John chapter 4. John chapter 4. As I said last Sunday, Everything our Lord said and
did has profound significance and eternal consequences. Our Lord never spoke an idle
word. Never a word came out of his
mouth that did not have profound significance, eternal consequences. Every step he took was toward
fulfilling an eternal purpose. Every gesture he made with his
hands. Every word. Scripture says this is the word
of life. Everything we read Every word, every verse is vitally
important and should be solemnly considered. Last Sunday's bulletin, the article
said, If the gospel of Christ is true, then I must deal with
it accordingly. If this message is true and I
am not in earnest about these things, then I am most foolish.
most truly. But everything connected with
God, life, death, and eternity is unspeakably momentous. That's a big word meaning every
moment counts, every word. And every word our Lord said,
if we had the capacity to receive it the faculty to understand
it, we would see glory. Every word. Look at verse 31. Let's begin there. In the meanwhile, his disciples
prayed him, saying, Master Eden, in the meanwhile, or that is,
immediately after Christ's dealing with that woman at the well,
who said, look at verse 29, This woman at the well, after
Christ, well, verse 28, after she met
Christ, it says she left her waterpot. She didn't have much
in this world, but she left it. She found something better. She
dropped that ear of corn. She found something better. She
found her all in all. She left her waterpot. and guilt
and awe went running into town. She wouldn't be seeing public
before she went running into town. Come see a man. Look at verse 29. Come see a
man which told me all things that ever I did. And that's why
people come here. That's why people come to hear
the gospel. They come to see him. Not to
pledge her. Not to be religious. Not because
it's Sunday, because they're supposed to. They come to see
him. They come to worship. They come
to hear from God's Word. Look at verse 29 again. He told
me all things that ever I did, and is not this the Christ? And
I ask you, is not this the Word of God? Ever this Word has told
you all things you ever did, or thought, or ever will do,
or ever think? Admit it. The scripture says
the Word of God is the discerner of the thoughts and the intents
of It's amazing. Is not this the
Word of God? And does it not speak of the
man whom you have seen throughout this book? Does it not tell of
all the things that he ever did? And doesn't it amaze you? Does
it not amaze you? Christ is the Word made flesh,
and this is the Word of God, and it's unspeakably momentous. I want you to notice with me
now. Every word is vital. Look at verse 31. Now, in the
meanwhile, his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. Eat,
Master. That's what they were concerned
with, eating. Several other times that they
were concerned about that. Eat, let's eat. Let's see, let's
see. Our Lord went extended periods
of time without eating. His moderation was known to all
men, wasn't it? That's what the scripture says
to us. Let your moderation be known.
His was known, wasn't it? He was temperate in all things. He went extended periods of time
without eating. So unlike us, in every way. And you know, a verse like this,
these things, never before more applicable. The scripture says
concerning the people of the world, their God is their belly. Their God, or that what they
serve. Your God is who you serve, and God is who you think about
all the time and worship and seek to please. Their God is
their belly. It's the constant and anxious
thoughts of our generation. Listen to them and see if this
is not so. Constant, anxious thoughts of what shall we eat,
what shall we drink, what shall we wear. Isn't that what our
Lord said? Food, this generation is wholly
taken up with food, entertainment, sex. If I don't have your attention,
I do now. One little word. Why do you think
they use it so much? Because this generation is wholly
taken up with it. God is their belay, their inward
desires. And I believe and I'm sure that
this is another indication of the soon return of the Lord Jesus
Christ, very soon. We've been dwelling on this a lot for
the past few years, as we ought to. Those that are watching and
waiting do think often of his return. Right? Like a wife whose husband is
away. She'll think of his return, that's
what she looks and longs for more than anything else. Listen to what our Lord said
in Matthew 24 concerning his return. He said, As in the days
of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man, who were,
what's the first two things he said they were doing, taking
up with? Eating and drinking. First Corinthians 10. Paul talked
about the children of Israel who perished in the wilderness,
didn't go in the promised land, but perished. You know what he
said about them? He said the people sat down to eat and drink,
and the next thing rose up to play, entertainment. Our Lord said in Luke 12, he
said, at a time when you think not. so shall the Son of Man
come." When is that? Ain't nobody thinking about God
when they're surfeiting and rioting and partying and carrying on,
and this and that and the other. Scripture says God's not in all
their thoughts. Where are all their thoughts?
Eating, drinking, playing. At a time when you think not.
See, when men are empty, Time of war, need, sorrow, death all
around. They cry on God, don't they?
They cry unto God. Talked about revivals back in
the Civil War and so forth. I don't know if that's true,
but I do know it's true of man when he gets in trouble every
time when he calls on God. Watch a man get sick, a woman
get sick. Didn't they start calling on God? Never given a thought
before. Why? Rich, increased with goods, hadn't
eaten nothing. And God said to the church at
Laodicea, He said, You know not, because you say you're rich and
increased with goods and have need of nothing, and knowest
not that you're poor and miserable and naked and blind. The people sitting here are absolutely
starving to death, but they've got all that a person can have
in this life and more. But yet not hungry for righteousness. I believe I'm just certain of
it. This is another sign. Another sign. Master, eat. He said, look at verse 32, I
have meat to eat. Master, eat. I am. I have meat, he said, to eat
that you know not thereof. I'm eating. That's how ignorant
they were. Did you give him anything? I
didn't give him anything. Did you give him anything? Meat. What is meat? I started to entitle
this real meat for real people. That's what they say about beef.
I don't do it. I don't do it. Well, what is meat? Meat is what you feed on, isn't
it? That's your food. That's what
sustains you. Meat is what sustains you. Meat
is what, I don't know about you men, but women for that matter,
I like a good steak. I like a good steak. And it really
does, it's what they used to call rib-sticking grub. belly
bulging, ribs sticking, I like meat, it rejoices you too. Boy, you eat a big meal and you're
satisfied. And it sustains your life, it
gives you life. Meat. Our Lord said, this is
what I feed on, this is what sustains me, this is what rejoices
my heart, this is what satisfies me, this is life more abundant. Not belly more abundant. Life
more abundant. Our bellies are way too abundant.
Our hearts need to be abundant. Our hearts are too empty. Our
bellies are too full. Our bellies need to be empty
or our hearts need to be full. Our Lord said, And I want to know, what is this
meat Lord give me? Like the woman said, what is
this water? Give me this water that I thirst
not, and Lord give me this meat that I hunger not. But look at what he says his
meat is. Oh, this is meat indeed. Look at verse 34, Jesus saith
unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and
to finish his work. Ah, my meat is to do the will of God and
finish his work. What is God's will? Christ said,
My meat is to do the will of God. Turn back over to John 6. A lot of men, a lot of preachers,
a lot of people talk about the will of God, the will of God
this, the will of God that. What is it? What is the will
of God? Well, he says it over here in John 6. Look at verse
39 and verse 40. Got it? John 6, verse 39 and
40, and he said, Our Lord said, This is the Father's will which
hath sent me, the will, he said, that is my
meat to do. This is the Father's will which
hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me. All people,
persons, all that ye have given me I should lose nothing, but
should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will
of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and
believeth on him, may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up
at the last day." What is God's will? God's will is that every
person that God chose, or that he has elected, that everyone
he elected and gave to Christ to save, that every one of them
will be saved and be with him someday. Like we will and want our children
to gather around us someday. That's God's will. That's God's
will. That's God's purpose. It's called
a covenant, if you will. It's God's will, God's testament. The word will is testament. You
made out a will concerning your children, what you'll leave them,
what you'll do for them at your death, so did God. This is God's
will, God's testament. And it's a covenant, agreement.
And yes, it was made before the world began, wasn't it, Henry?
Wasn't it, Henry? Then we weren't there, were we,
Henry? There were two people there, weren't there, Henry?
Three people. Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. They were the
ones who made disagreement, weren't they? We weren't there. And God's will, listen to it,
here it is, God's will, here it is again. Have you heard it
too much? God's will concerning you, if
you're one of his own. God chose an innumerable people.
We can't number them. We can't number them. Scripture
says there are the stars of the sky and the sand of the seashore.
That's a lot of people in it. Can you number the sand? I guess. God can't. And God has. He's numbered them. Like the
hairs of your head. People are numbered. Though there's
the sands of the sea and the stars, they're numbered. God
chose those particular people and numbered them. He said he
knows their names are engraved upon his hand. And he set his
love on those people. He purposed to show these people
mercy. He purposed to show them mercy
that we talked about this morning. And love, and grace, and in this
covenant, in this will, in this purpose to save them, he gave
them to his Son. He chose a people, knows their
names, He set his love on him, determined to save him, and gave
him to his son before the world began. This is in Ephesians 1
and other places. Before the world began, he gave
him to his son and said to his son, Now you go down to earth, and you live a holy life for
them, because that's what I demand. And they haven't done it. And
if they're going to be with me someday, I'm holy, they're going
to be with me someday, they're going to have to be holy. You
go down there and you live a holy life for them, in their place. You be their substitute. And
if you live this perfectly holy life in fact, in word and in
deed, I'll accept them in you. I'll accept them on behalf of
you. I will impute or charge to them
what you have done. You go down and you work out
this life like a robe of a covering, and cover their sinful selves
with this holiness. But, son, I'm going to have to lay on you
their I'm going to have to take their iniquity, their sin, their
judgment, their condemnation, because I'm holy. I'm just. I
can't clear sin. I can't just up and forgive it.
I've got to punish it. I'm holy. I'm going to lay on
you the iniquity of them all. I'm going to make you to be sin,
and I'm going to kill you in that life. And you're going to have to go
through thirty-three and a third years thinking about this horrible
death of being made sin. You're going to sweat blood thinking
about it. You're going to be spit on. You're
going to be mocked. You're going to be cursed. You're
going to be off sky. You're going to be, I'm going
to turn my back on you. I'm going to leave you alone
because that's what man deserves. I'm going to leave you alone.
But I'm going to take them if you will do this. Will you do
this? This is the covenant between
the Father and the Son. And the Lord God said to his
son, if you will do this and come on back, I'll save him. I'll raise you from the grave.
I won't keep you dead. I'll raise you from the grave,
and you'll come back and sit at my right hand, and you'll
ever live to make intercession for them. You'll pray for these
people. And everybody you died for and everybody you prayed
for, I'll send the Holy Spirit down here. The Holy Spirit, will
you go? Go down there and take this message
and open eyes and ears and create life and create repentance and
faith and bring them, lasso them, rope them, bring them, draw them
in, bring every one of them in, bring them. Will you do that?
This is a covenant, agreement between the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. And this is what Christ said, my need
is to do the will of him that sent me. I've come. This is why
I've come, he said. One time he was going to Jerusalem,
right before he was going to Jerusalem, he said, he set his
face, and the disciples said, don't go there, they're going
to kill you. He said, that's why I've come. What shall I say? me from this hour?" He said,
for this hour I came. This is the agreement, this is
the covenant, this is the will that we made together before
the world began. And if I don't go to the cross,
if I save myself, others I can't save. But if I don't save myself,
I will save all the Father gave me. He said, my meat, it's my constant
It's constantly what I chew on and what I think about and what
I'm doing all my life. That's the reason he was called
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief from his youth up.
He was thinking about Calvary. Calvary. Look at this, look at the next
thing. What is God's work? What is God's work? It says,
this is my meat, there in John 4, verse John 4, verse 34, "...my need
is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." To finish his work. What is God's
work that Christ came to finish? It's the same thing. The scripture
says, "...as God was working in us, both the will and the
do of his good that he that hath begun a good work in you will
perform it, will finish it. The work of God is, the scripture
says, it pleased the Lord to make you his people. So how's
he going to make you his people? How's God going to make you a
son? You're not a son by nature of God. You must be born from
above. You must be born of water and
blood, and that from Christ's side. And it pleased the Father
to make you his people. That's the work of God. And who's
doing it for him? It's not like preachers say,
God has no hands but your hands. Not by works of righteousness,
which I have done. Not my hands. But it is in somebody
else's hands. God does have hands. They're
his sons, Christ's, who came to do the work for God, God's
Spirit. Christ became flesh to work out
our salvation. And he came, and he said, my
meat is to do the work of God, to finish it. Did he do it? Did he get the job done? You
give, say I give you a job to do, and you do part of it, and leave
the rest of it for me. Did you do the work I sent you
to do? Say I send my daughter out to
whatever, muck out a stall or sweep the garage or whatever,
and I say, and she comes back and I say, honey, did you muck
out that stall real good? She said, oh, pretty good. I did all I can do. And I let
the rest up to you or whoever wants to come along. and do it. Molly, I'll leave it up to her
to clean it out. Will she clean it out? She'll
fill her up is what she'll do. So has God done all he can do?
Has Christ done all he can do? Now the rest is up to him. Honey,
did you sweep that garage? Yes, Daddy, I swept it clean. I finished the work you gave
me to do. The scripture says concerning
Christ, he shall not fail, nor be discouraged. The scripture
says he will finish the work in righteousness. Finish. Christ did the work God sent
him to do. Moses and Elijah came down one
day, when Christ's only man was coming to see. Come see a man! Moses and Elijah did. on that
mountain. Moses and Elijah came down. Incidentally,
those two fellows went a great deal of time without eating,
didn't they? Their meat and their drink was this. They came down on that
mountain of transfiguration. Remember what they talked about?
Remember what they were all taken up with? Nice day today, isn't
it? No, not the weather. Remember what they said? They spoke, listen to this. I
love this passage. Moses and Elijah met with Christ
on the Mount of Transfiguration, and it says they spoke of the
death he should accomplish. The death he should accomplish? Is death an accomplishment? Huh? Do we say that when somebody
dies? made his final great accomplishment. That's something that happens
to us. The death that Christ accomplished, not only laying
down his life, but it's the death of deaths, spiritual death. The death of spiritual death,
the putting away of every sin, which is death. We're dead and
trespassing sin. He put it away. That's the death.
The salvation of all God's people, which he accomplished, which
he finished. The fulfillment of God's purpose.
He said, it behooves us to fulfill all righteousness. That's why
I came. The accomplishment of it. And
later on the cross, Christ said it again. When he was hanging
there on the cross after thirty-three and a third years, he said, it's
finished. That which was my meat and my
drink to do all the days of my life on this earth, now he's
hanging on that cross. He said, if I be lifted up, I'll
draw all men, all God's people, to me. I'll draw them. Like the
serpent on a pole. And he said, it's finished. My meat is to do, to finish the
work. Or is there something left for
us to do? He finished it. He finished it. His meat was to do God's will.
His drink was to do God's work. And after fulfilling that, he
said, it's finished. Now look at these verses here.
I'm going verse by verse. You say, what has this got to
do with what he just said? Verse 35, quickly. I've only been 22 minutes. Look at verse 35, "...say not
ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest. Behold,
I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the field,
there white with harvest. He that reapeth receiveth wages,
and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that soweth
and he that reapeth may rejoice together." Now, what's this got
to do with what he just said? I told you that Every word is
significant in it. Our Lord doesn't say idle things.
Our Lord doesn't ramble. He never rambled. He never said
one thing and then jumped over here and said another. It's all
pertinent and all had a significance. He doesn't preach
like I do, or men do, and ramble all over the place trying to
say something. He has one thing to say. And
everything is pertinent to that. What's this got to do with that,
Stan? Did you think that when you first read that? What's that
got to do with his meat and his drink? All right, listen to it
again. Verse 35. There are yet four
months, and then cometh harvest. What did I say when I began this
message about what I thought would be the imminent, or the
soon, another sign of the soon return of Christ? What was I
talking about? eating and drinking. Right? And our Lord began to
talk about meat, and here he's talking about the harvest. All
right? He said, now, don't you say there's
four months to harvest? Did you think about maybe 4,000
years, up to the point that Christ now was on the earth? Huh? Four months? 4,000 years?
And after four thousand years, and cometh he who shall harvest,
he who is the seed sower." He said in another place, he said,
if a corn of wheat doesn't fall into the ground, it will not
bring forth fruit. But if it does, and dies, it
will bring forth fruit unto eternal life. He said, I'm the corn,
I'm the seed. 4,000 years, the great husbandman
who determined the harvest, who determined the seed, seed, seed, singular, who determined
the seed, the great husbandman, God sent his Son to gather his
people. 4,000 years, it was written in
Isaiah 25, it said, Our God will come, you'll save us, He'll gather
us. He'll be the seed sown where
the harvest will come from. For a thousand years, Christ
came. The great landowner, the Father, who purposed and planned
the harvest, the Son is the seed sown in the ground that dies
and springs up unto eternal life. The Holy Spirit is the former
and the latter rain. You can't have a harvest without
rain, can you? There shall be showers of blessing. Oh, that
today they might fall, and that the seed, song, Christ, what
I just said a while ago, that put many to sleep, I pray it
will spring forth unto life in some. And he said, My speech shall
fall like darkening, like doom, and the rain. And if the Holy Spirit waters
it, though, the former rain, the latter rain. These are the
latter days, and there are blessings. It's raining, not outside, but
inside. And if God, the Holy Spirit,
causes it to rain, The harvest will grow when the harvest is
being gathered. And how many months do you gather
a harvest? I gave you away, didn't I? How
many months do you gather a harvest? You start gathering about in
August, don't you? The end of September, that's about it. We
cut the last year hay, didn't we? The first of October. That's about two months of harvest.
That's about it, isn't it? All summer long? corn grows,
plant a fall crop, and you pick it and cut it down to fall. A
couple of months. Two thousand years. Peter said, don't be ignorant
of this one day. There's scoffing and mocking,
saying, where's the promise of his coming? All things are continuing
like this. Yes, summer and winter, springtime
and harvest. Right, Nancy? That's what he
said. In Genesis 6, he said they would all, I don't care what
the old wise fable is that this season is going to be turned
around, that's not what God's word says. In Genesis 6, he said
springtime, summer, harvest, it will all continue until the
day Christ comes. But don't you be ignorant of
this one thing. At a time when you think not. As in the days
of Noah. so shall the Son of Man come."
And the scripture says the harvest is ended. There is a passage
that says, some people are crying out, the harvest is ended, and
we're not saved. When he comes to gather his elect
from the four corners of the earth, the scripture says, like
that great harvest, that sickle, the gospel is the net. And look at this. Did you notice
this? Look at verse 36. He that reapeth receiveth wages. What do we reap? Aren't we reaping? Don't we reap eternal life? Who sowed it? Who did the work? Who did the labor? Did we? Oh, no. It's written here, verse
37, one soweth and another reaps. Verse 38, I sent you to reap
whereon you bestowed no labor. We're going to reap what he has
done. What Christ has done. Other men
labored, he is that man. And you're entered into his labor.
You're entered into his labor. And you know something else?
Up in verse 36, it says, when that time comes, he that soweth
and he that reapeth is going to rejoice together. They're
going to rejoice together. What are they going to do? What
do you do when you reap the corn? What do you do when you dig your taters
in it? What do you and Roberta do when you reap your taters
and all the work the gardens dug and everything? What do you
do? You go to the house and she sticks them things in a pot or
in the oven or wherever you want to fix them, and you sit down
and you eat and you just rejoice over them taters, don't you? The Scriptures talk about a marriage
supper of the Lamb. marriage, etc., where Christ
will sit down himself and serve us, which you were talking about.
And we'll all rejoice in what? What he has done, the fruit that
he has borne, the fruit, the life that he has given us. And
you know something? And that verse, too, speaks of
the prophets. The prophets reaped. Ronnie says that the prophets
prophesied of things that they didn't completely know about. They ministered unto us the things
that we received, and they didn't fully enter in at that time,
but we did. And then you rest, don't you? You eat and you rest. Sabbath. There remaineth therefore
a keeping of the Sabbath, a rest to the people of God. Time to
sit and eat and eat. And you know something? I've
got that appetite now. I've got an appetite right now
for this food." You see, he begins this hunger
and this thirst for this food that he talked about, this meat,
now. Right now. He creates a hunger
and a thirst right now for this meat, and man lives Not by bread alone, but by every
word that is perceived. This is meat and drink to the
child of God. This is meat. Christ satisfies
my hunger and thirst. Does he, you? The preaching of
the gospel? I didn't have anything in breakfast
this morning, not purposely. I'm so full right now. I've got meat. You know, he later
on, in those latter days, right before he ascended up to glory,
in his latter days on this earth, you remember one of the last
questions he asked even his disciples? Remember when he rose from the
grave and he was standing on the shore and they were out in
the boat fishing, they'd quit, they was out there fooling around?
You remember what he asked them? I ask us the same thing. Oh,
yes, preacher, I've got the pot roast in the oven. That's not the meat I'm talking
about. What is it that feeds your soul? I can see very well
that your body is amply fed, but I see of many that they are
starving. Do you have any meat? You know what Christ said? They
said, Oh, we've toiled all night, we haven't caught anything. That's
what you're going to find if you toil all night, drifting
around. That's what you're going to find
looking for some meat. You ain't going to find it. Christ
said, Ha! All the things are ready. Come
and dine, Barbara, come and dine. Meat and taters, honey Bread,
the sweetest water you ever drank? Huh? Lamb, roast leg of lamb. Children, do you have any meat?
Do you have any meat? May God grant it that you say,
Oh, I have meat to eat that the world knows not of, and I feed. Christ said, My body is meat,
my blood is drink. And he said to you, Eat my flesh
and drink my blood. All right. Joe, what's that number
we picked out? Two hundred thirty-five. Two
hundred thirty-five. Let's sing a couple of verses. First and a third. Bless me, Lord, in the day of
fear, when I'll go cry. While I'm on earth in my work,
Lord, lead through my past me by. Savior, Savior, You're my humble pride. So I
will not bow at all. Please do not let me bow. Trusting only in my parents. Heal my lonely broken spirit. Save me by Thy grace. Savior,
Savior, hear my humble cry. All of us now are calling to
our past rebirth.