Turn with me to Matthew 24. Matthew 24. I would like for us to look at
a particular subject matter. from something that our Lord
said in this chapter, and it is a sad subject matter. I just want to tell you this
before we start in on it. It's a sad subject matter, but
it's a very true subject matter. And I believe it's a very important
subject matter that we understand. Otherwise, I would not look at
this. If I did not feel in my heart that it's critical for
us to consider this, naturally, we would want to just
pass right over it. But our Lord, speaking to His
disciples, He said to them in verse 9, if you look at Matthew
24, verse 9, He said, Then shall they deliver you up
to be afflicted and shall kill you. And you shall be hated of all
nations. How sad. That's so sad. Why? He went on to say, for my name's
sake, because you preach me in truth, it's because you believe
on me for who I truly am. He said, men and women are going
to hate you because of me. How sad. That's the only response
I know to give to that. How sad. How sad that men and
women hate Christ. You say, men and women don't
hate Christ. They nailed him to a cross. They spit on him and cursed him
and mocked him and beat him. And it would be the same today
as it was back then. People think it'd be different
today. It would not. It'd be the same thing today. Men and women love Jesus. They hate the Christ. You say, what does that mean?
That means they love him being a kind, gentle, martyred man. They hate him being God Almighty. They hate him being God Almighty.
The very reason they crucified him was because they said, and
this is what they said, you'll remember this. They said, him
being a man is making himself to be God. And they hung Him
on a cross for that. They had it wrong. Him being
God made Himself to be a man. But either way, they hated Him
for it. And He said to those who preach
Him and those who believe Him, believe on Him for who He is. He said in verse 9, Then shall
they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and you shall
be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Turn with me to
Matthew chapter 10. Matthew 10, this is, When the
Lord called His disciples and He sent them out to preach, in
verse 16, He said, Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst
of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents
and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will
deliver you up to the councils and they will scourge you in
their synagogues. And you shall be brought before
governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them
and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up,
take no thought how or what you shall speak, for it shall be
given you in that same hour what you shall speak. For it is not
ye that speak, but the spirit of your father which speaketh
in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death,
brother to brother. and the father the child, and
the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them
to be put to death. And you shall be hated of all
men for my name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall
be saved. But when they persecute you in
this city, flee ye into another, for verily I say unto you, you
shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son
of Man become. The disciple is not above his
master nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough for the
disciple that he be as his master and the servant as his Lord.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much
more shall they call them of his household? Verse 34, he said,
think not that I am come to send peace on earth. What a statement. Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword. For I am come to set a man at
variance against his father, and the daughter against her
mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and
a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he
that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy
of me. He that findeth his life shall
lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."
How sad. He said, this unbelieving world
is going to hate you because of the truth concerning me. So sad. Look with me at John
15. And I will go ahead and tell
you there is a turning point. If you hang in here with me for
just a minute, there's a turning point. John 15 verse 17. Our Lord said, these things I
command you that you love one another, love one another. If
the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated
you. If you are of the world, the
world would love his own. But because you are not of the
world, But I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you. Remember the word that I said
unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they
have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have
kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things
will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know
not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken
unto them, they had not had sin, but now they have no cloak for
their sin. He that hateth me, hateth my
father also. If I had not done among them
the works which none other man did, they had not had sin, but
now they have both seen and hated both me and my father. But this
cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written
in their law, they hated me without a cause." How sad. Why? Why do men and women hate
the truth concerning Jesus Christ? And again, let me just clarify
that men and women don't hate Jesus Christ as long as lies
are being told on Him. As long as lies are being told,
they're fine. Men and women actually love the
lies that are being told on Jesus Christ. As long as men and women
are hearing that Jesus Christ loves everybody. What if I stood
here this morning and told you this? Jesus Christ loves everybody. And He died for everybody. And He wants everybody to be
saved. And He's begging anybody to just
accept Him and let Him save them, anybody. As long as people are
hearing, if you will just let Him into your heart and accept Him as your personal
Savior, you will make His day. If you would do that, bless His
little heart, if you would do that for Him, you would make
His day. And then you could feel so good about yourself because
you did that for Him. As long as people are hearing
those lies, there's no problem at all. There is no problem at
all. But you start telling people
the truth. We just read it. You start telling
people the truth that Jesus Christ does not love everybody. And he did not die for everybody. He doesn't even pray for everybody. Look at John 17 verse nine. Our Lord said, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them, which thou hast given me, for they are thine and all
mine are thine and thine are mine. And I'm glorified in them.
Who's he talking about? He's talking about a particular
people that God the Father chose, hand selected before the foundation
of the world and gave them to Christ, who he affectionately
calls his sheep. That's who he's talking about.
His sheep. He said, I do not love the world,
but I love my sheep. I did not die for the world,
but I died for my sheep. I do not pray for the world,
but father, I pray for my sheep. I do not call this world. I only call my sheep. I do not give saving faith to
this world. I only give saving faith to my
sheep. He said, you tell men and women
that. You tell men and women the truth about me. And he said,
as they hated hearing it from me, they will hate hearing it
from you. Turn with me to John 10, John
chapter 10. Verse 11, John 10, verse 11. He said, I am the good shepherd,
the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. He gives
his life for the sheep. In Matthew 25, you know we're
in Matthew 24 right now, the next chapter that we will be
in. Our Lord said on the day of judgment,
He's going to divide every soul into two groups. One he will
call his sheep and the other one he will call goats. To the
sheep he will say, welcome in. Why? It's because he laid down
his life for them. That's why. He laid down his
life for them. He purged their sins with his
own blood. That's the reason why. He washed
them and cleansed them. He forgave them. He redeemed
them. To his sheep, he will say, welcome
in. And to the goats, he will say,
depart from me, I never knew you. Why? Because he left them
alone. That's the reason why. He just
left them alone. He left them in their natural
wickedness and rebellion against him. He did not overrule them
and subdue their hatred. He allowed them to have the desire
of their heart. Their desire was to reject him
and to reject his mercy and reject forgiveness in his blood and
reject saving faith in him. And let's not misunderstand.
The only way it was possible for them to reject Him was He
had to allow them to. That's the only way that was
possible. If it was God's will to overrule
them and overrule their rejection of Him and show grace to them,
His grace would be irresistible. His mercy and His grace is irresistible
to sinful man. That's how sheep are made to
be sheep. All of their wicked rebellion is overpowered by God's
mercy and by God's grace. Salvation comes to centers when
God overrules and overpowers them with his mercy and his grace.
Condemnation comes when God leaves him alone. He just leaves him
alone. Verse 14 right here in John 10,
he said, I'm the good shepherd and know my sheep and have known
of mine. Even as the Father knoweth me,
even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also
I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall
be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, And I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my father. There was a division therefore
again among the Jews for these sayings, and many of them said,
he hath a devil and is mad. Why hear ye him? How sad. Verse 21, others said, these
are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open
the eyes of the blind? And it was at Jerusalem, the
feast of the dedication, and it was winter, and Jesus walked
in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about
him and said unto him, how long dost thou make us to doubt? If
thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you,
and you believed not. I told you and you believed not. Lord, give us faith to believe. If God does not, by His mercy
and grace, give us faith to believe, we will never believe. We must believe. He must give
us faith to believe on Him in truth. It's our only hope. If we don't believe on Him in
truth, it will evidence this right here, verse 25. Jesus answered
them, I told them. I told you and you believed not. The works that I do in my father's
name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not because you
are not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give
unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them
me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out
of my father's hand. I and my father are one. Lord,
give us faith to believe, faith to believe in, faith to believe
on. Give us a heart to love you for
who you are in truth. Okay. 16 minutes in. I was trying to
be under the halfway mark. But I didn't make it. We're going
to change direction. And we're going to look at the
same subject from a different angle. Why do God's people, God's
sheep, why do they love the truth concerning Christ so much, no
matter who hates it, no matter who hates them? Why do they love it so much? It's the same truth. The same truth that this unbelieving
world hates so much. God's people literally love it. with all of their heart. They
love it with every fiber of their being. Why? What is it? What is it exactly that this
unbelieving world hates so much and the believing world of God's
sheep loves with all of their heart? Here it is. It's what Christ did, how he
did it, and who he did it for. That's what it is on both counts. What did Christ do? He saved
His people from their sin. He saved His people from their
sin. Why would the unbelieving world
hate that? It's because if He did it, they don't get the glory
for it. If He finished the work, then
there's nothing left for them to do. Men and women cannot stand
hearing, there's nothing left for you to do. God's people cry,
thank God. Thank God. God the Father elected a sinful
people before the foundation of the world. He did not look
down through time to see who would believe on Him and who
would obey Him. Thank God, none would. If he had done that, you wouldn't
have, and neither would I. He did not choose according to
any good thing that he saw in any of them. Thank God, there
was none good. He did all of His choosing according
to His own will, His own purpose, His own decision. Unbelievers
hear that and they say, I don't believe that. Believers hear
that and they cry, thank God. Thank God. Jesus Christ, the
Lamb of God, the substitute for His people, He laid down His
own life and He died. for every sinful soul that his
father chose to be saved. He laid it down sovereignly. He said, no man takes it from
me. I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down.
I have the power to take it again. He laid it down sovereignly.
He laid it down powerfully. He laid it down willingly. He
laid it down lovingly. He laid it down effectually. By His blood He saved forever
with no chance of them being lost again, none whatsoever.
He by Himself, without the help of any sinner, any sinful man, He by Himself
saved His people completely. He left no part of the work to
be undone. He didn't leave it to man to accept His salvation. He didn't leave it to man to
put the final touches on salvation. He made His people to be complete
in Him. Everything finished. Everything
satisfied. It's all done. It's all over.
Unbelievers hear that and they say, I don't believe that. God's
people hear that and they cry, thank God. Thank God. Every soul that He did all that
for, He is going to cross that soul's path with the truth of
His Word concerning all of these glorious things. He's going to
open the eyes to the truth of the Word. Every soul that Christ did all
this for, He's going to bring that soul to the truth concerning
Him, and that soul is going to believe it. That soul will see
it. That soul will believe it. That
soul will believe the truth concerning his own wretched sinfulness. That soul will see it and will
say, I believe that. I believe that would have been
me crying, crucify him, crucify him. I see how sinful I am. That soul will see the truth
concerning God's sovereign holiness and the truth concerning the
finished work, the finished saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And not only will that soul believe it, that soul will love it. That
soul will love it and that soul will cling to it. That soul will
cast its all on what Jesus Christ did to save him or her. That soul will cry, this is all
I need. This is my hope, my life, my
all. He, Christ, is my everything. My prayer is that we will all
be able to say this with the disciples of the Lord. Look with
me at John chapter 6. John 6 verse 66. From that time, many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto
the 12, will you also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him,
Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. Our Lord asked them, do you hate
the truth also? That's what he's asking them.
Do you hate the truth also? They said, Lord, the truth, you
are all we have to cling to. You're all our hope, you're all
our salvation. Verse 69, they said, and we believe
and are sure that thou art the Christ, the son of the living
God. They said, you are our eternal
hope of glory and you're our salvation and we love you for
it. And no, we cannot leave you.
There's nowhere else to go. I guess it's possible that maybe one person in this room has never
heard the story of Big Johnny and Little Billy. For those who
do know the story, that's all you have to say. I can just close. But I want to tell it to you
because this is This is what makes God's people
love Jesus Christ. Many years ago, there was a one-room
schoolhouse. You know, all grades in the same
room. And the biggest kid in the school,
the biggest kid in the classroom was Big Johnny. And Big Johnny got his lunch
stolen. And he was upset about it and
he went to his teacher and said, somebody stole my lunch. And
the teacher stood up in front of the class and asked, did anybody
steal Johnny's lunch? Who stole the lunch? Nobody said
anything. So the teacher told everybody,
just make sure it doesn't happen again. Well, it happened again. Johnny's lunch was stolen again. So he told, he was mad. He told
the teacher, I'm upset about this. And the teacher said, okay, you
know, if nobody's going to confess to who stole Johnny's lunch,
we're going to have consequences for this. And the teacher said,
Johnny, you're going to make the terms. What are going to
be the terms for stealing lunch? And Johnny said, the terms are
going to be 10, 10 lashes across the back with the
teacher's rod, bare back. And the teacher said, Johnny,
that's pretty strict. And he said, that's what I want.
That's what I want. If somebody steals my lunch again, I want
them to get 10 lashes across the back. bear back with the
teacher's rod. Okay, that'll be the punishment. A week later, Johnny's lunch
was stolen again. And so the teacher got up in
front of the class and said, who stole Johnny's lunch? And
if no one confesses, I'm punishing this whole class. So this little
boy, the smallest kid in the classroom, raised his hand in
the back, little Billy, He raised his hand and he said, teacher,
I took his lunch. And the teacher said, Billy,
why did you do that? He said, I'm sorry. Johnny, I'm
sorry. He said, there is no food at
my house and I'm starving. And I just, I couldn't help it. I had to. And the teacher said, OK, Billy,
well, come on up and get your lashes. And Johnny said, no,
it's OK, teacher. It's all right. The teacher said,
no, rules are rules. Come on up, Johnny. Take your
shirt off. So Johnny took his shirt off
and started walking past Billy, and Billy could see all his ribs.
There was nothing on this kid, just a scrawny pile of bones,
skin and bones. And Johnny said, no, teacher,
it's okay, don't do it. Teacher said, Johnny, if we let
this go, every rule after this will be broken. Justice has to be served. This
must be upheld. Come on up here, Billy. And Johnny
said, Teacher, I'm begging you, please don't do this. She said,
Johnny, not one more word. Billy, lean over and put your
hands on my desk. Teacher raised the rod up and
Johnny cried, Teacher, wait! And big Johnny got up from his
desk and walked up to the front of the classroom and hugged his
whole body around little Billy. and said, OK, teacher, let him
have it. Teacher said, OK, that's it.
It's over. It's all done. Johnny was just
sitting there, just hugged over him. Billy said, thank you, Johnny. Johnny said, you're welcome,
Billy. Billy said, I love you, Johnny.
I love you for what you just did for me. Johnny said, I love you, too.
And I'll bring lunch for both of us tomorrow. Billy was saved because of mercy
and grace. Mercy and grace. And from that moment on, that
little kid loved that big kid. And God's people loved Jesus
Christ. And we stand up here and we try
as hard as we can to explain the love of God towards sinners. But it takes the Spirit of God
to open the heart and cause us to see what Jesus Christ did
for us. And if He ever reveals it. We'll
love him. We will thank him and we will
love him. And I pray that will be the case
for every soul here. May God give every soul here
a love. A love. For what Christ did for his people
in truth. Everything he endured, everything
he suffered, everything he gave. May that be the case for us.
All right.