The Lord is absolutely sovereign
over all things. If one person hears the truth
through this, it will be worth it all. I also know this, that
after it's all said and done, the way the Lord spreads the
word is still by word of mouth. That's the way it always has
been and the way it always will be. When he ever, whenever he
saved someone, revealed himself to someone, he said, now you
go home and tell what great things the Lord has done for you. And
that's how people came. And it's still the way, the means
that he uses mostly. John Chester says it. Now these
words of our Lord will give us an understanding of some people
and things that we may need. be puzzled by, be confused by. Let me ask you something. Do
you know anyone who seems to be sincere, who seems to believe
in God, who seems to believe in the Lord, who talks about
Jesus, who is enthused about the Bible, who is very zealous
about their religion? Do you know anybody like that?
Everybody knows, lots of people like that. Well, are they just ignorant
of doctrine? They seem so sincere, so genuine. Paul, the apostle, there was
no one more sincere. Saul of Tarsus. There was no
one more zealous. He said, I was exceedingly zealous. My father, I told the story again
the other night of my father as a young preacher, there was
no one more zealous for God. Oh my, he was zealous, enthusiastic,
would tell, talk to people, witness to people, just like so many
people we know and believe. He didn't know God. He didn't
know the true God, the living God. the true Christ. He was very zealous and preached
Jesus. And he'll tell you. Right, Mom? He'll tell you. She was a secretary
at one of the largest great preachers of that day. I might tell some
stories on you of her ignorance and religion, what they did,
but didn't know God. But God sent a preacher. that most people hate it. It's
just telling the truth. And God uses that to open the
eyes and the ears of things like a solid person. It's not just
ignorance, it's lost. All through the gospel we run
into people like that. And then these verses, all these,
you know, no one Our Lord, who is mercy, who is love, who is
grace, who is compassion, who is all these things. You see,
he didn't come down to this earth to try to save all these nice
people. You understand? He said, I didn't come to call
the righteous. many, many parables and illustrations
of those who thought they were righteous. I was talking to someone
the other day, and I began to ask them, and they just seemed
so sincere. My heart went out to them, but
they started talking about how they believed, I said, do you? And I said, I hope so. And he
called on the Lord. And I finally asked him, when
you stand before God, what would you say about your step? What
do you think about your step before God? God who sees all
and knows all. What do you think? And they're pleased. That person's
pleased. I'm a good person. And I'm sincere. And I call on
the Lord. I thank Him all the time for
everything. I think, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I. And my heart went out to that
person. Everyone back then was talking
about Jesus. Everyone in this day was talking
about Jesus. Everyone had some opinion of
it, nobody indifferent. There were many, many, many,
many who believed. It says many believed in it,
many believed on it. And you read with me back in
chapter 2 where it says he did not commit exception. He knew
what was in it. And we've looked at this and how many times we've
turned to him and said, you're following me because you saw
the miracle. He turned to Simone and said,
you're following me because you've got your devil's care. Now, absolute
fact of the matter is, you see, God has changed and man has to
change, and that's still the way it is. That's still the way
it is. And he said several times throughout
all these, we're looking at all these these things our Lord is
saying to the general multitude. And he says things like that.
You neither know me nor my Father. Look at John chapter 7. Here's where we are. And there's
many different opinions about it. And verse 11 and 12, the Jews sought him at
the feast. They sought him. They were looking
for Jesus. They wanted to hear him. But where is he? There's
much murmuring among the people. One says, the good man. Oh, he
deceives the people. Verse 25, then says, some of
them, it's not just he whom they seek to kill. Oh, he speaks boldly. They say nothing to him. Is this the Christ? Is this the
Christ? Verse 27, we know this man. Some
of them say, we know this man. We know where he's from. When
Christ comes, no man knows when he is. They're confused. Some
of them, most of them are confused. Verse 31, many of the people
believed on him. Did they? Did they really? It says that, doesn't it? We've
said that before. It says that back in chapter
2, I told you, and he said many believed in him, his name, and
he didn't commit himself unto them. Whoever truly believed
in him, they believed in him because God gave them that faith
and Christ came, he's totally committed to them. That's who
he came for, all that the Father gave him. He's committed. But
here it says, when Christ comes, verse 31, will he do more miracles
than These which this man has done. Now what's wrong with that? They're still talking about
him as the man. Now this is the first evidence
that someone knows who Jesus Christ is. They quit talking
about it, like a man. Simon Peter, when he first, his
first real sight of and glimpse of who Jesus was, was in that
boat that day, where the Lord said, cast out, and he said,
cast your net on the right side, and he said, We've been fishing
all night, but we'll do what you want." And he did. And remember,
he couldn't take in the fish. What happened? Simon Peter fell
at his feet and said, Depart from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. Jesus of Nazareth, now, He is
Lord, and He didn't make Him Lord. He didn't make Him Lord. The
Lord came to reveal Himself to His people. Well, verse 43 of
this chapter says there was a division among the people because of Him.
And nothing's changed. There's still a great division.
It's still a great division. Now, there's no division. And
you know why there are, you know what denominations are? They're
just divisions. That's what they are, divisions.
And they set up these various denominations because we believe
this way, we believe this way, Methodists believe this way,
Catholics believe this way, Adventists believe this way, Disciplines
believe this way. There was never, there were never
in the church, the early church, there were no denominations.
The church of Ephesus, the church of Philippi, the church of Laodicea,
the church of Galatia, the church, they all believed the exact same
thing. Look at Ephesians 4 with me,
very clearly. Ephesians 4, there was no gray
area about who God is, about who Christ is, about what man
is, about what salvation is, or rather who, Ephesians 4, he's
writing through the Ephesians. Now people, that's some folks
that don't like Ephesians 1. That's some good church people
that don't like to hear about God's election of a people to
predestinate. Are you kidding me? How could
somebody be God's child? People, you read Romans 9 and
say, I don't believe that. Look at Ephesians 4, he says in verse
4, there is one body, that's the church, united, there's no
division. One spirit, that is, one Holy
Spirit who teaches them all the same thing. Even if you're called, how will
you call? By legal means. You know you didn't call on Him
until He called you. You know the only reason you
called was because He powerfully, sovereignly called you. You know
that. All of God's people know that. But we don't. One hope
of your calling, what's that? That He'll call us? One Lord. They all know that
He is Lord. That's what our Lord said in
Psalm 2, that I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion. God hath made Him Lord, and all
of God's people know that. One faith. What's that? They
all do the same things. They really do. One baptism,
one God and Father of all, one God and Father. And our Lord said in John 6.45,
John 6.45, and he's quoting Isaiah 54. He says this, it is written
in the Prophets, they shall be all called of God. Isaiah 54
says all thy children. called him a disciple, my little
children, just as God. These are His children, and He
came for them as the Father gave Him. You know that, don't you? You know that, sir. And they shall be all, all thy
children shall be taught of God, every man that hath heard and
learned of the Father. They're all taught of God. There
were four of us children in my family. All right? Three boys
and a girl. We had the same father. We all
knew him basically the same way. We had the same father. He taught
us all the same lessons. And here it is. All four of us
feared our father. With this reverence and respect,
we feared it. This is the number one. This
is the very first. This is the sign. This is the
evidence. This is where it starts. This
is the beginning of saving wisdom. When God makes us wise, when
God gives us this understanding that we might know Him, it is
true that the first thing is fear the Lord. There's no fear
of a Jesus. It's the fear of the Lord. Scripture says, this is the first
lesson that's taught, and Scripture God has given him a name which
is above every name. What is that, Jesus? No, that's
not the name above everything. There was a Jesus in the New
Testament. Paul talks about Jesus. He said, we call him Joshua.
Joshua's name, that's Joshua in the Old Testament. I told
you I have a picture of myself with a young boy in Mexico, his
name was Jesus, Jesus. There are thousands everywhere.
Here's what the scripture says. At the name of Jesus, every knee
will bow and every tongue confess. Now here's the name of every
man. And this is his name. And this is how we're to refer
to him. This is his name. Every knee will bow and every
tongue confess that he's Jesus. Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. Go with
me to John 11, John chapter 11. Let me show you. This is not
a question of words. See, I'm not making someone to
be an offender for a word. Incidentally, There's much more
of that in Isaiah 29. That's talking about a man who
comes and declaring the truth of who God is, and people don't
like it. But the fact of the matter is,
this is the difference between who you know and who you bow before. and fear of the Lord. John 11. Let's look through here. This is the story of Mary and
Martha. The Lord came to their brother's
grave. You know the story. Verse 3. His sister sent word unto him. Mary and Martha. This is Mary
and Martha. They sent word unto him saying, Lord. He holds him, and we've got to love
his sick. Verse 8, his disciples came and said unto him, Master. Verse 12, then said some of his
disciples unto him, Lord. If he sleep, he do well. Verse
21, then said Martha, who came to Lazarus' tomb, and Martha
came running up to Jesus. Martha said unto Jesus, Lord,
now that I have been here, my brother
had not died. Verse 27, and the Lord said,
I am the resurrection. And she said unto him, yea, Lord,
I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God. Not like those
other people. We're one Christ. We won't do
any more than this now. I know who you are. I know who
you are." And that's who she called him, the Lord. You see, you believe in thine
heart, Romans 10 says. Here's the word of faith. The
heart man believes is under rights, with a mouth confession is made,
and whosoever believes is faithful. Christ is Lord, and the Lord
Jesus Christ. She's not calling him that with
the lips, but it's knowing from the heart. Look at verse 28. So she went her way and called
Mary. She went to Mary to tell who
that he was there. And she said, the Master's come. Verse 32, Mary would come where
Jesus was. She saw him. She fell down his
feet and said unto him, Lord, And I still inherited him. If you know him, that's what
you've got. Verse 34, and the Lord said unto him, Where
hast thou laid him? And David said unto him, Lord,
come and see. Look at verse 39. Jesus said, take away the stone.
Mary, Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him,
Lord. Did he ever hear an apology? Anybody, at any time? Never. In chapter 13, go over here,
chapter 13, that's Mary and Martha. Let's listen to his disciples,
Peter. James, John, these men, let's
listen to them, you now know who he is. Chapter 13, verse
6. The Lord, you know, is washing
his feet, and cometh to Simon Peter, and Peter says unto him,
Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Verse 9, Simon Peter said unto
him, Lord, not my feet, only that my hands, my head. Verse
13, listen, look at it, now look at it, the Lord said, Verse 13,
you call me Master and Lord, and they did, every one of them,
every one of them. And you say, well, for so I am. You know him, that's what you
call him. I have never referred to my father
simply as Henry. I have never talked to anybody
about Henry. I have too much respect for him. I know him as my father. I could
often call him my pastor. He said in verse 14, you say,
well, I am your Lord and your master. I have washed your feet.
You ought also to wash others' feet. Verse 25. John is lying on his breast.
Now, John is very intimate with our Lord. Very intimate. No one closer. Our Lord says,
I call you friends. And I hear people refer to Jesus
that. I've heard some men now for years,
and I give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes they say
it, and there's a reason in Scripture, and I'll tell you this in a minute.
But no one was more intimate. I think men use that term to
try to appear to be real intimate with Jesus. There was no one
more intimate with him than John, wasn't there? The apostle. Wasn't he coming? Look here. Verse 25. Leaning
on Jesus' breast, I love him. Glory. Lord. Verse 36, go down there,
verse 36, Simon Peter said unto him, Lord. Where did it go with
Simon? Verse 37, Peter said unto him,
Lord. Why can't I? Chapter 14, verse
5, Thomas said unto him, Lord. And you remember after he arose
from the grave, Thomas, tell of his feet, what did he call
him? My Lord and what? My God. Verse 8, Philip, Philip
said unto him, Lord, Lord. Lord means absolute sovereign,
ruler, controller, provider, protector. Lord over all, especially
salvation. Jonah 2.9, salvation is of the
Lord. All of God's people know that
He is the Lord, our righteousness. He is the Lord, our shepherd.
He is the Lord, He is the Lord, our peace. He is the Lord, that's
how they know Him, and that's how they call Him. That's how
they refer to Him. This is His glory. Jesus. Paul wrote, under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, we see Jesus made a little lower than the
ancients for the suffering of death. Every reference in Scripture
to Jesus by the Holy Spirit is to tell us of his manhood, of
his humiliation, how he came as a man. Glory to God, glory
to God, blessed name, Jesus. Blessed, blessed, blessed name. Call his name Jesus. He said
to Mary, not to everybody, but to Mary, this is what you'd call
his earthly name, this child, this child that is born. Here's
what you'd call him, Jesus. But now the son is given. Who
is he? The Lord. His name is Jesus,
Savior. That means Savior. And when we
say it, we believe it. When we say it, we mean it. When
we preach it, we mean He came to save His people from their
sins. This is Joshua. Glorious name. Wonderful name. Wonderful name. There is only
one, truly, true Jesus. Savior. But He's the Lord. Jesus Christ. Byron used to say,
Jesus can't say it, it's got to be the Lord Jesus. We see
Jesus, I started to quote it, made a little lower than the
angels for the suffering of death. We see this man, glorious man,
wonderful man, a glorified God, that God made a body, a body
has now given there, and called his name Jesus, and he was a
sinless, perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God. But a mere man can't
say this. God be the God-man. Indeed, the
church of God, Paul, told the Ephesians, which he purchased
with his own blood, the Lord Jesus. And the first thing you'll
see, and the first thing everybody comes to see in him, is first
that he's Lord. Before you know He's your Savior,
before you believe He's your Savior, before you don't... I remember, you know, rotten
rich and thinner and came, and finally the Lord began to open
my eyes, and I remember thinking, I believe He's the Lord. I believe
this is God. I believe it's the truth. God's
God, and I'm, you know, worthless, and I don't know if He's taking
me or not. I don't know if I'm one of His or not. I don't know. I believed He was God, I believed
Christ was the only Savior. And then one day, I believe,
He spoke to my heart that, yes, I'm your Savior, I came to you. But the first thing you'll see
is He's absolute God and Lord, and He doesn't have to save you.
Doesn't have to save anybody. And everyone who says, you know,
Well, everybody deserves a chance to be saved. You don't know God,
and you don't know man. You don't know God, and you don't
know man. Hold it, hold it. You don't know man. God looked
down and said, is there anybody that's calling on me? He said,
none. He said, the whole thing, the
whole earth, like before the Ark of Noah, He said, the whole
earth. That man's heart is nothing but
evil continually. That's what God taught. Well,
who would say? Noah did build that ark for 120
years. Come on. There is mercy. Come on in. Who
did? Who did? God rich in mercy. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Noah was wise. So a son and wife, they came
in because God in sovereign mercy and grace called them and brought
them in. And they all knew it. Every one of those eight souls
knew they were in that ark because God came to them, chose them,
revealed himself to them. Everybody heard, yeah, but they
didn't come in. Why? Rebels. And as it says so many
times, it's an absolute, amazing mercy that God would save anybody,
let alone a people that no man came from. But this is the first
thing. And verse 28 of that text says
this, Lord cried in the temple as he talked and said unto them,
You both know me, and you know which I am, and I'm not coming
myself, but he has sent me as truth, whom you know not. You
know me, this is Jesus, but you don't know me." See what he says? And in another place he says,
you neither know me nor my father. In verse 29, he says, he's just
a great witness, a true witness. I know him, I'm from him, and
he has sent me. What did he send me to do? I
was going to have you turn to John 17. John 17, in which our
Lord very clearly and very plainly says, in a prayer to his father,
he says, you've given me power over all flesh, but I should
give eternal life to whom? Turn real quick, turn quickly
with me, okay? John 17, because this is, oh
my, you know this. Oh, how blessed you are. John
17, he says, verse 2, thou hast given him power over all flesh
that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given
him. And this is life eternal, for
thou be the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.
Verse 4, I glorify thee on the earth, I have finished the work
that thou gavest to me to do. Now this is the true Christ.
And all the disciples knew the true Christ. And what he said
is, God gave me a people. I came here to save them. That's
who I came to save. And he said, I did it. I finished
it. All of God's people know that.
This is not a question of doctrine. It's not a question of doctrine. It's who you know. And who knows
you? 3 verse 6, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine
they were, that is, before the world. He gave them me. They
have kept thy word. Over in the Revelation it says
to one of the churches, you've kept my word in the midst of
this world that doesn't believe it. You've kept my word. They
know, verse 7, all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
I have given them thy words. Verse 8, they have received them.
They know surely I came from thee. They have believed you
did send me. He said, I pray for them. I don't
pray for the world. Oh, my. We heard a poor fellow. We heard a poor fellow singing
a song. And he was zealous. He was sincere. I get it. And honestly, I was preaching
to his face, looking at him, and I was praying, Lord, open
this man's eyes. But he sang a song, and his song
was this. Do you remember? It nauseated
me. I mean, it nauseated me. But
he said, when Christ was hanging on the cross, he was saying words,
words that he was dying to tell us. He's just dying. Won't somebody
please hear me?" I said, what were you doing?
Now, you know the Lord. You know Him. You know Him. And buddy, I heard the words.
I heard Pirate for Sovereign, the words that he said on that
cross. When he said on that cross, when he was hanging on that cross,
the very first words out of his mouth were, Father, forgive them.
They know not what to do. This is the high priest, John.
This is the great high priest whom the Father hears. Whoever
he's praying for, they're going to believe on it. They're going
to be saved. And you're looking at one. That's the word that
God sent to me one day. That's the word right there that
says, first of all, bow to my knees. Open my mouth. This is what I say. Sovereign
Word of the Sovereign Lord, and what Christ was saying on the
cross for those. Father forgive them. Who's he
talking about? A little while later, Peter stood
up. And he didn't ask anybody anything.
He didn't tell them, won't you please Jesus, I implore you.
Oh no, he's dying to tell you something. He didn't say that.
Peter stood up and said, God has made this Jesus whom you
crucified with you rebels against God. The Lord is now seated on
a throne ruling, reigning over whom he will everything. And
he sat down. He didn't ask anybody anything.
Perhaps the Spirit of God moved upon every single person that
Jesus Christ prayed for on that cross and 3,000 people. How many were around that cross
that day? At least 3,000. Every single one Christ was hanging
on that cross, saying that prayer about 10 broken hearts. What are we going
to do? What shall we do? We've hated God's Son, rebelled
against God, why don't we come to Him? We're guilty as charged. That's why, let's come to Him.
Peter said, repent, believe on earth, be baptized for remission
of sin. This is all about sin, sin against
who? God. And boy, Lord, thank Him. As a result of our Lord's dying
words. He wasn't trying to tell anybody.
He wasn't dying to have everybody believe him. He was dying for his people. And he said, Oh, how blessed
we are. We know Him, that is true. We
know John said, blessed be God, the Son of God has come and given
us an understanding. We might know Him that is true,
and that we're in Him that is true. Even in His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is eternal life. This is
the true dogma, an eternal life. Oh, how blessed we are. Okay. Thank you.