Turn with me, if you would, over
to Acts chapter 16. We just read one verse for our
scripture reading. Philippians 1-6. And we're not going to turn to
it. I'm going to quote it a few times through this message. But in Acts 16, last Last Wednesday night, we looked
at this story of the Philippian jailer. And he was keeping Paul and Silas
in prison. And after God revealed his power
to this jailer, I thought about the fact that this jailer probably
had been told all his life, God has no hands but your hands,
like everybody else is. That's what people are told.
That's what he thought. God has no hands but your hands.
But he saw otherwise. God revealed himself. The earth quaked. And the prison
doors fell off of the cells. And all the shackles opened up
and fell off of the prisoners. And after that, Jailer saw I'm
not going to do with him what I will. He's going to do with me what
he will. After he saw that, verse 29 says,
Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling,
and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out and
said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? What must I do to be saved? That is the fundamental question. That is the foundation that every
religion is built on. Every single religion. What must
I do? What must happen in order for
me to be saved? Verse 31 says, they said, Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now here's
what I personally want to know tonight. What does that mean? What does that mean? A question
was asked. This man sincerely asked a question
and an answer was given. Now what I want to know is, what
does that mean? What does that mean? Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved. Turn with me, if you would, to
John 6. John 6 verse 47 says, Verily, verily, and this is God
speaking. He's saying, I'm telling you
the The truth. This is the truth of God. This
is the truth of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. The word hath
is not a future tense word. It does not mean will have. It means, according to our dictionary,
it means already possesses. That's what it means. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me already possesses
eternal life. Explain that to me. OK, look
at verse 44. No man can come to me, except
the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him
up at the last day. No man can come to me in heart,
in mind, in belief, except the Father which hath sent me draw
him, and I will raise him up at the last day." No man can. Can means ability. No man has the ability. People
say and people believe, man how many people believe this. Well,
now everybody has a chance. Everybody has a chance. Not according to the scripture.
The scripture says everybody is born into this world dead
in trespasses and sins. Isn't that what it says? Ephesians
2 says we were all born into this world dead in trespasses
and sins. And our Lord is saying right
here if God the Father does not send out His lasso of love, cords
of love the scripture calls them. And if he does not draw a man
or a woman, they will not come because they cannot come. They
just won't do it. But here is the promise. Here
is the glorious promise of the gospel. Verse 37 says, All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. No whys. Now here's what all
of this is saying. And this is what a believer believes. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you'll be saved. This is what a believer believes. And we're not going to turn over
there, but I'm going to remind you of what that verse of scripture
in Philippians 1 said. He which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ. That's what it means. What must
I do to be saved? So far it sounds like nothing.
Just look to Christ. Just be drawn. So far it sounds
like salvation is of the Lord. That's what it sounds like to
me. So far it sounds like He begins the work and He performs
the work. And based on what we read in
verse 47 and in verse 44, believing on Him and coming to Him is just
the result of the matter. That's just something you have
to do. If He lassoes you with cords of love and tugs on them,
you're coming and I'm coming. It's just the result of His work. Now let's see if that is indeed
the case. Go with me to John chapter 10. John chapter 10 verse 14, the
Lord said, I am the good shepherd, and know
my sheep, and am known of mine. They know who I am. 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."
Aren't you looking so forward to that? There is right now only
one fold and one shepherd. But He must bring, He must gather
together all of them in Him. Verse 17, Therefore doth my Father
love me, because I lay down my life, that I might 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. Now look with me at verse 24.
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. The works that I do in my father's
name, they bear witness of me. He said, you believe not that
I am the Christ. The Christ. How many people believe
in Jesus? The easier question to get the
answer to is how many people do not believe in Jesus? Whether they believe He's God
or not, they believe He walked this earth. How many people believe
He died on the cross? Everybody believes that. How
many people believe He rose from the grave? Everybody believes
that. But He said, you don't believe
I'm the Christ. You don't believe that I am God
manifest in the flesh. You believe not that salvation
is totally in my hands. It's all according to my purpose
and my will. I created this world. I created
everything and everyone in it. And I can do with my own as I
please. He said, I will work and who shall let it? He said,
I kill, I make alive, I wound, I heal, I the Lord do all these
things. Verse 26, he said, but you believe
not because you are not of my sheep as I said unto you. Now he didn't say right there,
you are not of my sheep because you believe not. You're not of my sheep because
you believe. He didn't say that. He said, you believe not because
you're not of my sheep. You're not of my sheep. Verse
27, he said, 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. No man. So what all this means
is salvation is in His hands. That's what it means. This is
God Almighty. This is the Great Shepherd of
the sheep. The one who gathers them one
by one, lassoes them and draws them with cords of love, calls
them by name, reveals Himself to them. He knows them individually
and gives them a knowledge of Him. I know Him. Paul said, I
know whom I have believed. And here's the good news. If
He has begun a good work in us, if He has begun a good work in
us, if He has chosen to quicken us, and if He has chosen to show
us the truth in His Word, and if He's chosen to call us to
Himself, and speak peace to our hearts. He which hath begun a
good work in us will perform it all the way to the end. All
the way to the end. And what that means is we can
rest. We can rest. What must I do to be saved? Rest. Rest and look to Him. Believe
on Him and trust Him. Trust His Word. Trust what He
says. If He started it, He'll finish it. He will finish it. Now turn with me over to Matthew
11. I thank the Lord for the whole
book. I thank the Lord for the whole
book. But there are some verses of scripture that I just thank
the Lord for recording. This is one of them. Matthew
11, verse 25, it says, At that time Jesus answered and said,
I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth. because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent." Those
who see themselves to be spiritually wise and prudent, so, so spiritually
proud. He said, you've hid these things
from the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes. He said in verse 26, even so,
father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. That's what you
purposed to do. That was your will and purpose. Verse 27, all things are delivered
unto me of my father, and no man knoweth the son but the father,
neither knoweth any man the father save the son, and he to whomsoever
the son will reveal him. And now he says, come unto me.
All ye that labor and are heavy laden, burdened, I mean burdened
and worried because you've been given a realization of your sin
for the first time you see yourself. Did there come a moment? I know
there did. There came a moment when I saw
myself. And that moment happened over
the span of years. I'm still seeing myself. And a sinner doesn't like what
he sees. Burdened and worried, he's saying that burden and that
fear is my father drawing you. That's him drawing you. He does
not reveal that to the goats, only to the sheep. That's my
father drawing you. And he says, come unto me and
I'll give you rest. I'll give you rest. I'll give
you faith to believe that I started it. Faith to believe that I finished
it, faith to believe I'll carry it out all the way to the end. That's what a believer confesses
in baptism. You know that. That's what a
believer confesses in baptism. I asked our sister if she would
mind if I told you all some of her story. And she said, no,
I don't mind at all. Irene and I have had quite a
few conversations about this. She's been praying about this.
This is a serious thing. And I believe her story is so
relevant. I believe so many people can
relate to it. I really do. I asked her if she minded if
I told you this, and she said, not at all. She has been immersed
three times already. All right? Three times. And this
right here will not be the fourth. This is not time number four. This is the first time. That's what she said. This is
the first, she told me, this is the first time she will have
ever confessed Christ. The first time. The first time
she has ever confessed a person. A person. The God-man. Who He is and what He has done. She told me that the first time
she was baptized, and let me say this, we say baptism, and
that's what this is. It means immersion. This is immersion
into water. But John the Baptist said, I
indeed baptize you with water, and I'm about to baptize you
with water. But he said, there cometh one after me mightier
than I, the latchet of whose shoes I'm not worthy to unloose.
He shall baptize you with his holy ghost. God's true baptism
is not something we do with tap water. It is something that God does
with His Spirit. It is the work of God Almighty. God's Holy Spirit lovingly, miraculously,
powerfully, sovereignly, personally, individually lays hold of the
one that the Father lassoed. He grabs him and immerses him
into the blood of Jesus Christ. That is God's true baptism. This is just a confession of
that. That's all it is. Just a confession
of what God has already done. That's so important to know in
this. So important. But she told me the first time
she was baptized, she said, I did it because my brother wanted
me to be saved. And that's no reason to be baptized,
is it? I can truly truly enter in to
a person desiring with all of his heart for his whole family
to be saved. I can enter into that. I mean
fervent, fervent heartfelt desire. But the fact of the matter is,
is his desire is not salvation. My mother's desire is not salvation. The will and the work of the
God-man is salvation. So she was baptized again. And
she said, the second time I was baptized, I did it because I
wanted to be saved. The first time she did it, it
was because her brother wanted her to be saved. And the second
time, she said, I did it because I wanted to be saved. And that's
no reason to be baptized. That's no reason to be baptized.
If a person wants to be saved, that's not a reason to be baptized. I want to be saved, and I want
to inherit eternal life, so I'm going to do this. I'm tired of
waiting. I'm making my decision, and I'm
going to do this. That is not confessing Christ. That's confessing me. Right? That's confessing me. None of that makes me a believer
in Christ. I want to be saved. Well, who
doesn't? Go into any place. Let's do a show of hands. Who
would like to go to hell? A person who is a believer in
himself. If I'm not a believer in Christ,
I'm a believer in me. And a person who is a believer
in himself or in herself, that person looks to their own walk
in this life. They look to their own decision
that they've decided to make for Christ. They look to the
qualities that they like in themselves and they believe God will like
them too. And that's not what a believer in Christ looks to.
That's just not what a believer in Christ looks to. That's not
what a guilty sinner, when all of this takes place, when God
lassoes and God draws and that spirit grabs, a sinner sees God,
a sinner sees himself. Some truth comes to a sinner. Some fear comes to a sinner.
And a sinner who is standing before a holy, sin-punishing
God, knowing what he is, having no hope but the hope that's in
the blood of Christ, he's sure not looking to himself. The only hope that a true sinner
has is that he died in Christ. That's it. This is the hope of a believer.
God punished me. And think about this. God punished
me. I mean me. God's judgment and
His wrath rained down on me and my sin as I hung on that cross
in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. If He is my substitute,
He became me. Gabe Stoniker hung on that cross. And God Almighty did not stop
spewing out His wrath until I died. He kept on and He kept on until
I died. I was crucified in Christ. And when they took his precious
body down from that tree and they laid him in that grave,
I was buried in him. I endured the penalty of sin. I endured separation from God. I was cast out. Gabe Stoniker
was cast out. Gabe Stoniker deserved to be
cast out. If God is just, Gabe Stoniker
had to be cast out. And I was made an outcast in
the person of my substitute, in Christ. But because of His
glory and because of His power and because of His majesty and
His ability, because the grave could not conceal Him any longer,
when He finished paying that penalty and when He revived,
He said, I have the power to take my body back. And when he
took it back, and whenever he was quickened to everlasting
life, and when he arose, and when he walked out of that grave,
I arose, and Gabe Stoniker walked out of that grave in him, in
the person of Christ. And that's what we're confessing
in this. That's what we're confessing.
Never would we confess anything Don't let me be confused about
this at all. Never would we confess anything
that tries to add one work to His glorious accomplishment. And never would we confess anything
that tries to take one thing away from that amazing salvation
that He accomplished. And in this confession that we're
making before God, we're making it before men. This is what we're
crying with every fiber of our being. He did this. He did this. He started this. He finished this. I'm only a
sinner saved by grace. That's it. That's it. That's what we're confessing.
Never would we want to confess, never would we desire to confess
that his glorious work was not enough. God, Paul said, God forbid,
we say God forbid. You know, people say, well, he
took the first step and I'm going to take the second step and that's
what they naturally believe baptism is. He did all that and I'm going
to finish it out. This is us saying, he started
it, he finished it. He began it, he'll perform it. The king of heaven and earth,
he doesn't need me, he doesn't need us, does he? Why would he
need a vile, wretched, decaying, polluted, dead sinner? He chose
me. He loved me. He lived for me. He died for me. He arose for
me. He quickened me. He called me. He did this. He did this. And that's what I, after speaking
to our sister, I know already that's what she wants to confess.
Christ is all. That's what we're confessing.
Christ is all. He is Our hope. He's our life. He's our Savior. He's our advocate,
our mediator, our friend. Key word being our. Our. Our. This is what she told me.
She said the first time it was because her brother wanted her
to be saved. And there's no reason to be saved. She said the second
time it was because she wanted to be saved. And that's no reason
to be baptized. And the third time she said it
was because she went to another church and that's what the church
required for her to be a member there. And that's no reason to
be baptized. Salvation is not a club. Salvation is not a denomination.
Salvation is a person. It's a person. We were here Sunday
night and after we heard two very precious, precious messages
by two of our brethren, not me, but two of our brothers, one
on the Lord's broken body and one on his shed blood. After that, our sister came to
me and she said, I have to be baptized. I have to be baptized. And she said, for the first time,
I know why. For the first time, I know why.
She said, it's not because somebody else wants me to be saved. And
she said, it's not just because I want to be saved with no real
idea what salvation is. And she said, it's not because
it's what my church requires of me. She said, this time for
the first time, and these are her exact words, she said, it's
because he's mine. That's what she told me right
out there on the sidewalk. She said, this time it's because
he's mine. I am his and he is mine. And
that's it. You don't need to confess him
anymore after this. That's it. He has confessed His love to
me. He said He came to save sinners,
and I'm the sinner He came to save. It's me. It's me. That's what a believer
confesses. I am the sinner that He came to save. And He accomplished my salvation
in His own death, and because of that now forevermore, forevermore,
I am His and He is mine. That's the only hope a person
needs, isn't it? That's the only thing there is
to confess. So, let's do it. Let's go confess it to everybody.