And turn to the book of John,
chapter 2. John, chapter 2. I want to ask the Lord's blessing
in a moment, but I want to share this with you so that you can
have this thought in your mind as we pray together and look
at God's Word together. Going through the book of John, I try to look ahead just a little
bit and go over some Scriptures and make some preparation on
messages a few weeks in advance. It helps me to look and to consider
and pray about and look at the Lord is saying. And I looked
at this passage of Scripture. I want to look at John 2, verse
12. One passage of Scripture. And
as I began looking on it, on that Scripture, I looked at it
and reading on some of the commentaries and different things, I tried
to look and glean what the Lord has taught other men. Most of the writers said that
this was just like a transition verse. It was just like a parenthesis
from when the Lord made water into wine until he cleansed the
temple, which is what follows this particular verse. Just a kind of a thought, kind
of a, you know, that's kind of how it was set set across. And
I began to think on that passage of scripture. And the more I
looked at that passage of scripture, what appears to be just kind
of a passing thought. That's the scriptures you ought
to look at, especially. where it is not apparent what
is being said. And so this morning, as we look
at chapter 2 and verse 12, I pray that the Lord is pleased to bless
this passage to our heart. Let's read verse 12 and then
have a word of prayer. John 2.12. After this, He went
down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brethren and His
disciples And they continued there not many days. Let's pray
together. Our Father, it's so good to be
here. And Lord, how wonderful it is
to even stop for just a minute and think that we have the blessed
privilege to hear the Word of God. and to have a heart that
hears the Word of God, and to have a mind that has been created
from above that loves Your Word. Lord, would You bless this Word,
our heart, and cause us to truly hear and to rejoice in that which
we see, and behold the glory of our blessed Savior. In His
name we pray, Amen. I go back often to this Scripture
that says all Scripture, 2 Timothy 3.16, all Scripture is profitable
for doctrine. That means we know what we know. and what we believe and what
we teach, we know that by God's Word. Profitable for doctrine? Profitable for reproof? That
means the evidence. How can you prove what you believe? The Word of God. God's Word. It's profitable for correction? I like this. This is what correction
means. To straighten up. Straighten
up. And for instruction in righteousness. For tutoring. All Scripture. Now I know this. I know that John 2.12 is profitable. And I would pray
this morning that God would teach us something. There's four things
that I believe, that I can see, and I pray that the Lord's pleased
to truly bear to our hearts out of this passage of Scripture.
Now, I know this. We read Scripture and we compare
Scripture to Scripture. Scripture bears witness of itself. So in these four things, I'm
going to show you some other Scripture that bears out what
I'm saying concerning this Word. Four truths. Here's what I know. First of all, based on that Scripture,
after this He went down to Capernaum. I know that Almighty God is faithful,
faithful to His Word, and He is merciful. After this, He went
down to Capernaum. Now, the fact that our Lord went
to Capernaum is a miracle of God's grace. I know that. Well, you say, well, how do you
know it? Well, it's because His coming to this city proved His
deity in the fulfillment of what the Word of God said He would
do. Now, I want you to turn to Matthew
4. Now, our Lord went to Capernaum
many times. And this particular passage of
Scripture I'm going to show you a fulfillment. Matthew 4, verse 13, And leaving
Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the
sea coast in the borders of Zebulun and Nephthilim, that it might
be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
The land of Zebulun and the land of Nephilim by the way of the
sea beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles." Now you say, well,
what do you mean? That particular event right there,
Scripture says in verse 12, is when the Lord had heard that
John was cast into prison, He departed and went to Galilee.
He went to Capernaum many times, but the fact that He went to
Capernaum, is the fact that I'm setting forth. Now, let me tell
you, look in Isaiah 9, Isaiah 9-1, Isaiah chapter 9. You know, somebody might say, well,
why is it, why are you making such a big deal out of him going
down to this city? What's the, what's the, what's
the, part of this that you are trying to stress is that all
Scripture bears out His deity. Now, had He not gone to Capernaum
and not fulfilled this one Scripture, His deity would have been shown
to be that which is not consistent. Isaiah 9.1 says this, Nevertheless,
the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation when at
the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land
of Nephthali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by
the way of the sea beyond Jordan and Galilee of the nations. The
people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. that
they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death upon them
hath the light shined." Isaiah said hundreds of years before,
the Lord is going to go to Capernaum. He is going to come to this place.
He is going to dwell in that place. They are going to see
a great light. It is going to shine in darkness. And here back in John, It says
after this, He went down to Capernaum. Capernaum, just like all men
in darkness, must have Him come. No man comes to Him. The Lord Himself must come to
those that He has everlastingly loved. So here I see in Him coming
to Capernaum that the Lord Jesus Christ is faithful. Faithful. Isaiah said he will come to Capernaum. He's going to come. Here the
scripture says he did go down. Rest assured, what Almighty God
has said he's going to do, he's going to do. We're sitting here
this morning, and I promise you this, when he says, all that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, you can rest assured it's
going to happen. Every man, every woman that does
not bow and kiss the Son, God's angry. Rest assured, God's Word
is sure. So I know in that little scripture
right there, as if he went down to Capernaum, praise the Lord,
God Almighty is consistent. He's merciful. Here's the second
thing I know. He went down to Capernaum, he
and his mother and brother and his disciples, and they continue
there. Not many days. Knowing that He
went down, and this is what I meant a while ago when I said Scripture
bears out Scripture. I know for a fact that He went
down to Capernaum. Going down to Capernaum, I know
that the Scripture says that the Lord said of Himself, I do
always only those things that please my Father. I know that
he went there to preach. I know that they heard. The Scripture
says in Isaiah that the light shined in darkness. This is what I also know about
him going there, that men are responsible for what they hear
or what they could have heard. He went down to Capernaum. The Scripture says back in Matthew
and then in Isaiah, the people which sat in darkness saw a great
light. I know that there were some of
God's people there. I know that many people heard.
But many that heard him preach refused to hear what he said. They refused to bow. They refused
to continue after Him. I'm going to prove that to you.
Turn to John 6.56. Now, the Lord went down to Capernaum. That
we know. John 6.56. John 6.56 says this, He that
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and
I in him, as the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the
Father. So he that eateth me, even he
shall live by me. This is that bread which came
down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna, and are
dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live forever." These
things said he in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum. And many, therefore, of his disciples,
when they had heard this, they said, This is a hard saying.
Who can hear it? Look at verse 65. And he said,
Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me, except
it were given unto him of my Father. Now what he did right
there, he's in Capernaum. He went down to Capernaum. And
he preached in Capernaum. And he set forth, back in those
first verses, that He's the bread. He that eateth of me, eateth
of my life, eateth of my death, He's going to live by me. He
taught those things while He was in the synagogue there in
Capernaum. Many of them said, that's a hard saying. This thing of your sovereignty. From that time, verse 66, many
of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him. If any man comes to Christ by
faith, he comes as a result of Almighty God powerfully creating
life within that man. He is willing to come in the
day of God's power. He comes because The Lord has
given him a heart to come. Coming to Christ is absolutely
the work of God Almighty. No man can come. I told you, someone asked me
one time, they said, what if someone truly wants to come and
God doesn't draw them? I said, they won't. They won't
come. He will not come. No man can
come. No man can come except God Almighty
give him a heart. I know this. The Scripture says
he went down to Capernaum. The Scripture says that while
he was in Capernaum, he preached. He sent forth himself, the Messiah,
the bread of heaven, and he told him, No man can come except my
Father which has sent me, draw him." And while he was in Capernaum, they said, that's a hard saying.
Who could hear it? Some of them left. They were
responsible for what they heard or what they could have heard. Almighty God raises up a place
where the gospel of free grace is preached. Men say, well, I
didn't hear you could have. You could have. A man refuses because he chooses
to refuse. That's the reason that men don't
come to Christ. They don't want to. The Lord looked down from heaven
upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand
and seek God. They are all gone aside. They
are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. No man will. No man can. Salvation is of the Lord. Almighty
God is not trying to do anything. He doeth as He will in the army
of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth. No man stays his
hand. Men are responsible for what
they heard, what they could have heard. He went down to Capernaum. I think about what our Lord said
in Matthew 11, 23, 24, in thou Capernaum. which are exalted unto heaven
shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which
have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have
remained unto this day. But I say unto you that it shall
be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment
than for thee." Here's the third thing I know
from that passage of Scripture. The Lord makes manifest His people.
And you say, well, how do you get that? After this, he went
down to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brethren and his
disciples. You say, well, it just sounds
like all of them were with him. He and his brethren, his mother,
his brethren and his disciples. Now I will tell you this, we
never attempt to stray from the revelation of God's truth. But there is something found
within this verse that is borne out to be so concerning the Scriptures. Matthew 12. I want you to turn
to Matthew 12, verse 46. While he yet talked to the people,
behold, his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak
with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy
brethren stand without desiring to speak with thee. But he answered
and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother and who are
my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand
toward his disciples and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren. Whosoever shall do the will of
my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, my sister,
and my mother." Now, I'm going to tell you something, and I
want you to understand that every time you see a word, don't assume
that you always know what it means. Look it up. Whenever there's
a word found in God's holy Scriptures, If the evidence is not found
concerning what that person is described to be, if the evidence
of it is not found, then that word does not necessarily mean
what you think it might. Let me show you what I'm talking
about. He said, he used two words here. He used brethren and he
used disciples, and in that sense, Both of those words, both of
those titles, brethren, disciples, was evidenced by this. Verse 50, Whosoever shall do
the will of my Father which is in heaven. True faith is evidenced by faithfulness. True faith is evidenced by faithfulness. The Lord described brethren,
disciples as being those that follow Him, that obey Him, that
walk after Him. I want you to turn back to John
where we just were, John 6. John 6, verse 64. Now, here's a word. He just used a
word over Matthew. Brethren and disciples, those
that do the will of my Father, believe Him. That's the will
of the Father. This is the will of my Father
which is sent me. Believe in Christ. Trust in Christ.
Kiss the Son. That's the evidence of God's
will. Now listen to John 6, 64 to 66. For there are some of you that
believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were that believed not and who should betray Him. And
He said, Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto
Me except it were given unto him of My Father. From that time
many of His disciples went back and walked no more
with Him." Disciples means a learner. a learner. He said, well, I thought
that he said that there were brethren and disciples. Yes,
and he described them and he gave evidence of who those were
that were truly his sheep. He that doeth the will of my
Father. Here's some followers right here. That's what disciples
mean. A follower. that heard what He said and went
back and walked no more with Him." How do you know who God's sheep are? They remain. They stay. The Scripture says they went
out from us because they were not of us. Had they been of us,
surely they would have remained. The Lord Jesus Christ, back in
John 2.12, He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brethren
and His disciples. There were some that were following
Him for a while. But I know this, that those that
Almighty God has given the Lord Jesus Christ in everlasting and
eternal grace and election, they stay. They're faithful. They don't
leave. God's people do not leave. Let me ask you this, you that
believe. Where would you go? Where would
you go? Knowing that our blessed Savior
chose twelve apostles and one of them was the devil. He said
that. He chose twelve. Why would there be some walking
with Him going down to Capernaum? We're not told. We're not told
who the brethren were, who His disciples were. We're not told.
And where the Spirit of God is silent, the Spirit of God is
silent. I'm not here. to try to figure
out who they were. All I'm telling you is that there
were some that were brethren and there were some that were
disciples. How do you know the difference? Those that are His,
whether they be disciples that follow Him truthfully or whether
they be tares that follow Him for a while, they're both described
in the Scripture as disciples. Why? Why are they there? Listen to this. 1 Corinthians
11, 19, For there must be also heresies among you, that they
which are approved may be made manifest among you. Almighty
God in the indescribable wisdom of God has allowed Satan to plant
in the midst of his sheep, tares. Remember when the disciples in
that parable said, oh, you want us to go in there and rip the
tares out? No. Leave them alone. You don't know who the tares
are. You don't know who the sheep are either. You say, well, I
got a pretty good idea. No, you don't. No, you don't. We think we know. You think,
well, I tell you what, I just don't see how. I mean, there's
some people that I know. I know. I just I just know for
a fact I know they would never leave. No, you don't. No, you
don't. I'll tell you this, but for the
grace of God, this will be the last time I stand right here.
But for the grace of God, you say, I can't believe there is
no way that you would ever convince me that Marvin would ever leave.
Don't you kid yourself. I've got a nature. that I walk
around in, and I'm gone all the time. I'm standing here this
morning by the grace of God. Almighty God, He went down, the
Scripture says, He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother
and His brethren and His disciples. I know this. In that Scripture,
I know this, God's faithful. He's faithful to His Word. I know this, he's going to make
manifest his people. I know that. I know he's going
to keep them. And I know this in closing. I
know that this life is but a vapor. Scripture says, and they continued
there not many days. Think back now on how short a
time The Lord was here in his earthly ministry. He was
33, somewhere in that 33-year-old range. His earthly ministry was
somewhere around three years. I don't know how long he was
in Capernaum. I don't know how long the Scripture
says that he was there. He continued there not many days.
that he was there was by the grace of God. That he was there
was a fulfillment of Scripture. That he was there left men without
excuse because he preached while he was there. While he was there,
he manifested that there were some that followed him and they
weren't truly his. He told them there in Capernaum.
He was preaching in Capernaum. They heard that. But he wasn't
there that long. They continued there not many
days. We don't have any promise of
tomorrow. We have no promise of tomorrow. You don't have a promise that
you're going to make it the rest of the day. I can tell you this. You don't
have a promise that you're going to be here in the next 15 minutes.
You say, how do you know? I know. Psalm 90, verse 12, So
teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts
unto wisdom. Teach us, not our months, not
our weeks, not our years. Teach us to number our days. that we may apply our hearts
unto Christ. Lord, I'm just a frail creature of
dust. Help me today. Lord, while these
wonderful truths are set forth from your Scriptures, help me
to hear. Help me to perceive. Help me
to learn. Lord, comfort my heart according to Your blessed truth.
We're just sojourners here. It's gone. It's gone. Isaiah 55, 6 says, Seek ye the
Lord while He may be found. Call ye upon Him while He's near. I was driving down the road,
turned into Barrickville the other day. I noticed a little
plaque on the side of the road there. It said, Barrickville. Established 1767. 1767. Somewhere
around 1954, 55, something like that, God was pleased to raise up a preacher. Now this town had been here established
in 1767. And somewhere around early 50s,
54, 55, 53, somewhere, the Lord was pleased to call out a preacher,
raised up a candlestick. And this candlestick, as far
as I know, A hundred and ninety years, somewhere,
a hundred and eighty-seven, a hundred and ninety, I tried to do the
math, just close to a hundred and ninety years passed before
God was pleased to raise up a preacher in this city, this little town. Now, you say, but that, since
the mid-fifties, man, that's been over fifty-something years. He continued there not many days.
in light of eternity. How long do you think 50-something
years is in light of eternity? Just a moment? Just a vapor? Just an instant? God Almighty allowed the Gospel
of Christ to be placed in Katy, West Virginia. And He continues here not many
days. Now listen, we have the blessed
privilege to hear the gospel of God's grace. There are some
of you sitting here that in the infinite mercy of Almighty God,
God placed you where you could hear the truth and gave you a
heart to believe it. Now let me ask you something.
Who maketh thee to differ? Behold, 2 Corinthians 6.2, now
is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. After this, he went down to Capernaum,
he and his mother and his brethren and his disciples, and they continued
not there many days. May the Lord teach us and comfort
us for the sake of His blessed Son and for the good of His people.
Amen. Let's take about a 10 minute
break.