As afflictions and crosses walk
through, My Jesus is through. No more pressure, no less deceitful.
The riches of Christ, Oh, the unsearchable riches of
Christ! Who would not gladly endure trials,
afflictions, and crosses on earth, riches like these, to secure
her? A lady came up to me after preaching
one time on the unsearchable riches of Christ, and she was
an overly pious religious woman. And she reminded me or proceeded
to tell me that I forgot to tell everyone how much we've given
up for Jesus. And I said, you mean
kind of like trading dung for pearls? Yeah, we've traded, we've given
a lot. We've really, Paul said, I do count these things, but
nothing. haven't given up anything, anything. Traded rags for a rose, crosses
for a crown, dung for pearls. A pearl, one pearl. The lady
said, you had a set of pearls, you just need one. All right,
John 1, John chapter 1. Maybe we can sing that song more from the heart after this
message. John chapter 1, as I said, I
look forward to these studies in the Gospel of John. This is
a glorious, glorious book. And the theme of this book is
the deity, the majesty, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, from
start to finish. John writes in chapter 1, verse
14, he said, We beheld his glory. He said the word was God, was
with God, the word was God, and we beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. We beheld his glory. This is the glorious gospel of
the glorious Lord in John's gospel. All right, verse 15 is where
we pick up tonight. John bear witness of him. John bear witness of him. As you know, John is called the
last of the Old Testament prophets. John, our Lord said, is Elijah
who was to come, spoken of in Malachi, Elijah, who was to come
before that great and coming day of the Lord and prepare the
way of the Lord. He said, if you can receive it,
this is he. This is Elijah, who was to come. John is the last of the Old Testament
prophets. And the scripture says to him,
give all the prophets witness of Christ. So John is the last,
so what's his message going to be? Same as the first. of him than John witnessed."
Look at verse 8 in chapter 1. John was not that light, but
he was sent to bear witness of that light. John bore witness
of him, a witness of the light. And this is what every true God-sent
preacher, as well as prophet, every true God-sent preacher
and every true God-chosen and sent disciple. You're to say it, John, not to
Galilee, but to J.P. Stevens. And no difference, not
one whit difference. To bear witness of who? Not yourself,
not your church, not your denomination, not even John Calvin. Of him,
of Christ. We bear witness of him, a true
God-sent preacher, prophet, whoever it may be. Chosen of God, sent
by God. Whoever has seen the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of a person,
that's what he'll give witness to. You know, that's what a person
bears witness of. A lot of people call themselves
witnesses, don't they? They've got the Jehovah's Witnesses. You've got people who have witnessed
to you. I went down to Saul Mill the other day, and a fellow started
witnessing to me. And he wanted to tell me, you
know, what all he'd done for the Lord and what all he'd done
for his kid and made his kid accepted Christ as their personal
Savior and all that. You know, what a person witnesses
of is what they've seen. Right? Whatever you've seen is
what you'll bear witness of. That's what a witness means.
When a witness stands on the trial, on the stand, At a trial,
they ask him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth. The witness is one who bears witness to the
things he's seen and what he's heard. So whatever a man has
seen and heard, or a woman, that's what they're going to bear witness
of. What did the Apostle John say? He said, that which we've seen
and we've heard, we bear witness of. What? If anybody has ever really seen
his glory, the light, John bore witness of the light. Paul did,
didn't he? On the road to Damascus, he said
he saw the light shone on him. And from that day forward, what
did he bear witness of? That one who was light. Everywhere
he went, it was Christ, Christ, Christ, as all the apostles cried. If anybody's ever seen, really
seen, the light, the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of a person from that day forward, that's all they'll talk about
is a person. Not doctrine, not denomination,
not church, not themselves, not what they've done for this person,
what this person has done for them. And it's the first thing out
of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh, right? The
first thing a person says about their salvation, or what they
want to tell you about, is what's in their heart. And it says, John cried. He, John cried. He bore witness of
him, and cried, saying, This is it. This was it. This is the
reason preachers don't preach Christ. They haven't seen him. They haven't seen him. If he's the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God, if in him all fullness dwells, if in him
are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, if he's
all and in all everything else pales in comparison We're going
to spend the time tonight talking about abortion? Let's spend the
time talking about the new birth, how he has given birth to a people,
how he brought to the birth and didn't abort. That's what he
said in Isaiah, didn't he? Shall I not bring to the birth
and cause you to come forth? They ought to abort, they're
preaching, most of them. give all the prophets, all the
apostles, all the evangelists, pastors and teachers, true pastors
and teachers, prophets, evangelists, preachers, to him, they give
witness. He is their message. Christ is
their message. From that day forward, once they've
seen the light, he's their message from that day forward. He's it. Having seen his glory, everything
and everyone else pales in comparison." In John, the scripture says,
and John cried, that means he lifted up his voice. That's what
the Lord told Isaiah to do, lift up your voice, be not afraid,
lift it up, get up on the mountain, say unto Zion, O thou that bringest
good tidings unto Zion, lift up your voice. Cry with a loud
voice, Behold your God." Who? Jesus Christ. Your God. I love Isaiah 25, it says in
verse 9, Our God will come and he shall save us. He has, and
he has. And John cried, he lifted up
his voice, David, like David. And David looked, you know, Every
now and then I lift up my voice, but I tell you, you can't help
it. You just can't help it sometimes. Fellas that don't ever lift up
their voice, I worry about them. I worry about fellas that scream
all the time, too. My pastor from the old school,
years ago they believed that if you weren't hoarse after you
preached, you hadn't preached. I remember that distinctly. When
I was Hannah's age, about eleven or twelve, I remember Every one
of them, Barnard and Mews and Mahan and Griswold, all of them,
after they had preached, I couldn't even talk. Good message, Brother
Barnard. I screamed for 45 minutes. Well, that may not be right,
and my pastor disdains that type of preaching
now, but there comes a time when you just can't help You get excited
about something, you just about have to shout it. Our ladies at times have said,
I was real close to shouting. I said, well, why didn't you?
Just one time, just one before I die. We're not Pentecostal
here, and don't put ingredients in these things, you know, feelings
and emotion and all that, but I tell you, Every now and then, this thing
really gets a hold of you. David said, I held my peace,
but my heart burned within me. Do you remember that? In Psalm 39, David said, I would
refrain my lip. I'm going to hold my peace, from
speaking good or evil. He said, while I held my peace,
my heart burned within me. Young Elihu was listening to
Job and all his buddies talking. He said, I listened and I was
quiet for a while. He said, but my belly right now,
it's like wine that hath no vent. He said, it's ready to burst. And
John cried. John cried upon seeing Christ
come. John cried. Look at it in verse
15. And I'm not trying to mimic how he said this, but he cried,
this was he! When he saw Christ come, this
is he. That's him. All I've been trying
to say in there is to, that's him. You know, we ought to wind
up every message maybe like that. You know what I've been trying
to say for 45 minutes? Christ. It's him. It's him. John said, This was he of whom
I spake, he that cometh after me is preferred before me. He's
the preferred one. He's the preferred one. God prefers
him to all others, to all others. God prefers him. He's the one
man Peter cried at that great day of Pentecost. When all the
people were there, thousands of people, Peter stood before
them and said, "'Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God!' He cried it out. A man, a preferred
man, one God preferred, the well-beloved, the one God David said, is well
pleased for his righteousness sake. The one God is well pleased
in. John said, he is preferred before
me. Why? Because he was before me. He is before all things. Paul
said it in Colossians, he is before all things, and by him
all things consist. He is above He's the first and
he's the last. He's above, he's before, and
by him all things consist. Verse 16, and this is where we'll
dwell a little bit. And of his fulness have all we
received, grace upon grace, grace upon grace, grace upon grace,
grace upon grace, grace upon grace. Boy, I had a good time studying
it. I hope it comes out. It doesn't always come out like
it would need. Do you remember our message from
Ephesians 1, verse 3? It said, Oh, how God has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. Do you remember that? This is
a very similar verse. How God has blessed us, and above
his fullness have all we received. I can look Nearly every face
in here tonight, and I believe you can say this, have all we
received, nearly everyone. I think there are some who have
not fully experienced or have not experienced these blessings,
but we have received of his fullness, grace upon grace, grace on top
of grace, grace on top of grace. He says, of his fullness. Let's
look at this for just a minute. of his fulness have all we received."
Now, Colossians says, in him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead. In him, in Christ, dwelleth all
the fulness of the Godhead. In other words, like Joseph,
remember how the Pharaoh had storehouses of grain, of goods,
and where did he put them all? Who did he put them with, best
them with? Joseph. Pharaoh had storehouses. Everything belonged, all the
land and people and everything, the goods belonged to Pharaoh,
and Pharaoh gave them to Joseph and said, Now, Joseph, you give
them whosoever you will. Joseph and Joseph opened storehouses. all that came to him. And Christ
is our Joseph. All treasures are in his hand,
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, all spiritual blessings,
all material blessings come from Christ, come because of and through
Jesus Christ. All material blessings are in
his hand. Didn't he say that he's given
him authority over all flesh? He has all things. All flesh
is in his hand. and all the blessings of this
life are in Jesus Christ's hands. God has committed all things
into his hands. All things are of him and through
him and by him. In his hands. He has all things.
They are all in Christ and all Christ to give. The scripture
says, What do we have that we have not? That's right, Everything has been given to
us. By whom? Christ. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from above. From where above? Just rain and
bread from heaven? Yes. From him who sits at the
right hand of the majesty on high, him who is heaven, him
who is bread. Isaiah 45 says that the skies
pour rain righteousness. What do we have we have not received,
and who do we receive it from but Christ? From him who is above
all. Oh, the fullness of this verse. Of his fullness have all we received
grace on top of grace. What is Christ's full love that
we have received? Let's look at this. What is he
full of, says, of his fulness have we received? What is he
full of that we have received? Look at verse 14 again. It says,
We beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. So of his fulness, of grace,
we have received grace. God in Christ is full of grace
to us. Grace means gift. That's what
it means. Grace means gift. That's the
reason we named our daughter that. That's what it means. That's
what the word means, the old Hebrew name for grace or gift. She was a gift. The doctor said,
You can't have children. God said, Here. She was a gift. See, with man, salvation is impossible. Wages of sin is death. God says,
here. It's a gift, he said. Salvation
is Hannah. It's a gift. It's grace. It's
grace. Everything's by grace. Everything.
And God is full of grace to us. Everything is by grace through
Christ. All spiritual and material blessings
are by grace. Grace, this is the best, I believe,
the best definition of grace. Grace is getting what you don't
deserve. You see, works. Paul said this
in Romans. Now, it's either works or grace. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. Right? It's either works or grace. It can't be both. Some try to
mix them. It can't be. Oil and water won't
mix. Grace and works won't mix. Works
come from grace, but grace don't come from works. Right? It's either grace or it's works.
Salvation is... And what does the scripture say?
I don't care what the denomination says. What does God say? Salvation
is by grace. It's a gift. Everything is by
grace through Christ. Listen to this. Ephesians 4 verse
8 says, When he ascended upon high and led captivity captive,
he gave gifts unto all men. He gave gifts. He's full of grace. He delights to give. Scripture says more blessed to
give than to receive. Then who is the most blessed
man? Who is the blessed man? The Psalms. The son of David.
David speaks of the son of David. David, who typifies the true
David, son of God, perhaps more than any other man, David, begins
his Psalms by talking about a blessed man. Who is that? That's Christ. He's the blessed man, who sitteth
not in the sea of the scornful, and walketh not in the counsel
of them godly, and so forth. He's delighted in the law of
God, and planted like a tree. Christ is that blessed man. So
if it's more blessed to give than to receive, then Christ
is the most blessed, because he gave himself. He gave himself. He delights to give, and he giveth
You know that song, Jeanette? He giveth and giveth and giveth
again. Giveth and giveth and giveth
and giveth until you think this can't continue. Oh, yes, it can.
And yes, it will. Why? He's full of it. He's full
of grace. You ever think that? Oh, the
Lord's been so good to me, surely it's got to stop. No, it doesn't
either. You ain't seen nothing yet. That's
the old saying here. He delights to give, and he gives
grace on top of grace. Here, remember when Jacob kept
sending gifts to Esau to appease him? Remember that? He kept sending
things to Esau. Remember that? And Esau said,
Oh, that's nice. And Jacob sent some more. Wow!
He kept sending some more, and finally Esau said, That's enough.
He kept sending them. On top of that, how much has
the Lord done for you? How gracious has he been to you?
How much has he given to you? How long has he been given to
you? I'm just astounded that he's been as gracious as he has
been to me for forty-some years. There's a fellow sitting there.
He's another one, fifty-something. I'm going to reveal your age.
There's a woman there. It's nothing to be ashamed of,
something to sing praise to God for. You're talking about 50-some
years of mercy. Where's the 60s? Any 60s in there? There's one, 80. Let him testify,
that would be good for the Lord to bend to him. He keeps giving,
and gives some more, and gives some more. When you think it's
going to end, he gives more. Of all the people, human beings,
I've ever known, I've never known a more generous
man than my own father, my own earthly father. We can attest
to that, unless maybe it's your father. And he keeps giving. He's still giving. Yet there's a limit to his giving. because he has limited resources,
you see. There's a limit. But our Christ has no limit. And once he's given 40 and 50
and 60 and 70 and 80 years, you think, well, we hadn't even.... Do you remember that illustration
I put in the Bible? the bottle full of water and putting it
down in the ocean. You don't detract from the ocean. Taking from the
Lord's hand is like taking a thimble down to Smith Mountain Lake and
taking a thimble full of water out of the water. But we don't
deplete it. There's more where that came
from. There's a whole lot more, and
that's about all we really have entered into. I hadn't seen,
the ear hadn't heard, neither had it entered into our heart.
Our hearts are about the size of a thimble, aren't they? Our
faith is about the size of a mustard seed, if that big. We'd be doing some shouting if
they were any bigger. Yeah, we would. I tell you, our
Christ has all fullness, unlimited supply of what? What else does
Christ? Grace. Grace means gift. Everything is of grace. What
about mercy? He's full of mercy. He's full of mercy. You know,
mercy's grace. You ever think of it like that?
Mercy's a gift. He said, I will have mercy on.
I'll show mercy. I'll give mercy. Much more than that. But mercy
is his grace. It's a gift from God, mercy.
Well, mercy, he's full of it. He's full of mercy. So let me
ask you, how much mercy do you need? That's how much you'll
get. How much mercy do you need? That's
how much he gives, and more. Well, how often do you need it?
How often do you need mercy? I need it every morning. Well,
that's what it says. His mercies are new every morning. Well, how long are you going
to need this mercy? How much? How often? How long? How long
are you going to need it? Well, I just don't seem to get
any better. I'm an old sinner and I feel
worse. You still need it then. You're going to need it, Joe.
You reckon you're fifty-some years old now, and you haven't
improved much. Outwardly, you have. You reckon
sixty-some, you'll improve then? Seventy? Eighty, if you live
that long? Going to need mercy then? Will it last? What's the
scripture say? It endures forever. It endures. He's full of it, he said. Full. Full. It says here, of his fullness
of all we receive. God's people do show mercy, but
we're not full of it. I know some of we are full of
it. Sin. Sin. No. I'll go ahead and say it. Call
it like it is. That's all we are. He lifts the
beggars off the dung here. That's about all we're full of,
isn't it? Sin. We're not full of mercy,
yet we're full of sin. Well, grace is like water, or
mercy is like water. Sin is like oil. You pour water
into a glass full of oil, it'll displace the oil. Boom. And your
cup will run over. You see, we're full of sin, but
he empties us and fills us full of his mercy. How sinful are
you? How sinful are you?" Well, how
merciful is he? You get what you bring to carry
it home in. Joseph's brethren, you know,
they came with baskets, didn't they? They got baskets full.
And one time they brought wagons, and they brought on wagons. How
sinful are you? How much mercy do you need? He's
full of it. He's full of mercy. Ask Rahab.
Rahab, how much mercy do you need? I need all I can get. You got it. Save her and save
her only. Rahab, how about you, Gomer? There she is. Lowest of the lowlife. a harlot, another harlot on that
auction block. How much mercy do you need, Gomer?
You're down where you can't get any further down. How much mercy
do you need, Gomer? Oh, my, lots of it. He's full of it. How about you,
Zacchaeus? How about you, Mary Magdalene? How about you, Peter? How about
you, Stan? How much mercy do you need? That's
how much you need. Blank check. Go ahead, write
up a check. And he's full of it. Full of mercy. We receive grace, mercy, love. What about love? I hear, I've
heard people say this. I think it was Nancy Parks, somebody
she used to work for, one time said to her, God ain't done nothing
for me. Oh, my. Well, you know, it hadn't
entered into her heart, the things that God had done for her. Some people may say, I don't
feel loved. Even you may say that sometimes.
Even God's people say that sometimes. I don't feel loved. Oh, my. That's a horrible thing to say.
Of His fullness, have we ever said? That's a horrible thing
to say. That sounds like a poor, pitiful, spoiled child that we
are at times. I remember saying that when I
was a boy. Especially after my parents were chasing me. And
I'd go out and sit with my dog. I'd go out and sit with my dog
in his doghouse. I had a big dog. Big dog. Saint Bernard. And he had a big
doghouse. And we could both fit in that.
I remember going out there and sitting in that doghouse with
him, crying, saying, they don't love me. You're the only one
that loves me. That's a spoiled child, what
that is. You see, the problem was not in my parish love for
me, the problem was I lacked understanding of what true love
was. You see, we get in that state,
even as adults and as believers, we say to each other, I don't
feel loved. Just because somebody doesn't
speak to you or somebody doesn't listen to you or doesn't invite
you over or whatever, I don't feel loved. And if we don't get our way and
all that, the problem is we don't understand God's love. You see,
real love sometimes takes away as well as it gives. Real love
takes away as well as gives. Right? It takes away that which
is harmful. It doesn't give everything you
want that might be harmful. Real love withholds sometimes
when you ask for things. Oh, please, please, Mom, Mom,
Dad, come on. I've got to have that. No, you
don't. It might destroy you. Real love chastens. Real love
chastens. Many times. Many times. Look at Malachi 1. This is what
they said in verse 2. God said, I've loved you, saith
the Lord, yet you say wherein hast thou loved us? Look at us,
we're in trouble, we're this, we're that. How have you loved
us? All right, God said it. Let's
think about it. Verse 2. Was not Esau Jacob's
brother, saith the Lord, yet I love Jacob? I elected you. That's how I love you. Electing
love. How has God loved us? God chose
us in Christ before the foundation of the world and didn't choose
your brother. I think you're kind of like me,
John. You have an older brother, don't you? He's smarter than
you and mine is smarter than me. You see your calling, brother? Not many wise men of the flesh
are called. They stink. Little brothers. God calls them little brothers. My, my, sovereign love is the
love of God, electing love, distinguishing love, undeserved love. What more
do we need than that? Huh, John? You've got brothers
and sisters? Two brothers? They love Christ? They know the gospel. How has
God loved you, John? Oh, how God has loved you, John.
Is that enough? Can we stop right there? David said, Oh, I was envious
of the prosperity of the wicked. My brother's moving up a ladder,
John. How about yours? Is it? Is he kind of successful
moving up a ladder? Well, what are you going to mount
to, John? I'll tell you what you're going
to mount to, John. David said, I was in this at the crossfire
of the wicked till I went into the sanctuary, and I understood
their end, and I understood mine. Oh, how foolish I was, he said.
God has given them the world. and given me, he who sits on
it." Oh, electing love! I don't have a problem with that,
I've got nothing to praise for that. Oh, how God has loved us! The unlovely. Are you any better
than your brothers, John? My, my. Rebels, children of wrath,
even as others. That's what we were. God, who
is full of, rich, all the unsearchable riches and fullness of mercy,
for the great love wherewith he hath loved us, even when we
were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with by grace, so
you say." I don't feel loved. Does that
make you ashamed of yourself? How is he loved up? Was not Esau
Jacob's brother? How has God loved us? He sent his Son, his altogether
lovely Son, to this sewer of sin to live for us thirty-three
and a third years. to a cesspool of iniquity, a
place he should have burned up a long time ago, sent his son
down into it, and then spit in his face and
killed him. God, but yet it pleased the Lord
to bruise him, God killed his own son, made a bloody mess of
his son. I wouldn't do that. I just wouldn't do that. I would
have a hard time doing that for you, John. I love you, but I
would have a hard time sending my lovely daughter, killing her
for your sake, if I just have a hard time." Greater love hath
no man than this. Behold what manner of love the
Father has bestowed upon us. How has God loved us? Killed
his son for the likes of me. Amazing love. How does God love
us? Let's look at Proverbs 3. I've
got to hurry, hurry with me. Proverbs 3, look over here. I
said that he chastens us. Proverbs 3, God chastens us. This is proof of his love. Proverbs
3, verse 11. Got it? Proverbs 3, verses 11
and 12. My son, despise not the chastening
of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction. For whom the
Lord loveth, he correcteth. as the father, the son in whom
he delighted. Turn over to Proverbs 13. Another place it says he chastens
him betimes, or that is, many times. Proverbs 13, verse 24. Got it? Proverbs 13, verse 24.
He that spareth his rod, hateth his son. He doesn't really love
him. He loves himself, he's sparing
his own feelings. But he that really loves him
chases him to the top, many times. Even to the point where they
say, you don't love me, how could you love me and do that? This
is how I could love you. You see, I see wayward children
out there in the world all the time. I see wayward children,
I see where they're headed. They're headed to destruction,
they're headed to no good. I see the things they're getting
into and the people they're getting into them with and the way they're
headed, and I do nothing. I hear kids say things, I see
kids do things, I see where they're going, and I do nothing. Right? But I don't let her get away
with anything. Why? Because I love her. And I've been now determined
to better end for her. You see? And I've chastened her
many times. So you see? God leaves the world alone to
himself, but he corrects his children. God gives the world
everything they want, and what do they get when they get it?
What's the world going to get? Death. Death. So God chases us, that's
how he loves us. Back in the text, very quickly,
look at this with me. I need to hurry, I didn't want
to get through this. John 1, look at the text again.
So he loves us by chasing us. Of his fulness of love we have
received, and of his fulness we have received, it says there
in verse 14, is full of grace and truth. We have received truth. We have received truth. Ephesians 1.23 says that the
church is the fulness of him that filleth all. You know where you are going
to find truth, don't you? Church is his body, the fulness
of him that filleth all in all." Where are you going to find the
full gospel? I hear them say that all the
time. We're a full gospel church. I
tell you, they're empty of the gospel. They're totally devoid
of the gospel. I had a fellow come up to me
one time. There were four square gospels. I said, there ain't
no other kind, bud. What are you talking about four
square? There ain't no such thing as three square. It ain't a square
in the scripture, or it don't? Does your gospel square with
scripture? Mine does, his didn't. Full gospel. What's the gospel full of? Christ. If it's full gospel, it'll be
full of Christ. Right? If it's y'all full of the Spirit,
you'll be full of Christ. That's what he said in John 14
and 16. Truth, truth, that's where you're
going to find it. Truth, you'll know the truth,
and the truth will set you free. He said there, look at verse
17, "'A law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ.'" Truth. You see, truth of how to get
to God, truth of salvation. Many people are ignorant of the
truth and don't care. Like a fellow told me on the
phone one time, he said, the attributes of God aren't important. The character of God is not important.
See, there are some people who don't care about the truth. They
don't care. A fellow told me one time, he
said, just don't preach doctrine, just preach Jesus. He said, you're
a man of God, not in the doctrine of Christ, John said. He's not
a You can't preach Jesus without preaching his doctrine. What
he said is what he is. What he is, is what he said.
He's the Word. It's if my words abide in me. Truth. As Paul said in II Thessalonians
2, he said, Many receive not the love of the truth. But we're
bound to give thanks to God for you. Brother Ed and Sister Jeanette,
because God had from the beginning chosen you through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Where did you hear it? In God's Church. The truth. We've received the
truth, which is Christ. Some want law, don't they? Paul
said men desire to be under, but they don't know what they're
talking about. Look at verse 17 again. Law is given by Moses. You see,
listen to this, this is good, you'll like this. Law manifests
what is in men. Sin. Grace manifests what's in
God. Mercy. Law demands righteousness
from men. Grace brings righteousness to
men. The law sentences men to death. Grace raises dead men
to life. The law speaks of what men must
do. Grace tells what Christ hath
done. Which do you want? The law gives the knowledge of
sin. Grace puts it away. Which do you want? Lord Moses
came down from the mountain and said, Here, this is where it's
said, this is where it lived. There it is, and walked away.
They said, Wait, wait, wait, wait, we can't, we can't. I don't care,
that's it. Christ came down from the mountain
and said, I've done it. I've done it for you. Just come
unto me, and you can rest. Now, I'm the Lord here in thee. Verse 18 is the summary of all
that he said before this. He began, and in the beginning
was the Word. Verse 18, and the Word was with God and the Word
was God. Verse 18 is the summary of the
previous 17 verses, and we'll quit with it. He says, No man
has seen God at any time. And Paul said to Timothy, no
man has seen nor can see. No man has seen God at any time.
I don't care what men say, they haven't seen God. They won't
see God. They haven't heard from God.
God has not spoken to anybody. God in times past, in divers
manners, spoke unto the fathers by the prophets, but it happened
in these last days, spoken unto us one way, by son. Whose son? His word. It speaks
no other way. No man has seen God at any time,
the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father. He hath declared him. He, he
hath declared him. If you want to know God, in summary,
we want to know God, Jesus Christ is God. And he is God manifest
in the flesh, and he is the only God we'll ever know. and only
God will ever see. And that's what John the Apostle
says, that God touched us. God touched us. He came down
here and chose us, and he called us, and he laid hold on us. He touched us, and bless God,
we've touched him. We've touched him. Handle him. What, John? in the flesh. And we're going
to someday too, John, we really will. And so he said that to
the disciples after he arose, he said, touch me. And she looked
forward to that, Nancy. She looked forward to seeing
those hands. Holding her hand. Or rather,
him putting that big arm around you. We're going to touch you,
I'm not just here, he's real. And this is the mystery of it
all. We can all be, all of us can get in on it. Millions, billions of people,
yet that's a mystery. That's a mystery. We're going
to see a man, but he's God. He's God in the flesh. All right, let's stand and be
dismissed. Our Heavenly Father, our cup
is run over with the blessings of God. We haven't spoken hardly
for a moment on the blessings of this life, though we have
many. Yet these things really are not what amaze us. We do stand amazed at your providential
care of your people. constant provisions, how that
you just keep providing for us, keep providing for us. We've
never begged bread. You're seed, the righteous, have
never been forsaken. You're seed begging bread. Lord,
we are fat. We are rich and increased with
good and have need of nothing. But that thing which amazes us
the most, which should hold our wonder and our attention is the
spiritual blessings we have in Christ, because of Christ, through
Christ, the mercy, the abundant and everlasting mercy of God
that's in Christ, and the love you love such unlovely people
with, and the grace and how you keep giving and giving and giving. Oh, Lord, all things, all spiritual
blessings in this heavenly One who is Christ. Thank you, Lord. for this grace on top of grace,
and may our eyes see and our ears hear and our hearts enter
in a little bit, just a little bit, in the wonder and the glory
of the marvelous grace of our loving Lord. In his name we pray
and have met together. Amen.