Go with me back to 1 John chapter
1. We have recently finished a few
of the books that we've been going through. And I don't know
yet if the Lord would have us to go through the book of 1 John,
but it has my attention right now. And I enjoyed very much
studying for this message. Let's read the first four verses
of 1 John 1. That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of
the word of life, for the life was manifested and we have seen
it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which
was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen
and heard declare we unto you that you also may have fellowship
with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son, Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto
you, that your joy may be full. Now, as it says in the heading
or the title of this book, it says this is the first epistle
general of John. That's the title of this book,
the first epistle general of John. Right before this book
is the first and second general epistle of Peter. And just before
that is the general epistle of James. While our Lord walked
this earth, many people heard him and saw him. but none like
those three men, Peter, James, and John. They were invited to
see and hear things that even many of the other apostles were
not allowed to physically enter into. Peter said, if you want
to turn back one page, Peter said in 2 Peter 1, verse 16, For we have not followed cunningly
devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His
majesty." We were allowed in to physically witness His majesty. Not only were we eyewitnesses
of Him, we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. Now I want to show you a little
bit of that. Go with me over to Mark chapter 5. Mark chapter 5, verse 35. It says, while he yet spake,
there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain
which said, thy daughter is dead. Why troublest thou the master
any further? It's too late, she's dead. Verse
36, as soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith
unto the ruler of the synagogue, be not afraid, only believe. And he suffered no man to follow
him, save Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. And he
cometh to the house, and the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth
the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when
he was come in, he saith unto them, why make ye this ado and
weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and
the mother of the damsel and them that were with him, Peter,
James, and John, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
And he took the damsel by the hand and said unto her, Talitha
Kumai. which is being interpreted, damsel,
I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose
and walked, for she was of the age of twelve years, and they
were astonished." Those five people, two parents, Peter, James,
and John. Envision Peter, James, and John
standing there, astonished, looking at each other. That girl got up and started
walking. It says at the end of verse 42,
they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged
them straightly that no man should know it. He said to those three
men, keep this to yourselves. He brought them in and he said
to them, keep this to yourselves. And he said, give her something
to eat. He commanded that something should
be given to her to eat. Now, can you imagine something
like that? Can you imagine witnessing something like that and then
having to keep it to yourself? I can't keep anything myself.
Can you imagine witnessing something like that and having to keep
that to yourself? Go with me over to Mark chapter
nine. Mark 9 verse 2, it says, And
after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter and James and John,
and leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves,
and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became
shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can
white them. And there appeared unto them
Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter
answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here,
and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses,
and one for Elias, for he knew not what to say, for they were
sore afraid, those three men. Peter, James, and John, they
were so afraid. These three men watched the Lord
transfigure Himself into the brightness of His righteousness. That's the robe that all of His
saints are going to put on. And all of a sudden, after our
Lord transforms Himself into shining righteousness, there
stands Moses and Elijah. And they know that's Moses and
that's Elijah. The Moses and Elijah, they held
the Scriptures. They preached the Word. They
read the Word. The Moses and Elijah, they'd
been reading about. Just like we're reading about. They saw two men that they knew
walked this earth in Elijah's case, hundreds, in Moses case,
almost 2000 years before they walked this earth. Can you imagine how terrified
they would be? Absolutely terrified. These big,
strong sailor men. Terrified, verse five says, Peter
answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here,
and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses,
and one for Elias, for he wist not what to say, for they were
sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed
them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my
beloved son, hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked
round about, they saw no man any more save Jesus only with
the three of them, themselves. And as they came down from the
mountain, He charged them that they should tell no man what
things they had seen till. He said, keep this to yourself
until. The Son of Man were risen from
the dead. All right, now watch verse 10. And they kept that saying with
themselves. Those three men, every chance
they got, they would sneak off to the side and whisper to each
other. They kept that saying with themselves, questioning
one with another, what the rising from the dead should mean. What does he mean by that? That
the son of man is going to rise from the dead. What does that
mean? Here's a little side note. If
we truly ever receive an understanding of what that means, we will be
looking upon him. we will be looking upon Him.
Go with me to Mark 14. Mark 14, verse 32. And they came to a place which
was named Gethsemane. And he saith to his disciples,
sit ye here while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter,
James and John. He said to all of his disciples,
stay right here. And then he went a little further
and he said to those three men, Peter, James and John, y'all
come with me. Verse 33, he taketh with him
Peter and James and John and our Lord began to be sore amazed. Here they are watching him. As
he becomes sore amazed, amazed by the sin that's being pressed
into him. And to be very heavy, they watch
him become very heavy. And our Lord said to those three
men, verse 34, saith unto them, He had those three men and He
brought them in close and He looked at them and told those
three, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death. Tarry ye here and
watch. And He went forward a little
and fell on the ground. They saw Him fall on the ground. And they heard him pray that
if it were possible, the hour might pass from him, the hour
of being touched with the feeling of our infirmities. And he said,
Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee. Take away
this cup from me. Nevertheless, not what I will,
but what thou wilt. Could you imagine seeing that
and hearing that? Now, along with those private
things that they saw and heard, they saw and heard public things
too. Look with me at John chapter eight. John 8 verse 51. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the
Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil, Abraham is
dead, and the prophets. And thou sayest, If a man keep
my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than
our father Abraham, which is dead, and the prophets are dead?
Whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honor myself,
my honor is nothing. It is my Father that honoreth
me, of whom you say that he is your God. Yet you have not known
him. But I know him, and if I should
say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you. But I know
him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews
unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen
Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." Can you see
Peter, James, and John, along with the other disciples, hearing
that and pondering those words in their heart? Before Abraham
was, I am. Look at John 14. Verse one, let not your heart
be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself,
that where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go, you
know in the way you know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord,
we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. If you had known me, you should
have known my father also, and from henceforth you know him
and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord,
show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have
I been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And how sayest thou then, Show
us the Father? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. Pondering all of these things.
pondering everything they saw and heard. Our Lord said in John
17 verse 5, Now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self,
with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. They heard Him say, Glorify me
with that same glory that I had with you before this world was
ever created. Could you imagine? One more. Go to Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter 1 verse 9. And when he had spoken these
things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received
him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly
toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them
in white apparel, Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you
have seen Him go into heaven. This is the reason why John wrote
that. That. Go back to 1 John chapter
1 with me. Verse one says, that which is
from the beginning, which was from the beginning. What do you
mean that? Aren't you talking about a person?
Yes, I am. But how do you describe him? How do you describe him? Even
the angel Gabriel, when he came to Mary, he said, that holy thing
which shall be born of thee. How do you describe the eternal,
invisible, omnipotent God in human flesh? Is He God? John said, you better
believe it. Oh, the things that we have seen
Him do. In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, the Word was God. John said, this is God. Well, John, is He a man? John
said, you better believe it. Oh, the things we heard Him say
in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes." John
said, but thank God, which we have looked upon. We've looked upon. John is not
being redundant. John said, we saw Him, and John
said, we looked upon Him. He's not being redundant. There's
a big difference in seeing Him and looking upon Him. And that's
what I want us to leave with this morning. That's what I want
us to understand in all this. That is the reason John wrote
this. It is one thing to see Him with
the eye, but salvation is in looking upon Him. truly looking
upon Him. That means, the definition of
that means to perceive with the heart. It's not just seeing that He
did it. It's an understanding of why
He did it and what He accomplished in it. Multitudes of people While
our Lord walked this earth, multitudes of people saw Him with the eye,
but they never looked upon Him. They never looked upon Him with
the understanding of the heart. And they left this world without
salvation. They saw God. They saw God. They went and stood before Him
and realized, I've seen you before. but they never looked upon Him.
They left this world without a fellowship of a heart union
with Christ. And many people are in that same
boat right now. Many, many people have seen Jesus
Christ with the eye in His Word, but their heart has not looked
upon Him. And even though they've seen Him in this Word and they
can give you the facts of the things they've seen and they've
heard. If they leave this world without
looking upon Him, they will die in their sins. If we leave this
world without looking upon Him, we will die in our sins. Look
and live. That's the commandment. Look
and live. Somebody says, how? What does
that mean? Only God can reveal that to a
sinner. You stand up and declare, look
and live. Look upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
If anybody wonders, what does that even mean? How only God
can reveal that to a sinner. If any sinner does look upon
Him, perceiving Him in the heart, it is God who put those eyes
in the heart. It's the work of God. It's God
who makes us look. It is His doing. And He gets
the glory for it. If we look, He gets the glory
for it. All the glory. But this is what
He said. He said those eyes come through
the declaration of these things. Telling the things that we have
seen and heard. So John said, I'm declaring it
to you. I'm telling you, I declare to
you what Christ accomplished through the things that we have
heard and seen. And then I beg God on all of
our behalf that he would cause us to look. And I do too. I beg God to cause us to look.
In verse three, he said, that which we have seen and heard,
declare we unto you. that you also may have fellowship
with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son, Jesus Christ. Now what is the difference in
seeing and looking? What is it to truly look upon
Christ? I want to answer that through
something that John heard and something that John saw. Go with
me over to John chapter 3. John chapter 3, this is what
John heard. John 3 verse 14, And as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up. that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life. Poisonous vipers were killing
God's people. And God did not say, Moses, make
a lamb and put it on a pole. He did not say, Moses, make an
image of God and put it on a pole. He said, Moses, make a poisonous
viper and put it on a pole. Lift it up. And whoever looks
upon the poisonous viper lifted up, will live. He didn't just say whoever sees
it. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must Christ be lifted up on a cross. And God did not say whoever sees
Christ on a cross Whoever recognizes the fact that
Christ was hung on a cross, he didn't say that. He said, whoever
looks will live. Now that's what John heard. This
is what John saw. This is what he saw when he looked. This is what he perceived in
his heart when he looked. This was the fellowship that
he came to understand that made his joy so full. Go to John 19. John 19 verse 23 says, Then the soldiers, when
they had crucified Jesus, many people saw that Christ was crucified
on a cross. Many people have seen that today.
That Christ was crucified on a cross, but they did not perceive
why. And that's the case for people
today. They don't perceive why. Why did Christ die on a cross? They lifted Christ up on a pole
because He had been made to be the very thing that was killing
God's people. As Moses lifted up a serpent,
Christ was made to be the very venom itself. Our sin. Our sin. That's salvation. That's looking. Looking is seeing
my sin lifted up. Looking. Here's seeing. Jesus
Christ died on a cross. That's seeing. Here's looking.
My sin was put in Him. The very sin itself that was
killing me was lifted up in Him. He bore all the sin of all His
people. And watch this. This has blessed
my heart. Verse 25, it says, Now there
stood by the cross of Jesus His mother and His mother's sister
Mary, the wife of Cleophas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore
saw His mother and the disciples standing by whom He loved. Who is that? That's John. He
never referred to Himself by name. John is standing right
there at the foot of the cross witnessing something. What is
he witnessing? Verse 26, When Jesus therefore
saw his mother and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he
saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith he
to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple
took her unto his own home. What did John witness? a trading of places with Christ. He did not just see that Christ
died. He saw why Christ died. He saw what Christ accomplished
in his death, a trading of places. The Lord said, John, she is now
your mother. She was my mother. Now she's
yours. John witnessed Christ giving
his place in life to John. and taking John's place in death
to himself. And verse 28 says, After this
Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the
scripture might be fulfilled, saith I thirst. Now there was
set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with
vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When
Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. John witnessed a finished work. He witnessed a finished salvation. John witnessed the death of his
substitute. He saw the death of the one who
traded places with him. And then three days later, chapter
20, verse 19 says, The same day at evening, being the first day
of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were
assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst
and said unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so
said, he showed unto them his hands and his side, then were
the disciples, Peter, James, John, Thomas. They were so glad
when they saw the Lord. John saw his savior risen. He witnessed His death in Christ. He witnessed His resurrection
in Christ. He witnessed the finished judgment
of His own sin. And John touched the scars in
His hands, in His side. His hands, John's hands, handled
the Word of Life. He touched the one that saved
His soul. And as He touched those scars,
He looked upon them. He didn't just see them. He said,
that's my salvation. That's my salvation. That's my
hope. That's my redemption. That's
my payment. And the word of life said straight
to John's heart, peace be unto you. And John said, we were all
so glad. I'm sure he said, I wish you
could have been in that room. We were all so glad. We were like
them that dream. We were looking at our risen
Savior. Our hands handled the finished
work. And right here in John 20, verse
30, it says, Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence
of His disciples. Peter, James, John, the rest
of them. which are not written in this
book. John said we witnessed so many of the things, the things
that we saw, the things that we heard, the things that caused
us to look with the heart. It was so many things which were
not written in this book. Verse 31. But these are written
that you might believe. That you might look upon him
with the heart. that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His
name. This verse of scripture right
here, 1 Timothy 1 verse 12, it says, I know whom I have believed,
that's C, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which
I have committed unto Him against that day. That's looking. That's
looking. Look and live. My brethren, live. Look to Jesus Christ and live.
May God give us eyes of faith to look. May he truly give us
a look. All right, let's all stand together.