Let's go back to Luke chapter
10 again this evening. Luke chapter 10 from verses 21
through 24. There are basically three things
set forth. Luke chapter 10 verse 21. Number
one, here's the sovereign pleasure of the Father. Verse 21, in that
hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank Thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes, even
so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight. Here's the sovereign pleasure
of the Father. He does as He pleases, and we
worship Him. as the God who does according
to His sovereign will at all times. Secondly, we have the
supreme power of the Son. Verse 22, all things are delivered
to me of my Father. Now understand the Savior is
speaking in His capacity as our mediator. Certainly all things
are His by virtue of the fact that He's God. But as the Son
of Man, that One who came into this world to redeem His people
by His blood, to establish for us everlasting righteousness
on the basis of His obedience to the Father, all things were
delivered to Him by the Father. That is, delivered to the God-man.
He has supreme power. And He says, No man knoweth who
the Son is, but the Father, and who the Father is, but the Son,
and He to whom the Son will reveal Him. Now here's the third thing,
verse 23. As He's speaking to these 70
men, and evidently others were there, not just the 70, Now,
Baal said upon the first statement of verse 23, and he turned unto
his disciples and said unto them privately. Doesn't that indicate
to you that when he's speaking these things to the seventy,
when they came back rejoicing in having cast out these demons,
And then He says, yes, I saw Satan fall from heaven as lightning. But in this, rejoice not, but
rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven. And then
the Savior rejoiced in His Spirit and said what He said in verses
21 and 22. Then He turns unto His disciples
and He says to them privately, So I think we can understand,
therefore, that there were others there listening. And then our
Lord speaks to these 70 and He says, I want you to come over
here. I've got some things I want to say just to you. Just to you. Let me tell you something. God
has special words of grace and mercy and instructions that are
reserved only for His elect. And He doesn't give ears to hear
His words to everybody, but just to His people. He doesn't give
eyes to see to everybody, but just to His people. He doesn't
give a heart to receive the gospel of substitution and satisfaction
to everybody, but just to His people. And so He pulls them
aside. And He tells them, here's the
third thing. Here is the surprising or surpassing
privilege of the saints. This is what he tells them, verse
23. Blessed are the eyes which see
the things that you see. Now these men are blessed. They
have been blessed that their names are written down in heaven.
They have been blessed to have the gospel revealed to them.
And now he says, blessed are the eyes which see the things
that you see. Now watch it, verse 24. For I tell you, many prophets
and many kings have desired to see those things which you see,
and they haven't seen them. And many prophets and many kings,
they've desired to hear those things which you hear, but they
didn't hear them. In what way were these men especially
blessed above the prophets of the Old Testament and the kings
of the Old Testament? They are blessed to see redemption
actually come to pass. You see, in the Old Testament,
those prophets of God, name those prophets, whatever prophets you
want to name of God, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, name any of
them, Samuel, They were blessed of God to write the Word of God
and to speak of the Redeemer who would come into the world,
to speak of that work which He would bring to pass and accomplish,
but they weren't alive to actually see it realized like these men
were. These men saw the Savior. They saw Him go to the cross.
They heard His words of instruction before He went. And He opened
their eyes and opened their ears and opened their hearts to show
them the necessity of His death, of His work of redemption, and
of His ascension back to glory. He says, you are blessed even
above those people. And I tell you, if you have a
heart understanding to see Christ Jesus in His exaltation, having
accomplished the work of redemption that the Father gave Him, if
you hear the Gospel with joy, and with rejoicing, and with
understanding, and with faith, and if you believe this message,
you're blessed. You're blessed. Now watch this in verse 25. And
behold, a certain lawyer stood up. Remember the scene. Our Lord
has pulled His 70 aside. He is speaking to them privately. This is an intimate conversation
between the shepherd and the flock, between the Savior and
those sinners He saved by His grace. He's speaking to them
of the blessedness of God's revealing grace to them. This is a time
for the Savior and His people. And into this situation, a man
thrusts himself. He wants to be seen. He wants
to be heard. Therefore, Luke says, and behold,
see, lo, be amazed. at the audacity of a man who
would insert himself, push himself into this situation where the
Savior is instructing His people. It's almost as if Luke is saying
by the leadership of the Spirit of God, how amazing, how daring
that this man would put himself right there amongst the Savior
and those people that He loved, these 70 disciples, and that
this man would just kind of clear up, excuse me, excuse me, just
go in there and stand right up and start to talk. And He says to the Master, and
He is tempting the Master. That's what the Scripture says,
He's tempting the Master. He's not there to learn. He's
not there to ask questions, to get some further information
on the gospel. But he's there as a Pharisee.
He's there as a self-righteous man. The scripture says he's
a lawyer. That doesn't mean that he's a
student of the law of the land, but rather he's a student of
the law of Moses. And he's an instructor of the
law of Moses. He's a certain lawyer. He's not
an attorney at law. He's a teacher of the law of
Moses. He's a religious lawyer. He's a scribe. He's devoted to
religion. He's devoted to religious works
and religious activities. He's one of those men who believe
he can make himself acceptable to God by his own obedience to
the law of Moses. He's going about seeking to establish
a righteousness of his own. He doesn't draw near to the Savior
for mercy. He doesn't go as a beggar who
has nothing and needs everything from this one who is the God-man. But he draws near to Jesus of
Nazareth, and he does so as a self-righteous hypocrite. And he says to the Savior, he
says, What shall I do? And that is
a key word. If you want to understand what
this is all about, this man wants to do something. He wants to
do something to inherit eternal life. But you see, the gospel is not
about us doing something. The gospel is all about what's
already been done. It's about a work that's already
been accomplished. This gospel is all of grace. This gospel is all in Christ
Jesus. That's why we say with dear brother
Toplady, nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross
I cling. You see, his is the doing, and
his is the dying. But the natural man, the religious
man, insists that there must be some condition that he must
meet, some condition that he must make in order for salvation
to be really complete. So he wants to do something. Note again what he said, I want
to do something to inherit eternal life. Now our Lord knows his
motive. This man has no interest in the
gospel. He has no interest in the blood. He has no interest in the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ freely imputed to sinners. He is out
to tempt the Lord. Look down in verse 29. but he
willing to justify himself. That's what he wants to do. He
wants to justify himself. He's not interested in justification
by grace. He's not interested in justification
by imputed righteousness. He's not interested in justification
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He thinks he can justify
himself. Our Lord knows His motive. So
look at verse 26. The Lord said to him, Well, what
is written in the law? How readest thou? And he answered
and said, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all
thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him,
Thou hast answered right. This do. The man said, I want
to do something. The man came to the Lord on a
legal basis. And our Lord made him on that
basis. If you want to do something,
here's what you've got to do. Keep the law. Keep the law, and
you'll live. Keep the law. Look over Deuteronomy
chapter 6. This is a real eye-opening passage
of Scripture pertaining to the law of God. What it has to say,
what the Lord has to say about His law. Deuteronomy chapter
6, look at verse 3. Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 3. These, of course, are the commandments
of God. Deuteronomy 6 verse 3. Hear therefore,
O Israel, and observe to... What's that word? Do it. Here's what you've got to do.
You want to do something? Want to do something? Want to
do something for eternal life? Here's what you've got to do.
All those who refuse to hear the message of done and want
to do, who have a do-do religion, here's what you have to do. Hear therefore Israel and observe
to do it, that it may be well with thee, that ye may increase
mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee
in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel,
the Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all
thy might. These words which I command thee
this day is not a suggestion, This is not a recommendation.
God said, these are the words that I command you this day,
shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently
to your children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in
thine house. Don't talk about other things.
Don't talk about the weather. Don't talk about how your day
went. Don't talk about your job. Talk about God's Word. And when
thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when
thou risest up, all waking moments are to be spent in the Word of
God, in the Law of God. And thou shalt bind them for
a sign upon thine hand. Put it on your hand so you don't
forget the Law of God. And they shall be as frontlets
between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them on
the posts of thy house and on thy gates, so that when you leave
your house, you see the law of God. Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength. And when
you go out of the town, have it on the pillars of the gates
of the town. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength. This do and
live. That's what God said. It doesn't
say try to love God this way. It doesn't say give it your best
effort. God said love me this way, this
is my command. God is to be always on your mind,
always in your heart, always in your thoughts. You must be
always consciously, willingly worshipping Him and loving Him. You want to do something? That's
what you've got to do. That's strict, isn't it? People
say, well, God's a merciful God. He is merciful. He is merciful,
but not to the exclusion of His justice. When God shows mercy
to us, that doesn't mean that He lessens the requirements of
His law. The law still says, love God
this way. And you know what the law does
to us? It kills us. The law slays us. I think we
ought to put the Ten Commandments up in every courthouse and the
lawn of every court and out in front of every church. We ought
to put the law of God in here. It kills us. That's what people
don't understand. The law of God was never given
so that we might have a better society. The law of God was given
to expose sin and shut our mouths. That's why the law of God was
given. It's demanding. It's inflexible. It's unbending. This do and live. But if you don't do it, you're
going to die. Because the law of God says,
the soul that sinneth shall surely die. Go back to our text in Luke 10.
Now this is very important. Don't miss this. If you want
to understand why the Master answered him this way, it's for
this reason. The man drew near to Him on a
legal basis. What must I do? And our Lord
answered him on a legal basis. If you want to earn eternal life,
here's what you've got to do. You've got to inwardly and outwardly
and perfectly before God and before men obey this law. Man came to the Savior on this
basis. I want to do something. Okay,
you want to do something? You want to do something? Whether
you love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and
love your neighbor as yourself, you do that now. You do that. And of course, that's an impossibility.
What our Lord is saying, for those of us who have understanding,
is simply this. Salvation by law works is an
impossibility. That's an absolute impossibility. You see, if you want to make
some contribution to your salvation, and you've got to listen to this
now, oh, may God open up your mind and your heart. If you want
to make some contribution to your salvation, you've got to
make all the contribution. That's it. You see, it isn't,
well, I'll do a little bit. Listen, if you've got to do something,
that means you've got to do it all. And it's impossible. It's what
people miss. You see, the Gospel says it's
been done. It's finished. It's completed. See God's bleeding sacrifice
offered up. Hear Him cry, it is finished. and see three days later the
empty tomb which announces God was satisfied with what He did
and God accepted the blood. All of grace. All in Christ. But if you want to do something,
you've got to do it all. Well, the sinner's got to make
the first step. If he's got to make the first
step, he's got to take every step. You see, it's either grace or
works. And most people miss it, don't
they? They're just missing it. Oh, that's too much Christ for
me, preacher. That's too much grace for me.
It may be for you, but it's not for me. You can't preach too
much grace to me. You can't preach too much Christ
to me. I want to hear it's D-O-N-E,
done. Done. The man said in verse 29, he
willing to justify himself, he says, well, who is my neighbor?
I tell you, I hate smart-aleck religious people, don't you? They just aggravate me. Who is
my neighbor? Like he doesn't know who his
neighbor is? And Jesus answering him gave
him this parable. But remember, this man is not
the only man listening. There's 70 other people there.
Seventy disciples, and they're listening and learning too. And Jesus answering said, a certain
man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He went down from
the holy city, from the blessed city to the cursed city. Do you
see a picture there of the fall, our fall in Adam? We went from
a position of being blessed to a position of being cursed. And
we fell among thieves. Oh, how the thieves have robbed
us and stripped us. The thief of Satan, the thief
of sin, depravity. Stripped him of his raiment. No righteousness. Been stripped. Adam and Eve, when they sinned,
they took fig leaves, tried to sew an apron to hide their nakedness,
hide their shame. Wounded Him. Oh, we've been mortally
wounded. Oh, my soul. We're dead in trespasses
and sin. And it says, and departed, leaving
Him half dead. So what's the application of
that preacher? Well, Adam and Eve were physically alive, but
they were spiritually dead. That's half dead. Half dead. Verse 31, And by chance there
came down a certain priest that way. And when he saw him, he
passed by on the other side. Here's the priest. He sees him, looks at him, looks
at this man in his misery, shakes his head, goes to the
other side of the road. You see, this priest represents
the moral law of God. He can't do anything for you. The priest doesn't weep over
the man. The priest is not touched with his sad state. The priest shows no emotion.
The law shows no emotion. It's unfeeling. It's unbending. The law can't help you. Can't
help you. The law looks on you and says,
no, no. The law can't do anything for
you. Never could. Never will. He passed by on the
other side. And likewise the Levite. When
He came to the place, He came and looked on them and He passed
by the other side. That's the ceremonial law. The
blood of bulls and goats can't help you. Can't help you. Never put away one sin. But, verse 33, a certain Samaritan as He journeyed,
came where He was. Oh, bless the day when our Savior
came where we are. He came, joined His deity to
human flesh, gave Himself the substitute in our stead, the
sacrifice that God demanded. He came where we were, and in
regeneration He comes where we are. And when He saw us wounded
and bleeding and dying in our misery, wounded from the top
of our heads to the bottom of our feet, bless His name, He
had compassion. Our Savior is compassionate towards
sinners. And went to Him. Oh, bless the
day when He came to us. in regenerating grace, in revealing
grace, in sovereign grace, in saving grace, in converting grace. He came to Him. The man couldn't
go to Him, but the Savior could come to Him. And you couldn't
go to the Savior. You had no ability. You had no
willingness. Oh, but He came to you. He came
to you where you are. found you in your miserable state.
He went to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in the oil and the wine
of the gospel. The oil and the wine of the gospel
that heals. He's the great physician of sinners. And he set him on his own beast. We're on the white horse with
the Savior. The white horse is the emblem
of victory, triumphant in Christ Jesus. We are more than conquerors
through Him who loved us. He set us up on His own beast.
And He brought Him to an end, to a place of safety. He took care of you. Oh, child
of God, He takes care of you. He takes care of you. I remember
when David first moved to Japan, and I was talking to another
preacher about him, and I said, you know, I raised him, Nancy
and I raised him, took care of him, met all of his needs, made
sure he had food to eat and clothes to wear, a car to drive when
he got old enough, and we got him a used car. Actually, we
gave him Nancy's car. I said, been looking after him
all these years, taking care of him all these years. Now he's
going to Japan. I can't look after him anymore.
He said, who's really been taking care of him all these years?
And I was correctly rebuked. The same one who's taking care
of him all these years is still taking care of him. And I tell
you what, our God, our Savior, He's been taking care of us since
before the world began. And guess what? He's still taking
care of us. And He'll always take care of
us. Verse 35, and on the morrow when
He departed, He took out two pence He gave to the host. He
said, take care of me. I think there's an application
here that can be made to the local church and to the pastor.
The Lord says, take care of my people. We take care of one another. We look after one another. We
encourage one another. We're here for one another. No
man's an island. That's especially true in the
Kingdom of God. We lean on each other. I need
you. I thought about you. A thousand times I reckon while
I was in Hawaii and I'd be preaching. I'd think about, I knew what
time he was meeting, knew who was reading, knew what songs
was going to be. I'm not one that puts that stuff
like that off to the last second. I like to know everything that's
going on. I'm pastoring from afar, even
then. But I know everything is going
on. I know what they're doing now.
I know the men are back in the office now, reading the scripture
and praying, praying for me. We, in that way, take care of
one another. And the Lord says, whatsoever
thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. But
we don't want to be paid. We do what we do for one another
out of love. Out of love. Well, the Lord said,
which now of these three thinkest thou was neighbor unto him that
fell among the thieves? Well, he said, he that showed mercy on him.
Then Jesus said unto him, and here's that key word again, go
and do. You want to do something. And
our Lord saw his heart, that legalistic heart, that heart
that wanted to do something. Our Lord said, well, do. Do. Now, my friends, this salvation,
the word of commandment is either do or done. Now, which is it? From the word of God, which is
it? Churches all over America today have been telling sinners,
do this, do that, feel this, feel that, experience this. You've got to do, do, do, do. But every once in a while, in
various places in this country, every so often, there's a man
of God who stands up Here and there, wherever God sends him,
and he says, wait a minute. It's not due. It's done. And the people of God say, oh,
hallelujah. Bless the name of God. It's not
for me to do because I can't do. I'm so thankful Christ Jesus
has done it all. He's done it all. Like I said
this morning, Jesus paid it all. He paid all that I owe. And if
He paid all I owe, I don't owe anything. Well, how do you know
He paid all your debt? Because He's brought me to worship
Him and love Him and to see Him as my only hope of glory. I understand I'm complete in
Him. He's my all. And for those of you who see
him to be your all, this supper is for you. Not the church's
supper, it's the Lord's supper. And this bread speaks to us of
his body. This wine speaks to us of his
blood. Nobody's going to bar you from
the table when these men pass the bread and then pass the cup. Nobody has examined you. It's for a man to examine himself.
What does this examination involve? Well, whether you've lived good
enough or not, no. You missed the whole message
if you think that. The examination is examine your
foundation. Examine your hope. Is Christ
Jesus all your hope? You say, yes, He is. Then this
is for you. This is for you. Let's sing a
song and then we'll have the Lord's Supper. And it's number 275. I belong
to the King. I belong to the King. 275. Let's
stand on this. Number 275.