The flame shall not burn thee,
I only desire thy love. The soul that is weak thus hath
came for it's own. All right, back to John chapter
14. I'm so thankful for these verses
of scripture. They give me great comfort, great
comfort. I feel like asking, and do ask,
have asked, the same questions that these disciples have asked. I have been filled with the same
doubt that they experienced then. And Christ has spoken the same
words of comfort to me that he spoke to them. First, we have
Peter speaking up here in this story. And I see myself in each
one of these men, these three men, Peter, Thomas, Philip. Don't you? Peter was a little too self-assured. And the Lord tells him he's going
to take a fall. And if we live much longer, we're
going to take plenty of falls, aren't we? Aren't we, Peter? sword, Peter Parks and Peter Barry,
Simon, I should say, Simon Barry. If we live long enough, we will
take several falls. Peter's troubled by it, as I
am troubled by what I may do, what I'm capable of doing. Aren't
you? What I have seen others do, which
I know I'm capable of. And if the Lord does not uphold
me by his grace? Peter's troubled by it. And here,
look at the first word. All of these verses are nothing
but comfort for God's people. I'm almost jealous over this,
because this is for God's people here. This is the inner sanctuary. But Christ says, let not your
heart be troubled. He just told Peter he was going
to deny him. The unthinkable. And the Lord said, and Peter
was troubled by that. And he said, let not your heart
be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. He's telling Peter and he tells
the other disciples all the way through here. I came from God,
and now I'm here. I'm with you. I came for you. That's what he's telling Peter
there. You believe in God? Believe in
me. I came for you. Not another,
but you. Look at verse 2. He says, In
my Father's house are many mansions. The word is reservations, really. Reservations. In my father's
house are many reservations. If it were not so, or if not,
I would have told you. Or rather, I wouldn't have told
you about it. I would have told those that
I prepared it for. Now, here's a word of blessing. When Paul said over to the Thessalonians,
he said, knowing brethren, beloved of the Lord, your election of
God, because our gospel came to you. It hadn't come everywhere. Everybody
hadn't heard it right. Myriads of people are sitting
tonight watching a foolish display of religion. Some vain show by
some fella. Some religious-centered millions
are watching, if they're there at all. See, the gospel comes only to
those who belong to God. Now, what a blessing to think
that He came to us with this gospel. Our brother read in a
study back there tonight in Ephesians 1, he had made known unto us
the mystery of his will. The Lord chose fishermen to make
known the mystery of his will. And he's still doing it today,
choosing truck drivers. Who? Truck drivers to make known
the mystery of his will. Mechanics. And what have you? Laborers. To make known the mystery
of His will. He says, if not so, I would have
told you. Or I wouldn't have told you.
Do you see that? And many dwell in places. And
we're tempted to thank God. We're tempted to think, well,
everybody else is going to make it but me. He says, many. Many. When the Lord says many,
that's a lot. Right. We can only count so far. But he he he can count the stars
of the sky and the sands of the seashore, he says many, that
means there's a lot. Why not me, John? Why not me? I believe it is because he came
to me with this gospel and he tells me in my father's house
and many dwelling places, I would have told you I can't lie. I
go to prepare a place for you. I've saved a place for you. That's
what he said. I've saved a place for you. There's a place reserved just
for me in glory. For me. Now, if you know who
me is, if you can say, If you know yourself, you'd have to
just stop in amazement. Abraham's going to be there.
Moses. David. Isaac. Adam, perhaps. Joseph. Daniel. Isaiah. Elijah. Elisha. Hosea. Keep going. Amos. Paul. James John. And Joe Parks. Think of it. And me. And me. I've got a place reserved
for you. Barnard, I've told you, like
I said, you've heard all my illustrations. And I've heard them more than
you've heard them. But I never will go tired of telling them.
Barnard used to talk about how he loved to sing, but he couldn't
sing. And he really couldn't. If you've heard him sing, you'd
acknowledge it. But he always dreamed of singing
well. He dreamed of singing in that
heavenly choir someday. And one time he dreamed that
he went to glory and he heard the most beautiful choir singing
that he'd ever heard. collection of voices and the
sound was just wonderful. And he said, I'd just love to
sing in that choir. And he looked and he saw an empty
chair up on the top row about the middle of that choir. And
he said, if I could just make it up there, maybe I'll sit and
I'll sing with that choir. So he worked his way on up the
stairs. He said he had this dream. Worked
his way on up those stairs, took him a long while, and he Worked
his way by all those people and he came to that chair. And it had written on it. Rolf
Martin. And he sat there. And started
singing. It's true. If it were not so,
he would have told. It's true. I have a reservation,
and it's not due to anything I am or have done. Not at all. Not at all. It's all due to God's
mercy and grace in Christ Jesus. Read on. He says that where I
am, I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come again. I will come again. Now, people, I make much of this
and we should. We should be constantly mindful
of the return of our Lord. We should be. That's what it
means to watch. That's what it means to wait
on the Lord. That's what it means. When the
Lord comes, he said he said, will he find who will he find
watching? That's what it means. And he
talked about a preacher. Faithful is a servant. And when
the Lord comes, he'll find him so doing. Doing what? Telling
you to watch. Christ says, I will come. If it were not so, he would have
told you. He's coming. He cannot lie. Everything
he said would come to pass, has. And he says, I will come. And
regardless of what all the gainsayers and the mockers and the scoffers
are saying in this modern society, Where is the promise of his coming?
Right here is the promise of his coming. He says, I will come. Heaven and Earth will pass away,
but my words won't pass away. Not one jot or tittle. I will come and look at the next
thing and receive you unto myself. I'll take you. Who? That soul
that on Jesus Christ hath leaned for repose. I will never, no,
never, desert to its foe. I won't leave you behind. You
watch and wait. You look for me. You trust me. No one has ever been put to shame
that trusted in Christ. No one has ever been forsaken
by Christ that trusted Him. Not one. You say, I feel weak,
I don't trust him like I should. He didn't say how much you should
trust him. He said, just trust him. And not one person who has
ever truly looked to Christ for their salvation has been left
behind. Has been forsaken. How do you
know that? Because he can't lie. He can't
lie. That where I am, you may be also. That where I am, you may be also.
That's where I want to be, where he is. Who is? I am. That where he is. He said, I'm
going to receive you. I'm going to. I can't lie. He said to that. All right, let
me give you an illustration of that. That whoever he says this
to is going to end up with him. He was hanging on the cross,
and hanging beside him was a murderer, a thief, the scum of the earth,
a man who'd never done one work, one act for God's glory, for
the good of others. Nothing. A worthless, no-good
bum. Everybody. turn thumbs down on
this fella. He's off scouring the earth.
Christ turned to him and said today. You will be with me in
paradise. Was it? Was he? Did he? That
thief woke up and it wasn't a dream. It was so. The dying thief rejoiced
to see that fountain in his day. And there may I Though vile as
he, though vile as he, wash all my sins away. What about me? I'm a chief of sinner. What about
you? It's a faithful say from him who is called faithful and
true. Today, I'll come again. I'll come again and receive you
to myself that where I am, you'll be there too. You'll be there
too. And then old Thomas speaks up.
Thomas speaks up. Well, first Christ said in verse
four, he said, Whither I go, you know, in the way you know. Well, Thomas speaks up verse
five and says unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest.
We don't know where you're going. And how can we know the way? What Thomas is saying here, really,
is, Lord, I don't know anything. Have you ever felt like that?
I don't know anything. Lord, I don't know where, who,
what, where, why. How am I ever going to find the
way? Verse six, Christ said unto him,
I am the way, the truth, and the life. It's not up to you
to know the way, Thomas, it's not up to you to find the way,
Thomas, it's not up to you to see the light, Thomas, I am the
way. It's not up to you to know me,
it's up to me to know you, your salvation is me knowing you.
How much do you, does a child know about his father? Take a
little small child, you take Anna right there, how much does
she know about her father? the depths of his mind and his
heart, his love for her, his mind, his will, his purpose concerning
her. How much? How much do we know about God?
How much do we know about Christ? It's not up to our knowledge
of him. You remember Brother Todd and I were preaching from
that text where Paul said he rejoiced that we know him or
rather. He said, check that, that we're
known of him. You see, Isaiah 53 says, By his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many. It's not
us knowing the law, it's him knowing it. It's not us knowing him, it's
him knowing us. I am the way. You see what he's
saying? I'm the way. We don't know the way. I do. I'm it. They don't know where you're
going. I'm where you're going. You're already there. That's
what he said in verse 4. Whither I go you know, and the
way you know. How? Why? What? You know me,
don't you? I'm where you're going, and I'm
how you're going to get there. How am I going to get to heaven?
I don't know if I'm going to work. You know Christ. You're already
there. And you're in Him. You believe Him. You're going
to make it. You've already made it. You've
already made it. It's not us finding the way,
it's him finding us. It's not us saving ourselves,
it's him saving us. Verse 7, he says, if you'd known
me, you should have known my father also. And from henceforth,
you know him and have seen him. Well, Philip, now Philip speaks
up. And Philip voices his frustration
and his doubts and fears. Verse 8, Philip says unto him,
Lord, show us the Father, and then we'll be happy. Show us
the Father, and then that'll suffice it. Christ mentioned
the Father, and Philip said, show us the Father. If we could
just see the Father. Have you ever wanted to see a
sign? Anybody in here beside me want
to see a sign from heaven? Huh? Lord, just a little one. Just a little one. Want to hear
a voice? Lord, just a still, small voice. What about seeing anything? An
angel, maybe? Have you? We have. We've seen the sign of signs. Our Lord said, An evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign, but no sign will be given. Why
did he say that? Because that's what people are
looking for. They're looking for miracles
and signs and wonders, and they're all taken up with phenomena.
the mysteries and so forth, not the person of Christ. And that's the reason he calls
them an evil and adulterous generation. In other words, they're not interested
in God, not interested in Christ. They want to see things. They
want to be fascinated and amazed. Christ said no sign will be given
but one. Do you remember what it was?
We've seen it. Have you seen it? The sign of
the prophet Jonas? We've seen that sign. Not everyone
has. The sign of the prophet Jonas?
Go and learn what that means. We've seen signs. We've heard
voices. A voice. Have you heard a voice? We've entertained angels. I've entertained angels, and
I was well aware of it. I'm not talking about the kinds with
wings. I'm talking about the kinds who are stuck to the ground. You know who I'm talking about?
Messengers of the Covenant. Angels. Angels. I've heard Christ speak. Have
you? But you know, the Lord knoweth
our frame. He knew Philip's frame. The Lord knoweth our frame, that
we're flesh. He knows we live by what? Let's be honest. Everyone in
here be honest. What do we really, how do we
really, what do we really believe? What we say. Don't we? We're flesh. John, we're flesh.
He knows that. He knows that. He knows you're
praying. He limited himself to the flesh. Now, I speak carefully
here in that he limited himself. Do you know what I'm saying?
He was made a little lower than the angels. That is, he had a
body, flesh, and he had to live by faith. Yes, he did. He had
to learn obedience by the things he suffered. What things he suffered?
The flesh. Temptations. Depending upon the
Father by faith. Everything you have to experience,
he did, yet without sin. And he lived by faith. Yes, he
did. God had to provide his everything. Everything, right? He never did
a miracle for his own provision. Did he, John? No, sir. It said, After he fasted forty
days and forty nights, an angel came and ministered unto him. Well, the Lord knows our frame.
He knew Philip, and he spoke tenderly and patiently to him.
Look at what he said, verse 9. Christ said unto him, Have I
been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. How do you say, Show us the Father? Have I been so long time with
you and you haven't known me? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father." This is the thing that Christ keeps reminding his
disciples of over and over again throughout, especially the Gospel
of John. And I was going to turn to them,
but I won't. But over and over again, he keeps
reminding them of who he is. All the way through, especially
the Gospel of John, he tells them who he is. Who is he? more than a man. He's God. He's God. Over and over again,
he keeps reminding them, over and over. More than anything
else, he reminds them of who he is. And isn't that what we
need to be reminded of more than anything else? Isn't it? Us earthbound
fleshlings that can't see further than our nose, huh? Who can't
see God, whose spirit Don't we need to be reminded over and
over again that He's God, our God, that He's King? We do have a King and He's Lord.
We need to be reminded and hear that over and over again, the
Lordship of Christ. I never get tired of hearing
that. That's what gives me more confidence than anything else. That's what gives me more peace,
more comfort, more joy, more strength, more encouragement,
More will to go on. More answers. Even though I don't
know the answers, that gives me all the answer I need. He's
in charge. All the answer I need when he
reveals it to me and manifests himself to me is that I'm God.
Well, Father knows, but he's God. He knows what he's doing.
You know, you see what I'm saying? All the comfort I need. That
gives me more comfort than anything else. And so he keeps reminding
them over and over and over and over and over and over again.
And that's what we need to be reminded of. And people, this
is what distinguishes the true Christ from the false Christ. And this is what he keeps conveying
to us. And this is what I want to keep
hammering over and over and over again. I want to keep hammering
this nail in a sure place. What's that? We've got a Lord
on a throne. Our God is God. He ain't like these other gods.
They're idols. The people that make them are
just like him. This god of theirs has no hands.
Our God has mighty big hands. I'm sitting in them. Now, here's a nail I want to
keep hammering in a sure place. That our Christ actually saves. Doesn't try to. Won't do it if
you let him. He does it whether you let him
or not. That's a nail in a sure place that you can hang your
soul on. Right? That the blood before
the Lord will actually put away my sin. All of them. ever won,
even the ones I don't repent of, that our Christ is Christ, that
our God is God, that our King is King of Kings, that our Lord,
I know what they say about their Lord, they make Him Lord. Our
Lord and Lord over that Lord. He's Lord of Lords. You like
this verse? You know what I'm going to quote? Their rock's not like our rock. Stan loves that verse. Their
rock's not like our rock. Wow, their rock just rolls, rocks
and rolls. Our rock is unmovable, steadfast,
and sure. You hide in this rock, ain't
nothing gonna touch you. Well, look at verses 10
and 11. Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me?" The words that I speak unto you. I speak not of myself, but the
Father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works'
sake. Christ says, have I been so long
time with you, yet you have not known me? What about the words
I've spoken to you? What about what I've told you?
Have you forgotten so soon? What about what you've heard
from me? Have you forgotten so soon? Are you yet without faith
after all you've heard me say? Nancy, are you yet? Is there
a moment? Could there, how could there
be ever a moment that you wouldn't believe him after all he's told
you? We just sung that song and how, what more could he say to
you than he, he, angels haven't heard what you've heard. That's
what the scripture said, which things angels desire to look
into. The prophets, Nancy, the prophets. Elijah didn't get the
full story like you have. That's right. Nancy Park. How could you possibly not believe
him? Well, you do. And he knows that. But it keeps
confirming the Word. It keeps on confirming the Word.
The Word. The Word. The Word. Something
just struck me, and I didn't really plan on dealing with it.
But look at the last part of verse 10. He says, after he said,
The words I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father
that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. What? Is that a misprint? The words?
No, the works. Because this is the greatest
work that God can do. to a man, to a woman, to a young
person is to speak to them. Right? That's how you regenerate,
the words. Listen, the disciples heard him
speak what no others heard. They heard him say things that
the Pharisees didn't hear him say. Right? Right, Stan? He said, leave them alone. The
Pharisees were offended They didn't understand the parable.
It's not given. It's not given to them. They want to know what
you mean. No. It's not given to them. But to you, it's given. Now here,
Peter, I'll tell you what that meant. Same thing with this little group
of people right here in the midst of Franklin County, Virginia.
It's head to the wise and prudent. There's not a pharaoh at professor. There's not a professor at pharaoh. It knows what this carpenter
knows. It's heard what that carpenter
said. I'm telling you it's so. Listen to them, read their penny
papers. It's so. These disciples, these
fishermen, these lowly fishermen heard mysteries kept secret from
the foundations of the world. kept hidden from the wise and
the prudent, and revealed unto them. And so have we. The words, what have we heard
here? Deborah, goodness gracious sakes
of mine. The tabernacle. Do we need to
go through it again? We've been through, we've seen
such kind of glory, haven't we? We've been right now holy of
holies, haven't we, Deborah? We've heard him speak with power
too. These disciples heard him, these
disciples, one day Philip and Andrew were in their boat fishing,
throwing nets out or whatever, and all of a sudden this fellow
walks by and says, Philip, Andrew, put down your net, follow
me. And they left their boat. And
followed him. Power. They heard a voice. And
one day, this old gutter snipe heard the same voice. And I was out doing something,
you know. Center. Follow me. Dropped my friends. Followed
him. Same word, same word, same word,
voice of authority. They heard him raise the dead
with a word. Lazarus, come forth. I've stood at a couple of tombs
and watched them come. Haven't you? Huh? Yes. I've seen them wrapped in grave
clothes and I've seen the light come on. I've seen their ears
open. They saw the blind healed. They
saw those who just would not see. I don't see it that way.
All of a sudden, I see. Those that didn't hear it before,
hear. And those that couldn't walk anyway, but paths of sin,
start walking like Christ. The lame walk. Have we not heard Christ speak?
Have we not heard that voice? Have we not heard What few have
heard, have we not heard his voice of majesty and power? Have
we not heard him speak to our hearts as if he knew our thoughts? Haven't we? Haven't you, Jeanette?
Haven't you heard me, well, God say things through a man from
this pulpit that you thought he was listening to me and Ed
talk last night? Isn't that right? How did I?
Ed, you told him. You called him. No. It's somebody
else. Isn't that right? Have you heard
him speak as if you're the only one in this room? Yes, you have. I have. I have. Several times I've been reaching
and thinking, did anybody hear that? When I was so excited,
it must have been for me. What about the works? In verse
eleven, believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father
in me, or else believe me for the very works sake. If you don't
believe what you've heard, what about what you've seen? Peter, Thomas, Philip, do you
remember the five loaves and two fishes? Huh? Do you remember the water
turned into wine? Do you remember the blind seeing,
the deaf hearing, the lame walking, the dead ray? Do you remember
that? How about us? Do we remember being fed with these same loaves? Haven't we drank of that wine?
Haven't we feasted on the fat things, wine on the leaf? Huh? Haven't we gotten wine from water? Blind seeing, the deaf hearing,
the lame walk, the dead ray. Have I been so long time with
you, and yet thou hast not known me?" Believe me. Believe me. Believe the words. Believe the
word. What have we heard him say? And
how have we heard him say it to us? Huh? Listen to me. It's just not my conclusion. This is something to go on. What have we heard Christ say?
What glorious truths has he spoken to us and how he has spoken them
so powerfully, not in word only, but in power and the Holy Ghost
and much assured. And what have we seen him do
in our lifetime? The children of Israel saw no
greater miracles than we've seen in the 40 years that we've been
walking. Your shoes haven't worn out either,
have they? This gospel shoe hadn't worn out yet. Have you got water out of the
rock? Has bread come down from heaven? Oh, have you not been
provided for? Have you not been carried for
all these days? Have you not seen the Red Seas
parted? Mountains removed? Your enemies vanquished? All
your troubles laid to waste? Every path made clear. Believe me, he says. Believe
the words I say. And if not the words, you believe
in the works. That I'm God. I'm your God. Well, I hope that's
some comfort to you. Because there's nothing more
to say than what he said. All right, let's stand. Our Heavenly Father, we thank
you for your Word. And Lord, forgive us for not
believing you. Let us take you at your word
indeed. Christ died for sinners, and
this I plead. And in him we find a need of
him to be our Savior. Lord, thank you for your word.
Thank you for your marvelous works. And O that men, O that
we might magnify the Lord, O that men might Praise the Lord for
his wondrous works to the sons of men, to the children of men,
to us. Lord, thank you for all that
you've done. Not one word, not one word has failed of all
your promises concerning us. Thank you. In Christ's name,
amen.