you can't get on your knees, bow your heart. Bow your head. And say, oh God, come into my life. Save me. I want to know. I want to know for a fact that I'm at the end of my journey here. I will go to heaven and be with you. It is strictly up to you, folks. It's strictly up to you. But I urge you, please, call upon him by faith. He said, I don't have much faith. It don't take much faith. It's just believing. Believe what he said, and thou shalt be saved. I pray that you will. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen and amen.