All right, John chapter 5. Verse
39, Our Lord says, Search the Scriptures. He means you do search
the Scriptures. For in them you think you have
eternal life. They are they which testify me. Our Lord says, Search
the Scriptures. You remember from our last message,
this is the last witness that our Lord calls. to testify that
he is the Christ. He's God's Savior, the Savior
that God sent. And for us, the different witnesses
our Lord called, this is the most important witness that the
Lord called. Both John the Baptist and the
Apostle John, they passed away many years ago. We don't have
them. We don't see the man Jesus of
Nazareth working miracles anymore. The Father doesn't speak audibly
from heaven any longer. But here you're sitting, holding
God's Word in your laps. This is the Word of God, the
Word that God sent to man. And the whole Bible testifies
the Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He's the Savior of sinners. The whole Scripture testifies
that Jesus of Nazareth is God. There can be talking of no one
else other than Jesus of Nazareth. And we should search the Scripture.
Search the Scriptures to find spiritual food, not to find some
hidden doctrinal point that we can divide and debate over. We're
to search the Scriptures for spiritual food. Search the Scriptures
to find hidden treasures of Christ. I told you last Sunday, this
word search, it means to examine and means to digest. We're to
search the Scriptures and digest Scriptures for spiritual food.
We're to search the Scriptures and take the hidden treasures
of Christ that are revealed in God's Word and take them to our
heart in belief, in faith. But now, men by nature do not
do that. It's not just these men our Lord
is speaking to here. It's all men by nature will not
do that. Man by nature does not believe
on Christ. And you wonder why not? Well,
this morning, Lord willing, I'll tell you why men do not believe
on Christ. First of all, men don't believe
on Christ because man will not believe on Christ. It's not that
you cannot believe. You cannot believe because you
will not believe. That's the problem. Man will
not receive Christ. Man's nature is opposed to Christ. Man's nature is opposed to salvation
in Christ alone, so we will not believe. Look at verse 40, what
our Lord says, and you will not, despite the fact that you search
the scriptures, you will not come to me that you might have
life. It's not a lack of evidence that
kept these Jews from believing on Christ, is it? They did search
the scriptures. They saw all the scriptures,
just like us. It's not lack of evidence that
keeps us from believing on Christ. You've heard the gospel preached
to you. You've heard God's word read to you, many of you, for
all your lives. It's not lack of evidence that
keeps us from believing on Christ. It's not lack of evidence that
keeps us from coming to Christ. I like the term Arthur Pink uses.
He says it's a perversity of will. It's not lack of evidence,
it's perversity of will that keeps us from believing on Christ.
the fallen, corrupt, depraved nature that we received from
Adam in our first birth will not come to Christ. Men are unwilling
by nature to own their own sin. You just can't find somebody
that says, it's my fault. I did it. It's my fault. Because
man by nature is unwilling to own his sin. Men by nature are
unwilling to admit our inability. Boy, it's the hardest thing in
the world to say, I can't do that, isn't it? Why is it? It's our nature. Men, by nature,
are unwilling to beg God for mercy. Ooh, you can't hardly
find a beggar now. Because men, by nature, are unwilling
to beg God for mercy. We are unwilling to cast ourselves
wholly on the Lord Jesus Christ. Look over 1 Corinthians 2. This
is our nature. 1 Corinthians 2. Verse 14. But the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
unto him. Neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned. He don't have a spiritual bucket
to put him in. They're spiritually discerned.
And he will not come to Christ. He will not believe the gospel.
Our problem is, is by nature, we know there's a need of salvation. And by nature, we do not approve
of God's way of salvation. We want some other way. We like
some other way. And men will do anything. Anything. Except come to Christ. Give them
something to do. They'll do it. I don't care how
absurd it is. Give it to them. They'll do it.
Except come to Christ. Tell them the most simple, free
thing in this world. Come to Christ for salvation
freely. They'll never do that. It's not that they can't. It's
not that they haven't been told. They will not. This is our nature.
The problem is we want salvation some other way But salvation
can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. No other name is
given under heaven whereby men must be saved other than this
name, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it can be subtle. A man told me one time, we were
talking, and he said, well, I don't know anything. The only thing
I know is this. I'm trusting in the righteousness
that Christ accomplished. He finished at Calvary's Tree.
That's my only hope. And I told him no. Don't make
that your hope. That's not a good hope of salvation.
Salvation is not in the righteousness that Christ finished at Calvary.
Salvation is trusting Christ. Salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ. It's knowing Christ. It's you
being in Christ and him being formed in your heart. Salvation
is a person. Salvation is not a thing that
Jesus supplied for us, provides for us. Salvation is a person. It's knowing Christ. He walked
away from me and never spoke to me again. But it's so. Salvation
is a person. It's knowing and coming to the
Lord Jesus Christ. This man is willing to trust
the righteousness that Christ finished at Calvary. But he's
not willing to trust Christ. He's not willing to come to Christ. That's why men must be born again. Because our first nature has
fallen in sin. Our first nature hates God, is
contrary to God, and does not want to be saved by Christ alone. We're just not willing. In verse
41, our Lord says, I received not honor from men. Now He's
telling them again, and He's telling us again, He's God. Our Lord didn't seek honor from
men. He never coveted or wanted honor
from men. Why would He? There's nothing
we can do to add to Christ. We can't add to the glory of
His person, can we? The Lord Jesus Christ does not
need our approval. Now, he's the truth. Well, we
believe it or not. We don't add to him. We don't
confirm him. And he never sought the approval of men. The only
glory our Lord ever sought was the glory of his father. He wasn't
even seeking his own glory. He was seeking the glory of his
father. If you and I ever see Christ. That'll be our attitude,
too, but not before. Never before God gives us a new
spirit and a new nature and a new person because man by nature
will not come to Christ. Second, men don't believe Christ
because man's nature does not love God, does not love God's
son. Look at verse 42. Our Lord says,
but I know you that you have not the love of God in you. Christ
knew the hearts of these men because he's God. He's omniscient. He knows everything. He knows
the hearts of all men. Ours too. And these men, they
posed. They posed as worshippers of
God. They pretended to be concerned about the honor of God. They
called our Lord, Lord, with the lips, but their hearts were far
from Him. Our Lord knew they did not have
a genuine love for God in their hearts. They just pretended. Now they fooled men, but they
never fooled our Lord. He knew their hearts. You know,
if I say, I love you, and then I do everything I can do to avoid
being with you, you know what you know? I don't love you because
I do everything I can do to avoid you. Why don't more people come
hear the gospel? They say they do, but why don't
they come here? Why do they always find someplace
else to be? Because they don't love God.
That's our nature. Why don't more people believe
on Christ in saving faith? Why don't more people throw themselves
on his mercy? Because they don't love Christ,
that's why. You believe people that you love. And if you don't
believe Christ, there's one reason for it. You don't love him. Look
at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 8. And then shall that wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all
power and signs and blind wonders, and with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness, and them that perish. because they received not the
love of the truth that they might be saved. They didn't love the
truth. They didn't love Christ. And for this cause, because they
didn't love God, they didn't love his son, for this cause,
God shall send in strong delusion that they should believe a lie.
And that all might be damned who believe not the truth, but
they had pleasure in unrighteousness. They didn't love Christ, but
they love unrighteousness. That's our nature. And men say,
well, I don't love unrighteousness. I don't love unrighteousness
at all. I love the law. Well, that's probably true. You
probably do love the law. But I tell you this, you don't
keep it. Men do love the law by nature, but now they don't
keep it. Man's nature. We love the bondage of the law
rather than loving Christ, loving freedom in Christ. Look back
at John chapter 3. This is just our nature. John 3, verse 19. And this is the condemnation.
The light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather
than light because their deeds were evil. We love darkness and
sin and unrighteousness by nature and do not love God. Again, the
problem is not lack of evidence that Jesus is the Christ. The
problem is a sinful, perverse will. that hates God. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. That word enmity means hatred. The carnal mind is hatred with
God. Hates God, so refuses to come
to Christ because our carnal mind hates Him. And you'll say,
well, I never hate Christ. I never said I hate Christ. I
never said I hate God. Well, you probably didn't. But
our actions show it. If you do not believe Christ,
You don't love him. Your action shows you don't love
him. There's no middle ground. It's either love or hate. No
middle ground. If you love someone, you believe
them. You don't kill somebody that
you love. These men our Lord's talking to, short order, they're
going to be the ones saying crucifying. They're plotting, already they've
been plotting to put him to death. Why? Because they don't love
him. You don't kill somebody that
you love. And the only reason that you and I were right there
with them, putting our Lord Jesus to death, is God didn't allow
you and me to be born 2,000 years later on a different continent.
That's the only reason that we weren't right there with them.
Because 2,000 years later when we were born, we were born with
the same nature as these fellas. A nature that hates God, and
will not believe Christ, and we never will. Unless God moves
in power, and mercy, and gives new life. is a new nature that
does love him. That's the only way we ever will
love God, is if we're born again with a new nature that loves
God. Third, men don't believe Christ because man's nature believes
false prophets. Look in verse 43. I come in my
Father's name and you receive me not. If another should come
in his own name, him you will receive. Men believe false prophets
Because false prophets preach a false gospel, but it agrees
with man's nature. Man has a depraved nature and
we're willing to believe a lie because we hate the truth. A
lie agrees with us. The Lord Jesus Christ came in
his Father's name. He came in the authority of God
Almighty. He came to reveal the Father.
He came to reveal the Father's will in redemption. You'd think
everybody would welcome that. He came to fulfill all the types
and prophecies and shadows of the Old Testament Scriptures.
He came to fulfill the law and make an end of the law. Now you'd
think anybody with any sense that lived under the bondage
of that law would just love the fellow that came to put an end
to it. But they didn't. Our Lord came not seeking His
own glory. He came seeking the glory and
the honor of the Father that they pretended to be interested
in. Our Lord came as the truth personified. And men rejected
him because they'd rather believe a lie, because the lie agrees
with their nature, even though the lie is contrary to scripture,
it agrees with their nature, so they'd rather believe the
lie. And they see a scripture that contradicts their theology
and they look and say, oh, well, I'll just ignore that part. And
they go on believing a lie. I mean, this is just our nature.
And every believer, if you're here this morning, you believe
Christ, you know this. You're born in this world with
this nature. This nature that believes a lie. Now, you've still
got that nature, don't you? God saved you. He didn't eradicate
that old nature. You're still toting it around
with you. Well, what's going to keep me
from following that nature and still believing a lie? What's
going to keep me from just leaving the truth and going off and believing
a lie? Look at Matthew chapter 24. If you don't fear that, there
might be a problem. I was a very young man and a
group of men were talking. And they were talking about this
fellow. At one time, he preached the gospel. I'm telling you,
wow, he could preach. And he just left the gospel,
just denied it completely. And I was a young man, so I wasn't
saying anything. I was just listening, you know.
And I finally asked a question. I said, does that scare you to
death? I mean, that frightens me. What
will keep me from doing that? Bob Coffey told me, that's a
sign of life. If God's given you life, You
fear this. You fear what that old man will
do. Look at Matthew 24, verse 21. For then shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no,
wherever shall be. And except those days should
be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's
sake, those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto
you, lo, here's Christ, or there, well, believe it not. For there
shall also arise false Christs and false prophets, and they
shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible
they shall deceive the very elect." It's not possible to deceive
the very elect. Not for long it's not. That new
man, he's got eyes to see. He's got ears to hear. He'll
eventually see it. He'll eventually hear it. It's not possible for
the elect to be deceived. Because they've got a new nature.
But now, men by nature, they will believe the false prophet.
They flock after them. Because the false prophet appeals
to the flesh. So they just believe him. What
he says appeals to them. They like it. But now listen. God's not going to save anybody
under that lie. Never. God will never save anybody until
Christ gets all the glory and salvation. God gets all the glory
and a sinner gets no glory in salvation or else there'll be
no salvation. You're going to have to let go
of what appeals to the flesh. You have to let go of pride and
be willing for yourself to get none of the glory or God's not
going to save you. Now, the gospel message is a message that gives
all the honor to Christ. The gospel message exalts the
Lord Jesus Christ and puts the flesh So far down in the dust
that all pride must be removed. But now false prophet won't tell
you that. But God's servant will. And that brings me to my fourth
point. Men don't believe Christ because by nature we're full
of pride. It's pride that makes a man unwilling
to humble himself before God. Look at verse 44 in our text. How can you believe which receive
honor one of another and seek not the honor that cometh from
God only? Now, our Lord says you seek honor
one of another. He means this. You're seeking
the approval and praise of each other, of men. Men are so busy
seeking honor from other men. They don't have time to seek
honor from God. Now, the greater always receives
honor from the lesser, right? Parents receive honor from their
children. Masters receive honor from their servants. Governors,
magistrates receive honor from their subjects. Well, God receives
honor from the creature. Honor from one creature to another
creature? That's not honor. That's just
a lateral move. That's just one maggot bragging
on another maggot. What honor is there in that?
And men don't believe the gospel because the gospel is the great
level. The gospel doesn't give any honor
to men. The gospel puts all men in the dust, regardless of fleshly
distinctions. Those fleshly distinctions mean
a lot to us, but the gospel does away with them and puts all men
in the dust. It doesn't matter what skin color
you have. It doesn't matter who your ancestors are, who you're
related to. It doesn't matter how much money
you have, what section of town you live in. All men, regardless
of what they look like or where they come from or where they
live, all men. are fallen in Adam. All men,
without exception, are dead in trespasses and sins. And all
men, all flesh, is going to go to hell unless God saves them
in sovereign grace. Now, men by nature don't realize
they're dead in sin. They're so full of pride, they
think they're alive. We don't think we need to be
saved because we're just too full of pride. The opinion of
ourselves is far too high. The well, our Lord said, don't
need a position. It's just too full of pride to
think you need the great position. And you never will. Until you
see your need of Christ. And if you ever see your need,
if God ever slays pride, then you're run to Him. And not before. And then you'll sing with Leah.
The one that taught me how to beg at his feet, when he did
away with pride and taught me to beg at his feet, that's when
he gave me a seat at the table of grace. But he had to do away
with pride first. He had to make me a beggar in
the dust first. And by nature, men don't want that. Men, they
don't want honor from, or they do want honor from men, not humility
before God. Men seek honor from other men,
but they won't seek mercy from God. Some of these very men,
they believed that Jesus was the Christ. But they wouldn't
confess him publicly for fear of the Jews. Now brethren, that's
not salvation. Saying, well, I believe that,
but I'm not going to confess it because people don't like
that and they won't like me. That's not salvation. I'll show
you that. Look at James chapter 4. Unless
it's so, you don't take my word for it. Look at James 4, verse 4. Ye adulterers and adulteresses,
know ye not that the friendship of the world Is enmity with God? Is hatred with God? If you're
a friend of the world, you hate God. That's what James says here.
Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the
enemy of God. Now, if you really believe Christ,
you don't care what the world thinks. You don't care that the
world is now your enemy. If you believe Christ, your heart's
desire is to confess Him and identify with Him publicly. And
listen, that's no miracle. There's no miracle I want to
be identified with the Lord. There's no miracle. Why wouldn't
I? Here's the miracle. God's Son
clothed Himself in human flesh to identify a sinful man. That's
a miracle. I want to identify that fellow.
That's the Savior I want to identify with. And men won't seek that
Savior because they're too full of pride. No one will seek the
Savior until they see that they're nothing. When I see I'm nothing,
I realize, oh, I don't have anything to be proud of. Well, then I'll
put pride away. No one will seek the Savior until
they're lost. If you think you know where you're
at, your pride keeps you from stopping at the gas station asking
for directions and knowing it. But when you know you're lost,
you know I can't get where I want to go, then pride's put away
and I'll ask for help. But not before. Until you realize
you're lost, you're too full of pride to ask the Lord to save
you. No one will be clothed until they're naked. If you find yourself
naked in a group of people, all pride's gone. You're scrambling
for a covering. You seek the covering. of Christ
and His righteousness. If God shows you, you're naked
and removes all pride. No one will see Christ until
they're empty, when we realize there's no goodness in me. Not
until then will I seek to receive Christ and be filled with His
goodness. I have to be empty first. No one will be saved until
pride has gone out the window and we find ourselves with our
faces in the dust begging God to have mercy on our hell-deserving
souls. Now, are you interested in honor?
Is anyone here interested in true honor? I can tell you where
to find it. True honor is not honor from
other men. True honor is this, being a recipient
of sovereign grace. That's honor. being fed by the
hand of the Sovereign. That's honor. That is honor that
comes from God only. Seek Him. Put your pride down
and seek Him. Seek Christ and you'll find true
honor. That's where it comes from. In
verse 45, back in our text, our Lord says, Do not think that
I will accuse you to the Father. There's one that accuses you,
even Moses, in whom you trust. Now our Lord did not come to
this world to condemn the world. Men were condemned already. We're
condemned in our sin. We're condemned in Adam's sin
and we're condemned in our own sin. Christ, He didn't have to
do anything to condemn us. He came to the world to save
His people out of this world, to save us from our sins. Now
the next time He comes, He will come as judge. But even then,
Christ won't be the one testifying against anyone. He won't be able
to testify against unbelievers. These men claim to love Moses. Now, they didn't love Moses when
he was alive. Israel did not love Moses when he was alive.
They're all the time wanting to do away with him. They loved
him when he was dead. You know why? Because when he's
dead, he can't point out to them, you got this all wrong. You misunderstood
what I said. You know, they can interpret
what he said any way they wanted to. So they loved him when he
was dead. They didn't love him when he
was around. But they claim to love Him. And those very writings
that they claim to love will accuse them and condemn them.
Christ is not going to have to do it. The writings of Moses
they claim to love will do it. Well, what did Moses write? Well,
Moses wrote the law. That's the first thing people
think of. He wrote the law. And he did. He wrote the Ten
Commandments. He wrote the Levitical law. He's the one that recorded
those things in Scripture. Why did Moses write that law?
Why did God, the Holy Spirit, move Moses to write that law?
Well, it wasn't to give us a way of salvation. The law was given
to show us our sin and to drive us to Christ. The law was given
to show us. I can't keep that. So the law
was given to drive us to the one who did keep it. And that
law that these men loved, the law that men today still claim
to love, it will reveal their sin on the Day of Judgment and
it will condemn them. Mostly, Moses really didn't like
the law, did he? Mostly all Moses writings spoke
of Christ. In picture and type, Moses clearly
wrote of Christ. Who else could the seated woman
be? Jesus of Nazareth. He's the only one. Moses wrote
of the great prophet, the one that you'll hear. Moses said,
you won't hear me. You'll hear him. He's the great
prophet. Abraham's ram, who is that speaking
of? Is that really speaking of a ram on top of a mountain caught
in a thicket by its horns? Or is that speaking of someone
else? That ram that died in Isaac's place, that's Christ, our substitute
who died in our place. My son, God will provide Himself
with lamb for the sacrifice. Here He is. Behold, the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Moses wrote
of Christ. He wrote of the tabernacle. the
priesthood, all the sacrifices, all spoke of Christ. And these
men searched those Scriptures. Those Scriptures and all the
other prophets, they searched them. And these men should have
known better than anyone else. Everything they did concerning
Jesus of Nazareth was fulfilling the Scriptures of the Messiah.
They should have seen that. You just wonder sometimes when
the Lord rode into town on an ass, with the colt, the foal
of an ass. You'd thought, they'd think,
that sounds familiar. It didn't. When they sold him
for 30 pieces of silver. Didn't they think? This is the
Scriptures we've read. We read these every year. When
a close friend came to him and betrayed him. Look over in, I
think it's Psalm 55. I should have wrote this down
if I'm wrong. I apologize. Psalm 55. Yeah. Psalm 55. These men read these scriptures.
They committed them to memory. They wrote them on those flack
trees and put them on their robes going around town. Verse 10,
Psalm 55. Day and night they go about it
upon the walls. Thereof mischief also and sorrow
are in the midst of it. Wickedness is in the midst thereof.
Deceit and guile depart not from our streets. Don't be fooled
by their religious facade. deceit and guile are in our streets.
For it was not an enemy that reproached me. Then I could have
borne it. Neither was it he that hated
me that did magnify himself against me. Then I would have hidden
myself from him. But it was thou, a man mine equal,
my guide and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together.
We walked in the house of God in company. You think when Judas
came to betray the Lord for thirty pieces of silver, that scripture
Might would have crossed somebody's mind. But it didn't. He's betrayed by a close friend.
When they crucified him, they gave him gall and vinegar to
drink. People were passing lots for his vesture. They crucified
him between two thieves. When he was dead, they took him
down and buried him in a rich man's tomb. You thought any of that? They
could identify that in the prophecies of the Messiah in the Scripture,
but they never did. And it's those very Scriptures The Scriptures
they claim to love will condemn them. And it will be proven in
that day they did not believe the Scriptures that they claimed
to love because they didn't love God and they didn't love His
Son. And that brings me to my fifth point, my last point. Men
don't believe Christ because men by nature do not love God's
Word. Look at verse 46 back in our
text. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. For
he wrote of me, and if you believe not his writings, how shall you
believe my word?" If you believe the writings of Moses, then you
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, because Moses wrote of Christ.
Moses didn't write the law in order for us to follow it, in
order to be saved. Moses wrote the law to point
us to Christ the Savior, who did keep the law. He kept it
at every point. He wrote the law to drive us
to Christ, as a savior from our sin, because that's the sin the
law exposes. And the only reason a person
does not believe Christ is they don't believe God's word. The
issue at hand is always this and always has been this. What
think ye of Christ? This is the man that the scriptures
reveal. And this is such a solemn warning.
I always thought of this all the time. Growing up, I knew
I didn't know the Lord, but I knew the right doctrine. I've been
taught that. I mean, it's easy to understand.
It's not difficult. I understood as long as I can
understand doctrine or understand words. You can believe the right
doctrine and not know Christ. You can have these scriptures
and understand things about the scriptures and have the correct
doctrine and not be saved. Salvation is not knowing the
right doctrine. Salvation is believing Christ. It's coming to Christ. It's receiving
Christ. It's laying hold upon Christ.
Salvation is Christ. And you can't cherry pick certain
verses and certain passages of Scripture and like those and
believe those and put the rest of it in the garbage can and
not believe those. You can't do that. And it seems like that's
what these men did. And the more they dug their heels
in and would not believe, the more they would not believe God's
Word. the more hardened their hearts became. They would not
see. By the time our Lord was hanging
on the cross, they could not see. They hardened their hearts.
God delivers from being gospel hardened. I think maybe the worst
thing in this world would be to become gospel hardened. For
the gospel is not to break your heart anymore. Oh, I fear that. That's the worst thing. For the
awe of God's majesty. The awe of who He is. That He
would come to be my substitute. To put my sin away. To become
hardened to that. Just because you get to hear
it every week. The Gospel is not in every town
around this place. But it's here. We should be so
thankful. Oh, I'm so thankful. God could
have removed it. But He didn't. God delivers from
ever taking it for granted. And people think, well, I've
heard this before. I've heard it before. I'm at
home watching football. I'll come back next week. I'll
believe it tomorrow. I'll come back Wednesday. I'll
believe it tomorrow. Be mighty careful. Be mighty
careful. God hasn't promised you tomorrow.
And if He does give you tomorrow, your heart might be too hard
tomorrow. Believe Him today. Call on Him today. Beg Him for
mercy today. Man by nature will not believe
because we have Adam's nature. Adam didn't believe God's Word
either, did he? God told him, Adam, the day you eat that tree,
you're going to die. What did Adam do? He ate the fruit. He
didn't believe. And we've got His nature. It
hasn't changed ever since. How can you believe if this is
your nature? We're born with a nature that
will not believe. We're born with a nature that
does not love God. We're born with a nature that's
full of pride. Born with a nature that hates God's Word. You know
what the problem in all those things is? It's us. It's you and me. The problem's
not with God. The problem's not with God's
Word. If I never again hear my life, I don't understand the
King James Version, I'll be so happy. I mean, it just drives
me absolutely insane. Of course you understand. That's
not the problem. The problem is with you and me.
It's our nature. We will not believe. The problem
is with us. I wish God would show us that. Is that your problem? I pray. God made you see that's your
problem. Oh, I pray that. Is that your
problem? Is the problem yourself, your
nature, your refusal to believe? Is it? Then ask God to give you
a new one. Ask God to give you a new nature
and a new heart. Ask God to give you a nature
that will come to Christ. Ask God to give you a nature
that does desire the righteousness of Christ, not moan righteously.
Ask God to give you a nature that does desire to be washed
in the blood of Christ. Ask God to give you a nature
that does hate your own name and desires to bear His name.
Jehovah Sidken, who that's the name we're with, she shall be
called. Ask God to give you that nature that desires that name.
Ask God to give you a nature that loves God, that loves His
Son, that loves other people, that will love God's Word. Ask
God to give you a nature that loves the truth and hates a lie. Hates the lie so much you won't
believe it. You won't follow it. You won't follow anything
that's contrary to His Word. Ask Him to put His Word in your
heart. Then you won't depart from it. Ask God to give you
a humble nature that resists pride and will humbly beg God
for mercy. Because now, listen. You'll never
graduate from that spot. Begging God for mercy. You'll
never graduate from it. That's a nature That's not natural
to man. That's not natural in this world.
It's the nature that God must give in the new birth. Now, we're
dependent. We're dependent upon him, upon
God's mercy and upon God's grace. There's nothing we can conjure
up of ourselves. God's got to give it. God's got
to do the saving. Then call on Him. Seek Him. Examine
His Word. Just seek Him. And don't let
go. Be like Jacob. I will not let
go except you bless me. He'll bless you. He'll touch
the hollow of your thigh. You'll limp the rest of your
life. But He'll touch you. Seek Him. Beg Him for mercy.
Alright. Let's bow in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, I pray that
you cause your word to go forth and get glory to thy name. Let
us leave here this morning seeing the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that he came to love the unlovable. He came to save those who could
not save themselves. He shed his blood to put away
sin his people could never put away. Father, give us eyes to
see. Give us eyes to see the Lord
Jesus Christ. We beg of thee a heart that loves
him. A heart that will love his word,
receive his word, and believe his word. A heart that will cling
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, I know we ask a great
blessing. This is no small thing we ask
for, the forgiveness of sins. the new birth. But we ask, we
humbly beg thee, we ask, we beg, because thou art able. You're the only one who's willing
and able to save. And we beg thee that you would. We're so thankful for your many
mercies to us. Oh, you've been so merciful to
this thy people. And we humbly ask For thy great
namesake, for the glory of thy name, would you continue, would
you continue, by thy mercy, by thy power, by thy will, to call
out people from this town. We beg of thee. For thy glory,
we beg. Amen.