All right, turn with me to John
18. John chapter 18. We'll read the first nine verses of John 18. When Jesus had spoken these words,
he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where
was a garden into the which he entered in his disciples. And
Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place, for Jesus oft
times resorted thither with the disciples. Judas then, having
received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus
therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went
forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus
of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, stood with them. As soon then as he said unto
them, I am, they went backward and fell to the ground. Then
asked he them again, whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you
that I am. If therefore you seek me, let
these go their way, that the saying might be fulfilled, which
he spake of them which thou gavest me, have I lost none." Let's
pray together. Dear Heavenly Father, we come
before you again today, and Lord, we are few in number, but we seek
a blessing as though we had thousands here. Lord, would you bless us
mightily tonight? Would you send your spirit into
this place and open up this word? And would you let us see our
King? That's our prayer. Lord, we desire
to see our Lord high and lifted up. Lord, would you please do for every congregation what
we're asking right now? Lord, we are all beggars. We are all in need and we need
your help desperately. So Lord, would you please help
us and help our brethren? And we have so many loved ones
who are traveling right now. They're on the road right now.
Lord, would you watch over them? and hedge them about and bring
them back safely if it be thy will. We pray, Lord, that you
will be with this conference that we're going to have, be
with our brothers as they prepare for this. Lord, would you use
this and bless this? Would you open up someone's eyes
who has never seen the glory of the coming of the Lord? Lord,
would you please work mightily, we pray. Help us, Lord, and teach
us and comfort us and don't leave us to ourselves. Lord, we are
nothing but sin and we're so sorry for all of our failings
towards you, Lord. So please help us. We thank you
for all things. Thank you for all of our answered
prayer and And Lord, we thank you for giving us a place to
come together right now. We thank you for each other.
We thank you for Christ. We ask all these things in his
name. Amen. All right, turn with me to 62. And let's stand together one
more time. M number 62. Crown Him with many crowns, the
Lamb upon His throne. Hark how the heavenly anthem
drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing of Him
who died for thee. And hail Him as thy matchless
King Through all eternity. Crown Him the Lord of love, Behold
His hands and side, Rich wounds yet visible In beauty glorified
No angel in the sky Can fully bear that sight But downward
bends his wandering eye At mysteries so bright Crown Him the Lord
of life Who triumphed o'er the grave Who rose victorious to
the strife For those He came to save His glories now we sing
Who died and rose on high Who died eternal life to bring And
lives that death may die Crown him the Lord of heaven, one with
the Father now. with the spirit through him given
from yonder glorious throne to thee be endless praise for thou
for us has died be thou oh lord through endless days adored and
magnified you may be seated Don't you love the majesty of the Lord,
the glory, the majesty? He's our King. Turn with me back to John 18. A few weeks ago, we've been going
through John 17 for a few weeks. A few weeks ago, we looked at
being one with Christ, one with Him. And in that message, we
focused on chapter 17, verse 11, and verse 20 to the end of
the chapter. And I want us to read verse 20
to the end of the chapter 17 one more time. And I want us to keep in mind
this oneness, this oneness that we have with Christ while we
look at chapter 18 tonight. All right. So chapter 17 verse
20, our Lord said, neither pray I for these alone, but for them
also, which shall believe on me through their word. That's
us. We believe on him through their
word. that they all may be one as thou
father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in
us that the world may believe that thou hast sent me and the
glory which thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one
even as we are one I in them and thou in me that they may
be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou
hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father,
I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where
I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me,
for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. O righteous
Father, the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee,
and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared
unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith
thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. Our Lord is saying, this is my
will for them. This is my will, that we may
be one. And if that's his will, that's
exactly what's going to happen. We are going to be one. So chapter
18 verse 1 says, When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth
with his disciples over the brook Cedron, or Kidron, where was
a garden into the which he entered and his disciples." He went over
this brook, Kidron, sometimes it's spelled with a K. And he went into a garden. There was a garden there. And
do you know what that garden was? What garden he went into? It was Gethsemane. The garden
of Gethsemane. John does not mention that. He does not mention that. Turn
with me to Mark 14. Mark 14. Look at 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
and James and John, and began to be sore amazed and to be very
heavy. And saith unto them, My soul
is exceeding sorrowful unto death, tarry ye here and watch. And
he went forward a little and fell on the ground, and prayed
that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. Peter,
James, and John. Now of Matthew, who is also called
Levi, and of Mark, and of Luke, And of John, John was one of
the three that actually got to go be with the Lord and watch
him suffer. Peter, James, and John. John
was best suited to write about that event. He would have been
the best one of all the Gospels to write about what he personally
witnessed in that garden. He does not mention a word of
it. Not one word. He does not say
one word about the Lord falling on the ground and saying, Oh
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Not one
word. He doesn't say one word about how troubled the Lord was. How exceeding sorrowful unto
death he was when he watched the sin of all God's people be
pressed into his body. He didn't say one word about
it. He didn't write one word of him
sweating as it were great drops of blood. Not one word. One thing consumed John as he
watched Every bit of that. One thing consumed him. That
is God Almighty. That's God Almighty. Isn't that amazing? That's God
Almighty. The other Gospels show us the
suffering man. The perfect man who took our
place. After John saw this with his
own two eyes, all he could say about it was, that's the sovereign
God. That's God Almighty. He didn't write about the Lord
falling on the ground before his father. This is what he wrote
about. Sinful man falling on the ground before him. Isn't that something? After everything he saw, the
only thing he could pin is no man takes his life from him. No man takes his life from him.
They killed Jesus. Oh, no, they didn't. No, they
did not. That's the Almighty God. No man
takes his life from him. Now go with me back to John 18. Verse 1 says, When Jesus had
spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook
Kidron. The name means dark waters. What a picture that is. Our Lord,
he crossed the river of death first. This is What's about to
take place? We're going to cross the river
of death, dark waters. When Jesus had spoken these words,
he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where
was a garden into the which he entered and his disciples and
Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place. For Jesus oft
times resorted thither with his disciples. Now I have a side
note in this message. I think it's clear which direction
we're going with this message, but I want to point this out.
There's a reference right here in that verse to Luke chapter
21. Turn with me over there to Luke
21, talking about our Lord often resorting to this place. Luke
21. Verse 37 says, talking about our Lord, in the
daytime, he was teaching in the temple. And at night, he went
out and abode in the Mount that is called the Mount of Olives.
I thought about that for a minute. In the daytime, he went into
that temple and he taught. And then at night, he went back
to the garden, back to the Mount of Olives. And nothing about
his life said, this is my continuing city. He did not have a place
to lay his head. He didn't have a place. I thought
about him going back at the end of the day. I'm sure he taught
while there were 12 hours in the day. Then he'd go back and
he would sit down, find him his spot, common ground, and commune with his father and
wait on tomorrow. He had no place to lay his head.
His disciples were there with him. They all had food. They all had raiment. It just caused me to realize
we can get by on a lot less than we think we can. Our Lord didn't
even say, I'm so thankful we all have houses, and if you lose
yours, come to mine. But our Lord never said, having
a house, be content. He said, having food and raiment,
be content. He and his disciples were, and
we would be a lot happier if the Lord would make us content
to be that way. If we have things, great. But
if we don't, that's fine. Proverbs 15, 16 says this, if
we could really enter into this, better is little with the fear
of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith. It's just
better. It's just better. The fewer bills I have to pay,
the more time I can think about the Lord. It's just better. So,
back to the text in John 18, verse 1 says, When Jesus had
spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the brook
Kidron, where was a garden, into the which He entered in His disciples.
And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place, for Jesus
oft times resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having
received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons." John
writes in verse 4, Jesus therefore knowing all things that should
come upon him. This is God. He was not surprised. He was not ambushed. This is
God. He was waiting on them. He actually
was bringing them. He walked out to them. Verse
4 says, Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon
him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am. He is in italics. That was added by the translator.
He said, I am. He said, whom seek ye? They said,
Jesus of Nazareth, not Jesus the Christ. We're seeking a man. We're looking for a man. Our
Lord responded by telling them, be it known unto you all, make
sure everybody knows, this man that you seek is God Almighty. I am. I am. You're about to lay hands on
Jehovah. You think about that. You're
about to grab Jehovah. Just so you know. Moses thousands of years before
that, or however long it was, asked him, this same one that
said, Abraham, rejoice to see my day. He was very happy when
I met him in the doorway of his tent. Moses said to him, this
actual person in John 18, who should I say sent me? And he
said, you tell him I am, hath sent you. So verse four, Jesus,
therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went
forth and said unto them, whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus
of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto
them, I am, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Now can
you imagine what his voice sounded like at that moment in time?
I am all the time wondering what his voice sounds like. It's just
something I personally wonder a lot. I know that to those whom he
loves, he said to Elijah one time, he spoke to Elijah in a
still small voice, that's what it says, in a still small voice. But those who think that they're
going to have their way with God, they're going to do what
they want to with God, they're in for a rude awakening. A very
rude awakening. A band of men. Judas gathered
a band of men. That is the 10th part of a legion,
which is 600 men. A legion is 6,000 men. In just
a little bit, our Lord, and next week we'll probably see, our
Lord said, don't you realize I could call 12 legions of angels?
72,000 angels right now. So a 10th of a legion is 600
men he gathered together. And when our Lord, the One who
did just suffer, the One who did cry to His Father, the One
who did sweat drops of blood, when He said, I am, 600 men all
fell back like trees and they were pinned to the ground. 600
like dominoes. Go with me to Psalm 29. The Lord is Jesus Christ. That's who the Lord is. Psalm
29 verse 1 says, Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty,
give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord
the glory due unto his name. Worship the Lord in the beauty
of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon
the waters. The God of glory thundereth.
The Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full
of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh
the cedars. Yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars
of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip like
a calf. They run, they get out. Lebanon
and Syrian like a young unicorn. The voice of the Lord divided
the flame of fire. The voice of the Lord shaketh
the wilderness. The Lord shaketh the wilderness
of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord maketh
the hinds to calve and discovereth the forest in His temple. Doth
every one speak of His glory. This is God. This is God. I would imagine that He showed
them His Godship at that moment in time. You want to see who
you're dealing with? I am. He speaks and worlds are created. All he has to do is speak and
worlds are created. He speaks and men live or die. He speaks and graves are opened. No man takes his life from Him.
Right here, verse 10, the Lord sitteth upon the flood. Yea,
the Lord sitteth king forever. The Lord will give strength unto
his people. The Lord will bless his people
with peace. This is God Almighty. His disciples
kept saying to him, Lord, don't go back to Jerusalem. Please
don't. They're going to kill you. Kill
me. You can't kill God Almighty.
You can't kill God Almighty. No man takes his life from Him.
Go with me back to John 18, verse 6. John 18, verse 6. As soon then as He had said unto
them, I am, they went backward and fell to the ground. Then
asked He them again, Whom seek ye? And their blind eyes and
their blind hearts said again, Jesus of Nazareth, verse 7, we're
still seeking a man. We still believe you are just
a man. Verse 8, Jesus answered, I have
told you that I am. If therefore you seek me, let
these go their way. that the saying might be fulfilled
which he spake, of them which thou gavest me I have lost none. Now I began this message by saying
let's remember that we are one with him. And in what he said
right there, there are two things that we can take some comfort
in. We can take a spiritual comfort from this, and we can take a
physical comfort from this. He said, I told you that I am. This is God speaking. This is
God speaking. For our spiritual comfort, he
said, if you seek me, let these go. If you seek me, here's your
condition. You can have me, but you have
to let these go. If I'm taken captive, they must
go free. I mean absolutely free. If I die, they must live. That's the condition. If we were
not one with Christ, that would be an impossible transaction. Had Christ just let us go, God
would not be just. We're the sinners. You can't
just let sinners go. You can't just open all the prisons
and all the jails and say, run for it. That's not just. God
cannot clear the guilty. Justice must be upheld. It must. As a sinner against
God, I cannot just walk away. I can't. The judge must do right. And here's what that means. I
must die. Christ must live. He has to. He's just. Because though we
are one with Him, actually, physically, won with Him. He bore our infirmities
because all of our infirmities were united with Him. He was
made sin who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. He bore our infirmities, we bore
His perfection because of that union. He said being one I'll
trade places with you. I'll die, you'll live. So he
says right here in verse 8, if you seek me, let these go their
way. Now here's our physical comfort. No man can take his life from
him. No man can take his life from
him. Because we are one with him,
no man can take our life from us. It cannot happen, not without
his permission. And if they kill the body, then
to be absent from this body is just to be present with the Lord.
But even if we just keep it on a physical level, no man can
take our life from us. I have a door in my basement.
It has a lock and a deadbolt on it. And above that are two
single-pane windows. They're not even double-pane
windows. And every single time I lock it, we've been living
in that house for almost two years, every time I lock it,
I think it would take literally, I turn the handle like that,
and I turn the deadbolt like that, and I think it would take
absolutely nothing to break this and reach your hand in and unlock
these. It's so pointless. Every time I do it, I think I
ought to just leave the door open. Well, here's some physical comfort.
No man can take, because of my union with Christ, no man can
take my life from me without his absolute permission. We are
physically kept by the power of God. We've seen his power.
We've seen it. All he has to do is speak and
men fall back like trees. Chapter 17, verse 24, our Lord
said, Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me,
be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou
hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the
world. You love me. Verse 26, he said, I've declared
unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith
thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them." There are
a lot of fears in this world. There are a lot of fearful men
in this world, but our Lord said, don't be afraid for the terror
by night, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day, nor for the pestilence
that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth
at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy
side. You're going to see it on the
news and it's going to really upset you. A thousand will fall at
your side. Ten thousand at thy right hand,
but it shall not come nigh thee. Not without the permission of
God Almighty. If it does, it's His mercy and grace and love
to pull you out of this mess. And the reason is because we're
one with Christ. It's only because of Christ.
Not because we're special. Not because we're worthy. It's
because we're one with Christ. Look at the rest of that chapter
and we'll close with this. Go to Psalm 91. Let's read the last few verses.
Psalm 91. Psalm 91 verse 9 says, Because
thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most high
thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall
any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels
charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear
thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a
stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder, the young
lion and the dragon, shalt thou trample under feet. Because he
hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him. I will set
him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call
upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor
him. With long life will I satisfy
him and show him my salvation." Are you saying that God's people,
they're just, all they have to do is call on the Lord and they're
never going to die? No. Well, you said no pestilence
is going to come to them. No. My mother passed away from
cancer. Well, what then? What's the deal
with that? The Lord in mercy gave my mother
cancer to deliver her from this wicked, evil world. And he has
honored her with long life, a really long life, an eternal life in
Christ. And everything for her is well.
It is well with her soul. It is good. It's wonderful. And until the Lord moves, until
He decrees, whatever it is, it is appointed unto man once to
die. We're all going to die from whatever He appoints. But until
He appoints that, nothing is going to happen to God's people.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We can hold
on to that. We can live the rest of our lives
believing that. And it's all because of Christ,
every bit of it. It's all true because of Christ. He loves us. He gave himself
for us. He keeps us. He protects us.
All right, let's stand together.