I've entitled this message, As
Many As Had Plagues. As Many As Had Plagues. In verse nine, he spake to his
disciples that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude,
lest they should throng him, crush him. For he had healed
many. in so much that they pressed
upon him for to touch him as many as had plagues. Now he told his disciples, put
a boat out in the water. You see, he had healed so many
people. People were coming at him to touch him, to come into
contact with him. Multitudes of people. Now try
to picture that today. If the Lord were here actually
healing people. blind people receiving their
sight, lepers being cleansed, the lame walking. Can you imagine
what a zoo this place would be? There'd be people from all over
the world. I mean, it'd be out on the internet, be on the news.
This happening, people from all over the world would be flying
into Lexington, Kentucky. I'm sure if something like this
is documented, this is actually taking place, we wouldn't know
what to do. Well, it was happening during
the earthly ministry of the Lord. He was performing these miracles. And most of his miracles were
miracles of healing, where people were actually healed. Not the
stuff you read about that goes on in the healing services that's
nothing but phony, but I mean people were actually healed. People who were blind were given
their sight. Lepers were cleansed. The lame
were made to walk. The deaf heard. The mute spake. The paralytic rose up and walked. Fevers left. The maimed were
made whole. You know what talks about that
man with the dropsy and he was healed? I mean, he had edema.
He was probably swollen and all of a sudden he wasn't swollen
anymore. When the Lord healed people, they were truly and genuinely
healed. Withered hands were restored
and he was never unsuccessful. Never. He never said, well, you
didn't have the faith for this to get done. When he healed somebody,
they were healed. He cast out people who were possessed
with demons. He cured mental illnesses. He
did what only God could do. He controlled the weather. I
can identify with the disciples so much when they said, what
manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? He brought matter into the universe
that was not there before. When he created food to feed
the multitudes, he suspended the law of physics. They're his
laws, but he suspended the law of physics when he walked upon
the water. I love to think of him changing
the water into wine. It wasn't water that looked like
wine, or smelled like wine, or tasted like wine. It was wine.
The properties were actually changed. He did what only God
could do. We have three recorded instances
of him raising people from the dead. And he may have done it
more times, and there's only three recorded, but he did what
only God could do. And no wonder people were thronging
him. He was really doing these things. Now somebody says, well,
why can't we do them today? The disciples were able to do
these things. Well, I'm sure that if it were
best, we'd be doing them. But the scripture says, now abideth
faith, hope, and charity. These supernatural miracles are
gone. And I know that there are people
that say, well, they're still in practice. No, they're not.
And the scripture teaches clearly that it was only through the
laying on of the apostles' hands that the supernatural gifts of
the Holy Spirit were given so these miracles could be performed.
And after the apostles died out, nobody else could work these
miracles, but the Lord was actually doing them. Now, if you were
sick at that time, what would you have done? You would have
found a way to get to it, wouldn't you? You would have found a way
to get to it. That's what these people were
doing. Turn with me for a second to Mark chapter five. We'll be considering this in
a few weeks, but just let me read this scripture. Verse 25. And a certain woman, which had
an issue of blood 12 years, she had a menstrual disease. Can
you imagine how weakened she was? And it suffered many things
of many physicians that had spent all that she had and was nothing
bettered, but rather grew worse when she had heard of Jesus. She heard about him doing all
these miraculous cures, doing what only God could do. She heard
of this and she had a real interest. She came in the press behind
and touched his garment, for she said, if I may touch but
his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain
of her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she
was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing
in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned about in the
press and said, who touched my clothes? And his disciples said
unto him, thou seest a multitude thronging thee. This must have
been an everyday occurrence with him. You think about this, because
of all these miracles that he really did. If I was blind, I'd
get somebody to lead me to him. If I had leprosy, I'd want to
get to him. If I was lame, I'd want somebody
to carry me to him. I mean, you think of all the
people thronging him, wanting to come into contact with him
because of these mighty miracles, which he performed. Verse 32,
he looked around about to see her that had done this thing,
but the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her,
came and fell down before him and told him all the truth. And
he said unto her, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole, go
in peace and be whole of thy plague. Now those who pressed
on him to touch him are clearly identified in this passage of
scripture. As many as had plagues. Now this word plague is sometimes
translated scourge. It has something to do with painfulness.
You had some kind of disease that was extremely painful. And as many as all who had plagues,
every single one of them, no exceptions to the rule, as many
as had plagues came to touch him. He healed them that had
need of healing. I love Matthew chapter 14, verse
36. As many as touched him were made
perfectly whole. He's a great physician that had
this 100% success rate. And he had a 100% success rate
with every disease or affliction. Now who's interested in this?
Well, if you feel good, you think that's good to know if I ever
need it. But if you're sick, the whole need not a physician,
but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance." Don't miss this phrase, as many as. As many as had plagues. Now that word means everybody
in that demographic. Not most of the people who had
plagues, but as many as had plagues. They all were pressing to touch
him. Now I want us to think, and I
want us to think about this phrase and look at some scriptures that
use this phrase, as many as, as many as, everybody in that
group. And really the point behind this
is election, Christ's effectual redemption for the elect, all
the elect, every one of them, without exception, they're all
going to come to Christ. They're all going to be saved.
Everybody that Christ died for, as many as he died for, they're
all going to stand in glory, perfectly conformed to the image
of Christ, as many as are sinners. as many as are sinners. How do you respond to that? As
many as are sinners shall be saved. Now the first scripture
I want to look at is found in Revelation chapter three. The Lord is speaking to the church
at Laodicea. And he says in verse 19, as many as I love, as many as I love. I rebuke and I chasten. Now, my first response to that
is, while I'm not wanting to be rebuked and chastened, I sure
want to be rebuked and chastened. I don't want to be left to myself
because I want to be in this group that He loves. Now, nobody
is looking for punishment. I don't want that. And besides,
the Lord doesn't punish His people anyway. He chastens us that we
might be partakers of His holiness, the scripture says. No chastening
for the present time seems joyous but grievous. Nevertheless, afterwards,
it yielded the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them that
are exercised thereby. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth,
and scourges every son he receiveth. You don't chasten other people's
children, do you? You chasten your own. Now, as many as the
Lord loveth. as many as the Lord loveth. Now, not all men are in that
group, as many as I love. I think of these scriptures,
whom, whom, not what, whom he did forego. He also did predestinate
whom he did for love. That's what that means. Whom
he did love beforehand. He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Behold, I have loved you with
an everlasting love. To say he loves all men the same
is to make his love meaningless. And that's important for me and
you to get a hold of. Most of this religious world says he
loves all men the same. Now, if he loves all men the
same and some of those same men are saved and some of those same
men are lost, his love didn't do the ones who were lost any
good and really didn't do the ones who were saved any good.
It's what they did. That makes salvation a message of works. That's all it is. as many as
I love. I think of what Paul said in
Galatians 2, verse 20, when he said, I live yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live
by the faith of the Son of God, listen to this, who loved me.
Who loved me. And who gave himself for me. Now you tell me that he loved
and gave himself for somebody that's in hell and you make that
completely meaningless. He loved me and he gave himself
for me. Now the Bible never speaks of
him loving all men the same and dying for all men the same. The
Bible just doesn't speak of that. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. That's God speaking. Thou hatest
all workers of iniquity. That's God speaking, but the
point behind this is, is this, if he loves you, you must be
saved. If he died for you, you must
be saved. That's the point. His love is saving love. I think of that scripture in
Ephesians chapter two, He said, you were by nature children of
wrath, even as others, but God, who is rich in mercy for his,
what? Great love, wherewith he loved
us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ. Now, if somebody is disposed
to Argue against this, take it up with him. He wrote it, it's
his word. I love the hymn we sing, I stand
amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he
could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean. For me it was in the garden,
He prayed, not my will, but thine. He had no tears for his own griefs,
but sweat drops of blood for mine. He took my sins and my
sorrows. He made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary
and suffered and died alone. When with the ransomed in glory,
his face I at last shall see, it will be my joy through the
ages to sing of His love for me. You know a name that I love
that John gives himself when he never gives his own name?
He simply calls himself that disciple that Jesus loved. That's who I want to be, don't
you? That disciple who Jesus loved. Turn with me to Acts chapter
13. Now this is Luke's editorial
comment on the first recorded sermon we have of the Apostle
Paul, after Paul preached. Luke chapter 13, verse 48. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as
many as, there's that word, as many as were ordained to eternal
life, believed. Who was it that believed? As
many as were ordained to eternal life. Now this is a reference
to election. Being ordained to eternal life. All of the elect
were ordained to eternal life. And that's why they believed.
They were ordained to eternal life. Now, I don't claim to. fully comprehend this, but this
thing of election, of course, I don't claim to fully comprehend
it. I just believe what the Bible says, but somehow the elect have
always been in the Lord Jesus Christ. You know what that means? Somehow I have always been. If you're a believer, somehow
you personally have always been in the Lord Jesus Christ. There
was never a time when that began to be. Now, that blows my mind. I can't grasp that, but it's
still what the scripture teaches, the eternal union of the elect
with the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul preached that message. The Gentiles heard it. They were
glad. They rejoiced in that message. And they glorified the word of
the Lord. And as many as were ordained
to eternal life believed. Paul said that the Thessalonians
were bound to thank God. Always for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord. Because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth. Turn to Acts chapter two. Verse 37, this is after Peter
had preached that great message on the day of Pentecost. Now,
when they had heard this, verse 37, they were pricked in their
heart. and said unto Peter and to the
rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Now,
what did they mean by that? We're in trouble. Give us some
direction. We're gonna go to hell. Give
us some direction. What shall we do? Then Peter
said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, somebody says,
well, that sounds like The remission of sins comes through being baptized. Well, I won't deny that it does
sound like that, but you know that's not what it means. You
know that from other scriptures. You gotta be able to throw the
whole Bible at a verse of scripture, so you know it doesn't mean that.
And I believe this is one of those many scriptures the Lord
allows to be put in such a way if somebody wants to hang himself,
here it is. You can do it. You can hang yourself on that.
So you gotta be baptized to have your sins washed away. Look at
verse 39. For the promise, the promise
of the gospel is unto you and to your children and to all that
are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Now here we have the broadness
of the gospel called. He looks at the murderers of
Christ and says, the promise is to you. You reckon that caught
their attention? The promise is to you, and to
your children, and to everybody afar off. What a glorious way
to preach the gospel. But he also says this, he puts
this, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. That's who the promise is to,
even as many as the Lord our God shall call. We preach Christ crucified unto
the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but
unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks. Christ, the
power of God, Christ, the wisdom of God. Now, if God has called
you, let me tell you what you do know. You know that Christ
is the wisdom of God and making a way for him to be just and
justify somebody unjust like you. He's the wisdom of God. And not only is he the wisdom
of God, he's the power of God to execute this, to make it to
where God really does make me just in a way that honors his
justice and his law actually demands my salvation. Galatians 3. Verse 27, for as many of you, there it
is again, as many of you, as many of you as have been baptized
into Christ, everybody that's been baptized into Christ has
put on Christ. Now, this is not talking about
water baptism. Talk about being baptized into
Christ, but water baptism lets us know what that means. Now,
When I baptize somebody, when the preacher baptizes somebody,
he puts them all the way under in the water, doesn't he? All
the way under. They're completely submerged.
They're completely immersed in the water, under the water. And
you know what that happens? Every square inch of that person
gets wet. Every square inch of that person is doused in the
water, under the water, not outside of the water. that's putting
on Christ. When you come up, you're wet,
that's putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. When you're completely
wet, you have Him, He's your clothing. You're clothed with
Christ. That's what that means. When you are immersed in Christ,
you're clothed with Christ so that all that is seen is Jesus
Christ. Isn't that wonderful? Paul said,
oh, that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having my
own righteousness. I don't want to have anything
to do with that, which is of the law, but that which is of
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Everybody that has been baptized
into Christ, they're wearing Christ. They're wearing Christ. were submerged into Christ, they
were completely covered by Christ, all they have on is the Lord
Jesus Christ. John 1, Verse 11, he came unto his own,
and his own received him not, but as many as, there's that
word again, as many as received him, that then gave he power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. as many as received Him. What
does it mean to receive the Lord Jesus Christ? It's something
I have to do. I myself, only by His grace, I realize that,
but I myself must actually receive the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
what does it mean to receive Him? What takes place when you
receive the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, we don't have to stretch,
even to them that believe on His name. That's what it is to
receive the Lord Jesus Christ. You believe, you rely on His
name. His name is His attributes. You see, you're relying on Him
as an act of His sovereignty to say, I will, you're saved.
You're relying on that. You're relying on His justice
to save you in a way that honors the very justice of God and honors
every attribute of God. You're relying on His power to
cause your sins to be put away. You're relying on His grace and
His kindness and His love. You're relying on every attribute.
That's what it means to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. You receive
Him as all. You receive Him as all to where
you don't really have anything but Him. And if you have anything
but Him, He's not all to you. That's what it is to receive
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's to receive Him as all. Now, here's how you did this.
Verse 13, which we're born, which we're born, which we're birthed
by the Spirit of God, not of blood, not of the will of the
flesh, not of the will of man, but of God. Romans chapter eight. This was helpful to me. Romans chapter eight, verse 14. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, everybody in that demographic, folks who are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Now, the word
led is in the passive voice. What does that mean? That means
they're led by being laid hold of. That's what that means. You're led by the Spirit of God
when He lays hold of you and leads you. There's not some kind
of formula. What do I need to be led of the
Spirit? I need to talk about walking
in the flesh and walking in the Spirit. No, this thing of being
led of the Spirit of God is where He lays hold of you and He leads
you. Now, the only folks that are
led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. He's made them
sons, and He leads them. And I tell you where He leads
them. He leads them to look to Christ only and continually and
nowhere else. That's what the Spirit of God
does. If you're led by the Spirit, the Scripture says in Galatians
5.18, you're not under law. You're not under law. If you're
led of the Spirit, you're somebody who looks to Christ just like
those children of Israel look at the brazen serpent. You look
and you continue to look. As you receive Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk ye in him. That is what those who are led
by the Spirit of God do. They walk in him, they look to
him only. Now Galatians chapter six, this
is the last one. Verse 16, here's a word, as many
as again, as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them
and mercy and upon the Israel of God. Now, everybody who walks
according to this rule, they've got peace. They have mercy, and they are
the true Israel of God. They are the true Jew. Now, what
is the rule he's talking about walking by? Verse 14 states it
as plain as can be said, but God forbid. Now, remember who's talking.
It's Paul talking. I'd listen to this man more than
I'd listen to any other human being. This is Paul talking. What a man that God has used
and revealed himself to. This is Paul talking. I might
wonder if it was anybody else but Paul speaking. And he says,
God forbid, that's the strongest negation there is. God forbid
that I should glory. save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I look nowhere but who he is, what he did, why he did it, and
what he accomplished. I look to Christ only. Now, As many as are loved by God. As many as were ordained to eternal
life. As many as were baptized into
Christ. As many as God has called. As many as received Him. As many as are led by the Spirit
of God. Every one of them do this. that
glory only in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. May God teach
us what it means to glory only in the cross. Let's pray. Lord, we pray that we might be
of that number as many as had plagues. Come to God, dear son, and find
our whole salvation in him. Bless this word for your glory
and for our good. Lord, let us be of the number
who you love. Let us be of the number who have
ordained to eternal life. Let us be of that number who
are baptized into Christ. Let us be of that number who
are led of the Spirit. Let us be of that number that
you call to yourself. Let us be of that number that
glory only in the cross. Lord, we dread the thought of
being left to ourselves in any way. Lord, cause your grace to
reign in us in every respect for the glory of thy name. Order
our steps in your word and let not any iniquity have dominion
over us. In Christ's name we pray, amen.