Gospel. Chapter five. We continue studying through
the gospel of John. John chapter five. You'll notice this is a continuation
of last Sunday morning's message on the testimony of Christ. John Chapter 5, let's read verses
31 through 38. John 5, verse 31 through 38. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There's another that beareth
witness of me. And I know that the witness which
he witnesses of me is true. You sent unto John, and he bear
witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from
man, but these things I say that you might
be saved. He, God, was a burning and shining
light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. that I have greater witness than
that of John. For the works which the Father
hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness
of me that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself which
hath sent me hath borne witness of me. But ye have neither heard
his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his
word abiding in you, for whom he hath sent him ye believe not." In verse 31 there, the Lord said,
If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. We've seen before that the Lord
came, he said, to reveal the Father, to declare God. That's what he said. The Holy
Spirit now, though, the Holy Spirit bears witness of Christ.
And God the Father bears witness of Christ. And no man comes unto
God but by Christ, but Christ said in in humility in subjection
to the father. As a true servant, like we talked
about this morning. He said, I'm not not come to
speak of myself. If I bear witness of myself,
he said now. Certainly, if any preacher. Any
preacher draws attention to himself. If that's what he's doing, if
that's the reason he's doing what he's doing, is to draw attention
to himself. They're constantly displaying
his own name. Our Lord said that in verse 43.
I am come in my father's name, and you receive me not. If another
shall come in his own name, Him you will receive and it's. It's
never been more true than in this day. So obvious concerning
these fellows who come in their own name. Their faces and the
names are displayed everywhere. And they like to boast and make
much of themselves. And that's obvious any preacher,
he's not true. If that fellows come his own
way, he's not true. Anyone know? Anyone for that
matter, who constantly or continually speaks of themselves, a man or
woman who calls himself a believer. You go up and ask someone, are
you saved? The scripture says out of the
abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. And if that person But all they
want to talk about is what they've done for the Lord and their decision
for Jesus. And I, I, I, I, I, they're not
true. Most of, if anyone speaks of
themselves and boasts of their own works or talent or attainments,
that person's a fake. The proverb says, listen to this,
the proverb says, let another Praise you and not you yourself. Now, that's exactly what our
Lord is doing here. That's exactly what he's doing
here. The Son of God didn't boast of
himself. He said that others bear witness
of me. His works, he said, bear witness
of me. Look at verse, there in chapter 5, Verse thirty six he
said the works which the father given me to finish. The same works that I do they
bear witness to me the works. They truly bear witness to who
Jesus Christ was and is like everything in the universe. He's
called the son he he calls himself the son. S.O.M. Look over at Psalm 19, Psalm
19, with me. Turn over there. Just as everything
in our universe, physical universe, in some way bears witness to
this son, the S-U-N. Everything in our universe, in
some way, bears witness to the S-U-N. All energy comes from it. All
life owes its existence to the S-U-N, doesn't it? All life. Nothing can live without it.
Everything testifies of the existence of and the power of the S-U-N.
Everything. The plants. All plants reach
up, don't they? They reach up. Heaven to the
S-U-N. All animal life waits on it to
come up in the morning, or at least to show its face. There's
fear and darkness without it. Terrestrial world revolving around
it. S-U-M. Well, look at Psalm 19, and this
is, David is alluding to this in Psalm 19. David tells us of two books here
in Psalm 19 that declare God and his glory and God's Son.
Verse 1, let's read down through here. The heavens declare the
glory of God. The firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day utter speech. Night
unto night showeth knowledge. That's the sun and the moon.
They utter speech. They're saying something. Knowledge
to be obtained listening to them. There's no speech, verse 3, there's
no speech nor language where their voice, or that is the voice
of day and night, is not heard. Their line, their light, their
influence is gone out through all the world, sun and moon. And their words, what they're
saying to the end of the world. And in them he hath, the heavens,
God hath set a tabernacle for the Son. He set forth this bright
and shining and glorious thing in which everything has its being. It owes everything to the S-U-N. Which, verse 5, is as a bridegroom
coming out of his chamber as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the earth,
heaven, a circle of ends, and nothing hid from the heat thereof. Now, is he just talking about
the S-U-N? Oh, no. For those who have eyes
to see and ears to hear, and to those Whom God has said, let
there be light. Whom God, as he created and he
said, let there be light, has shined in their hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of the sun. S-O-N. You see the sun up here,
don't you? You see how all this pertains
to the S-O-N. In whom we live and move and
have our being. To whom everything owes its existence,
his life. Everything. Everything. First, look over John chapter
one. John chapter one. Now, David
there in Psalm 19 talked about creation declaring. The glory
of God, and then he went on to talk about the written word of
God declaring the glory of God, well, creation. It testifies
of Christ, of God the Father, God the Son, and the Word testifies
of Christ, of God the Father and God the Son. And Christ is
that Son, that S-O-N, of righteousness who has arisen, who came to the
earth, who lived upon it, who died, who arose, who ascended
on high and is set in the heavens. You remember me telling you,
my daughter, we've all said this at one time. Well, the sun's
gone down. Is the sun out? Is the sun up
yet? The sun's always up. And the
SUN is always right where it has been from the beginning.
It's always shining, a bright and shining light. And though
we can't see it, that doesn't mean it ain't up. That doesn't
mean that, you know, sun's down. Oh, sun's up. God had highly
exalted this glowing orb in whom we, and though it's hidden from
our view, though the clouds and the earth may hide it from our
view, it's still shining. It's still raining. And such
is the sun, S-O-N, of God. Though, what's the song, Joe,
over there? Immortal, invisible. Well, how
does that go? Who dwells in light, inaccessible.
It talks about, I can't quote it exactly, but it talks about
how that we can't see Christ just simply
because we look through a glass darkly and dimly. And though
man can't see his glory and his majesty, he's reigning. He's
ruling though man don't acknowledge man doesn't acknowledge him no
man men don't see him. There in they live and move and
have their being because of him there in his hand they can't
see his hand. Though they're in. Over in the. Word I tell you
to turn John one John chapter one I didn't even turn. John
chapter one. declares him. Look at verses
1 through 5. In the beginning was the Word.
This is all speaking of Jesus Christ. And the Word was with
God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him. Who's he talking about? Jesus
Christ. And without him, without Christ,
was not anything made that was made. In him was life. Look at
it. Verse 4 and 5. In him was light, and the light
was the light of men. The light shineth in darkness,
and darkness can't comprehend it. I don't see any beauty in
him that we should desire him. It doesn't mean there isn't.
Now, where is it when they said that in 2 Peter 3? Where is the
promise of his coming, this Jesus, this Christ, this Lord you're
talking about? All things continue as they have. That doesn't mean
he's not coming. No, I don't. This gospel you're
getting all excited. I don't see anything about that. It doesn't mean it's not glorious. But I just don't believe God
is like you think He is. That doesn't mean He isn't. He
is. Someday we will see Him as He
is. Someday all flesh will know Him
as He is. Not like we think He is. I quoted
that in Psalm, from Psalm 50, didn't I? that I was altogether
such a one as I said, and here's what he said. He said, I will
reprove thee. I'm going to set things in order.
Eternity is going to be God Almighty setting things in order before
man's eyes. Salvation is for God to do that
to us now. Do you hear me? Salvation is
for God Almighty to set things right now to us. We're all wrong.
Our opinions of God, our opinions of ourselves are the opposite.
And salvation's for God to change us, turn us. If He doesn't turn
us, we won't be turned. Salvation's for God to set things
in order before our mind's eye now. But someday all flesh will
know, even as they've been known. See, Christ is the life. Everything
depends on the Son, S-U-N. Everything we see, it depends
on the S-O-N. Everything. Life on this planet
comes because Jesus Christ reigns. You know that? Blessed if we
do. Listen to me. We receive everything. You remember how Joseph, Pharaoh,
put everything into the hands of Joseph. Remember that? Joseph was given charge of all
the storehouses of Egypt. In the time of famine, remember
that? And everyone had to come to Joseph to receive from him. He's the one that doled out.
He's the one that bestowed everything. If anyone got anything, they
got it through Joseph. And if anybody, everything in
this planet comes through Jesus Christ. God has given all things
into his hand. That's what Psalm 2 declares.
Everything is in him. He said, I've given you the heathen.
The world, all judgment, all everything, all blessings come
through Christ. If there's any mercy on planet
Earth, it's because Christ is. If there's any grace here, it's
because Christ is. Any love, it's because Christ
is. And you know what hell is? It's
where God is not. It's where Christ is not. You follow me? Everything comes
and owes its existence to the S.U.N. In the same way, everything,
all life on this planet, depends upon Jesus Christ. Look at verse 15. John said in
verse 15 here in John 1, John bear witness of him and cried,
saying, This was he of whom I spake, he that cometh after me is preferred
before me. Now, speaking of this nothingness
of human humanity again, the Lord said of John the Baptist,
he said, There's never been a greater man ever to live on this planet.
That's what Jesus Christ said at John the Baptist. Well, what
did John the Baptist say about himself? He said, I'm nothing. I'm a voice. Who are you? Tell us your attainments.
I'm nothing. I'm a voice. Well, you're worth
something. I'm not worthy to untie his shoelaces. That's the attitude of the child
of God. They bear witness and a true
preacher bears witness of him. John look at verse 16 of his
fullness have all we receive grace for grace. We by the grace of God through
Christ we are what we are we have what we have everyone in
here. Young and old. Owes every single thing we are
and have. to the grace of God through and
because of Jesus Christ. Grace for grace. Everything's
grace. It's because of Christ. He's
doling it out. Joseph's in charge of the storehouses. Men ought to bear witness of
Him, shouldn't they? No one else. Look back at the
text again. John 5. Look back at the text.
Now, he said in verse 35, John 5, verse 35, he said about John,
John was a burning and a shining light. Why was John a burning
and a shining light? Huh? Why was John a burning and a
shining light? Because he reflected the glory
of the sun. What about the moon? Isn't this
a perfect picture of the moon? Does the moon shine? No. There's nothing in the moon. It's an old, dry planet. There's
no life in it of itself, is there? The moon reflects the sunlight.
We can go out at night time and see a full moon and say, boy,
the moon sure is bright tonight. It ain't bright. The sun is particularly
bright at that moment, and the moon is reflecting it. Why was
John a burning and a shining light? He declared Christ. And a preacher is only burning,
shining, of any worth and any value, and nobody will see anything
unless he points to Christ, reflects Christ. A burning and a shining light,
he said. A man will only burn as he Burns with zeal for the
glory of God. They said that about the Lord. They said no man speak like this
man. They said he doesn't speak like
Pharisees. I know what the Pharisees preach
like. I've heard some. They read a paper, you know. Turn to the fourth chapter, second
epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, which you heard in your hearing
previously. I've heard many of those fellows. They don't—a man
whose—the glory of God has eaten him up, and the person of Christ
he's enamored with, and his word is like a coal that God said
he put—took from the altar of God and put it on the lips of
Isaiah. Now, he don't preach like the
Pharisees. John was a burning, a shining
light. I've known many such men. Because
he was in it for God's glory, he declared Christ. And it said
there, look at verse 35. You were willing for a season
to rejoice in his light. Now, I rejoiced in the likes
of Rock Barnard and Henry Mahan and all that. I've heard, oh
my, I sat two feet off my seat. Time and again, as I've heard
the gospel declared, in no uncertain terms, with all authority, as
the oracles of God. And I've been transported, but
don't make much of those fellas. They're still nothing. And we don't rejoice in them,
per se. And all of our witness is not
about them. I know a bunch of Calvinists
are like that. I know a bunch of old Barnardites,
and all they like to talk about is Ralph Barnard. They brag on the dead, look just
like the Pharisees, brag on the dead and kill the living. There's
men preaching now that are much better preachers than Ralph Barnard
ever thought of being, and that's so. Ask Henry Mahan. I hesitate to call names, but the
likes of a Charles Pennington and a Tom Hardy I'm telling you,
Barnard never preached like that. That's what John Newton said.
John Newton said, he'd said, each succeeding generation should
have more life and glory than the next. We go from glory to
glory. Half has never been told, but
I tell you, more of it's been told than was previously. Men
make much of Spurgeon. There's a Charles Willard Nybert
up in Lexington. He said, you rejoice in their
light, and rejoice in John's light. And this is what the Pharisees
did, you know. They came to hear John. But the
one whom John was speaking of came. They rejected him. This is the reason John kept
saying, I'm nothing, I'm nothing. Don't follow me. I told you about
those two disciples, you know, that were following John. John
had two church members. Had two church members. And he
lost them both. And he said, revival has come.
Praise God. Two church members following
him, two disciples, they quit following him and started following
Christ. Hallelujah. We need more preachers
like that. Don't look to me. Preachers love
to counsel. A true preacher says, you go
to the counselor. People want preachers to pray
for them. That's fine and dandy, but oh my, if he prays for you,
go to him. Ask him to pray for you. My prayers
don't Go to him. Look over at Mark
chapter 4. Well, look at, wait a minute,
sorry. Look at verse 36, first of all, in the text. John 5,
verse 36. He said, I have greater witness
than of John. Works which the Father hath given me to finish,
the same works that I do, they bear witness of me that the Father
hath sent me. Works, they bear witness of me,
they are greater than John. I don't need your honor. Now look over at Mark
chapter 4. Now, the signs and miracles and
wonders that our Lord performed, they bore witness of who he is,
who he was. Are you with me? Hey, wake up. The signs and the wonders and
the miracles our Lord performed bore witness of who he is. This
is no mere ordinary man. Look at Mark chapter 4. I love
these passages. Oh, I'd like to have been there.
Mark chapter 4, look at verse 35. The same day when evening
was come, he saith to his disciples, let's pass over on to the other
side. the ocean there. Let's go over to the other side.
And when they'd sent away the multitude, they took him even
as he was in a ship. They all got in a boat. They're
also a little ship. And there arose a great storm
of wind and waves beating into the ship so that it was now full.
Waves were pounding that ship and filling that ship up. And
he was in the hind or the back part of the ship asleep on a
pillow. Boy, that's rest, isn't it? And they awoke him. Now, these
fellows had been through many a storm. These were old salts.
These were old swabbies. They'd seen a few squalls. And
they thought, this is it. This was a bad storm. I've been
out to sea before. 150 miles out to sea on a sailboat.
And when we headed out, we got out a little ways. That boat
keeled over at a 45 degree angle and waves were crashing over
that bow and the sky was black. And this old landlubber was scared
to death. I'm telling you, I was scared.
But the captain, who was hired to navigate and pilot that boy,
he wasn't scared, he's at the wheel. I was going, I was thinking
we're going down, we're going down, he wasn't afraid, afraid.
But these fellas had been in many a squall like that, but
they thought, this is it, this is it. Christ was sleeping. And they came to him, verse 38,
and I'm going to preach on verse 41 of these days. Two questions,
he said. But they came to him, verse 38,
and said, Master, carest thou not that we die and it's going
down? And he got up, straightened his pillow, and stretched. He's a man. Now,
he was asleep. Wiped the sleep out of his eyes. And he said. Now the boat. Water. And he walked. Stairs there and walked out. On the bow. It is like a farm pond. He said, the works that I do
bear witness of me. And they said this in verse 41,
what manner of man is this? It ain't no mere man, Peter.
This is God. works, and on and on. We could
read on and on. One time they were in a ship,
and they had gone through another storm like this, and he came
walking on the water. Now, people use that term flippantly
and carelessly, and laughingly and jokingly, but I'm—there's
only one that can walk on the water. But he came walking on the water. The works that he did bear witness
to him. Raising the dead. I love this. Deborah, you love
this too. Every funeral our Lord attended
didn't last. The funeral ended. You can't
die in the presence of life. Every time he got around a dead
person, they lived. Every funeral was abruptly ended. The person came out of the casket. The works that I do, he said,
bear witness to me who I am. But listen now, the greatest
work, the work of all Father, give me the finish, the
finish, the same that I do. Hey, bear witness to me. What
work? The greatest work of all is the work of salvation. The work of salvation, that's
the greatest work of all. Look over at John 17. Very quickly,
OK? I'm going to wrap this up real
soon. I let you know when John seventeen. John seventeen look at our Lord
talked about his work. He is speaking to the father
here. He's not taking counsel with any man. He's not asking
any man to help him out. He's declaring, he's talking
to the father about the work that God has given him to do
and he's finished it. I love this chapter. Oh, I love
John seventeen. And John 16. But look at this,
verse 4. He said, I have glorified thee
on the earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do. What was that? What was the work
God gave him to do? Well, God said it when he was
born, through the angels. He said, Call his name Jesus,
because that's why he's here. Call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people, the ones I've given him, the ones I gave him
in a covenant before the world began, the ones I elected, the
ones I chose, yea, predestinated, and gave to him in that covenant
to save them. He shall save his people from
their sin. That's why I sent him, and he's
going to get the job done. And Christ said here right before
he went to the cross, I've done it. I've lived the righteous
life. which they must have. He did it, and he imputed it
to them. That's their only hope. And he's about to go to the cross,
and after he's hanging on that cross a little while, he said
again, it is finished. I know what preachers are saying.
He's done all he can do. Now it's up to you. And anyone
who said, he said, Now, we read, John, over there
in 1 John 5, he that believeth that he's the Christ is born
of God. Now, they say in Jesus, and they
say in Christ, and they say he saved you, but they don't believe
that, do they? The world does not believe that. They say he
made a down payment, and the rest is up to you. I say, God
says, rather, he finished it. He paid the ransom. Painful! There's nothing left. I don't
have a dime with which to contribute to the cause. He has the price. And God says, deliver his people
from going down into the pit. I've got the price. I've got
the ransom. Right here, blood. And that's
the only reason they're going to get in. Not because me and
Jesus did anything, because Jesus Christ finished the work. Now, if a man's going to preach,
he better be preaching that. He better be preaching. He's
going to be burning, shining light. He better say, Jesus paid
it off. All the debt I owe. Unto him that washed us from
our sins in his own blood. When he had by himself purged
our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high,
expecting his enemies. Now, I can preach on that, on
him. You can listen to that, too,
can't you? That's what the people rejoice to hear, those lovers
of light rather than darkness. Boy, they want to hear about
the S.O.N. We're sun worshippers, but we ain't pagan. We're S.O.N. worshippers. That's all we do
around here is bow before the sun. And so he said, I have finished
the work you've given me to do. Look at verse six. He said, I've
manifested your name under the men you gave me out of the world.
God gave a people to Christ. It doesn't matter if the world
likes it or not. That's just the way it is. God's
people like it. The fact that God Almighty has
chosen the people and given them to Christ and everything about
them is ordered and sure. God's people just love the sound
of that. The word covenant, I say that
all the time. I can't get enough of that. Covenant.
Joy, you smile at that. Same thing. Covenant. I like
the sound of it. Electing grace. Sovereign, successful,
eternal electing grace. Has a good ring to it, doesn't
it? Oh, my. He says he revealed,
he revealed his name unto the men that God gave him. God's
people know God's God. There's one Lord. One Lord. They're all taught of Him today,
that He's God. Be God. And Christ came, revealed
who He was to those people. Verse 8, I've given unto them
the words which thou gavest me. It's something that the Lord
was sent to finish, give the words. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians
2 verse 13, he said, Oh, we're bound to give thanks unto God
for you, brethren, because when you receive the word, you didn't
receive this word of man, but as it is in truth, the word of
God. while this world is nitpicking and believing what they want
to believe and rejecting the rest, taking a penknife and cutting
it out like Ahab or whoever that fellow was, who's translating
it away with all their perversions—not versions, perversions. God's
people are beholding wondrous and glorious things out of us. It just gets more and more glory,
more and more real. It speaks more and more clearly,
too. Word. Verse 22 there in John
17 said, The glory I have given which thou gavest me, I have
given in glory. You ever, you had any glory?
You ever given any glory? Glory, baby. Oh my, glory, the
gospel is glorious to God's people, glorious. Whom he called, he
justified. Whom he justified, he glorified. I tell you, John, our Lord said
to Mary or Martha, I forget which, he said, didn't I tell you if
you believed, you'd see the glory of God? John, haven't you, since
the day that Christ gave you faith to believe Him, haven't
you seen glory? Just glory, glory to glory. You
say, I remember, and I still say it at times, I say, can't
get any better than this. Can't get any better than this. We've
been studying through John, and I think, boy, John 1, that's
just, why do we need to go further? This is great. Then we go to
John 2. Oh my, I tell you, he said in
John 5, in our text, he said, the works that the Father gave
me to finish, John 5, that I do, they bear witness of me. Something
more glorious than Christ raising Lazarus from the tomb is him
getting that old dead sinner, dead and trespassing sin. who
by nature didn't give a flip for God, who by nature spits
in God's face, who by nature doesn't want anything to do with
God. It's Christ saying in the day
of His power, you're going to love me. Oh, no, I'm not. Yes, you are. You're going to
bow your knee. Not me. Yes, you are. It's him
taking a will, an old hell-bent, depraved will of a son of Adam,
and turning it with it soever he will. To make a man like this
one, you're looking at a greater miracle than Lazarus. Yes, you are. To take somebody
that hated the gospel and absolutely turn him 180 degrees where he
loves it. To take somebody who loved sin
with a passion and turn him around where he loathes it and longs
for holiness, that bears witness. Oh, yeah. That bears witness. Oh, my. And he says he finished
the word. I'm confident that he hath begun
this work and finished it and perfected it. But let me quit
with this. Look at verse 37. Look down here. He said, The
Father himself hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. You
neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape, because you don't have his word
about him in you. You don't believe Him when He is sent. The Father
bore witness to Christ, and you don't have to turn. But over
in John 12, there's a story of Christ saying, saying it out
loud. He said, Father, glorify Thy
Son with the glory which I had with Thee from the beginning.
And it says that God said it out loud. He said, I have glorified
it, and I'll glorify it again. And it says everybody around
hurt and said it thundered. Well, you know, that may have
been. That is all they heard. Christ heard his voice, didn't
he? Bear plain. Here's the point I'm trying to
make. While ago, we talked about the S.U.N. bearing witness to
me. Didn't you marvel at that, Rebecca?
Didn't you marvel at that in Psalm 19, how clearly, that clearly
speak of Christ to you? Well, flesh and blood didn't
reveal that to you, Rebecca, Barsh, Barra, Fralin. No, it didn't. But our Father,
which is in heaven, revealed the greater Son to you. Well,
some say it thunders, the storm takes place. My little daughter one time,
not little anymore, but one time, about three years old, you know, out of the mouths of
babes and sucklings, the Scripture said, she stood at our window
one day, And there's thunder and lightning outside. And a
big clap of thunder shook that house and she was standing there.
She said, Dad, I see God. That sounds, that's, that's peculiar. I hear his voice. You think about
this next time. I have glorified it. I'll glorify
it again. That's what he said. The Father
bears witness of me. And though men can't hear it,
I don't hear anything. It just thundered. You know,
the clouds got together, and there's a little lightning, and
the ionosphere was under it. God said, My son's on the throne. You can dissect it all you will,
but it's the voice of God who says, Kip the son, lest he be
angry. Psalm 2. And you perish when
his wrath is kindled but a little bit. He's on the throne, and every
rattle of thunder and shoot of lightning, every time the sun
goes up, every time the rain comes down. It echoes. Christ is. He lives. We live in Him. We best know Him. We best worship
Him. This is life eternal. And I know
Him. The one whom sent, sent one. Every eye is going to see Him
someday. You're going to see Him. We're going to talk about
that tonight. The rest of this chapter, go home and read the
rest of it. I'm going to talk about how everything, a word
especially, bears witness of Christ. And how that someday
God Almighty is going to... And men won't hear preachers
today. Preachers are not in vogue. Someday they're going to be forced
to hear it. And know that it's so. Every
word of it is so. Well, no, even as they've been
known. Oh, my. You bless God if you
know now. Oh, my. Oh, my. All right, Joe,
did you pick out another hymn book? 125.