Again, it's an honor, a blessing,
and a privilege to be able to stand and preach the gospel of
God's free grace and to share this time with you, beloved saints. I'm so thankful. It's been a
wonderful time. And it's always good to see you. Always good to see you. John
chapter 12. The name of the message tonight
is, We Would See Jesus. We Would See Jesus. John chapter
12 verses 20 to 22 will be where our main text is. Scripture declares,
and there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship
at the feast. The same came, therefore, to
Philip, which was a Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him saying,
sir, we would see Jesus. Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip
cometh and telleth Andrew, and again Andrew, and Philip tell
Jesus." The main text is the portion
where the Greeks say, Sir, we would see Jesus. We would see
Jesus. Gospel preachers have one message. Just one. And it's Christ. And it's Him alone. And though we differ as men,
and our personalities are different, we must always remember, it's
not the man, it's the message. It's the message. And these men come and they say,
Sir, we would see Jesus. A few years ago we had a conference
and this was the charge to our speaker. We asked him this very
question. We said, Sir, we would see Jesus.
And when he preached, we saw Christ. We saw Christ. And I believe this is desire
for all of God's people who are saved, and those who are being
drawn by the Holy Spirit, sir, we would see Jesus. When
we have men stand up before us to preach, when we listen on
sermon audio, when we listen to a message, we want to hear
about Christ. We want to hear about him. We would be well to say to men
as they come before us, sir, we would see Jesus. We would
see Jesus. Point us to Christ. I don't have
any hope anywhere else. I desperately need him. Even
though I'm a saved sinner, I need to hear about Christ all the
time. All the time. I have no hope
in myself or doings. And this is my desire when preaching,
that you would see Jesus, that He would reveal Himself, that
He would manifest Himself to you, that He would draw sinners
to Himself, that if you're saved, that He'd comfort you, because
that's the only place you'll find rest, the only place. That no matter what circumstance
you're going through right now, that He would give you the grace
and the comfort and the strength to make it through it. And we all need that, don't we?
Every one of us. We're all going through some
trial or some things that are happening, and oh, Lord, please
give me strength. Give me strength. And then we pray, we pray, all
of us pray, oh, Lord, grant faith to those who don't believe. Oh,
Lord, have them cry out, we would see Jesus. Because that's their
only hope. And we don't say that in a condescending
way, because that's what we've experienced, isn't it? Those
of us who were trusting and resting in Christ, there was a time when
we said, we would see Jesus. Oh, please preach Christ to me.
And it's a continuous cry of the believer. That's all he wants. That's all he wants to hear.
Just tell me about Christ. Oh, that God would grant faith
to those, anyone here who doesn't know Christ, oh, that He grant
you faith and draw you to Him, so that you would cry out like
these Greeks. Because this is the believer's
cry. Again, in the text before us,
it says in verse 20, and there were certain Greeks among them
that came up to worship at the feast, The same came, therefore,
to Philip, which was a Besedi of Galilee, and desired him,
saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. This came from Gentile lips. These men were Greeks. A Jew,
perhaps, would have said, we would see this Christ. But these
were Gentile lips. These were Gentile men. And here before us in the text,
these Greeks have heard of Christ. As they say, we would see Jesus.
We would see him. And these words are expressive
of the elect's desire for Christ. As we, like these Greeks, we
would see Jesus. Haggai. says, and I will shake
all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come, and I
will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord. The desire, Christ
is the desire of all nations, of a people from all different
nations, every creed, tongue, kindred, and nation. All His
people are spread all among the nations, and He's their desire.
They desire to see Him, and they desire to see others come to
Him. And this is why we pray, oh,
Lord, save your people. We know he will, but we still
pray that, don't we? We pray for our loved ones who we don't
know if they're saved or not, but we pray, oh, Lord, if it's
your will, oh, if it's your will, save them. Remember, God's sheep are scattered
all over the world. They're in every, as I said,
every nation, every kindred, every tongue. And God's sheep are drawn to
the great shepherd. the great shepherd of their soul.
And the Holy Spirit draws his people, draws the Lord's people
to Christ. We all know that verse. It's
such a wonderful verse. I don't think we can ever hear
it enough. Thy people shall be made willing in a day of his
power. The only reason we come to Christ
is because we're made willing. Spurgeon says of the Greeks spoken
of in this text, they were proselytes who had learned to worship Jehovah.
Something more than mere curiosity must have moved them to want
to see Jesus. Having heard of His raising the
dead, they had a desire, and a very proper desire, to know
more of Him. So they asked to be introduced
to Him by one who, though not a Greek, had a Greek name, and who may therefore have served
as a kind of bridge for these Greeks to reach the Savior. These Greeks belonged to numerous
Gentiles who, like the Ethiopian eunuch, had embraced Judaism
and came to Jerusalem to keep its festivals. But their inquiry shows that
they sought to seek him. They sought to see him. Here's something for us that
one commentator said. He said the Gentiles were to
be grafted in, right, were to be grafted in, into the vine,
and it is this very coming of the Greeks, it is this which
the very coming of the Greeks pre-typified. This commentator said that these
Greeks coming typified that the Gentiles would come. And some
commentators mention that they may have been bought into the
circle of the disciples to listen to the further discourse, as listeners to these glorious
words which Christ proceeded to speak concerning Himself.
Let's look at those. A lot of commentators believe
that they were actually there when Christ spoke these words.
And these words were about His life, they were about His death,
and they were about His resurrection. Look at verse 23, "...and Jesus
answered them, Our Master says, And Jesus answered them, saying,
The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except the corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit. He's speaking of his death here. He that loveth his life shall
lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep
it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him
follow me. And where I am, there also my servant be. This is a
great comfort. Christ is in heaven. We shall
be in heaven one day. Only because he's there. If any man serve me, him will
my father honor. And we saw that the son honors
the father this morning. Now is my soul troubled, and
what shall I say? Father saved me from this hour,
but for this cause came I unto this hour." He came into this
world to save his people from their sins. This is what he came
for. He came to die in sinners' room
instead. A number that no man can number.
All the elect of all the ages, and he died on the cross in the
room instead. He knew exactly what He was doing. But for this cause came I unto
this hour. And then He says, Father, glorify
Thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven again, or heaven
saying, I have both glorified it, and I'll glorify it again.
What a mighty Savior. What a wonderful Savior. He was
on a mission. And He could not fail. That gives
the believer hope. He's already in heaven. He's
ascended into glory. God's satisfied. It's finished. The very cause that he came to
fulfill, he fulfilled. He did it all. He did it all. Now let's look at three examples
of inquirers mentioned in the gospel. Three examples of inquirers
of Jesus. Now, we've seen the Greeks. Herod was a king, and scripture
says in Luke 9.9, it says, and Herod said, John have I beheaded,
but who is this, he's speaking of Christ, of whom I hear such
things, and he desired to see him. He desired to see him. But his curiosity was a type
of curiosity that comes to absolutely nothing. Nothing. And how many Herods are in this
world? They say, well, yeah, you know,
I want, but they really have no desire. They're just curious. And another inquirer is Zacchaeus. He climbed that sycamore tree,
right? He just wanted to see Christ. He was curious. And his curiosity came to something. He climbed a tree and he looked.
But what did that visit, what did that inquiry end in? A divine
appointment of God. He went up that tree, a lost
man, and he skinned bark coming down, a saved man. Drawn by the Holy Spirit. I always like to think about
that. He ate his breakfast in the morning, probably, not even
thinking, just thinking, oh, I want to see, I want to see
who this is. You know, that was a divinely
appointed sycamore tree, growing divinely, for him to climb up. It wasn't by chance that tree
was there. And he saw Christ, didn't he?
And Christ said, Zacchaeus, He called them. He called them by
his marvelous grace. And now before us, the Greeks
in our text here. Now, the Greeks seem to have
been further on in their inquiries than Zacchaeus. Theirs was more
than curiosity. It was an earnest longing that,
sir, we would see Jesus. Like men who have got a glimpse
of Him. And we have Greeks in our day. Men whose souls God has touched. And across whose eyes He has
flashed some rays of glory of His incarnate Son. Are there any here who would
say, Sir, we would see Jesus? Oh, that the Holy Spirit of God
would reveal Christ to us, to a lost soul. We must look to Him. There's
no other way to be saved. Salvation is in the Lord Jesus
Christ, plus absolutely nothing. Nothing. Now, men hate that. Natural man hates that. When
you say there's nothing for you to do, they look at you and they
ask, what? I had someone, I told them, I
said, all you got to do is tell them to trust and rest in Christ.
They said, I got to tell them to do something now. They were
preparing a study for a group that they were going to teach.
And the reply back was, I can't do that. I have to tell them
something, to do something. Well, that's not grace. That's
not grace. Because we point people to Christ
and we say, look to Christ and Him alone. Cast aside any confidence in
yourself or in your flesh and simply look to Him. Turn with me, if you would, to
Ephesians chapter 2. Salvation is in the Lord Jesus
Christ plus nothing. How is the far-off Gentile botanized? And how does the Greek become
a son of Abraham? By looking to the Lord Jesus
Christ in him alone. There ain't no other way. No
other way. Ephesians chapter 2, we'll read
a portion here, starting in verse 11. Wherefore remember that ye being
in times past Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hand." So
the Jews call Gentiles the uncircumcision. He's going to state how we were.
That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope Without God in the world, we didn't have any hope, did
we, before we were saved? We were hoping in ourselves.
Oh, but now, look at verse 13. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. It's only by Christ in Him alone. For He is our peace. He's our peace. We don't have
any other peace other than through Christ, do we? "...who hath made
both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us, having abolished in his flesh..." Remember, he's
the God-man mediator dying in the room instead of sinners.
"...having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinance, for to make in himself of twain one
new man, so making peace, in that he might reconcile..." The
believer is reconciled to God. reconciled to God, that he might
reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain
the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace, peace with God through the Lord
Jesus Christ in him alone. Peace to you which were far off
and to them that were nigh, speaking of the Jews and the Gentiles,
for through him We both have access by one Spirit unto the
Father. There is only one way to heaven, and that's the Lord
Jesus Christ in Him alone, and there's no other way. Every single religion can be
broken down into works, and there's only one that's grace. And all the other ones can be
lumped up into works-based religions. Salvation is only through the
Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. Is there a Herod here? Beware
and tremble. Herod's inquiries were vain and
not sincere. They bought about his destruction
as he trusted in his own self-righteousness. Oh, by God's providence, may
there be a Zacchaeus? May there be one who the Lord
will call to? Zacchaeus had a divine appointment. He had a divine appointment with
God. Was there ever anyone like Christ? He did not hide himself, did
he? He manifested Himself. God incarnated in the flesh.
He came to save His people from their sins. And here before us, we have a
picture of an inquiring sinner. May there be some Greeks who
say, sir, we would see Jesus. Oh, that God would grant you
faith. And those of us who are believers, our cry is just like
the Greeks, isn't it? Sir, we would see Jesus, show
us Christ, point us to Christ, preach Christ. He's all we need, all that a
sinner needs is Christ. And that's all. When we listen to a sermon or
or we read the Word of God, is not our desire to see Christ,
to see Him, to learn of Him? Why do we so desire to see Him? What does seeing Him do
for us? Let's look at some things we
see in Jesus as we are taught by the Holy Spirit of God. A
few points here. What is there to see in Jesus?
Again, we looked at this this morning. God manifests in the
flesh. Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and she'll bring forth a son, and they shall call his
name Immanuel, which is interpreted God with us. God in the flesh. The very God who spoke the universe
into existence in the flesh. What is there to see in Jesus?
God sending His Son to save lost sinners. And she shall bring forth a Son,
and thou shalt call His name Jesus. Why? For He and all... Let's turn there, Matthew 121.
We have to look. This is mountaintop scripture,
right? Matthew 121. I love the little
shells. in Scripture, and all, like all
our sins forgiven? Look at this. This is a beautiful
verse that we probably read over and over, but, and she shall
bring forth a son, Matthew 121, and she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus. And look at this, for
he shall, he shall, he shall. We can rest there. He shall what? Save His people
from their sins. It's not a maybe, beloved. He
shall. Rejoice. If you're saved, rejoice. He saved you from your sins. And there's salvation nowhere
else, but only in Christ. Only in Christ and Him alone. What is there to see in Jesus?
The way of salvation through Christ in Him alone. He lived
the perfect life, didn't He? What do we have to do to stand
before God if we have to live a perfect life? How much sin
does it take to damn a soul to hell? Just one. Can we pay for even one sin?
No. We're bankrupt. But praise God,
the Lord Jesus Christ in the room instead of his people paid
it all. Paid it all. He paid it all. Like the scripture said, he shall
save his people from their sins, and he did. And he did. He redeemed a multitude that
no man can number. We don't know who they are, therefore
we preach the gospel to all, don't we? And God does the saving. Does it stop us from praying
for our family members? We should. Absolutely. We pray, oh Lord, if it's your
will. Sometimes we cry with tears,
oh Lord, if it's your will. But Christ, he lived that perfect
life. He fulfilled the law of God in a room and said, And then
he died in a sinner's room instead on Calvary Street. Absolutely
sinless. Perfect. The perfect, spotless
Lamb of God. Not one sin in thought. Not one
sin in deed. Not one sin spoken. Not one sin
of affection. Absolutely perfect, spotless, Passover Lamb. God's Lamb. The Lamb of God,
who taketh away the sins of His people. Because Scripture declares
what we looked at in Matthew 1.21, for He shall save His people
from their sins. When God sees the blood of Christ
upon us and shed for us, He passes over us. Remember the Passover
in Egypt? When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. The believer is washed clean. He passes over all our sins because
Christ died for our sins. Scripture declares, purge out
therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new lump, as ye are
unleavened. For even Christ our Passover
is sacrificed for us. He was our Passover lamb. He
was sacrificed for us. If you're a believer, He's sacrificed
for you. He died in your room instead. And this is why we say flee to
Christ. Sinner, flee to Christ. There's no other hope other than
Him. What do we what do we see in
Jesus? A full pardon for all our sins. Full forgiveness for our sins,
past, present and future. Some folks say, as I said today,
they say, well, you don't know what I've done. The blood of Christ can cleanse
you from all sin. And some folks say, well, and
I remember when I was in religion, they never ever mentioned the
future part. Because you're supposed to keep
yourself in religion. That's what it was when I was
in it. But one day I was pondering and I thought, Christ died for
all my sins because all my sins were future when He died at Calvary
Street. And He paid the price for all.
You see? This is the thing. If we have to pay the price for
one sin, we're in trouble. But the good news of the Gospel
is Christ died in the room instead of His people and He paid the
price for all their sin. Everyone. And God is satisfied. Be satisfied. Full pardon. What was his cry? It's finished. It's finished. And then as we
looked at this morning, he was raised for our justification.
Let's turn to the scripture that says that, Romans chapter 4,
verse 25. And then also put your finger
in Isaiah 53 if you could. And we'll go there afterwards. He dies the sinner's substitute,
and then he's raised for our justification. I know we often hear that said,
but here's the text that actually proclaims that. Romans 4.25,
who was delivered for our offenses, for our sins, our sins, not his,
he had no sin, did he? None, he's sinless. It says our
offenses. Look at this, and was raised
again for our justification. Oh, what a wonderful Savior. He made atonement for our transgressions. He's the sinless, perfect, spotless
Lamb of God. And then turn with me, if you
would, to Isaiah 53. And let's keep this in mind where
it says, "...who was delivered for our offenses and was raised
again for our justification." As we read the next portion of
Scripture in Isaiah 53, starting in verse 10. Scripture declares, speaking
of the Master, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him, to bruise Christ. It pleased God to bruise Christ.
He hath put him to grief, but now shall make his soul an
offering for sin. He shall see a seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in
his hands. He shall see the travail of his soul, and what? shall be satisfied." Two words. I hope you would remember,
in every message you hear, no matter who comes and preaches
from this pulpit, because they're going to preach the same message,
substitution and satisfaction. This is the believers comfort.
Christ was my substitute and he died in my room instead. And
look at this. God will see the travail of Christ,
of Christ upon the cross of his soul and shall be satisfied. Wonderful words, comforting words. By his knowledge, shall my righteous
servant justify many. Not all, right? But many, many. A number that no man can number.
This is why we proclaim the gospel. He will justify many, for He
shall bear their iniquities. He died in the room instead of
sinners. Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, And he shall divide the small with the
strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death. What love! What condescension! And he bare the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors. He died for the
ungodly. But let us rest. God is satisfied with the sacrifice
of Christ. He's satisfied. See, we can't
work our way, can we? There's no way. Folks often speak of rebuilding
the temple in Israel. You ever hear stuff like that,
where they want to rebuild the temple and all this? Think of
this. Right here, we just read in the
text that Christ was sacrificed for his people. If they ever
do do that, it's an abomination in the eyes of the Lord, because
there was the final sacrifice. There is no more need for any
other sacrifice. He's... God's satisfied. He's satisfied. Salvation is
of the Lord. John Gill says this about Christ
being raised for our justification. He died in the room instead of
His people. and by dying made satisfaction for their sins.
He rose again as their head and representative, and was legally
discharged, acquitted, and justified, and they in Him." Christ's resurrection
did not procure the justification of His people. That was done
by His obedience in death, but was for the testification of
it that it might fully appear that sin was atoned for. and an everlasting righteousness
was bought in, and for the application of it, or that Christ might live
and see His righteousness imputed and applied to all those for
whom He rotted out." Oh, he's the sinner's only hope. Let's go back to our text and
just the words there again. Sir, we would see Jesus. We would
see Jesus. Now, when a sinner is given eyes
to see Jesus and ears to hear his words, what does it give
us? It gives us rest. It gives us
rest. We see him as our resting place. We cease from our labors, don't
we? We cease from self-justification
or self-righteous works that are nothing but filthy rags in
the eyes of the Lord. Have you ever went somewhere
for a quiet, to visit like a quiet, peaceful stream, just For me,
I personally like to go to the ocean. I know the ocean is loud,
but there's something about going to the ocean and just sitting
there and listening to the waves crash. And I always glory in
the power of the Lord, but it's a peaceful place for me. I just
love it. But have you ever visited a place
that's so calm and restful? That the very sight of, as you're
going there, seeing it, You're like, I'm just going to rest. Christ is the chief of them. He's the chief. That's where
we find true rest, is in Christ. In Him is true rest for our souls. Hebrew says, there remaineth
a rest to the people of God. For he that entereth into his
rest He also has ceased from his own works. So when a believer
enters into the rest of Christ, he stops trying to save himself. Because that's really what works-based
salvation leads to. Folks are trying to save themselves,
thinking that they're gaining merit and favor with God. But
they're not. The believer rests and says,
I'm going to rest and trust in Christ and him alone. He's done
it all. He's done it all. He's my hope.
He's my rest. The believer has refrained from
his works in his trusting and resting in Christ and him alone. What else does it give for a
believer when when we would see Jesus? When a sinner is given
eyes to see Jesus and ears to hear His words, it gives us peace. When I was in religion, I had
no peace. It was all constant labor. No rest. No peace. Always trying to strive. We were
talking about that today. I would go to church then, and
I would hear a message, and I'd think, oh, I've got to do that.
I've got to put that in practice and try to do that all week.
And by the Sunday night, I would have blown it. But that's just
how it is when you're trying to gain merit and favor with
God on your own. Vicki and I often talk about
the peace that we have now in Christ. Because we knew we had
no peace before. We know now. We didn't know at
the time. But now we know the peace that we experience, and
it's only through Christ. It's only through the free grace
of God. It's only through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
and through what He's done that I have any peace at all. Romans 5.1 says this, Therefore,
being justified by faith, we have, we have, we have peace
with God. How? Through our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, it's only through him.
It's only, we have no hope outside of him, do we? None at all. None
at all. The sight of him is the propitiation
for our, for sin pacifies the conscience, knowing we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. What else does, sir, we would
see Jesus? When a sinner is given eyes to
see and ears to hear his words, it makes the dead alive. It makes the dead alive, the
spiritually dead. Physically alive, but spiritually
dead. Turn with me, if you would, to
John chapter 5. And before that, though, I want
to read a little portion of Ephesians 2 to you. Ephesians 2, verse
1, and you, hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and
sins? Where in times past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we We all had our conversations
in times past the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others." We were dead. Scripture, and that's
Ephesians 2, verse 1. And the word for dead there means
dead. It's dead. It's graveyard dead. And then
look at John 5, 25. And this is what happens when
the Lord saves a sinner. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." Shall
live. The spiritually dead are made
alive in Christ. He's our life. And the sight
of Him as such puts life into us. It's a quickening vision. We're born again of the Holy
Spirit, regenerated. And we look to Christ and Him
alone. He's our life. We are regenerated when... We
are regenerated, I always like to ask... I used to have folks,
we would talk and we would... I always like to ask, what comes
first, faith or regeneration? Well, most folks in religion
say faith. No. Regeneration. Born again, and you run. You run to Christ. You have faith
in Christ and flee to Him. Because, see, He's the author
and the finisher. Face a gift. It's a gift of God. Oh, we're regenerated, and then
we believe, and we look to Christ and Him alone. We who were once
dead are made alive in Christ. So we would see Jesus. When a
sinner's given eyes to see Jesus, and ears to hear his words, it
enlightens us, doesn't it? We looked at that today. It's
given unto those who would believe. It's given. We could never come to the knowledge
of Christ on our own. Never. We have no ability. Turn with me, if you would, to
Colossians chapter 1. We'll look there. And this will show us
the great darkness that we were in. The great darkness we were
in. And oh, oh, how dark the darkness
of being a lost sinner. When we look to Christ, it lightens
us, and we see Him. We're given eyes to see. Colossians
1, verse 12, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us,
and look at the verbage here, made us. We don't make ourselves,
we can't save ourselves. This is a constant vein in scripture.
He does it all. given thanks unto the Father,
which hath made us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in life, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and
hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." Oh, with darkness we were in?
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness? The believers translated And
then look at verse 14, in whom we have redemption. It's finished. It's finished. Through His blood,
the precious blood of Christ, even the forgiveness of sins. Boy, we can rejoice, eh? We can
rest. Rest right there. Rest in Christ. Sir, we would see Jesus. When
a sinner is given eyes to see Jesus and ears to hear his words,
it makes us free. We were talking about that today.
The freedom and liberty we have in Christ. His truth shall make us free. He thaws the soul and melts all
the hardness of our soul. Isaiah 61.1 says this, The Spirit
of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath appointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, and this is speaking of Christ, to proclaim
liberty to the captives. Oh, we were captive to sin, weren't
we? Liberty to the captives. Freedom. and the opening of the prison
to them that are bound. We were in the prison house of
sin, and we had no way out. But praise be to God. He proclaims liberty to the captives
and the opening of the prisons to them that are bound. Justification makes us free from
the guilt of sin, by which we were bound over to the judgment
of God and bound under amazing fears. Christ has made we who
were slaves to sin and held captive by its power and with no way
to be released on our own, he's made sinners free. Free. And we're not saved from the
presence of sin, as we're still sinners, but we are freed from
the power of sin. We're freed from the judgment
of sin. And praise God, we are freed
from the condemnation of sin. What a blessing. What a mighty
Savior. What a mighty Savior. Sir, we would see Jesus. When
a sinner is given eyes to see Jesus and ears to hear his words,
it makes us joyful. This is the last point. It makes
us joyful. Don't you rejoice that Christ,
if you're saved, doesn't it marvel you that Christ has redeemed
you from all your sins? Doesn't it fill us with joy and
thankfulness? Because we know we could never.
We were in the prison house. We were bound. That's where we
were. But he made us free. He paid
it all. Everything, everything that God
demanded, his law demanded for the sins of his people, he paid
it all. Paid it all. Turn with me, if you would, to
Romans chapter 5. Oh, it brings us joy and thankfulness. And
this springs out of a grateful heart for what Christ has done,
doing what we could never do. Romans chapter 5, verse 10 and
11. when we were enemies. We were
reconciled to God by the death of his son. Much more being reconciled,
we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also
joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is why we cry, show
us Christ, please. When a preacher comes, show,
just preach Christ to us. He's the only hope. He's the
only need we have, because we're sinners. Again, for if when we were enemies
we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more
being reconciled we shall be saved by His life, and not only
so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
we have now what? Received the atonement. There is absolutely no forgiveness
outside of Christ. But in Christ, all your sins
and iniquities are forgiven. All. Past, present, and future. What a mighty Savior. What a mighty Savior. What a
mighty God. The one true God becomes a man,
condescends from glory on high, and becomes a man, a man of sorrows,
acquainted with grief, lives an absolutely perfect life,
no fault in him at all, nothing. He said, the prince of this world
cometh and hath nothing in me. He's got a lot in us, but he's
got nothing in Christ. And he dies in the room instead
of sinners on the cross with a great sacrifice. By whom we have now received
the atonement through Christ in Him alone. Atonement. By whom we have received forgiveness
for all our sins. It's nowhere else. And this is the believer's desire
each time the Gospels preach. This is the preacher's desire
each time he proclaims the Gospel. We would see Jesus. Oh, that
God would open your eyes and reveal Himself to you. And for those of you who know
Christ, oh, that He comforts you, that He'd give you the peace
that passes all understanding, that you'd rest and trust in
the fact that He's forgiven you for all your sins. Oh, that God would have you see
Jesus. May God grant your faith to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ.