if you would, to the Gospel according
to John chapter 1. I told Brother Neal after he
finished, I said that message was a blessing to me. He started with Christ. He ended
with Christ. And Christ was all in the middle.
You can preach no better message than that. Thank you. John chapter 1. Let's pick up.
where we left off. Let's ask the Lord's blessing. Our Father, we are again thankful. Thankful for a time that we can
come together and we can assemble. Lord, we do need to eat. Evermore
give us this bread. Cause us to hear. Cause us to
feast. Lord, I pray for the church down
in Sylacauga. I pray for Tommy. Lord, this
morning as they meet together, Lord, bless that assembly there
as You bless the places where You've raised up faithful preachers. Comfort Your people, we ask for
Christ's sake. Amen. We looked a few weeks ago how
the Lord found Philip. And he called Philip. And Philip
found Nathanael and he told him that they had found the promised
Messiah. The Old Testament always spoke
of Christ. And believers saw that. They
knew that. They realized, just like his
brother Neil was talking about, the manna. It was a picture. They ate. They feasted. They enjoyed. Brother Gary and
I were just talking a minute ago. He said something that he
said he thought about when Brother Neil was preaching, talking about
that Omer when he filled it up. Where are you going from there?
It's full. How do you add to that? You don't
add to that. We feast on Him who is the fullness. of the Godhead bodily. Here the Lord, He called out
some of His own. And Philip was talking to Nathanael. Philip told him, he said, we
found Him that Moses spoke of. Nathanael questioned Philip's
statement there, he said, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? And Philip answered so wisely,
Just come and see. Just come. We never are afraid
to invite others to make proof of what we preach. Come see. Let's take the Word of God, let's
open God's Word, and let's look to see what God has to say about
it. We don't have anything to conceal.
These things are not done in a secret place. We're not hiding
anything. We boldly proclaim Christ, God's
salvation. Obviously, provenient grace caused
Nathanael to do just exactly what Philip had suggested. Come
see. And so let's pick up verse 47. Last week I took this verse of
Scripture, verse 48, where Nathanael said, Whence knowest thou me?
And I spoke on that. Whence knowest thou me? I'm going
to start back in 47 again, and we'll go through until the end
of the chapter. It says, verse 47, Jesus saw
Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite
indeed, in whom is no guile. Jesus saw Nathanael coming. Oh, the preciousness to believe
and to behold by faith that which the Lord has eternally purposed. Now, there's some that sit here
today that I'm convinced God's called out of darkness. I pray I'm one of them. And here's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Two or three are gathered together in His name. And He said, I'm
in the midst of you. And He sees. He sees us coming
to Him. That's what we're doing this
morning. He that cometh to Me. Now, I'm not talking about when
you walk down an aisle. I'm not talking about when you
first believe. I'm talking about right now.
You're coming right now. Just like I mentioned a few minutes
ago, we heard some messages last weekend. And when you heard those
messages, the messages of life and Christ, you hear that and
you think, I want to come to Him. I want
to come to Him right now. I want to come to Him in my heart. Lord, I come this morning by
faith that you've given me." And the Lord saw Nathanael coming
to him. The Lord had always loved this
man. I know, I know that Nathanael
believed him, trusted him. I know that because the Lord
I said that in verse 50. I'll tell you that right now
before we ever get there. I know we trusted Him. But the
Lord saw this man coming. He had seen Him from the foundation
of the world. The Father had given this man
to the Lord Jesus Christ in that eternal election. And in that
covenant of grace, The Lord Jesus Christ knew that in time He would
come into this world, the Word made flesh, that He'd see Him. There may be somebody here today that doesn't yet know Him. Perhaps, perhaps it's one of
His sheep. Perhaps they're sitting here
and they're here because maybe it's the thing to do. Maybe your
mom and dad told you you're coming today. Maybe you know that this
is Sunday. You've got to go to church. Who knows? The Lord may be pleased
to call out one of His own. He sees you coming. As of yet,
maybe he hasn't spoken in effectual, powerful, calling grace, effectual
grace. But when he says, follow me, you're coming. In that day, he'll
make you willing in the day of his power. And he'll give you
a new heart. And he'll give you faith. to
believe what He has already done. Not that your faith was what
prompted Him to save you. No, no, no. Who has saved us and called us. Salvation is of the Lord. We
saw Nathanael coming, and he sees all of his people. doing
just exactly what He's eternally purposed for them to do. Now,
you mull over that fact. I love, I've heard Brother Scott
say this, who's running this show anyway? Who's running this
place? Who's got this whole world, you
know, under His authority? Who does as He will in the army
of heaven? and among the inhabitants of
who? He does. He does. The Lord saw him coming. And the Scripture says that the
Lord said, Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile. Now, let me ask you this. No
guile, no deceit, no craftiness. Does that mean that he was without
sin? No. It doesn't mean he was without
sin in himself. But I will tell you this, though
this man was a true descendant after the flesh of the stock
of Abraham, that's not what the Lord referred to. He was a human
being that in lineage of His daddy and his daddy and his daddy
and his daddy and his daddy, back to Abraham. But you remember
this, for they are not all Israel which are of Israel. Just because
they were born in the lineage, the natural humanistic lineage
of Abraham, did not make them true Israel, spiritual Israel. No. This one, was a child of
promise. And he had no guile in him, only
in the sense that the Lord Jesus Christ saw in himself, in Christ. That which is born of God sinneth
not. Only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Here was one, this is what the
Lord said. I see you in me and being found
in him, not as Nathanael stood in himself, but as he stood accepted
in the beloved. How will we stand before him
in that day? How will we stand before God
Almighty at the great white throne? All men are going to stand before
God. How are we going to stand before God Almighty in the day
of absolute judgment? How? Accept it in the beloved. Well done. Well, you say, yeah,
but that's in the day of judgment. No, not just in the day of judgment. Romans 8 and 1 says, "...there
is therefore now no condemnation to them that be in Christ Jesus."
None. He is our surety. He is our federal head. He is
our Savior. He has put away our guilt, robed
in His righteousness, Behold an Israelite in whom is no deceit,
no craftiness, no guise, only as being viewed in him." The
Apostle Paul says, and here's where we struggle. I don't mean
we don't struggle believing this. That's not what I mean. I mean,
we've got an old nature that struggles against the new nature.
And they're contrary one to the other. We fight and we war. Neil mentioned this this morning,
we began our day asking the Lord, help us, guide us. I can't even read scriptures. I don't even know how to read.
Lord, would you help me before I ever start reading? Would you
help me? Would you speak to me? I found
myself so many times just reading something and all of a sudden
I read it and I thought, I need to go back and read the last
three or four verses that I just read. Where was I? No guile? Oh, to be found in
Him. Nathanael, verse 48, saith unto
him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto
him, Before that Philip called thee when thou wast under the
fig tree, I saw thee." Oh, how beautifully the omniscience
of the Lord Jesus Christ is set forth. Nathaniel, just like any other
of God's elect, might wonder in the dawning of the rebirth
just what the Lord knows. I think about what we've learned
concerning what He sets forth. He knows. Think about how much
we've learned of that. I mean, the first time the Lord
opened your eyes to see anything, it amazes me. I've told you this
before. How often people, you know, can
tell me they'll give me an hour, Jeff, you know, 2.15 on a Tuesday
afternoon back in 19-whatever-whatever. The Lord saved me. I'm going
to be honest with you. I can tell you it was some time.
You know, I've asked people, when were you conceived? Humanly,
when were you conceived? Well, I'm not real sure. They
tell me I was born October the 5th. That's what that's what
a birth certificate says. But I'm not. I'm not real sure
about that. Maybe it was a typo. Well, I
can tell you this, I know for a fact I'm standing here. What
difference does it make? Today is the day of salvation.
Not September the 7th, 1990. Today. What think ye of Christ
right now? Man, I'm telling you, everybody
and their brother puts all kinds of faith and security in being
able to go back and they'll look in their Bible. Let's see. Reborn.
Let me see. Let me check. Reborn. There it
is. September the 4th. would think ye of Christ, He
that cometh unto me. Whence knowest thou me? He said,
Before Philip called thee when you were under the fig tree,
I saw you. Behold the mercy of God to this
object of mercy. Before Philip called you, I understood
you. I perceived you. When He said,
I saw you, I knew you, I loved you, I had my eye on you. I've always had my eye on you.
I've always watched you. No, no, no. No, you're not going
that way. You're going this way. No, I've
got a date with you. You're going to be under the
sound of the gospel. I'm going to cross your path. And when it pleased God, Saul
of Tarsus, he decided one day that he was going to go to Damascus. I've got papers in my hand. The
Lord had decided before the foundation of the world You're going to
have papers in your hand on this day, and I'm going to meet you. Before Philip called you when
you were under the fig tree, before I saw you, Nathanael,
verse 49, answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son
of God. Thou art the King of Israel. There is the miracle of saving
grace. Nathanael heard Him, believed
Him, trusted Him. Nathanael with the ears of faith,
you are the Son of God. You are God Himself. People say,
well, anybody can Admit that. But the Lord knew this man and
gave this man grace, faith to believe what the Lord had done
for him. That's a miracle. People talk
about miracles today and healings and stuff. I'll tell you the
greatest miracle that you will ever see in this life. Look around. You see some folks
sitting here that God's called out of darkness. You think about
the miracle of being able to behold a believer. One that Almighty
God has given a new heart. What a miracle. There's people
all over this country that don't care at all about what you're
hearing. They could care less. Taking up time. Here is a man
that God Almighty gave a new heart. You are the Son of God. You are God. You are God. You are the King of Israel. You
are the Messiah. And Jesus answered verse 50 and
said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the
fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things
than these." You are telling me because I
saw you, you are going to witness some
things, Nathaniel. Look what he said. He saith unto
him, verse 51, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye
shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon the Son of Man. The Lord reveals to this enlightened
sinner, you are going to see a manifestation of the glory
of God. You are going to witness that.
You are going to see heaven opened. Now whether or not the Lord actually
meant physically, actually, I don't know. I don't read where Nathaniel
ever saw that, but this is what he meant, I know. You're going
to behold a clear and abundant revelation of the mysteries of
God that's been hidden from creation. You're going to see things. There
are some things that you that believe know. that this world
just does not know. Let me just give you, in closing,
an example. You are going to see heaven opened. Listen. Before the foundation of the
world, Almighty God Love the people. And He knew you. He chose you. He gave you to Christ. The Lord
Jesus Christ in that eternal covenant of grace came into this world made of
a virgin, made under the law, and walked on this earth for
thirty-something years, and as the representative of God's elect,
lived before God Almighty and obeyed the law of God in word, thought and deed, every
jot and tittle of the law. Not one thing that God Almighty
demanded for righteousness What does God Almighty demand for
righteousness? Obedience. Obedience. By one man's disobedience many
were made sinners. By one man's obedience shall many be made righteous,
perfect, holy in Him. Now listen, heaven just opened
up and showed you that. God Almighty opened heaven. The Spirit of God moved upon
men. Now here's a miracle of God's
grace. The Spirit of God moved upon
men that God chose to pen. God's Word. This Scripture is the inspiration
of Almighty God. He said, are you saying that
you believe because I said I saw you under the fig tree? Verily, verily, I say unto you,
hereafter you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God
descending and ascending upon the Son of Man. You're going
to see. As in that dream of Jacob, angels
descending. Literally? I don't think so. But the absolute
working of Almighty God. Here's God Almighty. He said,
you're going to see it. You're going to understand it.
You're going to perceive it. These angels. I know that the
angels came to the Lord. After he had gone through the
trial in the wilderness, ministered to him there in the garden of
Gethsemane, he sweat as it were, great drops of blood. And the
Scripture says, and an angel came and strengthened him. An angel came and strengthened
him. the Lord Jesus Christ, perfect man, a man, a man, God-man,
the man in whom God the Father said, I am well pleased with
you. And here He was as our representative. And that angel came and strengthened
Him. As our federal head, I need strength. I need help. And Almighty God
sends these ministering spirits to minister to the heirs of promise. What's happening this morning? What's going on all around us
this morning? If our eyes could be opened as
the eyes were opened of Elisha's servant. All of the Syrians,
Elisha, are around us. What are we going to do? The
Lord opened His eyes, I pray. And the eyes of His servant were
open and He just beheld all these chariots of fire. And Elisha
says, They that be with us are more than they that be with them.
Nathaniel, you are going to see heaven open. In this hour of our trials, tribulations,
weaknesses, we don't know, we don't realize exactly what's
going on around us. We have God's Word. I'm not going
to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you.
The Lord Jesus Christ promised. There are ministering spirits,
He said, You're going to see the angels of heaven ascending
and descending. You say, well, I've never seen
them. By faith, you do. Yeah, you do. Yes, you do. How
do you know it's happening? Because God said it is. You're
going to see it. Many could look around with corporal
eyes, but only those by the eyes of faith belief what Almighty
God said so. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart for our comfort, for our peace, for our understanding,
to His honor and His glory. Thank you.