The Captain Calls - King’s Heralds Hold Thou My Hand - Del Delker, Accompanied by Alfred Walters Hallelujah, What a Saviour - King’s Heralds Though Your Sins Be as Scarlet - King’s Heralds

The Captain Calls - King’s Heralds Hold Thou My Hand - Del Delker, Accompanied by Alfred Walters Hallelujah, What a Saviour - King’s Heralds Though Your Sins Be as Scarlet - King’s Heralds

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Voice Of Prophecy

H.M.S. Richards

When Does God Forgive Sins?


Lift up the trumpet and loud let it ring, Jesus is coming again. Cheer up you pilgrims, be joyful and sing, Jesus is coming again. This is the voice of prophecy, a voice crying in the wilderness of these modern days. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Coming again, coming again, Jesus is coming again.

From our Voice of Prophecy Studios in Los Angeles, California. We welcome you to this half hour of inspiration and music. Again today you'll hear the music of the King's Heroes, Del Delker and Brad Braley. The Voice of Prophecy speaker is H.M.S. Richards.

There's another task to do, there's a battle to renew, and the captain calls for you. Volunteers, volunteers, rally to the throbbing drum. Shout the word, we come, we come. Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers. Christ before us, Christ behind, Christ on every side.

For the rescue of mankind, unto glory ride. Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers. Hear the foeman's fading shout, see his cohorts turn in rout, never more the end in doubt. Volunteers, volunteers, we are in a winning fight. Shout for victories in sight.

Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers. Christ before us, Christ behind, Christ on every side. For the rescue of mankind, on to glory, glory ride. Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers. Our Father which art in heaven, we thank thee for thy mercies, for thy truth, for thy forgiveness and guidance.

Bless us today we pray in this broadcast, And may everyone who listens find blessing too. In Christ's name we ask it. Near to the heart of God, a place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God. The heart of God. O Jesus, blessed Redeemer, sent from the heart of God, Hold us who bow before thee, near to the heart of God.

Amen. We have a special treat for you now. Alfred Walters, violinist and orchestra conductor at La Sierra College, Arlington, California, assists Del Delcker in presenting the beautiful prayer in song, Hold Thou My Hand. The night comes on, my weary eyelids close. My weary eyelids close, the time draws near, When I must seek refuge, I kneel to thee, I kneel to thee, O Father of us all, and pray that thou wilt hear my pleading call.

♪ Leading calm ♪ ♪ Hold all my hand, dear Lord ♪ ♪ Hold all my hand ♪ ♪ I do not ask to see your light ♪ O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Understand. Only the farm will be Constantly near to me Holding my hand, dear Lord Lord, holding my hand. My life goes on some days are good, some ill. Oh, Father, let my loving presence fill both day and night.

Oh, hold me so I cannot fall, for thou art life and strength and all in all. Hold thou my hand, dear Lord, hold thou my hand. And when temptations come, help me to stand. Constantly near to thee, all shall be well with me, Holding my hand. Man of sorrow, what a name for the Son of God who came, ruined sinners to reclaim.

Hallelujah, what a savior lifted up was he to die it is finished was his cry now in heaven Now in heaven exalted high, Hallelujah, what a Savior! When He comes, our glorious King, all his ransomed home to bring. Then anew this song we'll sing, Hallelujah, what a Savior. Mr. Richards and the King's Heralds are continuing their itinerary of public appearances.

They will be in Grand Ledge, Michigan at the Seventh-day Adventist campgrounds tonight, August 9 through the 11th. Oshawa, Ontario, Canada at the Oshawa Missionary College, Tuesday evening, August 12. Union Springs, New York at Union Springs Academy on Wednesday evening, August 13. Washington, New Hampshire at the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Saturday, August 16. We would like to encourage all of our friends in these areas to attend the Voice of Prophecy rally nearest you.

And now here is HMS Richards to answer the question, When does God forgive sins? Friends, it's summertime and the Voice of Prophecy broadcasting group is making public appearances all over the country. But the office work must go on. The broadcasting must go on in spite of rising costs. So we hope you will not forget to write to the Voice of Prophecy, Box 55, Los Angeles, California.

Now our subject for today, when does God forgive sins? We often hear ministers say, when we ask God to forgive us, he forgives us. Now that statement's true, and it's not true. That is, it's true at some times and not true at other times. Why?

Because of the conditions. God's forgiveness does not come merely for the asking. It depends upon the conditions that go along with the asking. Remember this, talk is cheap. There are some people whose sins God will never forgive because they never ask him.

For proof of that statement, read James 4 verse 2. And there are others who ask and receive not because they ask amiss. That's the third verse of James 4. Yes, some people may repent of their sins, and still God does not forgive them. Why?

Because the conditions of forgiveness are not fully met. Jesus said, Not every 1 that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Matthew 7, 21 and onward. Yes, these people were real religious, very religious, extremely religious. They did great works in Christ's name. He did not deny that, but still they will be rejected in the day of judgment. You see, words are real in God's sight only when they express the true meaning of our hearts.

We may use good words before God and not get good results because our hearts are not sincere, not truly repentant. There was the apostate, backslidden old prophet Balaam. We read about him in Numbers, the twenty-second chapter. Finally, when his sin was found out, he confessed, I have sinned. Verse thirty-four tells us that.

But there was no repentance with it, and he went on to destruction and eternal loss. We read about that in Numbers 31, verse 8. David said these very same words, I have sinned, 2 Samuel 12, 13. But David's sins were forgiven. His words were the same, but his heart was not the same as Balaam's.

David's heart was right, And immediately the word of assurance came to him from God's servant, the prophet, the Lord has put away thy sin, thou shalt not die. Some time ago, the Christian Digest carried an article saying, there is a vast difference between being sorry for sin and being sorry you're caught, between confessing your sins and confessing some other fellows, between seeing your own faults and seeing some other persons, between conversion of the head and conversion of the heart, between being led by the Holy Spirit and being led by your own imagination, between being persecuted for righteousness' sake and being persecuted for foolishness' sake. And so there is a great difference. Yes, friend, we may be religious, very religious, and yet be rejected in the Day of Judgment. Words, even good words, religious words, ceremonies, sacraments, church membership, church office, church recognition, all these things will be cheap, very cheap, even worse than cheap if we put them in place of repentance and depend upon them for salvation.

God forgave David's sin because he truly repented and showed it by meeting the conditions of forgiveness. The conditions of forgiveness are 2. First, repentance and the confession, real genuine repentance, being sorry for the sin itself. Here are David's own words in Psalm 32, 3, When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me.

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." So we see here that David both confessed and repented. As a result, he was forgiven. Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Then happiness came to him as we read in verse 7.

Notice in verse 6 that David repented in time, in a time when thou mayest be found, as he put it. He didn't wait too long. When Dr. Evans, a well-known preacher, was a student at the Moody Institute in Chicago. He used to go down to the Pacific Garden Mission.

There 1 night he was talking to a man about his soul. The man argued against him. He said, I don't believe the Bible. I'm an atheist. Evans repeated the verse, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 13 3. Then the fellow ridiculed him. I told you I didn't believe it. Again Evans quoted, except you repent, ye shall all likewise perish. The unbeliever stubbornly said, You disgusting fellow, what's the use of telling me that?

Again, Evans repeated the verse. Angered, the man struck him between the eyes and knocked him down. His Bible flew 1 way, the young preacher the other, But God sustained him. He got up and said, My friend, God loves you, and except you repent, ye shall all likewise perish. The very next night that man was in the mission, before meeting time, he said, I couldn't sleep last night.

All over the wall I read, except you repent, ye shall all likewise perish. I saw it on my pillow. In the morning when I got up, I saw except ye repent at the breakfast table, and all through the day it has been there before me. Now I've come back to settle it." And he did, and so should we. Everywhere the Apostle Paul went he preached that they should repent and turn to God.

Acts 26 20. The very foundation of the gospel is described in Hebrews 6 1 as repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. To the great crowd in the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter said, Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out. Act 3. That's the only way to meet the judgment, by confession and repentance in a time when God can be found.

True repentance means a turning of the life, round in the opposite direction, to turn away from evil. If our present direction, through sin, leads to destruction, we must turn around. A motorist about 50 miles outside Washington DC once asked a young farmer by the roadside how far it was to Washington. In the way you're headed, the farmer said, it's about 25, 000 miles. But if you turn around, it'll be about 53.

The Greek word translated repent literally means change your mind. In other words, get a new point of view. That's what Jesus was saying, change your mind for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. You see, Jesus was looking not merely at the words but at the motive. Looking at the inside of a man's mind, the Bible says, man looketh on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart.

1 Samuel 16, 7. It was Roy L. Smith who said that no man is ever more than 4 steps from God. And those steps are conviction, repentance, consecration, and faith. Repentance is the heart's sorrow and a clear life ensuing, as Shakespeare put it.

And good Martin Luther said, "'To do so no more is the truest repentance. Here it is in plain words that anyone can understand. In Proverbs 28, 13, he that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. In the judgment it's God's pardon that counts and only God's pardon. It is said that in the reign of Charles I a prisoner was brought to trial and the jury found him guilty.

Throughout all the proceedings a man seemed calm and unconcerned even when the judge pronounced sentence upon him, he didn't say a word. Just took a paper from his pocket and handed it to the judge. It was the king's full pardon which a messenger had brought just in time to set him free. With that pardon in his pocket, he feared nothing. And so it will be in the day of judgment.

If we have Christ's free pardon for sin, we shall not be afraid of anything. If we have come to God in true repentance and have confessed and forsaken our sins, we can have the blessed assurance that our sins are forgiven and that there's nothing against us. The blood of Jesus Christ Himself covers all our sins. So we read in 1 John 1 9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. If we confess, he will forgive.

But some who know what the holy word of God says about sin seem to say to themselves, what's the use? There's no use trying. God hates me because I'm a sinner and that's the end of it." They go on into the darkness. There like the wayward young fellow who ran away from home and was not heard from for years, then in some way word got to him that his father had died and he returned home. His mother received him kindly.

The whole family was gathered together for the reading of the will by the lawyer. Everyone was surprised for the will went on in great detail, telling of the wayward career of this runaway boy. He became disturbed, then angry. Finally he stamped out of the room, left the house, and was not heard from for 3 years. When he came back, he was informed that the will, after telling about his stubbornness and waywardness, went on to bequeath him $15, 000.

Just think of the sorrow he would have saved himself if he had only stayed until a lawyer had finished reading the will. There are some people who only half read the Bible. They go away from it dissatisfied. They read only part of it. Remember, the Book of God says, the wages of sin is death.

That's true enough. There's the condemnation. There's the bitterness. But the very same book, the very same chapter, and the very same verse also says, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6, 23.

So you see, God does forgive sin. The Scripture says so. Jesus says so. And He forgives our sins, not merely for the asking, but for the asking when the conditions are met. When we repent, when we confess, when we turn away from our sins, it's a simple, clear, reasonable offer by the Lord.

Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though your seams be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Though your sins be as scarlet, Though your sins be as scarlet, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as They shall be as white as snow. They shall be as white as snow. He'll forgive your transgressions and remember them no more. He'll forgive your transgressions and remember them no more.

Look unto me, people, saith the Lord your God. He'll forgive your transgressions, He'll forgive your transgressions, and remember them no more, and remember them no more. Until this same time next week, when the Voice of Prophecy will again bring you this inspirational broadcast. May I urge you to keep looking up, ever going forward in faith. Have faith in God, above earth's rush and din.

Have faith in God, to bring salvation in. Have faith in God, forgiving all our sin. Have faith, dear friend, in God.

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When Does God Forgive Sins?

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