It's good to see you this evening
and again, I'm so thankful that we
can be here. I'm thankful that the Lord would
give me a heart to want to be here. That's the amazing thing
to me. I'm going to ask you to take your Bibles and turn with
me to the book of 1 John. 1 John. The last time I was in 1 John,
I ended with 1 John chapter 2 and verse 6. I made a few comments
on verse 6 and came to pick up there and go on. I thought I
would go on to verse 9, I'm sorry, verse 11. But I got to looking at verse
6 again, and I think I just want to stay right there for a few
minutes. We plan to have the Lord's Supper in a few minutes,
but I want to read 1 John 2, 6, and then we'll ask our Lord's
blessing. He that saith, he abideth in
him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Let's pray together. Our Father, we are thankful that
we can be here. Thankful that you've permitted
us to be here. Lord, thank you for your presence.
I ask you this evening, bless the Word to our hearts, bless
the preaching. Lord, if the Word is blessed
by you, by your Holy Spirit, and we hear it in power, then
we'll hear. Lord, help us to hear. For Christ's sake, we ask
these things. Amen. A man that says, he abideth. That is, that he
continually sojourns and is present. A man that says, I'm abiding
in Him. You know, there's a difference
scripturally. There's a difference between
knowing who He is and abiding in Him. A man that is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now this is an amazing thought. I've tried to explain things
hopefully that I could understand. Being found in Christ. I know we were chosen in Him
before the foundation of the world. I know that that has something
to do with the Lord Jesus Christ by the good pleasure of the Father,
being our representative before God, our mediator, our advocate. God Almighty chose us in Him,
in electing grace. I know when He died, the Apostle
Paul, again under the inspiration of God's Spirit, said this, I
was crucified with Him, I know, mysteriously, that God's
people being chosen in Christ, that which I cannot and will
not try to explain the fullness of, but by faith try to enjoy
what's being said there. In Christ, I know that we were
in Him when He was crucified. buried with Him, raised with Him, glorified, that's
what Romans 8.30 says, He whom the Father has chosen and called
and justified and glorified in Christ. He that saith, He abideth
in Him. The scripture says concerning
that man that he ought himself also so to walk. That word ought,
he ought to, it means as a debt that is due. That which is owed
to another, a man that says he abides in him ought as a debt
I've got a debt owed that I have no ability to pay. How much do
I owe to the grace of God? A man that says that he's abiding
in Him ought himself, personally, also, according to his profession,
so to walk. That is, in that manner he should
make progress with every opportunity to live, to regulate, to conduct
himself according to the degree and proportion of his ability.
Now you think about what's being said. He that says, I'm in him,
I'm abide in him, abideth constantly in him. He ought to, as a debt
owed to the grace of God, to walk even as Christ walked. Now there's no believer that's
going to ever say that we have the ability to walk in the same
manner, in the same degree, with the same ability and faithfulness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. No believer would ever say that,
but I know that the Apostle John is saying that which is true. I know that. A man that says
he's in Christ ought to walk with some degree of resemblance,
is what he's saying. to Christ's walk. How did the
Lord walk? Well, just a few thoughts here. He walked with a spirit of forgiveness
toward His people. When He was on the cross and
He was mocked. Now, I know this. The Lord never
asked the Father. The Lord said concerning His
Father, He said, I know, you heareth me always. You always
hear me. Everything that the Lord ever did, He did according
to the will of God. He did only those things that
pleased Him. I know that. He prayed according
to God's will for He was God. In that everlasting covenant
of grace, The Lord Jesus Christ found within that covenant. He
prayed according to God's will. And when He was upon that cross,
and there were those around Him, and mocking Him, and wagging
their heads. You know, He saved others. Him Himself. He can't save. And
the Lord Jesus Christ prayed this prayer. He said, Forgive
them, for they know not what they do. Now I can tell you for
a fact, He was not praying for any except His elect. I can go back, we've read many
times, John 17, 9. He said, I pray for them, those
that you've given me. I pray not for the world. I don't
pray for the world. He didn't start praying for the
world on the cross. He said, I pray for those that
you've given me. There were those, obviously, at the crucifixion
that didn't know Him, that didn't know what they were doing, that
the Lord Jesus Christ knew in electing grace. And He prayed
for their forgiveness. Father, forgive them. They don't
know what they're doing. But in the process of time, God
would call them out when it pleased the Lord. So how did He walk?
He walked with a spirit of forgiveness. I'll tell you how he walked.
He walked with a desire for God's will. Listen to this, John 4,
34. My meat, my food, my sustenance is to do the will of Him that
sent me and to finish His work. I'll tell you how a believer
walks. A believer walks desiring the will of God to be done in
His life. I want that. I do want that.
I don't want to walk contrary to His will. I don't. I know
that I cannot not sin. I know that. And I pray the Lord
have mercy and forgive me. But I tell you this, I do want
to walk according to His will. We ought to walk with a spirit
of humility. What do I mean by that? I mean
in subjection and in obedience to His providential dealings
with me. You know, when things don't go
the way I think they ought to go, when something crosses my
path and I just, and I'm thinking, Concerning the Lord Jesus Christ,
how did he walk? Philippians 2.8 says, "...in
being found and fashioned as a man." Found and fashioned as a man.
He humbled himself. Humbled himself and became obedient
unto death. Father, if there's any way that
this cup can pass from me, That is an amazing prayer to me. And he was praying according
to God's will, knowing exactly what was going to happen. But
the only thing I can tell you is that he prayed, Father, if
there be any other way. Was it for our admonition, our
learning that there was no other way? if there be any way that this
cup can pass from me." Nevertheless, he humbled himself, humbled himself. According to God's providential
dealing, he's the Lamb. Not my will, but thine, be done. So if we're going to sum up,
how did the Lord Jesus Christ walk? I can tell you, I can sum
it up with this passage of Scripture. John 3.16, For God so loved the
world. And I've explained many, many
times that word world doesn't mean everybody without distinction.
Because you can't back that up with scripture. But He loved
the order of man. He loved the arrangement. If
Almighty God did not send the Savior, the Savior of mankind. We sing a song, Gary, that's
a line in some song. I can't think what it is. Savior
of mankind. That's what He did. He saved
the order of man. Because had the Lord Jesus Christ
not come into this world to save His people, His people from their
sins, I'm telling you, mankind would have been obliterated.
If God, the scripture says, if He'd not left us a remnant, if
we didn't have a small remnant, we'd all been like Sodom and
Gomorrah. Why? God's just. He's just. So here's a summation. I know
this. Concerning the Lord's love for
His people. the order of man for mankind,
that mankind would not be destroyed. Christ came into this world.
And so Ephesians 5, 2 says concerning us, walk in love as Christ also
hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and
a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. He that saith, he abideth in
him, ought himself also to walk even as he walked. May we be
found daily walking as Christ walked in love to God our Father. That's how He walked. God's people,
they loved the Father. who has given them all things
in Christ. Lord willing, I'm going to preach
a message this Sunday called, All Things Are Yours. What do
we have in Christ? Everything that the Father is
pleased to give the Son. They're all ours. They're ours. I won't get into that if I don't
rush right now. He's given us all things in Christ. chose to show mercy. That was
His will. That was His pleasure. That was
His purpose. Chose to show mercy and compassion.
Chose them in Christ for this reason, that they should be holy
and without blame before Him in love. As Christ loved the
Father, may we be found walking loving the Father. Secondly,
live daily in love to Christ. Because of His love for us, giving
His life for ours, everlastingly stood as the surety. I'll answer. I'll make good. I'll pay the
debt. I'll provide their righteousness.
He came to this world seeking to save His people. How did He
do that? He lived in holy obedience, I
can tell you this, before God the Father and His law and earned
a righteousness that I couldn't earn, you couldn't either. He
earned a righteousness and this is what really happened. He really imputes charges to
the account of his people. Gives them faith to believe and
robes them in righteousness. He earned their holiness and
gave it to them. Went to the cross and bore their
guilt in his own body. Made it to be his own and put
it away. Men, women that leave this world
will never pay the debt. The debt will never be paid.
They've sinned against an eternal God. And that eternal God, before
whom they've sinned, they owe an eternal debt. Well, an eternal
debt is never paid. It's an eternal debt. But that the eternal God, who was made flesh, now here's
the amazing thing. By one offering for sin, He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. Oh, the debt of love that I owe,
I don't even realize. I cannot even fathom the debt. I won't even try. To say this,
Lord, unto You, you're worthy, all honor and glory and praise
and I can't pay that. Delivered for our offenses, raised
again for our justification, ascended into heaven, ever liveth
now to make intercession for us. Thirdly, let us be found
walking and daily loving in appreciation of the Holy Spirit, who effectually,
powerfully draws the elect of God to Christ, and imparts spiritual
life to them through the means of the preaching of the gospel,
and then brings back to our memory the things that Christ has said,
and reminds us of the truths that we've been taught and by
His blessed grace and mercy grows us in grace, teaches us of these
truths, more of the depth of them, of the glory of Christ. And listen to this, because we
couldn't keep ourselves, seals us till the day of redemption
as He leads us daily. They that are led by the Spirit
of God, those are the sons of God. leads us daily in the way
of truth. Let us be found loving the Father,
the Son, Spirit. But fourthly, let us live daily
loving each other. What does the Scripture say concerning
the Lord's love for His people? He loved His own. He loved them
to the end. I'm so glad there'll never be an end. You know, who
loves Him, loves Him to the end. And because of His love for His
people, We ought to love them too. They're His and we're part
of them. Do you realize that we're all
God's people here? That we're all part of one body.
We're all together, you know? Like I said, my hand right here, my hand likes my foot. I broke that finger right there.
Went about a year with a couple of operations and therapies and
all this kind of stuff. Had somebody tell me, said, why
don't you just cut that finger off right there? Been a whole
lot easier. I said, because it's my finger, not yours. I kind
of like it. We ought to love one another. John 13, 35, by this shall all
men know that you're my disciples, you have love one for another. That's the key right there. To
walking as he walked, love. God so loved. And again, I admit, not in the
degree of holiness, perfection as he walked, I'm not saying
that, but in the resemblance. according to our ability, according
to the light that He's given us. We walk, we walk through
a glass darkly, don't we? I know we do. We know in part,
prophesying part, these men, Carl, you, and Fred, and Neil,
and different ones that have ever stood up here. We stand,
but we don't, we don't know everything. I'm just a frail creature of
the dust. trying to set forth what the
Lord has taught me. We don't know it all, but in
the degree that we walk, we walk in love toward Him, agreeing
with Him. Now there's a mark of a believer.
I agree with him. Listen, can two walk together
except they be agreed? Let me tell you what I'm in agreement
with God on. That I'm totally depraved. Now,
I'll tell you that I'm totally depraved. I came forth from my
mama's womb speaking lies. I just, just give me time. I'll
manifest it. I'm selfish. Just, you know,
just give a child time. You know, they're born and we
look at them and say, oh, aren't they precious? It reminds me,
I told somebody the other day, I heard Brother Henry say something
about his grandchildren one time. Whoever it was, I said something
to y'all. And they came up to Henry, little children, little
baby, and he said, look Henry, there's angels. And Henry said,
they are angels. Fallen. Just give them time. They'll manifest it. You know.
I agree with God that I'm a depraved sinner. I agree with God that
he has elected a people, unconditional election. I agree with the Lord
Jesus Christ. When He laid down His life, He
laid down His life for the sheep. I believe that. I agree with
Him. I believe that when the Spirit of God is going to call
out one of His own, He's going to call them out under the sound
of the gospel, and He's going to do it in power and irresistible
grace. He's going to give them a heart
willing. Willing to do what? I was thinking
about that. Willing to do what? willing to
be saved on God's terms. That's what a believer is willing
to do. He's willing to be saved, not on my terms. And I'm in agreement
with God, He's going to keep me, preserve me to the end. Because if He doesn't, I'm not
going to be preserved. Two walk together, you know. So therefore, as we walk, As
he walked, I can tell you this. First thing I know, we're doing
it for our sakes. I can tell you that. We're needy
creatures. I know this. Ruined by the fall,
head to toe. A lot of them walked no more
with him when he told them. He said, no man can come except
it were given unto him of my father. They left. Will you go
away also? And Peter said, Lord, where are
we going to go? For our sakes, Lord, for our
eternal security's sakes, Lord, where are we gonna go? Walk as
he walked for the gospel's sake. Hold your place right there.
Just turn back a few pages toward the front there to Titus, right
after it'd be 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus. Titus 2, 7 to 10, listen to this. In all things, and I'm talking
about we ought to walk as he walked for the sake of the gospel. In all things, showing thyself
a pattern of good works in doctrine, showing uncorruptness, gravity,
sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that he
that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil
thing to say of you, exhort servants, to be obedient unto their own
masters, and to please them well in all things, not answering
again, not purloining, but showing all good fidelity, that they
may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things." What
doctrine? The gospel. For the sake of the
gospel. If you have to take the lowest
seat, the lowest rung on the ladder, take it! Take it! You think Almighty God is going
to let you suffer for the sake of the gospel? Mr. Spurgeon made this statement concerning this, he
said, an inconsistent professor of Christ injures or does more
harm to the witness of the gospel than the open and rebellious
infidel. You might look at him and say,
I thought he was a Christian. If that's what a Christian is,
well, I can tell you this, I know this, we ought to walk
as He walked for the sake, for our sakes, for the gospel sakes,
but listen, most importantly, for Christ's sake. Christ's sake. We ought to walk as He walked
by faith. By faith in Him, in love for
Him, in forgiveness and humility. Walk because of our love for
Him. loving his people. In Ephesians
4, 31-32, with this I'm going to close. The Apostle Paul says,
let all bitterness, now look these words up. That is, secret
lurking of displeasure. Secret lurking of displeasure. Let all bitterness inside. and
wrath and anger, that is, that boiling up eagerness for revenge. Oh my goodness, do we not have
that? You know, people say, well, you know, I wish I could be like,
you know, other Christians. Other Christians are just like
you are. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor, that
is anger, that now breaks out into words. Well, it just started
in the heart first, you know, that bitterness, secret lurking
of displeasure and wrath and anger. It's boiling up. It's a boiling up of eagerness
for revenge and clamor. Now it comes out in words. And
evil speaking, that is, immoderate, reviling against men or God. Blaming God. Let that be put
away from you with all malice. Let that be put away and including
all malice is what he's saying. That is maliciousness of heart.
And be ye kind one to another, sweet in actions and conversation,
tender-hearted, merciful, and quickly moved to compassion. forgiving one another, that is
ready to forgive even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven
you. We are at best frail creatures
in desperate need of God's mercy and grace. May the Lord teach
me May I be found walking in the
measure of the light that I have as He walked. He walked perfectly. I don't. But I want to. May I be found walking as He
walked. For Christ's sake. Amen.