Well, greetings, radio friends, in the precious name of my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Again, this is your voice of the gospel speaker, Minor Hawk, coming to you with another radio broadcast of plain and straightforward gospel preaching. Yes, and I am here today in the fear of God alone. And friend, I believe in being honest about the truth of God's word. And so that's the reason I tell it like it is. No, I don't believe in a watered-down gospel like some people preach in order to please their listeners. Friend, I have to stand someday before the judgment seat of Christ, and I've got to give an account of my stewardship in the gospel. And I trust that I'll never be charged with being guilty of mishandling the truth of God. I'm aware of the fact that most people don't like to hear the truth, and it's been that way from Adam on down to the present time. But friend, what you do with the truth is entirely up to you. and it's your soul that must exist in either one of two places for all eternity. If you're saved or born again, then your soul will be in heaven. On the other hand, if you're not saved and have never been born again through faith in Christ, then according to God, not according to me, but according to God in whose hand your breath is, you'll spend all eternity in the torments of hell and the lake of fire. And furthermore, friend, when you drop into the flames of hell, You'll remember me telling you that you would remember. So please, friends, please give heed to God's word today and accept God's salvation as expressed in the finished work of his Son, Jesus Christ at Calvary's Cross. Let us ask God's blessing on the broadcast. Our grace is God and our Father in heaven. We commend to thy presence today with a song of gladness and thanksgiving in our heart. We who are saved by the grace of God thank thee afresh for thine unspeakable gift. But our God, the joy we have within our own soul today, is somewhat tempered by the knowledge that there are others outside of Christ. And, Lord, there perhaps are many listening to the broadcast today, who have never been saved by the grace of God. They're still strangers to grace and to God. They have their backs towards thee and their face towards the pit. Father, we pray that thy Holy Spirit, even this day, might bring conviction and conversion to their soul. May they close in with Christ before it's eternally too late. We'll be careful to give thee all the thanksgiving and praise, for we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. Now, friends, before getting into the message today, let's listen to the lovely tune that I'm sure is known to most of you listening in today, and it's entitled, Amazing Grace. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that takes a rest. My world was long, But now I am found, Was blind, But now I see. T'was grace that cut my heart to fear. And great my fears relieved. How precious is that grace appeared the hour I first believed. and snake I have already come. If grace has brought me, save the song, and grace will leave me. My grace will lead me home. Well, friends, if you care to follow me in the Scriptures, I'll be reading in First Timothy chapter six. First Timothy chapter six, begin reading at verse seventeen. First Timothy six and verse seventeen. Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on the eternal life. And God will add his blessing to the public reading of his word. Friends, in the Gospel according to St. Luke, we have a book that is practically filled with every possible type of soul-searching narrative. And it seems that each of these occasions referred to by the Lord Jesus Christ speaks of and speaks to a certain type of individual. Now today, with the help of the Holy Spirit of God, I should like to tell you of four separate incidents recorded in Luke's Gospel which have one outstanding feature in common. And that common feature is the fact that all four of the individuals concerned were rich men. Rich men. And friend, I believe that Luke has more to say about rich men than any other writer in the Scriptures. Now over in the twelfth chapter of Luke, we read of a man who was in the midst of making his riches. In the eighteenth chapter of Luke, We read of a man who had great riches and kept them. In the sixteenth chapter of Luke, we read of a man who had his riches and then lost them. And finally, in Luke chapter nineteen, we read of a rich man who didn't allow his riches to keep him from accepting Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. Now friend, the rich man of whom we read in Luke chapter twelve was making his own plans for the future with no thoughts of God whatsoever. Beginning at verse sixteen, Jesus says, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do? Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And he said, This will I do. I will pull down my barns and build greater. And there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be married. Now friends, if ever there's a man with eye trouble, it was this rich man in Luke chapter twelve. In three short verses he used the words I and my eleven times. And it's reminiscent of Isaiah chapter fourteen, where the devil is boasting before God of his intentions of superseding the creator of all the universe. Now then, you'll notice that this rich man asks himself the question, what shall I do? In other words, friends, he hadn't given the least consideration to what God would do about it, because he had shut God out of his plans entirely. This man, like so many of us today, wasn't satisfied with the riches he had acquired. He wanted still more. And in making his plans for a bigger and better barn, he made one terrible mistake. He had left God, the giver of gifts from above, out of his future plans. Sure, the rich man owned the grain to fill the barns. but he didn't own his soul. And so you'll notice what God says to this man in verse twenty of Luke chapter twelve. Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall those things be which thou hast provided? Now friends, God didn't call this man a fool because he was rich, nor does God call a man a fool because he's intelligent, diligent, or successful in business either. But God does call a man a fool if that man leaves God out of his plans and proves by his life that he has no room in his life for God. Friend, this rich man in Luke chapter twelve wasn't satisfied with his temporal blessings. He wanted more. And why couldn't he have been satisfied with what he had? It was simply because the riches he had acquired didn't satisfy the soul. You know, over in Mark chapter eight and verse thirty-six, the Lord Jesus Christ says, For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Now perhaps I'm speaking to someone today whose life up until now has been filled with seeking after riches with no thoughts of the eternity that lies ahead. If so, my friend, what if God should say to you today, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee? How would it be with your soul, friends? Would it be absent from the body and present with the Lord? Or would it be in the caverns of the doomed with its weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth? Ah, my friends, the eternal destiny of the soul is a most serious matter, and one which should not be trifled with. And yet that's just what you're doing if you've never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and your Lord. Now, friends, in view of eternity, what preparation have you made and what have you been doing lately in order to please God? Have you been too busy building bigger barns to prepare to meet God? Has your lust for a free and easy living so warped that mind of yours that you've never had time to see yourself in the light of God's words? Friend, do you realize that God says all of sin and come short of his glory? Do you realize that Jesus Christ said he must be born again if you ever expect to be in God's heaven? And friend, do you realize that unless you're saved by faith in the precious shed blood of Christ, that you'll be in the lake of fire forever and forever. Now that's the Word of God, friend, and I'm only telling you what lies ahead for everyone and anyone that is so engrossed in making money and seeking a fortune that they have no time for God. No time to stop and to think. No time to listen to the gospel. No time to accept Christ as their Savior. Well, there's one thing sure, friend. You may not take time in this life to become a born-again Christian But if you don't, you're going to be terribly sorry throughout the countless ages of all eternity. Now before someone gets the idea that I'm inferring that riches automatically damn a man's soul to hell, let me reiterate that this is not the intention at all. At the time that Jesus Christ spoke this parable, the Jews believed that prosperity was a mark of God's favor. And unfortunately, many people today living in this world of luxury believe that they have these luxuries because they have found favor in God's sight. Well, there's one thing sure. They may be rich in this world's goods, but rich as my friend cannot attain or obtain God's salvation. In First Peter chapter one, verses eighteen and nineteen, God says, for as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Listen, friends, there's only one way that you can find favor in the sight of a holy God, and that is to confess before him that you're a lost, guilty, and held deserving sinner. that you can do a thing to save your own soul, and that you believe that nearly two thousand years ago his son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for your sin. And friend, thank God this is still the day of his grace. Richer, poor, white, red, yellow, or black. God loves you, my friend, and he wants to be your heavenly Father. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ tells us in that most memorable of all verses, John three in verse sixteen. 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 then, let's turn over to Luke chapter eighteen, and in verse eighteen, where we read of a rich man who had great riches and wanted to keep them. In verse twenty-three of Luke chapter eighteen, we read that this man was very rich. Not only was he a very rich man, but he also showed signs of having common sense, too, because we read that he came to the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, even though he had great riches, he also knew that he did not have eternal life. In verse eighteen he asked the Lord Jesus, What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said unto him, Thou knowest the commandments, and the rich man replied, All these have I kept from my youth up. Yes, he knew the commandments, but he didn't know the one who gave them. In fact, this man could boast of his good, clean living, but he still was aware of the fact that he didn't have eternal life. You know, one thing I've noticed in speaking to those who say they try to keep the Ten Commandments, and that is this. They have very little to say about the Lord Jesus Christ. They have much to say about Moses and Mount Sinai and the ordinances. but they find it difficult to speak about the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in verse twenty-two of Luke chapter eighteen, Jesus tells the rich man to sell all that he had and to follow him. But when the man heard this we read, He was very sorrowful, for he was very rich. The Lord had presented two propositions to this man, the gifts or the giver. And for which did the rich man care the most? Did he care for the Lord Jesus Christ and the assurance of eternal life with him? No, he, like so many today, believed that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. So he kept the gift, but he had no further interest in the giver. Now let me ask you, radio friend, which would you rather have? A life of lust and luxury and an eternity in hell? Or a life of possible reproach and poverty and an eternity in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, the decision is entirely up to you, and no one else can make the decision for you. God has given you a mind with which to choose. So why not confess that you're the sinner for whom Christ has died? And friend, if you do, God's word promises that you will immediately be born into the family of God. That's all there is to it, my friend. You simply have to repent of your sin and place your faith or trust in the sin-cleansing blood of God's Son, Jesus Christ. It's not necessary to pray it through either, or to go up to an altar. It's not necessary to shed tears, or to be baptized, or to join a church. God's Word says in Acts, verse thirty-one, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. No question about it, friends. It's just that simple. However, there's one point I want to make quite clear. There can be no conversion without first having been convicted of sin. To say that you are saved without first admitting that you are lost is both illogical and unscriptural. Now I can't help but think of how it must have grieved the Lord Jesus Christ to see this rich man turning away from him. Here was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and oh, how it must have filled his heart with sorrow as he watches his creature turning his back upon him. My friend, have you ever stopped to think how many times you grieved the Son of God? Yes, every time you resist the pleadings of the Holy Spirit of God to accept Christ as your Savior, you are grieving the one who bore your sins in his own body on the tree. You are actually trampling underfoot that precious blood that cleanseth from all sin. And that same Jesus Christ, for whom you have no love today, well, friends, someday you're going to have him as your judge. And you're going to stand before him at the great white throne of judgment, of which we read over in Revelation chapter twenty. Yes, your love for money may be keeping you from the one who died for your sins. But there's a day coming, my friend, when nothing, absolutely nothing, will stop you from standing before the Son of God and hearing those terrible words. Cast them into outer darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now let us turn our attention to the third rich man as recorded in Luke chapter sixteen verses nineteen through thirty-one. He was a man whose riches left him no time for compassion. Lazarus, the poor man who sat at the rich man's gate, had to be content with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Here again we find a rich man who was more interested in the gifts than he was in the giver. But friend, we read that both the poor man and the rich man died. The poor man, not because he was poor, but because he was a Christian, was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom, the place of rest and comfort. But we read that the rich man also died, and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. Yes, the rich man died and left all his riches on earth. And when he got into eternity, the conditions were reversed. The poor man on earth became the rich man in eternity. And the rich man on earth became the beggar in hell, because we read that he was begging for a drop of water to cool his parched tongue. On earth the poor man had little more than Christ as his Savior. In heaven he has experienced the incomprehensible joys reserved for those who were saved and born again. On earth the rich man had all his heart desired, but in hell he was so poor that he didn't even have a drop of water. Now this rich man in Luke chapter sixteen had been wise in the way of the world. He had made good money and had spent it all on his body and was not rich towards God. Yes, he had provided well for the physical, but had made no preparation for the spiritual. He had no time for the things of God, and with all his riches he still died. In Hebrews nine in verse twenty seven we read that it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment. You know, friends, I've often observed the way people live, and it would lead one to believe that death was something reserved only for the other person. Even we Christians find ourselves so involved with the things of time and sense that we temporarily lose sight of the fact that physical death is staring us all in the face, or that the coming of the Lord draws night. Listen, friends, saved or unsaved. God tells us in the book of Amos chapter four and verse twelve, prepare to meet thy God. Now this rich man over in Luke chapter sixteen, he made absolutely no preparation. And as a result, his soul right now is suffering the torments reserved for those who reject Jesus Christ as their personal savior. Now friend, you don't want to go to hell now, do you? I'm sure you don't. So why not believe God when he says that you're a sinner? And then place your trust in the finished work of his son at Calvary's cross. In Romans ten and thirteen we read that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So why not call upon him right now, right where you are, and just as you are? Let the language of your heart be. God be merciful to me a sinner. If you do, my friend, you'll be born again by the Spirit of God, and your soul will be as sure of heaven as though you were already there. Let's take a quick look at the fourth rich man as we find him in Luke chapter nineteen. No doubt many of you have heard this story of the man called Zacchaeus. He was the little rich man who climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, he was rich, as we read in Luke nineteen and two, but he was also very wise. He knew that the Son of God was passing by, and even though he was small in stature, nevertheless, He swallowed his pride, climbed a tree, and saw the one who could say, Look unto me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth. Now I wonder if some of you listening in today are going to let Jesus Christ pass you by, perhaps for the last time. You know, in Luke chapter nineteen, Jesus Christ was passing through Jericho on his way up to Jerusalem where he was crucified. Yes, a few days later he was crucified outside the city gates of Jerusalem. If Zacchaeus was ever to be in heaven, he had to act quickly. And so he did. So he did. Perhaps he recalled a verse in the prophecy of Isaiah, which he no doubt had learned as a child. In Isaiah fifty-five in verse six we read, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, and call ye upon him while he is near. And friend, when Jesus Christ beckoned him to come down out of the tree, he didn't hesitate. He didn't laugh or mock the Son of God. No, he immediately came down and became a follower of Jesus Christ. And he was saved the very moment he decided to obey the Son of God. And friend, you too can be saved right now, if you'll just listen and believe what Jesus Christ has to say. In Matthew eleven and twenty-eight he says, Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Again in John five and twenty-four he said, He that heareth my word and believeth on him that set me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. So, friend, there you have it. God's way of salvation is so clear, and God has recorded these incidents concerning the four rich men, so that we won't make the same mistake that some of them did. The first rich man grasped after riches and was not satisfied. The second rich man got the riches and was not satisfied. The third one died and left his riches behind. But thank God the fourth rich man, Zacchaeus, didn't allow his riches to present him from coming to Jesus Christ. In this regard I think of the late philanthropist and financier J.P. Morgan. The following is a portion of his will which was read to his family shortly after his death. And I quote, I commit my soul into the hands of the Savior in full assurance that having redeemed it in his most precious blood. He will present it faultless before the throne of his heavenly Father. And I entreat my children to maintain and defend at all hazards and at every cost of personal sacrifice the doctrine of complete atonement for sin through the blood of Jesus Christ once offered. And through that alone. End of quote. Now this statement. In the will of that great financier, J.P. Morgan, should make many a modernistic preacher blush with shame. That great financial wizard did not trust in his millions and billions. Ah, no. He was trusting the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Would that some of you listening in today were as wise as he was, and trust in that blood without which there can be no remission for sin? In closing, my friend, I would like to direct your attention to another rich man we read about in the Scriptures. His name is Jesus Christ. In St. Corinthians chapter eight and verse nine, here's what we read. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Yes, he was the one who created the universe. And yet when he left the ivory palaces above to seek and to save that which was lost, he came to where we were. And though we were poor, and though we were held deserving, he has plucked us as brands from the burning. And today those of us who are saved were heirs of God and joint heirs with his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. While here below there was no room for him in the inn, and we read his words in Luke chapter nine in verse fifty-eight, foxes have holes. and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. Yes, he rode on another man's donkey, and he was buried in another man's tomb. Now, friends, you've just heard the gospel of the grace of God. His Word tells us that we're all sinners and need to be saved or born again. And failure on your part, my friend, to accept God's salvation expressed in His Son Jesus Christ will cause you to spend an eternity in the lake of fire. Now I ask you, are you saved? Are you a truly born again child of God today? Has there ever been a time when, a place where, and a manner how you were born into the family of God? If not, my friend, then why not be wise? Why not come to Jesus Christ by faith right now? Accept Him as your Lord and your Savior, and know the joy of sins forgiven and the assurance of eternal life. Friend, I plead with you today, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own and personal Savior, and friend, if you do, you'll be rich. Yes, you'll be saved for time, and thank God you'll be saved for all eternity. And remember, my friend, this is for eternity. Yes, this is for eternity. Let us pray. Our God and Father, we ask, thy blessing upon the word just gone forth, save souls to his honor and glory alone. Amen. Now friends, this concludes another Voice of the Gospel broadcast. If I can be of any further help in pointing you to the Lord Jesus Christ, I'll be only too happy to do so. Address all letters of inquiry and other correspondence to the Voice of the Gospel, Post Office Box number six, McKeysport, Pennsylvania. And that zip code is one five one three four. That address again, the Voice of the Gospel, Post Office Box number six, McKeysport, Pennsylvania, one-five-one-three-four. And now until our next broadcast, Lord Willings, this is your voice of the Gauntlet.