Good evening. I love the simplicity of the
Lord's Word to His people, and I'm thankful for it. He's going
to gather His people. You won't be overcome by the
rivers, but guess what? You're going to walk through
some rivers. The fire ain't going to burn you, but you're going
to be surrounded by fire. That's what's going to happen.
Why? For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, by Savior,
because He's the Lord. If somebody don't think it that
way, take it up with Him. It's His doing. That's right,
isn't it? Well, let's turn to John chapter
7. And as a reminder, Lord willing, Saturday we'll have a cookout
at our house. If y'all need the address or
haven't been there, let me know. Two o'clock. And so we ought
to have I knew Kimberly would have plenty of food and she's
going to have plenty of fancy food and lots of it. So, be good for us. John chapter 7. As many of you
know, yesterday was a shooting in a school in Texas. And that was a heinous crime. That was a barbaric event. A painful event. terrifying. It induces terror in those around
it that survived and those families and those children there and
the teachers there and those in that area throughout that
state and throughout this country and throughout the world. Change
has taken place in our county because of that. When I think of the man that
did this, that willfully did this, God took his hand off him,
a child of Adam, no different than any other child of Adam
for a brief moment. Killed 19 young children and
two adults so far. That's what's died from it. It's easy for us to cast judgment
if we don't know the Lord. It's easy for us to misquote
scriptures if he doesn't teach us what his scriptures mean.
John Bradford, back in the middle of the 1600s, But for the grace
of God, there goes John Bradford. We judge this barbaric heathen
that God took his hand off of. God allowed this evil to happen
to save his people. Do I say, oh, do I stick my nose
up in the air? Or do I say, but for the grace
of God, has he taught me that? There goes Kevin Banner. There goes Matt Hurst. I'm certain you don't watch much
TV, but I'm certain this will be quoted at some point in an
attempt to soothe someone's conscience, to soothe someone's aching heart.
The words of Job, the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away.
There's no comfort in that. Do you hear me? I hope I get
your attention by me saying that. There's no comfort in that. When
you stop there, there's no comfort in it. That's just a sovereign
God, a stoic God. It's fatalistic. Throw the lot
up in the air and we'll just do whatever happens. Ain't nothing
we can do. Might as well sit down, do nothing. Oh, but there's a semicolon there.
That goes on. Here's the comfort. Blessed be
the name of the Lord. The Lord gave and the Lord hath
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord
to those parents that lost children. If God would enable me, I have
one message for them. Who the Lord is, And we ought
to praise him for this. And if the Lord would give them
a new heart, that's what they would do. To that man, if he
was still alive, that committed this crime, what message could
I have for him? This is the Lord. This is who
he is. Bless his name. Praise his name. And if there's a new heart put
in that man, the same as there was with me, same as there was
with you, if he's done a work in you, that new heart will say,
amen. Blessed be his name. Not my name,
not somebody else's name, not the senator's name, governor's
name or what some else somebody's nonsense that I hate God come
up with let's be his name the Lord's name this Lord we're gonna
look at people don't I don't get too far ahead of myself people
people talk about a God and they talk about some dude named Jesus
My pastor said, you can't put on a pair of tennis shoes and
go downtown and tell them about some dude named Jesus. This is the Lord.
This is God Almighty. People handle this word deceitfully
to soothe themselves. This Lord, this one we're going
to look at tonight, he preached in the temple. He came to this
earth. He got up. Oh, if he could be
here, I'd send him. Oh, if he was there. That'll be eternity. We'll get
to hear him preach. What I thought. Hug him after. The Lord preached
here in the temple during this feast. In verse 15, it says,
And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters,
having never learned? How can he read? And Jesus answered,
Then my doctrine is not mine. I didn't get this from... pick
it up. It's not from your seminaries,
but his that sent me. If any man will do his will,
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether
I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh
his own glory, but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the
same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give
you the law? That's what you like. You like
rules. Did he give you the law? What
did the law say? You shall not kill. Did Moses
give you the law? And yet none of you keep the
law. What do you mean I didn't keep the law? Why go you about
to kill me? He broke the law. You want to
kill me. And the people answered, Thou hast a devil. You're paranoid.
You're crazy. Something's possessed you. Who
goeth about to killeth thee? They did. That's what we looked
at last time. They did. And Jesus answered and said unto
them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. You want to kill
me. The Lord didn't kill. He healed. He healed that impotent man.
He hadn't been lame for 38 years. He healed him. And they want
to kill him. Moses therefore gave unto you
circumcision, not because it is Moses, but of the Father.
The Father gave it through Moses. And ye on the Sabbath day circumcise
a man. If a man on the Sabbath day receives
circumcision that the law of Moses should not be broken, are
ye angry at me? Are you mad at me? Because I
have made a man every whit on the Sabbath day. Is that what
you're mad about? Judge not according to the appearance
But judge righteous judgment. Judge righteous judgment. Do
not judge as to what appearances give. Don't go off your instincts. You don't have any. They're corrupt. That's your nature. That's your
will. It ain't no good. Quit going off what you think.
Don't go off what your feelings are. Don't judge a situation
because of what you feel. Judge righteously. Judge according
to the Word of God. Judge everything against him,
in light of him. Judge righteously. And what we
look at last, what was that? David had three choices. He numbered
Israel. The Lord was angry with him.
And so he sent his prophet Gad to him. And Gad said, David,
the Lord spoke to me. You got three choices. And he
laid them out. Which one do you want? I got
to go back and tell the Lord. And David said, I'm going to
go straight. Let's cast our all on the mercies of the Lord."
And then the Lord chose for David. That's wise, isn't it? We can
go read that sometime in Samuel 24. And in doing so, I ain't
got no business judging. I ain't got no business making
up my mind. Lord, not my will, but your will. Even in that mercy,
the Lord killed 70,000 men. Didn't he say, I've given nations for you?
I've given men for you. That's what our brother just
read. Killed a whole bunch of people.
Why did evil take place in that city? So the Lord could save
his people. We consider it evil. What we
meant for evil, what that man has meant for evil, the Lord
meant for good, for the saving of his people. I don't understand
that. Well, don't cast a stone on it.
Hush and bow. That's a good thing to do. Praise God. Blessed be
the name of the Lord. Now the rubber meets the road. People want practical theology. There you go. Praise the name
of the Lord. Well, I don't want to. We ought
to do something. Do something good. Praise His name. Love your
brethren. Have a tender heart to those
that persecute you, that try to kill you, your enemies. Love
them as Christ loved us. Verse 25. What did these people
do? The Lord said, Judge righteous judgment. Gave them that command. What did they do? Verse 25. Then
said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he whom they seek
to kill? Ain't this that guy they want
to kill? Ain't that who this is? But lo, he speaketh boldly,
and they say nothing to him. If somebody's wanting to kill
somebody, and that person that they're trying to kill comes
up and speaks so boldly, and they didn't do nothing, is that
him or is that not him? You know what they're doing?
They're judging. They're sorting things out in their own logic.
That's what they're doing. They're weighing the matter.
The Lord said, Judge righteous. I ain't righteous. Lord, you
are. Praise His name. No. Oh, He told us to judge.
I'm going to judge, buddy. Watch out. Hold my Bible. I'm going to start sorting things
out. They said nothing to Him. Verse
26. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?
Are they aware that this is the Christ? Is that their opinion?
What's our opinion? What's our judgment? Verse 27.
How be it? We know this man. They know this man. We know who
his daddy is. That's Joseph the carpenter.
We'll sit here for too long. We know his mommy. We know his
brothers and sisters. I've got two tables and an end
table and a chair and a dining room set made by him. His brother
made the mantle over the fireplace. We know this. We know where he's
from. But now they're going to compare what they see with Scripture.
But when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. He's with the Order of Melchizedek.
He won't have a mother. He won't have a father. He won't
have a beginning. He won't have an end. This Christ that's to come, we
know that. And we know this guy, where he's from, and they think
he's… You see all this decision-making. The mind's on a dangerous journey
of sorting things out instead of bowing to God. First problem
was, it's talking in church. Then Jesus in the temple as he
talked. Was he teaching? It says as he
talked. Whenever they talked, he talked louder. I just saw
it earlier. I looked, I hadn't seen him.
He was teaching. They were talking and he cried,
cried in the temple and saying, you both know me and you know
whence I am. You know, the man, you know,
this of Nazareth, you know me and you know where I come from.
Colon and I'm not come of myself. The he that sent me is true.
Whom ye know not. And he said, I and my father
are one. Not a one of them sat around and said, him and Joseph
are one. They knew what he's talking about. He said, you know
the man that's standing in front of you? He's the God man. I'm not coming with my son. He
that sent me is true, whom ye know not. God sent me. I don't know God. We won't let that rubber meet the
road here in just a second. But I know him. but I know him for
I am from him and he hath sent me. Then they sought to take
him but no man laid hands on him because his hour was not
yet come. They weren't able to lay, why
weren't they able to lay hands on him? He's God. Why did they
want to lay hands on him? He's God and they will not have
this man reign over them. We're not gonna have God tell
us we don't know God. We've made one up just fine.
We know it inside and out. How many people know about Some
fella named Jesus, but they do not know the Lord Jesus Christ.
Everybody in this country, everybody in non-English speaking nations
around the world, they know some man named Jesus, but they don't
know the Lord Jesus Christ. How many people are religious? There's churches all over this
place. There's people put on suits and ties and women that
wear dresses every Sunday. every Wednesday, and they go
to church all the time, and they don't know God. Do you want to
know Him? They're zealous. They're hard
workers, and they mean it. They mean it. That's what Paul
told us in Romans 10. He said, they have a zeal for God, but
not according to knowledge. Does that mean that up here?
Not according to love. They have a zeal for God, not
according to grace. What's grace? What's this love of God? We don't
even know enough about that. Give me something to do. Give
me something to figure out. Let my big brain work this problem
out. How many people quote scriptures? They're masters of Israel, and
they don't know who the scripture concerns. Just like Job. The
Lord gave, the Lord take away. But boy, they don't bring up,
blessed be the name of the Lord. It's God doing this. If I were to look a heathen dead
in the eye, and I said, you don't know God, there may be a fight. What happened in verse 30? They
sought to take him. You don't know God. But if I looked a born-again
child of God, someone given a new spirit within him, that incorruptible
seed, and I looked him dead in the eye and I said, you don't
know God. They would say, apart from Christ, you're right. If
it wasn't for him, being made one with him, his free and loving
sovereign grace, On behalf of me, while I hated Him, you're
right. Outside of Him, I'm lost and
I don't know God. But I know Him. I'm going to
be with Him. I'm going to be made like Him.
Verse 20 again. It says, Then Jesus cried in
the temple as He taught, saying, You both know Me, and you know
who I am. And I have not come of Myself,
but He that sent Me through, whom ye know not, but ye know
Him. But I know Him. For I am from him, and he hath
sent me." How could someone know so much about the Lord? They're standing right there
with you. How could they hear the almighty God-man preach into
their physical ears with understanding and discernment to be able to
sort things out and make decisions and weigh things into balances?
How could they do that and not know Him? How could they physically
be so close or mentally be so close and not know the Lord?
Is that possible? Is that possible to be close?
Turn over to Mark chapter 12. Mark chapter 12. Here in Mark 12, these Sadducees,
they didn't believe in the resurrection. They just want to follow the
Lord in his words and go after him, getting him, fighting over
the resurrection. He corrected it. He addressed
it. And in verse 28, after this conversation took place, Mark 12, 28, And one of the scribes
came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving... He was
judging. He's making a judgment call,
not righteous judgment. He was reasoning. Perceiving
that he had answered them well. Our Lord did a good job. It was
a worthy adversary. So he asked him, Which is the
first commandment of all? And Jesus answered, The first
of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is
one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thine heart, and with all thine soul, with
all thine mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first
commandment. And the second is like it. He
asked, which is the first of all? I'm gonna give you number
two. The second is like it, namely this. Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. There is none other commandment
greater than these. And the scribe said unto him,
well, master, said the truth." You did a good job, Master. Old
man, seasoned veteran, you did a good job. You have said the
truth. The truth sat right in front
of him. The truth spoke the truth to him. He said, you said the
truth. For there is one God, and there
is none other but he. And to love him with all thine
heart, with all thine understanding, and all thy soul, with all thy
strength, and to love thy neighbor as himself, more than the whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices. He had a good understanding.
And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly... Now does that mean
quiet? I looked that word up. What does it mean he answered
discreetly? It means in a mind-having way,
prudently. He was educated. He had a good
understanding. He had a good handle on these
things. He could articulate what was just said to him. When he
answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from
the kingdom of God. and no man. No man. After that, Durst asked him any
question. You're not far from the kingdom
of God. Where's the kingdom of God? How close is he? It's the
one talking to him. You ain't far from it. Did he get mad or did he say amen? Master. Rabbi. That's what they
called him, wasn't it? The rich-rung ruler called him
Good Master. Good Master. He said, why you
call me good? Ain't nothing good but God. What's he getting at? He's hitting him right where
he lives. He's God. This is the Lord. Who has the
nerve to come up to him and say, hey Jesus? It's prevalent and
it makes my ears turn red. All around this nation, just
a flippant attitude to the one that created you. Y'all ought
to have better sense than that. You wouldn't go into a courtroom
and go up to the judge and say, hey lady, or hey dude, and watch
how quick you get in 30 days lockup. We know better than that,
don't we? I didn't go into my home and
say, hey Paul. He'd have slapped me across the mouth. That was
dad. I started out calling him daddy, and when time came, he
said, you don't call me that no more. You're grown. Call me
dad. I said, okay, that's what I'll call you. Be glad to. I'll
honor you. I respect you. I fear him. His apostles, they called him
Lord. And he answered him, and he said, You call me Master and
Lord, and you say, Well, for so I am. You're on the right
track. But just to know that that's
his name ain't enough, is it? To know there's one God ain't
enough, is it? To know that there's a sovereign God in heaven ruling
all things, that ain't enough, is it? James told us, James 2,
19. You say there's one God, good for you that does do the
same thing. It's not just one thing to call
Him Lord or say that He is Lord or understand that His position
by right and by legalities. It's to worship Him. The gospel
is not the gospel because you say it is. You get a hold of
that. Pay attention to me. I want you
to really pay attention to me. I want you to understand this.
The gospel is not the gospel. It's not the truth because you
figured it out. It's not the truth because you
agree with it. It's not the truth because you say so. It's the
truth because He says so. Because He reveals it. Because
He tells it. People, listen to me. If the
Lord's pleased to save you, there'll come a time when you'll be frightened
to death by this text that you're not far from the kingdom of God.
And you'll ask yourself, do I have a head knowledge about the Lord
or do I know Him? That day will come. What's the
difference? What's the difference? I've heard
that my whole life. A lot of people's 18 inches from salvation. That
means they got it here, but they don't have it here. I had it
here for a long time. I argued it from here for a long
time. And then God was pleased to save me and show me what a
fool I was. And I back to him. That's the
first, that's the first sign. That's the first thing that'll
be noticed. Turn over to Luke chapter five. Just a few pages
are in Luke five. Here's when the Lord called Peter. and those sons of thunder with
him." Luke 5 verse 3. And he entered into one of the
ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust
out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the
people out of the ship. Our Lord boarded Peter's boat. They pushed out to go fishing. He sat down and he preached.
Would that offend you if I was sitting in a chair right now
versus standing? I told him, somebody got on me one time and
said, you got a beard, you ought not have a goatee." And I'm just
mean-spirited. And I said, Spurgeon had a beard.
Oh, yeah, that's fine. My Lord had a beard. They plucked
it out. He sat down and taught the people
out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking,
verse 4, he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep and
let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answered unto him.
Here's a commercial fisherman. This is his business. Some man
Even if he knew him, I know where he's from, I know his parents,
don't matter. Some man came up that ain't a commercial fisherman,
he's a commercial fisherman. He said, here's what you need to
do. Simon answered and said, master, we've told, he's respectful,
we've told all not, and we've taken nothing. Nevertheless,
nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net. He's kind to
someone that appears to be his senior, isn't he? And when they
had done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes in their
net break, And they beckoned unto their partners, which were
in the other ship. It was a commercial operation,
that they should come and help them. And they came and filled
both ships so that they began to sink. They got two ships full
of fish now. When Simon Peter saw it, he was
kind before. Didn't that sound good? Called
Jesus master. He's the master. That's him. I'll do what you say. Doesn't
that sound good? That sounds good and religious, don't it?
When Simon saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, Depart
from me, for I'm a sinful man, O Lord." Something changed. How did Peter know that he was
a sinner against God? He sinned against the Holy God
by two ships getting full of fish. I don't know, but the Lord
hit him where he lived and it was effectual, wasn't it? Something changed.
He bowed down and said, I'm a fool. I'm a sinner. Lord, I can't be
in your presence. You're holy, O Lord. For he was astonished. and all
that were with him, and the draught of the fishes which they carried.
And so also was James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were
partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear
not, for henceforth thou shalt catch men. I'm going to put you
to work, Simon. And when they had brought their
ships to land, they forsook all, and they followed him. What's
the difference between having an understanding and knowing?
Peter had an understanding of just common courtesy. whenever
this took place, and then he knew the Lord, and he loved the
Lord, and he followed the Lord, and he forsook all to follow
him. You see the difference? He wasn't
debating with him. He wasn't analyzing him. He bowed
at his knees, clung to him, and said, I'm yours. I ain't leaving.
He'll leave down the road, and how tender the Lord is. Peter
said, I quit. I'm going fishing. I understand
what he And the Lord called to him and said, Hey, cast your
nets over to the right side of the boat. And he pulled the nets
up. He said, I've lived through this
once before. That's the Lord. That ain't a master. That ain't
some man. That's the Lord talking to me.
Big difference. This man who spoke to these people
in the temple, that wasn't a good insurance policy. It was not
some other man cast judgment on and sort out and figure out
and analyze. This was the Lord. When you see
that, you forsake all. You forsake your mother and father.
You forsake your family. There's sweet little people.
They just got to be an angel flying in heaven. You put them
idols away and you forsake them for Him. What makes that take
place? God must do something. God must
reveal Himself to a poor wretched sinner for that to take place.
If that ain't happened yet, I pray he makes it happen. Boy, what
a blessing that'd be. If nobody heard a word I say
tonight, you sleep clean through it, and one sinner saved, boy,
ain't that worth it? Ain't that worth the clothes
off my back and everything I have? If it's worth his blood, it's
worth whatever it is to me, I can tell you that. Old Brother Barnard
said Jesus never saved anybody. Boy, he talked about an attention
getter. We'll just stop there, make a dramatic, tactical pause
as we used to say. Jesus never saved anybody, but
the Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus Christ saved every
one of His people. Every one that was given to Him.
There's a difference. There's a difference. Turn to chapter
1. Well, we sang that earlier. Turn
your eyes upon Jesus. Is that wrong? Shall I take the
baby out with the bathwater? No, that's His name. He had a
humanity. The Almighty God came for man,
because I'm a man. He was made a human because you're
a human. That's who He is. We don't forget, we don't get
tangled in that and forget who He is, do we? This is precious. Matthew 1, verse 21. And she
shall bring forth the Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus.
For He shall save His people from their sins. That's what
this man is going to do. Now all is done, that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth
a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted
is God with us. This man in the temple preaching
to these folks, this man calling to a fisherman, telling him how
to fish. This is a man. This is flesh
and blood. Yes, it is. This is a child that
is born. This is also the son that's given.
He's both. That's what Isaiah said, for
unto us a child is born. Right there's a man-child. Unto us a son is given. And the government shall be at
his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor
the Mighty God. Everlasting Father, because they're
one, the Prince of Peace. This same Jesus that you've crucified
is Emmanuel. When the Lord reveals Himself,
He reveals that He is Lord. The one that rules all, reigns
over all, in all. Hands down, period. A-double-L.
I don't know. Everything. All the molecules.
Everything. What about the bad ones? Them
too. He's the Lord over everything. He's the Lord who laid down His
life for His people. Isaiah said, whenever he saw the Lord, his
train filled the temple. And he saw them angels crying,
holy, and they covered their eyes and they covered their feet.
Holy, holy, holy. And he saw Him. He said, woe
is me, for I'm undone, because I'm a man of unclean lips. I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Everything around
me is unclean. For mine eyes have seen the King.
the Lord of hosts. What did Peter do? I'm unclean.
I'm a sinner. You're the Lord. You're the Lord. Thomas said he doubted. I ain't
going to believe. I need a sign. Being a child,
the Lord's child, how tender and patient he is. Come here,
Thomas. Put your hand right there. Feel. And he said, answered unto him,
my Lord and my God. Is that God? Yes, it is. And
you're my Lord. Martha did that, after not getting to have a good
understanding of the resurrection. The Lord said, this ain't a sickness
unto death, he'll rise. She said, I understand that final
day, that's a pretty good understanding. That will happen, that'll come
to pass. Her Lord said, Martha, she said, I know he'll rise in
the resurrection of the last day. Her Lord said unto her,
I am the resurrection and I am the life. Yet believeth on me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth
and believeth in me shall never die. Believe thou this? Do you
believe that, Martha? And she said unto him, Yea, Lord. She didn't say, Yea, Jesus, did
she? She said, Yea, Lord. I believe that thou art the Christ,
the Son of God, which shall come into the world. You are He. You
are Almighty. That's what was revealed to her.
Turn to Philippians chapter 2. I found this precious too. Philippians
chapter 3. As we're going through the names
of the Lord, I'm so thankful because he's given us these,
a spokes and a wheel. How do you eat an elephant? You
eat it one bite at a time, don't you? He gave us something we
can digest in bits and pieces because we're children. We need
to take small bites. Jehovah Jireh, he's going to provide.
What if I need understanding? He's going to provide. Jehovah
Jireh, Jehovah Raphael, the Lord that healeth thee, the Lord our
banner, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Shalom, Lord our peace, Jehovah
Raphael, the Lord my shepherd, Jehovah Sitkinu, the Lord our
righteousness, Jehovah Shema, the Lord is present, He's with
us. The name's a declaration. I will not debate, I will not
discuss, I will not enter into a foolish argument of man of
debating. Now I think this and... No! He's the Lord, that's his
name, it's to be declared. Peter got up and preached to
those one that just slew him and he said, you killed him. It's
who he is. And then he sat down. It was
a declaration. Not to be idolized, it's to be
amazed at. not to be dissected, to be declared
and bowed to who He is. He is a name above every name.
Look here at Philippians 2 verse 9. Wherefore God hath also highly
exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name. What's
that name? That at the name of Jesus, hold
on, At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father. Those people were debating and
analyzing Him and seeing if this was who it was, if it was really
the cross, and this and that. They weren't bowing to the Lord.
They didn't forsake all for Him. They didn't cry out for mercy.
He was still an equal. That was just a man. That was
just Jesus to them. When He's pleased not to reveal
Himself, He's only Jesus. He's only a man, not the God-man. That's what we looked at recently
there in Jeremiah 9, 24. But let him that glorieth glory
in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me. You understand
who that is? And know. and love, and fear,
and honor, and respect, and I'm grateful. Ain't you just happy?
That's a good word. I praise Him, I honor Him, I
want our things to be orderly, but I'm just content, and pleased,
and just grateful that He's God, and He's the Lord. I wouldn't
have it any other way. Doesn't that please you? I wake up in the morning, my
God's on the throne, amen, good. What if it rains? I pray I can see that and all
the things that are absolutely treacherous in this world and
horrible in this world. Instead of cowering in fear like
somebody that don't know God and the boogeyman, I can say,
Amen, God's on His throne. He's the Lord. I wish I could
tell somebody about it. Find somebody that ain't never
heard about this and tell them. It's not just drowning to death
in gospel theology and let them see the Lord, see who He is.
Let him cling to himself. If you want, I'm a sinner. God
showed me that. And fall down on his knees. That'd
be wonderful. Let him glorify in this, that
he understand and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercised
lovingkindness. He exercises judgment and he
exercises righteousness in this earth. For in these things I
delight, saith the Lord. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? I wish I could just bow to that all the time. I think,
nope. I wish it could just be this
way. I wish I could stop doing that and start judging righteous
judgment. Exactly what happened is it. How can I glory knowing the Lord? When seeing the Father, we know
the Son. We know Him. Back in our text
in John 7. Verse 28 says, And then Jesus
cried in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and
ye know whence I am. Ye know the man. And I am not
come of myself. The he that sent me is true,
whom ye know not. You don't know God, but I know
him, for I am from him, and he hath sent me. Then they sought
to take him, but no man laid hands on him, because his hour
was not yet When he says that no man knows God, no man's gonna
get to the Father, but by me. That's what he's saying. You
don't know God, but I know Him. We should know the Son. Is that
right? We should kiss the Son, lest He be angry. Does that make
you mad? Well, now how I grew up was something
different. Now, Mommy and Daddy taught me
different, and my great-grandma, she was the sweetest thing that
ever lived, and she thought this. Does that make you mad? Or do
you say, I must know the Son? He's salvation. Salvation is
being united with Christ. Being united with His worth only. Being united with His wisdom
only. His understanding. His judgment.
His weighing in the scales. We're reading 1 John. We'll close
with this. We know that the Son of God has come and hath given
us an understanding that God Almighty came in human flesh
And He's given His people an understanding that we may know
Him that is true. He came that we may know God.
That we may understand Him and love Him and know Him. And that
we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This
is the true God and eternal life. To know Him is to have everlasting
life. He's the God-man. That one standing
there healing an infinite man by the pool of Bethesda, that's
Him. He came that we may know Him,
that is true. That one that was preaching in
that temple, that's Him. He's the Lord, that we may know
Him. That one that controls all things,
good, bad, or ugly, it don't make a difference, that we may
know Him, that He may save His people. A friend of mine asked
one time, he said, if I had to get up and preach right now,
somebody handed you a Bible and said, go preach. What would you
preach on? I'm giving that instruction.
Be ready in season and out of season. Probably Philippians
3.3. First thing that comes to mind. For we are the circumcision.
We're the Lord's people. True Israelites. We worship God
in the Spirit. I can't do that. He has to give
the Spirit. That has to be His doing. And rejoice in Christ
Jesus. How do I know the Father? How
do I have that? Because of the person and work of His Son. the
Lord Jesus Christ, I rejoice in Him and have no confidence
in the flesh. What's my understanding and my
soothsaying and my discernment and my perceiving? A pile of
beans, give me Him. It don't matter, I need Him. Father, thank you for this Word.
Forgive us for what we are. You're holy and perfect. Give us a heart that worships
and give us an understanding that what we are filthy, wicked
sinners, Lord, need for your son. Allow us to come to his
feet, fall down on his knees and worship him. Lord, allow
us to see Christ today. Forgive us for what we are. Your
kingdom come. It's in Christ's name that we
ask. Amen.