To see you this morning. Sorry,
Gary. Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the gospel according to John chapter 5. John chapter
5. I would like for us to continue
in our study. And we'll begin in verse 21.
But before we start, let's ask our Lord's blessing. Our Father, how we realize this
morning the wonder, the marvel of being able to meet together
in the blessed, holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ, God Himself
in our nature, Lord, would You bless the Word,
help us, teach us, oh, according to Your good pleasure, for Christ's
sake. Amen. The last time we looked in this
book, the Lord Jesus Christ had set forth to the Jews the truth of His deity, of His
oneness with the Father in the government of this world, in
the will and the knowledge and the redemption and the salvation
of His sheep. But after He had told those Pharisees,
those Jews, those precious things, He said something in the last
verse that we looked at, verse 20. And he said this at the end
of verse 20. He said, speaking of the Father,
He will show him, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, greater works
than these that you may marvel. Greater works. Greater works,
obviously, than the healing of that impotent man at the Pool
of Bethesda. Greater works than those works
that he had already explained, that he himself has in common. Greater works. greater in splendor
and majesty." Now, you know, we would never
speak of anything that our Lord had done as being lesser or not
as significant. We would never insinuate. But according to His Word, and
that's the only thing we've got, He said, greater works than these
that ye may marvel. I looked at that word marvel.
And it's not a word that necessarily means to appreciate. It could. It could mean appreciate. It means to behold with wonder
and amazement. It could mean to look at it and
to behold it with thankfulness, but not necessarily. It means
to behold with amazement. Now they had, these Jews, they
had marveled. They looked at that with an amazing
eye. When the Lord Jesus Christ healed
this impotent man, they marveled. Turn over to John 7.21. This
is the Lord Jesus Christ from the time that we looked at it
in John 5 until right now. There's no recorded scripture
that says He performed any other miracle. So between John 5 when
He healed the impotent man and this statement right here in
John 7, 21, Jesus answered and said to them, I've done one work
and you marvel. So they looked, they marveled
at the healing of that impotent man. But now the Lord Jesus Christ
says that the Father is going to show Him Now you know that as God, nothing
would ever be shown. The Son. God the Son. But as the Son of Man, and here's
a marvel, that we behold the Son of Man, God Himself showing
Him. I marvel at the Scripture when
the Scripture says He grew increased in wisdom, in stature, in favor
with God and man. I read that Scripture and I say,
Lord, as You say, it is, it is. Here's an amazing thing. The
Lord Jesus Christ is going to set forth greater works than
what they had beheld. And I'll be the first to admit,
you see somebody that's healed. I'm not talking about these little
quacks on television and they go through the rigmarole and
this, that and the other. I'm talking about dead raised,
blind that see, lame that walk. I'm talking about truly miracles,
but the greater works. Now listen to these. Here is
the Lord and let's read verses 21-22. For as the Father raiseth
up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom
He will. For the Father judgeth no man,
but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. The Jews were no
different than anybody else. When it comes to the resurrection,
when it comes to regeneration, when it comes to the final judgment,
those things are not insignificant to anybody. All men are going
to find a place and all men are going to marvel in those things. Either in a way of mercy that
God has shown them in Christ, They will look at it. This thing
of marveling, it doesn't set forth or mean that we understand
the fullness of it. Explain to me regeneration. We can say everything that the
Scripture sets forth about it, but the marvel of the new birth,
the marvel of two natures, actual men in one being. We marvel at that. We thank God. We praise Him. We wonder at the amazement of
that thing. The Lord says, For as the Father
raises up the dead and quickens them. Now let me tell you what
we know from that first of all. Absolutely, we know. that men
are sinners. Men are born spiritually dead
and obviously finally are physically going to die too. He sets forth
a truth that he knows that they at least claim to believe. Most of them believed They say,
in the resurrection. Martha believed that. You remember
when the Lord came and they said, Lord, he whom thou lovest is
sick. That's an amazing statement to
me. They didn't appeal to their desire. Lord, would you come
here and heal him? They didn't say that. They appealed. to the love of God. Lord, He
whom Thou lovest is sick. I'm going to leave it in Your
hands." Boy, that's faith, isn't it? The Lord told Martha, He said,
Your brother will rise again. Oh, I know he'll rise in the
resurrection. He said, Martha, I am the resurrection.
There is going to be a resurrection in the last day, in which all
men are going to stand before God Almighty in judgment. But our Lord, according to His
Word, said this, that resurrection, raised at the dead, quickened
at them, that's one thing that He said men are going to marvel
at. That's one of those greater works than that physical healing
that He had displayed in that impotent man. Men are going to
marvel, some in the truth or the reality of the actual experience
of God's mercy. Now, I realize that we are way
over our head right here. But I know according to God's
Word that there is coming a day in which all men are going to
be raised from the dead. I know that. Some will be raised
in the marvel that Almighty God has been merciful to me. I have
actually come out of that ground. And I am actually now in a state
of realization Some are going to marvel at this thought. What now? Now what? They're going to realize they
already had, because I'm telling you, the moment a man or woman
leaves this world, the moment they leave this world, this life, they're going to realize right
then, without Christ, I have made an eternal error. All of a sudden, everything that
they ever heard concerning the glory of God's grace in Christ,
they'll never forget it. They will never, never, never. And it will be, that will be,
at which fans the flames, I'm convinced, when the Lord said
it's going to be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than it
will be for you because of the mighty things that you've witnessed
and you've heard. Oh, think about men and women
that have sat under the gospel and have heard the truth. It will be more tolerable for
those that never heard the truth than it will be for those that
did." Light that is shunned. Light
that is rejected. Men are going to be quickened
and raised out of that ground. I'm convinced of that. That's
a marvel. Men will marvel at that. Marvel at the mercy of
Almighty God or marvel at the wonder What's going to happen
to me now? But listen to what also, for
as the Father raises up the dead and quickeneth them, even so
the Son quickeneth whom He will. There's another, there's a different
resurrection. It's that first resurrection.
The resurrection actually of regeneration. That's the first
resurrection that Revelation speaks of. Even so, the Son quickeneth
whom He will sovereign. Oh, the marvel of quickening
grace. The regenerate beholds that even
right now. The regenerated sinner. He hears
the message of God's sovereign grace. He hears it. And he looks
upon it and he realizes, but for the grace of God, where would
I be? If God Almighty left me in rebellion,
left me in darkness, where would I be? I would still be looking
at myself and thinking of myself. as being one that had merited
salvation before Almighty God. God's people, they marvel at
regeneration. But then the unregenerate, he
beholds it, he hears the message of regeneration, of grace, He
hears the message of God's sovereign right. Listen to what the Lord
Jesus Christ is saying. For as the Father raiseth up
the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom
He will. He quickens according to purpose. The unregenerate Here's that. And let me tell you where. Let
me tell you where men are going to bow up against God's Gospel. Whenever they realize that you're
saying that God is sovereign in electing grace, predestinating
grace, quickening grace, that's where they're going to say, now,
whoa, wait a minute. Whoa! That's where they're going
to bow up. And I've got God's Word on this.
I want you to turn to John 10. I'm going to prove this to you.
Let me show you why. John 10, verse 22. Now listen,
when our Lord begins to make a distinction, listen what happens
when God begins to make a distinction. It was at Jerusalem, the Feast
of the Dedication, it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple
in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about
Him and said unto Him, How long dost Thou make us to doubt? If
Thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you,
and ye believe not. The works that I do in My Father's
name, they bear witness of Me. But ye believe not, because ye
are not of My sheep. As I said unto you, My sheep
hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them
Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out
of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." Then
the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Why? Because they said, you're making
yourself be God. You're making yourself to be
sovereign. You're saying that you, as your
Father, you claim, that's how they, you're saying that you
have a chosen people. You're saying that God elects
a people. You're saying that God has the
right to quicken whom He will. The Lord Jesus Christ said back
in John 5, the Son quickeneth whom He will. And, buddy, when He said that,
they bowed up. You ask yourself this. Why would
a man not bow and say, God have mercy on me? Why would he not? Because except for the grace
of God, man hates God. Hates Him. This greater work,
the work, the wonder of the resurrection, The wonder of regeneration in
the hand of a sovereign God. Listen, men can't regenerate
themselves. Men cannot do anything that's
going to merit salvation. Men are dead. At that tomb of
Lazarus when the Lord commanded that one that had been dead for
four days to come forth, what did He exhibit? Resurrecting
power. Whenever the Lord says in Matthew
9, 9, as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man named Matthew
sitting at the receipt of custom, and He saith unto him, Follow
Me. And what happened? He arose and followed Him. What
happened when God called you? Do you know where God, by and
large, calls men? What He calls them out of? False
religion. False religion. false, man-centered,
self-righteous religion. Oh, physical healing. I know
that that's a thing to be marveled at, but a greater work in form
and blessing is revealed in regeneration and in the resurrection. The
Lord said you're going to marvel. Marvel. All life is from God
Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ, It's good. Then the second thing
that he said that they would marvel at, that greater work,
was verse 22, For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed
all judgment unto the Son. In the complete honoring of the
Son, the Father has given the office of judge to The son, the
son of man. Look at verse 27 in John 5. It
says, well, let's read verse 26. For as the father hath life
in himself, so hath he given to the son to have life in himself,
and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because
he is the son of man. Not that the father would be,
let's see, absent. in the work of judgment. The
Lord Jesus Christ said in John 10, 38, the Father is in me and
I in Him. The Lord Jesus Christ as the
Son of Man is the obedient servant of Jehovah. He is the one to
whom men must come as the way to the Father. Christ, the Son
of Man, We're going to stand before the
God-man. All men are going to stand before
the man, Christ Jesus. He is the judge. He is the rightful
judge. He is the one man that has obeyed
God. He is the one man, God-man, Son
of Man. He is the one man. That Almighty
God, Jehovah, said, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well
pleased. Hear Him. Look to Him. Kiss Him. To forsake Him. And I know what men say. I'm
not forsaking Him. They say, I love Him. I love
the Lord. I love the Lord. I've given my
heart to Him. I trust Him. I pray to Him. Let me ask you this, when you
say you love him, do you love him as the sovereign? Do you
love him as God Almighty, made flesh, who has the right, who
has declared himself to be sovereign in electing, redeeming, and quickening
grace? Do you love him? Do you love Him as He set forth
in the Scriptures who died that He is the one? I'm not talking
about now if you tell me that I believe in the Jesus that died
for everybody to make salvation possible. I believe in Him. I believe that every man has
a chance. That's not the Christ that I'm talking about. You've
got somebody else. I'm not talking about Him. I'm
talking about the One who laid down His life for the sheep.
I'm talking about God Almighty that redeemed His people on purpose and bore their guilt in His own
body and stood in absolute judgment before God Almighty for them
and put away their guilt. I'm talking about the One who
said, I give unto them eternal life. They'll never perish. That's
who I'm talking about. Now, if you're talking about
anybody else, I'm not talking about the same one. If you're
talking about trusting a Jesus that is trying or one that wants
to or something, then we're not talking about the same person.
This is the one I'm talking about. This is the one Scripture says
forth. To forsake Him is to forsake
God. And it's also to forsake the
one who is the judge. Now, you think about this. Let
God be true. Never man a liar. We're going
to stand before this judge. And in that day, oh, the marvel
of grace and mercy and the marvel also of those that rejected Him. Acts 10.42 says, And he commanded
us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is he
which was ordained of God to be the judge of the quick and
the dead. If you know that you're going
to stand before a judge, I've had different people at one time
come up and they're going to have a court date. And I've heard different ones
say, I heard one say one time, I tell you what, I don't want
to get this judge. I don't want that one. I'd like to avoid that
one. You know why? More than likely,
he's got a record of being the most honest, the most fair, the
most to the law. I'd rather get one that kind
of leans the other way. I'd rather get one that's kind
of leaning one way or the other. The Scripture says forth, He's
going to judge this world in absolute righteousness. Can you
imagine standing before God and every infraction against Almighty
God in word, thought and deed is not under the blood? And if
it's not under the blood, to answer for it? God Almighty, the Scripture says
forth, He hath committed all judgment unto the Son. He is
our judge. And when we talk about our judge,
you take a judge that looks at the evidence, and there's no
evidence whatsoever of an infraction against God's law or against
the law of the land, and that judge says, this is my judgment.
I'm guilty. He made a judgment. And in closing, here's the reason,
verse 23, that all men should honor the Son even as they honor
the Father. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not the Father which has sent Him. Honoring the Son. Honoring the Son of God Almighty. Honoring the Son of Man. God-Man. Honoring Him as He is declared
to be is to honor the Father and to honor the Spirit. God Himself tri-unity. He is going to be approached
and exalted and honored by absolute holiness. Isn't it amazing how
men think even now? Because they've heard all these
times, Merciful. He is merciful. God is holy. And God's mercy will not be shown
at the extent or at the exclusion, I'm sorry, of His holiness, His
righteousness. God Almighty is a just God and
a Savior. God Himself must be satisfied. There is one that has satisfied
Him, His precious Son. The precious Son is the one that
the Father has committed all judgment. When we stand before
God Almighty, when we behold Him, here is the grand question. What do you think of Him? What
do you think of the Son? What think you of Christ? Only the Lord Jesus Christ. Only
in Him. The only one that has pleased
God, the only one whose righteousness robes a man that God Almighty
is going to accept, kiss Him. Any man that tells you that there
is a Christ that is not set forth this way, he is a deceiver. He is a liar. This is the only
message that God is going to bless to the salvation of His
elect. There is no other message. Men
will say, do you mean to say that God Himself will not save
a man under any other message except the gospel of free grace?
That's exactly what I'm saying. Don't ever misinterpret that
I mean that men can be saved under another gospel. God will
not bless it. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the Gospel of God. It is the power of God unto salvation. If a man or an angel preaches
any other Gospel unto you than that which we've preached, let
him be accursed. There's one message that God's
going to bless. May God bless this message to the salvation
of His elect. and the comfort of his people,
for Christ's sake. Amen.