Well, good morning. It's good
to see you. Turn with me again to John chapter 3, please. Look at verse 26. He came unto
John and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond
Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth,
and all men come to him. And John answered and said, a
man can receive nothing except to be given him from heaven.
Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ,
but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the
bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth
and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must
decrease. And he that cometh from above
is above all. And he that is of the earth is
earthly, and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from heaven
is above all. And what he hath seen and heard,
that he testifieth, and no man receiveth his testimony. And he that hath received his
testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. In the 26th
verse, maybe the 25th, but anyway, there arose a dispute among John's
disciples and the Jews, and they came to John the Baptist. And
speaking of Christ, they told John, they said, all men come
to him. And that was their witness. That's how they saw things. But
John the Baptist, however, sees something altogether different.
John's disciples looked on the outward appearances. We're so
prone to do that by nature. And because of that, they thought
Christ was prospering and being successful. However, John looked
below the surface, you could say, at the true spiritual results. And his verdict in the 32nd verse
was, and no man receiveth his testimony. You know, it's easy
for folks to get caught up with associating success in numbers.
Religion is real guilty of that. We see churches, even locally,
that seem to be just busting at the seams with people, some
holding two services on Sunday morning because they can't house
all the folks that attend. And we think, wow, they're really
being successful. But are they? Are they? Are they telling sinners the
truth about God, about themselves, about sin, about Christ, about
salvation? John paid little attention to
what the disciples reported, and he looked on the heart of
the matter. That's what we need to do. He
said no man receives His testimony. It doesn't matter that all are
coming to Him. They're not receiving what He
has to say. Now, let me say that John did
not mean that no one believed our Lord. He said in the very
next verse, in verse 33, that he that hath received his testimony
hath set to his seal that God is true. But what John meant
here was comparatively. None received it. Compared with
the multitudes who came to Christ, compared to the number in the
nation of Israel, compared with the number of the human race,
those who received and believed Christ's testimony were so few
that John's sadness and his disappointment made him call them none. It's
as if none believed. That's what he's saying. You
know, that's similar to what Paul wrote in Romans chapter
five, verse 19. Paul said, for by one man's sin
or one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. Well, we know
that by Adam's disobedience, all men and women were made sinners. Every man and woman died spiritually
under sin. We know that. All men and women
fell in Adam. All men and women became spiritually
dead. All sin didn't come short of
the glory of God. Why did Paul say many? Well,
what Paul meant was that compared to the one man who disobeyed,
there were many who were made sinners. We need to always remember,
this is just a good rule of thumb, we should always remember that
to compare scripture with scripture. The scripture's clear about the
fact that all and every man and woman were sold under sin. So
when we see something like many were made sinners instead of
all, then we need to compare that with the overall teaching
of scripture. And though John went below the
mark here when he said none, he was not far from the truth. when He said, no man receiveth
His testimony. He meant comparatively none received
the Word of Christ. And today if Christ is preached,
there are many who will come to hear about Him, but few, few,
hardly any receive or bow to the Gospel in their hearts. People
talk about a great awakening in our day. Well, I think what
they're referring to is nothing more than a religious awakening.
Seems everybody's got religion today, don't they? There are
many who are flocking to religion. There are many who are crying,
Lord, Lord. There are many who are claiming
to do great things for God. But Christ said, broad is the
way that leadeth to destruction in many. Many be which go in
their head. He said, straight is the gate
and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few, few there
be that find it. And that's always been the case
and that'll always be the case. Men have wandered, wandered far
from God. And God has mercifully and graciously
sent witness to men and women. Sadly, there are few who receive
His testimony. Few, almost none, in comparison,
bow to Christ who is salvation. Now, Jesus Christ, our Lord,
is the testifier here. Our Lord is so wrapped up with
the testimony that He bears, that you have to know him before
you can understand his witness. Teresa and I, over the years,
we've always teased with one another when we would debate
about something. Well, I believe that because
of this, and you believe that because of that. And our thing
is, which came first, the chicken or the egg? A lot of people wonder
about that. I still don't know which came
first. Do you? Well, maybe the chicken. I don't know. The truth is to receive Christ
is the same thing as to receive His testimony. That's what I'm
trying to say. If we received Christ as who
He is, then we've received the testimony which He came to bear.
Who is this testifier? Who is this witness? Well, verse
31 says, He that cometh from above. Do you see that? To save
elect sinners, has not come to us a man whose origin was at
His birth, but one who existed long before that. He came from above. This speaks
of one who descended from on high. This speaks of Christ who
was made flesh, the scripture says, and dwelt among us. Where
was He before He was made flesh? While He was in glory with His
Father. It's true that Christ was born in Bethlehem, but it's
just as equally true that He existed with His Father before
the foundation of the world. Jesus Christ is eternal. He's the first and the last.
He's Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. The Word was from
the beginning with God, and the Scripture says, without Him was
not anything made that was made. The Testifier is the very One
who spoke the worlds into existence. He was as much God before He
became a man as He ever was God afterwards. And He that has come
to save us has in the highest sense come from above. One has
come from the highest heavens to lift those up who, apart from
Him, have sunk into the lowest hell. He, the Lord Jesus Christ,
is one of the highest in character. Look at verse 31. He that cometh
from above is above all, and he that is of the earth is earthly,
and speaketh of the earth, but he that cometh from heaven is
above all. All the other messengers that
God had sent have had much earthliness about them, you could say. That's
what it says here. He that's of the earth is earthly.
That's why Paul said we have this treasure of the gospel in
earthen vessels. We have them in earthen vessels
that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
There's much about me and every other man that stands to preach
that may tarnish and disgrace and dishonor our message and
our witness. However, there was nothing found
in the heavenly messenger, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came from
above, that could at all discredit him. He was pure. He was perfect. He was heavenly. And though he
bore our nature, he didn't share in our sinfulness. And though
he spoke in our tongue, he made the mysteries of heaven simple
for us to understand. He spoke in a heavenly manner
which no man could speak. You know, Moses wrote and he
spoke as a man. And the Spirit of God only revealed
truth in measure by and through Him. But our Lord Jesus Christ,
whom the scripture says was full of grace and truth, He spoke
as a man who was eternally connected to the Godhead, having the Spirit
without measure. He was and is above all, so others
must receive their authority from Him. I have no authority to preach
the gospel except for the authority that God gives me in Christ.
Except for the authority that's in this Word. If a preacher loses
sight of that truth, he's done being effective as a preacher.
That's just so. My authority as a gospel preacher
is this. God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. Any authority that I have is
found only as I preach who he is and the Word of God. Though
he stooped, and he did. He stooped to seek and to save
the lost. He was and He is still higher
than the highest. And you know, I was thinking,
I believe I read this from Pink or Spurgeon 1, said that though
He laid His glory aside, that He might wash His disciples'
feet. Isn't that an amazing thing?
God washing His disciples' feet. His glory is seen magnificently,
excuse me, in his washing away our sins in his own blood. The writer of Hebrews said, see
that you refuse not him that speaketh, for if they escape
not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not
we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. Hebrews 12, 22. The testimony of the Lord Jesus
Christ is a personal testimony. John said in verse 32, he said,
what he had seen and heard, that he testified. Now pay attention
to these verses. That which he has seen and heard,
that he testifieth, and no man receiveth his testimony. The
prophets received their prophecies from the Holy Spirit who spoke
to them of things which they had not seen and had not experienced. Sometimes they didn't even understand
what they wrote. because they didn't see those
things of which they wrote. Our Lord said that in Luke chapter
10. He said that many prophets and
kings have desired to see those things, but have not seen them,
and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them.
These things, the scripture says, even angels desire to look into,
but they're too mysterious for them, 1 Peter 1.12. And I find it just amazing that
our Lord Jesus Christ, who knows heavenly things, He knows them
because of personal experience. He had eternally dwelt with the
Father in glory. He knows the mind of God. You
know why? Because He is God. He knows the purpose of the Most
High. Why? Because he was always with
God, his Father. Personal experience. All that
he reveals to men of God's mercy, he has himself seen and heard. Our Lord's teachings, it's not
second-hand knowledge. No man knoweth the Father, save
or except the Son, and he to whosoever the Son will reveal
him. Notice also that John the Baptist goes on to tell us that
the testimony of Christ is identical with the words of God Himself.
Verse 33. He said, He that hath received
His testimony hath set to His seal that God is true. You see,
the Scriptures declare that God is true. God is true. Every man
is a liar. The testimony of Christ and the
testimony of God are one and the same. In other words, when
you believe Christ, you believe God. That's exactly what John
is saying. Read on, verse 34. For he whom
God hath sent speaketh the words of God. For God giveth not the
Spirit by measure unto him. This is talking of Christ. If
you deny what Christ says, you make God a liar. You've not believed his testimony
concerning his son. So fool is the witness of Christ
backed up and supported by the words of God that to doubt him
is to make God a liar. Boy, I don't want that charge
against me. So fully does the Lord Jesus represent the purpose
and the mind of God the Father that to doubt Him is to doubt
the eternal God. Oh, I tell you, dear sinner,
the only sin that will send you to hell forever is the sin of
unbelief. There's no other sin that God
won't forgive but that one. Lord, I believe, but help thou
my unbelief. Scripture says, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Well, how much scripture
do I have to know? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. How faithful do I have to be
to attend church? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll be faithful if you believe
in Christ, you'll be faithful. We only have to read a little
further here to the next verse to see that this divine messenger,
who's Christ himself, to see that God sent him is in high
esteem with God. Look at verse 35. The father
loveth the son and hath given all things into his hand. How
can you be esteemed more than that? God gave him everything. Put all power and authority into
His hands. The Father loveth the Son, giving
all things into His hand. To show His great love of Christ,
His beloved Son, God hath given all things into His hand. Believe
me when I say, you don't want to deal with God apart from the
Lord Jesus Christ. You don't. Neither do I. He is the one mediator between
God and man. We say that all the time. We
better say that. We better believe it because
he's the only way that we can be reconciled to God. God has
put all things under his feet, not just some things, not just
important things, all things. The government of the world is
upon his shoulder. It pleased the Father to put
all things under Christ. He's the absolute master of all
things. Christ is. And again, I quote
Mr. Spurgeon who said this. I love
the way that he wrote. He said, angels fly and devils
tremble at his nod. That's beautiful. That's true. He said, all the wheels of providence
revolve in perfect order according to his will. I'll never forget
this. I hadn't been a believer long
when Brother Mayhem was preaching. And he was talking about a farmer
who pulls a disc behind the tractor. And he said, it's in the heat
of summer, and it's dry. And he says, as he pulls, as
he discs that ground, all that dust flies up in the air. And
you can't hardly see the tractor or the, or the farmer, he said,
and God directs every little particle of dust and it falls
right where God purposes it to fall. We can't take that too
far now, the providence of God and His control and sovereignty
over all things. And if you'll listen to the testimony
of His grace, remember that He's got all the power to back it
up. If I tell you something, You
can only trust what I tell you as far as my will and my ability
will allow me to do it. But him, if he tells you something,
he's able. He's able to do it. He's able to save to the uttermost
all who come to God by Him, seeing that He ever liveth to make intercession
for them. I love the fact that the writer
of Hebrews added that. He's able to save to the uttermost
all who come to God by Him. God didn't just leave this world
alone and leave it up to us to work everything out. Why, He
ever liveth to make intercession for us. Peter, Satan has desired
to sift you as wheat, but I prayed that your faith fill you not. That's my comfort. That's my
hope. Christ is at the right hand of God interceding for his
people. Everything's going to be all
right. Everything's going to be all right. Jesus Christ is
the Lord and the giver of life. Will you bow? to His testimony
of Himself. That was these folks who came
to be baptized and that was their sin. They received not His testimony. He's got life in Himself and
He's got power to quicken whomsoever He will. Look at verse 36. He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Is there anything
about that verse that would make you think that He is not in control
of salvation. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. It's certain, it's for sure.
And to make the matter even more urgent and crucial, this word
of warning is added, and it says, and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abideth
on him. Boy, that's something you don't
hear much about in churches today. Oh, God loves everybody. Jesus
loves everybody. God loves too much to send people
to hell. You better read the Bible. He
that believeth not, the Son shall not even see life. But the wrath
of God abideth on him. Well, let me close this chapter
with referring back to the words of John the Baptist that are
found in Chapter 1 of John's Gospel. John said, Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. The very
fact, now listen to me, the very fact that the Son of God came
here as a man to suffer for our sin, for the sin of his people,
proves that God has provided a great and all-sufficient sacrifice. You see, the holy God of heaven
and earth could not deal with this sinful world. He's too holy.
Too holy. This world is too defiled with
sin for him to even look upon it. Moses said, show me your
glory. And God said, you don't know
what you're asking. No man can see me and live. This world's too defiled, but
that sin of the world which prevented a holy God from dealing with
a condemned race has been taken away by Christ. And now God can
visit man and favor him with the gospel of peace found in
Christ alone. And that's why we preach what
we do. Truly God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself,
Paul said in 2 Corinthians. I've got good news. There's a
sacrifice for sin. That'll mean something to you
if you're a sinner. There's a sacrifice for sin. God has made a way of
access between God and sinful man. Our Lord said it, didn't He?
He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh
to the Father but by Me. How many ways are there? Just
one. I am the way. Just one way. Who
is the truth of God? Just one. Christ alone. He said,
I am the truth. Where is life found? Only in
Christ. How do sinful men come to a holy
God? Our Lord said, only one way,
no other way but by me. Isn't that so plain and simple
and so true? Do you receive, and boy, we've
taken that word and made a a false doctrine out of it. Oh, receive
Jesus, give Him your heart. You know, that word receive simply
means bow. It means to bow. Bow to Him. Do you bow to His testimony? Do you bow to what Christ says
about Himself in this word? Well, His testimony is of Himself.
And John said in his epistle, he that hath son hath life. And
that's all that matters. Oh my, Lord help me to believe.
Okay, well we'll start Lord willing chapter four next week.