Good morning. We're going to
open this morning's service with the hymn on the back of your
bulletin. If you don't have one, there's a bunch on the table
back there. So let's all stand together and we'll sing the hymn
that's on the back of your bulletin. One tongue set free to loudly
ring, salvation's great glory. For even one tongue to preach
how Christ's debt has paid. He stepped into the awful breach
and flogged old man dead. for one tongue to just make plain
the glory of Christ's slain, who suffered untold grief and
pain to lose its mercy. For even one tongue to tell what
great things Christ has done. Salvation brought from sin and
hell that cannot be undone. Please be seated, Jeff. Morning, everybody. It is an
honor and a pleasure to preach to you from up here. Let's pray first. Our dear Heavenly
Father, we thank you, Lord, for the grace that has brought us
here to this place. Lord, we need you to be in our
midst, God, in the midst of your golden candlesticks, Lord. We
need you here to show us your grace and your glory. You've
done so much for us, God, and yet we need more, God, and you've
promised we can never ask too much. Lord, we ask that you unstop
our ears Loosen our tongue, my tongue, God, that I can preach
your message boldly and faithfully and clearly. And we pray for
those children of yours, God, that you've afflicted in their
bodies. We pray, Lord, that you've taught
them the gospel for a time like this when maybe they can't be
here to hear it, but you've taught them, Lord, and you can preach
to them as it were in their minds, wherever they are. Please, Lord,
cheer them and be with them, God. And if it be your will,
bring them back to us here. And Lord, we ask these things
because of what Christ has done and knowing that he is all and
in all. Lord, give us faith today and
give me the words. We ask these things in your son's
name, amen. I don't suppose there's anybody
other than a believer who is at the same time more encouraged
and also needing more and more encouragement continually. We
read in the scriptures, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ
that died. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. We
learn so much even from that one verse. To be justified means
nothing can be laid to your charge. We also learn that all of God's
elect right now are justified. Because if a charge could be
brought against one of God's chosen and loved ones at any
point in their life, then that verse wouldn't read true. God
sends affliction and trouble our way. And if you're like me,
you don't do well with that. Because the first thing you do
is you look for reasons not to fear. You add up the reasons
in your mind of why this is not a big deal, why I have this handled,
why I shouldn't fear. That's the most discouraging
thing ever. Because you know all the time, all the while,
any one of those things could change in an instant. And you're
right back to square one. A lot of things you should fear.
There's a lot of things in life you should without God. We have one in the scripture
who comes to the fearful. He comes to fearful ones and
he shows himself. his very own self as the reason
to not fear. There's nothing else like that
in this world. Anything I can point to, any
object or situation I can point to as your reason not to fear
could be gone, except God. He is the reason not to fear.
The Lord Jesus Christ shows himself as that, and he's fully qualified
to claim that, and he does, and he is. Properly speaking, I can't
really command you not to fear, because I'll be in the grave
right next to you, too. Anything I have to say is really
just relaying God's words to you. He is the reason not to
fear. He speaks as our Lord and as
a friend and as our battle leader who already got the victory.
Kind of like when Thomas wasn't privy to some of the things that
the other disciples saw, so he was unbelieving. And when our
Lord told Thomas to put his hand in his side and to feel, he was
showing himself his person, his wounds, he was pointing Thomas
to the proof that he was who he said he is. But not only that,
those wounds he was pointing Thomas to were the very atonement
for Thomas's sin of unbelief, pierced for our transgressions. The chastisement of Thomas's
peace was standing right in front of him. We get everything in
one place, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the reason not to fear,
and he's the encouragement to not fear. He's everything. We're gonna turn to Revelation
chapter one. I'm sorry, I haven't read it
yet. Chapter one, Revelation chapter one, verses 17 and 18.
Revelation chapter one, verse 17 and 18. And when I saw him, I fell at
his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying unto me, fear not, I am the first and the last.
I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore,
amen, and have the keys of hell and of death. This is what the
Lord Jesus told John on the Isle of Patmos. We read, and when
I saw him, in verse 17, when I saw him, let's look at where
John saw the Lord. Go to verse 20 here. Skip down to verse 20. The mystery
of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the
seven golden candlesticks. He's gonna explain. The seven
stars are the angels of the seven, the pastors of the seven churches
and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Let's look at verse 12 real quick. And I turned to see the voice
that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. He sees the candlesticks first,
then he sees Christ in the midst of his church. Our Lord is in
the same place that he's always been in the church, in the midst
of his people. The first thing to not fear The
reason we have the first thing we see in our text to not fear
is that Christ is in the midst of his church. He's with us.
He's here. Now we can read about what John
saw now that we know where he saw him. Now let's look at what
John saw. because now it's encouraging.
Now we see in verses 13 through 16, all of these attributes and
this description of Christ, all of these things are for him.
It's him being all these things for his church. It's not just
that we worship God. We don't worship God's sovereignty.
As Greg says, we worship a God who's sovereign. We see all these
attributes of God as being for us. 100% working for our good,
for the good of his church. So now we can look back through
this. Let's look at verse 13. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one like unto the son of man. I want to be right
where John is, right at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. One
like unto the son of man, because he's the root and offspring of
David. the root out of a dry ground.
He is really man, David's son and greater Lord. Though he was
a son, yet learned he obedience through the things that he suffered,
like unto the son of man. Clothed with a garment down to
the foot, because he's our high priest, who wore his priestly
garments and entered once into the holy place, bearing on his
shoulder the names of all those he loved and died for. and gird
about the paps with a golden girdle. In Isaiah it says he
put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation upon
his head. It's not unlike the armor we're
told about that we wear in Ephesians chapter six. And he was clad
with zeal as a cloak, a zeal for his father's house. Verse
14, this is the one standing in the midst of his church telling
John not to fear. His head and his hairs were white
like wool. Proverbs 23 chapter 9 or verse
9 says that the very thought of foolishness is sin. This is
the sinless son of God, sinless perfection. And his eyes were
as a flame of fire. Hell and destruction has no covering
before the Lord. How much more the hearts of men
That's a great comfort to a believer because when there's something
on my heart that I don't know how to express, I know the Lord
knows what I'm thinking and the words I want to say. Our hearts
being open and bare and his eyes being as a flame of fire is not
a comfort to an unbeliever because they have to know that God knows
everything they've ever thought and done. And his feet, where were we? Verse 15, and his feet were like
unto fine brass. He was tested by God for 33 years. He said, I always do the things
that please the Father. He said, why do we not fear? Because the one who represented
us and is seated in glory right now, having fulfilled God's law
perfectly and is now ascended, and risen, being accepted by
God for his perfect life. And verse 15, and his voice as
the sound of many waters. Water in the scriptures, water
always means the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 5, it says that
Christ gave himself for the church that he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word. And he is the word
of God made flesh. The voice of the Lord is powerful.
The voice of the Lord does things. It resurrects, it gives life. God speaks and there's power.
The voice of the Lord, in Isaiah, he turns the ships of Tarshish,
those people who think that they have life by the horns and they
can go wherever they want, just like a ship out at sea, God can
turn that ship wherever he wants. He says, the voice of the Lord
breaketh the cedars, the hardest wood. The voice of the Lord makes
the hinds to calve. He brings his beautiful rose
to the new birth by forming Christ in them by the power of his word.
This is the one telling us not to fear. And verse 16, he had
in his hand, his right hand, seven stars. That's ministers
by whom he believed. He has his ministers in his right
hand. Remember in Acts, he tells Paul,
or he tells Stephen to go out in the desert to fetch one eunuch. One person God loved out in the
middle of nowhere, he sends him out there to get him from the
desert. And then an entire section of the earth, Asia, the Holy
Ghost forbids them to go preach there. It's because God has his
ministers in his right hand and he sends them wherever he will. And out of his mouth went a sharp
two-edged sword. That's the sword of the spirit.
and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. We're told to be humble in victory. Christ smiles in victory. He
destroyed the works of the devil and he sat down at the right
hand of God. Isaiah says his rest shall be
glorious. His rest at the right hand of
God the Father. We see all of Christ's attributes,
all of God's attributes here. In verse 13 to 15, we see his
righteousness, and then in 15 and the rest of 16, we see him
sending out his gospel, the word of righteousness, where he comforts
his sheep. This is everything God does,
and it's everything why we need not be afraid. Now, verse 17. When I saw him,
I fell at his feet as dead John did. Isn't it something that
those that are forgiven of their sins are the only people who
can even do anything approaching, even beginning to feel the weight
and the terribleness and the sinfulness of their sins? Those with Christ in them who
is the hope of glory and a new man created in righteousness
and true holiness. Those are the only people that
can know anything about how there is actually nothing in them in
their flesh that's like God. There's nothing in us that's
like God. He's different. He's better. He's above us. There's nothing in us that we
can bring to God and say, look, I'm like you, we'll get along
fine, there's nothing. And these same things spake Isaiah
and all of God's children. We all say this when we see his
glory. In Isaiah chapter six, it starts
out by saying, in the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw Jesus
Christ. In the year King Uzziah died,
Uzziah was a king for 52 years. But in verse 5 of Revelation
1 right here, it says that Jesus Christ is the prince of the kings
of the earth. 52 years is a long time, but
a prince is the one who's around after the king is gone. And Isaiah saw the Lord high
and lifted up, and his train, everything that God is, filled
the temple. There was no room for anything
else. And he said, woe is me, because I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. And my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of glory. He points out his lips because
he knew that from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
He's using lips to represent everything that comes out of
us, our thoughts, our feelings, every sin that comes from in
us. He's saying, God, we're just a massive sin erupting in front
of you and we can't help it. John fell down at Christ's feet
because he feared God in the right way. We have a real bad
time in this country with taking Bible phrases and making them
mean something totally different than what the scriptures mean.
When we say someone is a God-fearing person, when you hear that said,
usually you mean, well, they have a Bible on their kitchen
table and a gun in their truck and they play the fiddle and
they know that boys are boys and girls are girls and, you
know, just country bumpkin, good country folk. That's not what
the scriptures mean when they say fear God. To fear God means
this. It means you know if thou, Lord,
should mark iniquities, oh Lord, who would stand? If God would
mark sins, I won't stand. How much more abominable and
filthy is man who drinks up iniquity like water? If God took account
of my sins, I'll go to hell, and I should. But there is forgiveness
with thee that thou mayest be feared. That's the fear of God,
to know that if he took account of my sins, I would perish. But
there is forgiveness with him, and that is why we fear him,
that he would forgive sinners like us. See, Jesus Christ points
to himself as the reason not to fear, because he put away
the reason for fear. Just like in Isaiah 6 there,
a live coal, the angel took a live coal from off the altar and put
it on Christ's, on Isaiah's tongue and he says, lo, this has touched
your lips and your iniquity is purged. Christ shows us himself
as the reason not to fear because of what he's done for us. Back
to our text. Verse 17, and he laid his right
hand upon me, saying, fear not. He laid his right hand upon John
and us. How loving. The scriptures show
us the right and the wrong kind of fear of God in the same place. John the Baptist said he wasn't
worthy to unloose Christ's shoe. And here's one down at his feet,
and he's putting his hand on their shoulder. That's the same
right hand that he puts on John's shoulder. That's the same right
hand that he has his ministers in, remember? When God has something
to say to somebody, he'll send a minister. He'll send a preacher. He has them in his hand. And
he laid his right hand upon me saying unto me, fear not. The
Lord Jesus Christ was with the very first fearful of his flock
because he is the Alpha and Omega. In Genesis, you don't have to
turn there. In Genesis, we see the fear,
the afraid of God, that Christ is warning John against here.
In Genesis 2.15, the Lord God took the man and put him into
the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it, and he commanded
the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely
eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not
eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die. And they were both naked, the
man and his wife, and they were not ashamed, because there was
nothing to be ashamed about. Chapter three, verse one, the
serpent beguiled Eve, as God said. The same basis that he
uses today to beguile us, as God said. She ate, and the eyes
of them both were open, and they knew that they were naked. That's
a ruined conscience. They heard God and hid. This
is knowing good and evil. And then they're hiding. In Genesis
3, verse 10, we see the first place in the scriptures that
somebody is afraid, or the word afraid or fear is used. The first time in human history
that fear enters in is right here. God says, where art thou? Adam says, I heard your voice
in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid
myself. There's fear, there's your fear. Knowing our guilt before God
and running from him is the origin, the genesis, it's the fountain
of fear. There was a split second in time
that fear entered in And this emotion, this thing that envelops
our existence, it seems like now, it entered into the picture
for the very first time, where it was not before, and everything
changed. But the Lord Jesus Christ says,
fear not. Keeping in mind Genesis 3, verse
10, the first time anybody fears in the scriptures, I think that
those other 365 times where God tells us not to fear, I think
he's saying a whole lot more than just don't fear the immediate
situation that's going on in that context. I think he's saying
fear not. I've put away the very reason
for your fear. I put away your sin. You don't
have to hide. You don't have to run. He put
away the sin of his elect people by going to the cross. and dying
for them, their sins are gone. We can come boldly. He put away
the reason for fear. I heard your voice in the garden
and I was afraid because I was naked. We hear his voice in the
gospel and we're not afraid. We're clothed with his righteousness. Fear not. Now, We have three specific reasons
he gives us not to fear like Adam in the garden, starting
in verse 18. Fear not because I am he that
liveth and was dead. Oh, sorry. Fear not, I am the
first and the last. There's his first reason. The
first and the last. It means verses eight and 11. Let's look there. Verse eight
of chapter one here. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and
which is to come, the Almighty. Drop down verse 11. I am Alpha
and Omega, the first and the last. That's what it means. If
we truly understood that God, God, The first cause and the
conclusion, the one for whom and from whom and to whom are
all things. That one loves us. That is the
one who loves us. Perfect love casts out fear,
this same John wrote. He is the first and the last.
Could we go to Daniel chapter seven, please? Daniel chapter
seven. Here's what we're gonna see.
The one who cast down all others is the one who's qualified to
tell us, don't fear. Daniel chapter seven. Let's read
17 and 18 first so that we know where we're going with this.
Daniel seven, verse 17. These great beasts, which are
four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the
saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess
the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. So let's read about that now. This is the beginning and the
ending, the one for whom all things were made. And he rules
human history for the good of his church. Verse 1, in the first
year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions
of his head upon his bed. Then he wrote the dream and told
the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw
in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heavens
drove upon the great sea. If you asked a Jew then what's
the sea, they'd probably say the Gentiles. The wicked are
as the waves of the sea that cannot rest. Kingdoms and empires
and governments that arise in this world are the result of
mankind's sins and the agitation of this fallen mass of humanity
brings forth empires. And that's what he saw here.
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from
another. The first was like a lion and
had eagle's wings, That would be the Babylonians. They're responsible
for the Tower of Babel, because they were thieves and robbers
who wanted to get up into heaven some other way. And any and all
works free will religion is right from Babylon, still today. Verse
5, and behold, another beast, a second like to a bear. Many
would say that's the Medes and the Persians. Verse 6, after
this I beheld. A leopard, many say that would
be the Greek empire. Verse seven, after this I saw
in the night visions and behold, a fourth beast dreadful and terrible.
This is the Roman empire. Now verse eight, I considered
the horns and behold, there came up another among them, another
little horn before whom there were three of the first horns
plucked up by the roots. That's the man of sin who speaks
great things against God and sits in the house of God and
exalts himself as though he were God. Again, it's from Babylon. Now, verse nine, I beheld till
the thrones were cast down. This is an overview of all human
history being given to Daniel to show that Jesus Christ rules
the world. Verse nine, I beheld till the
thrones were cast down, and the ancient of days did sit, whose
garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the
pure wool. His throne was like the fiery
flame, and his wheels as burning fire. This is God the Father
being described looking the same as God the Son in Revelation. This is God the Father though,
as we'll see. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before
him. Thousand thousands ministered
unto him, and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. The judgment
was set, and the books were opened. Verse 11, I beheld then, because
of the voice of the great words which the horn spake, I beheld
even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given
to the burning flame. Kingdoms and men will rise up
in this world. God owns them all, and he'll
do with them what he will and judge them in the end. The righteous
shall see his desire upon his enemies, says the psalmist. As
concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken
away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. Now, now
that these kingdoms are destroyed by God, He brings in a kingdom
where the greatest in that kingdom are the servants and the fearful
get his undivided attention, just like God. Here in verse
13, verse 13, I saw in the night visions and behold, one like
the son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to
the ancient of days and they brought him near before him.
This verse is about Christ coming to earth and then returning to
God, his father, and then his church, by faith, bringing him
to God, his father, their father, as the sacrifice for them. Let's
look again. Verse 13, he was coming with
the clouds of heaven. And the prophet Micah said, behold,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you're little among the thousands of
Judah, out of you, out of you shall come forth unto me, him
that will be ruler in Israel, whose going forth have been of
old from of everlasting, whose going forth has been from everlasting,
coming on the clouds of heaven. And he came to the ancient of
days, verse 13, He said, on the cross into thy hands, I commend
my spirit. He went to God his father. And so they, the they is the
kingdom and people and nations in verse 14, they brought him
near before him. We bring to God by the faith
that he gives us, we bring to him the sweet smelling sacrifice
of Christ. Verse 14, and there was given
him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations, and
languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion, the prince of the kings of the earth, which shall not
pass away, and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed.
This is not a history lesson, and it wouldn't matter what kingdoms
these were. The point is this, these were
entire civilizations, generations deep of people who had been told
by their parents, who had been told by their parents, who were
told by their parents, what are the things you should fear? Why
you should not fear them? How to not fear them? They were
informed of all those things from their childhood. The only
thing they had in common between all of them was that they were
all wrong because they weren't the gospel. And the only thing
they had in common was that there were civilizations full of scared
people who didn't know the truth and who invented their own religion
and God cast them all down. Imagine living in, that's all
you knew was lies. I need the one who's the everlasting
king to tell me not to fear, the one who can uproot civilizations
and establish his own throne. He can say, fear not. I often
fear the future. I do, I fear the way things will
go in the future. And I realize, because I'm imagining
it without God, I imagine my future without God working, and
I just imagine myself fending for myself. I shouldn't do that. He's in the future, too. He's
been in our past. He is here now, and he'll be
in our future. He is the first and the last.
We don't have to fear. From age to age, the same. One of my favorite hymns goes. Back to our text, please. Now our next, he said, fear not,
I am the first and the last. Now he says in verse 18, John,
I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. In Acts chapter 2, let's go there. Acts chapter two shows how, Peter
shows how our Lord was dead and behold, his soul was not left
in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption. Like I said,
I can't tell you not to fear because I will be in the grave
too, but Christ can. Let's go to Acts chapter two,
let's, so in verse 22 now, After explaining the Holy Ghost coming
by using the prophecies from Joel, Peter says, hear these
words, ye men of Israel, verse 22, hear these words. Jesus of
Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders
and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves
also know. Him, now he has their full attention
now because The Spirit has come and they are all watching him
now and Peter's beginning to preach. Now verse 23, him being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. God's love delivered Christ to
the cross for the fearful. We waver, but God doesn't. It was God's determinate counsel
and foreknowledge that nailed Christ to the tree. It says,
the scripture says, those whom he foreknew, he predestined to
be conformed to the image of his son. We can read this verse
23 as him being delivered by the determinate counsel and forelove
of God. The scripture says the mercy
of God is from everlasting to everlasting. upon those that
fear his name. I met a man once who was confused
about what that meant. No, he wasn't. Because the Psalms
also say that the name of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. Whatever God is, he's always
been and he'll always be. And it says that his mercy has
always been and will always be upon those that fear his name. His determinant counsel and foreknowledge delivered Christ. But, verse
24, well, wait, no, in verse 23, notice, ye have taken and
by wicked hands have crucified and slain. That everlasting love
used those wicked hands of those men to put him on the cross.
all according to the determinate counsel of God. Judas had to
do those things that he did. He had to. Or else Psalms like
Psalm 109 and Psalm 69 would be lies. Judas had to. God is in control and he will
save his elect. He will use the wicked hands
of wicked men to do it. Verse 24. but whom God hath raised
up. The one that their wicked hands
have crucified and slain is the one God has raised up. How can
I know? How can any of us know that we'll
be in heaven? We know God is holy. We know
that we have sinned. And that's a big problem. How
do we know? that God accepted the blood payment
that Jesus Christ made, whom God hath raised up. He was raised according to the
spirit of holiness and declared to be the son of God with power.
for it, because it was not possible that he should be whole in of
it, of death. Why was it not possible? Look
in verse 27, because thou will not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer thine holy one, your holy one, to see corruption. This is the holy son of God.
See, Peter here is taking Psalm 16 and proving that it cannot
be about David. Verses 25 through 28 are that
Psalm. But now in verse 29, men and
brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David,
that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us
unto this day. So Peter's saying, guys, remember,
remember God said that there would always be a man on David's
throne. And always means always. But we can go down the road there
and see David's bones. He's not on the throne. So who
could this psalm be talking about, guys? I love how even in Ezekiel,
God says, I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David,
a prince among them. David had been dead. for hundreds
of years when that was written. And he was saying that in the
future tense, David would be their prince because Psalm 16
was about Christ rising from the dead. Now read. So therefore, verse 30, being
a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would
raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He, seeing this before,
spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not
left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus
hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. This is why
we don't fear. Jesus Christ was raised from
the dead. He was delivered because of our
offenses and raised again because of our justification. Unlike
David, David couldn't say, don't fear. The Lord Jesus Christ can. Now, go to Psalm 16 actually, I want
to see this real quick. Because many will tell us that
Jesus Christ died for the entire world. That is not true, he knows
who he died for. Look in Psalm 16 verse five,
he tells us, the Lord is the portion, this is Christ speaking
of him and his father, the Lord, my father, is the portion of
my inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot, my sheep,
my church, thine they were, and thou gavest them me. The lines
are falling onto me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly
heritage. He tells us who he did this for.
Everything in this psalm, he knows who he did this for. In
verse 6. The lines are falling onto me
in pleasant places, just as God in Joshua 13 set the land aside
for the different tribes of Israel, the Israelites. God's spiritual
Israel are set aside for Christ, and those are the lines. As the
lines fell, the borders of the different tribes' land fell on
the earth, the lines fell in the covenant of grace, securing
the elect in Christ before the foundation of the world as his
loved and justified adopted children. We are joint heirs with Christ.
I have a goodly heritage. We are his heritage. It's the
ones he died for and did all for. See, let's look at this. His goodly
heritage are the ones for whom he set the Lord before him always
in verse eight of Psalm 16. They're the ones for whom he
had the faith to say in verse 10, thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell. And the ones, he said, at thy
right hand are pleasures forevermore, because that's where he'll have
his church with him, in heaven, in glory, for all eternity. Christ
knows who he died for. He's making no two ways around
it. Now our third reason. Back to
our text. He tells fearful John, amen,
and I have the keys of hell and of death. In John chapter 17,
verse 2, Christ says to God his father, as thou has given him
power over all flesh, that he might give eternal life to as
many as thou has given him. And John chapter 5 is really
the best explanation of that. Could we go there to John chapter
5? Because Christ shows that him resurrecting and giving spiritual
life to a dead sinner is the same power and force and happens
in the same way as bodies will be raised from the dead on the
last day in the general resurrection. Let's go to John chapter five,
please. Verse two. He goes to a sheep market and
there's a pool there, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda. Bethesda means house of mercy.
Now in verse five, in verse five, there's a certain man who is
there. If you're a believer, you're a certain man because
God singled you out and loved you and gave you faith and repentance
to come to him. And that is how it works with
all of us. A certain man was there in the
house of mercy. When Christ saw him lie and knew
that he had now been a long time in that case, he saith unto him,
wilt thou be made whole? And he gives the grace and power
for us to say, yes, I need that. Yes, I will. Please, God. Now, He heals a certain man. The Pharisees
don't like that at all because they count it as him doing work
on the Sabbath day. But really, Christ is the Sabbath,
and the Sabbath was not made, the Sabbath, man was not made
for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man.
Christ was fulfilling the Sabbath and giving this man rest by healing
him. But they didn't see it that way. Now look, and he goes to explain
that not only was he not breaking the Sabbath, but in verse 17,
my father worketh hitherto and I work. I've got a lot more to
show you. Verse 20, for as the father loveth
the son and showeth him all things that himself doeth. and he will
show him greater works than these that you might marvel. Here's
the comfort he's about to get to. Christ earned the right as
a man to rule this world and he rules it for the purpose of
giving eternal life to his sheep, his certain men who he prayed
and lived and died for. Now, he's gonna get into this
greater work Here it is, verse 21. For as the father raiseth
up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the son quickeneth whom
he will. He compares the general resurrection
to his life-giving call in the gospel. It says, verse 21, as
the father raiseth up the dead, look at verse 28. Marvel not
at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in
the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth. They that
have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done
evil unto the resurrection of damnation, they shall come forth. Was it an offer? No. Does he
beg? No. Does he invite? No. God speaks and things happen. His word is power. They shall
come forth. Verse 21, as that happens, even
so, the son quickeneth whom he will. Look at verse 25, verily,
verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is. In verse
28, it was just an hour coming, but this is an hour that now
is, when the dead, spiritually dead people who don't want to
know God, shall hear the voice of the son of God, and they that
hear shall live. Let's go to Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37. This is the one who
tells us not to be afraid, the one whose very word gives us
life. He gives us life, brethren. He
speaks. He speaks, and these bones, put
sinew upon sinew and flesh upon flesh, and we come up out of
our graves, and we know that he is God." And he speaks. In Ezekiel 37, God is commissioning
Ezekiel to go preach to dry bones, and when He preaches when he prophesies
to the wind, and God comes and does a work. Let's look at verse
12. Therefore prophesy unto them,
thus saith the Lord God, behold, O my people, I will open your
graves, as the Father raiseth up the dead, and cause you to
come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord. You shall know that I am the
Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people. In John
5, you say, verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me has, currently
has, everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation. He's
the one with the keys. If I lock a door, and I walk
away and I'm the only key to that door, you can guarantee
that door is gonna stay locked. How much more, how much more
so when the son of God says, shall not come into condemnation,
but is passed from death to life. The one with the keys, he tells
us fear not. If he gave us spiritual life
and begun that work in us with the same force that God raises
bodies from the grave, the same irresistible power. That one
tells us to fear not. We can be confident of this very
thing that he that began a good work on us will complete it and
finish it until the day of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ
is our reason not to fear. And we don't need to look at
situation or circumstance or any other thing. He is our reason
not to fear. He's done everything. He's put
away the very reason to fear.