All right, you can be seated. In reality, you can stand without
standing, just like you can work and still
be resting. I'll not go into that. I'll get
sidetracked. All right, John chapter 11, and
I also want you to turn to Proverbs 16. The book of Proverbs, chapter
16. Mark, I'll hold both those places
there. We'll look at Proverbs first
of all. Now, this book is the Word of
God. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this
is God Almighty's Word, and the more I read it, the more God
proves his word to me. There's nothing, I mean this
when I say there's nothing that could happen to change my mind
of that. Nothing. There's nothing anyone could
say. There's nothing that could be
in tomorrow's headlines, spoken or reported by whomever to cast
one shadow of a doubt in my mind upon this word. Nothing. What
about you? This book continually exposes
the folly of mankind, continually exposes the folly of foolishness
of men. It reveals all, are you with
me? I'm not just giving you an introduction,
I'm telling you something. It reveals all, this book reveals
all that men and women say and do before they say it and do
it. Only the word of God could do that. The word of the Apostle
Paul over in 1 Corinthians. Rather, it's God's Word through
Paul. But he said, Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this
world? Now, that rings so true in our
day. All that I read and see going
on here, the Word of God absolutely makes foolish modern man's wisdom. how our sovereign God manipulates
people. I love that. I love to read how
that God controls all men, even the wicked. Now, there's a verse
here in Proverbs 16 that if you've never seen it, if a person has
never seen It will turn their theology or
their idea of God upside down, inside out. It will totally confuse. If they don't know the God of
the Bible, it will confuse them. Look at Proverbs 16. Look at
verse 4. You have it? Proverbs 16, verse
4. The Lord hath made all things
for himself. Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Keep that. Keep Proverbs 16 and
turn to Isaiah 45. That reminds me of this verse
in Isaiah 45, which I'm sure even fewer people have read.
But it's said there, God hath made even the wicked according for his purpose. Look
at Isaiah 45, verse 7. This is the Lord, well, look
at verse 5, beginning there. I am the Lord, there is none
else, there is no God beside me. I girded or clothed thee,
though thou hast not known me, that they may know from the rising
of the sun from the east and from the West, that there is
none beside me, I am the Lord, there is none else. I form the
light, create darkness, I make peace, and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things." Is God in control of all things? Does God use all things, even
evil? You better believe it. Oh, He's
not God. He's not God. God means absolute
controller, doesn't He? If there are things going on
outside of God's control, then there is no God. Is that right? It must be so. You say, I don't
understand that. I don't understand that. Well,
neither do I completely, but we're not called to understand
it, we're called to believe it. We're told to believe it. We'll
see someday. We'll know someday, even as we've
been known. But our God is in absolute control. Our God is so sovereign. Our
God is so sovereign. Listen to this verse. Turn back
to Proverbs 16 again. Listen to this verse. that you've
heard so many times. God is so sovereign that he controls
the hearts of men. Hearts. He controls the heart. Scripture says the king's heart
is in the hands of the Lord. As the rivers of water, as the
rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will. He makes
a man do whatever he decides for him to do. Now that's the
God of the Bible. That's the God of the Bible. Scripture says the thoughts and
intents of the heart. Even the words in a man's mouth. Look at verse 1 here in Proverbs
16. Look at it. This is God's word,
and this is through Solomon. whom Scripture says is the wisest
man ever. So this is no dummy here, but
this is God speaking. The preparations of the heart
in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Now, you know why I read that?
The answer of the tongue is from the Lord. If you paid attention
to John 11, you know why I read that. The answer of the tongue
is from the Lord. Preparations of the heart and
the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Now back to John 11.
This is our text and this is where we'll stay. John chapter
11. Here's a bunch of fellas that got together as they were
trying to decide what they want to do with Jesus, so to speak.
Kangaroo court met and they were trying to come up with a plan. Look at verse 47. Then gathered
the chief priests and the Pharisees a council. A gathering. They had them a committee meeting.
That's what they had. They had them a meeting of the
deacons. And said, what are we going to
do? What do we? This man doeth many
miracles. What are we going to do here? They had got them a council together.
And they said, in that council, what are we going to do? What
are we going to do with this Jesus fellow? Did that remind you of Psalm
2? Some of you have heard that now two or three times in the
last month or so. Listen to Psalm 2, verse 2. The kings of the earth set themselves
and rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against
his anointed, saying, let's break this thing up. What are we going to do? There's
another verse over in Isaiah. Listen to this. I'm reading from
Isaiah 29. Listen to this. Woe unto them
that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord. Listen to this. Surely your turning
of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay. Shall the works say of him that
made it, he made me not What are we going to do? What are
we going to do with this Jesus? The real question, the question
then, and the question now, is not what men are going to
do with Jesus, is it? The question is, what's he going
to do with them? What's he going to do? He's the
sovereign Lord. Whatever man decides to do, God
already decided he would do it a long time ago. That's just so. That's just so. This story here is absolute proof
of that. Look at verse 47. Again, it says,
What are we going to do with this man? For this he doeth many
miracles. Now, every word recorded by God
is significant. He doesn't just And every word
in man, every word recorded, everything God recorded, Brother
Henry, is on purpose. It's for a reason. To teach us
something. Written for our learning. All
right? All right, these fellows said this man doeth many miracles.
They acknowledge that. And yet they wanted to do something
about him or do something with him. Now, what does this teach
us? This teaches me that miracles
don't produce faith. Right? This is proof that miracles
don't convince people of who God is, of who Christ is. Miracles don't convince of sin,
like Christ said, sin, righteousness, and judgment. These three things
which he said the Holy Spirit will convince man. When he saves
someone, he convinces of these three things. This is what our
Lord said. Sin, righteousness, and judgment. Miracles don't
convince of sin. Miracles just impress people.
Right? Miracles just create curiosity.
Miracles create a circus atmosphere. Miracles don't save. Miracles
just impress simple minds. It's the gospel that saves. the gospel and the power of the
Holy Spirit to save. Now isn't it interesting, listen,
this is right after Lazarus was raised from the grave. Right
after Lazarus, a man was actually raised from the dead. Now I'm
talking a man was dead for days. They said, and there was no embalming
fluid back then. Even his sister said, don't open
that grave, he stinks. Four days this fellow was dead
without being embalmed, and Christ raised him from the grave. And
he walked out, and people saw it. Now, isn't it interesting that
God didn't write one word that Lazarus said when he came back
from the grave? There's not an interview with
Lazarus here. What would have happened today were this purported
today? Well, you see it in the National
Enquirer and the Star and all that anyway, don't you? felt
erased from the grave, and they had a big interview with him,
and I saw this, I saw that, I saw this. God didn't record anything,
Lazarus said. Why? It's not important. That's not the point. That doesn't
save anybody. Didn't our Lord say, You will
not believe though a man rose from the dead? Didn't he say
that? Didn't he say that? Yes, he did. There's no, don't you know what
an emotional time this was? Can you imagine how emotional
that was? Mary and Martha and Lazarus and
the people, what, it probably was hysteria on the part of the
public. Mary and Martha were absolutely
beside themselves. There's no mention of that. No
hoopla, no nothing. Right, Stan? That's significant. Nobody is saved by getting excited. Nobody is saved by witnessing
miracles. As a matter of fact, our Lord
said, an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. Signs and wonders and miracles
and all of that. There is one thing that saves.
The truth. The gospel. There is one thing
that really excites. The truth. The gospel. should
excite a man's heart. You see, we walk by faith, not
by sight, anyway. Well, look at verse 48, all right?
They said, If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on
him. The Romans shall come and take away both our place and
the nation. If we leave him alone, what are
we going to do with this fellow? Now, if we don't do something
about him, they're going to... I bet you some of these fellows
were part of that group that had not, just a little time before
that, when Christ said, I and my Father are one, I, before
Abraham was, I am. They were in that group to hear
him say that, and they took up, they wanted to grab him. He says,
a whole bunch of them, just get him, kill him, and he passed
through them. They're bound to have been some
of these fellas in that group when Christ was speaking in John
10. He said, no man takes my life from me. Nobody kills me. I lay it down on myself. They're
bound to have heard him say that. What are we going to do with
him? Well, you know, we've got to do something. If you leave
him alone, you can't touch him. If you leave him alone. If you leave him alone. No man
taketh my life from them, Christ said. Listen, they are no less
foolish. These fellows are no less foolish. Listen, listen
very carefully to this statement. These fellows are no less foolish
and ignorant than people today, who after reading the whole story
of Christ's absolute sovereignty over all things, I mean, men
have the whole finished book The whole story that tells us
how Christ absolutely, sovereignly manipulated every moment. Even hanging on the cross, he
was sovereignly controlling the whole situation. And yet men
today still say, what are we going to do with Jesus? Right? These fellows are less ignorant
than people today. People today have read the whole
book, I think. But they've read the whole story, how that Christ
is sovereignly in control of all things. They've read what
God has to say, and yet they still think, what are we going
to do with it? Man is plumbed ignorant. Again,
I repeat, the question is not, what will we do with Jesus? The
question is, what is this sovereign Lord sitting on a throne going
to do with us? That's the question. When men and women realize that,
it will create the beginning of wisdom. Scripture says the
beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord. He's not some sugar
daddy upstairs, he's not some loving sentimental old man with
a long white beard who just loves everybody, who wants everybody
to love him, who's trying all he can do to get men to save
him, and he can't unless they let him. That's Tommy Rock hogwash
bull crap. Let me get real strong. That's
not Bible. This story proves this. What
are we going to do with him? What are you going to do with
him? You're going to do exactly what God determined for you to
do before the world began. That's what Peter stood at Pentecost
and preached, didn't it? Didn't he? Acts 2 said, You with
wicked hands have taken and crucified the Lord of glory, but you did
what God determined before to be done. You did exactly what
you determined to do, but you did what God determined for you
to do. See, how can this be? It's because
God is God. That's how. God is God. All right, look at
verse 49. I love this. God's going to put
words in a man's mouth. He's going to put words in this
fellow's mouth. Let's listen to this pinhead
priest. One of them named Caiaphas be
in the high priest. I can see him now. He's got his
little fish hat on his head like Pope. What's his face? You know,
he's got his robes on. He's sitting up on a big throne,
he might have rings and all that, and all his little peons are
bowing and scraping to him and all that, and he's sitting up
there and he's listening to them, but he probably has his eyes
closed. And then finally they get through talking and he said,
the priest is going to speak. Verse 49, the high priest the
same year said unto them, you all don't know what you're talking
about. You don't know anything," he
says. This is the way it's going to be. This is what I have decided. You all don't know. You all just
hush. This is, I'm going to set down the mandate. This is what I have decided,
being the High Priest. Now, it's expedient, verse 50,
for us, that one man should die for the people. that the whole
nation perish not. Verse 51 says, This spake he
not of himself. He didn't know what he was saying. He said to them, you don't know
what you're talking about. Now here's the way it is. And the scripture said he didn't
know, he didn't speak this of himself. Preparations of the
heart. Proverbs 16.1, and the answer
of the tongue is up the Lord. God Almighty put in this man's
mouth what he was to say. He put words in this man's mouth.
Oh, the irresistible sovereignty of our God. Now, don't you love
that term, irresistible? That's what it means when he
says, none can stay his hand. Or say unto him, you can't do
that. Watch me," he says. Well, here this wicked bunch
of fellows, with nothing but evil intentions, get together
to decide what evil they're going to do, and the most evil one
of them all, this pretended high priest, says, well, this is what
I've decided. And again, I repeat that verse
in Acts that says, what they determined to do, but they did
what God had before determined to be done. Okay, it was preached
the gospel here without knowing it, didn't it, John? He didn't
know what he was saying. Read on, verse 51 and 52. This
spake he not of himself, but being high priest that year,
he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation, and not
for that nation only. but that also he should gather
together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." He didn't speak this of himself.
This reminded me of Balaam. Some of you have read the story
of Balaam over Numbers. You need to read it. Go back
and read it. I think it begins chapter 21, Numbers, and goes
through several chapters. It's a puzzling story, Balaam. I went back and read it for myself,
and that fellow was evil. Balaam was a false prophet. Jude
speaks of him, Peter speaks of him, and he was an evil fellow
with evil intentions, with greedy intentions. He was a hireling.
He was in it for the money, just like preachers today. He was
a hireling. He was in it for the money, not
for the truth's sake, not for people's good. to fill his pockets,
to make a name for himself. That's what Balaam was in it
for. Yet God Almighty had him preach the truth. Like Saul. You remember King
Saul? Before David was crowned king,
it was King Saul. You remember it says that Saul
prophesied one time? And the people said, is he among
the prophets? King Saul? That wicked man? Let
me ask you this. Have you ever heard an obviously
false prophet, an obviously wicked and crooked preacher, which most
of them are? If you've heard one, you've probably
heard one of those. But have you ever heard some
of them say some good things? Have you ever said that about
them? Well, he said some good things. Have you? Everybody in here has. I heard
that scoundrel Jimmy Swigert one time preach on just and justifier. Boy, you're talking about catching
my attention. Wouldn't that have caught your attention, Rick,
if you'd heard on TV, national TV, a man talking about God being
just and justifier? That would have pricked your
ears, wouldn't it? It did mine. I heard him say
some good things. It puzzles you, doesn't it? Perhaps
some weak people, weak in the faith, say, well, he must be,
no, he must not be. That doesn't necessarily mean
anything. Is Caiaphas a gospel preacher?
Was Balaam? Saul? No. That doesn't prove
anything. After reading this, it shouldn't
make you wonder any longer that a man could stand up every now
and then and say something true. Because God Almighty, for reasons
known only to him, may put in that man's mouth at that particular
time. He may have a sheep out there. That may be the reason.
He may have one of his sheep out there. You've got to hear
the truth. You've got to hear the truth. And say it through
that man. You see, it's not the instrument.
It's not the instrument. It's the Word. It's not the preacher
that says it. It's the Word of God. treasure is in earthen vessels,
not the vessels, the treasure. God sometimes speaks through
wicked men for purposes known to him, and this, too, you need
to learn this, never judge a man by one sermon. Never judge a
preacher by one sermon, one message. Brother Charlie Payne wisely
said, he said, I like to hear a man at least three times in
a row. Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. I
like to be here on Wednesday night. Let's see what he's really got
to say. If he even meets on Wednesday. Christ said you'll know them
by their fruit. What's the fruit of a man? Well,
they came to Christ and said, asked him some questions, didn't
they? What did Christ say? He said, ask them that hear me. You want to know what I preach,
he said? Ask those that hear me. Ask them. Ask people who sit and listen
to these fellows preach. Ask them what they believe. If
they believe the truth, that's a true preacher. Right? Right,
Joe? Watch them. Watch people. How
they act. They act like fools, and they're
listening to one. Right? If they talk like fools,
so does he. If they talk foolishness and
irreverently and disrespectfully for God, about God, and their
speech betrays them, that fellow they're listening to is not a
true preacher. But if you talk to a people who
speak fearfully and reverently and respectfully of God, who
are even hesitant to mention his name, who talk of God being
God, who talk of Christ being Christ, not a failure, not one
who attempts, but one who actually saves. One who is Lord, not because
men make him so, but he is Lord. When you talk to people and they
confess that they are helpless, hopeless in the hands of a sovereign
Savior to do with as he pleases, their preacher is a troubled
one. Oh, well, OK. What is this all
about? Why is this recorded in Scripture?
Well, I think we've already seen that, haven't we? Why is this
recorded? It's recorded to reveal God's
sovereign power, to reveal God's glory. Didn't he say, didn't
we read there in Proverbs 16, for even the wicked made all
things, even the wicked, for the day of evil. He said about
Pharaoh, in Romans 9, he said he raised Pharaoh up to dump
him in the river. He raised him up as a vessel
fitted for destruction. Isn't that right, John? Isn't
that what Romans 9 says? He raised Caiaphas up to this
place of high priests, just so this one day he'd say this. He'd say it is, and they were
going to dump him. This was right before the Passover. I believe
he's using this man's office to proclaim the truth one time.
The high priest. One time. And to strengthen our
faith. You remember how I started this
out, Patrick? You remember how I started this out? By saying
that this is the word of God. There's no doubt in my mind.
The more I read it, the more it proves, he proves it to me
that this is his word. When I read things like this,
there's nothing that could happen or anyone could say that could
change my mind. It's too marvelous, too miraculous. And to show us how that everything
works together, look at that verse 52 again. It says that
this Theophis prophesied that God should gather together in
one the children of God scattered abroad. Paul the Apostle said
that later, didn't he, in Ephesians 1, that God has made known unto
us the mystery of his will, that in the dispensation of the fullness
of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven, which are on earth, even in Christ.
And there's nothing and no one can thwart God's purpose. Catholics preach particular redemption.
Did you see? Leaving it. Can a man do that? He sure can. Again, he said it
gathered together in one the children of God scattered abroad. The children of God. That's who
Christ came to save, God's elect people. And this is the purpose. This is God's purpose, which
he purposed before the world began. And nothing and no one
can thwart God's purpose, but rather everything works together
unwittingly, even though they don't want to or don't try to,
they are working out his purpose. Even wicked men are working out
God's purpose to fulfill it. Now, that's the God of the Bible.
That's my God. That's your God. People say,
No, that's not my God. I don't believe in a God like
that. You better, because that is your God. Brother Rock Barnard, an old
preacher years ago, a fellow got mad at him for saying things
like this. The fellow said, That God of
yours is a monster. Barnard said, Then prepare to
meet a monster. Because this is what the Bible
says. And if we don't believe that,
we might as well leave this book out the window and quit all this
foolishness talking about God. Because if he ain't God, he ain't
worth worshiping. Isn't that right? I'm not going to worship this
God that's weaker than me. It's God they're talking about
today who has no hands but mine. When I worship him, it's God
that loves me, and I might end up in hell anyway. Who needs
love like that? It's Christ that died, and I pay for my sins,
but I might have to pay for them anyway. Who needs Jesus like
that? What good is blood like that doing me? I don't need it. But this sovereign
God, if he's for me, And nothing can be against me. I need a God
like that. That is my God. Thank God. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
it to me, because flesh and blood hates that. Another reason God did this is
because God declared the decree. Back in Psalm 2 again, God declared
the decree. This is the way it's going to
be, and the heathen are going to fulfill it. God declared the
decree, I've set my King on the holy hill of Zion, he's hanging
on a cross. I've set my King high, I've lifted
him high up for all to see. How? On a cross. Is this the
King of the Jews? Is this the King? It sure is. Hanging on that cross, reigning
and ruling. Got his hands nailed, he nailed
his own hands. still sovereignly controlling
the whole thing. So much so that a fellow beside
him that he changed his mind and his will just by looking
at him. Look quickly at Psalm 76. This is worth noting. Turn over there quickly. This
is well worth marking in your Bible. Psalm 76. I'm going to quit. In a minute. Psalm 76, look at verse 10. Surely
the wrath of man shall praise thee. The remainder of wrath
shalt thou restrain. Thou shalt restrain. The wrath of man will praise
him. This bunch of fellows got together
and said, Let's kill him. Okay. And it brought God his
greatest glory. And the things they said, do
you remember some of the things they said as Christ was hanging
on the cross? Oh, they were trying to think
of all kinds of ways to malign him, and things to say about
him, to mock him. They said, he saved others, himself
he can't save. That's right. That's right. He can't save himself
and save others. He can only save others by crucifying
himself. Pilate said, I'm going to write
up here on his, above him, this epitaph, the king of the Jews.
They said, no, no, no, no, I didn't say he said he's the king of
Jews. Pilate said, what I've written, I've written. Yes, he
is. Yes, he is. And on and on they tried. They were fulfilling God's purpose.
They schemed and plotted and finally killed him, but did what
God determined before to be done. As I said before, wicked men
took the Passover lamb and put him on the altar. It says there, Jesus therefore
walked no more openly. Verse 53, from that day forth
they took counsel together to put him to death. They had more
counsel, little meetings, little committee meetings. Jesus therefore
walked no more openly among the Jews, but went thence into a
country near the wilderness, a city called Ephraim, and there
continued with his disciples. Why? Why did he not walk any
more openly? Was he afraid? Oh, that's ridiculous. Certainly
not. But his time wasn't come. And
when his time was finally come, it says, Scripture says, he set
his face, he went steadfastly toward Jerusalem. And even his
disciples said, Lord, don't go there, they're going to kill
you. He said, that's why I came. But wait a minute, don't you
remember I said they're not going to kill me. Nobody can kill me. But now it's time, in the fullness
of time, he set his face toward Jerusalem. and went right up
there and put himself in their hands. Oh no, Jesus is not in
our hands to do with as we please. One time in history he was in
men's hands, and he put himself there to fulfill his purpose. No more! No more! But as the scripture says, the
God in whose hands we are, and whose hands our breath is in
all our ways, the Lord Jesus Christ seated on a throne who
reigns and rules over all flesh, we are in his hands now to do
with as he pleases. So that is the question now. What is he going to do with me?
And if a man or a woman were wise, and to salvation, they
would say, they would ask him for mercy, to save them, help to do for
them what they cannot do. And as I said so many times,
Christ didn't walk openly because he wasn't going about the world
trying to get people to believe on him. He wasn't going around trying
to get a hearing, was he? Scripture says that. Scripture
says he won't cry or cause his voice to be heard in the street.
Christ didn't go around trying to get people to believe on him.
He was in search of his sheep, particular people, certain individuals. He was a certain Savior of certain
individuals who were located in certain places, and he most
certainly found them, and he most certainly saved them. That's
the Christ of Scripture. And why is this written? It's
just another nail in your faith. He's Lord, even over the mouth,
even over the tongue. Okay, if I said this is what
I've said. That's the God of the Bible.
All right, stand with me, or I'll just go on forever. Heavenly Father, we bow, we bow. our hearts now to you who are King of kings
and Lord of lords, in whose hands the heart is. And we bow before
you and acknowledge that thou art God, beside thee there is
none else. You are Lord, and we are your subjects. And we
love to have it so. So we pray, O Lord, that you
might confirm this in us, because this
is saving faith. This is eternal life, that they
might know thee, the true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent to finish a work, to save a people, sovereign Savior. sent by the sovereign God to
successfully save, this is salvation. We rejoice in it. We rejoice
in your word, Lord. Thank you for recording these
things for us to read, written for our learning that we, through
patience and comfort, might have hope in the scripture, in the
word. And we do believe and are sure
that thou art God, that thou art the Christ. son of the living
God. Thank you, Lord, for your word.
In Christ's name we are met together. Amen.