studying through the gospel of
John. Before John 8, let's look at
one verse in chapter 7. John 7, verse 43. John 7, verse 43 says, So there
was a division among the people because of him. because of this man, Jesus. So they thought him to be. And things have not changed. There is still a great division
today among people because of this one named Jesus. Some say
he is this or that. Others have this opinion or that
opinion about him. They're saying the same things
now as they did then. Some say he's a good man. Some
say he's a prophet. Some say he's a miracle worker
and a healer, a savior. Some say he's the Son of God.
Some say he's the Christ. He asked a group of religious
people one day, Pharisees. after they had asked him several
questions, issues of unimportant issue. But he asked
them the most important question of all, the issue. It's still
the issue. And this is the issue of salvation. He said, he asked them, he said,
What think ye of Christ? Whose son is it? And they said, well, he's the
son of David. And then our Lord said, well
then, if David, he's the son of David, then why did David
call him Lord? And he quoted the psalm that
says, The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, till
I make thine enemies thy footstool. If he's the son of David, why
does David call him his Lord? Why did God call him God? In Hebrews 1, verse 8, I believe
it is, under the sun he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever. Why do the scriptures call him
Lord? When the Lord said, I am the Lord. In the Old Testament,
the Lord said this, God said this, Many times, I, the Lord, there
is none else. Well, then why do the scriptures
say, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue
confess that he is Lord? Well, look at what he said in
chapter 8, verse 24. Listen to the words of his mouth. John 8, verse 24, he said, I
said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins. For
if ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins. Now they said, verse 25, they
said, who? We believe not that you are who? Who are you? And look at what
he said. Even the same that I said unto
you from the beginning. What beginning? In Exodus 3,
when Moses went up on the mountain. They kept appealing to Moses,
didn't they? Moses said this, Moses said that, our father Abraham. But when Moses went up on the
mountain, Moses asked the same question. Well, who shall I say
has sent me? God said, you tell them, I am,
has sent you. Tell them, I am, that I am, has
sent you. Who are you? Same I said before. And if you believe not, he said,
you'll die in your sin. Now, this is more than a point
of theology to argue. This is calling into question
the very truth or person of Jesus Christ. If we don't believe what he just
said, we're calling God a liar. He said, I am. Now either Jesus
Christ is God or the greatest imposter to ever live. You know that? I told that to a woman not long
ago and it shocked her. What do you mean? Either Jesus Christ is God or
he's the greatest blasphemer to ever live. That's the reason
the Jews killed him. You know that? That's the reason
the Jews killed him. They said, you blaspheme. They
said, you're just a man and you're calling yourself. They knew what
he was saying, didn't they? You're saying you're God. And
then later on in this same chapter, he said, they said, are you greater
than our father Abraham? Well, you're not even 50 years
old. Have you seen Abraham? He said, Abraham saw me. Abraham rejoiced to see my day.
He saw it and was glad. Well, you're not 50, he said
before Abraham was. I am. And they took up stone. They knew what he was saying.
He's saying, I'm God. Well, Look at verse 47 of John 8. John
chapter 8, verse 47. He that is of God heareth God's
words. I've had some argue with me,
he never said he was God. Oh, yes he did. He just don't
recognize his voice. He just don't know his name. You heard it, didn't you, Henry?
You just heard him say that, didn't you? That he was God,
didn't you? What did he say? I am. You'd be amazed at how many times
through the book of John. The book of John is written to
declare the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The other Gospels
are written to declare certain But the book of John is reserved
for his deity, and it declares in no uncertain term, from the
beginning, from John 1.1, in the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Can you get any plainer? John
starts it out by saying that. And John finishes his first epistle
by saying, This is the true God. and eternal life. Jesus Christ,
he's God. More than a point of theology,
this is the very person and claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
those who are of God, heareth God's words. I recognize the
voice. I heard the same voice that Moses
heard. I heard the same voice that Adam
heard. When Adam heard, Where art thou? I've heard the same voice. The
same voice that said in Isaiah 55, Look unto me, and be ye saved. I've heard it say, Come unto
me, all ye that thirst. Same voice. Same voice. The same voice that said, Let
there be light. gave a blind man his sight. Look unto me, come unto me. Did you notice that in Isaiah
25? That's my favorite verse. Isaiah 25, 9. I may mean it now. Verse 9, he says, It shall be
said in that day. What day? The day of salvation,
the day that Emmanuel come. The day, what day? This is the
day the Lord hath made, the day of salvation. Today is the day
of salvation. Since Christ came to this planet,
and he's right now still the Savior of sinners,
and this is the day of salvation. It's coming a day when this day
is going to end, and it won't be the day of salvation. It's
going to be the day of judgment, and that day. the great and coming
day of the Lord, but today is the day of salvation. In Isaiah
25, verse 9, it says, It shall be said in that day, Lo, this
is our God. Not the Son of God. This is God. We've waited on him. He'll save
us. This is the Lord. We've waited on him. Because
God said it. He said, I'll come. The Lord
will be my shepherd. He'll come and gather his sheep
in his arm and carry them in his bosom and take them home.
Salvations of the Lord. Only the Lord can say. You see,
only God can say. Only God can forgive sin. Right? You remember when the Pharisees
said that? You remember the impotent man
was healed and And the Lord, the first thing he said to him,
before he healed him, before he healed him physically, he said to the man lying there,
he said, son, son, well he may have been younger
than the man lying there. No, he's his father. Son, thy
sins be forgiven. And the Pharisees were just absolutely,
they said, who can forgive sins but God? And he didn't correct them. That's
right. Only God can forgive sins, only
God can give life. He says, as the Father hath life
in himself, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. Every funeral he went to, the
person arose. Why? Because in him we live and
move and have our being. And if you're in the presence
of God, you can't die. Huh? You can't die in God. He raised the dead, he claimed
all power, he said, all authority is given unto me. Now listen,
listen to this, what he's saying. All authority is given unto me
in heaven. Now wait a minute, who has all
authority in heaven? Ask anybody. Who has all authority
in heaven? Well let's say, well God does.
Well Christ said I have all authority in heaven and in the earth." That sounds like God to me. Only God is to be worshipped.
Isn't that the first thing he said, John? Thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God, and him shalt thou worship. Thou shalt have
no other gods before thee." Well, Thomas bowed down at the feet
of this man named Jesus and worshipped and said, My Lord and my God. And Christ didn't correct him. That's right. This whole book from cover to
cover testifies that Immanuel was with us. You know what the
name Immanuel means? God with us. God with us. Christ is God. Listen to me. Listen to him. Scripture says all things were
made by him. It says he was in the world and
the world was made by him and knew him not. Jesus Christ made the Blue Ridge
Mountains. Yes, Jesus Christ made the United
States of America, the Pacific Ocean, the planet Earth, the
universe. Jesus Christ put the stars in heaven. He must be God. Scripture says, "...at the name
of Jesus every knee shall bow, all the prophets talked about
the Lord. All the apostles talked about
the Lord. All the martyrs were martyred in the name of the Lord.
It says all kings and rulers and all people, it says angels,
cherubs, seraphims, all the heavenly hosts shall bow their knee before
this one and call him Lord. He must be God. Scripture says Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Russellites say
he was created, and I get that from Hebrews, where it says,
Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, Psalm, quoted
in Hebrew. Thou hast made him, so they say,
well, he was created. Oh no, oh no, he's a priest forever
after the order of milk, isn't he? having no beginning of days,
no father or mother. The same. How can you be the
same yesterday, today, and forever, if you had a beginning? Revelation 1, he said, I am he. I am the alpha, the omega, the
beginning, the end, the first, the last. I am Humanity changes. The world changes. Everything changes. God never
changes. Right? Only God never changes.
Malachi 3.6, I am the Lord, I change not. Same God, Jesus Christ. Same one. Christ upholds all things by
the word of his power. All things are in his Did you
read that in Isaiah? It says, "...the hand of the
Lord shall rest in the earth." Oh, God has hands beside our
hands. Our hands aren't his hands. He
made our hands. God's hands are Jesus Christ's
hands. The hand of God is Jesus Christ. "...in him dwelleth all the fulness
of the Godhead in a body." That's what throws me in for a loop,
isn't it? Because God took a body, they say, well, God's spirit,
he can't be a man. Well, God veiled himself. Didn't
it say that in Isaiah 25? Fancy? That God shall remove
the veil. And he will see and will say,
that's our God. We thought he was a... We see
now. See clearly. He's God. I love what he said, I am. I love the name that God chose
for himself. I am. He said that all the way
through Isaiah. He said, to whom will you liken
me? Describe me. He said, to whom will you liken
me? Describe me. Well, men today have a God of
their imagination, you know. They have a God that they can
figure out. So they've likened him to many
things. They say God's like a bottle
of Coke. I hesitate to repeat these things,
it's so blasphemous. But this is what men are saying.
God's like a bottle of Coke. The incomprehensible God, incomparable
God, is like a bottle of Coke. They make a clever play on words. He's the real thing. God's like
hallmark cards. God's love is like a mother's.
He said, to whom will you liken me? He said a workman gets him a
little model, and he makes him a little god and says, this is
God. He has hands, but the way we
move them, he's our puppet. Our God's our puppet. He's in
our hands. What will you do with Jesus? That's their God. That's
their Jesus. That ain't our God. That's not
the God. I rock. Their God's just like
them, helpless. Our God's not like us. Huh? He's not helpless. We are. And
we're in his hands. We're his puppets. Anybody mind
that? People say that makes you a puppet. Fine. I'm not going
to argue that point anymore. Yes. Yes. Just say that next
time. That makes man a puppet. Yes.
If God cuts the strings, you'll fall off. Quit arguing with the pot sherds
anymore. Yes. God's controlling all things. Everything that rises or wriggles.
is under his divine direction, and nothing moves unless he directs
it. Yes, yes. They're not going to believe
you anyway, no matter what you say about it. Well, God said,
when they said, Who are you, Moses? Who are you? God said,
I am. What? I am. You see, that means, well, I
don't, it's hard to say what that means. You can't really say. In him
dwelleth all, he is. He that cometh to God must believe
he is. I am. We have to qualify. Whenever we use that, those two
words together, we have to qualify them. We have to give an adjective
or we have to give something to describe us, don't we? I am
a man. I am a woman. I am so old. I am from Rocky Mountain, you
know, and so forth. Go next door to your neighbor
sometime and try that. Go down next door and say, Bill,
yeah, I am. And he'll look at you like you're
crazy, and you wouldn't be for saying that. You are what? I
am. that I am." See, there's nothing
further to say, for God is, I am that I am. Ever-existent. All fullness dwells in him. Everything is in him. What are
you? You don't compare me to things,
but things to me. All things are in me. I am. And he said, I heard his
voice. Did you sheep hear his voice? They that are of God heareth
his voice. And he said, if you believe not that I am, you'll
die in your sin. Why? Why must we believe that
Christ is God? Why? Why must we believe that
Jesus Christ is God? Can you answer that? I've already
answered it for you. Can you answer, why must we believe
Jesus Christ is God? Just a point of theology? Point
of doctrine to argue? Is that it? Are we splitting
hairs here? Are we just being divisive here? Huh? Why? Why? Why must you believe that I'm
Paul Mahan? I mean, it's really, but... Why
must you believe that I'm Paul Mahan? Because I am. If you don't believe that that's
who I am, you've got the wrong one. You don't know me. Huh? This is eternal life that they
might know thee, the only true God. Who is it? Christ said,
I am. Who are you? I am. You've got the wrong one, Barbara.
You see what I mean? You've got the wrong one. Why must he believe
that Jesus Christ is God? Because he is. He that cometh
to God must believe that Jesus Christ is God. He is. And secondly, he said he was
God, and you're making him a liar. We make him a liar. Oh, it's
not a doctrine to argue at all. And because his works say so.
His works say so. That's what Christ said. Christ
in mercy and compassion and kindness, and he didn't have to talk to men,
did he? He didn't have to explain himself
to men, did he? Quite often he didn't. He didn't
have to explain himself to men. A fellow like me walking through
the yard some day, walking through the yard and an aunt says, I
don't believe you are who you say you are. It's the same thing, and I don't
believe you. What? I don't believe you. I don't believe you. Prove it. What? Well, I could prove it. I could prove it, but you'd never
know. He didn't do that, though, did
he? Oh, well, you know, Peter, one
time when they came to get him in the garden, Peter, Christ
said, put up your sword, don't you know? Why? Because the angels
right now are fluttering all around me. They minister day
and night to their God. They always have, always will.
They're right here. I could just call them twelve legions. I came to die. I came to purchase
the church with my own blood, the blood of God. He didn't have to talk to men. He didn't have to prove himself,
but quite often he did. Quite often he explained himself
some, didn't he? He said, if you don't believe
me for my word's sake. He said, if you don't believe
what I'm saying, believe me for the work's sake. Didn't he? Believe
me for the work's sake. The works that I do, bear witness
of me. Don't they? And we've already seen those.
That some of the things he did. Raising the dead, blind. I'm
not talking about nearsighted people. Blind. Born blind. People
knew it. Their parents knew it, and their
parents couldn't believe it. And that's what he said in Isaiah.
He said, I'm going to show you something, and you're not going
to believe it, the old man tells you. to give sight to the blind. Only God, as I said, only God
can justify, only God can forgive sins. You remember the woman
caught in the dolphin there in John 8? Christ said, I don't
condemn you. That means He justified her,
doesn't it, John? Huh? I justify. Only God can. God
let God be true. God is the just and justifier
one. Isn't it? Yeah. He is. Jesus Christ. He justifies. Only God can forgive sin. Only
God is declared to be holy. Only God can establish righteousness. There's none other name given
among men, under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be
saved. And I asked there, why must we
believe that Jesus Christ is God? Because ultimately, someday,
all flesh is going to stand before the throne of God Almighty. And
who are we going to see? Job said in Job 19, he said,
in my flesh, I'm going to see God. Now, God allowed Job, God
directed Job to write that in Job 19, didn't He? Now, wait
a minute. It says later on, no man has
seen nor can see God. Job said, I'm going to see Him
with my two eyes. Not another. My eyes. God. Who are we going to see? Jesus Christ. God. Jesus Christ. He said, if you
believe not that I am, you'll die in your sin. And I tell every
one of us, because he is who he is, and because everything
he does is right and just and good, it behooves us to believe him
and come to him. He that cometh to God must believe
that he is. Come to God And if you're His,
He's your God, then nothing moves and nothing harms us while we
trust in Him. He's directing all things. You
remember, remember when Mary and Martha's brother was dying? And they said, go get the Lord. And they went to get him, and
they told him, Lazarus is sick. You reckon they had to inform
him? Who made Lazarus sick? Jesus
Christ made Lazarus sick. And it says that he tarried two
days where he was at. Hurry, Lord! No worry. Hurry!" And when he got there,
he finally waited two days. Why did he wait? For Lazarus
to die. And when he went back and finally
took his time and went to where they came running to him and
said, Lord, if you'd been here, our brother hadn't died. I am. I am. I made him sick. I killed him. And I am the resurrection and
the life. And he that believeth in me shall never die. Do you
believe this? Do you believe this? If we die, we live with
the Lord. If we die, with the Lord. Whether we live or die, with
the Lord. And he's the one controlling
it. He's the Lord, both of the dead and the living. Jesus Christ. We're in good hands. All right,
Brother Joe, you got a hymn picked out?