We're going to begin our second
service Let's begin our second service
by standing and singing number 40 out of your heart back. Great
is thy faithfulness, number 40. Number 40. Great is Thy faithfulness, O
God my Father. There is no shadow of turning
with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions
they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever
wilt be. Great is thy faithfulness, great
is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies
I see. All I have needed, thy hand hath
provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord,
unto me. Summer and winter and springtime
and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above, join
with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy,
and love. Great is thy faithfulness, great
is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies
I see. All I have needed thy hand hath
provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord,
unto me. ? Pardon for sin and a peace that
endureth ? ? Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide ? ? Strength
for today and bright hope for tomorrow ? ? Blessings all mine
with 10,000 beside ? ? Great is thy faithfulness ? Great
is thy faithfulness ? Morning by morning new mercies I see
? All I have needed thy hand hath provided ? Great is thy
faithfulness, Lord, unto me You would turn to number 318. I Need
Thee Every Hour, 318. I need Thee every hour, most
gracious Lord, No tender voice like Thine can peace afford. I need Thee, oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee. I need thee every hour, stay
thou nearby. Temptations lose their power
when thou art nigh. I need Thee, oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee. I need thee every hour, enjoy
your pain. Come quickly and abide, for life
is vain. I need Thee, oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee. I need Thee every hour, Most
Holy One. O make me Thine indeed, Thou
blessed Son. I need Thee, oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee. Thank you. Maybe seat. Morning, everybody. I'm going
to read Matthew 28. Matthew 28. I'll read all 20 verses. In the end of the Sabbath, as
it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. And behold,
there was a great earthquake for the angel of the Lord descended
from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door
and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning
and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers
did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered and
said unto the woman, fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus,
which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen. As he said, come, see the place
where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples
that he is risen from the dead. And behold, he goeth before you
into Galilee. There shall you see him, lo,
I have told you. And they departed quickly from
the sepulcher with fear and great joy. and did run to bring his
disciples word. And they went to tell his disciples,
behold, Jesus met them saying, all hail. And they came and held
him by the feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said unto them,
be not afraid. Go tell my brethren that they
go into Galilee and there they shall see me. Now when they were
going, behold, some of the watch came into the city and showed
unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when
they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel,
they gave large money unto the soldiers saying, say ye, his
disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept. And
if this come to the governor's ears, he will persuade him and
secure you. We will persuade him and secure
you. So they took the money and did as they were taught. And
this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain
where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped
him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given me in heaven and on earth. Go
ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo,
I am with you always. even unto the end of the world.
Amen. Father, we come to you thankful
this morning for this piece of scripture. Father, we know you
had to be risen or we would have all perished. And Father, we
we ask that you watch over the congregation of folks here today
and in other gospel preaching churches. Father, let eyes be
opened and ears be open and hearts be open as the pastors bring
the messages and Father, we ask that you watch over the pastors
of these churches and especially our pastor Eric. Please give
him the words that you would have us to hear. Father, we ask
that you just watch over and care for us all in Christ's name. All right, brethren, our text
for this morning is John chapter 1, verses 35 through 39. John 1, 35 through 39. Now, two
days before what we're reading here in our text, We know that there were some
men that were sent from the Pharisees, and they came to John to question
him. They wanted to confirm who he
said that he was, and they wanted to hear by what authority he
was baptizing and doing the things that he was doing. And what he
told them is that, I'm that voice that's crying in the wilderness.
I'm sent to prepare the people to prepare their hearts because
the Lord is come. The long expected Messiah is
now here in the earth and he's coming. So that's why I'm here.
And then the day before yesterday, if you will, from what the text
that we're going to read, John had pointed out Christ to those
that were about him, those that were listening to him and there. And he described how he knew
who the Christ was by saying that the Spirit told him, upon
whom you see the Spirit descending and resting upon him, abiding
upon him, that's who you know is the Son of God, the Lamb of
God. That's the one I've sent. That's
how you're going to know him. Declare that to the people. Bear
witness. Give them that testimony concerning
my son. And so as he finishes, they then
are looking around, and Christ is God. He was talking about
someone that just came through, and now he's gone. They weren't
sure who he was, or if they kind of thought they knew who he was,
they didn't see where he went. He's no longer there. But now
today, on this new day, it says in John 1.35, and 36, again the
next day after, John stood and two of his disciples, and looking
upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. So maybe the day before wasn't
clear to those who were hearing what John was saying concerning
the baptism of Christ and the Holy Spirit resting on him, but
now He sees them coming, and he's making sure that these two
men, who we believe to be Andrew and John, the Gospel writer,
that they were the two with John the Baptist, he says, this is
the Lamb of God, the one I've been telling you about, the Lamb
of God who taketh away the sin of the world. They see it. They're seeing the
Lamb, for sure, this time. And it's a result, if you will,
they followed Christ as a result of the witness that John bore. Alright, they're recognizing
this is Jesus, this Jesus of Nazareth is the Lamb of God. This is the one that John was
pointing to. And we're told there in verse
37, look at that with me, John 1.37, and the two disciples heard
him speak and they followed Jesus. All right, so that's an important
detail there. These two witnesses, or these
two disciples heard the witness of John. What John was saying
concerning Christ was truth. It was the truth. It's the Word
of God. He's preaching. He's declaring
to them the Word of God. He's revealing Christ to them. And so it says they heard it. They heard that Word and they
followed Jesus. This Word of God is revealed
to them by the Spirit. John spoke truth first of all,
and it was revealed to them by the Spirit concerning Jesus Christ. They heard this Jesus of Nazareth
is the Lamb of God. And the reason why I'm emphasizing
that is because of what Paul tells us in Romans 10, 17. He says, faith cometh by hearing. and hearing by the word of God. So what does that mean? What
is faith cometh by hearing? Hearing what? What are they hearing? What are God's people, his children,
hearing concerning the truth? Well, they're hearing the truth.
They're hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. They're hearing
They're hearing of him. They're not hearing of Hinduism.
They're not hearing of their works. They're not hearing of
Muslims. They're not hearing of just do
what feels right. They're not hearing that. They're
hearing the truth. John didn't just speak of himself.
He preached Jesus Christ. He said, this is the lamb of
God. He preached Christ and him crucified. And so that's what they're hearing,
and this word, they're hearing the word of God in spirit and
in truth. All right, so this is what John
revealed to them, to these disciples, the Lamb of God. Now we're told
that hearing, this ability for them to hear, all right, is to
hear what, when the spirit reveals what we're hearing, he takes
the truth, and the spirit gives his people an ear to hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches, right? The Spirit does that.
And it says that this hearing is by the Word of God. Now, who
is the Word of God? Who's the Word of God? It's the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Word of God. He's the one whom we preach. This Word of God was with God.
The Word of God was God. and he is God. He's God who made
all things. He's the light and the life of
men who came into the world. He's the one who came into the
world, and so he gives that ear of faith by which we hear the
truth preached. He's the one who gives us the
ear of faith, and he makes it effectual to the heart. John's preaching the truth, he's
speaking of Christ, and the word of God, Jesus Christ, made it
effectual in the hearing of those two disciples, and they followed
Jesus. They followed him, right? So
the two disciples heard John speak, and they followed Jesus. And they were given the ability
to hear it by the word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. All right,
so I'm titling this now, we're gonna go on to verses 38 and
39 for the message. I'm titling this message, What Seek Ye? What Seek Ye? Now, these disciples
here, when it says they follow Jesus, they're literally following
him. They're walking along behind
him. They're watching where he's going as he's weaving through
the crowd. They're weaving through the crowd.
Wherever he's going past, they're going past. They're seeing everything
that he's doing. And they're watching to see where
he would go. But notice, they don't approach
him. They don't approach Jesus. They're holding back. They're
probably talking amongst themselves, and they're wondering. They're
kind of excited, and they're looking at him going. And it just says that, well,
we know that they wanted to see where he was going so that, basically,
they'd be able to find him again if they lose him. They want to
know where he's staying. But think about where they're
coming from, all right? They're just smelly fishermen,
all right? They're just fishermen that are,
you know, they have their job, they're not studied, they're
not trained, they're not, you know, anything in the synagogues,
all right? They're nothing there in the
temple, they're not people of importance. Is this Lamb of God
gonna speak to them? Would he stoop so low as to speak
to these to these fishermen, right? Would he want to speak
to them? So they didn't know. They were shy and kind of bashful
about approaching Christ. So what we see then is Christ
engages them. Christ turns and he engages them
before they engage him. It says, Jesus turned, verse
38, and saw them following, right? He knew they were following him.
He could tell that he was being followed. And saith unto them,
what seek ye? What are you looking for? What
are you seeking? What seek ye? And they said unto
him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted, Master, where
dwellest thou? So once Christ spoke to them,
we see them freely speaking to Christ. Once Christ engaged them,
then they felt comfortable and they engaged Christ. They began
to speak to him. And that's an important lesson
for us to learn, right? That Christ is very approachable. If there's anyone that's engaging
and willing to receive us and one whom we can approach unto,
It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he let him know, come,
come to me, talk to me. I'll speak with you. I'll teach
you. I'll say, I'll answer any question you have. He says, just
come, come to me. I'm not going to turn you away.
You're not beneath me. You're not too low for me to
speak to. I'll talk to anyone that, that, that. that desires
to know me. What are you looking for? I'll
help you. And so, another thing we see
is that Christ acted first toward them. They had questions, but
they're hanging back, not knowing if they should approach him,
and Christ acted first upon them. And we know that because that's
how they even heard to follow Christ. Christ revealed that
word to them. He gave them a heart to hear
what John said and to believe what John said to them. The thing
is, is that this is what happens for each and every one of us
that are gathered here. Each and every one of us that
are gathered here this morning, it's of the Lord. It's really
of the Lord. I really believe that the Lord
gathers whom he will together to hear the word. And he's engaging
you this very morning with the gospel, right? Some of us are
here because our parents made us come. Some of us are here
because, well, this is what we do on Sundays, and some are here
because they woke up and wanted to come here, and then they got
here and got, you know, hit with sleepiness and tiredness, and
others were sleepy and tired and said, I don't know if I'll
hear anything, but they get here, and now they're hearing, right?
And the Lord is engaging you through the preaching of the
gospel, even if it doesn't feel like it. The Lord is merciful
and gathering you together, pulling you here to hear him and believe
him in that. It's to hear his word, to hear
the good news of our salvation. You know, the first thing that's
developed in a child in the womb is that ear, that inner ear to
hear. If you fathers, when your wife
is pregnant, you preach the gospel to your wife's belly. I have
no problem with that. Declare. He'll lift him up and exalt him
even before your unborn child You know, I preached the gospel
to my brother on his deathbed. He was in a coma All right, I
but I preach it in in in hope. I don't know like I leave it
with the Lord I preach it in hope that the Lord caused him
to hear because it's not the flesh but the new man created
of Christ and You know, the Lord knows I can only commit it to
him, but my mom asked me to preach the gospel to him on his deathbed,
and so I did, in hope. And so I believe that, you know,
we preach, even though it doesn't seem like we may be hearing the
truth, and it's hard to hear, but trust him, that he's able
to, by the power of his spirit, put that word into your ear,
and receive it with faith, and plant a seed, that he waters
and cares for and provides for, all right? Trust him for that. So he's engaging us, right? We may be bashful. We may think,
he's not talking to me. We may be afraid to ask him and
to seek him, right? We may think, well, religion
teaches us that Christ is standoffish, right? Religion says, you can't
approach unto him. Who are you to come near to Christ? You don't know him. you don't
have any right or authority to come and speak to him, right? Just like the disciples, they
kept the children back, right? But Christ said, bring the children
unto me, let them come, let them hear, don't forbid them, don't
forbid anyone who would hear me, right? Who all need to hear
him, right? So they're all welcome and Christ
is welcoming all to hear him preach and speak, right? And
so none are to forbid one from seeking and following Christ.
And so the way he engages us is he declares to us what he's
accomplished. That's how he's engaging you
this morning through the gospel. He's declaring to you what he's
accomplished. We're coming with all our baggage
and all our fears and thinking, Lord doesn't want to see me.
But he's saying, no, I do. I brought you here to hear what
I've done for you. grace, to cover you with my blood,
to comfort you, to give you peace and rest in him." That's why
he does it. So, you know, in the gospel,
What do we hear? We hear that we're sinners. And
some people do get offended when they hear that they're a sinner. Because the reason why man in
the flesh gets offended is because they're counting on those works
to gain them an entrance, an audience with God, and that God
will justify them. Say, wow, well done, good and
faithful servant. You're justified, you're righteous.
Come on into my kingdom. I've prepared this for you. But when they hear that their
works are sinful and that God doesn't accept them, that our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags before God and he's not
pleased with them, that when we come before him with our works,
we're like, here, here's my fistfuls of smelly poop. Don't they smell
great? No, God's not pleased with our
works. They're filthy to him. But he
does this for our good. Isn't it a mercy to know now
that our works are not acceptable by the Father? Isn't it good
that we should learn now that what we do and think is our righteousness
is not our righteousness, but that he's doing this so that
we stop trying to earn our own righteousness and that we stop
trying to do our own thing in the hopes that God will accept
it and that we would listen to what he says. Listen, here's
my righteousness. Don't stop looking to your own
works of religion and look to the one whom I've provided, my
son, Jesus Christ. You know, so we're to hear that
the wages of sin is death and that God is bringing all of creation
into judgment for their sin. But in truth we don't, I mean
religion does, but in truth the Church of Christ doesn't say
these things to mock you, right, to belittle you. Religion speaks
of your sin because they want you to fear, and they want to
motivate you to do more works. Shell out a little more money,
or work harder in the church, and try to do more good in the
community. They're saying you're a sinner because they're trying
to whip you to do more in religion, in the name of religion. God
doesn't do that to whip you or to create that fear. I mean,
yes, there's a fear of God, but it's to cause us to stop, to
stop our dead works religion and to ask the Lord, Lord, well,
if I can't be saved by my own works of righteousness, but if
I'm not saved by these things I'm doing, how then am I saved? How then can a man be righteous
with God? How do you receive your people
then Lord? And that's why we declare that
all are sinners. He tells us that all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. Oh, before I forget that
with the wages of sin is death. And so that we hear the second
part of that verse, which says, but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. It's the gift of God. It's
not by working. It's not by works of righteousness
that we are in God's favor. It's by His grace provided to
us freely in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so all have sinned to come
short of the glory of God, he tells us, so that we see that
none of us are accepted. We're all sinners. We're all
guilty before God. Every single one of us needs
to hear this righteousness that he's provided freely. Not because
any one of us is better than the other. He saves his people
in grace and mercy and in his compassion in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And so that we hear when he describes
his children as being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So that's why we declare
all men sinners so that we stop our works and ask, we seek, well
then, who then can be saved? How am I saved, Lord, if it's
not by my works, all right? And so we know religion their
ways and so it can be very frustrating, right? Religion can be very frustrating
and very demanding of us, right? And they want you, right? They
want to do, they want to affect things, you know, they want to
affect works in you because they want to be able to say to God,
look, I got this one to do that in your name. I got this one
to do that. Look how I got this one to be better over here. Receive
me, Lord, because I did all these things. And the Lord says to
those who do that, depart from me, you workers of iniquity.
I never knew you. Because while religion says,
well, I got him to obey the law. I got him to do more works under
the law. Isn't that what I'm supposed
to do? Isn't that righteousness? And he says, no, you turn them
away from my righteousness. You pointed them to their flesh
and working under the law, and you turn them away from my righteousness,
who is Jesus Christ. You didn't declare him. You didn't
comfort the people in what I provided, my righteousness I provided.
You turned them from righteousness and made them unrighteous and
practiced filthy works, thinking that by the law they were righteous.
And I know it's contrary to the flesh, but that's exactly what
the gospel is contrary to the flesh. The flesh has no part
in it. It's spiritual. It's a work of
our God and grace, all right? Our Lord says, stop laboring
and ask, well, then how can I be saved? And so Christ engages
us saying, what seek ye? You that I've gathered here this
morning, what seek ye? What are you looking for? Is
Jesus of Nazareth the Lamb of God or isn't he? Do you believe
what John the Baptist said concerning him, that he is the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world? You that believe He
is, know this, that He it is, is the very One that accomplished
your redemption. He purchased you with His own
blood. There on the bloody cross He
was crucified to bear your sins, to put them away, to justify
you before God, and to sanctify you, to call you out of darkness,
and to teach you, right? He applies that blood, comforts
you, causing you to rest in Him more and more, looking to Him
alone. And He did all this by the death
on the cross, by being buried in the grave for you, and being
raised from the dead for you, His people, that you might have
a good hope in Him, a sure hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're
told in Romans 3, 24 and 25, that we who believe on Him, who
are given faith by the Lord to believe on Him, we are justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, or whom
God set forth a propitiation, the deliverance from punishment,
through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness, not
mine but His, for the remission of sins that are past, through
the forbearance of God. He didn't destroy us because
He would provide and glorify His Son and provide Him to be
the salvation of His people, that we should be His people
and know Him. and dwell in Him and be comforted
by that very fact. So we preach the gospel of Jesus
Christ because we know that that's what our God has given us to
declare to you, to you that are gathered here, knowing that the
Spirit takes those words of truth and He gives the ear faith in
the timing that he gives it, he'll plant seeds, he'll water
it, he'll nourish it and raise it up in his time. And we trust
him for that. And so we know that the spirit
regenerates us and gives life to whom he will, when he will.
And we're waiting on him to do that, just as he did there in
that little quick moment when those two disciples stood with
John and they heard him say that little word of truth and the
word of God gave them life, and caused them to hear, and believe,
and follow Christ. So that's why we preach that
word, because the Spirit's going to deliver His people out of
darkness when it pleases Him. In 1 Peter 1, 23 through 25,
we see this actual thing. He says, being born again, right? That's us, brethren. We're born
again, spiritually born, because our first birth, we didn't have
the spirit. We don't have life in Christ. And he says, not of corruptible
seed. That's Adam's seed that is corrupted and sinful and only
passes on a sinful nature. but of incorruptible seed, right?
That spiritual seed of Christ, which, and he says, by the word
of God, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, which liveth and abideth
forever, right? Up in heaven, there's not these
Bibles floating around. on wings up there. It's Christ
who liveth and abideth forever. He's the Word of God, right? For all flesh is as grass and
all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth
and the flower thereof falleth away. That's speaking of our
works of the flesh, our works under religion, our attempt to
please God. It's all grass. It's all burned
up. That counts for nothing. It doesn't earn us any extra
favor with God. But the word of the Lord endureth
forever. Christ endureth forever. And
this, this true word concerning Christ our salvation, which is
the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. We're preaching
the truth of Christ, knowing that the spirit gives the ear
and life to whom he will to hear that word and to believe it and
follow Christ. So, He is the Savior. So what seek ye? What seek ye? Are you a sinner in need of His
grace and mercy? Is Christ the righteousness of
God whom He's provided? Is He the Lamb of God? Do you
believe Him that He did this for you and accomplished your
salvation? If not those things, if you don't
believe that, then what are you doing in religion? You really
think your religion is providing you a righteousness and acceptance
with God? Because that's not what the Word
teaches. It teaches that all our works come short of the glory
of God, and we need Him. Men practice religion for their
own good works, for their own righteousness, for things to
boast in before God. But the Lord tells us, I'm not
going to receive that. I don't abide with those who
are righteous in their own works. I abide with Christ. And all
who come in Christ, He abides with them. He's their God, their
Savior, their salvation. He's everyone's God, but He's
their salvation in Christ alone. That's with whom He abides. 1 Corinthians 1 29-30 tells us
that no flesh is going to glory in the presence of God. No flesh
is going to glory in His presence, but of God are ye in Christ Jesus
who is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and redemption
and sanctification. He's made all those things and
many more. He's made all our salvation that
according as it's written, he that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord. All right, so after Christ asks
the disciples, what seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, which
is to say being interpreted, master, where dwellest thou?
And what they're communicating to us, what we're being told
there is that they wanted to know him. They sought where he
lived because they wanted to spend time with him and they
wanted to ask him questions. They wanted to be received of
him and hear him speak and learn of him. They weren't received
in the temple and the synagogues, but he was received and they
wanted to know where he was and spend that time and fellowship
and eat with him and follow him and learn of all that he would
tell them. They wanted to abide where he
was abiding. And this is what he says there
in verse 39. He saith unto them, come and
see. And they came and saw where he
dwelt and abode with him that day, for it was about the 10th
hour. And according to the Jews, that
would be about two hours before sunset. All right, so it was
late. And it sounds like Christ put
them up. He took them in and he cared for them. He let them
stay there that night with him. And they spent all that time
hearing him speak, learning of him, and fellowshipping with
him, and hearing for themselves what John had said concerning
him. And they were rejoicing, as we'll
see next time, because they went out and told their brethren and
their friends, like, we found him. We found the Messiah, the
one who has been promised to come. And they were excited about
him. He's very welcoming. He is very welcoming to all who
seek Him, all who must have Him and know Him and be found in
Him, not having their own righteousness, which comes with the law, but
the righteousness which is of Christ. You know, we're told
further in his ministry over in Luke 15, verses 1 and 2, that
the people that began to be drawn to Christ were publicans and
sinners. the offscouring of society. They
were the ones that were coming to Christ and said, I want to
be with Him. If He's going to receive me and speak to me, a
worthless sinner, despised by all the rest of religion, I want
to be with Him. I want to know Him. And all the
Pharisees and the scribes, you know, the cream of the crop,
I have another word for them, but those people that were celebrated
and received by the churches in that day, They murmur, they
complain, saying, this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. Aren't you thankful, you that
are sinners and have nothing to boast in, to know that this
one receives ones just like you and me? Sinners who have nothing
to lay claim to, that we should be able to go there with such
boldness, believing that he'll receive me and let me come and
abide with him, that I may learn of God and spend eternity with
Him, all right? So, you know, I remember, you know,
we even had, you know, some come and visit us, right? And one
man in particular stands out to me, right, that he basically
accused us, and certainly me, of just being a publican and
a sinner. And he wanted to go and be with
others who preach the law. And he wanted to hear the law.
He wanted to sit with others who had the same discipline as
he had, because he thought that was his righteousness. And I
was just off scouring to him. And I'm OK with being with you,
brethren. And I'm thankful that you're
willing to be here, because we're looking for Christ. We seek him,
to know him and his righteousness. And we trust, we have no confidence
in the flesh, but we have confidence in Christ. So are you a sinner
in need of His grace, in need of His righteousness because
you have none of your own? Are you like these disciples
who had nothing but a desire to know Christ? to know this
one who is declared to be the Lamb of God, the one who taketh
away the sin of the world? Or are you like the Pharisees
who have nothing but questions about religion, about maybe you
think that, well, Peter couldn't bear the yoke of the law, but
I can. Are you confident in your works and your works under the
law, a denier, a doubter, an unbeliever? self-righteous, self-exalting
of your own works, such as that, they don't seek Christ. They
don't want to know where he abides and they don't want to be with
him or his people. They want to be with the Pharisees and
the scribes and those that are, you know, good students of the
law. That's where they want to be,
but nothing we say will ever be enough for them unless the
Spirit gives them an ear to hear and to follow Christ, to believe
Him. And so John's testimony is that
the Lamb of God, that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God and that He's
sufficient. He's all you need, brethren, to stand before God
on that day. And He was sufficient for the
disciples and they followed Him. So what seek ye? Our Lord encourages
you in His words. to seek him, to hear his word,
to just come each week, be gathered and hear his gospel word of what
he's accomplished for you. He's not asking you for a righteousness
of your own, he's asking you to believe him and trust, and
he gives that power to you that hear his voice. He gives that
to you. And so he keeps gathering you
together to hear it. And he says, seek ye first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness. And I know religion says, oh,
I'll see you right there. He's telling you to work under the
law for righteousness. No. He's saying, seek my righteousness,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And all these things, the righteousness
that you know you need to stand before God, you must be perfect,
all that is provided for you in Christ. He is the righteousness
we need to stand before him. So I pray he bless that word
to your hearts and encourage that you hear him engaging you.
and you hear it and believe him and keep on coming and keep on
looking to him, seek him, and you'll find him. He'll answer
your questions. He'll comfort you. He'll open the door to you.
And anyone who asks, he'll answer. He'll answer. So I pray that
he bless you and that word to you. Our gracious Lord, we thank
you for your mercy and grace. Lord, that you would teach us
that you would give us a heart to seek Christ, and that you
would answer our questions through the gospel, that you would comfort
us and settle us in the gospel. Lord, we know that we have no
righteousness of our own, and we can't work sufficiently under
the law to bring forth righteousness that you will receive. But we
know that you receive sinners and eat with them in the person
of your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, help us, keep us ever seeking
him and finding him and fellowshipping with one another in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Keep us comforted and resting
in him. And Lord, we trust that you'll
teach us, you'll strip away the grave clothes of religion from
us. You'll strip away dead works and you'll teach us and you'll
bear fruits of righteousness in us by your spirit. Lord, we're
trusting you to do that. We're asking you to do that for
the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, whom you sent to be the righteousness
of your people. Lord, help us. Encourage us. Engage us, Lord, continually
with your gospel, and help us to hear it, and that we, like
these disciples, would follow you. It's in the name of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. All right, brethren. Let's stand and sing a closing
hymn, 447, I Have Found a Friend in Jesus, or the Lily of the
Valley, 447. I have found a friend in Jesus,
He's everything to me, He's the fairest of ten thousand to my
soul. The lily of the valley, in Him
alone I see, All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole. In sorrow He's my comfort, in
trouble He's my stay, He tells me every care on Him to roll. The lily of the valley, the bright
and morning star, He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul. He all my griefs has taken, and
all my sorrows borne. In temptation He's my strong
and mighty tower. I have all for Him forsaken,
and all my idols torn. From my heart and now He keeps
me by His power. Though all the world forsake
me, and Satan tempt me sore, through Jesus I shall safely
reach the goal. He's the lily of the valley,
the brightest morning star. He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. He will never, never leave me,
nor yet forsake me here, while I live by faith and do His blessed
will. A wall of fire about me, I've
nothing now to fear. With His manna, He my hungry
soul shall fill. Then, sweeping up to glory, I'll
see his blessed face. Rivers of delight shall ever
roll. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star. He's the fairest of 10,000 to
my soul. Thank you.