get together and say, this has
just got to be done. This is a must. And normally,
normally we get done those things that are on the must list. But
fairly often, we miss the shot. We don't quite get done everything
that in the morning we think we must get done. And I'm sure
that's true of you. We say that's a must. But when
we say that's a must, we really mean that's a priority. We really
want to get this done. But there are lots of things
that alter our opinions of what priorities are. I recall just
a few weeks ago, seems like now, it's been a few months, I had
some things on my desk that must be done, and then I got word
that my mother was dying. That changes priorities real
quick. And we have no control over things
that frequently change what we consider priorities. But still,
some things are a must. And I want to talk to you tonight
about some of those things found here in John chapter 3, which
our Lord Jesus describes for us plainly by the Spirit of God. Now, as we look at this passage
of scripture, this little word, must, is used several times in
this chapter. And we use it every day. We use
it all the time in lots of ways. But you might be surprised if
you stop to consider exactly what this little word means,
must. we use the word, we commonly
use it to say this is needful, this is a priority, this is behooving,
this is what should be. And those things are certainly
included in the meaning of the word, but the primary meaning
of this word is this, this is necessary, binding. The word must is an imperative
verb. And when the Lord our God says
something is a must, that means it's a must. This is sure enough
going to come to pass. You see, nothing causes God Almighty
to change his mind. Nothing causes God to alter his
purpose. Nothing causes God to adjust
his plan. With that in mind, let's look
at these three or four passages here in John chapter three. And
let me show you a few things that I think will be of help
to you. First in verse 7, here is a must for the chosen sinner. Our Lord Jesus is talking to
Nicodemus. As he comes to the Lord Jesus,
Nicodemus is a proud, self-righteous Pharisee. A man who thinks he
knows everything, thinks with regard to the things of God,
he's got the world by the tail on a downhill pull. He's got
everything fixed up and everything sewed up, and he thinks everything's
all right. But what Nicodemus did not understand, what he did
not know, is that he was himself an object of God's grace and
mercy. Now I know this because in John
chapter 19, John tells us. Nicodemus was the companion of
Joseph of Arimathea. Some suggest he was his brother.
But Nicodemus came with Joseph when all the others forsook the
Lord, when all the others denied the Lord, and nobody would own
him. Nicodemus came with Joseph boldly. and begged the body of
Jesus that they might take it and bury it, and at considerable
sacrifice to himself, Nicodemus purchased the spices for the
burying of our Lord's body. So Nicodemus, while he was not
here born of God, he was one of God's elect. And the Lord
Jesus says to him, in verse 7, marvel not that I said unto thee,
you must be born again. Our Lord was not simply saying
to Nicodemus, you must be born again. He was not saying, I want
you to be born again. He was not saying, Nicodemus,
this would be the best thing for you. He says, Nicodemus,
you must be born again, because Nicodemus was one chosen of God. He was not at this time born
again, but at the appointed time of God's mercy, grace, and love,
he was indeed born again. So I place him in this regard
as a representative of God's elect. The Lord Jesus says then
concerning his elect, concerning every chosen redeemed sinner,
you must be born again. He says that from eternity and
he begins to do it. All of God's elect must and shall
be born again at God's appointed time. Now I'm stressing this
to you tonight for this reason. Let us never become apprehensive. Let us never become fearful of
God's purpose. Let us never become a little
antsy as to whether or not the Lord God is going to accomplish
his purpose. God shall, at his appointed time,
in accordance with his absolute purpose, call every chosen redeemed
sinner to hear his word and believe the gospel of his grace, bringing
them to his soul. And that's no problem to him.
That's no problem to him. Somebody said, well, what if
there's no preacher where God, one of God's elect is? That's
not a problem. That's not a problem. But what if there's no liberty
to worship in that earth? God's proclamations before, he
still does, he still does. God will at his appointed time
of mercy and grace cause every chosen sinner to hear his word
and be born again by the power of his spirit. Now let me show
you why this is a necessity. First, we need it. People, I
got a letter today, somebody, I don't, whether they're confused
or whether they're just being belligerent, I'll try to decide
and answer it accordingly. They said, well, if these things
are so, what's the point in preaching? If these things are so, why must
we declare the new and they must be born again? God's already
said this one's gonna be saved, this one not. We don't need to
preach anything. There's no necessity for the new birth. Oh yeah. We
are chosen to salvation. We have been redeemed by the
blood of Jesus Christ. Those things were taken care
of before we were ever born. We were chosen before the world
began unto salvation. But we were born just like all
other men. In Ephesians chapter 2, Bob read
it in the Baptist here. In Ephesians 2, the apostle says
we were children of wrath even as others. Now that doesn't mean,
Linda, that we were one time the object of God's wrath and
he changed his mind. What it means is we are by nature
children of wrath. We're born by nature deserving
of God's wrath. We must be born again because
we were born wrong the first time and we need to be born again. The psalmist David says behold
I was shaping in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive
me. And he's not suggesting in any way that somehow the act
of the conception or the shaping of his body in the womb of his
mother was somehow sinful. But what he's saying is that
he from the beginning of his life as he was conceived in the
womb was conceived as a sinner and so are we all. The wicked
he says are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon
as they're born speaking lies. All of us were born depraved. All of us born spiritually dead. All of us born spiritually corrupt. Born with a carnal mind which
is enmity against God. And that will never change until
you're born again. We must be born again though
chosen and redeemed. Because God who cannot lie promised
it before the world began. Turn back to Jeremiah 31. Let
me show you this. Jeremiah chapter 31. This passage
of Scripture is talking about the everlasting covenant of God's
grace. And we know this covenant is
applicable and specifically to be interpreted with regard to
God's elect of every age and of every nation because in Hebrews
chapter 8 and in Hebrews chapter 10 the Apostle Paul tells us
plainly that this covenant is talking about the covenant of
which you and I are partakers. Here in Jeremiah 31 and verse
31. The Lord God says, Behold the days come, saith the Lord,
that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of David, not according to the covenant that
I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant
they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord. And
he said, I'm going to make a new covenant. This new covenant was
made for us and with our Redeemer, our surety before the world began.
But it comes to each of us in the fullness of time and causes
us to receive the blessedness and the benefit of the covenant.
And he says this new covenant that I made, this one that's,
it's the old one in time, but newly revealed. This covenant
that's always new. It's not at all like that covenant
that I made with Israel at Sinai. That was a legal covenant which
you broke. This is a covenant which my son
fulfills and doesn't depend on you. Now read on. He says in
verse 33. This shall be the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I will put my law in their inward
parts and write it in their hearts. What law? Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us commandment. How
do you know that's what he's talking about? Because the law
of the Ten Commandments, what we call the moral law, is inscribed
on the hearts of all men by nature. So that the conscience of man
is a witness of God in a man against himself. But here is
the law inscribed upon our hearts, causing a man to love God. This
is talking then about the new birth. He says, I will be their
God, and they shall be my people. No question about it. At God's
appointed time, in the time of His love, He will cause every
chosen one to come to Him willingly, worshiping Him as his God. He says in verse 34, they shall
know me from the least of them into the greatest of them, saith
the Lord. This is what God promised. He
saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
were given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Not only
is it necessary because God promised it, but our election by his grace
demands it. won't look at the passages of
scripture that deal with God's electing love and grace. He chose
us unto salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth. The scripture plainly states
that. If even one who was chosen to salvation should fail to obtain
it, If even one of God's election should perish without life at
last, then God's election is meaningless. His purpose is useless. His love is worthless. His word
is comfortless. Now that's, that's bold, bold
truth. But truth it is. If even one
chosen by God should perish, then Larry, God's purpose is
meaningless. God's love is worthless and his
word is comfortless. Well how can you say that? Because
if God cannot secure this thing which he purposed from eternity,
then there is nothing in this book secure. There is nothing
purposed by God secure. Folks fuss and argue about election
and predestination and say we just can't believe that. And
then they talk about prophecy and things going to come. They
say well in the end, in the end the Lord's going to win. Satan's
going to be defeated. Everything's going to turn out
alright. How do you know? How do you know? We know that all
shall end as God purposed it. Because He's God and His purpose
shall stand. God's elect must all be born
again because predestination has arranged it. Election is
God choosing a people. He said I'll be their God and
they shall be my people. Predestination is God laying
out everything that comes to pass in time from eternity to
secure the election to secure the salvation of his elect. That's
what it is. Predestination is not some blind
fate. Predestination is not que sera
sera, whatever will be will be. Oh, no, no, no, no. Predestination
is our loving Heavenly Father. Before the world began, Rex,
because he loved you. Arranging everything to secure
your everlasting good. Now that's good doctrine. That
doctrine Moses said drops like dew from the heaven. That's refreshing
to our souls. These elect ones, every one shall
be born again because the sin-atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
demands it. He has obtained eternal redemption
for us. It's not something he's hoping
to get for us. But with his blood he entered
and walked into the holy place and got it. He has secured for
us our everlasting salvation. And every chosen, blood-dumped
sinner in this world must be born again because our God wills
it. Now turn to 2 Peter 3. I want
you to see this. 2 Peter chapter 3. I love in
preaching the gospel of God's free grace to take those texts
of scripture which babbling freewill Arminian idolaters like to throw
in your face and show you exactly what they mean. For the scriptures
universally declare this message of God's free grace in Christ.
Here in 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 9. The Lord is talking
to us about the end of the world, the time when Christ will come
again, and the scoffers and mockers say, where's the promise of his
coming? And in verse 9, the Apostle Peter, writing by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, says, the Lord is not slack concerning
his promise. What promise? That promise of
eternal life, Bobby, which he promised before the world began.
He's not slack. He's not slack concerning his
promise. I promise you something and I'm an honest man and I'm
going to do my dead level best to fulfill my promise. I count
on you to do the same thing. But I'm just a man and I might
stomp my toe and I can't fulfill my promise. It doesn't take much
to keep me from doing it. Not God. Not God. Oh no, he must like concerning
his promise. But his long suffering. Now,
long suffering means more than patience. Long-suffering with
God means more than just God is, He's going to wait and wait
and wait and wait. That's not it at all. Long-suffering
with God is a deliberate patience. Long-suffering with God is patience
for a specific purpose and a specific people. He is long-suffering,
look at it now, to usward. Not to everybody. Not to everybody. No sir. It was never God's purpose
to be long-suffering to everybody. It was never God's purpose to
save everybody. It was never God's purpose or
intent or desire that everyone should be saved. He's long-suffering
to us. Look at it. Not willing that
any, any who, any of us to whom he's long-suffering. Now anybody
who's got good sense ought to be able to say that. But most
folks don't have good sense spiritually. His longsuffering to us were
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Well, how do you know that's what that means? Because in verse
17 he says so. Or verse 15, look at it. Now
count that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation. It couldn't be much plainer than
that, could it? God's long suffering, his patience with us in this
world, he puts up with this wicked world as he does, because he's
got a people here whom he's purposed to save, and he's not going to
allow the fire and brimstone of heaven to destroy this Sodom
and Gomorrah until he's brought the last of his lots out. We
know that these chosen, redeemed, predestined, elect of God, shall
indeed be born again, because the Holy Spirit was sent here
to effect. It is the Spirit that quickeneth
the flesh, profiteth nothing. All right, skip down to verse
14, John 3, 14. Here's another must. This is
a must for the commission in surety, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, came into this world with an errand, with a commission,
with a mission to fulfill. He did not come here haphazardly. He did not come here with nothing
intentional to do. He did not come here hoping maybe
somebody would pretty please let him do something by which
he could honor God and please his Father. Oh, no. He came here
on purpose. On purpose to save a people,
on purpose to save a people by fulfilling all the stipulations
of the covenant, laying down his life, Bobby, as our surety,
our mediator, and our substitute. And here in John 3, 14, our Lord
speaks, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so, look at it, must the Son of Man be lifted up, must binding
upon him. imperative that he be lifted
up absolutely necessary that he be lifted up oh yeah oh yeah
just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness that that brazen
serpent was a picture of Christ our Redeemer crucified for us
lifted up in the wilderness so that Israel might be saved there
was no other way for them to be saved except by that brazen
serpent looking to him because they themselves have been bitten
of fiery serpents. Our Lord Jesus came here as a
man who was himself condemned to die, made to be sin for us,
and there's no other way that we could be saved, the fallen
sons of Adam, but by this man making atonement for sin, being
lifted up from the earth. How can you say that? there was
no necessity in himself. And we certainly did not put
a necessity upon him. There was no necessity in that
he somehow is made to be subject to the Father's will because
he's less than the Father. But our Lord voluntarily, willingly
assumed total responsibility for the saving of his people.
And having assumed that responsibility, when he struck hands as assurative
with the father in the covenant of grace, he put himself in the
bondage of assurity. And he said, now I must be lifted
up. I must be, because I'm honor bound today. Assurity is one
who assumes responsibility for another. And when a man of honor
gives his pledge, when a man of honor gives his word, you
can bank on it. He's going to do it. Our Lord
gives us an example of this back in Genesis 43. Turn back there
if you will. Genesis chapter 43. Verse 8. You're familiar with
the passage. Joseph is in Egypt now. He made
prime minister over Egypt, sitting in the place of Pharaoh upon
the throne of Egypt for the saving of God's chosen, exactly as the
scriptures had predicted. But his brothers aren't aware
of it. His brothers sold him into slavery and they've been
brought into terrible desperate circumstances now. And now Benjamin
has been held by Joseph and he was held by Joseph not to torment
his father. He was held by Joseph not to
torment even his persecuting brethren. But Benjamin was held
by Joseph as a prisoner. so that he could get everyone
of Israel down into Egypt and save them all. When Jacob heard about this,
he said, oh, all these things are against me. And we're everyone
just like Jacob. We're just like, oh God, why
did you do this? Brother Scott Richardson said
a long time ago, he said if I could see things the way God sees and
the end of things. I'd want things just the way
God has arranged that. Joseph had kept Benjamin in prison,
a bitter thing, a bitter experience, a hard thing because Joseph was
determined to get Jacob and all his brothers and all their family
down into Goshen where he could do them good and feed them and
care for them and save them a life. Now then, Jacob, or Judah rather,
goes to his father Jacob and he said now father Benjamin's
down here and I told this man or I'm sorry Simeon's down here
I told this man that I'd bring Benjamin down and if I if I don't
deliver both Benjamin and Simeon back into your hands then let
me bear the blame forever I'll be surety for him. Okay Genesis
43 verse 8 Judah said to Israel his father send the Lord with
me, send Benjamin with me, and we will arise and go, that we
may live and not die, both we and thou, and also our little
ones. I will be surety for him. Of my hand shalt thou require
him. If I bring him not unto thee,
and set him before thee, let me bear the blame forever." Judah
said that. Our Lord Jesus is the lion of
the tribe of Judah. And before the war began, he
says to the father, give them to me and I'll redeem them. I will bring them back safe to
you. And if I don't, I'll take the
blame forever. And he will take no blame. He
shall bring all his chosen back to the Father, because he has
assured it, he pledged himself to it, even at the sacrifice
of himself. Therefore, he says in John chapter
10 and verse 18, no man takes my life from me, but I lay it
down in myself. I have power to lay it down and
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father. That is, the Father says, all
right, now this is what it'll cost you. This is what it'll
cost you to redeem your people. It'll cost you your life's precious
blood. And he said, I'll do it. The
father said, go do it. And this becomes his commandment.
The son of God must die as he did because the scriptures must
be fulfilled. And this was an absolute necessity
in order for him to save us from our sin. in John 3.14. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
For justice must be satisfied if sin is to be put away. You
read about God blotting out our transgressions, forgiving our
sins? This is how he does it. Only when justice is satisfied. Then he says in verse 50, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. Now then, if I lift it up, then
I make it possible for God to be just and justify all who believe. But what's the cause of all that?
For God so loved the world, not just the Jews, But the world,
the world of his elect, Jew and Gentile, black and white, bond
and free, rich and poor, men and women from every climate,
every country. God loved the world that he gave
his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. I like that word whosoever. That's
a big, big word. Whosoever. He doesn't say whosoever
does. or whosoever feels, or whosoever
decides, he just says whosoever believes. I'm glad he didn't
even say if Don Fortner would believe. Cause there's some other
Don Fortners around, I've met a few of them. And I would just
be convinced he's talking about that Don Fortner, not me. But
here he says whosoever. That means anybody, anywhere,
who believes. Anybody anywhere who believes
will not perish but have everlasting life. Well, how can you say that
and preach election and limited atonement and irresistible grace?
Well, I couldn't say it if I didn't preach those things. We know that whosoever believes
has everlasting life and shall never perish because God purchased
it and Christ redeemed them. And now the Spirit has called
them else they could never believe. Now then look at verse 30. This is where I've been working
to. Here is a must for the contrite
servant. John the Baptist is speaking
now. He says in verse 29, he that hath the bride is the bridegroom.
But the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and heareth him
rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This
my joy therefore is fulfilled. Now remember the context. John's
disciples were a little concerned. They said, they said, Master,
that one whom you've been preaching, he's baptizing. Everybody's following
him now. And they were a little jealous for it. And John said,
don't be jealous for miseries I can. Don't be concerned about
him taking my reputation away. I meant for him to. That's the
purpose. My joy is now fulfilled. He must
increase, but I must decrease. Christ is the bridegroom. He
has the bride. Gospel preachers are friends
of the bridegroom. We stand before him. We listen
to the bridegroom's voice. We rejoice to hear his voice.
And our joy is fulfilled when God is pleased to take us as
friends of the bridegroom and introduce the bride and the bridegroom.
Oh, that's all I'm here for. Oh, if God calls you to meet
his son, let me be a voice that brings the two together, my joys
fulfilled. And every true servant of God
is anxious to turn the honor and the attention away from himself
to Christ alone. He must increase. I must decrease. The more I decrease, the more
I delight to just stand before him and hear his voice. And the
more I simply stand before him and hear his voice, the more
he will increase before me and the more I'll decrease before
him. Oh let Christ increase and me decrease. We cannot be occupied
with more than one thing at a time. Only one thing at a time. Let
us then ever be occupied with Christ and not with ourselves. The more occupied I am with him,
the less occupied I am with me. That's what it says. Let him
be increased and me decreased. You see, humility is not something
a man cultivates. Humility, many men try to fake,
but humility is really something that comes as a result of simply
beholding the Lord Jesus Christ. The more I try to humble myself,
the more proud I become. But the more I stand in his presence
and hear his voice, the more I'm humbled before him. Now then,
look at this, in verse 4 of chapter 4. Here's a must for our compassionate
Savior. He must needs go through Samaria. Have come. The cause is an old,
trashy, dirty, harlot woman down there. She wasn't really even
a harlot. She didn't sell herself. She
gave herself away. Had five husbands, none of her husbands. She just
shacked up with this fellow, shacked up with that fellow,
shacked up with this fellow, shacked up with that fellow. But she's a chosen object
of God's grace. She's been redeemed by the blood
of Christ. And now the time has come when
she must be called. She must be born again. And so
the Lord Jesus must needs go through Samaria to call his chosen
one at the time of his love. And so he did. And it's still
that way. Lord willing, I'll leave here
tomorrow, go down and preach in Texas for a couple of nights. Maybe, maybe the Son of God will
go with me and visit that living room and call out some of His
chosen redeemed because the time of love has come. I believe I'll go. I believe
I'll go. May God add His blessings to
that portion of His Word into your hearts, for Christ's sake.
Amen. Lindsay, you come lead us in
the hymn, please.