I can't tell you, it's not just
words for me to say how excited and thankful I am to be with
you here this morning. I so look forward to it. And
not for social reasons, not for the opportunity to see so many
people that I love so much after the flesh. As I was preparing to come down
here, so many people I told him I'd be here this morning, said,
Oh, good. You get to visit with Henry and
Doris. And I've looked forward to it. But my heart's desire
in coming here this morning is that the Lord would enable us
to worship him, to worship him. So I would, if you would, I invite
your attention to John chapter 12. The title of the message is,
Sir, We Would See Jesus. And before I'm done, I'd like
to answer this question. How can I tell if I've seen Jesus? How can I tell if I've seen the
Lord Jesus Christ? Let's read from the beginning
of the chapter, set the scene so we can understand what's happening
here at the end of the chapter. In Jesus, six days before the
Passover came to Bethany. Lazarus was, which had been dead,
whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper,
and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the
table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard,
very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his
feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odor of the
ointment. Then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's
son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold
for three hundred pence and given to the poor? This he said not
that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had
the bag and barrel that was put therein. Then said Jesus, letter
alone, against the day of my burying has she kept this. For
the poor always ye have with you, but me ye have not always.
Much people the Jews therefore knew that he was there, and they
came, not for Jesus' sake only, but they might see Lazarus also,
whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priest consulted
that they might put Lazarus also to death, because that by reason
of him many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus. On
the next day much people that were come to the feast, when
they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of
palm trees and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna,
blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the
Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat there
on. As it is written, fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold, thy
king cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. These things understood
not his disciples at the first. But when Jesus was glorified,
then remembered they that these things were written of him and
that they had done these things unto him. The people, therefore,
that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave and
raised him from the dead bear record. For this cause, the people
also met him. for they heard that he had done
this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said
among themselves, perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? Behold,
the world is gone after him. Now, there's a lot going on here
in this chapter, isn't there? There's many reasons why people
come to the feast, many reasons why different people wanted to
get a sight of the Lord Jesus. Many people were fascinated by
the miracle worker. They wanted to see More miracles. What they really want to see
is more party tricks. They want to see something that
would fascinate them. Other people saw that this man, Jesus, has
the power over life and death. If he's got the power over life
and death, surely he's got the power to set us free from Rome.
So let's make him king and we can be rid of these Romans. Others,
the religious people, they hated him. They wanted to kill him
because he was taking numbers away from them. There's a lot
going on here. It's much like today. No matter
how long history rolls, things don't change very much. There's
many reasons why people come to a public gathering such as
this. They come for social reasons
or family reasons or out of habit or whatever. There are many reasons
people come to the public worship service. But in the midst of
all this that's going on, somebody came to worship. John, as you
said in your prayer this morning, that you prayed the only reason
that we're here is to worship. My wife, Janet, taught a Sunday
school class of three, four, and five year olds for years.
Every Sunday, without exception, she made them answer this question.
Why do your mommy and daddy bring you to church? And they knew
the answer. They'd all answer in unison,
to worship the Lord. That's why we're here. And somebody,
I'm not very many, maybe, but somebody came to this feast to
worship. Look at verse 20. And there were
certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. That's why they were there. The
same came, therefore, to Philip, which is of Bethsaida of Galilee,
and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. You know,
I love this request these men make. We would see Jesus. These were Greeks, just like
Uriah the Hittite. They were aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, but apparently they'd become Jewish proselytes. But
they were Greeks, and they didn't feel free to go right up to the
Lord and begin a conversation with him. Yet these men desired
to see Christ. They wanted more than just to
lay eyes on him from across the room. They wanted to see him. as he is. They wanted to see
him in his glory. They didn't want to just lay
eyes on him and be in his physical presence. They wanted to enjoy
his presence. They wanted to have fellowship
with the Lord. They wanted to hear him speak
because never man spake like this man. And you'll notice they
didn't ask to see a miracle. They wanted to see Jesus. They knew there was a greater
glory than the miracle worker. That's what they wanted to see.
So they just didn't sit around waiting for lightning to strike.
Well, if I'm going to see him, I'm going to see him. If I'm
going to see him, he'll reveal himself to me wherever I'm at.
No, they sought him and they sought the Lord where he might
be found. And it's my earnest prayer that that's why you're
here this morning to worship him. to see and that you're seeing
him where he is found. I tell you where he's found.
He's found in his word. If you want to find the Lord,
you'll find him in his word. You find a place where a man
is faithfully preaching the word of God. That's where he is. Our
Lord said where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there I am in the midst of them. Well, you find those two or three
and you get in their midst. That's where you're going to
find him. He's found in his word. And it's fair of you to come
in here every Sunday and every Wednesday and look at your pastor,
look at the man he may have filled a pulpit from time to time when
he's gone, and you tell him, sir, we would see Jesus. That's a fair request. It ought
to be our heart's desire to see the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's
the preacher's responsibility. To set forth Christ so that you
see it. Setting forth in plain and simple
terms so that you understand. I want you to, Lee, if you don't
believe what I'm saying, I want you to understand clearly what
I'm saying. So that you'll see the Lord Jesus
Christ. And that's why I say these Greeks,
they were right to seek the Lord this way. They weren't looking
for miracles. Miracles are miraculous. I don't
know if I can define miracle that way, but you know, miraculous,
but they're really something. I mean, they're spectacular.
But miracles in this fleshly realm do not and cannot save
anyone. Look over to verse 37 here in
John 12. But though he had done so many
miracles before him, yet they believed not on him. Miracles
in this fleshly realm is not what saves. Miracles will never
bring a sinner to faith and repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The arm of the Lord, the power of the Lord is not in miracles. The arm of the Lord is the Lord
Jesus Christ. The power of the gospel is Christ
crucified. The power of the gospel is not
Christ the miracle worker. The power of the gospel is Christ
crucified. We need a spiritual miracle. We need to be given life from
above. That's the miracle we need. We don't need to see a
miracle of healing or someone speaking in tongues or something.
What we need is the forgiveness of sins. And that's why I say
these men were right to seek, to see the Lord Jesus Christ. And they come and tell Phelps,
or we would see Jesus. Now how's old Phelps supposed
to handle this? I mean, these men are Gentiles. Look here,
verse 22. Philip didn't know what to do,
so he comes and tells Andrew. And again, Andrew and Philip
go tell the Lord Jesus. See, Philip had a little problem
here. He heard the Lord say, it's not right to give the children's
bread to dogs. I'm not come, but to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. He told his disciples, don't
you go away, the Gentiles. Well, here these Gentiles are
coming to want to see the Lord. And Philip knew that seeing the
Lord with these Gentiles would make the Pharisees furious. I mean, they're already so mad
they want to kill him, and this is going to make them even more
angry. So he and Andrew, they go tell the Lord. And look what
our Lord says in verse 23. Jesus answered them, saying,
The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Now,
it doesn't seem that the Lord answered their question directly,
does it? But he did. He answered their question directly.
If the Lord Jesus is going to be seen as he is, if he's going
to be seen in his glory, it's going to be in the coming days
when he's made to be seen for his people, when he's made to
be a sacrifice for those sins. When he dies under the wrath
of God, he's buried in a borrowed tomb. He's raised again from
the dead the third day for our justification, because all that
sin that was laid on him has been put away. under his precious
sin atoning blood. That is where we truly see the
Lord Jesus Christ and his glory in this hour. Now, our Lord spoke
of this hour often, didn't he? The hour of hours. And the Lord
tells him that hour is coming when the whole world is going
to see Christ lifted up in his greatest glory and the salvation
of his people through his suffering and death for their sin. And
if we are going to see Jesus this morning, we're going to
see Him the exact same way. See Him in His glory, accomplishing
the salvation of His people through His death, His burial, and His
resurrection. The only way salvation can be
accomplished is through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
that is His greatest glory. Look at what our Lord says. He's
telling them this in verse 24. He says, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit. Now the real glory of Christ
is not in the miracles and these other things that he's done.
It's in his redemptive glory. It's in his saving sinners. The
real glory of Christ is through his sacrifice, making sinful
men and women holy and righteous. His true glory is in doing what
no other man can do. It's not in him doing what no
other animal sacrifice could do. It's putting sin away and
giving life to dead sinners, life where there is no life.
And our Lord uses the illustration of farming to illustrate eternal
life coming through his death. Now, the glory of a plant that
grows from just one seed, just one dry, dead seed, is really
amazing. I mean, we take it for granted
because it just happens every spring, but now it's really amazing. The glory of a plant, I mean,
it's the cane, I mean, a corn, a stalk of corn. My mother used
to have a little garden. She'd make me every spring, help
her plant that, you know, and I look at that seed and I bit
one one time. I mean, it was so hard, I couldn't
even bite it, couldn't change it. But you put that thing in
the ground, and before long, something so full of life and
green and juicy just grows up. We take it for granted, but hundreds
of juicy pieces, kernels of corn grow from that one dead seed
that's been buried in the ground. We see it happen every spring.
If that seed is not planted and buried underneath the ground,
there'll be no life. Life comes from that seed dying
and being buried under the ground. And that's what our Lord is teaching
about salvation. Everyone who has eternal life
has that life for this reason. Christ died for them. That's
how they have that life. Now, from what we can gather,
our Lord didn't look like much to the natural man. Physically
speaking, he just looked like a single, dry, dead seed. But
look what his death has produced. Countless millions of people
have been given eternal life because of the life, the death,
the burial, and the resurrection of this one man, the God man,
the Lord Jesus Christ. See, we don't need a miracle
worker. We don't need a political ally. We need a savior from our
sin. And that's why he came. And everyone
for whom Christ died, they will be saved. They will be given
life, and they'll follow him. That's the evidence that they
have life. They follow him. Look at verse 25. He that loveth
his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this
world shall keep it, and the life eternal. If any man serve
me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant
be. If any man serve me, him will
my father honor. Everyone He's been given life
in Christ, just like a baby when it's born. That baby when it's
born, you know how you know it has life? It breathes. Can't help it. It doesn't think
about it. It's an involuntary reaction because it has life. It breathes. You know how you
know when a sinner has been given spiritual, eternal life? They
follow the Lord. They confess Him publicly. And
they keep confessing publicly. Look at verse 27. Our Lord says,
now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father
saved me from this hour, but for this cause came I into this
hour. Now, the salvation of sinners, the life that we've been given,
came at great cost, great suffering to our Savior. He knew the suffering
he would endure. But you know, his personal suffering
was not his greatest concern. There was some concern about
it, but it was not his greatest concern. The greatest concern
of our Savior was to glorify his father. Look what he said
in verse 28. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from
heaven saying, I both glorified it and I'll glorify it again. The greatest glory of Christ
was not when he was turning water into wine. It's not when he was
walking on the water. It's not when he told the ocean,
peace be still, and it was still. It was not when he was healing
the sick or raising Lazarus from the dead. The father promised
to glorify his son and honor his son, not because of those
miracles, but because of his sacrificial death as a substitute
for sinners. And the father showed that clearly
when he raised his son from the dead, he glorified brought him
back to glory, sit at his right hand until his enemies be made
his footstool, because all that sin that was laid on him was
put away by this sacrifice in this hour of hour that he's speaking
of. Now look at verse 29. The people therefore that stood
by and heard it said that it thundered. Others said an angel
spake to him. Some people gathered around there
heard the father. Some did not. Some heard a noise. Some thought there was thunder.
Some thought maybe an angel said something. They didn't hear the
words, but they heard something. Some people believed, some did
not. Look what our Lord tells in verse 30. Jesus answered and
said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now
is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all unto me. The drawing power of the
Savior comes from His greatest glory. It comes from the salvation
of His people through His suffering and His death. That's what draws
sinners to Christ. Now, in verse 34, the people
answered Him, We've heard out of the law that Christ abided
forever. And how sayest thou that the Son of Man must be lifted
up? Who is this Son of Man? All these people were thinking
about is that Christ abided forever. And it's true. He abided forever. But before he reigns, the Lord
Jesus must suffer and die. Before he sits on his throne
eternally, he must purchase his kingdom with his own blood. And
these religious Jews are just like people in our day. They
take their favorite passage of scripture, their favorite doctrine,
and they apply it to everything in exclusion of other things
that are taught in God's word. They ignored the rest of the
scripture that says the Messiah must be stricken. He must be
cut off. He must pour out his soul into
death. All this suffering and death
must happen before he reigns. But they weren't interested in
hearing about that suffering and death because they weren't
looking for a savior from sin. They were looking for someone
with the power to set them free and get them out from under the
boot of Rome. Just like people today, they're looking for a
God that they can control. A God, little g, that will make
them healthy and wealthy, but won't get in their way, won't
stop everything that they are wanting to do. And that's not
our real problem. I mean, I appreciate help. You
know, I like to have a little money to pay my bills, you know,
so I don't have my electric cut off. But that's not our issue.
Our real need is a Savior from sin. And that's why our Lord
came, to put the sin of His people away. And these people said,
well, who is this son of man? Why must he be lifted up? Why
are you talking about him dying? In verse 35, Jesus said unto
them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you
have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh
in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While you have light,
believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.
These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself
from them. Now they had no idea what the
Lord was talking about. When he talked about walk in
the light, believe in the light, they had no idea what he was
talking about. And the proof of it is verse
37. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet
they believed not on him, that the saying of Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed
our report? And to whom hath the arm of the
Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because
Isaiah said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their
heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand
with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These
things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory, and spake of him."
Now that puts a total end to the idea of man's free will,
doesn't it? I don't have to be up here begging
you to believe on God, trust in Christ, believe on Him, because
you can't. The flesh cannot and will not
believe God, and never will, unless God the Holy Spirit moves
in power and gives life. Now, in our text, some believed. Some did not. Some people saw
Jesus. Some did not. Some people were
drawn to the crucified Christ. Some were not. But here's my
question. How can I tell? If I've seen Jesus, how can I
tell? How can I tell if I've been drawn
to Him? Now, I've got five things here
for you. If we've seen Jesus in His redemptive
glory, first of all, we've been drawn to Christ. To Christ. Not to religion. Not to doctrine. Not to the doctrine of Calvinism.
We've been drawn to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. If
you've seen Jesus, He is altogether lovely to you. Now we know that
the elect will be called to Christ. They will be irresistibly drawn
to Christ. Back in verse 32, our Lord says,
and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto
me. Now you can just take an ink
and cross that word men out. That word men is there, it's
in italics. It's been added by the translators
trying to help our understanding, and they've harmed the text.
Our Lord didn't say he'd draw all men to himself. He said,
I'll draw all unto me. Well, who is the all he's referring
to here? Well, it's the same all when
he said they shall be all taught of God. All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I'll in no
wise cast out. He means his elect. He means
all sorts of men. Men from every background, men
of every age, men of every sex, both men and women, men from
every nation, Jews and Gentiles alike. And don't you know that
had to be a comfort to these Greeks who asked the question
in the first place. All this has been given for them.
This is the question to ask. And he's telling them he's come
for all. All will be drawn to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, I said this a minute ago,
the drawing power of the gospel lies in the crucifixion of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We don't need man-made means
of drawing a crowd and trying to fill this building. Sinners
are naturally drawn, just like a magnet. They're naturally drawn
to Christ crucified. Then just preach Christ. Sinners
will be drawn to Him. You won't be able to keep them
away. They'll come. Sinners are drawn to Christ, to Christ crucified,
because this is the only place their sin can ever be put away.
It's in the crucified Christ, the Lamb slain. You preach Christ
crucified, sinners are going to be interested in that. They'll
be interested in Him. A sinner is drawn to Christ crucified
because it's at the cross. We see the greatest display of
God's love for sinners. He said, with loving kindness
have I drawn you. Well, what loving kindness? The
loving kindness demonstrated at Calvary's tree. You look at
Calvary. That is where we see God's love
for sinners. Look at what he would do to his
son to save sinful people. Scarcely for a righteous man
would one die. Yet, per venture, maybe for a
good man, some would even dare to die. But God committed his
love toward us, and that was while we were yet sinners. What happened? Christ died for
us. That's the drawing power of the
gospel. He loved us and had given himself for us. For who? For all. For all. What do these all have in common?
They speak different languages. They come from different eras
of history. They got different backgrounds, different cultures.
What do they all have in common? They're all sinners. And Christ
answers their every need. The death of Christ was not weakness. One day, I'm going to lay down
and die, and they're going to put this body in the ground.
And my death will be in weakness. This flesh is going to fight
it. And that's just the way this flesh is. But it's going to die
in weakness. Our Lord did not die in weakness.
He gave up the ghost. He died in power. It's His power
to put away sin. It's His power to satisfy God. It's His power to draw sinners
to Himself that made Him give up the ghost and hang His head
and die. And we are commanded to preach
Christ crucified. We don't have an option, Luke. This is the commandment. Preach
Christ crucified. That gospel is the only means
that God uses to save sinners and draw sinners to Christ. Christ
crucified is under the Jews. Under the religious people, it's
a stumbling block. Christ crucified is under the
Greeks. Under the worldly wise people, it's foolishness. But
of them which God called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ crucified
is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Now the birth of Christ,
that's a miracle the human mind cannot comprehend. I don't understand
how God became a man. I believe it, but I don't understand
it. But I'm thankful for it. I'm thankful he became bone of
my bone and flesh of my flesh, that he be my substitute. His
perfect life is a wonder to behold. A sinful person like you and
me cannot understand a man living in perfect righteousness and
perfect obedience. He's the only perfect man to
ever live. And I'm thankful for it because He is my righteousness. But now His willing substitutionary
death for me is what irresistibly draws me to Him. In the death
of Christ, I see his love for me. How that he would lay down
his life for his friends. I wonder why he would be made
to be sin for me. I see him suffering as my substitute. I see him suffering the torment
and the death that my sins deserve. And brother, I'm thankful. Oh,
that's what draws me to him. That's what gives me the desire
to Just like Isaiah. When Isaiah, he talked about
everything under the sun. And then he saw Christ glorified.
And what did he do? He spoke of Him. He spoke of
Him. Now we can see much of the glory
of God. I got up this morning. I began to go over my notes.
And I looked up off the window. And there's a mountain back there.
And the sun hadn't risen over it yet. But the whole sky was
lit up. Beautiful. I mean, you couldn't
paint a picture More beautiful than what I saw this morning.
And I thought, my God did that. That is part of the glory of
God. He did that. We can see something
of the glory of God in His creation, how He rules His universe, how
He provides for every living thing. And it's astounding. I'm
amazed at those things. But every believer will tell
you this. The greatest glory of God is
how He saved me. for my sin by making his son
to be guilty of my sin and punishing him so fully for my sin that
my sin doesn't even exist anymore. All I see of myself is sin. God said he doesn't see it. Only
for this reason, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. That
is his greatest glory. If you've seen Jesus, you will
follow him. You will. You'll confess him
publicly in Believer's Baptism and you'll continue to follow
him. You'll continue to confess him publicly by identifying with
his people in public worship. No matter the cost. No matter
if you've got to drive an hour one way. It doesn't matter. You
must follow him. You must be identified with him.
You will use this physical life in his service to the glory of
the Savior. Unlike the people who are just
in religion, look at our text in verse 42. Nevertheless, among the chief
rulers also many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees,
they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the
synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise
of God. Now it says here they believed
on these chief rulers. They didn't believe on him, not
the saving faith, because if they truly believed on him, they
truly seen Jesus, nothing would have been more valuable to them
than the Lord Jesus Christ. If you've seen Jesus, you'll
follow him. Thirdly, if you've seen Jesus,
you've seen the Father. Look at verse 44. Jesus cried
and said, he that believeth on me, Believe it's not on me or
not only not exclusively on me, but on him that sent me. He that
seeth me, seeth him that sent me. Now, if you've seen Jesus,
you've seen the father. Now, you haven't seen an image
of the father. He's spirit. There is no image of him. But
you have an understanding of who the father is. If you've
seen the Lord Jesus, you've seen the father's will and redemption.
If you've seen the Lord Jesus, you've seen how the Father can
be just and justifier of him which believes in Jesus. If you've
seen the Lord, you've seen the Father's wisdom, His power and
His love and His mercy. Look over to page John 14. If
you've seen the Lord Jesus, you've seen the Father. In verse 5,
chapter 14, Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whether
thou goest, And how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him,
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father, but by me. If ye have known me, ye should
have known my Father also. And from henceforth ye know him,
and ye have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord,
show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have
I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? has seen the Father. If you've
seen the Son, you've seen the Father, because they're one.
The Father and the Son are one in deity. They're one in power. They're one in holiness. They're
one in purpose. They're one in every attribute.
And they are one in this matter of redemption. If you've seen
the Son and you've believed on the Son, you've seen the Father
and you've believed on the Father. Fourth, if you've seen Jesus,
You have light. If you've seen the Lord Jesus
Christ, you have an understanding, because the glorious light of
the gospel has shined unto you. You've seen the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 46, back in our
text, John 12. Our Lord says, I am come a light
unto the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide
in darkness. Now, all God's elect are born
in darkness. They're born into this world in sin, in the darkness
of unbelief. But after you've seen Jesus,
you don't abide in darkness anymore. You're not in darkness anymore.
You're not in the darkness of sin and unbelief anymore. Now,
we still have sin. We still have unbelief. But you're
not under the power of that darkness anymore. You're not under the
power of sin and the power of unbelief anymore. Why? Because Christ has come into
your soul. And when Christ comes in, darkness goes. But you can't
have light and darkness in the same place. When He comes in,
darkness goes. You won't abide in darkness anymore. Now that does not mean that you'll
understand everything in Scripture. We don't understand everything
God's doing any more than the disciples did. When He wrote
it in Jerusalem, they didn't understand. They did later. But they didn't understand then.
But you have an understanding, and you'll know the truth. You'll
love the truth, and you'll believe the truth when you hear it. I
can't tell you how many times I've preached, and afterwards
at the door, somebody's come up to me and said, you know,
I've read that verse so many times, I've never seen that.
I see! I see what that's saying! That's
it! That's what that's saying! Well, how do you see? You have
light. You can't see in darkness. But
Christ comes and gives you light. And you see, you have an understanding
of the truth. And fifth, if you've seen Jesus,
you have life. You have eternal spiritual life. Look at verse 49. For I have
not spoken of myself, but the Father which sent me, he gave
me a commandment what I should say and why I should speak. And
I know that his commandment is life everlasting. Whatsoever
I speak, therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak."
If you've seen Christ, you believe the Word of God, because God's
given you life. And believing Christ, knowing
Christ, is life eternal. Life eternal is not some thing.
Believing Christ is life eternal. Now, it's not perfect life yet,
but it will be someday. It will be someday when we have
the fulfillment of what our Lord said in verse 26, that where
I am, there shall also my servant be. Isn't that what our Lord
says just a short time later in his great high priestly prayer?
Father, I will, that those who now has given me be with me where
I am, that they may behold my glory. And we will. We will. If you see him here and you believe
him here and you love Christ here, There it's going to be
perfect. There you're going to see him
and you're going to love him perfectly face to face. Have you seen Jesus? I pray so. I pray so. I spend much time
in prayer. Praying that the Lord would use
whatever I might say to, you know, That He'd use His Word
to reveal Himself to somebody. That you'd see Him. If you haven't
seen Him. I heard Brother Henry say one
time, if you see Christ, you know it. If the lights turned
on, you know it. Then give thanks to seeing eye
and hearing ear of the Lord. And if you haven't seen Him, ask Him. Be like these Greeks and ask
Him, Sir, we would see Jesus. I got a minute. I'm going to
tell you a story. I grew up hearing the gospel. I knew the gospel
from the time I knew words. I knew the doctrine of the gospel. I knew up here. I knew it. And
we were at a conference just before Jan and I got married.
And we left service, we're sitting out in the car, and she said,
what's the matter? Something's wrong. And I told her, I'm in trouble. I mean, I'm in deep trouble.
I don't know the Lord. I spent all these years listening
to the gospel. I know it up here, but I'm a
rebel. I don't believe it. I won't believe
it. There's no hope for me. There's
no hope that God would save someone like me. There's no hope. And
she looked at me like I had snakes come out of my ears. And she
said, well, Frank, have you asked God for mercy? No. No. Have you asked Him? Ask Him for
mercy. Ask Him just to reveal Himself
to you. He did to these Greeks. It could
be He will to you too. I pray He will. I pray He will.
All right. Lord bless you.