Good evening. Let's open this
evening service with hymn number 37 in your Gospel Hymn Spiral
hymn book. Hey, long time no see. We're glad you're back. I'm sure
you are. Anyway, let's all stand together.
Number 37 in your Gospel Hymn Spiral hymn book. Approach, my soul, the throne
of grace in every time of need. There's mercy for the needy one
who Jesus' name shall plead. Though I'm a weak and sinful
wretch, I will approach the throne. I'll lean upon Christ's mighty
arm and bleed His blood alone. The blood, the precious blood
of Christ, has opened up the way by which I can draw near
to God and to my Father pray. Though Satan tempts my heart
to sin, I'll call upon my God. And if I fall, He'll lift me
up and cleanse me in the blood. The way is open, God will hear
my groans and cries of grief. Nothing can keep me from His
throne but mine own unbelief. O Lord, my unbelief remove, and
turn my heart by grace. Compel me to approach your throne,
and there spread out my case. Please be seated. Good evening. Good to have Deb
back with us. Let's open our Bibles together
to Jeremiah chapter 9. Jeremiah chapter 9 for our call
to worship. Talked to Fred and Mary Jane
this week and they're hoping to be here Sunday. So they'll
be back with us here soon. Just going to read two verses,
verses 23 and 24 from Jeremiah chapter 9. Thus saith the Lord. We call this the Old and the
New Testament. This is God's testimony of himself
to his people. Thus saith the Lord, let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom. Neither let the mighty man glory
in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches. Psalm 115, not unto us, O Lord,
not unto us, but unto thy name be glory. But let him that glorieth
glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me. That's something to glory in,
because if we know God, it's because he made himself known
to us. What hope, what joy, what peace to know him. That's life
eternal. Let him that glorieth glory in
this, that he understandeth and he knoweth me, that I am the
Lord. And here's how I know that I
know him, because I believe he's a God of grace. That's what loving
kindness is. He's a God of judgment and he's
a God of righteousness. Only hope of our salvation is
by his free grace. Judging all our sins on Calvary's
cross and establishing a perfect righteousness through the obedience
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the God I know. That's something to glory in.
all of grace, all of judgment, all of righteousness in the earth,
for in these things I delight, saith the Lord." We know Him
when we delight in what He delights in. That's one of the ways you
know you love somebody, isn't it? You wouldn't do things that your
grandchildren love doing if it wasn't for them. You wouldn't
enjoy it for a minute. But because they enjoy it, you
enjoy watching them enjoy it, don't you? You know you love
somebody when you enjoy doing what they enjoy. When you delight
in what they delight in. And these are what he delights
in, and this is what his people delight in. Loving kindness,
judgment, and righteousness. Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father. We are thankful. That you've
called us to approach the throne of grace with boldness. With
confidence. Having no confidence in the flesh,
having no confidence in ourselves, we have complete hope and trust
and confidence. In the perfect righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. in all that he accomplished in
putting away our sins by suffering your wrath in judgment and giving
to your people eternal life by pure grace. Lord, what delight
you put in our hearts when you give us an understanding and
a knowledge of yourself. We pray that you would open the
windows of heaven tonight. We pray that you would send your
spirit and power. We pray that you would open our
hearts. We pray that you would open your word. We know, Lord,
that what you open is opened effectually. No man can shut
it. How dependent we are, Lord, for you to do that for us tonight.
Be gracious and merciful to us. Thank you for the forgiveness
of sin. the hope of eternal life. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Number 235, in your heartbeats. Number 235, I ask you now. 235. Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry, While on others Thou art calling, Do not
pass me by. Savior, Savior, hear my humble
cry, While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Let me at the throne of mercy
find a sweet relief. Kneeling there in deep contrition,
help my unbelief. Savior, Savior, hear my humble
cry. While on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by. Trusting only in thy merit would
I seek thy face. Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
save me by thy grace. Savior, Savior, hear my humble
cry. While on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by. Thou the spring of all my comforts,
more than life to me. ? Whom have I on earth beside thee
? ? Whom in heaven but thee ? ? Savior, Savior ? ? Hear my humble cry
? ? While on others thou art calling ? ? Do not pass me by
? Please be seated. Will you open your Bibles with
me to Isaiah chapter 55, please. Isaiah 55. I've titled this message,
Christ Our Witness. Christ Our Witness. Normally, when we think or speak
about a witness, we automatically think about the responsibility
and the privilege that the Lord has given us to be his witnesses. We may reflect on that passage
over there in Acts chapter 1 when the disciples were standing on the Mount of Olives after the
Lord had ascended into heaven or even before he ascended into
heaven, they asked the Lord, is it now? Are you going to set
up your kingdom now? Well, the Lord said, it's not for you to
know, but the Holy Ghost is going to come upon you, and you shall
be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and under
the outermost parts of the world. And immediately, he was called
up into heaven, wasn't he? It was the last thing he said
to the disciples, to the church. You're going to be my witnesses.
And then in Matthew chapter 28, when the Lord said to his disciples,
all power has been given unto me in heaven and in earth. I have all power, I have all
authority. Therefore, you go and baptize all nations in the
name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe whatsoever things I have commanded you. That's
the call of the church, isn't it? To declare the gospel, to
be a witness to Christ. And yet in our text tonight,
the Lord Jesus Christ himself is identified by God as God's
witness to the church. Now what is a witness? A witness
is one who testifies of the truth Isn't that what the Lord said
his purpose for coming was when Pilate asked him, are you a king?
And the Lord said, my kingdom's not of this world. He said, for
this cause I was born, and for this reason came I into the world,
to bear witness unto the truth. And what did Pilate say? Truth?
Is that what this is all about, truth? There's no such thing
as absolute truth. Oh yes there is. I am the way
and the truth and the life and I've come to bear witness to
myself and to God. And then he went on to say to
Pilate, those who are of the truth, they hear my voice and
they follow me. They believe the witness. They
believe the witness. Now, if you've ever served on
a jury, you know the difficulty of judging
the credibility of witnesses. Because every witness that they
put on the stand, the attorney on the other side is going to
try to undermine the credibility of that witness. And you're sitting
there not knowing the witness. having to decide by body language
and by the answers to the questions that they're asking what the
truth is and what isn't the truth. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ is
the witness of God. Let men sit there and judge his
credibility all they want. Those that are of the truth,
they hear his voice. They hear the voice of God saying,
this is my beloved son. In him I am well pleased. Hear ye him. Listen to what he
says. He's a faithful witness. Revelation
chapter one, verse five. His witness is faithful and it's
true. So do we believe? That's all
faith is. Faith is not believing that something's
going to happen in the future. You know, people say, well, if
I just believe God strong enough, I'll get this or I'll get that
or this will happen or that will happen. I'll just have more faith.
No, faith is just believing God. Faith is believing the witness,
the testimony that the Lord Jesus Christ has given us of God. Here it is. Look. It's right
here. Verse 4. Isaiah chapter 55, behold I have
given him as a witness to the people. Now another way of translating
that word people is nation. So the Lord has given God is
speaking here and he's giving Christ to his nation, a holy
nation, a peculiar people. a people of priesthood, a holy
priesthood as Peter identifies us. These are the people of God
and I have given Him as a witness to them. And they're going to
hear His voice. They're going to believe Him.
They're not going to sit there and interrogate the credibility. They're going to say, well, you
remember when they sent those men out to arrest the war and
they came back and they said, well, where is it? Oh, never
a man spake like this man before. He spoke with authority, not
as the scribes. That's what they said. He didn't
talk like those religious people, just using pious platitudes and
religious language. He spoke the word of God and
we heard him and we could not refute anything he said. He spoke
with power and with authority. And he declared the things of
God. He opened his ministry that way in Nazareth, didn't he? When he went into the temple
and he took the scroll and he read from Isaiah 61 and he said,
this day this prophecy has been fulfilled in your sight. And
they wondered at the gracious words which he spoke. They were
amazed that he was standing up, because they knew that was a
prophecy about the witness that God was going to send, the faithful
witness, the Messiah. And they thought, could this
be? Could this, there was a lot of talk about this is the time.
The prophecy of Daniel has come to pass. And there was a lot
of conversation among the people of God as to whether or not they
were living in the generation that the Lord had prophesied
of the coming of the Messiah. And now this one who's the son
of Joseph and Mary stands up and reads that and says, this
day has been fulfilled in your sight. Could he be? They, I think,
initially they hoped that he was until he gave witness, until
he gave a proper understanding of what the Messiah came to do.
There were many widows in the days of the prophet Elijah, but
God showed mercy on none of the widows of Israel except to that
widow of Sarepta. And there were many lepers in
the days of Elijah the prophet in Israel. But God showed no
mercy upon any of them except for Naaman, the Syrian. And their wonderment of his gracious
words was turned into wrath. They were ready to put him to
death right there on the spot. You're saying that God's going
to show mercy on Gentiles and not on those elite special people
that have enjoyed the blessings of God for so many generations.
He's going to show mercy on them? Yeah. Yeah. He's a God of loving
kindness. He's a God of judgment. He's
a God of righteousness. And His people delight in that
message. Every time Paul would go and preach somewhere, he'd
start out in the synagogue, wouldn't he? And the Jews would, most
of them, reject the message. But the Gentiles, you mean this
could be for us? Yes. Yes. Sinners always believe
the witness of God. Needy sinners always believe
the testimony of the gospel. If a person If a person denies
the gospel, resists the gospel, doesn't believe the gospel, it
is one reason and one reason only. They are not a sinner. That's it. They're not a sinner. That's why when we think about
the wonders of grace, we always begin with total depravity, don't
we? Because that's where it all starts. Men want to debate whether
or not you know, the atonement was for everybody or whether
or not it was limited to the elect or they want to talk about
whether or not grace is irresistible or whether or not perseverance
is eternal. They can debate those things
all they want, but the real problem is they're not sinners. Because
once God makes you a sinner, the rest of it is real easy.
That's the problem, isn't it? Right. That's the problem. You
talk to somebody about Christ and you realize they hate the
Lord. Why do they hate Him? because he came to save sinners. And they're not sinners. They
think that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to reward
good people. That's what they believe. He
came to reward me for my goodness. No, he didn't. He came to save
sinners. And God makes you to be a sinner.
You'll rejoice in everything he says and everything he's done. I have given him as a witness
to my people. Do you believe the witness? You know, if you were in a court
of law where the The witness on the stand was
somebody you knew and you knew them intimately. You knew them
to be honorable and faithful and true. You wouldn't sit there
and judge the credibility of their testimony, would you? You'd
say, I know that person. I know what they're saying is
true. Well, here we have, you see, that's why it all begins
with knowing him, doesn't it? It all begins with knowing Him.
Knowing Him for who He is, He must reveal Himself. This, I
know I quote this passage a lot, but I love it. John chapter 17,
this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true
God in Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. Paul said, I know
whom I have believed. I know who He is. He's the God
of, He's God's witness. In everything He says, I believe.
I don't stand here and take my penknife and cut up the Word
of God. I don't interrogate the testimony. I don't stand in judgment
of what he says. I believe it because I know that
he's God's witness. And when we witness all we're
doing, all we're doing, matter of fact, that verse I quoted
a while ago in Acts chapter 1, The Holy Ghost will come upon
you and you shall be not my witness to the world. Let's look it up. Let's look it up. Acts chapter
1. Verse two, but you shall receive
power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be
witnesses unto me. You're gonna be witnesses unto
me. You're just gonna point to me. And you're gonna say, you're
gonna tell men, he's the witness of God. You're not going to... People talk about their witnessing
and most times they're just recounting their religious experience. You
know, you hear people witness and they say, well, you know,
I used to do this, I used to do that, and I don't do those things
anymore. That's not a witness. A witness is witnessing to the
witness. It's the same with John the Baptist. Behold the Lamb
of God. He's the one that takes away
the sins of the world. Let me tell you about him. Let me tell
you about the one who I know. So we're just, when the Lord
does give us an opportunity to witness, to give an answer to
them and to ask us for the hope that's within us, we do it with
meekness and fear, but we're just pointing, we're not telling
people about our experience. Our experiences are so, well,
they're just unreliable. But we believe. His witness. Those that are of the truth,
they hear my voice and they follow after me. And they just point
men to me. They shall be a witness unto
me. I have given Him as a witness
to the people. His testimony, His witness, According
to Revelation, turn with me to Revelation Chapter 1. This is the Lord revealing himself. This isn't a revelation of future
events. This is not prophecy concerning
the particulars of the end time. This is a revelation of Christ. Look what he says. Verse one,
chapter one, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave
unto him to show unto his servants things what's much shortly come
to pass. And he sent and signified it
by his angel and his servants, John, who bear record of the
word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things
that he saw. That's what a witness does. You
get on a witness stand, Adam, you know about this. You're trying
to discredit the credibility of a witness and you find out
that they're giving second-hand information? They didn't actually
see it? They weren't actually there?
You're going to object to that testimony right away, aren't
you? John's just telling about the
witness, the Christ, that he saw. And God opened the windows
of heaven and he saw the Lord Jesus Christ seated at the right
hand of the majesty on high. He saw him having successfully
accomplished the redemption of all his people. He saw him interceding
on her behalf. And he's just giving testimony
of what he saw, what he saw. The Spirit of God is still opening
up the windows of heaven. The Spirit of God is still giving
His elect eyes to see, to look into heaven and to see the Lord
Jesus Christ. These things are seen through
the eye of faith. Don't look for a feeling or for
an experience or for a vision. These things are revealed through
the revelation of Scripture to the heart so that we know they're
true, don't we? And you know. That's the That's
the glorious thing about believers. Believers know something. They
know something that other men don't know. They know someone
that other men don't know, don't they? They have an understanding. They have a knowledge. Blessed
is he, verse 3, that readeth and they that hear the words
of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein
in the time, for the time is at hand. The time is at hand. The scripture tells that over
and over again, doesn't it? It's amazing to me how many people
I can say to, and I say it with sincerity. Somebody's talking
about, you know, the problems, and I say this a lot. I said
it last night to somebody. You know, we're really not going
to be here much longer. Don't worry about that. And the person I said that to
last night said, oh, no, no, no, don't say that. Don't say
that. You're not going anywhere anytime
soon. I said, well, you know, maybe I've got 20 years, maybe
30 at the longest. What's that? Nothing. We're not going to be here much
longer. The time of our departure is at hand. And what a comfort,
what a relief that is to the people of God. We just, whoo,
I need to be reminded of that. It's so easy to get caught up
in this world and think that, but Lord, teach me to number
my days. Teach me to know the vanity of
this world and this life. We just got a few more sunrises.
It's just a few more. And then it's over. But it's
not over. That's when it all begins, isn't
it? That's when it all begins. All of our troubles are over. John, to the seven churches which
are in Asia, grace be unto you and peace from him which is and
which was and which is to come. Before time began, He is the eternal God. And in
His incarnation, He was made flesh and lived in this world. Now He is to come. And that's what we're waiting
for, waiting for His coming. You know, you know that when
you see Him, you're going to be made like Him. and from the seven churches which
are before his throne." Where's the church right now? It's before
the throne of God. That's where we are. Listen,
when we take our last breath and enter into heaven, think about this. Our life is eternal. This bubble
of time that we live in is very, is very, well, It's kind of a
figment of God's imagination is what it is. It's reality for
us, but here's the thing about it. When we enter into glory,
we're going to discover that we've always been there. We've always been there. You're
not going to wake up in glory one day and look around and ask
other folks what it's been like to you. You're going to see that
you've always been there. Why? Because we're before the
throne of God right now. And we've been in Christ before
the foundation of the world. This life that we're living here
in this world is just a, we're just passing through, aren't
we? And from Jesus Christ, verse
5, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the
dead, that's what he talks about. talks about the first born among
many brothers talking about his is talking about his resurrection
he's the first we got born from the dead brought back to life
God's positive proof that the father is satisfied with everything
that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished I am the resurrection in the
life he that believeth in me though he die in the flesh yet
shall he live he that believeth in me shall never die and the prince of the kings of
the earth unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins
in his own blood the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ having
cleansed us of all our sins he's a faithful witness Faith just
believes what he says. We should believe God. I have given him to the people
as a witness, as a testimony. Do you believe him? I know you
do. God's given you faith. You just
can't not believe him, can you? You're tempted every day to look
away from Him. You're tempted every day to believe something
else. And you can't do it. Why? Because you're a believer.
You believe the witness. You know He's faithful. You know
He is true. God who at sundry times Hebrews
chapter 1 verse 1 and in diverse manners spake unto our fathers
by the prophets. They were witnesses weren't they?
God in many different ways and different fashions different
times and different types and different shadows and different
ways, spoke to our fathers through the prophets, hath in these last
days spoken unto us by His Son, who is the express image of His
person, the brightness of His glory. We have a witness who's
faithful and true, and He's brought everything to light. By what
He said and what He did, He has brought all truth to light. And God's people find their hope
and their comfort in Him. I have given Him to the people
as a witness, as a witness. Now, turn with me to Genesis
chapter 31. Genesis chapter 31. I want to show you the first
reference to witness in the Bible. You remember the story? Jacob
is fleeing from his brother Esau after having supplanted him,
which is what his name means, and deceiving his father and
taking the birthright to himself. And Jacob runs for his life.
Where does he go? Well, Rebekah, Jacob's mother,
sends him back to her brother's house, Jacob's uncle, Laban,
who's a Canaanite. He's a Chaldean, I'm sorry. And
so Jacob goes to work for Laban and Jacob sees Rachel and falls
in love with Rachel and Laban does to Jacob what Jacob had
done to his father. You know, it goes around, comes
around, it comes back to him, doesn't it? And he deceives him
and gives him Leah instead of Rachel, and then he has to work
seven more years, and he works 14 years for the two daughters
of Laban. And then he works seven more
years. And all along, he's never able
to please Laban. He says to Laban, he says, you've
changed my wages 10 times. He said, you deceived me. I've
worked for you. I've given my life. And now he's
just trying to get away from Laban. He runs from Laban. With
his wives, Laban's daughters, and their children, Laban's grandchildren,
and he's running back to try to get away from Laban after
20 years of hard labor. And Laban runs after him. Where
are you going, Jacob? These are my daughters. These
are my children. You can't do this. And the story
picks up here in Genesis chapter 31. verse 43, and Laban answered
and said unto Jacob, these daughters are my daughters, and these children
are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou
seest is mine, and what can I do this day unto these my daughters
and unto their children which they have born? I can't destroy
them. They belong to me. You're trying
to take them away. So Now therefore, his laban speaking
to Jacob, now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant. Let us make a promise to one
another. I and thou, and let it be for
a witness between me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, Now what
do you suppose that stone is a picture of? It's the same picture
that the stone is always a picture of. The rock that Moses smote
in the wilderness that the water came forth, the foundation, the
rock on which Moses stood on Mount Sinai, all the beautiful
pictures of Christ. This is a picture of Christ.
So now Jacob, who's a picture of the children of Jacob, he's
us. He's us. Who's Laban a picture
of? It's a picture of the law. And Laban says, I've got rights
over my daughters and my grandchildren. But lest I kill you, I can't
kill them. I love them. So let's make a
covenant. Let's establish a witness between
us. And Jacob takes a stone and makes
a pillar. And Jacob took a stone and set
it up for a pillar, verse 45. And Jacob said unto his brethren,
Gather stones. And they took stones and made
a heap, and they did eat thereupon the heap. So they made a sacrifice.
They ate a meal. They're cutting a covenant. They're
making a promise between one another. And they're establishing
a witness in this verbal promise. The witness is the pile of stones.
And each of the brethren put in a stone. all agreed that this
pile of stones is the witness. And this pile of stones was located
halfway between where Laban lived and where Jacob was going. So
in order for one of them to get to the other one, they had to
go past this pile of stones. And this pile of stones was going
to be a witness. It was going to remind them of
the covenant that they made together. What was the covenant? And Laban
called it, I can't pronounce that word, but it means a heap
of witness in the Chaldean language. And Jacob called it Galid or
Galid, which also means a heap of stones in the Hebrew language. So Laban's referring to it in
the Chaldean language, Jacob, but they're agreeing, this is
the witness, this pile of stones that we both have to pass in
order to get to one another is going to be a witness of the
covenant that we just made with one another, the promise that
we made to one another. And Laban said, the heap is a
witness between me and thee this day, therefore was the name of
it called Galid and Mizpah, a watchtower. Christ being our watchtower,
Christ being our witness, And he said, the Lord watch between
me and thee when we are absent one from another. And if thou
shall afflict my daughters, or if thou shall take other wives
beside my daughters, when no man is with us, see God is witness
between us. So these pile of stones is a
witness that God is overseeing you. Laban saying to Jacob, Don't
take another wife other than my daughters. And don't mistreat
my daughters. God's going to be a witness against
you. And the church doesn't. The church
doesn't take another bride. And we don't abuse God's people
by beating them up with the law and bloodying the sheep with
demands that they cannot carry. We don't do that. So Laban said
to Jacob, don't abuse my children, don't abuse my daughters or my
grandchildren. If you do, this pile of stones
is going to be a witness that God is watching. And Laban said
unto Jacob, verse 51, behold this heap and behold this pillar. which I have cast betwixt me
and thee. This heap be witness and this
pillar be witness that I will not pass over this heap to thee
and that thou shalt not pass over this heap unto this pillar
unto me for harm." So Jacob's in agreement. This pile of stones, a picture
of the rock of ages, the Lord Jesus Christ. is God's witness
that the law can't come to me and that I can't go back to the
law. It's the same thing that Boaz
did. When Boaz said to Ruth, when
Boaz went to He said, there is a kinsman,
there is a kinsman nearer unto you than me. Yeah, I'm a kinsman
redeemer, but I've got to settle up with that other kinsman first.
And so he goes to the other kinsman and he says, Naomi's come back
from Moab and you're the nearest kinsman and it's your responsibility
under the law to redeem her. But in the day in which you redeem
Naomi, you must also take Ruth, the Moabitess. And what did that
kinsman say? Oh, no, I'll redeem Naomi, but
I'm not taking Ruth, lest I mar my inheritance. If I take a Gentile
Moabitess into my family, it's going to destroy my inheritance.
And so Boaz reckoned with that, and then he redeemed her. Boaz
is a picture of Christ. He's our kinsman. He had to reckon
with the law first. This heap, this witness, this
testimony, I have given him as a witness to my people. And there
he is between us and the law. The law can't get to us. He's
made the law honorable. He satisfied the demands of the
law. He established perfect righteousness. He obeyed God with all of his
heart, all of his mind, and all of his soul all the time. God's
pleased with him. Now, when the law, we look over
that heap, there's a witness between us. The law can't get
to us and we can't get to the law. Now, in closing, turn with
me to 1 John 5. 1 John 5. Verse four, whosoever is born
of God overcometh the world. Overcome with the word. How do
we overcome the world? Resist all the temptations of
the world live above the world. No, no, no, no F no effect by
the things of the world. No. By faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, he said, Be in this world, you shall have tribulation, but
be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. He
was never affected by this world. He saw this world for what it
was all the time. He had perfect fellowship with
the Father. You ever thought about how unnecessary the things
that we have to have in our lives were to him? He didn't have to
have a change of scenery. He didn't have to have a vacation.
He didn't have to be entertained. He didn't need any of those things. All of his comfort, all of his
hope, all of his joy, and all of his happiness came from a
perfect relationship that he had with the Father. And he saw
the vanity of this world for what it was. We're not that way, are we? He
overcame the world. He was not in the least affected
by this world. For whosoever is born of God,
born again, given new life in Christ, overcometh the world.
And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith. You see, looking to Christ, resting in Christ, relying upon
the Lord Jesus Christ, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
the only way we overcome the world. And when God gives you
faith, you just become a believer. You believe the witness. You
believe the testimony of God. You believe everything He says.
You can't not believe Him. You can't not have faith. Once
God gives you faith, it's just always there, isn't it? Pray
that it grows. Pray that it matures. Grow in
faith in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grow in grace.
But who is he that overcometh the world? But he that believeth
that Jesus is the Son of God. That's who overcomes the world.
I'm so glad He didn't say, Who is He that overcometh the world?
Them that are not affected by the temptations of the world.
Aren't you glad He didn't say that? Who is He that overcometh
the world? He that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. This is how we overcome the world,
by faith. Faith in Christ. This is He that
came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ. Not by water only,
but by water and blood. And it is the spirit that beareth
witness because the spirit is truth. The spirit's bearing witness. Water, a picture of sanctification,
out from his side flowed first water and then blood and blood,
a picture of our justification. Here's our cleansing and our
holiness and our justification before God. We're washed by the
water of the word as God speaks truth to our hearts. For there are three that bear
record in heaven. There are three witnesses in
heaven. The Father, the Word, you know who that is, the Lord
Jesus Christ who is the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these
three are one. These three are one. So there's
three that are bearing testimony. They're all in agreement. God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are in perfect
agreement. God the Father having elected
us according to his own will and purpose, God the Son having
accomplished our redemption, and God the Holy Spirit doing
the work of regeneration and pointing us to Christ. They're
all in agreement. What are they in agreement? We're
going to save these people. We are going to save these people. We're in agreement about who
they are. We're in agreement about how they're going to be
saved. We're in agreement about their eternal destiny. We're
in perfect agreement, God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit, three-chord agreement in heaven. They're
all witnessing the same thing. They're all saying the same thing. And verse eight, there are three
that bear witness in the earth. So there's three, we can't see,
not with the physical eyes, the father, the son, and the holy
spirit in the heavens, all in perfect agreement, witnessing
the same thing. And there are three on the earth
that are witnessing the same thing. And what are these three
witnesses on the earth? The spirit, the water, and the
blood, and they all agree in one. Now, you weren't there 2,000
years ago. I wasn't there 2,000 years ago
to see the water and the blood. You weren't there. So what is the witness? What
is the witness that God has given to His Church that confirm the
work of the Holy Spirit, the cleansing effect of the water,
and the redeeming quality of the blood? What is the witness
that we have? The first one, the Spirit. There's
no way for a man to preach the gospel without the Spirit of
God, and there's no way for anyone to hear the gospel without the
Spirit of God. And so the witness is what we're doing right now.
We're going to the Word of God and we're preaching Christ and
Him crucified. And I'm relying on the Spirit
of God to enable me to speak, and you're relying upon the Spirit
of God to enable you to hear. And the natural man cannot receive
the things of the Spirit. Their foolishness unto him He
cannot know them. Why? Because he doesn't have
the Spirit of God. So there's the testimony of the Spirit.
What about the water? What about the water? That's it. You see, what baptism
says is exactly what I'm saying right now and exactly what we
say every time we come together. Buried with Christ in baptism. raised to walk a new life in
Christ Jesus. I've been cleansed of my sins,
not with the cleansing of water, but by the death of the Lord
Jesus Christ, by virtue of His death. I'm in union with Him.
When He died, I died. And that's what I'm giving. What
are we doing? When we submit to baptism, we are witnessing
to the world, to the church, that the hope of our salvation
is by virtue of our union with Christ. When he died, I died. When he was buried, I was buried.
When he was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead, and
that's my witness. That's my testimony. And then, what about the blood?
Well, that's the Lord's table. It says the same thing. Says
the same thing. The Lord's given us three. You
know, people talk about being a witness. You know, the best
thing, talk to people. Ask God to give you opportunity
to speak to somebody and pray the Lord will. But you know what?
I've been doing this a long time. I've talked to a lot of folks.
Rarely, if ever, have I ever seen anybody convinced in a conversation. The Lord uses the foolishness
of preaching, the testimony of baptism, the testimony of the
Lord's table, which are all in agreement. As often as you do
this, do it in remembrance of me. And when we drink that wine,
we are saying that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is the
only hope that I have that my sins would be covered before
God. So there's three witnesses. Three witnesses. The Spirit, empowering the preaching
of the gospel. Baptism, witnessing, picturing
the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and the Lord's table. Picturing our union with Christ
as we partake of that bread, His body, and that wine, His
blood. That's the witness. The best
thing you can do to witness to somebody and encourage them to
come is come and see, come in here. This is the place where God's
pleased to save his people, isn't it? I have made him to be a witness
to the people. Oh, what a witness he is, faithful
and true, isn't he? And you believe him, don't you? Our Heavenly Father, we're so
very thankful that we're not left to our own imagination,
our own devices, our own opinions, that we have a witness, a witness
from you, a witness that's faithful and true. And oh, how we pray
that we would be enabled by your spirit to hear his voice and
to believe Him. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Let's stand together. Number
226. I am not skilled to understand
what God hath willed, what God hath planned. I only know at
His right hand is one who is my Savior. I take him at his
word indeed. Christ died for sinners, this
I read. For in my heart I find a need
of him to be my Savior. that he should leave his place
on high and come for sinful men to die. You count it strange,
so once did I, before I knew my Savior. And oh, that he fulfilled,
may see, the travail of his soul in me, and with his work contented
be, as I with my dear Savior. Yea, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring That he who lives to be
my king Once died to be my Savior