This will be number 108. Out
of this affect, number 108, Jesus, thy boundless love to me. Jesus, Thy boundless love to
me, no thought can reach, no tongue declare. Oh, knit my thankful heart with
Thee, and reign without arrival there. Thine only, Thine alone
I am. Be Thou alone, my constant flame. O grant that nothing in my soul
may dwell but Thy pure love alone. O may Thy love possess me whole. I joy my treasure and my crown. ? All calmness from my heart
removed ? ? May every act, word, thought be loved ? ? Oh, how
gracious is thy way ? ? All fear before thy presence flies ? ?
Care, anguish, sorrow melt away ? Where'er Thy healing beams
arise, O Jesus, nothing may I seek, nothing desire or seek but Thee. Thank you. You may be seated. Good morning, everybody. Good
to see everybody. I'm going to be reading this morning out of
Hebrews chapter 4. I'll be picking up in verse 1. Hebrews chapter 4, starting in
verses 1. Let us therefore fear, lest a
promise be left to us of entering into His rest, Any of you should
seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached,
as well as unto them. But the word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it. For we which have believed do enter into rest. As he said,
I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest,
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise,
and God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in
this place again, if they shall enter into my rest, seeing therefore
it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it
was first preached entered not in because of unbelief. Again,
he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long
a time, as it is said, today if ye will hear his voice, harden
not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest,
then he would not have afterward spoken of another day. There
remaineth therefore rest to the people of God. For he that is
entered into the rest, he also hath ceased from his own works,
as God did hit from his. Let us labor, therefore, to enter
into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of
unbelief. For the word of God is quick
and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and joints
and marrow, and a discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart.
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight,
for all things are made. All things are naked and opened
unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that
we have a great high priest that is passed into heavens, Jesus,
the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, for we have not
a high priest which cannot be touched with feelings of our
infirmities, but was in all points tempted, like as we are, yet
without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. Lord, we thank you, Lord, for
the words you've given us, Lord, for what you've done since the
foundation of the world, Lord. We pray that you'd give us that
rest this morning, Lord, to look nowhere else other than your
son for rest, Lord. And stay focused there, Lord,
not Lord, clear our hearts of the distractions that would pull
us any which way, Lord, and give us that love, love for you, Lord,
and love for your brethren. In your name we pray, amen. All right, brethren, we're gonna
be in John chapter one, John one, verses 18 through 29. Now, we know that the coming
of Christ was to reveal to us who God is. All right, his coming. taught us and revealed to us
that we have no true knowledge of God and we don't know how
to worship Him. We don't know who He is, how to please Him
or satisfy Him. And Christ reveals God to us. He makes God known to His people. As it says there in John 1 verse
18, that no man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared
him." So if we would know God and know who he is, we're only
going to know him through Christ. That's how men and women know
who God is and worship God, is in the person of Jesus Christ. Because he's the reveal it. He's the one who reveals God,
and he's the one who reconciles sinful man to God. And he does that work. Now, this one, Christ, he's He's heralded
here in our text by John the Baptist. John the Baptist is
the one who declares Christ to us publicly. And John, when you
think about John, he's a humble man in terms of who he is, what
he looks like, where he lives, and what he eats. He's described
as one who wears a leather a leather girdle and eats locusts and wild
honey. He probably smelled and looked
pretty bad. And he's out there in the wild. And you think what
an honor it was for this one to reveal, to declare Christ,
to point out who the Christ is among all the peoples John the
Baptist is the one whom God chose to reveal Christ, to point him
out when he came. And a flip to that is what a condescension
it is for our maker, our God, to call that man, to declare
him, to point him out, one of so humble and mean-looking type
person to be the one who reveals Christ or points him out to the
people. And so that is something for
us, right? Something for me, you know, it's
humbling to know that there's nothing special about me because
the Lord takes anyone. In fact, he usually takes the
lowest of us and the worst of us to declare his name, to be
his ambassador. So that's what it says about
me and all of you who declare Christ freely and boldly and
to others. It's a real honor for us to be
able to declare Christ to any other sinner, to proclaim that
he alone is the one true salvation that we need. Now, after John
was put in jail, because it wasn't long before John was put in jail,
our Lord said in Luke 7, and we're gonna look at a few verses
from Luke and probably Matthew, and Luke 7, 24 through 26, our
Lord said unto the people concerning John, he said, what went ye out
into the wilderness to see? All right, because they had to
go out of the city into the wilderness there to see something. And he
asks, was it a reed shaken in the wind? No, it wasn't a reed
shaken in the wind. They weren't going out to explore
or look into flowers of the desert or landscapes in the desert.
But what went ye out for to see, he asks, a man clothed in soft
raiment? Behold, they that are in soft
raiment, those that are dressed delicately or in fine clothes,
you're not going to find them out in the wilderness. They're
in kings' courts. They're in castles and amidst
refinement. But what went ye out for to see,
and he says, a prophet? He went out to see a prophet,
and much more than a prophet. So our Lord tells us that John
the Baptist, he is a prophet, but that he's unlike any prophet
that we've heard before, any prophet that we've seen or read
of in the scriptures. And the same thing for them.
He's unlike any prophet that they had read of in the scriptures. And we'll see what that means
In fact, I'll tell you what it is and I'll tell you again later
just so maybe we'll hear it, but he's a prophet unlike any
other prophet because he was sent not to foretell a future
event, but to actually point out and say this one here is
the Christ. That's how he's a prophet. He's
the one who points him out specifically. the flesh saying this one right
here is the Lamb of God. This is the promised Savior who
was to come. All right, and so when John the
Baptist came we could call him a harbinger, meaning that his
very presence indicated something. It indicated that Christ was
now among us. When John the Baptist came, it
was signifying to the people that the Christ has come. And a harbinger, just so you
know, is one that indicates or foreshadows the coming of someone
or something. Just like, I don't know, I've
heard the Chinese, when they see a comet in the sky, they
feel like it's a harbinger, it's calling attention to it's gonna
be a bad thing, it's a bad sign. So a comet is a harbinger of
bad things to come, but John the Baptist was a harbinger of
Christ, signifying Christ is here among us. Now, John the
Baptist here in this passage, he declares two things to us. He declares two things to us,
and they provide, you that preach Christ, you that would speak
of Christ, it gives us two things, two examples for us to follow.
And one of the things that we see is he declares the necessity
of our regeneration. He declares the necessity of
our being born again and that otherwise we don't know him except
he reveals himself to us. It's not a natural thing that
we just come to learn or understand. And then he declares that our
redemption, our purchase, the way we become Children of God
the way we become sons and daughters of God is through the blood purchase
the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ All right So this
is what is revealing because he's making known Christ to us
who he is and what he came to do And so I've titled this our
true purpose Our true purpose and we'll look at who we declare
and what it is that we declare All right, we'll see that in
two points. The first point will be the longer of the two points.
Now, this passage here, we'll read a few things about John
and I'll explain these things, but we see that it helps us to
see who we declare, right, and how we declare him, how we declare
this Christ. And you'll see that John's very
tenacious. on this point. He's focused on revealing Christ,
and that's good for us to see, his focus on preaching Christ. Now it begins in verse 19 and
20. This is the record of John, John
the Baptist, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem
to ask him, who art thou? Well, this is what he said, and
he denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. So the ambassador of Christ,
the one who came to reveal Christ, says, I'm not the Christ. Already, John just being out
there was very different. They had never seen, in their
time, they had never seen a religious person, a religious leader like
John. He didn't fit the norm of the
other the other religious persons, right? And so it caught the attention,
not only of the people, but eventually it caught the attention of the
religious, the recognized religious leaders of the day, right? Eventually
they realized we've got to do something because there's this
guy out there and everybody's talking about him and so we better
find out who this one is. And so they sent a delegation,
right? They sent a delegation out to
ask John some questions, and they wanted to know what he said
of himself. Who does he say he himself is? And they asked him, and he confessed
not and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. I'm not
the Christ. So here's the first lesson for
us that are called of God to minister the gospel. And the
Lord's gonna teach us this, right? Whether you stand up here and
you bring forth messages, right? Or you're one who declares Christ
to others. And the first thing you're gonna
find out, the first thing you're gonna see is it's really not,
it's not about me. That's what we're gonna learn.
We're gonna be humbled in our person. And we're gonna find
out it's not about me, it's about the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
preeminent one, not me, all right? And so this man, John the Baptist,
he's ministering to the people. And what is he ministering? What
is he doing? Well, he was sent to prepare
the people for the coming of Christ. He was sent to prepare
their hearts so that they began to wonder, what's going on here?
Who is this man and what is he doing? And it was meant to set
their hearts on the coming of Christ, right? Because you think
about it, during the week, we go through the week each day
and we do the things that we do and our hearts are set upon
worldly things, right? They're set upon our businesses,
they're set upon our homes, they're set upon our children and our
friends and the activities that we enjoy and naturally they're
not set upon the Lord and they're not set upon the worship of of
the Lord. And so John was sent to shake
the people out of their slumber and to be aware, is this the
time? Is this the coming of the promised
Christ? And so being that man who was
the harbinger of Christ, he did things with authority, right? He did things with authority.
And so he understood that it's not about him, but he did what
he did in authority, in confessing that he's not the Christ. And
like John, when he says, I'm not the Christ, it's good for
us to see what John is seeing because we don't even realize
how our actions or our words make things about us. Sometimes
we're called drama kings or drama queens by doing things that make
a situation about us, even if it's not about us, and so like
John, in that authority, he learned that it's not about him, but
it's about Christ, and he was very focused on making sure it's
about the Lord. Now turn to 2 Corinthians 4,
2 Corinthians 4, and go to verse 5, and we'll look at a few verses
here in this context, where Paul confirms this very thing that
I'm saying here, He said, we preach not ourselves. We preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves, your servants for Jesus' sake.
That's what we're learning. And what he's saying there is
that we're not, like me as your pastor, I'm not a lord over your
life. That's not what I'm sent to do, to tell you and help you
make decisions about which car to buy or which job to take. I'm not a lord over your life.
I'm sent as a helper of your joy. I'm responsible for what's
preached here in the pulpit and what is declared here in the
gospel. That is my responsibility. I
have that responsibility and I have to take that responsibility. and because that's my calling,
but we're sent here, our primary focus is to point out Christ,
to point you to Christ, to declare to you salvation so that you
know, and that's why we gather here. It's to know Christ. And that is where we wanna keep
it. And then we preach Christ because
verse six says, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness
has shined in our hearts. to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And so that's
our purpose, and that's the knowledge he's given us, and that's the
knowledge we're to proclaim and declare to you, the people of
God, whom he's assembled and gathered here together, all right?
And so that's our focus. Now, like John, we're often humbled,
all right? In the two and a half years that
I've been here, the Lord teaches you a lot. And it's a humbling
thing. It's not a, it's not a puffing
up. It's a humbling thing. And the Lord shows you your own
weaknesses and, and our need of the Lord himself. Right? And so as it says here in verse
seven, that we have this treasure, it's a valuable treasure. It's
precious. Eternal life is precious. Your
souls are much more precious than the things that we have
in this life. And so with that being the case, we have this
treasure in earthen vessels, a weak vessel that is cracked
and broken in many ways and is in weakness and suffers and things
of that sort. But it's that the excellency
of the power may be of God and not of us, right? So that the
Lord takes the right man at the right time and assembles them
with the right people that he's purposed, that you're not looking
to me, all right? I'm nothing special. You're looking
to God. So as he ministers the gospel
to your heart and you hear it, You're thankful because, you
know, it's not me, it's him. It's in spite of me. You hear
Christ and you rejoice in him. And then, you know, Paul in that
passage there says a few other things that speak and confirm
our weaknesses and how we're brought low. And he says in verse
11, for we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus's
sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
mortal flesh. meaning that what I have ahead
of me is more humbling things, right? And being shown more and
more how it's not me, but it's of the Lord. It's about the Lord,
all right? And same thing for you, to the
purpose or to the amount that he reveals the gospel and is
using you in his kingdom, all right? So then Paul says, death
worketh in us, but life in you. And so that's our, hope and our
confidence that in spite of the weaknesses of this flesh you
brethren hear Christ and are ministered the Lord Jesus Christ. As John the Baptist himself would
say, and this sums it up, he must increase but I must decrease. I must become less than less
and that's what the Lord chose us and that's what he's teaching
us all right so these pharisaical priests and Levites who came
from Jerusalem they pressed John further verse 21 and they asked
him what then art thou Elijah and he saith I am NOT art thou
that prophet or a prophet and he answered no I'm not that prophet
that you're you're thinking of. Now I'm going to look at Elijah
in a moment because I'm sure some of you are like, wait a
minute, why does he say I'm not Elijah when we know that he's,
you know, when the Lord says he's Elijah, all right? But let
me just address this prophet here. It's because some thought
that the harbinger of Christ, right, the indicator that Christ
was present would be that there would be prophets. a prophet
at least, raised from the dead, that a prophet would come that
they had read of, right? Some prophet like Jeremiah. And
when I saw that, I always thought of Moses in Deuteronomy 18, verse
15, where he says, the Lord thy God shall raise up a prophet
like unto me, right, from the midst of thee, of thy brethren,
unto him shall ye hearken. Hear that prophet when the Lord
raises him up. And so that's what I always thought.
But if you look in Matthew 16, verse 14, we do find that the
people were expecting a prophet, a prophet that was alive during
the Old Testament times. It says, some say that thou art
John the Baptist. When the Lord asked him, who
do men say that I am? He said, oh, you're John the Baptist,
some people think, because John had already been beheaded at
this time. Some that you're Elijah, and
others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets, right? So that was
what the people understood the scriptures to be saying, that
there would be a prophet of the Old Testament that would be raised
up again, which would indicate the coming of Christ, okay? And
even the disciples were wondering, what does this really mean? They
were confused. So look over at Matthew 17, verse
10 and 11. This here is at the Mount of
Transfiguration. And Peter, James, and John, they
had just seen two prophets, right, themselves. They saw Moses and
Elijah. Obviously that must have been
revealed to them by the Spirit because they didn't have name
tags on their shirts. they knew in the spirit that
this was Moses and Elijah. And the Lord, as they're coming
down from the mountain says, tell no man until the son of
man be risen. So verse 10, his disciples asked
him saying, well, why then do the scribes say that Elijah must
first come? And it seems to me that they're
saying, well, why can't we tell anyone of this? If you're the
Christ, why can't we tell them that We've seen Elijah. Why can't
they know that Elijah has come? Why does this have to be kept
quiet? And why did the scriptures teach
this? If Elijah must first come. And then the Lord says in verse
11, that Elijah truly shall first come and restore all things,
right? Or set the hearts of the people
upon the fact that Christ is among you, right? That's why
Elijah comes. It's to shake the people out
of slumber and to set their hearts upon the Lord Jesus Christ. But I say unto you, verse 12,
that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have
done unto him whatsoever they listed, right? They jailed him
and then beheaded him. Likewise shall also the Son of
Man suffer of them. And then they understood, oh,
he's talking about John the Baptist, all right? So the Lord says,
this is Elijah, all right? So then now why did John the
Baptist say, When they asked him, are you Elijah, he said
no. Why did he say no? Why did he deny that he's Elijah?
Well, John was answering them according to their understanding
of Elijah. Think about that. They had an
understanding of how Christ was going to come and they thought
Elijah in the flesh was going to rise up and come before the
coming of Christ. And so that's their understanding
and that's exactly how John the Baptist answered them according
to their understanding. And actually, for you that are
speaking and preaching Christ, when you have that opportunity,
that's actually a good thing for you to do as well. Answer
people according to their understanding. So what's an example of what
I mean? If someone comes to you and says, do you believe in limited
atonement? Or do you believe in election?
And if you just say yes, Well, then they go off thinking whatever
their idea of limited atonement and election means. They didn't
ask you what it is. They asked you, do you believe
in that? Do you teach that? And so in
answering them according to their understanding, really what What
I'm trying to say or learn to say is, what do you mean by limited
atonement? What do you mean by election? What is your understanding of
that? Because I don't know what they think about it. And if I
just say yes, then they go off thinking I think whatever they
think about it. And I don't know what they think.
And actually, if you ask them, what do you mean by that? You
actually have an opportunity to have a dialogue, a discussion,
and maybe you can share with them, well, this is why, according
to the scriptures, this is what I believe about the atonement
and about the election. And so that's what John was doing. He was answering them according
to their understanding. And according to their understanding
that Elijah was to come in the flesh, he says, no, I'm not Elijah
in the flesh. I didn't rise from the dead like
that. I'm not that guy. And so he was
right. He didn't lie or mislead them
in any way. So speaking of John the Baptist,
here's how we are to understand that he's Elijah. When the angel
in Luke chapter one, verse 16 and 17, when he's speaking to
John the Baptist's daddy when he's speaking to him the angel
speaking to him in in Luke 1 16 He says many of the children
of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God, right? He's gonna
restore all things set their hearts upon the coming of Christ
and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah
and so in that sense John the Baptist is Elijah. He came in
the spirit and the power of Elijah. He had the spirit in abundance
upon him to preach and proclaim and to know who the Christ is
when he came, all right? So now back in John chapter one,
verse 22 and 23. Then said they unto him, Who
art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us?
What sayest thou of thyself? And he said, I am the voice of
one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. All right, so remember that John
is a prophet. All right, he's a prophet. And
our Lord tells us that not only is he a prophet, but he's much
more than a prophet. All right, so what's the difference
of John being a prophet from Jeremiah and Elijah and Elisha
and Isaiah? What's the difference between
him and Ezekiel and them? Well, he didn't tell of future
events. His presence indicated that what
the Lord had declared would come to pass and it was now upon them.
But the reason why he's a prophet unlike any other is because he
is the prophet that literally pointed to Christ and said, this
man is the Christ. This Jesus of Nazareth is the
long-expected Christ whom you've been waiting for. right and so
he preceded him by a little and all of Judah and Judea and and
Jerusalem was shaken out of their slumber and they realized something
major is happening and so their hearts were turned to the Lord
and then when Christ came he said this is what the Lord's
been preparing you for this is the coming of The Lord Jesus
Christ and when he came he said that's him right there, right?
And so Christ said in Luke 27 Luke 7 28 for I say unto you
among those that are born of women There is not a greater
prophet than John the Baptist But he that is least in the kingdom
of God of God is greater than he." Why did he say that we who
are least in the kingdom, how are we greater than John the
Baptist? Because he's the one who pointed to Christ and that's
just really what it is. He pointed to Christ and said
that's him and then he went to jail and he was beheaded and
he never saw the Lord come into his kingdom. He saw the Christ
and he was greater than the other prophets because his eyes laid
hold of Christ. He saw Christ and was able to
point him out, but we're greater than John the Baptist in the
sense that we've seen the witness. We've heard the witness that
he laid down his life, just as the prophet said, was died and
was buried and raised again. We've seen that witness. So when
we're declaring to others of Christ, we're declaring with
this knowledge of what he's actually accomplished. It's already done.
The kingdom of God is upon us. It's in our hearts and he's revealed
it to us. When John was, John was still
on the other side pointing to Christ when he came, but he never
saw his work on the cross. I mean, he saw it by faith. He
knew it by the spirit because he calls him the lamb of God,
but he didn't see what we see. And so when we're, when we're
declaring Christ, you all have the witness, whether you believe
or not, you know that Christ was killed and on the cross and
raised again. by God himself. He raised him
just as he said he would. All right? And so that's the
sense. So in that sense, he's leased
in the kingdom. All right? So now let's see what
we declare. What do we declare? Now, verse
24, let me just read John 1, 24. We're given this detail. They which were sent were of
the Pharisees. So you know, all right, well
the Pharisees, these were the revered ones, at least revered
in their own minds. They were the strictest sect. They had the most knowledge,
the most studied, the most esteemed among the people generally. the
bigwigs among the people. And so they asked him, they said
unto him, why baptizes thou them, if thou be not the Christ, nor
Elijah, neither that prophet? They're asking him this because
he's baptizing their people, their people that went to their
synagogues and temples, and they're the Pharisees, and he's out here
baptizing their flock, their people, so they wanna know. And
John answered them saying, I baptize with water, but there standeth
one among you whom ye know not." And that goes to the point I
made about what John was revealing about the Lord. He's saying you
religious people, you people who know so much and know everything,
he's saying you don't know what you ought to know. You don't
know Christ. You're dead in trespasses and
sins. You're in darkness. You're shut
up in a prison of your own sin and death. And that's what they
had to hear. That's what they needed to know.
And so the reason why, it doesn't say it in John here, but in the
other gospels, he says to them that I baptize with water, but
there cometh one who will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with
fire. I can't affect that work in you.
I can't give you spiritual life. but he can he gives a spiritual
life and so what john was saying is there stands one among you
whom you know not he's declaring to them you're blind and ignorant
and you're the religious leaders and you don't even know this
and you don't you don't see this you don't see the one who is
the the light in the life of men and him you must know you
must know him and so Again, we can be very religious. We see
these people, they were very religious, very knowledgeable,
very well trained, very well studied, very well respected,
and yet they didn't know Christ. And that's a warning to us in
the flesh. That's a warning to us that we
can have all the knowledge in the world. We could, there's
probably people, I know there's people, but I mean even here,
there may be some that are more knowledgeable and can articulate
the doctrines of grace. better than me, but if we have
not Christ, then we have nothing, except for the Lord reveal Christ
to us. So, you know, true religion and
the law reveals to us that we're sinners, but Christ alone reveals
life in us and gives us hope and life in him and makes us
satisfied with his grace and what he's done for us. All right,
so if you would be saved, then hear what John says right here
what John says he's a witness sent for us he says there standeth
one among you whom ye know not now that's what he said and that's
what they heard those pharisees that's what they heard right
and we're told in verse 28 that these things were done in Bethabara,
beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. And so we have a tremendous
benefit. You sitting here, believe it
or not, have a tremendous benefit that far outweighs what those
Pharisees heard. Because they were out there in
the wilderness, and they weren't going to stay out there in the
wilderness. So they decided, we're going back to the city,
to the comforts of our own homes, and to tell those, our masters,
what what we heard, but you have a benefit because you're still
basically here in the presence of John now, right? We can read
what happened, because as soon as the know-it-all Pharisees
left and went back to town, they weren't around on the very next
day. So they're asking all these questions
and weren't satisfied, and then the very next day we're told
in John 1.29, John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. So the very next day, when they
were not there, those know-it-all Pharisees were no longer there,
and all they heard was, you don't know Christ. Well, they weren't
around to see Christ revealed. They didn't see when John pointed
him out and said, there he is, right there, this Jesus of Nazareth,
is the promised Christ. He's the one I was sent to declare
and reveal to the people. And so the Jews, you know, they
were expecting a king. They were expecting a conquering
king who would rise up and overthrow the Romans and who would fulfill
their vendettas, their hatred against others and would get
them back. They were expecting a prophet who would commend them
for their righteousness and their good works and condemn the publicans
and the sinners. But they weren't expecting a
priest who would make atonement by sacrificing himself unto the
Father. They weren't expecting one who
came weak and lowly a Savior who came in weakness and went
to the altar. Had he gone directly to the throne,
they would have received him gladly, but instead he went to
the altar in weakness and sacrificed himself, shedding his blood to
make atonement for the sins of his people, to make a covering
that we might stand before God without our sin being put out
there before him. and that we might stand before
him forgiven and holy and complete and our God being satisfied entirely
with what his son has done and being satisfied with us because
of Christ. So behold the Lamb of God. And so I pray that the Lord bless
you and encourage you in that to know, to rejoice that you've
heard way more than what they heard and many of them heard
in their day. And so the Lord has revealed
to us our need of Him, that we need His grace and His Spirit,
and Christ is the one who gives us that life, and that He's the
Savior who laid down His life to put away our sin, and He's
accomplished that and made us righteous before Him. So I pray
the Lord comfort your hearts in that and help you when you
speak to others, that that's our focus. Point out Christ,
declare what He's done for His people, and just proclaim it. You don't have to twist their
arm or convince them to make a profession that is false, but
declare Christ and know that you're either planting a seed
or watering a seed, but that it's all of, we leave it with
the Lord and His grace. So I pray He bless you and bless
that word to your hearts. Let's close in prayer. Our gracious
Lord, Father, we thank you for your grace, Lord, that we Even
though we live some 2,000 years after our Lord, that we are blessed
beyond measure to see even more than what John the Baptist saw.
And that Lord, we thank you for your grace and your spirit for
revealing your gospel and calling us by your gospel. Lord, we pray
that you would minister the comfort and the peace that you give to
your people through this word and that, Lord, we would be fed
and nourished and encouraged in Christ our Savior this day
and that we would go forth with songs of joy in our hearts and
that we would minister that to one another and love one another
in the spirit of Christ. Lord, we pray for those that
are suffering. We're so thankful that Scott
is doing better and that he's home now. We ask that you would
bless him, bless Johnny and help her as she cares for him and
that he would get well. We know, Lord, that he wants
to be here again with us so bad. We pray that you would hear him
and bless him in that prayer of his to be united with us again
soon. We pray for our brethren who
can't always be with us. We ask that you would help them
and help them to come and unite with us here as we worship your
name and glorify your son and glory in him. And Lord, all the
many requests and concerns that we have on our hearts and questions
that we have, we ask that you would answer us according to
your word and by your spirit, that you would feed us and keep
us and draw us near to yourself. Each and every time we get together,
that we would decrease, but that Christ would increase in us.
In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we pray these
things. Amen. I was just going to say too that
Brother Scott is home from the hospital and he has a little
port in his neck now for the dialysis while they wait for
the for the infection where the port was. It turned out to be
the port for the dialysis. So while we wait for that to
finish healing and get all that infection out, it's going to
take a few weeks, then they can still do the dialysis here, but
it'll move back eventually once the infection's out and they'll
try again. So I'll just pray for them on that. We'll sing a closing hymn from
the Softback, again. Come ye sinners poor and needy,
number 125. Amis, sinners, poor and wretched,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, joined with power. I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms. In the arms of my dear Savior,
oh, there are ten thousand charms. Come ye needy, come and welcome,
God's free bounty glorify. True belief and true repentance,
without money come and buy. I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms. In the arms of my dear Savior,
oh, there are ten thousand charms. Come ye weary, heavy laden, bruised
and mangled by the fall, If you wait until you're better, you
will never come at all. I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms. In the arms of my dear Savior,
oh, there are ten thousand charms. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor of fitness fondly dream. All the fitness he requireth
is to feel your need of him. I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms In the arms of my dear Savior
Though there are ten thousand charms View Him prostrate in
the garden, on the ground your Maker lies. On the cross He cries,
"'Tis finished! Sinner will not this suffice!"
I will arise and go to Jesus He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior Oh, there are ten thousand charms
Oh, the incarnate God ascended Pleads the merit of His blood
Venture on Him, venture wholly, let no other trust intrude. I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms. In the arms of my dear Savior,
oh, there are ten thousand charms. Make any updates, either here
or if you have access to it in the Google Drive. But then, if
we have some new people, I would like a directory so that you
can show them. Email or link out or something. Should we fix this, or? No, just
the whole thing. We're just not done yet. OK.
I didn't know if that's the same thing as the cleaning thing.
No, this is the thing we had earlier. It's funny because Lincoln
was still in there as baby. I don't know about that, too. I thought you had Benjamin Button's
disease.