Again, we're going to be looking
at several different places in scripture tonight So if you would
let's begin by turning to Matthew chapter 21 Matthew chapter 21
and you'll recall as you're turning there. Our Lord had entered into
Jerusalem had overturned the money changers tables and declared
that it was written, my house shall be called the house of
prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. And after he
had done some things in the temple, he left and went back to Bethany. where his friends were. But then
he came back the next morning to Jerusalem, and on his way
past a fig tree, you'll recall that he cursed the fig tree because
it had leaves. It had green leaves, which usually
doesn't come till after the fruit, as we learned in our last study.
But there was no fruit on the tree, so the Lord cursed it,
which was a picture of his wrath against fruitless religions.
religions who have this beautiful shine of leaves. And you remember
we referred to the fact that Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves
with leaves. So after all this has come through,
we come to verse 23. And before I read that, I want
to go to our handout. So if you would, in our handout,
page 1. Some of you are looking at it by phone, so you'll just
have to trust my reading of it. The first paragraph, we read
this, it would seem a man by the name of John Bradford, a
late 16th century Englishman, was the originator of the phrase,
there but for the grace of God go I. though it is not a phrase
that is found in God's Holy Writ, it is a subject matter found
throughout God's Word, just as is the subject of substitution.
You never find the word of substitution in in Scripture, but there's
a subject of it all throughout. That's what the whole sacrifice
of the spotless lamb is about. Sovereignty. You don't hear the
word sovereignty in Scripture, but you know that God is Himself
all-powerful, omnipotent, omniscient, and all-present. He is all of
all things. An example of Scripture that
talks about But for the grace of God, there go I, is 1 Corinthians
4, 7. For who maketh thee to differ
from another? That's the title for tonight.
Or no, that's not. I'm sorry. But for the grace
of God. That's the title of tonight. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now,
if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hast
not received it? Now our text in Matthew 21 has
much to say broken down in the verses and the phrases, but if
you take it as a whole, there is a theme that sounds throughout
the Word of God. Who maketh thee to differ? What makes me any different than
the chief priests and the elders and the self-righteous workers
of iniquity who are being rebuked in these following verses? Now,
we're going to look at Matthew chapter 21, beginning at verse
23, and we're going to read verse 23, and then we're going to go
to 45 and 46. all of those verses in between, the Lord is addressing
the ones that he's speaking to in verse 23. Look at verse 23
with me. And when he was coming to the
temple, now he's come back again into Jerusalem, he cursed the
fig tree, and when he is coming to the temple, the chief priests
and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching. Now that word teaching is the
same as preaching. So as he was teaching or preaching
and said, by what authority dost thou these things? And who gave
thee this authority? So they're going to start questioning
him. They're going to start hounding
him as to where does he think he comes off, this man from Nazareth,
with this knowledge. He's not been to any schools,
and the Lord is going to rebuke him with several different things,
a couple of parables. He comes right out and speaks
to him, asks him some questions about John the Baptist and so
on, but I don't want to Spend too much time on that tonight.
Go over to verse 45 and 46 We're gonna we're gonna look at this
subject who maketh us to differ what makes me any different than
those men that the Lord says is addressing him here the chief
priest and the elders and the people and that came to him that
he was teaching and said, by what authority? What makes me
any different than those men? Now look what happens over here
in verse 45. And when the chief priests and the Pharisees had
heard his parable, they perceived that he spake of them. So all
of these verses that we're going to be, that I might look at next
week, but I've got to be honest with you, I'm just not sure yet.
Pray for me as the Lord might lead me in what direction to
go with there. But all of those verses are the Lord speaking
about the problems with these folks. The judgment that's coming,
as we saw on the fig tree, to man. The judgment that's coming
to false religions. I put something on Facebook. I can't remember. I posted something
that was It was a forward of an article, I believe, from Todd
Nyberg. And it had to do with, let's see, what was it about?
I can't remember, but a relative of mine put out a comment about
how they know a group of people who sit around judging other
religions, pointing their fingers at other religions and condemning
them. This person, I responded to him
with this. I said, you know, God himself,
the Lord Jesus himself, in many, many, many places in the Bible,
warns us and condemns false religion. This person is confusing us for
condemning false religion as though we're condemning the individual.
And I say, you're confusing us with that. We don't condemn the
individual. Only God can do that, just as
only God can save a person. So that's what this is all about.
The Lord is all these verses between what we just read and
these last two verses. Listen to verse six. But when
they sought to lay hands on him, They feared the multitude because
they took him for a prophet. Now, we're going to go back to
our handout for a moment. I may come back to that section
again. This is the last paragraph of
page one, if you have the printed version of it. I may come back
to that section next week. I'm just not sure about it yet.
I've read through it, and I found that Robert Hawker gave the best
explanation of it, which was very brief. And we'll get to
that in just a moment. I consider the words of Robert Hawker and
his comments. They're brief, but very powerful.
And these are his comments on that. The whole of our Lord's
discourse and reasoning is so plain and so evident, now speaking
of all those verses in between those three, that I do not conceive
it can be in the smallest measure necessary to enlarge upon it. I only detain the reader, writes
Robert Hawker, therefore to remark upon the whole of what is here
contained, that from our Lord's giving the preference to publicans
and harlots rather than to that of self-righteous scribes and
Pharisees, we may safely conclude that nothing was more offensive
to the Lord of life and glory than a frame of mind which of
all others is more immediately leveled against the leading doctrines
of his gospel." Everything about the Pharisees was against the
doctrines of his gospel. The whole idea of free willism,
Coming to the Lord of your own free will is against His doctrine.
He says, none seeketh after me. That's turning away the doctrine
of dead and trespassers in sin. Oh, for the grace, he goes on
to say, oh, for the grace to be always aware of the leaven
of the scribes and Pharisees, which the Son of God himself
declares to be hypocrisy. And I give you that verse, as
Robert Hawkins referred to it in Luke 12, verse 1. He says,
we read, in the meantime, When there were gathered together
an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trod one upon
another, he began to say unto his disciples, first of all,
beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Folks, before I go any further
in the handout, this is important. God teaches us to discern between
messages. Those who have no discernment
of religions haven't got Christ. If you have Christ dwelling in
your heart, all those religions who teach something else, all
those religions who teach another Christ, will become an abomination
to you, just as it is to Jesus Christ himself. That's what he's
saying here. Beware ye of the leaven of the
Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. They're hypocrites. In these
verses, second paragraph, page two, in these verses we see the
priest and the elders of the people, the religious leaders
of the day, attempting to discredit the ministry of the Son of God.
That's exactly what the worst religions of today are doing. Free will religion takes the
power of salvation from God and puts it in the hands of men. If you'll just make a decision.
If you'll just come down to the front and do the prayer. If you'll
turn your life over to Christ. If you'll let Him be your Lord. The Lord warns us of such deceitfulness. Listen to Jude 1, verse 4. For there are certain men crept
in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness. That's wickedness. And denying the only Lord God
and our Lord Jesus Christ. Brother Don Fortner wrote this.
He says, these bitter enemies of righteousness, these bitter,
envious, insecure religious men swarmed around the Son of God
like a nest of bees, trying to find some weakness in him. The
question by which he silenced their quibbles and the parable
by which our master forced them to condemn themselves are here
recorded for our comfort. That's all those verses that
we skipped over there. learning and abomination by divine
inspiration. May God the Holy Spirit, who
inspired Matthew to write these words, inscribe their lessons
upon our hearts. The question raised by our Lord's
adversaries demonstrates the fact that Satan's strategy never
changes. It's the same today as it was
in the garden. While the Lord Jesus was preaching
the gospel in the temple, as the record shows in Luke's gospel,
chapter 20, verse 1, the chief priests and the scribes and the
elders, as stated in Mark's gospel, chapter 11, verse 27, rudely
brooded out, by what authority dost thou these things, and who
gave thee this authority? That's the record in Matthew
21, 23. From the beginning of time, Satan's most constant weapon
against Christ and his people has been slander. Eve was seduced
by the serpent slander of God's character. Remember what the
serpent said? You shall not surely die. He
called God a liar. That's slandering God. Even though
they did die, they died spiritually, And he slandered against them
there. He slanders against them today. Once the Lord was discredited
in her eyes, she was caught. Whenever it is impossible to
disprove the work of God or deny the truth of God, Satan's weapon
of choice is to discredit the messenger of God by slander. Oh, that guy John Reeves, he's
never been to college, he's never been to seminary. Who wants to
go listen to him? These hell-inspired religionists
could not refute the Lord's doctrine. They couldn't. All the way to
the cross. Remember what happened at the
mock court hearing for the Lord Jesus? They started making things
up. They couldn't find anything true about what was wrong with
what he said, so they made things up. They could not deny his power. Page three. The fig tree withered
before their very eyes. They couldn't deny that. And
they could not find any fault with his life or the lives of
his disciples. So the only way to defend themselves,
the only way they could justify their opposition to the Son of
God was to discredit him by casting some slander upon him. Often
they slandered the Savior by His association with sinners.
Look at Him! He eats and dines with sinners.
But here, they attempted to discredit His authority. Who gave you this
authority? What authority do you have to
stand in the temple and preach? They ignored the good He did,
healing the sick, cleansing the temple, raising the dead, and
teaching the people the Word of God. And they quibbled about
His authority to do what He did. Listen to these words from John
10, verse 22-26. And it was at Jerusalem, the
Feast of Dedication, and it was winter, and Jesus walked in the
temple of Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about
him and said unto him, how long dost thou make us to doubt? If
thou be the Christ, tell us plainly." Folks, he was telling them plainly
who he was there in that temple. That's the gospel. The gospel
is Christ Jesus the Lord and him crucified. Every time the
Lord spikes of his crucifixion in Jerusalem, he mentions to
be raised again on the third day. Jesus answered. He says, I told you. I told you and you believed not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me, but ye believe not because ye
are not my sheep. Commenting on the actions of
these men, J.C. Ryle wrote this. He said, too
many care nothing for the manifest blessings of God upon man's work,
so long as he is not sent forth by their own sect or party. These
religious leaders had all the right credentials. They had all
been taught and studied and memorized the scriptures. but they knew
nothing of the power of God. The Lord Jesus had no earthly
credentials, but his words and his works manifested the very
wisdom and the omnipotence of God. The most common area of
slander by which God's servants are attacked today are the very
same areas of slander that were hurled against the Son of God.
Many are ridiculed because of their lack the backing of recognized
religious leaders. Oh, you know, there's a couple
of churches in California that preach this sovereign grace thing,
so we don't need to pay any attention to that. It's just a couple of
wackos out in the woods. They lack the backing of recognized
leaders, or they lack impressive academic degrees. Some of you may recall, I think
I shared this with you, but I was told this when the Lord first
put me in this position. First off, I want you to be sure
to understand this. I have no thoughts of discredit to this. What this person said about me
was absolutely correct. I am the weakest link of all
of God's ministers. Yet God has put me in this position,
and what I was told was this, you have no reason to be in the
pulpit. You've got no training. You've got no experience. You've got no knowledge. You
haven't even read the Bible all the way through. This woman said to me, I've read
the Bible five times all the way through. I'm more qualified
than you to lead a church. Yet she knows nothing, absolutely
nothing of the grace of God. That's one of the things they
use to slander God's ministers. You would be amazed at how many
of the preachers you know throughout this country have no learning
in schools about Bible learning at all. Most of them have taken
what they have learned in Bible schools and thrown them out the
windows. William Huntington, who always signed his name, we're
back in the handout, last paragraph, page three. William Huntington
always signed his name William Huntington, S.F. You know, like
a doctor puts DR at the end there or DDS or whatever. He once said
this, the degree SS or Center Saved, I like that. Said that's a great degree to
have, Center Saved. That's what I got. I got a degree
of Center Saved is more needful to teach others than any MA or
DD. Commenting on that statement,
Spurgeon added this to Huntington's decree of SS, or sinners saved,
is more needful for a soul-winning evangelist, that either MA or
DD, that pardoned sinners matter will be good. I'm sorry, did
I read it? I'm not reading it. The pardon
sinner's matter will be good, for he has been taught in the
school of experience. And his manner will be telling,
for he will speak sympathetically as one who has felt what he declares. I've tasted grace. I've tasted
grace. We talked about that last week
in Sunday's message. I've tasted grace, and I know
what it tastes like. It tastes like the sweet milk
of the word. Oh, God's preachers preach grace,
sovereign grace, and natural man hates that. Page four. Page
four. When wicked men, religious or
irreligious, now I got that word from Don Fortner, so I don't
know if it's right or not, but it looked good. Religious or
non-religious would be better, I think, cannot refute that which
is taught of another. Slander is the tool they most
commonly use to discredit the man. Nothing in this world is
more base, more vile, more hellish, and more demoniac than gossip
and slander, Don Fortner. Again, Don Fortner wrote this.
He said, slander comes from an evil heart. And he refers to
Luke 6, verse 45, where we read, a good man out of a good treasure
of his heart bringeth forth that which is good. And an evil man
out of an evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which
is evil. For of the abundance of the heart
his mouth speaketh. Don says, it's a character of
Satan, the slanderer. Satan is the slanderer. He's
the father of slander. And he refers to Revelation 12.10. He says, I heard a loud voice
saying in heaven, now has come salvation and strength and the
kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ. For the accuser,
that's the slanderer, of our brethren is cast down, which
accused them before our God day and night. Slanderers are wicked,
base hypocrites, writes Don. Thou sittest and speakest against
thy brother, thou slanderest thine own mother's son. That's
Psalms 50, verse 20. Here he gives Proverbs 11, verse
9. And hypocrite with his mouth
destroyeth his neighbor. Slander inflects deadly wounds. As we read in Proverbs 18, verse
8, and the same in Proverbs 26, 22, the words of the table bearer
are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the
belly. It stirs up strife and separates friends, as we read
in Proverbs 16, 28. A forward man soweth strife,
and a whisperer separateth chief friends. Or this, in Proverbs
17, 9, he that covereth a transgression seeketh love, but he that repeateth
the matter separateth very friends. And lastly, it causes discord
among brethren. Proverbs 16, 6 verse 19, a false
witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among
brethren. The tongue of a slanderer is
a scourge that is venomous, and destructive as we just read in
all those verses. This is what God's people can
expect. This is what we can expect from
those around us. When you go to preach to your
loved ones, they're going to tell you, they're going to poke
you in the chest and tell you, you will not take away my free
will. They're going to tell you you
and I have different gods. That's what my uncle, my aunt's
husband said as I sat in his church out there in Arkansas
as I'm passing by, visiting through. I was telling about a devotion
that I was going to bring when I came back. And he said, you
and I, this is a religious thing. You and I have different gods.
A Baptist church. We can expect that. from the
world that we live in. In John 15, 18, the Lord tells
us this, bottom of page four, if the world hate you, ye know
that it hated me before it hated you. Page five. And this brings
us to God's grace in us. We could be in that very ship
slandering against God, as these religious self-righteous priests
were doing, and the elders, as such were some of you. And I've
used our brother Mike Loveless before. He'd be happy to tell
you about what kind of a religious slanderer he was before the Lord
saved him. Brother Steve Doyle. Loved to tell people what kind
of a slanderer he was in the Catholic religion before the
Lord called him out of that darkness. Brother Lamar Garner and his
wife Carol loved to share with us the kind of slanderers they
were in the Mormon church before the Lord called them out of that
darkness. We could be in that very same boat. As such, were
some of you were not for the love of God to a people chosen
from the foundation of the worlds, we would still stand deserving
the wrath of God's judgment, unable to hear anything of God's
true love, and hearing nothing but the word of deserved charges. If you still have your Bibles
open to Matthew, look what it says in verse 45 again. And when
the chief priests and the Pharisees had heard his parables. They
perceived that he spoke of them. There's condemnation in those
parables. There's condemnations against
those who would do unrighteous works. That's what worse religion
is. Unrighteous works. Listen to
Ephesians chapter 2, verse 5. Even when we were dead in sins,
have quickened us together with Christ. By grace, ye are saved. Because Christ dwells in us,
and we stand for his truth, the world hates us just as they hate
Christ. They hate the truth of Christ
and therefore hate you. and I for declaring Him and His
truth. Listen to John 7, verse 7. The
world cannot hate you, but me it hateth, because I testify
of it, the works thereof are evil. You and I know our works
are evil. You and I have no confidence
in this flesh, because we know everything in this flesh is tainted
with sin. And we look to our Lord and Savior,
the Lord Jesus, for our all. Look with me at the priestly
prayer over in John chapter 17. Turn out of Matthew. We'll not
be back to that tonight. But look over in John chapter
17 with me if you would. Still reading from my handout
about mid-page there. They hate Christ because He has
all power, including the power to give eternal life. Isn't that
what we read here in verse 2? John 17 verse 2, As thou hast
given Him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him." Folks, God's only given
eternal life to certain folks. And it's not because we deserve
anything. It's like I read back there in
Ephesians 2 verse 5, even when we were dead in sin, and quickened
us, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you're saved. That's what this is talking about.
He gives eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him. And life
eternal, again in my handout, And life eternal is to be given
the knowledge of the true and living God who sent his only
begotten Son. That's what we read in verse
3. Look it with me. And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee. What? Life eternal? Means that we must know Christ,
the only true God. and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent." Hold your place here in John and turn over to Ephesians
chapter 1. Mark your place there in the
book of John. We're going to come back to that
17. But I want you to turn over to Ephesians chapter 1 for just
a moment. Do you ever get tired of these verses? You know, I
remember Tom Sawyer, he read Ephesians every time he stood
up at the men's meeting. And that was quite often, by
the way. Sometimes we would hear Ephesians 1 three times in a
month. Never get tired of it. If you flip my Bible open, one
of the places where it'll stop every time is Ephesians chapter
1 and 2. I never get tired of hearing
it. I never get tired of reading it. Look here with me at Ephesians
chapter 1, beginning at verse 15. Wherefore, I also, writes
Paul, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto
all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention
of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of Him." What? You mean I can't
just learn about it from sitting out under a tree and reading
God's Word? Folks, people read God's Word
every day. They have no idea who the Lord
Jesus is. And we could be in that very
same boat. This is the grace of God that
we're not. There's nothing in John Reeves
worthy of saving, but my Savior, the Lord Jesus, chose to love
me before the world ever was. He chose to love a whole mess
of people. I know, that's Southern talk.
But a whole mess of people, more than any man can count. And every
single one for whom he shed his blood shall be saved. They shall come to the revelation
of the knowledge of Him. Look at verse 18. The eyes of
your understanding being enlightened, illuminated, that ye may know
what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of His glory,
of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness
of His power to usward who believe according to the working of His
mighty power. Isn't that wonderful? Aren't
those good words? Go back to John 17 now if you
would with me. And look at verses 5-10. Back
in John 17. Look at verses 5-10. And now,
O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self with the glory
which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested
Thy name, I have declared Thy name, I have put Thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me." Notice it wasn't unto the whole
world. But unto them that thou hast given him, with thine own
self of the, I'm sorry, I skipped back to number five. Which thou
hast given me out of the world, thine they were, and thou gavest
them me, and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that
all things whatsoever thou hast given me are thee, for I have
given unto them the words which thou gavest me. and they received
them, and have known surely that I came out from me, and they
have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them, I pray
not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for
they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine,
and I am glorified in them." Isn't that amazing? Isn't that
amazing? Imagine that! Imagine that! This sinful man that sits before
you, my Lord is glorified in Him. He is glorified in me. How? How is the Lord Jesus glorified
in this sinful body? In this sinful flesh? Because
I declare Him from my heart. From my heart I know that He
is God Almighty in the flesh. I know that He manifested Him
in the flesh for my sake. In my heart, I know that what
He did on this earth was perfect and righteous in the Father's
eyes. He knew no sin. I declare Him
not by any power of mine. This is the last paragraph, page
five. Not because of anything of this flesh, but by His power. That's what that says there in
verse And verse 19, and what is the
exceeding greatness of his power to us word who believe according
to the working of his mighty power. Page six. Let's go on now, if you would.
Join me in reading verses 11 through 13 of John 17. And now I am no more in the world,
says the Lord, but these are in the world, and I come to thee,
Holy Father. Keep through thine own name those
whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. One with Christ. Isn't that something? While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name. Those thou gavest me I have kept,
and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the
scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee, and these
things I speak in the world, that they might have joy fulfilled,
my joy fulfilled in themselves. Back in our handout, top of page
six. What is his joy? How is it fulfilled in me? I,
and I should say this, I who once hated him as all mankind,
this is the top of page six of your handout, have been by grace
brought to love him in the day of his power because he first
loved me. That's how His joy is fulfilled
in me. For God so loved the world, not
the world as in all mankind, but all that the Father hath
given Him throughout all the world in time. Out of every tribe,
every tongue, He loved all of His people throughout all time.
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. Remember, Christ is the one who
has the power of giving everlasting life. Then it goes on to say
after that, it says, for God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be
saved. He that believeth on him is not
condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because
he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world,
and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds
were evil. For everyone that doeth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved. But he that doeth truth come
to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they
are wrought in God." Isn't that the first thing we tell those
that come into our lives? What is it about John Reeves
that is different from the John Reeves that used to be whatever
you could call me before the Lord called me? What is the difference? The difference today is that
I believe God. I believe His Word with all my
heart, not because of anything I have done, but because of His
grace, because of His mercy. Look at verse 14 through 20 of
John chapter 17. And I have given them thy word,
and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth,
thy word is truth. As Thou hast sent me into the
world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for
their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified
through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word."
You see that? God will use us. that He might
call His people from darkness. We're back in the handout, Nate,
mid-page six. God will use us that He might
call His people from darkness into His marvelous light through
the declaring of His truth. This is our calling. Whom maketh us to differ? That's
our calling. Whom maketh us to differ? My
answer is this, Romans 9, 13 through 16, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. He would have every right to
leave me to myself, just as he did when he left Jerusalem and
went back to Bethany. He would have every right to
leave me to myself. Bottom paragraph, page six. He
did as he did with these religious leaders, yet he delights in mercy
and sent his son, turning his back upon him that he would not
turn his back upon me. Page seven. Who maketh me to
differ? Christ Jesus, the Lord. Because
he was made flesh, as we read in John chapter 1, verse 14,
the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory is the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. Philippians 2, 5 through
11, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus,
who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God, excuse me, but made himself of
no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men, and being found in a fashion
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and things in heaven
and things in earth and things under the earth, and every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. Who maketh me to differ? Christ
Jesus the Lord, because he died my death. That's what we read
in Romans 5, 6 through 9. For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die, yet preadventure for a good
man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified
by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him. Who
maketh me to differ? Christ Jesus the Lord, because
the Father accepted the sacrifice of His Son. Romans 8, verse 31
through 34. What shall we say then to these
things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Page 8. Listen to these words, Colossians
2, verses 9 through 15. For in him, speaking of Christ,
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are
complete in him. Who maketh me to differ? Christ? My completion is not in what
John Reeves has done, not in what John Reeves could do, but
in my Savior, the Lord Jesus. Who maketh me to differ him?
The Lord Jesus, I'm completing him, which is the head of all
principality and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with
the circumcision made without hand, and putting off the body
of the sins of this flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God. who hath raised him from
the dead, and you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, hath he quickened, that means made alive, together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out
the handwriting of the ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross, And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in it." Folks, our Lord
sits on his throne today. That's where he sits and makes
intercession for us. The accuser comes and says all
the things which are true about John Reeves, but he doesn't speak
the truth that Christ died for all of my sins on that cross.
And because of Him, the One who makes me to differ, I stand in the righteousness
of God in Him. Christ, in Christ alone, maketh
me to differ from what I was. Amen.