Well, we're privileged to have
Pastor Mahan back with us again. I'm thankful for him and his
wife, Debbie. Thank you. Let's open our Bibles again to
the passage which the pastor read, John 8. I've been preaching for the past
several months at 13th Street Church in Ashland from the Word of God in which
our Lord is the preacher. Christ Himself is the preacher. It's been a special blessing
to me and to our congregation, and you see that's true in John
8, the first two verses. Jesus went into the Mount of
Olives, and early in the morning He came again into the temple.
And all the people came unto Him, and He sat down and taught
them. And you notice, as the pastor read, our Lord was teaching
the people. And here in this message, our
Lord uses the little word, if. This caught my attention as I
read the eighth chapter of John, the message of our Lord. He uses
this little word, if, if, about eight or nine times. And that's
my subject this morning, if. And I'm not making a play on
words. I'm not interested in that at
all, and I know you're not. But rather, in this message,
I'm trying to emphasize the power of these certain statements which
our Lord made, the power of these statements. If this be true,
then this is true. If this is not true, then the
consequences depend upon that if. And I'm trying to show in
this message the unchangeable terms set forth by the Lord in
these verses, the unchangeable terms, if. So let's look at the
first one. It's in verse 23. John 8, verse
23. And he said to them, you're from
beneath You're born of the earth, born of the flesh, born of woman,
born of a human father. You're from this earth. I'm not—I'm
not from beneath. I'm from above. You're of this
world. Thus thou art, thus thou shalt
return. The world is your home. I'm not
of this world. And I said therefore unto you
that you shall die in your sins, for if You believe not that I
am, you die and you sin. If you believe not that I am.
Now, you see the little word he is in italics. The King James
translation is, believe me, the best. It's the best of all of
them. And you need to hold to it and
keep using it, the King James. I'm not opposed to using other
translations. I have two or three myself that
I enjoy. They're amplified. But anyway,
the King James is the best. But these words in italics are
supplied by the translators, and in some cases they're helpful. In some cases they're not as
helpful, but they are supplied words throughout the King James
translation. It's in italics. But there's
two things our Lord is saying here about himself. If you believe
not that I am, I am. I am from above. I'm not of this
earth. I'm not of this world. I'm the
true and living God, whose goings forth have been from everlasting.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was on this earth, but he never left
the bosom of the Father. How can he be in two places at
the same time? He's God. He's in heaven. He's on earth. He's God. That's
what he's saying. If you believe enough, then I
am. Now, where that comes from first is in Exodus chapter 3,
and you need to look at this with me. Exodus chapter 3. The
Lord was going to send Moses down to deliver the children
of Israel from Egypt. Moses was eighty years old. And Moses had been out tending
sheep for forty years. The Lord made of him the meekest
of men, humbled him, humbled him dreadfully, powerfully. And when God called him to lead
the children of Israel out of Egypt, he said, I'm not your
man. I'm not. He thought he was one
time, but he didn't think so now. He said, I'm not eloquent,
I can't speak, I'm not a man of power, just get somebody The
Lord convinced him that he is the man. He said, well, when
I go down there and I say to the people of Israel, the Lord
thy God has sent me, they say, what's his name? What do I say? All right, look at verse 14. Verse 13, And Moses said to God,
Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, I will say
to them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you. And they
say, well, what's his name? What shall I say? And God said
unto Moses, I am that I am. This is the one speaking right
here in the temple. And he said, if you believe not
that I am, you die in your sins. You see that? I am. The voice from the bush is the
voice of Christ. God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
If you don't believe that I'm God, you'll die in your sins. Isaiah said, under us a child
is born, a son is given, and the government's on his shoulders.
He's the king of kings and lord of lords. The universe is his,
under his control. And his name is Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Absolutely. And if you believe
not that I am, you'll die in your But they supplied the little
word, he, because there's something else to believe about him. And
that is, he's the Messiah. He's the Messiah. He's the Christ. The Old Testament scriptures
declare that the Christ is coming. He'll redeem us. The woman at
the well, our Lord humbled her and all of her objections, and
answered all of her questions, and finally she was just shut
up to one fact. She said, well, when the Messiah
comes, when the Messiah comes, of whom Moses wrote, and whom
Abraham saw, and of which David wrote, and I said, when the Messiah
comes, he'll tell us all things. And our Lord said, what did he
say? I that speak to thee he. I am he." So this is what he's
saying to these folks. If you believe not that I am
God, if you believe not that I am he, the Messiah, whom God
promised and prophesied and pictured and gave us patterns and conceived
in the womb of the Virgin and sent into this world, and allowed
him to be crucified, and raised him from the dead, and set him
on the throne. If you don't believe that, you're
going to die in your sin. And that's a horrible thing to
talk about, dying in sin. Let me ask you to turn to Jeremiah. This is a powerful scripture.
Jeremiah chapter 17. This is a man described who is
without God, and a man described who has God. who is in God. Jeremiah 17.5, listen. Jeremiah 17.5, Thus saith the
Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man. That's all he's
got. And make his flesh his arm, whose heart departed from the
Lord. He's like a heath in the desert. A heath is just a rolling
mass of, like a tumbleweed, just weeds, blown by the wind. A heath of the desert. no good
little shrub. And he'll not see when good cometh,
but shall inhabit the posh places in the wilderness. The salt land
not inhabit it. Oh, that's a terrible, terrible
state. But blessed is the man that trusteth
in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. He's like a tree. This
is what we just heard about. Planted by the waters, spreadeth
out her roots for the river, He'll not see when the heat comes.
He doesn't know whether it's hot or cold. That's right. Her leaves shall be green and
shall be careful in the year of drought. Neither shall cease
from yielding fruit. You don't believe I'm here? You're
just like a heathen in the desert. You die of sin. All right, look
at John 8, now verse 28. Let's read here, verse 28, yes. Then said Jesus unto them, When
you've lifted up the Son of Man. Now what's he talking about?
When he crucified me. As Moses lifted up the circle,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And he said on another
occasion, If I be not lifted up, if I be lifted up, I'll draw
all men unto me. This he spake of the death which
he should die. So when you crucify me, then
shall you know that I am he, I am Messiah, I'm sent of God. And at that crucifixion, the
Lord God revealed many awesome signs. The heavens were dark,
the sun refused to shine, the earth trembled, the rocks red,
the graves people came forth out of the grave. Our Lord spoke
from that cross. Some believe the 22nd Psalm,
most of which he quoted on that cross. And all these things had
the thief over here. God opened his eyes to see who
Christ is, opened his heart. He cried for mercy. Christ said,
you'll be with me, Paradise. My God, why have you forsaken
me? Some of those people were familiar with that psalm, heard
him speaking. And upon my vesture they cast
lots, I thirst. All these. And when he died,
that centurion stood there and he saw something. He said, surely
this man was the son of God. This man was the son of God.
That crowd walked away from there a lot different from when they
came there hollering, crucify him, crucify him, crucify him,
let him be crucified. They walked away humble some
of them. And he said, when you lift up the Son of Man, listen,
you're going to know I am He, and that I do nothing of myself,
but I fulfill the will of God, the work of God. As my Father
taught me, I speak these things, and He that sent me is with me.
Father hath not left me alone, I do always those things that
please him." And as he spake these words, many of these people
who were—many of these people believed on him. As he spoke,
they believed on him. As he believed on him, they said,
well, surely this is the Messiah. This is the Christ. If the Christ comes, will he
do more works than this man's done? They believe. They believe
somehow, somewhere. So then he said to these people
who believe, in this large group of people that believe, if you
continue in my words, then are you my disciples really, indeed. Not just a professor, not just
a passing fancy, not just something caught on and then forgotten. But if you continue in my word,
then are you my disciples indeed. What he said, what's the word
continue mean? It means to abide, abide in his word. If you continue,
abide, dwell. He said in John 15, if you abide,
continue, dwell in me. He that dwelleth in the secret
of the Most High. Who is that but Christ? Shall
abide under the shadow of the Almighty. If you abide in me,
and my Word abides. If you continue in my Word, my
Word abides in you. Just don't pick it up and glance
at it or read it and then go about your merry way. But it
abides in you. My Word lives in you. It dwells
in you. It abides in you. It continues
in you. Then, if that be so, unchangeably,
you're my disciple indeed. My disciple indeed. You've got
to turn to 1 John to appreciate that scripture, appreciate what
he's saying as much as we can in this life. 1 John chapter
2, listen. If you continue, if you abide
If you abide in my words and my words abide in you, then are
you my disciples indeed. John down here in 1 John 2 verse
19, John is explaining some folks who used to worship with us but
don't anymore. Some folks who used to claim
to believe Christ and don't anymore. Some folks that at one time were
on fire for God, they're not anymore. And John explains them.
They didn't continue. Listen. They went out from us. But they weren't of us. They
weren't the disciples indeed. For if they had been of us, disciples
indeed, they would no doubt have what? Continued with us. That's what Christ is saying.
If you continue in my word. They went out that it might be
manifest they were not all of us. So this is, these people
he preached and these people were impressed and they believed
what he said and he said, If you continue in my word, if you
dwell in my word, and my word dwells in you, and you continue
in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. You see, this thing of
true faith, it changes a person. The Apostle has been preaching
on faith. He came to our conference and brought two messages on faith
that one of our, my old elders, he's 78 years old, he's a Cecil
Roach, he's a former major of the Air Force that flew about
40 missions over Germany. In other words, he didn't come
into town on the back of a pickup truck. He's somebody. He's somebody
in heroism, somebody in this country, and somebody in the
church. He'd been with me 45 years. But when your pastor got
through preaching on faith, and he walked by me and said, I hate
to put the old man down, but your son just beat you preaching.
And I said, I agree with you, that's the best sermon on faith
ever heard in my life. So you've been talking about
faith. But faith, according to your
pastor's message on faith, changes a man. It does now. And I'll tell you what I read
one time. It'll change his countenance. It'll change his countenance,
the way he looks out of his eyes. The eyes are the soul of a person.
You can see down inside a man's soul looking at his eyes. That's
right. It softens his touch. Faith softens
a man's touch. It changes his touch. Faith mellows his voice. Yes,
sir. It'll mellow his voice. It'll
bow his head before God. It'll humble him. Faith will
bend his knee. Faith will open his hands. Faith
does these things. Faith will open his hands, make
him generous. There's no ungenerous, greedy
believer that way. Faith will curb his tongue that
was so harsh, he'll be a little more forgiving. Faith will humble
his heart, faith will honor his steps, and faith will give him
a a forgiving spirit, that's what faith does. You see,
continuing in faith is not a condition of salvation, it's the result. Continuing in faith is not a
condition of salvation, it's the result. If you continue That's
because you are, Christ said, my disciple indeed. That's why
you continue, because you're my disciple. My disciples, my
sheep, here are my boys. And I give them life, and they'll
never perish. They'll never quit. That's my disciple. Darshan,
I was sitting in a restaurant a few weeks ago, having dinner. I love children. All of you do,
too. You've got some precious children here. I just love them. six, seven years old, came down
the aisle and her mother was going to pay the bill, and she's
behind you just skipping. Just skipping, you know. You
little girls used to skip, and maybe you still do. And Doris
looked at her and said, she's skipping because she's happy.
When you see a little girl skip, it's because she's happy. And
she's not happy because she's skipping. She's skipping because
she's happy. Skipping is the result of her
attitude. And that's the way faith is,
see. It's continuing in Christ is
not a condition, it's a result. If you're happy, you're skipped.
If you're in Christ, you're happy. That's right. All right, let's
read verse 32. Verse 32. Let's go back here,
yeah. Yeah, he said, Verse 31, Jesus
said, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed,
and you'll know the truth. And it will. It will set you
free. It might, maybe, perhaps, about it. It'll set you free.
And they answered him, and they said, We're Abraham's seed. We were never in bondage to any
man. they're forgetting Babylonian captivity, they're forgetting
Egypt, and they're forgetting right now they're in bondage
to Rome. The whole Jewish nation, like
a root, like a dry ground. The root of Christ came out of
a dry ground. They're in bondage. We're never
in bondage to any man. What are you talking about, be
free? Our Lord said, now listen, he sets the record straight.
He said, whosoever commits sin, how many? One. Whosoever commits
sin is a servant of sin. Every son of Adam is born in
bondage. That's right, to sin. Every daughter
of Adam is born in bondage to sin. Can't keep from it. That's our
nature. That's exactly right. We think
what we think and say what we say and do what we do because
of who we are, what we are. We're sons of Adam. That's right.
We're in bondage to sin. Everybody's born in captivity
to sin. And the servant of sin abides
not in the house forever, but the Son abides. Turn to Hebrews
3. Now Moses, while he's a child
of God and a believer and a man whom God used, he wasn't a son,
he was a servant. Let's look at Hebrews chapter
3. And Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant. A
testimony of those things which were to be spoken afterwards.
I don't want to just be a servant. I want to be a son of God, don't
you? The servant is not going to abide in the house, but the
son is. Verse 6 says, But Christ as a son over his house, whose
house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing
in the host for him unto the end. That's right. Now, and then
he says here in verse, he said, Now the servant abides not in
the house forever, but the Son does, verse 36. Now, so if the
Son makes you free, if the Son, by his grace and according to
his will, Lord, if you will, you can make me free. Lord, if
you will, you can make me clean, the leper said, if you will. not by the will of the flesh
or the will of man. It's by the power of God. If
you will, you'd make me free. We be Abraham's seed. We're not
in bondage. Oh, yes, you are. You're the
wheels in bondage to sin. Your whole being's in bondage
to your nature. You're a slave of sin. And the
slave doesn't abide in the house. The Son abides in the house.
And if the by His grace, by His blood, makes
you free. Free from what? Sin. Free from
sin. All sin. He'll cleanse you from
all sin. Free from the curse that curses
everyone that continues not in all things written in God's law
to do it. I never have, never have, you
never have, never will in this flesh. But He sets you free. being made a curse for you. Free
from the captivity of Satan. Satan doesn't have us in captivity.
Oh, yes, he does. Yes, he does. By nature, by birth. Not now. Christ has set us free.
But when we were sons of wrath, we were led captive by him at
his will. That's right. Leads them captive.
That's what Scripture leads them, captive at his will. Free from
the captivity. He said, the Spirit of God is
upon me, he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor,
and set at liberty the captives. Captives of the law. He fulfilled
the law for us. Captives of the judgment of God.
But to the believers, there's no judgment. No judgment. There's therefore now no judgment
to them who are in Christ. So with the Make you free. You'll be free indeed. It's not
just something I'm claiming. This is something I possess.
I'm free. You're free. Because the Son
sets you free. The Son sets you free. All right, let's read on here.
So, verse 37. Now, he said, I know your lineage.
I know your background. I know your traditions. I know
your Abraham seed. I know born in a family that
was born in a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that
was born in a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that was
born in a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that was born in
a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that was born in
a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that
was born in a family that was born in a family that was born
in a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that
was born in a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that was born
in a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that was born in a family
that was born in a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that was born
in a family that was born in a family that was born in a family that
was born in a family that was born in a family that was born in Amish. Everybody's got religion.
Everybody's got a religious ancestor. It's just back there, way back
there. I know you always say it. I know
all this. But you hate to kill me. My word has no place in you.
Isn't that what could be said right now? These folks out there
are religious, that hate the blood of Christ. that hate the
sovereignty of God, that hate the effectual substitutionary
work of our great high priest. They despise it. You hate me. I know you've got a religious
background. I know you claim Moses is your father and Abraham's
your father. But my word has no place in you,
verse 38. I speak that which I've seen
with my father, and you do that which you've seen with your father.
And they answer and say, Abraham's our father. Abraham's our father. John Calvin's
our father. Martin Luther's our father. John
Wesley's our father. Charles Spurgeon, John Gale,
we go back to Mary Baker, Eddie, maybe, you know. These folks
are our father. And this is what they're saying,
Abraham's our father. And our Lord said, if you were Abraham's children,
you'd do the works of Abraham. if you want. What are the works
of Abraham? Well, the Jews talk about Abraham's
seven or eight or nine trials, major trials in the life of Abraham. Seventy-five years old, the Lord
God said, get out of your father's house, await me kindred, People lived in family communes. They stayed together to provide
for one another, protect one another. They didn't have a government
to take care of, Social Security, Medicare, all these things. They
had to stay together to keep, protect from bandits and raids
and just all kind of, they stayed together. Here's a man 75 years
old with a wife slaver, no children. And he'd been there with his
father and brother and all these folks all his life. And God said,
get out. You go to a land that you don't
even know where it is. I'll just show you after you
leave. He believed God. And then when
he got out there, he dwelt in tents. He never, all his life
till he died, he never owned a foot of grain. Isn't that right? He lived in tents with Isaac
and Jacob. But he never owned a foot of
land. He had the promise, but he never did receive the fulfillment
of it. He gave the choice land to Lot.
That was the third one. Lot and herdsmen, they had quite
a bit of possessions. His nephew Lot, they got in a
battle. So Abraham said, just take what you want. Just take
what you want. I'll take what's left. And that's
what they did. And then the kings, when he rescued
Lot from that captivity, all of them wanted to make him rich.
They said, you just, we'll just give you everything. You just
take all the goods, and I'm talking about some goods. I'm talking
about some riches. You just take it all. Abraham
said, no. I've lifted my hand to God, and I'm not going to
take anything from you pagans, lest you say you made Abraham
rich. If Abraham gets to be rich, God will make him rich. So we're
just, he just said, go your way. And then, you know, there was
born to him a son of Hagar, Ishmael. He loved that boy. Only boy had.
Only child he had. Fourteen, fifteen years old.
And Isaac came along, and God said, get rid of this boy, Ishmael,
and his mother. Put them on the road. Give them
a bottle of water and put them on the road, because the law
can't reign with grace. The bondwoman can't live with
a pre-born son. Can't be. Your old ed works have
got to go with Christ's grace, you see. So that was a trial. I imagine up to that time that
was his hardest one, telling that boy goodbye. But he did it. He believed God. And then the last one, he… God
told him, take Isaac now, up on Mount Moriah, and quarter
him, and spit his blood and burn his body to self. But now it's I can't even touch any of those
in any way. You can't either. Don't even
try. But I can do the works of Abraham because the works of
Abraham are summed up in three words. Three words. Found first in Genesis, you don't
turn to it, you're familiar with it, 15.6. Abraham believed God. Everything Abraham did in these
trials was for what reason? Henry believed God. And I match
that. I can do that. I can believe
God. And whatever he piddling thing
he calls me to suffer or sacrifice or put up with, I can do the
works of Abraham. I can believe God. That's right. I can believe God. They asked
our Lord, they said, what shall we do with these works of God?
How shall we work the works of God? He said, this is the work
of God, that you believe on Him whom God has sent. That's the
work of God. Now I can do that by His grace. And that's what I fully intend
to do, by His grace, to believe God. And that makes me a son
of Abraham. The whole third chapter of Genesis
says, if you have faith, you're a son of Abraham. If you believe,
you're a child of Abraham. If you believe, you inherit promise
with Abraham. Everybody who believes him is
a son of Abraham. And that's what Christ said to
these people. Yeah, Abraham's our father. He said, well, if
he is, you'll do the works of Abraham. You'll act like your
father. All right, here's another one,
the fifth one. Oh boy, I want you to look at
this. He said, Now you seek to kill me, O man, that I have told
you the truth which I have heard of God. Now, Abraham didn't do
this. He didn't try to kill me. You do the deeds of your father.
Uh-oh. Then said they to him, We are
not born in sin. We have one father, God. God
is our father. That's what everybody tells me
today. God is our father. God's everybody's father. The
fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Now if you reject that,
you'll be branded a bigot. You'll be branded a heretic.
You'll be branded a fanatic. But our Lord Jesus Christ in
the next verse, he tells us who the children of God are. He tells
us a man, if God is a man's father,
he says this to them. They said, God's our father.
He said, if God were your father, you would love me. There it is. That finishes it. He that believeth on the Son
of God is born of God. He that believeth on the Son
of God is born of God. And if God is your Father, you
can say that to anybody in this world. If you don't love Christ,
believe Christ, embrace Christ, rest in Christ, trust in Christ,
God is not your Father. No, he's not. Now, that's just so. Just turn
to that and read it. If God—the people say, well,
God's our Father. If he is, you're in love with
the Lord Jesus Christ, lock, stock, and barrel, soul, mind,
heart, and spirit. You're in love with Christ. If
God's your Father. And here's the two reasons. Look
at this. Verse 42. Because I proceeded
forth and came from God. Because I am God. That's the reason you love Him. He is God. He is your Father. And you love your father, and
the father loves the son. Unless a child is born, a son
is given, the government's on his shoulders, his name, wonderful
counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father. I am the
father, sir. You've seen me, you've seen the
father. I am the father of one. You can't love the father and
not love the son. You can't be a son of the father
and not You can't love him that begat if you don't love him that
is begotten. My only begotten son. This is
my only begotten son. Hear him. This is my only begotten
son. I mean, well, please. You see,
I'm not making a play on words. I'm just laying down, as Christ
did, some terms that are unchangeable. Here's the second reason. I proceeded
forth and came from God, and neither came I of myself. He
sent me. That's the reason you love. That
means God's your Father. He sent Christ to you. He sent
his Son into the world to be our Savior. My Father sent me. How in the world could you not
love me? How could you not believe me? and God be your father. That's
not possible. Well, watch what he says next.
Why do you not understand my speech? Because you can't hear
my word. Verse 44, you've got a father, all right. He says
to these religious folks, you have your father the devil. You've
got a father. How do we know he's your father? Because, listen, the less of
your father you do, He was a murder offender beginning, he abode
not in the truth, the love of the truth, because there's no
truth in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks
of his own. He's the liar, he's a liar, and
he's a father of all liars. That's your pedigree, he said,
if you don't love me. That's your pedigree. That's
your family tree. That's your life story of your
father the devil. But because I tell you the truth,
you believe me not. Now here's the next step. I'll
move on. Which of you convinces me of
sin? Which of you can find any fault
in me, he said? Come on, stand up. Anybody, anybody,
anybody here, he says, that finds any fault in me, just convince
me. You won't find any fault, any
sin, or any deceit in me. And you know this whole world
pretty well agrees with that. Pretty well. Pilate said, I found
no fault in him. Pilate's wife said, he's a just
man. They could do the same boundaries in God, nobody could do this
except God be with him. Even some of the Pharisees, let
me just read you something over here, what they said over here
in Matthew, that this is the religious leaders, these are
the people he's talking to. They said here in Matthew 22,
16, they said, Master, we know your truth. We know you teach
the way of God in truth. We know you don't care for any
man. You regard not the person a man. You no respect the person. We know that. Listen to him over
here in Luke 20. These very people he's talking
to here, in Luke 20, they said to him, Luke 20 verse 21, listen
to this. They said, Master, we know what
you sow and teach is right. And we know you don't accept
the person of any man. You teach the Word of God truly. Tell us. Is it lawful to give
tribute to Caesar? Everybody speaks well of him.
Everybody today speaks well of him. He's a prophet. He's a holy
man. Jesus is a holy man. He's a prophet.
Jesus speaks the truth. He comes from God. He heals.
He's the same yesterday, today, and forever the same. Well, he
asked them this question, verse 46, Which of you convinces me
of sin? And if I say the truth, won't
you believe me? If Jesus Christ is all this world
says he is, the prophet sent from God, a holy man, speaking,
won't you believe him? Why don't you believe him? That's
a pretty good question. Why don't you believe him?" Well, he answers him in the next
line, "'Well, he that is of God believes me, he hears my word.'"
Hears God's word. You don't hear them because you're
not of God. That's what it says to these
religious people. That's the reason you don't hear them, is
because you're not of God. And these Jews answered him and
said, Say we're not? Say we're not the truth that
you are a Samaritan, you have a devil? Jesus said, I don't
have a devil. I honor my Father, and you dishonor
me. That can't be done. I honor my
Father, and you can't be a child of God and dishonor me. And I will seek my own glory
as one that speaketh and judgeth. Now watch this. Very rarely I
say unto you, Here's the next one. A man keeps my sayings,
he'll never, never see death. If a man keeps my sayings, if
a man or woman, not only among that group, but right here, me
and you, hears my word, hears my gospel, believes me, receives
it in his heart, abides in my word, my word abides in him.
He has passed from death unto life, and he'll never die. That's so, that's unchangeable
for him. If he does, he'll never die. Never. Now listen to him. Now they said, verse fifty-two,
we know you have a devil. Abraham's day No, he's not. Abraham's not dead. What did
Lazarus say? Send Abraham. That mean the rich
man? He said, Send Abraham. Abraham's
not dead. Abraham's body's in the grave,
and he's not dead. They said Abraham's dead, and
the prophets are all dead. And you say, so may I keep your
saying, and you'll never taste of death. Are you greater than
our father Abraham? Yes. which is good, which is
not dead. He's with God. And the prophet
said, What makest thou thyself? Christ said, Get up! I honor
myself. My honor is nothing. And that's
true. That's true of everybody. It's
my Father that honors me. Of him you say he's your God. And yet, you've not known him. But I know him. And if I should
say, I know him not. I'd be a liar like you, but I
know it, and I keep his sayeth. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day. He sighed and was glad. Then they said unto him, You're
not fifty years old. You're not fifty years old. How
sayest thou I've seen Abraham. And Jesus said unto them, come
back to where I started. Verily I say unto you, before
Abraham was, I am. If you believe not that I am,
you die and you sin. How'd they respond to this? Just
like the world's responded today. They took up stones to stone
him. And our Lord himself, hid himself
and went out of the temple. His hour has not yet come. And
going through the midst of them, he passed out. Our Father, how thankful we are
for your Word. How thankful we are for the Bible
study this morning. how thankful we are for this
message from our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that you'd make the Word
to be effectual, not just another sermon, another lesson, another
time of teaching, but a very special time, when the Word,
the Gospel, will run well, empowered, made effectual, made of fire,
a hammer, a sword, by thy Spirit, pierce the hearts of all of us,
and bring us humble, humbled and broken and stripped to the
feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, like Thomas of old, where we
might say from our hearts, my Lord, my Messiah, my Redeemer,
and my God. We believe without the Christ,
the Son of the living God. Make thy word to be effectual
in our hearts. Bless our homes and our families,
our children, our grandchildren, our dear brothers and sisters
in Christ who are going through special trials and troubles,
give them strength and grace as you have through all of our
days. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. Number 62. Let's stand
and sing number 62. That's a wonderful message. Brown
Hill. Stand with me. I'll give the greatest crown
for love upon His throne. I'll carve a heavenly entrance
of music for His throne. I'll lift my soul and sing of
Him who As a matchless figure of eternity. Third verse. Grant him the Lord
our God, who triumphed over the grave. And was victorious to
the strike, for as he came to stay, his glory shall be strayed
with God and those on high. He died to know how to breathe
when you said it may die. Come ye, Lord, again. One with
one heart and soul. One with the Spirit you will
give. One young devil in your soul.