Allow me to read for a devotional
this morning from a previous bulletin. Written by Pastor Gabe Stoniker,
he writes, The Lord Jesus Christ does not show blind men how to
see. He gives them new eyes and they
see Him. The Lord Jesus Christ does not
tell deaf men how to hear. He gives them new ears, and they
hear of Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ does not
beg lame men to walk. No, He gives them new legs, and
they leap as a heart, and they follow Him. All who are in Christ receive
a new mind of repentance. towards Him. A new will that
bows to Him. A new heart that believes and
loves Him. Yes, if any man be in Christ,
he is, as according to Scripture, a new creature. I'd like to ask
you to open your Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 22. We just read in the Psalms. Oh God, the heathen are coming
to thine inheritance. Thy holy temple have they defiled. They have laid Jerusalem on heaps. The dead bodies of thy servants
have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the
flesh of the saints, and of the beasts of the earth." Right there.
Now I didn't read this before I brought today's message, before
I sat down to consider today's message. This is how the Lord
works. How often have we in the men's
meetings sat there and the man who was chosen the week before
to volunteer to read Scripture in the men's meeting get up and
read something that went exactly along with the Bible teacher's
message. Which went along exactly with
the preacher's message. That has happened so many times
over the last 20 years I couldn't even count on my hands. But it's
a blessing every single time because it's God's work in men. Our Lord put that Psalm exactly
where it needed to be today. Remember, in my prayer, how thankful
we are that our Lord rules all things. He's sovereign over everything. How thankful I am that He put
that there. There are those who would consider
the message that we preach here at Rescue to be one of an isolationist. Or in other words, that we declare
that we have the one true Gospel. Everything else, all that is
preached around us is false prophets, false professors of the Word
of God. There are many people gathering
in many places, worshipping many somethings. But here, is the true word of
God preached. Now I'm not going to argue with
those who declare that here. In fact, those who say that's
all we do is declare other religions to be false and this religion
here to be the truth is actually pretty true. There are few who teach that
most churches are talking about the same God, with a slightly different way
to take on how to get yourself there. But for the most, everyone
else in all the other religions think the same way. Do not the Muslims think that
theirs is the only true God? Do not the Buddhists think of
themselves as the only true God? Do not the Catholics think that
their God, that they believe that they are the co-between? You come to me with your sins
and I'll take it to God for you. Do not they believe that theirs
is the only true religion? I guarantee you, if you sit down
with one who claims to be a Jehovah Witness, they'll tell you the
same thing. They'll say, oh no, no, no, those
Baptist people, they got it all wrong. Those Catholic people,
they're going to say the same thing that we've been saying
here from this pulpit for at least the last 20 years that
I've been coming here. Mormons are going to say it the
same way. What about Christian churches?
What about Christian churches? Do you think that we're the only
ones who declare our gospel to be the only gospel preached in
the area? I guarantee you go up here to
the so-called non-denominational Christian church, and they'll
tell you, oh, no, no, those guys down at Rescue, they're all wrong.
You go over here to that church by the freeway over here, and
those guys over there, they'll tell you, oh, no, those guys
at Rescue, they got it all wrong, too. They may not say it every Sunday,
like I just did, but you can guarantee that they're
feeling it. What did we just read in Psalms?
This is God's Word. This is not John's Word saying,
oh God, the heathen are coming to thine inheritance. Our Lord is declaring there are
those who have come into the church and preached something
else other than the Lord Jesus Christ according to Scriptures. I do not take offense to those
who say, John, you only preach about election. John, you only
preach about total depravity. John, you only preach about this.
You only preach about Jesus Christ. Why don't you share with those
people the good things that the church does, because that's not
the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Too many churches
in today's world stand around bragging about what men do. And
I'm going to point that out, because God's Word points it
out. The heathen have come into the
church of God. Do you know the scripture says
that's where judgment will begin? In the church of God. These folks may not say it very
often, but they feel so exactly the same way. How else can you
not explain so many different churches? You know, you go to
Tennessee, Kentucky, or whatever, and I've shared this with some
of you before, but Bill is watching Kathy and I go through that.
area of the country one time. He was sitting at his computer
watching that live space, whatever. You can watch on your computer
as you're going through intersections. You can actually spin around
and see. And he goes, my goodness, John, I've been with you now
for, I'm talking to him on the phone, and he says, I've been
with you for about 30 minutes now, and we've seen like 10 churches.
And the strange thing is, there's 10 Baptist churches. How else could you explain that
there's so many different religions? There can only be one God. There is only one God. There is only one Gospel. The Word of God says this in
Matthew 7 verse 13, Enter ye in at the straight gate. And then it gives us this warning.
Listen. Listen carefully. For wide is
the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. And many there be which go in
thereat. Is that a warning? Is that God
giving us a warning? Look with me at Ezekiel chapter
22 verses 23. And the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto her." This is the Lord
giving Ezekiel instructions to say unto her, the people of Israel. Say unto her, Son of man, say
unto her, Thou art the land, speaking of Israel, Thou art
the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of
indignation. There is a conspiracy of her
prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening
the prey. They have devoured souls, they
have taken the treasure and precious things, they have made her many
widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated My
law and have profaned My holy things. They have put no difference
between the holy and the profane, neither have they showed difference
between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from
the sabbaths. And I am profaned among them.
Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the
prey to shed blood and to destroy souls and to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed
them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies
unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath
not spoken. The people of the land have used
oppression and exercised robbery and have vexed the poor and needy.
Yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought
for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in
the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it.
But I found none." Now turn, if you will, over to the book
of John, chapter 4. Before I pick up there in John
chapter 4, allow me to read from God's Word. In Proverbs, our Lord says this,
chapter 6 verse 19, A false witness speaketh lies, and he that soweth
discord among brethren. In chapter 11 of Proverbs, verse
1, a false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight
is His delight. In Proverbs 12, verse 17, we
read this, And he that speaketh truth showeth forth righteousness,
but a false witness deceit. In the 14th chapter, verse 5,
we read this, A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness
will utter lies. Chapter 17, verse 4, a wicked
doer giveth heed to false lips, and a liar giveth ear to a naughty
tongue. Chapter 19, verse 5, all of Proverbs,
a false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh
lies shall not escape. And then in chapter 19, we read
this, "...a false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that
speaketh lies shall perish." I ask you again, does the Lord
give us warnings? Do we not seek the whole counsel
of God? John, if you would just spend
more time on talking about the love of God. John the Baptist, all of the apostles, the apostle
Paul, Peter, John, Matthew, all of them, they preached what?
They preached repentance and belief. Absolutely true. But what were they repenting
from? They were repenting from the very things that God gives
you and I warnings of. Turn from what man thinks is
right to what God says is right. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Should we ignore the warnings
or the false teachings? The false teachings of this other
Jesus? Our Lord says in John 3.16, a
verse that the world loves to take and say, see, this is man's
free will. You see? There is universal redemption
for everybody. All you have to do is choose.
But they don't read all the Scripture. Allow me to read it for you.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. For God sent not His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him
might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but..." Here's part of that warning.
"...but He that believeth not is condemned already." because he hath not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God." And this is condemnation. This is condemnation that the
light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather
than light because their deeds were evil. It's been said that
I spend too much of my time putting down other religions and not
preaching the gospel. The Gospel, the good news is
this, that Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living God, the Creator
of all that is, the One for whom all the Godhead is seen bodily,
the One whom holds all power, has come and shed His own blood. That His chosen, His elect, Those
that He has loved with an eternal love. You and I. Those who love His gospel because
He has put that love in their hearts. All whom the Father hath given
to Him should have eternal life. That's the gospel. You know why
it's good news to you and I? It's because you and I know that
we deserve exactly what everybody else should get. There's nothing
in this man, there's nothing in any one of you that deserves
the grace of our Lord and Savior. In the book of 1 John, you don't
need to turn there. Chapter 4, verse 1, we read this,
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they
are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the
world. Folks, the Lord Jesus Christ
is not talking about Muslims. He's not talking about Buddhists. He's talking about those who
stand before people in a pulpit and declare the Word of God.
Those who declare that they know who the Jesus is of Scriptures. And then they go about interpreting
Scriptures according to their own destruction. My job is not to interpret Scripture
for you, it's to declare it. And our Lord says here, beware,
because many false prophets are gone out into the world, hereby
know ye the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh, and every spirit that confesses
not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and
this is that spirit of the Antichrist, Wherefore ye have heard that
it should come, and even now already is into the world." There
were already false Christs speaking when the Lord Jesus Christ walked
this earth. There were already Jews who were
saying, oh yeah, believe in that Jesus. But you know, he's not
all that powerful. He can do so much. You have to
help out some. You have to go get yourself circumcised. That's what they said then. Is
there any difference between that and saying to someone, yeah,
there's a Jesus out there, but you have to walk down the aisle
to let Him into your heart. Making the Lord Jesus Christ
weak is an abomination. And it is not according to God's
Word. Our great God has his congregation
spread out throughout all times, in all nations, in every tribe,
and in every different tongue or language. But they are just
a few in this world, this world of man. There's only one true God, and
all else are impostors. We compare the truth with lies
that man come up with, and in doing so, we see the grace of
God magnified. How is it magnified, John? How
is it pointing out that this religion over here is wrong,
and the religion that you're talking about here in Scripture
is right? How is that good to us? God doesn't have to save anybody. Especially me. And He especially didn't have
to save anyone else. And when you and I see that very
fact, we see His grace raised up. The grace in our Savior. And not leaving us to what we
deserve. not leading us to what we have
earned. It's lifting up Jesus as Moses
lifted up serpent in the wilderness. You and I could be right there
in that false religion. And indeed, every one of us had
been at one time or another. The religion of works. The religion
that says, what must I do to be saved? Oh, I'm going to be
a better person. Oh, I better, you know, I was baptized. I got
baptized. I'm saved. Oh, I walked the aisle. I made a decision. I did this.
I did that. We've all been there. Every one
of us. But God. I love that. Let me share with you some but
God verses real quick before we go into John. In Acts chapter 7, We read this
in verse 9, And the patriarchs moved with Enphi. They sold Joseph
into Egypt. Now you remember, Joseph was
the son of Jacob. Jacob had given him a coat of
many colors, and his brothers out of jealousy sold him into
Egypt. And then it says, But God was
with him. The trials that that man must
have gone through are far greater than you and I have ever experienced. But God. In Romans 5.8 it says,
But God commendeth His love toward us, and that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. That's a good but God right there.
Romans 6, verse 17, But God be thanked. Now listen to this carefully.
Listen to this very carefully. Here's Paul writing to the Romans.
Chapter 6, verse 17, But God be thanked. He's thanking the
Lord. Thank You, Lord, that but God. that ye, speaking of those
that he was writing to, and himself included, that ye were the servants
of sin." Why would Paul say, thank you that I was a servant
of sin at one time? Because we see the grace of God
in delivering us from that. We see the grace and loving faith
that our Lord has given us to believe His word. Right after he says, thank you,
Lord, that we were servants of sin, he says, but ye have obeyed
from the heart that form of doctrine that was delivered unto you.
And what was that form of doctrine that was delivered unto you?
Christ and Him crucified. We read in 1 Corinthians 1 verse
23, But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block,
and unto the Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom
of God. Because the foolishness of God
is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called but God. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise." Aren't you glad about
that? And chosen the weak things of
the world to confound the things which are mighty? And the base
things of the world and the things which are despised hath God chosen,
yea, the things which are not to bring do not the things that
are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. And then my favorite, but God
is seen in Ephesians chapter 2 beginning at verse 2, where
in times past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience. There's John. among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh." See,
Paul's including himself. He's not segregating himself
there from someone else. He walked just like those people
did. But God, who is rich in mercy for His
great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace you're saved,
and hath raised us up together and made us to sit in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come, He
might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
towards us through Jesus. Those are some wonderful but-gods
to me. I have brought you here to John
chapter 4 to see for yourselves a but-god moment. Look at verse 1. John chapter 4, verse 1. When therefore the Lord knew
how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more
disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not but his
disciples, he left Judea and departed unto Galilee. Now, read
this next verse very, very carefully. And he, it says, speaking of
Christ Jesus, must, needs, must needs of necessity, because he
had to, go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria,
which is called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob
gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there, and
Jesus, therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on
the well, and is about to sixth hour. Aren't you thankful that
Christ was wearied here? You say, well, wait a minute,
John. The Lord Jesus is God Almighty in the flesh. That's absolutely
right. But He was also 100% man. He knows what it's like for you
and I to be hungry. He's not some king who sat on
a throne all of his existence and doesn't know anything about
what it is to be a needful person. He was a man. He humbled himself
and became a man. And he wearied, and thirsted,
and laughed, and hungered. Verse 7, There cometh a woman, a woman of Samaria, to draw water. And Jesus saith unto her, Give
me to drink. For his disciples were gone away
into the city to buy me. And then said the woman, Then
saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being
a Jew, askest drink of me? Which, and I am a woman of Samaria,
for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. And Jesus
answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God,
and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst
have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with,
and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that
living water? Art thou greater than our father
Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and
his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto
her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. but
whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well
of water springing up into everlasting life." Is that not the redeemed
going out into the world declaring what our Lord has done for us?
Springing up into an everlasting life? The woman saith unto him,
verse 15, Sir, give me this water, I want some of that. that I thirst
not, neither cometh hither to draw." And Jesus said, Go, call
thy husband, and come hither. And the woman answered and said,
I have no husband. And Jesus said unto her, Thou
hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands. And he whom thou now hast is
not thy husband, and thou sayest they truly." This guy, did you
just come across this guy at the well and he knows all that
stuff about me? Yes, he's 100% man, but he is
also 100% God and knows everything. And the woman saith unto him,
verse 19, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped
in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place
where men ought to worship? And Jesus said unto her, Woman,
believe me. The hour cometh when ye shall
neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the
Father. Ye worship ye know not what.
We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But
the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father
seeketh such to worship Him. God is spirit, and they that
worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. And the woman saith unto Him,
I know that the Messiah, the Christ, cometh, which is
called Christ. When He is come, He will tell
us all things. And Jesus saith unto her, I that
speak unto thee am He. And upon this came His disciples,
and marveled that He talked with the woman. Yet no man said, What
seekest thou, or why talkest thou with her? And then the woman
left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith
unto the men, Come see a man which told me all things that
ever I did. Is not this the Christ?" One
child of God, one certain woman, One chosen of God before the
foundations of all creation has gone out and proclaimed the Lord,
the One who knows all things. Now look at verse 39 if you would. And many of the Samaritans of
the city believed on Him for the saying of the woman which
testified, He told me all that I ever did. So when the Samaritans
were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with
them, and he abode there two days, and many more believed
because of his own word." Now look at this verse 42, will you? And said unto the woman, all
these folks who were listening to the Lord Jesus and believed
the Lord Jesus Christ, said unto the woman, now we believe. not because of thy saying, for
we have heard Him ourselves. And know that this is indeed
the Christ, the Savior of the world." My title for this morning
is The Christ. There's only one. There's only
one Jesus Christ. There are not many versions of
Jesus Christ that are being spoken of out into the world that are
the true and living God. There is only one. And to see the Lord Jesus Christ,
one must be brought to understand what total depravity is. And
I'll make this kind of quick. You must know what your condition
is before the Lord will bring you to see who He is. He is holy. So holy that He cannot even look
upon you and I. To know of the Jesus Christ who
was crucified on the cross for His people, you must see how
He cannot even look upon you. See, that's the problem with
men is we don't understand depravity. In order to preach the gospel
of repentance and belief on the Lord Jesus, you must understand
that you never believed before. You can't believe on your own.
You're not going to make a decision and walk down some aisle and
start saying, oh yeah, I'm just going to be a little smarter
today. And everyone who sits here this
morning hearing these words know from their heart they would not
have followed Jesus if it had not been for Jesus. You can't preach about repentance
and belief on Jesus if you don't preach about the total depravity
of men. You can't preach on the gospel because that's what repentance
and belief on Jesus is. It's the gospel without unconditional
election. Unconditional election. It wasn't
something you chose to do. It was God who chose you from
before the world was. You can't preach about the gospel
of Jesus Christ without preaching limited atonement. He didn't
die for the sins of all people. If He died for the sins of all
people, the God of Scriptures is so powerful that every single
person would be saved. There'd be nobody going to hell. The gospel of Jesus Christ and
Him crucified is irresistible grace. My Lord's grace for me is so
powerful that I can't resist it. And when I did resist it,
He came and gave me a new heart that says, I want to hear more
about His grace. I want more of it. It's what I desire now. It's
what all of God's children who walk this earth desire. More
grace. And you can't preach the gospel
of Jesus Christ and Him crucified without preaching about perseverance
of the saints. My Lord did it all. When He went
to that cross, He said, it is finished. That means it's done. I don't have anything to do.
I don't have to worry about what I can't do. He's already done
it for me. That's the good news. You see, folks, all five of those points bring
a sinner to know this, that it is by grace and by grace alone.
And grace means that there's nothing I can do to earn it.
In fact, what I have earned, what I do deserve, is death. I deserve God's judgment. And because I've been brought
to know that very point, I love to see His grace. And all those points I just brought
out are points that point us to the grace of God. Unmerited
favor. Love for His saints. And I'll
close with this. If God loves you, can anything separate you from
the love of that God? What a worthless God it would
be if you could, huh? But that's not the God of Scriptures.
The God of Scripture says this to me, and I ask you, does He
say this to you? My sheep hear my voice. Not a voice talking about some
weak wannabe, but the voice of the all-powerful, creator of
all things, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Would you stand
with me?