there is a cause. And it's a cause that troubled
the soul of God Almighty in human flesh. Verse 27, now is my soul
troubled. Troubled. It was troubled at
the prospect of being of your Gospel accounts, you've
got the Father placed in his hands a cup. And the Lord Jesus
Christ looked in that cup, and the terror of what he saw
caused his heart to break. And the blood of God Almighty
was poured out on the ground of Gethsemane's garden. And so
in anticipation here, the Lord Jesus Christ says, my soul is
troubled. One of the problems for us, as
children of Adam, is that we live in sin like fish live in
the ocean. And we are so unaware of it. And the occasional time that
sort of pricks the sore and it's a good thing that it does, but
oh, how often we simply let it pass by so quickly and in no
time at all it's forgotten. God can't do that at all with
sin. There is a cause. My soul is troubled. This is
the cause. And don't you love that prayer?
Father, glorify thy name. So what had prompted us? To help
us understand this cause, I want us to see what I believe prompted
this response from the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah chapter 42,
if you can turn there with me, we have a glorious declaration
of who our God is and we have a glorious declaration of why
he came. He speaks, we might as well begin
at the beginning of Isaiah 42, because it's glorious. Behold
my servant, he came as a servant to his father, whom I uphold,
mine elect, that's the title that the Lord God gives his son,
mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth, I have put my spirit upon him,
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles, And this is
a lovely description of him. He shall not cry nor lift up
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed
shall he not break and a smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged. Do you want me to repeat that?
We ought to repeat it again and again and again. He shall not
fail, nor be discouraged. Anyone who ever says, God tries,
is immediately, whatever they say beyond that, just completely
and utterly ignore it and walk away because they don't know
who he is. He says he cannot fail, he doesn't try, and he's
not going to be discouraged. But listen to what he goes on
to say, because this is glorious. Thus saith God the Lord, he that
created the heaven and stretched them out, that spread forth the
earth and that which cometh out of it, he that giveth breath
unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein,
I the Lord have called thee, his elect, his servant, in righteousness,
and will hold thine hands keep thee, and give thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light of the Gentiles." And listen to
what he's going to do, this man who cannot fail nor be discouraged.
"...to open blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison,
and them that sit in darkness out that is my name, and my glory
will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are
come to pass, the new things do I declare, before they spring
forth, I tell you of them. He's coming as a light to the
Gentiles. It's a light to us, brothers and sisters. The Jews
just had two sorts of people in the world, and it was just
the Jews and the Gentiles. Sometimes it was just the Jews
and the Greeks, but the Greek and the Gentiles were interchangeable
words. But he gives his son for the people and the light
for the Gentiles. And that's exactly what he goes
on to talk about in John Chapter 12. He talks about the light.
He says, while you have the light, he says, you have the light just
a little while with you. Walk in that light. Walk while
you have that light. He says a similar thing in Isaiah
Chapter 49, if you turn over there. Thus saith the Lord God in verse
seven, the Redeemer of Israel and His Holy One, to Him who
man despiseth, to Him who nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers
kings shall see it arise, princes also shall worship, because of
the Lord, because of the Lord that is faithful and the Holy
One of Israel. He shall choose thee. Thus saith
the Lord, in an acceptable time I have heard thee, in the day
of salvation have I helped thee. I will preserve thee and give
thee for a covenant of the people to establish the earth, to cause
to inherit the desolate places. But you may say to the prisoners,
go forth to them that are in darkness, show yourselves. They
shall feed in the way, and their pastors shall be in the high
places. They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the
heat nor the sun smite them. For he that has mercy on them
shall lead them, even by springs of water shall he guide them.
And he says, and I will make all my mountains a way, and my
highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from
afar. And lo, these from the north and from the west, and
these from the land, that sin him. Sing, O heavens, and break
forth into singing, O mountain, for the Lord has comforted his
people. He is this light, this life of
the Gentiles. And this is what triggered it,
wasn't it? There is a cause, and if we go back to John chapter
12, the cause is the glory of God's name, the glory of all
of God's character, the glory of His holiness, the glory of
His justice, the glory absolute sovereignty, the glory of all. You think of all of the attributes
of God, and all of those attributes of God reach the zenith of their
glory in the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. If you want to
know about the love of God, you go to the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. If you want to know about the
justice and the holiness of God, you go to the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ. If you want to know how God sees
sin, you go to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want
to see what grace and mercy is, you go to the cross. And on that
cross, the Lord Jesus Christ just pictured that great division
between humanity on his right-hand side and on his left-hand side
with two thirds. They are a picture of Him being
the One that divides. He is the cause. He is the cause. And it's all about the cross. Isn't it extraordinary? Just
these six days from the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ is caused
by the arrival of these Gentiles to say that now is this hour.
Now is this hour come. Now is this hour come for which
all of history is created. This universe exists because
of this hour. This universe was created by
God for this hour. This universe will exist as it
is now because of this hour until all of what was achieved in this
hour has been achieved and then there's no more need for brothers
and sisters. There's a glorious new creation
coming but the only way into that new creation is through
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You must be washed by his blood.
You must be in him. You must be one with him. But
listen to how much he focuses on the cross here. In verse 23,
he says that the son of man should be glorified. This is no accident
that's happening. This is in the eternal purpose
and the eternal counsel of God Almighty. Verse 24, he speaks
of himself being a corn of wheat that falls into the ground and
dies he's come to die he sent his face like a flint to die
he goes on to say father save me save me my soul is troubled
what shall i say verse 27 7 father save me from this hour but for
this cause came i this hour this is the cause there is a cause
brothers and sisters verse 28 he says father glorify thy name
and how's the name of God and be glorified it's going to be
glorified on the cross verse 32 he says you know if I've been
lifted up from the earth will draw all men. The men's in a talot. He'll draw
all to him. In verse 33 he said this, signify
what death he should die. And the people said, what is
it for this son of man, in verse 34, to be lifted up? Who is I want to talk to you about the
cause of the son of man. Who is this son of man? Who is he? And why is this cause
worth dying for? That's what he says isn't he?
He says he that loveth his life first 25. He that loveth his
life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world
shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him
follow me, and where I am there shall also my servant be. And
if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. There is, there is, And the cause of Christ is the
cause of His servants. It's the cause of His servants.
That's why David said, there is a cause. And all the prophets,
in one way or another, came to the people who claimed to be
the people of God and said, there is a cause. There is a cause,
there is a cause, and it's the glory of God. There is a cause. These servants of His are going
to be They're going to be people who look. How do you follow someone? You just look to them. But also,
I love what he says in verse 26. If any man serve me, let
him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be. There is, for the servants, a
continual never-ending service. Whether we realize it or not,
I'll never leave you nor forsake you, he says to his bride. He's
a faithful husband, he's never going to leave us nor forsake
us. If any man serve me, do you know what that word serve means? It's to wait on tables with food
and drink. What do you think the food and
drink is? For the children of God. What do you feast on? What's the food? that the children
of God find the nourishment of their souls. And what quenches
our thirst? It's the food and drink of the
blood and the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of Man
came not to be served, not to be ministered to, but to minister
and give his life a ransom for many. You know what
a ransom is. You hear about it all the time,
don't you? Some person who is associated with some money is
captured and taken captive and someone comes along and pays
the ransom price. And that's exactly what he's
done, isn't it? The Lord Jesus Christ paid the ransom price.
If any man served me, how of God to test everything that
I say, and I encourage you to test Him, and I want you to be
reminded that you are to test. God says you to test. He says
in 1 John chapter 4, test the spirits. You're hearing
a spirit. Every time you hear someone who
has the courage or the temerity to stand before other people
and say that they're speaking on God's behalf, you're commanded
by God to test them. It's a good thing to do, isn't
it? And why? You test them whether they are
of God. You test them whether their origin is of God. Because
many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby you
know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh, is of God. And every spirit that
confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not
of God. Now obviously that's not talking about just the pure
reality of the Lord Jesus Christ's life on this earth. You can pick
up an encyclopedia and believe that and there wouldn't be a
single church on this earth. And I said, what is it for the
Lord Jesus Christ to come in the flesh? What is it? If you turn with me just down a
little way, you never have to go far in the Bible to find the
answer to the question that the Bible asks. If you ever just
look around, within a matter of verses you'll find it. Here
in verse 10 is love, not that we love God, I'd love to love him with a love
that was allowed to say that I love him, but my love is so
pathetic. Not that we love God, but that
he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our
sins. It just means that to declare
that the Lord Jesus Christ came in the flesh is to declare exactly
what John 12 is saying, that for this cause he came. And he
is the sin-atoning covering. And when that publican went to
the temple, and there was a Pharisee, walked up boldly into the presence
of God, into the place of worship. And he looked up to heaven with
great pride, didn't he? He said, I thank you, God. He
thanked God for what he did, for what he was. And he thanked
God that he wasn't like these other people. And then he thanked
God for all the good things he did. He had so many good works.
They were wonderful. And he knew about it. And so
did all of his mates. And down in the corner, down
in the corner, a long way off, and he was saying this word,
he was saying, God be merciful to me, the sinner. I can't look at anyone else.
I can't look at anyone else. I'm the sinner. I am the sinner.
I am the man. God be propitious. God look upon
your mercy seat and look upon Lord's declaration to that man. He went down to his house justified. Did he know it? Then he came
back to the temple the next week. Do you think he walked into that
temple and says, well I'm a righteous man now and look at these Pharisees. He came back to the temple again
and again and again saying, Lord have mercy upon me. Lord have You receive Him as a Mercy Beggar. However you remain, Colossians
2.6, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, you say
you walk in Him. We never rise above being Mercy
Beggars. We never rise above looking to
that Mercy Seat and looking to the Lord Jesus Christ and that
Shed Blood and being thankful to God. And we personally may
not hear that we are righteous, that God declares it. And what
God declares is true. And so to declare that the Lord
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is to declare that he's
a propitiation. Was he a successful propitiation?
Did he get what he paid for? Did he buy a people? he did. He ransomed them. He redeemed them. They were sold
into the hands of Satan when they fell into Adam and they
came out from their mother's womb speaking lies and they sold
themselves again and again into sin and they owed a debt. They owed a debt to God and they
had nothing to pay and the Lord Jesus Christ comes along and
he pays their And that's exactly what was being
said in Isaiah 42 and 49. He has a cause. And so when God's
servants come into this world, what are they declaring? What
are they declaring that you ought to be testing them on? Well, firstly, they have been
sent by God. And this turns with me to 2 Corinthians
2. Now, thanks be first to God, He says, Now thanks be unto God,
which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest
the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are
unto God a sweet savour of Christ. Now the preaching of the Gospel
is a sweet savour to God. The Lord Jesus Christ was a Gospel
preacher. How much must God the Father
have delighted in hearing the preaching of his Son? He delights
in exactly the same way now. We are a saver unto God. We're
speaking to God about His Son, and we're saying to God, this
is what you said about your Son, and this is what you said about
the work of your Son. This is what you have said about
who you are. For we are unto God, sweet Saviour
of Christ, in them that are saved and in them that perish. To one
we are the Saviour of death unto death, and to the other the Saviour
of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these
things? There's not a single prophet
nor preacher who's ever volunteered for the job. You go and talk to Moses about
that. You go and read about it in Exodus chapter two and three.
He didn't volunteer. God calls his people and calls
people with his people. Persephician, for we are not
as many which corrupt the word of God, but as of sincerity and
as of God, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ. God is a
witness to what is happening in this place. Do we then begin
to commend ourselves or need we some others epistles of commendation
to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle
written in our hearts, known and read of all men. For as much
as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ,
ministered by us, written not with ink, But with the Spirit
of the Living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables
of heart. And such trust have we through
Christ God. Not that we are sufficient ourselves. Paul is saying this. What a remarkable
man. They say that he had two PhDs
by the time he was 21. He would have known the Old Testament
off by heart. And he's saying, I haven't got
any sufficiency at all, none. Once he met the Lord on the Damascus
road, he knew who he was, and he knew who the Lord was, and
he knew that grace, grace alone was going to save him. Not that
we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves,
but our sufficiency is of God. Our sufficiency is of God, listen
to what God has done in that sufficiency, who has also made
us able ministers of the New Testament. If any man serve me,
if any man serve me, let him come after me, follow me, and
where I am there my servant is also. That's what that word minister
is, is to be a servant, to be a table waiter, to hand around
to people food and drink. What do we hand around? What
do we give the people to nourish their souls? The body, the life
of the Lord Jesus Christ and his shed blood. Listen to what he goes on to
say. We're able ministers of the new covenant. We're able
ministers of the New Testament. That is the eternal covenant.
We're able ministers of the eternal covenant. We tell people about
what God did in eternity. We tell people that this is the
cause for which the Lord Jesus Christ came. We tell people who
he is, and what he did, and why he did it, and the success of
what he did, and where he is now, reigning and ruling. These
are his blood-bought ascension gifts to his church, is what
he's speaking about here. He has made us able ministers,
able servants of the new covenant, the New Testament, Not of the
letter. We don't put people back under
a letter of bondage to do and do and do and make yourself right
with God while you're doing, but of the Spirit. The letter
kills. Anyone who puts anyone back under
the law, tithing or any other sort of works to get yourself
right with God or to enhance your standing before God is speaking
of the letter because it just kills people. There is no love
in the law, brothers and sisters. There's no love in legalism and
legalists. But listen to what the Spirit
does. But the Spirit giveth life. The Spirit gives life, it brings
in your birth. And it gives life in sustaining
us in this world. That's what the ETH ending means.
It's giving it now, and it'll give it until we get beyond our
need of all of these things and we stand in the very presence
of God. We tell people who God is. We tell people that there is
much, much fruit to be brought to the children of God by the
proclamation of the gospel. What do you need to sustain yourself
today? What do I need? What do I need? When I'm down and when I'm troubled, I want to know about your character. Religion is telling people what
to do. We're telling people about the character of God again and
again. We're telling them what God has done. Okay, let's turn
to Hebrews chapter 10. I just love these verses, they're
just so sweet. They are so sweet. Verse 10 of
chapter 10, and if you have time to read the rest of it, you'll
find it a cause of rejoicing. He says, by the witch will, this
is the will of God, this is why he came, this is the cause he
came. He says, Lo, I come, and in the volume of the book it's
written of me, to do thy will, O God. And then he says, When
sacrifice and offerings and burnt offerings and offering for sin
thou wouldest not, neither had pleasure therein. God found no
satisfaction in them, because all the satisfaction is in the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are pictures that pointed
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Every time they finished with
a sacrifice, they were getting ready for another one. Morning
and evening, morning and evening, morning and evening, year in
and year out. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God,
and take away the first, that he may establish the second.
By the which will we are, listen to what it says, we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest there that day
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can
never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, there's never to be another one.
There's never to be another one. He sat down on the right hand
of God. from henceforth expecting till
his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath,
what's the word? Perfected. Don't you like that
word? Especially when God's using that
word. It's not about me, it's about
him. He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost is also
a witness to us, for that after he had said before, this is the
covenant that I will make with them after those days, saying
to them, I will put my laws in their hearts, and in their minds
will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember
no more. Now where remission of these
is, there is no more offering. for this cause came I to this
hour, that he would sanctify his people, that he would bear
their sins in his own body in the tree. And that's why God
says he can't remember them. Why can't he remember them? Because
he's put them away, brothers and sisters. They have gone,
hidden behind a cloud as far as the earth and you get to the North Pole
and you start walking again, you're starting to walk south
and you go down to the south and you walk back up to the north,
you start going east. How far can you go? Let's pray. Heavenly Father,
please bless your words and cause us, Heavenly Father, to delight
in being served by you and delight in being your servants, Heavenly
Father, and the wonders of the glory of your Son. May his person
and his finished work be our joy and delight, Heavenly Father,
as we go through our life here. Today, this week, and for the
rest