Jesus Only

Q: What does the Bible say about the Mountain of Transfiguration?

The Bible describes the Transfiguration as a moment when Jesus reveals His divine glory to Peter, James, and John, showing Him as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. In the account of the Transfiguration found in Matthew 17, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a high mountain where He is transfigured before them. His face shines like the sun, and His clothes become white as light, revealing His divine glory. During this event, Moses and Elijah appear, symbolizing the law and the prophets, and they converse with Jesus about His impending death. The significance of this moment lies in the declaration from God, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.' This statement emphasizes that Jesus is the culmination of the Old Testament revelations and the central figure in God's redemptive plan. The old covenant, represented by Moses and Elijah, has been fulfilled in Christ, and He alone is the mediator between God and humanity.

Q: How do we know Jesus is our Savior?

We know Jesus is our Savior because the Bible explicitly states that He alone delivers His people from their sins, as seen in Matthew 1:21. The assurance of Jesus as our Savior is firmly rooted in Scripture. Matthew 1:21 declares that He shall save His people from their sins, fulfilling His role as the promised Redeemer. Furthermore, Acts 4:12 affirms that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved, underscoring Christ's unique and essential role in eternal redemption. The entirety of the Scriptures points to Christ as the sole means of salvation. Believers are encouraged to trust not in their works or feelings but solely in Jesus Christ for complete forgiveness and acceptance with God. The reality that salvation is by grace through faith alone reaffirms that Jesus Christ alone is our Savior, ensuring that all glory goes to Him.

Q: Why is Jesus important for Christians?

Jesus is crucial for Christians as He is the central figure of our faith, serving as our Savior, Lord, and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. For Christians, Jesus Christ is not only the Savior but also the cornerstone of our faith and life. Colossians 1:27 states that Christ in you is the hope of glory, signaling His vital role in our relationship with God and our expectation for eternal life. Jesus serves as the ultimate revelation of God, fulfilling the law and the prophets, and serving as the only mediator between God and humanity. He embodies grace and truth, providing the means by which we can know God and experience His love. Moreover, Christians are called to live under His lordship, willingly submitting to His authority and following His example. This importance is underscored by Jesus’ invitation to all to come to Him, the source of comfort, strength, and spiritual nourishment.

Q: How does Jesus fulfill the law?

Jesus fulfills the law by perfectly obeying it and offering Himself as the ultimate sacrifice, thus satisfying its demands for righteousness. In fulfilling the law, Jesus achieves what humanity could not: perfect obedience. The law, given as God's standard, exposes human sinfulness and incapacity to achieve righteousness. However, Jesus, as seen in Matthew 5:17, states He came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. His life was a perfect embodiment of God's commandments. In addition to His obedient life, Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross satisfied God's justice, making atonement for the sins of His people. This dual fulfillment—both in obedience and sacrifice—releases believers from the condemnation of the law and opens the way for a new covenant relationship with God, assuring us that through faith in Him, we are deemed righteous and accepted by God.

Turn with me, if you will, to Matthew chapter 17. Matthew, the 17th chapter. Peter, James, and John, as you will recall, were with the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. And there they saw the Savior transfigured. Now, we don't really know what that means other than that they saw Him revealed in His dignity and majesty and glory as God himself. They saw the Savior's face transfigured before them. John said, we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And then suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared, standing on the mount right there, face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ, talking to him about his death, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem in just a few days. Well, Peter, James, and John were all stuck. I would be too. I'd understand that. I would be astonished, wouldn't you?

Here's Moses and Elijah, been dead for hundreds of years, standing face to face with the Lord Jesus. They see them and hear them speak to the Lord concerning his death. Well, when Peter saw that and heard Moses and Elijah, he blurted out. He said, Lord, it's good for us to be here. Let's make three tabernacles, if you will, let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

And while he spoke, before he got done saying what was on his mind, a cloud overshadowed them. And Moses and Elijah were seen no more. God just seemed to snuff them out. God in a cloud took them away as quickly and as suddenly as he had brought them to appear on the mouth of transfiguration. And when Moses and Elijah had been snuffed out by the hand of God, behold, a voice spoke out of the cloud, which said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. Now, Moses and Elijah were not removed by accident. They were removed for a reason. They had appeared for a reason and they were removed for a reason.

They had appeared to speak to the Lord in the presence of Peter, James, and John so that they would declare in their presence the object of their ministries while they lived on this earth. Moses and Elijah always spoke of Christ and their writings, their prophecies, their works pointed to that time when Christ would come and accomplish his death at Jerusalem. That's what they spoke to him of.

Now, the Lord took them out of the way. He took them out of the picture here on the Mount of Transfiguration for the simple reason that the old covenant was now vanishing away and the dawn of a new day and a new covenant had come. When the Lord said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him, he was saying to Peter, James, John, and to you and to me.

He was saying, Moses and Elijah have been fulfilled right now. Moses and Elijah have been satisfied right now. The Lord Jesus Christ is that one of whom Moses spoke, that one of whom the prophets spoke as well. So Moses and Elijah have nothing more to say.

They have nothing more to do. All that they said and all that they did was for the preparation of and in anticipation of the coming of my beloved son, who's now come. So you hear him. Hear you him. He is telling us that Moses and Elijah, that is the law and the prophets, have no other function but to bring us unto Christ. Oh, I would to God, everybody who hears this tape would hear those words. The law and the prophets have no other function than to bring us to Jesus Christ in faith.

That's their purpose. The law was not given to be a code of moral conduct over which politicians should wrangle. The law was not given to be a code of moral and ethical conduct over which churches should fasten back. The prophets were not given to give us a key to interpret the movements of God in history and anticipate what God's going to do in the future.

The law and the prophets were given by God to point to and direct our hearts to and identify Jesus Christ the Messiah when he should come and accomplish death for us at Calvary. The law and the prophets were given to teach us faith in Christ the Lord.

At Sinai, you'll remember, the people were forbidden to make any approach to the presence of God. You ever wonder why it was written back in Exodus, when God called Moses up to the mountain, he said, now you put a fence around this mountain. He said, you mark off the boundaries of the mountain. And if so much as a beast should touch the mountain, let him be put to death. Why?

Why, God was saying, nobody can now approach unto me. When God appeared to give his law, he says, the law can never allow a man to come to me. The law could never bring sinners to Christ. far from bringing us to Christ, the law set a barrier to keep us away from Christ. It set a barrier to keep us away from God as He's revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures. What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh. That is, the law could not bring us to God, but Jesus Christ has brought us to God by His obedience and by His death. The law forbade men from even trying to approach the holy, holy, holy Lord God.

Let me see if I can, I want you to see this. In the tabernacle and later in the temple. He had the outer court service in the tabernacle in the temple. There the priest did their daily functions. But behind the veil stood the mercy seat over the Ark of the Covenant. where only the high priest could come once a year and there was the revelation and manifestation of God's glory.

But that place of God's glory was secluded from everybody by a huge, heavy, thick veil and nobody could come. Nobody could come to God. Nobody could approach God. The only one who could come was the representative high priest who was a picture of Christ himself and he only once a year and then only with the blood which God had specified. So the high priest representing Christ is the only one who can go behind the veil and find acceptance with God. only one. He represented the people, and he made atonement for the people, but he's the only one who can go into that place called the Holy of Holies.

Now the Lord Jesus, so to speak, came down from the mountain. He came down from Mount Sinai, and he took down the fence. He not only took down the fence, but he went into the temple and he laid hold of that sick, sick veil and tore it down. And by his blood, having fulfilled the law, having satisfied justice, he has opened up a way for sinners to come to God. And he brings sinners unto the Lord God. So when the Lord Jesus stands on the mountain, Moses and Elijah are taken out of the way so that all barriers, all hindrances to that approach of sinners to God had been taken out of the way.

And now through Jesus Christ, God Almighty says, here's my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, you hear him, and hearing him, come to me. When the disciples saw Christ in his glory and they heard the Father speak from heaven, they fell on their faces and the scripture says they were sore afraid. They fell on their faces because they realized they were in the presence, the awesome, awesome presence of the glory of God, and they were terrified by it. Now that's always what happens when a sinner realizes who he is before the Holy Lord God. When Job heard God and saw him for himself, he said, I repent in sackcloth and ashes. When Moses stood before the presence of God, God spoke and said, take off your shoes. The place where you stand is holy ground. Isaiah saw the Lord in his glory and he said, oh, woe is me. I'm a man of unclean lips.

All the way through the scriptures, when men were made to recognize who God is. and what and who they were, they fell on their faces before him in utter abhorrence of themselves and in total reverence for the Lord God. And then, after they fell on their face before him, terrified by the glory that they saw standing in front of them, we read in the scriptures in verse 7, Jesus came.

They could not come to him. They dare not come to him. He came to them. And it touched them. And he said, Arise, and be not afraid. Don't be afraid, because the God whose glory you have seen has come to you in human flesh, and he's come to save all that the Father gave him in the covenant of grace. Arise, be not afraid. Now listen to this.

And when they had lifted up their eyes, They saw no man save Jesus only. Now that's my subject this evening. Jesus only. When the law had been honored and silenced, they looked up to see him by whose obedience the law would be fully satisfied, and they saw none but Jesus only. And when you're made to understand like these, that all the prophets had been fulfilled and you look up to see him who is the fulfillment of all the prophets as well as the law, you will see none save Jesus only.

Now I realize that you folks have come here this evening from a hard day of toil and labor and you're physically tired, I'm aware of that, I appreciate you being here. Some of you perhaps have come with some heavy burdens and cares on your heart, I don't know.

But I want this evening to simply call your attention away from the terrors of this world and the toil of the day and the difficulties that you may have to face tomorrow. And I pray that God will invigorate your minds and your bodies just a little bit and give me your attention. And you focus your attention. Focus your attention if you can. Ask God the Holy Spirit to help you now to think of nothing but Jesus Christ. Nothing but Him.

I promise you, I promise you, if God will enable you to focus your attention on Him and hear what's said about Him in His Word, as we'll look at it this evening, you'll walk out of here refreshed. I promise you, you will. I want to show you five things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. First, hear this and hear it well.

Jesus only is our Savior. Jesus only. Now that may seem simplistic to you, but I know you hear it all the time from me, from Lindsay, Ron, anybody else who preaches here. But turn back to Matthew 1, Matthew 1, verse 21. Let's look at two or three scriptures here.

She shall bring forth the Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. That's the New Testament word, the Greek word for Joshua, same word. The word means deliverer, redeemer, or savior. Thou shalt call his name Savior, for he shall save his people from their sins. The Lord Jesus Christ alone, by himself, shall save his people from their sins. That's what his name signifies.

In Acts chapter 4 in verse 12, the Apostle Peter standing before the Sanhedrin says, there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. If you would be saved, you must be saved through Jesus Christ the Lord. There is no other Savior. Now look at 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1.

I quote this text of Scripture. about as often as I do any. I quote it because it contains the message that must be heard and understood and believed. And because it contains the one message that this generation is altogether ignorant of. The Apostle Paul says, but of him, that is of God, by God's decree, by God's election, by God's grace, by God's power, are you in Christ Jesus? Now that's what it is to be saved. To be saved is not to be in the church. To be saved is to be in Christ Jesus.

Who of God is made unto you? That is, God, by his imputed work of grace to us, and God by imparting his grace to us as well, has made Christ to be our wisdom and our righteousness and our sanctification and our redemption, and there's a reason for it. that according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. It is the object and purpose of God that we who glory should glory in him. That we who trust in him should trust in him alone, both of him alone, and give praise to him alone.

Now in this matter of salvation, Jesus Christ stands entirely alone. We put no trust, no confidence in the flesh, no trust, no confidence in ourselves, not in anything we do, not in anything we experience, not in anything we feel, but in Jesus Christ alone. The scriptures are so abundantly clear. Now, I hope you can honestly say this. We trust Christ alone. Do you? No confidence in the flesh. If any man be circumcised, Christ your prophet, you nothing. If you be circumcised, Paul says you've fallen from grace.

Now that simply means, to put it in language we understand, if you do anything to gain, to maintain, or to improve God's favor other than trust Jesus Christ, you miss Christ altogether. So there's no mixture of grace and works. There's no adding of anything to the finished work of Christ. There's no putting of our works with his works. But rather we trust Jesus Christ alone for all our acceptance of God.

Now God requires certain things of us. He demands that we have a perfect record of righteousness. The record books of heaven. by which we shall be judged, must contain only a record of righteousness on our behalf. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come into this world and he has, by his obedience to God, established righteousness for us.

Turn to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 14. Now, I have selected this verse with regard to this thing of righteousness because this is the verse that is most commonly misused and misinterpreted when we start talking about pursuing righteousness.

The apostle says, follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. For the Lindsay asked God in his prayer just a little bit ago, to teach us to live honorably, Christ-like in this world. Let that desire never ever fade away. Seek to follow his path and his example of righteousness.

But that's not what this text is talking about. This text is talking about righteousness, not that you can work out, not that you can perform for yourself, not a righteousness by which you hope to find yourself constantly improving until at last you're accepted with God. Oh no, this text is saying pursue that one righteousness without which no man shall see the Lord. That's not your righteousness, that's Christ the Lord our righteousness. Now see to it, children of God, don't ever presume that somehow you're able to pick up some aspect of your merit, some aspect of your doing, some aspect of your experience and say, this will give me now, along with Christ Jesus, peace with God. Oh, no. No, no. You constantly shake off your righteousness. Constantly say no to your righteousness. Don't just stoop to rags and pursue Christ alone, the Lord our righteousness.

Make sure you have him. You say, well, I've already gotten him. I know. If you believe you do. Paul did too. And he said, I forget those things which are behind. I forget the Damascus Road experience. I forget what I've experienced when I was translated to the third heaven. You mean, Paul, you don't have any confidence in that? None at all. None at all.

And I reach for those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. That is, I seek him as though I had never had any experience whatsoever of his grace. I continue seeking him, continue looking to him, continue following him.

We were talking a little bit ago, Mark, about this matter of perseverance. That's the secret of perseverance. That's the secret of it. The secret of perseverance is that every day we pursue Christ. Every day we look for Christ. Every day we reach out for Christ. Every day we follow Christ. We trust Him. Trust Him alone. Not only for righteousness, but for redemption as well.

God demands that we have a righteous record. But in order that we have a righteous record, our sins must be paid for and blotted out from the book of God, and Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. And that simply means this. The Lord Jesus, by his blood, has erased from the record book of heaven our transgressions. He's blotted out, as a thick cloud, our transgressions and our sins. So that God says in that day, I'll look for the sins of Judah and for the transgressions of Jacob, and they shall not be found. The Lord Jesus, by redeeming us, has paid our debt to the justice of God.

But there is more. We must also have a righteous nature. Something's got to be done within us. There's got to be a marvelous transformation take place, or we can't enter into glory. It's not enough that we have a right record with God, we must be right with God ourselves.

And in regeneration, the Lord Jesus Christ is brought to us by the Spirit of God and planted in us by God the Holy Spirit so that Christ is formed in you and he makes us righteous in our inmost being. And one day, these bodies of flesh, we will drop. And when we have dropped these bodies of flesh, we shall stand before God in the perfection of holiness in our nature and then Christ will come again and redeem us and bring us at last up to glory and it's all his work.

It's all his work. Well how on this earth will we hold on and hold out and persevere to the end? Only by Christ. Only by Christ. Sometimes we get a little arrogant. I do. God forgive me. I see folks waver and I see folks fall and I see folks turn back and I pity them and at the same time I get a little disgusted.

But why don't you just put your hand to the plow and go for things. Go for God's glory. Why don't you just stay with it? And God keeps reminding me, the only reason I stay with Him is because He stays with me. The only reason I persevere is because He holds me by His grace. And the only reason you do is the same. Turn back to Jeremiah chapter 32. Jeremiah chapter 32. And verse 38.

After He has gathered us, this is what God promises He will do. and they shall be my people and I will be their God. And I'll give them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever for the good of them and for their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good." Oh, thank God for His grace.

So many times we get to looking within and we we think that the cause of our sin, the cause of our coldness, the cause of our indifference, the cause of our apathy, well, God'll cast us away now. God'll cast us away now. But Lindsay, it was not your, your sin didn't keep him from loving you to start with.

And his love for you was pitched on you when he knew full well what you'd be in death. And there's nothing that you, if you're in Christ, and I'm telling you, there's nothing you can do, nothing you can say that will cause him to turn away from you to do you good. Nothing. Nothing. Now, if that makes you want licentiousness, if that makes you crave to go out and live in some ungodly manner, I'm afraid you simply don't understand the grace of God.

Oh my soul, God's goodness is that which constrains us to continue following him. He says, I will not turn away from them to do them good and I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me. They shall not depart from me. Malachi chapter 3 verse 16, it is written, he hateth putting away. He hateth putting away and he won't do what he hates. God will never put away His own.

Now, either Christ alone is my Savior, I mean, without my feelings, without my works, without my emotions, without my doing anything or being anything, either Christ alone is my Savior or I have no Savior. Either He is completely the Savior of my soul or He does not save my soul at all. If so much as the will to be saved depends upon me, I cannot be saved, for he said, ye will not come to me. If after having been saved for 50 years or 75 years, I should at last be brought to the very threshold of heaven, and the Lord God should say, now reach back and drag your heel across the threshold, I'd fall into hell.

Salvation is of the Lord, altogether of the Lord. It's his will. By the grace of God, I am what I am. I've been preaching this for 27 years, and I'm more thoroughly convinced of it now than I've ever been. By the grace of God, I am what I am. Nothing else. Nothing else.

Secondly, turn to 1 Peter, or 2 Peter rather, chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1. Jesus only is our Lord and our Master. Listen to verse 2. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Now, I'm fully aware that Jesus Christ is the Lord of the universe.

He's the monarch of all things. He is the king of all men so that all men are under his dominion like it or not. All men are ruled by him and controlled by him absolutely. He controls the actions of the wicked as well as he controls the actions of the righteous. I have no question whatsoever about that.

But with regard to God's saints, Christ Jesus is our Lord because we voluntarily submit to him as our Lord and Master. This is what the Apostle means in 1 Corinthians 12 and in verse 3 where it says no man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost. Now anybody can say Jesus is Lord. You hear nuts on TV talk Jesus is Lord all the time from every walk of life. But I'm telling you, nobody in his heart acknowledges Christ as his Lord, so that he willingly submits to Christ as his Lord, but by the Spirit of God.

We are by nature rebels against God. Jim Meador by nature hates God. That's our nature. That's what the scripture says. By nature we are We are enmity against God, not at enmity, but enmity itself, so that all men by nature live and walk with a fist in God's face, demanding their rights before God. But when God the Holy Spirit comes and reveals our sin and God's grace in Jesus Christ, the believer says, you take over. You take over. We surrender our life to him. We surrender our life to him.

I spent a good portion of my youth in utter rebellion against God and all authority. And when first I heard the claims of Christ and first began to hear men teaching that which was the truth of the gospel of God's grace, the problem, the reason why I did not immediately accept Christ Jesus as Savior was not that I didn't want to go to heaven. That wasn't the problem. That wasn't the issue. It was not that I was just one of those people who didn't have any regard for eternity or my immortal soul. That wasn't the issue. The issue was I did not want Jesus Christ to rule my life. And that's the issue with all men.

But when the believer, when a man or woman is made to believe on Christ, true faith, voluntarily surrenders all things to the rule of Christ and the believer takes up his cross daily and follows Christ. He loses his life to Christ. I don't know how to state that any more clearly or any more decisively than our Lord Jesus stated it.

I sat down and wrote Jennifer and Christie Earlier this week. You'll be getting a letter. She graduates this week and I encouraged her as I tried to Everyone I have contact with but especially young folks as they begin to seek their way in this world In all things honor Christ, follow Christ Commit your life to Christ. Don't don't let anything interfere with that I want to tell you something.

When all is said and done, when all is said and done, when the final wash comes out, believers do. They do. They just surrender to Christ. Now, God may in His wisdom and grace take you through thick and thin, and He may take you through deep, deep Dark, dark trials and difficulties, but if you're His, you will in the tenor of your life, surrender your life to Christ. That's what believers do. Isn't that right Bobby? They just do. Grace causes us to bow. We surrender gladly to the dominion of the Son of God so that His will becomes our rule.

True faith trusts Christ and his providential rule of everything, so the believer looks to Christ and says, Thy will be done. Thy will be done. And true faith is obedient to Christ as Lord. The church and kingdom of God is not a kingdom of rebels. The church and kingdom of God is a kingdom under the rule of Christ. by the voluntary consent of every heart, so that we are willingly obedient to his word. Walk before Christ as our only Lord and Savior. And thirdly, Jesus only is our rule of life. Let me show you two texts. Turn to John chapter 13. John chapter 13.

We who believe are not slaves under the dominion of the law. I've been trying to preach this since I was just a young man, and I've had constant butting of heads over this issue. But I'm telling you, nothing on this earth is more comforting, more delighting, more blessed to God's saints than the proper understanding of the fact that we are not under the law. We're just not under the law. We're not slaves, and God doesn't treat us like slaves. We're children.

Children walking in the path of our elder brother. And because we love him, we seek to honor his name. And we just do. If you love him, you seek to honor him. And if you don't seek to honor him, it's because you don't love him and you don't know him.

Look what our Lord says here now in John chapter 13 and verse 15. He has just washed his disciples' feet. That is, he has just served a very basic elementary need of his disciples. Their feet were dirty. On those dusty, hot days, men walk and walk and walk for miles and miles and miles. It was a customary practice of a hospitable and generous guest to provide for the washing of his guest's feet. And the Lord Jesus comes to his disciples and washes their feet. when your feet are tired and achy, nothing on this earth more refreshing, nothing more relaxing, nothing more comforting, and nothing that anyone by nature is less likely to do than wash your feet. But our Lord Jesus washed his disciples' feet, and listen to what he said, I've given you an example that you should do as I've done to you.

Go do what I've done. What's that mean? Go serve each other. Go meet one another's needs. You go and follow my example. Now, our rule of life is not the Ten Commandments, but the whole revealed will of God in Holy Scripture. And it's summarized in two things. Summarized in two things. Turn to 1 John chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3. If I could, I'm reluctant to talk about summarizing scripture, but I guess it's all right.

Our Lord said all the law and the prophets are fulfilled in two things, didn't he? He said, love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. He said that fulfilled the whole law and prophets. All right. Here in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 23, John, by the Spirit of God, through divine inspiration, gives us the summary of all that God commands. This is His commandment. Number one, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. I keep praying.

God, teach me. Teach me to trust you. Oh, teach me to trust you. Teach me to believe Christ. I mean believe him. I do. I believe him. I do trust him. But I have to say, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. But nothing more honors the Lord our God than simply trusting his son. Nothing more honors, nothing more dishonors him than a lack of faith in his son. And secondly, he says, and love one another as he gave us command. Oh, God, teach us to love each other. Teach us to love each other. Teach us to bridle our tongues and bridle our thoughts.

Entertain only good thoughts. Good thoughts. If we could learn to think good things about each other, we'd only say good things about each other. Learn to bridle your tongue by bridling your thoughts and do good to Forgive, be kind, gracious, generous, thoughtful, caring one of another.

That's what it is to love each other. Lay down your life for one another. Now, preach or talk to yourself. God teach me to give up my privileges and my opportunities and my wants and my desires for the good of Babu Jesus. Oh God teach me to do that. That's what it is to love one another. It's to lay down your life for one another. Fourth thing, Jesus only is all our hope before our God. Colossians 1 27, Christ in you is the hope of glory. Christ in you. I heard Brother Mahan tell a story one time we were preaching somewhere He said a little girl asked her daddy on the way home from church, said, uh, daddy, how big is Jesus?

He said, well, I don't know. Why do you ask? He said, she said, well, you reckon he's the size of you are or any other man? He said, well, I guess he's, I guess he's a normal sized fella, normal sized man of any other fella. He said, well, why do you ask? He said, well, the Sunday school teacher said today that Jesus is in me. He said, if he was in me, wouldn't he stick out? And he said, I expect he would. And if he's in you, you'll stick out. You don't have to wear a button saying, I love Jesus. Everybody will know. You don't have to wear a bumper sticker saying, I love Jesus. Honk if you love him. Everybody will know. He'll stick out.

And if he sticks out in you, He's the hope of glory, only Christ. Our assurance and peace is Christ. Christ alone is our acceptance with God. Christ alone makes intercession with the Father on our behalf. Christ alone is able to present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

But in Christ Jesus, I have confidence that he shall do just that. He will present me holy and without blame, without spot, without wrinkle, without blemish before the presence of God's glory. And bold shall I stand in that great day, for who ought to my charge shall lay, while through Christ's blood absolved I am from sin's tremendous guilt and blame.

Once more, Turn to Psalm 73 and verse 25. Jesus only is our reward in heaven. In heaven's eternal glory, I want nothing. I hope for nothing but Jesus only. He's the crown I seek and the beauty I desire. And he said, I'll be to you. a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty. Now look here in Psalm 73, David said, Whom have I in heaven but thee?

And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My heart and my flesh faileth. I wrote to Brother Alan Rowe yesterday evening down in Australia and told him that half had been called to glory. And I said, it won't be long for you and me either. Soon we shall follow him. My heart and my flesh fail. No need to weep over that. That's the way it ought to be. This heart and flesh supposed to fail.

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Now here's a sampling of the prospect before us. Soon we shall be with Christ. with Him face to face. And when we're with Him, we shall see His face. And when we see Him, we shall be like Him. Now, we've talked about that a good bit recently, but listen to this. When we see Him, we will be fully satisfied with Him. Fully satisfied There'll be no weeping, no pain, no sorrow, no crying. None. There'll be nothing to cause us pain, weeping, sorrow, crying. Because we'll be fully satisfied. Fully satisfied with Him. Now, I don't know how to describe that. Except maybe to give a terribly carnal, earthly illustration of it.

You sit down to one of these dinners these ladies put on downstairs, and you come in just so hungry, and you sit there and eat for about 30, 35 minutes, and before long you're so satisfied. And somebody comes along and says, would you like to have one more piece of chocolate cake? You say, I just don't want another bite. I don't want another bite. The only problem with that, with that satisfaction, comes a little bit of pain.

Oh, but when we see Him and we are with Him, there will be nothing, nothing, nothing that we want. Can you hear that? Nothing. Nothing. For He is all we want. We'll be fully satisfied with that. And there's something even better than that. The scripture says, he shall see us the travail of his soul and he, the son of God, shall be fully satisfied with us. Oh, imagine that. Imagine that.

I've never, I have never yet, I have never yet done anything with which I was absolutely satisfied. Have you? Just in a purely physical sense, I've never written an article, I've never made anything, I've never done anything. with which I was absolutely satisfied. But when Jesus Christ gets done with me and lands me in heaven's glory, conformed perfectly to his image, the Son of God will look on me and be perfectly satisfied, satisfied in my presence. satisfied with my praise, satisfied with me through his beauty that he shall have put upon me. Amen. Amen. Now then, listen to what Paul says. I'll send you home with this.

In the light of these things, in the light of this blessed, blessed, glorious Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. He says, If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, for Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection, not affections, your affection Set your heart singularly on things above, not on things on the earth, for you're dead. You're dead. And your life is hid with Christ in God. Amen. Let's stand together and we'll pray.

Our Father, We thank you for Jesus Christ our Lord. From the depths of our souls, with all the joy and praise our hearts can muster, we give you thanks for Him who is to us all in all. We thank you that you've revealed Him in us and given Him to us. We ask for grace in all things to honor Him. Teach us indeed to believe on the name of the Son of God. To implicitly, completely trust Him. And teach us to love one another.

As Lindsay prayed earlier, God give us grace while we walk in this world in all things to live for you, to honor you. I pray for Evelyn and the folks at Dingus. God be gracious to them, comfort them, sustain them according to your will. Thank you for your goodness in relieving half of his suffering. fill our hearts with Christ Jesus the Lord. Make us ever to love Him and to seek Him and to follow Him and drop all other things. Teach us to hold everything and everyone in this world with a loose hand and cling to Him alone by faith. And yet our Father, we pray that you'll truly teach us to love each other. I ask for Bob and Sally that you give them protection as they travel according to your will. Give James, Alberta's doctors, wisdom to treat their illnesses.

We ask for our congregation that you will bless the labors of our hands, make us faithful witnesses to your glory. We ask that you give us opportunity to serve the interest of your kingdom in many ways, make us faithful to it. We ask for our brethren who preach the gospel around the world. God make it to be effectual wherever men faithfully proclaim your truth.

We ask particularly for Brother Ken Wymer and his family as they prepare to go back to Africa, that your hand of mercy be upon them. We ask for Bill that you give his doctors wisdom to treat his cancer and graciously give him the strength that's needed to continue the work you've committed to his hands. We ask for our sons and daughters, God be merciful to them, protect them, graciously incline their hearts to seek after you. I ask for Jennifer and Christy that your blessings be upon them direct every step of their lives. As Michael makes preparation to leave and pursue his career, we ask your hand of mercy be upon him.

God be gracious to him. Ask for faith in Doug as they prepare their lives together that you might be pleased, our father, to grant your blessings upon their household. cause them to build their lives around our Savior for the glory of His name. Amen. God bless you.

Jesus Only

What does the Bible say about the Mountain of Transfiguration?

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How does Jesus fulfill the law?

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Jesus Only

What does the Bible say about the Mountain of Transfiguration?

How do we know Jesus is our Savior?

Why is Jesus important for Christians?

How does Jesus fulfill the law?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

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