And I ask you to take your Bibles
once again and turn with me to the book of John, chapter 16. John 16. John 16. Our Lord said in verses 1 through
7, these things have I spoken unto you that you should not
be offended. They should put you out of the
synagogues, yea, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will
think that he doeth God's service. These things will they do unto
you because they've not known the Father nor me. But these
things have I told you that when the time shall come you may remember
that I told you of them. These things I said not unto
you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go
my way to him that sent me. And none of you asketh me, whither
goest thou? But because I have said these
things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless,
I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that
I go away. Where if I go not away, the comforter
will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send
him unto you. You know, when you love somebody,
you're going to do all you can to comfort them, encourage them,
protect them. And here the omniscient Lord
knows that which is best for His disciples. He's giving them
some blessed instruction. He's teaching them something.
And He's teaching us today. Same thing. He's telling us These things, that's what I've
entitled it. These things. He's been going through the last
few chapters because he's getting ready to go to the cross, go
to the grave, ascend into heaven. And he's teaching and teaching
and teaching. And oh how we need to be taught.
we need to hear. These things, verse 1, have I
spoken unto you. These things like, it said in
chapter 15, verse 5, I am the vine. I'm the vine. I'm the one that you're grafted
in electing grace into. I'm the vine, you're the branch. Without me, you can do nothing. All of your life comes from me.
You don't have the ability to do anything. You don't have the
ability to believe. You don't have the ability to
love. You don't have the ability to do anything. The only reason you
even still believe the gospel is because He just gave you faith
to believe. Faith cometh and cometh. We don't live, as I said, on
yesterday's faith. It cometh by hearing and hearing
and hearing. That's why it's so needful, so
needful to assemble ourselves together. Nothing takes the place
of public worship. Nothing. Public worship. Believers
come together. Where God's raised up a place,
you come together. You forsake that, you're disobedient.
Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the matter
of some is. These things. He told them, he
said, no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life
for his friends. And he said, you're my friends.
And the way you'll know that you're my friend because I've
made you one is because you do the things that I've commanded
you. I've given your heart to be obedient.
That's the only way you know. And that obedience is by the
grace of God. The greatest act of friendship,
mercy, and kindness that the Lord would show his people is
to redeem them. But especially, he's reminding
them of the world's hatred. He said, I'm going to tell you
something. The world hates you. But remember these things that
I've told you. It hated me before it hated you.
And here's the reason. that the world hates you. All these times we always hear
that you'll be hated for my sake, you'll be hated, you'll be hated.
Verse 19, John 15, 19. Here's the reason that the world
hates a believer. John 15, 19. If you were of the
world, the world would love his own. You know a man or woman
that believes that salvation is by their work. They love each
other. We're workers together. We're
earning our own righteousness together. If you were of the
world, the world would love his own, but because you're not of
the world, but I've chosen you out of the world. Therefore,
the world hateth you. This world hates God's right
to show mercy to whomsoever he will. This world hates God's
right to show mercy to one and to bypass another. And Almighty
God has the right. A man can call that unfair, he
can call it whatever he wants. God calls it unbelief. Because you believe not. You
would think that a man would hear what God had to say, Mitch,
and he'd believe that, but he don't. Don't. These things back in 16.1 have
I spoken unto you that you should not be offended. Now offended there doesn't mean
to be displeased or make you angry. It means these things have I
told you that you don't stumble, that you don't apostatize. that you don't falter. When these
things come about, these things have I spoken unto you, that
when they cross your path, you won't be ashamed of what
you believe. Won't be offended. You know,
Matthew 5.29 says, if I write, I offend thee. Pluck it out. If you're right, get a hand,
you know, fend you, cut it off. Now the Lord is not teaching
self-mutilation. What He's talking about there,
spiritually speaking, if there is something that causes you
to be entrapped that causes you to have scandal to yourself. If your right eye, something
that's precious to you, your eye, your hand, if there's something
that's precious to you, and that precious thing to you be found
to be an evil passion or something envied that takes the place of,
that tries to crowd out the worship of God, He said, get rid of it. Get rid of it. Put it away. I think I told some of you, Maurice
Montgomery told me years ago, he was going to put a piece of
ground he'd wanted for years and years and years where he
lived, somewhere in Kentucky where he lived. And he got a
chance to buy it. And he wanted that property.
He said, Marvin, I love that piece of property. I wanted it.
And he said the Lord had called him to go to Madisonville to
pastor. And he said, I walked around
that piece of property and cried. And he said, by the grace of
God, walked away from it. I'm telling you, Almighty God,
to his people, they're going to come to a point to where they're
going to have to make that call. If you're right eye offends you,
pluck it out. If there's anything that steals
you away from the worship of God, I thought about this scripture,
turn to Luke 14. This is what the Lord was talking
about in that thorny ground hearer. You know, the Word was sown in
thorny ground and look, these thorns, the cares of this world
started cropping up. And it says it choked the Word,
it crowded it out. Things become more important
than worship. The word became unprofitable.
Never was profitable to him to begin with, but it made manifest
that it had no profit there. Listen to this, Luke 14, 15,
24. One of them that sat at meat
with him heard these things. He said unto him, blessed is
he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Then said he
unto them, a certain man made a great supper, bade many This
great supper, here's the feasting of God's people that they have
with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what this is talking
about. He sent his servant at supper time, sent preachers out. Say to them that were bidding,
come, for all things are now ready. This is what we're doing,
we're preaching the gospel. And here's what we're saying
to men, come. Whosoever will, let him come.
Does anybody want to come? Anybody want to come? Now you
know and I know, man by nature won't. But you know what God's
going to do? In the day of His power, He's
going to give some a heart to come. And that's how you're going
to know, those that God's shown mercy to. Come for all things
are ready. And they, with one consent, began
to make excuse. The first one said to him, I
bought a piece of ground. I need to go and see it. I pray thee have me excused.
Another said, I bought five yoke of oxen. Go prove them. I pray thee have me excused.
Another said, I've married a wife. Therefore, I can come. That servant
came and showed his lord these things. The master of the house,
being angry, said to his servant, go out quickly into the streets,
lanes of the city, bringing hither the poor, the maimed, the haught,
the blind. I'm talking about those that
were in themselves, unworthies. And the servant said, Lord, it's
done as thou hast commanded, yet there's room. The Lord said
unto the servant, go out in the highways, hedges, compel them
to come in. My house may be filled, for I
say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste
of my supper. Man by nature has always got
something, got a reason why he can't worship God. He can't worship God. I'm just
too busy. I've just got too much stuff
to do. These things have I spoken unto
you that you should not be this way. I've warned you. I've told you that you should
not be offended, that you should not apostatize or be remiss in
duty. Back in John 16 verse 2, they
shall put you out of the synagogues. The day of the time cometh that
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God's service." The Lord's telling them, He said,
they're going to excommunicate you. They're not going to want
to have anything to do with you. They're going to tell you, you're
crazy, you're nuts. You believe that? Cut you off. They'll abandon you. He said, I've told you these
things that you don't be offended. You have a priest. You have an
advocate. You have a mediator. I've told
you these things that you don't walk away. And by the grace of
God, you won't. If you know him. If he called
you out of darkness, you're kept. He'll keep you. By the grace
of God, you'll be considered, I'll tell you this, a moral or
spiritual outlaw. They'll tell you, you're not
welcome where we are. The Lord said you come out from
among them. And you be separate, don't be offended. Yes, that
time's going to come, whoever kills you is going to think that
they do God a service. No length to what an unbeliever
won't do but for the restraining grace of God. He'll keep them. And they're sincere. I mean,
they believe this. It's not that they think, well,
I know I'm wrong. I'm going to just do it anyway.
No, sir. They believe it. They believe that one that believes
in the sovereign grace of God is a heretic. You're telling me that you're
going to limit God? Now what believer do you think
said, I think I'm a limited God? I'm just thankful God showed
mercy to anybody, especially to me. Acts 2, 26, 9, Paul said,
I barely thought with myself that I ought to do many things
contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. When he held the
coats of those that stoned Stephen, He said, I believed in my heart
that man's a heretic and deserves exactly what he's getting. Proverbs 29, 27, He that is upright
in the way is abomination to the wicked. The wicked says to those that
are righteous in the way, in God's way, in the Lord Jesus
Himself who is the way. The wicked say of them, you're
an abomination before God. I know I told some of you this.
I was pastor in a little church. I was in Louisiana. A free will
church. And the Lord during that period
of time, I can't even remember how long I was there, began to
teach me something. And I rejoiced in what I was
hearing. And I began to preach it. The
saying of God's grace, sovereign grace, that God would show mercy.
I thought they'd love it, but they didn't. And buddy, one Sunday
night, oh, buddy, I'm telling you, it flew to pieces. And I left that night and somebody
told me later they tore the sign down that had my name on it. I mean, it infuriated them. And
I thought, wow, that's what they wanted to do to me, I believe.
I think they did. These things that I told you,
that you be not offended. Verse 3, these things will they
do unto you because they've not known the Father, nor me. The Lord said in John 17 3, this
is life eternal that they may know thee. Not merely know that there is
a God, as I said before, the devils know that. Demons know
that. Demons believe. Demons believe that. but they
might know God Almighty is the sovereign God. God in heaven
and earth, God who does as He will, that they may know Thee,
the only true God, truthful God, the only truthful God, as opposed
to all other little g-gods that men make up in their minds who
are lies, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. Eternal life
is not a knowledge of religious facts. Eternal life is not knowing
five points of Calvinism. Somebody said, I came to the
doctrines of grace. Don't ever say that again. Just
scratch that one out. The Lord said, He that cometh
to me. He that cometh to me. These blessed truths, I love
the five points of Calvinism. Don't get me wrong, I love them.
I love them. But they set forth Him who has
revealed to me that I'm totally depraved. That God the Father
has unconditionally elected. That Christ particularly redeemed
His people. That the Spirit of God irresistibly
calls them out of darkness. And that God Almighty Father,
Son, Spirit keeps them. The Spirit of God seals them,
puts that stamp on them. Seal, that's what it means, sealed.
You know what it is? They're mine. Now we don't come
to the doctrines of grace, we come to Christ, of whom those
doctrines set forth His glory. Eternal life is to know Him. These things will they do unto
you because they've not known the Father nor me, but these
things have I told you that when the time shall come you may remember
that I told you of them. These things I said not unto
you at the beginning because I was with you." You know these things that he's
told us. There's some things that we've learned that God's
been pleased to tell us. He said, these things I've told
you, that when you're crossed with that temptation to not believe
them, I'm telling you right now, these things I've told you that
you don't apostatize. Brother Norm Wells was with us
last week. And he brought a newspaper and
showed it. I just made a little copy of
a portion of it. And I'm going to just read you
what was in the paper. This is all public knowledge.
I'm going to read this to you. You're not going to believe the
boldness of an unbeliever. I won't read it all to you. This
is talking about someone that says that they're a minister. And this is what this minister
says. I want a religion where I see
God as like me. It says this certain belief has
seven core beliefs, and here's what they are. Universal worth and dignity. It says what that means is we
don't do baptisms, we don't do original sin, We don't believe
it was necessary for Jesus to die on the cross to save us from
sin because we weren't born with sin. We were born holy. We were born blessed. Our Lord says, these things have
I told you, that you be not offended, that you don't apostatize. And
I'm telling you, there's people that will eat that up hook, line,
and sinker. Yeah, we don't do original sin.
We don't believe that Jesus had to die. These things I've told
you. These things have I told you
when the time shall come you may remember that I told you
of them. These things I said not unto
you at the beginning because I was with you. The Lord was
pleased, wisely, to not tell his disciples everything. You
know when you're raising kids, there's just certain things that
you don't need to tell them until the time comes. And you know,
you know, I mean, I had, you know, four. And I'm telling you,
all four of them, especially one of them, especially needed
extra instruction and got it. But I'm telling you there was
times that it just absolutely was necessary for me to withhold
some information. The easiest way to understand
that is this, don't go in the street. Why? Because I said I don't have to
explain everything to you. Our Lord wisely withheld some
things. He says, these things have I
told you that when the time shall come that you may remember that
I told you of them, these things I said not unto you at the beginning. because I was with you." There
were some things that the disciples were not told at the beginning
because the Lord was with them. The animosity that they were
going to have to endure was mainly when He was here was toward Him. The brunt of the hatred of this
world was toward the Lord Jesus Christ. And their tender hearts
were not ready to be told that thing. But now these things are
being told to strengthen their faith. I'm telling you this.
When the time shall come, you're going to be confronted with the
hatred that I'm confronted with. And little by little, He prepared
them and taught them. Taught them the truth. Taught
them of His sovereignty. and sends those trials according
to His good pleasure, teaches and keeps them. And then our Lord in verse 5
and 6 lovingly rebukes them, and we need to be rebuked. But
now I go my way to Him that sent me, and none of you asketh me,
whither goest thou? or because I have said unto you
these things, sorrow hath filled your heart." Now listen, that
was a loving rebuke. He told him that he was going
to die. He told him that he was going to the father. He told
him that he was going to be raised from the dead. He told him he
was going to return to heaven to prepare a place for him. He
told him that. I'm doing this to go and prepare
a place for you. And he said, and now I've told
you these things and none of you ask any question. None of you are inquiring why. You've heard what I said and
he said, and sorrow fills your heart. Do you know why? Because,
and he said, you love me, I know that. But sorrow has filled your
heart and how sadly we're taken up with the present. He was going
away, and they were concerned with their own selves. They'd
been with Him. Sorrows filled your heart. Oh,
how this flesh is dull to the great work of redemption. Let's
look at a few other verses of Scripture, and I'll close. 1 Corinthians 7. Let me show
you the attitude our Lord set forth. through the Apostle Paul. 1 Corinthians 7 verse 29-31. Paul says, under the inspiration
of God's Spirit, but this I say, brethren, the time is short.
It remaineth that both they which have wives be as though they
had none. He's not preaching his marriage, but an attitude. Listen to this. They that weep
as though they wept not. They that rejoice as though they
rejoice not, and they that buy as though they possess not, and
they that use this world as not abusing it, for the fashion of
this world is passing away." Here's what he's teaching, taught
his disciples this. I'm going away, sorrows filled
your heart. You haven't asked me anything
concerning. Walk in this world as if this
life is but a vapor. Don't walk in this world as though
we're going to be here forever, because we're not. But then in closing, he says
back in John 16 verse 7, nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient
for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you. If I depart, I will send Him
unto you. It is expedient for you that
I go. I know sorrow has filled your
heart. They would have had Him there for the rest of their lives. Can you imagine the comfort of
just being around Him? They knew who He was. That's
what Peter told them. He said, who do men say that
I am? Some say this prophet, some say, who do you say I am?
You're the Christ. You're God. And we've seen you,
touched you. We've handled you. That's what
John said. Handle the Word of Life. And he said, now sorrows
fill your heart, but it's expedient for you that I go away. I must go to the cross. If He did not go to the cross,
there'd be no blood to sprinkle. If He did not go to the cross,
their sin would not be put away. If He did not go to the cross
and die, The law and justice would not have been satisfied.
I must go away. God must be just that he might
justify the ungodly. If he doesn't redeem, there's
no redemption, no salvation, no foundation of
hope, no righteousness to robe us in. There's no comfort at
all. It is expedient for you that
I go away, but if I depart, I will send the Comforter. I will send
Him. That blessed Comforter. That
Comforter that even now teaches us this Word right now. These
things have I told you. that you be not offended, that
you not apostatize, that you not fall away. He keeps us by
His Word, through faith, and the Spirit of God, even now,
teaches us all these things. Holy Spirit, teach us afresh
for Christ's sake. Amen.