The Gospel of John chapter 1.
Let's read. Well, we're a few minutes late,
so let's... We won't read the text. The story
here is of the Lord coming to John to be baptized. And there's
something that stood out to me. John said it twice. Well, actually
three times. He said in verse 26, He said, I baptize with water,
but there standeth one among you, speaking of the Lord, whom
you know not. There were some people there
that didn't know, didn't believe the Lord Jesus Christ. And in verse 31, John said, and
I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. And
the Spirit, verse 32, he built a record saying, I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove and it abode upon him. And I
knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the
Spirit of God, said to me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit
descending, remaining, this is he. This is he. Something to be learned here. John, in the Gospel of John,
said this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only
true God. This is what it means to be saved,
to have life eternal, to know the only true God. Many people
say they know God, believe in God, a God, but He's not the
God of the Bible. He's not what our Lord said,
the true and living God. God who is God. Not this God
men say, you let God be God. If someone says that, they don't
know God. You don't let God be God. And when salvation comes, He
lets you know that He's God. Like in Ezekiel 36, he said over
and over again, and they shall know that I am the Lord. This
is life eternal, to know the true God. And Jesus Christ, whom
he has sent, because no one knows God but the Son reveals Him. He is God. Christ is God. The
Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, who was Saul of Tarsus,
a religious man, moral, upright, sincere, zealous, said he knew
God. He was more zealous than anybody
you will ever meet in religion. He was more devoted, more consecrated,
more just devoted to his religion,
to God. And he said, I didn't know God. And Christ came to him and revealed
himself to him. And that's what Paul said in
Galatians 1 when it pleased God. When will someone be saved? Not
when they accept Jesus. Not when they make a decision.
Not when they do anything. But when it pleases God to reveal
Christ to you. That's a language that the world
doesn't know. Religion doesn't know. Reveal Him to... What do
you mean by that? God's people all know what that
means. They used to know Jesus, they
thought. They used to know a God, they
thought. when the true and living God
comes. And many of us confessed Him in baptism, were immersed,
so to speak, but didn't know that God was the Bible. Didn't
know the true Christ. Knew Jesus, believed in a God
like everybody else. That's not salvation. This is
life eternal to know Thee, the only true God. And every single person whom
God reveals Christ to, They know he's God. They know he's sovereign.
They know he's holy. They know he's the one that does
the choosing. They know he's the one that does
the saving. That Christ did it all. They
know that. There's no doubt. There's no gray area there. No
gray area. Well, where am I? Well, John
said, and this is what he said to the people, one standing among
you, you don't know. The scribes, the Pharisees. You don't know Him. He was a
man. And they all believe He's a prophet,
a healer, a good man, a powerful man, a wise man, a good speaker,
Jesus of Nazareth. That's why people refer to Him
as Jesus. They don't know Him as the Lord
Jesus. You've come to know who He really
is, you'll quit calling Him Jesus. I have never called my father
Henry. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. And that's what you call Him
if you fear Him. The Lord Jesus Christ. And John said, there's
some among you that don't know Him. He said, and I didn't know
Him. John said, I didn't know Him until the Spirit of God revealed
Him to me. There comes a time when every
single person The Spirit of God must come through the preaching
of the gospel and reveal Christ to you. Every person in here
is truly saved. That's what happened. God doesn't
save anybody apart from the preaching of the gospel. Now John, you
say, and I'm not going to talk about John too much here, because
he's a picture here. John was filled with the Spirit
from his mother's womb. Well, when was Christ revealed
to him? in the womb. Do you remember John? When Mary
came to him and Elizabeth was pregnant with John, it says when
Christ came, he leaves. They were talking about Christ.
That's a fact. God the Holy Spirit must reveal
the Lord Jesus Christ to us. Not just to our head though,
but to our heart. Paul said, when he revealed his
Son in me, in my heart, in my affection, who He is, what He
did, He did that for me. Now that reveals a need, the
heart reveals a need, a desire, a love. Now here's John's record. Is this your record? See if this
is yours. Verses 19 through 21. This is
the record of John. When the Jews sent priests and
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who art thou? And he confessed
immediately and denied not. He confessed. Now here's the
first thing he said, I am not. First thing he said was what
he's not. I'm not the Christ, verse 21. Who are you, Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you that
prophet? No. The point being, when God
the Holy Spirit comes to you and reveals, the first thing
He's going to reveal to us is what you are not. The Spirit of God comes and these
things are written. In Romans 3 it says, let me read
it to you, in Romans 3, and this is what every single true child
of God knows. As it is written, there is none
righteous, no, not one. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. What about you? I'm not righteous. And somebody asks you, what do
you say about yourself? A person claiming to be a Christian
believer. Somebody asks you, what do you
say about yourself? The first thing you're going
to say is, I am not righteous. I am not good. I am not worthy. What did you do? I did nothing. You see that? I am not. I am
not. Who are you? Nothing. A nobody. John wouldn't even call his name.
He was the greatest man born a woman. And he wouldn't even
say his name. That's humility. That's broken
and contrite heart. Christ said when the Spirit of
God comes, He'll convince you of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He'll convince you that you're
a sinner worthy of hell. He'll convince you that you need
a righteousness and you don't have it, and you can't produce
it. And He'll convince you of a judgment.
There's a judgment to stand before God someday. Every single person.
How are you going to stand that? And the Holy Spirit will convince
us that there's only one way to stand before this holy and
righteous God. Somebody tell me. Christ. Every single child knows it. John said, I am not
anything. In Revelation 5, I was going
to turn there, It says, John said, I saw the book in his hand. I saw the book in his hand, and
he said, I wept. I wept. Turn over there with
me. Revelation 5. Because this goes well with what we're looking
at. Revelation 5, verses 1 through 4. I saw in the right hand of
him that sat on a throne a book written within, and on the backside
sealed with seven seals. There's the Book of Life, and
there's the Lamb's Book of Life. There's the books with all that
men have done, said, and thought in it, and then there's the Book
of Life with all the elect's name in it, all the chosen of
God in it. The books are going to be open.
This book he's talking about is the Lamb's Book of Life from
the foundation of the world, whose names were written there
before the world began. That's what the Scripture says.
Somebody says, I don't believe that, then you don't know God. All these people here are weeping,
and John is weeping because they know they're not worthy to be
in that book. And what they want to know more
than anything else is, is my name in that book? And false
preachers say when men make their little decision for Jesus, a
new name is written in heaven. That is a lie. Those names were
written before the world began. Verse 2, I saw a strong angel
proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book,
loose the seals thereof. No man in heaven or in earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open the book to look
thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open
and read the book, neither to look thereon." People, if you
find out who God is and what you are, and that you're unworthy,
you'll know you're unworthy, and you'll weep and you'll wonder
if your name is in the book. And that's why we come here.
It is. It's why we come here. We want
a man to stand up. Would someone please open the
book and tell me, is my name written there? And there's only one that can
do that. Not me, but the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, Christ. Please someone open the book
and tell me, is my name written there? If anyone is truly unworthy
and longs to know if they have eternal life, they already have
it. Because that's a desire from
God. And so they all say with John,
I sure am not worthy. And everyone in heaven says,
unworthy. And they're all saying this,
verse 12 of Revelation 5. They're all crying with a loud
voice. Make no mistake about it. Worthy
is the Lamb. The first thing the Lord showed
them, as He opened the book, He showed them a lion, verse
5. Weep not, there's a lion. Before you see a lamb, you're
going to see a lion prevailing, king, reigning and ruling. You're still going to wonder
if your name is written there, but then he'll show you a lamb.
And then from then on, after you see the lion and you believe
he's king, you bow to him and you ask him for mercy and you
ask him, Lord, is my name there? Then he'll show you a lamb. as
it had been slain before the foundation of the world. And
isn't that what John brings? Look at it. John chapter 1. Go
back there. John chapter 1. So if that's
you, if you're an unworthy sinner, if you're not worthy to tie his
shoes, it's what John said. Verse 27. He said, there's one
standing among you. You don't know he. It is. He's
the one. He's everything. He's salvation.
He's wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption. He's prophet, priest,
and king. He is salvation. People, there's
salvation in no other but one. He it is. He said, I'm not worthy
to unloose his shoes. So these things he was doing
when he was baptized. And the next day, verse 29, John
seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. The Lamb of God. This is He. The Lamb as it had been slain.
Oh, the Lamb. After the Spirit of God shows
you what you are, unworthy, like John. I'm not worthy. He will
reveal Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away your sin. And John said in verse 30, this
is He. He it is. This is He. People come to you and ask you
about yourself. You say, I'm not, I'm not, I'm
not, I'm nothing, I'm nobody, I'm unworthy. What did you do? I didn't do anything. What about
faith? It's a gift. Didn't you decide? No, I didn't
decide anything. I'm a receiver. I'm a recipient of grace. I'm
an object of mercy. I'm an object of God's grace. Well, didn't you call on me?
Not until he called me. Didn't you seek Him? Well, not until
He sought me. Didn't you find Him? Well, not
until He found me. Huh? Every one of them. I'm not worthy.
I'm not worthy. If they ask you about yourself,
that's what you say. I'm nothing. I'm unworthy. And
they'll ask you, well, what's your salvation? And you'll say
it in three words. He it is. Huh? Is that you? Come on now. Is that you? It's He. Well, surely, no, no, no. It's
Him. It's Him. I have nothing to do with it. Nothing to do with it. Is that
you? There are no exceptions to this rule. This is what God
does. This is what the Spirit of God
does to every single child of God, every single one of His
elect. This is He of whom I said, verse 30, this is the one I've
been trying to talk to you about. After me cometh the man that
is preferred before me. He was before me, and I knew
him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. He has
to be revealed. So I'm just baptizing with water.
John, you know, there's nothing in water. Our Lord said you must
be born again, born of His Spirit. Water, yes, and His Spirit. Meaning? born the first time
of flesh, born the second time of spirit, born of water of his
word, which is the gospel of Christ, out of whose side came
water first, Water first, you learn by the hearing of the Gospel
of the Word, the Word of God, the Gospel of your salvation,
and blood. Sanctification, justification.
It's all in Him, in water and His Spirit. The Spirit of God
takes the Gospel of Christ, the Word of God, of the Gospel in
Christ, which is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul,
that's your salvation, and reveals Him to you. That's how. And then you'll be baptized. You'll confess him before me
and like Christ said to. And look at verse 33. I knew him not, but he that sent
me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him. The same
is he which baptizes with the Holy Spirit. He's speaking of
Christ. Do you know what the name Christ
means? The name Christ means, literally, the anointed one. The anointed one. He's the one
chosen of God. He's the one anointed of God. He is the only one in whom there is salvation. And
these false preachers all the time say, I'm anointed. Mark
him off immediately. He's a liar. John said, I am
not the Anointed One. He it is. That's how you know
a true preacher. It's him. And he's pointing to
everybody. This is how you know a true preacher
of the Gospel. He's pointing to everyone, not at himself,
but Jesus Christ. Behold the Lamb of God. Look
down at verse 37. Verse, well, read on. Verse 34, I saw and bear record
that this is the Son of God. Not a son of God. That's what
the Mormons say. That's what the Jehovah Witnesses
say. That's not good enough. That's not good enough. They
don't know him, do they? He's a son of God. They say he's
a son of God, just like you're a son of God. And he's a good
example. That's not good enough. God said
he's the Son of God, the only begotten, well beloved, the only
one whom God accepts, the only one whom God is well pleased,
the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. This is the only one. That's what John said. He is
the Son of God, equal with the Father, express image of God,
all the fullness of God in a Godhead. A son, yes, but he's, oh, call
his name wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God. Call him God,
because that's who he is. The everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. That's every single child of
God's profession. Confession of faith. Is that
yours? Mike, is that yours? Verse 37. And verse 36, looking upon Jesus
as He walked, He saith, same message. He's got the same thing to say.
He's got one message He preaches, Catherine. Behold the Lamb of
God. That's how you know a man sent from God. And they start
out by saying there was a man sent from God. To bear witness
of who? Not the church, not Himself,
but of Jesus Christ. And look at this. It says there
were two disciples, verse 37, heard him speak, and they followed
Jesus. Oh my, two disciples heard John
preach Him, and what did they do? Well, they really heard Him,
didn't they? Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the Word of God. They heard a man preaching. And
what he was preaching was not what, but who. And these two
men who were disciples of John, they're now disciples of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And they follow him. Look at
chapter 3. He said this, John is preaching again in chapter
3. It says in verse 25, there arose a question
between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
He came to John and said, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond
Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same, he's baptizing,
and all come to him, although Christ didn't baptize. He wasn't
baptizing anybody. That's how confused men are.
He wasn't baptizing. His disciples were. At any rate,
John answered, and he's saying the same thing. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from above. You yourselves bear me witnesses.
I told you, I am not to cry. Why are you coming to me? That's
what he's telling them. Why are you coming to me? You
want to know about him? Go to him. Why don't you hear
him? Why are you coming to me? All
he's doing is saying, go to him. I'm not him. I'm not He. Who are you? I told you. Nothing. It's all of us are a
bunch of nothings. Look at verse 28. You yourself
bear witness, I am not the Christ, but I am sent before Him, that
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom. Speaking of Christ,
He's the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom,
that's all John said he is. I'm just, I'm his friend. I'm
a nothing to nobody, thankfully. Thank God I'm his friend. He's
called me friend. Made me his preacher. And when
he stands, the friend of the bridegroom stands and hears him,
oh my. He rejoices greatly because of
the bridegroom's boy. This, my joy, therefore, is fulfilled."
I had two disciples who were following me, and praise the
Lord, they quit following me. And they started following the
Lord Jesus Christ. John said, we've got revival.
He had two members, and they both left and followed Christ.
And he said, revival has come. Quit following me. And he said in verse 30, boy,
this is every single true child of God's confession, isn't it?
Isn't this it? He must increase, but I must
decrease. And people, it's an absolute
fact. If He does increase in your eyes, the more you see of
Him. His sovereignty, His glory, His mercy, His grace, His love,
His hymn. The more you see of Him, His
blood, His sacrifice, His work for you, the less you'll think
of yourself. And you'll say, like Paul, there
was no better man than Paul. He said, I'm less than the least. I'm not fit. I'm not worthy to
be one of His disciples. John said, He's got the most beautiful feet
in the world, but I'm not worthy to tie His shoes. And you know, that's what every
single child of God thinks about, just hearing this message. I'm
not worthy to even hear this. And it's amazing that the Lord
would choose me. Like David, when Nathan came
to David and revealed what all God had done for him, it says
David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am
I? And what is my house? that you brought me here to hear
this message and revealed yourself to me, revealed myself to me,
and showed me Christ. Oh my, a man can receive nothing
except to be given Him from above. That's by grace isn't it? That's the confession of every
true child of God. No exceptions. Is that true?
Okay.