So, my text this morning is John
3, verse 33. He that hath received his testimony
hath set to his seal that God is true. You may wonder why have
I missed out all the rest of chapter three? Surely there's
many sermons. Well, they've been preached down
the years and I could easily have gone back there, but I feel
that this is getting to the heart of what this chapter is about.
You remember I said last time that Jesus was showing in his
ministry that Judaism was dead, was finished, was empty, was
just a sham, hypocritical ritual that had no life and truth in
it. And the new wine of the gospel could not be put in the old bottles
of Judaism. He'd shown that Judaism was dead
in the ignorance of its priests and its leaders. It was dead
and stone cold, joyless, signified by those stone-cold water pots
that were filled with water to turn to wine which speaks of
joy, and then it was completely corrupted in one of the core
feasts, if not the core feast, the feast of the Passover, so
much speaking of Christ our Passover who would come, and yet they
had corrupted it with the leaven of sin. It was absolutely corrupted
with covetousness, which is idolatry, which is sin, all the way through.
The wine of the gospel cannot be put in the dead emptiness
of Judaism. And then in John chapter three,
we see this new wine of the gospel of grace. In the first 21 verses
that we read earlier, Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, who came to him
by night, clearly, fearing being seen by others of his contemporaries
in the Pharisaical leadership, the Sanhedrin, he came to Jesus
by night and he hears from the lips of Jesus the necessity of
spiritual regeneration. The need that there must be spiritual
life within the soul from God, the revelation of God in the
heart of man. You and me, we must have this
light of life from God in our souls. To see with the eye of
faith, not the physical eye, to see with the eye of faith. You see, when Richard Dawkins
says and the like, I see nothing of God, you're looking with the
wrong eyes, Richard, you're looking with physical eyes. You need
the eye of faith, and unless God gives it to you, you won't
see. But to see with the eye of faith, and to understand anything
of God's kingdom, requires the life of God, from heaven, in
the soul of man. Is that your case? Is it mine?
Is the life of God from heaven in your soul? Are you born of
God? Born not, as it says, of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. Are you born of the will of God, says John 1 verse 13. You see, the kingdom of God,
the kingdom of God, you can study it. as a theologian, as many
do, you can discuss it, you can pronounce your opinion on it,
but without the life of God's Spirit within you, really, you
know absolutely nothing about it. Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. You must have that life
from God in your soul, without God's Spirit within, and that's
evidenced by refusing to believe Christ, the Son of God, without
God's Spirit within. Listen, this isn't just a kind
of a take-it-or-leave-it situation. Look at verse 36 of this chapter,
the last verse. Your situation is perilous. without
the life of God in your soul. He that believeth on the Son,
evidence that you have the life of God in your soul, he that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life. But listen. But the wrath of
God abideth on him. The wrath of God abideth on him. It's a perilous situation. Believing
or not believing is the great divider of humanity. One, to
eternal life, you know, the light of life unto life. The other,
abiding under the wrath of God. It's a word of death unto death
to many who hear it. You see, it's either one or the
other. Believing is the evidence, not the cause, the evidence of
spiritual life, given by God to the multitude chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world, redeemed from the law's
curse by Christ when he came as the substitute for his people.
And from John chapter 3 and verse 27, we have John the Baptist's
words regarding Christ. John the Baptist's words regarding
the truth of God and the eternal life which is in Christ and him
alone. He speaks of, John the Baptist
speaks of, in these last few verses of John chapter 3, he
speaks of the testimony of divine truth that Jesus the Christ has
brought to earth. He speaks, secondly, of those
who receive Christ's testimony. And thirdly, the confident experience
of that truth in the redeemed soul. Set his seal that God is
true. He that receives it has set his
seal that God is true. So let's look at these three
things. First of all, Christ's testimony. The testimony of Christ. Now
what does John the Baptist say? Some disciples, I think it says,
in verse 26, they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, teacher,
our teacher, maybe John's disciples, he that was with thee beyond
Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and
all men come to him. And John answered and said, a
man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven,
blah, blah, and so on. So they're saying, John, Rabbi,
you pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the one
that God had promised would come. And now all the people seem to
be following Him rather than you. He's baptizing. In actual
fact, we know in verse 2 of chapter 4, Jesus himself baptized none,
but it was his disciples that did the baptizing. But he says
they're now following him rather than you. Doesn't that upset
you, John? Doesn't that cause you a problem, John? And John
says, a man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.
This is all just as God has decreed. Things are exactly as God has
decreed. And in verse 28 and 29 he says,
you yourselves will testify, you yourselves will agree with
me that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before
him, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye
the way of the Lord. He that hath the bride is the
bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, he's saying,
I'm just the friend of the bridegroom. The bridegroom's come for his
bride, his church. I'm the friend of the bridegroom,
but I rejoice that the bridegroom has come. I rejoice, the one
that standeth by and hears him rejoiceth greatly because of
the bridegroom's voice. This, my joy, is fulfilled. He's saying, I told you he is
the Christ and not me. I was just the voice of one crying
in the wilderness. He is now come, and I am delighted
that this is all in the purpose of God. Verse 30, he must increase,
I must decrease. He must grow greater, and I must
fade in his light, for he is the one to whom we must come.
And he explains why. Why must he grow more, increase,
and I must decrease? Verse 31, He that cometh from
above, from heaven, is above all. He that is of the earth
is earthly, and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from heaven
is above all. This is why He is from heaven. Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus born
in Bethlehem, Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Lamb
of God, He is from heaven, from the realm of God. He who is God
is from the realm of God, as a man, bearing the truth of God. This is what he's bringing with
him, the truth regarding life, true life. What is life? What
is it? What is it? Do you ever have... I remember
as a young man, young teenager even, thinking, what is this
thing in me that's doing this thinking? What is it? What is this thing that is me?
And why is this thing that is me not that thing that is somebody?
I really missed, what is it? What is this life? Life, truth,
righteousness, salvation, eternity, fellowship with God. Christ bears
the testimony of heaven, the witness to the truth of heaven
on earth, We only know of earthly things. There are things that
we can deduce. You can see all around the creation proclaims
that there is a God. You know, it's just foolishness
not to see that there is a God, given the things that we see
around. But that will not teach you the truth of God, about his
justice and his righteousness. On earth we only know of earthly
things, but he is above all. He is from heaven. Christ it
is that came down from heaven. Look, he says in chapter 3, he
says in verse 12 of chapter 3, if I have told you of earthly
things and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you
of heavenly things? And who else is going to tell
you of heavenly things? Because nobody else has gone up to heaven
to find out what it's like. But He that came down from heaven,
that's Himself, the Son of Man, which is in heaven, He's come
down. He can tell you authoritatively about the things of eternity
and the things of God. He is above all. He is above
all. He has, as Colossians says, 1.18,
Colossians says, that in all things He, the Lord Jesus Christ,
might have the preeminence. That is what pleased God, that
in all things Christ might have the preeminence, that he might
be more important than anything and everything else. And in verse
32, what he hath seen and heard, he testifies. What he has seen
and heard in heaven of the truth of God, he, Christ, testifies. He tells us his testimony of
what he has seen and heard in heaven. For he is God come down
to earth with the truth of God. He has come to earth to testify
to you and to me who can know nothing of that state of heaven. And being God as he is, he is
God manifest in the flesh. God in flesh. Great is the mystery
of godliness. that God was revealed in the
flesh. God manifest. Say to the cities
of Judah, behold your God. Here he is, our God amongst us.
This is Christ walking the earth in these verses. And because
he is God, will he tell you any lies? Will he tell you anything
that you cannot 100% rely upon? Do you know what a sin it is
not to believe what he says? Because everything he says is
faithful and true. Revelation 3.14. He calls himself
there, the faithful and true witness. God cannot lie. It's completely contrary to the
character of God to lie. He cannot lie and remain God. And the scriptures declare what
he testifies about. What does he testify about? What
he has seen and heard, that he testifies. What does he testify? Well, it doesn't tell us directly
here, but the rest of the scriptures tell us. He testifies about the
being and the existence of God. You know, there's that verse
in Hebrews, I think it is, that we must believe about God. We
must believe that God is. Just the being and existence
of God. We must believe that. He in whom
God's fullness dwelt bodily, Colossians 2 verse 9, in him
Christ dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He in whom
God's fullness dwelt bodily revealed to us the being and existence
of God, because there he was, we beheld his glory. Three and
a half, you might do a conjuring trick for 10 minutes or half
an hour, but these disciples were with him three and a half
years, they saw everything he did. His mother watched Him grow
as a child until the moment He died on the cross when she was
there. She knew, she knew who this was. This is God, the fullness
of the Godhead dwelling bodily in Him. Those that saw Him didn't
just see the marred face of a man, as Isaiah says, His face was
marred more than any man. They didn't just see a face that
was marred more than any man. They saw there in that face,
with the eye of faith given by God, the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God. Where did they see it? In the
face of Jesus Christ. God, who said, let light shine
in darkness, has shined in our hearts to give us the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. When Christ walked the earth,
when Jesus, I'll use his manly name, his name given to him as
a man in flesh, likeness of sinful flesh but without sin. When Jesus
walked the earth, listen to this, when Jesus walked the earth,
God walked the earth in the likeness of Jesus. How can I say that?
Because the scripture tells us. This is the testimony from on
high. Philip said, show us the Father,
and it suffices us. You know it. I quote it so often,
but it's so true. It's foundational. Philip said,
show us the Father, and that will suffice. And Jesus said,
Philip, have I been so long with you, and you have not known me?
He who has seen me has seen the Father. God walked the earth
in the likeness of Jesus. And the disciples said they beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Oh, what did He testify to from
heaven? He that came down from heaven,
what did He see and hear and what has He testified of in earth?
The being and existence of God and Himself as the manifestation
of God. He taught us the character of
God. What is God like? We know he
can create all things. We know he's powerful. We know
we see his power in the universe around us. But he taught us the
character of God. And how else could we know it
except he taught us the righteousness of God? You say, well, wasn't
it the prophets? Yes, but what were the prophets doing? They
were speaking the word of God. Who is the word of God? Christ
is the word of God. And he taught the righteousness
of God. the absolute moral purity of
God, the absolute objective standard of moral purity and holiness.
the utterly strict justice of God, that in the character of
God, God cannot, cannot tolerate sin. He taught us this. He taught
us the need to be born again for a regenerate heart. He taught
us the need that God in his spiritual character must have spiritual
worshippers. As he tells the woman in the
next chapter of John, you know, we must worship God in spirit
and in truth. God seeks spiritual worshippers.
He taught us, thirdly, the holy spirituality of the law and righteousness
and justice of God, and how he applied it in the Sermon on the
Mount in Matthew 5. You know, he took those cold,
objective laws of the Mosaic tablets, and he applied them
with fleshly, warm-hearted reality, but truth, that to even look
is to commit adultery. that to covet is to steal and
to take that which isn't your own. The holy spirituality of
God's law he taught us. He taught us the value of a soul.
How would we know this? Men and women would do that which
is right in their own eyes were it not for the testimony that
Christ brought from heaven. The testimony that he brought
by the word that he's given by his spirit. The value of a soul. What shall a man gain? You know,
what is a man advantaged? If he gained the whole wide world
and yet lose his soul, what is he advantaged? Nothing, nothing. For what is the value of a soul,
you know? What is it to be right with God for eternity compared
with a few baubles and trinkets here and now? He taught the need
for the new birth. I think I've already said that
one. John 3, you must be born again. He taught the narrow gate
into life, that there is only one way into the sheepfold, picturing
the kingdom of God. It's a narrow gate. There aren't
many ways. The religions of this world will
teach you there are many ways, but he taught us from heaven,
from the one objective truth of God in heaven, that there
is only one way and that he is that way, the truth and the life.
He taught his purpose in coming. What's his purpose in coming?
Why did you come? Why did the Messiah come? Why
did God clothe himself in human flesh and come to this earth
to suffer so much to accomplish redemption? Answer, he came to
seek and to save that which was lost, the people of God. the
elect of God, lost, dead in trespasses and sins, he came to seek and
to save. He came not for the righteous,
but for sinners, to call them to repentance from their sins.
He came as the great physician of the souls, to heal not those
that are well, but those that know that they're sick with sin
in their souls, people who are lepers in their souls because
of sin. He came as the great physician
for that. And the character, he taught us this, the character
of those to whom he came and for whom he came, as those who
are not righteous in their own eyes, not good living people,
not with a strong tradition of moral uprightness, but he came
for those who are poor and needy. He came to the poor and needy.
the meek, blessed are the poor and needy, blessed are they that
mourn over their sin. Not those that are self-righteous
and happy in it and thanking God that they're not like other
men. He came for those who are not full of their own self-righteousness
but are hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of God.
He came for those who can't lift up their own burden of sin. They're
weary and they're heavy laden. He came for those who are bruised
reeds, and He didn't come to break them, but He came to strengthen
them. You know how you get that long bulrush standing up, and
if it gets bent, you can't put the straightness back into it.
And the smoking flax, he came not to quench it, but to make
it burn, to make it alive. He came for these, this is who
he came for. He taught us of his own deity,
that he was God. He came from heaven, teaching
that I and my Father are one. And why did he say, my Father
is greater than I? That for a little while, for
a little while, he was made lower than the angels. Why? For the
suffering of death. He constrained his infinite being
to the body of a man. for those years, 33 and a bit
years, that he might accomplish redemption and satisfy the law's
demands. His miracles testified to the
truth of heaven from him. As Nicodemus said, no man, verse
two of chapter three, no man can do these miracles that you
do except God be with. We know, we cannot deny it, God
must be with you because of the miracles that testified to the
truth of what he said. Not only that, but God himself
spoke from heaven on at least three occasions. This is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased. This is my beloved son, hear
ye him. He is the one. Finally, his resurrection. Did that not above all other
things speak of who he is? They couldn't find his body.
All of the lies that were told, all of the corruption that was
told, couldn't hide the fact that he was seen alive of 500
people at one go. No, no. This is the truth that
he testified to. But look at verse 32. We've got
all of this truth from heaven. What he has seen and heard, he
that came down from heaven, what he has seen and heard, that he
testifies, that he tells us about, and no man. receives his testimony. No natural man, no man in his
natural fleshly Adam state receives Christ's testimony. He came unto
his own, verse 11 of chapter 1. He came to his own creation. He came to his own people, the
Jews, and his own received him not. No man receives his testimony. No natural man receives his testimony
of heavenly truth from God. But look, verse 33, he that received
his testimony has set his seal to his seal that God is true. You see, he came to his own and
his own received him not. That wasn't everybody, without
exception. There were some. As many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God. He that hath received
his testimony hath said to his seal that God is true. You see,
the vast majority don't receive it. The vast majority call God
a liar. God, you're a liar. I'm not going
to believe that. No, but some do receive it. Many could not believe. Why could
they not believe? Why could many not believe? Look,
I'm going to show you some scriptures, and this is the truth of God
revealed. And some will say, as they said
in John chapter 6, which we might come to in a few weeks' time,
some said of those that made out to be the disciples of Christ,
they said, this is a hard saying. Who can bear it? And many of
them walked no longer with him. And Jesus said to the rest, are
you also going to go away? And you know, that's when Peter
said, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. We can't go anywhere else. But in John chapter 12 and verse
39, he tells them why. You see, well, verse 37, though
he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed
not on him. Why did they not believe on him?
That the saying of Isaiah, the prophet might be fulfilled, which
he spoke, Lord, who has believed? Has anybody, is the sense. Has anybody, I can't find anybody,
has anybody believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed, the presence, the strength of the Lord? Therefore
they could not believe, because that Isaiah has said again, He
has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they should
not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart,
and be converted, and I should heal them. And these things said
Isaiah, when he saw his glory, the glory of Christ, and spake
of him." Spake of him. It's in the sovereign purposes
of God. And if you want a reason, well,
Proverbs chapter one will give you a reason. Proverbs chapter
one, verse 24. Let me read these few verses
to you. I'll keep an eye on the time. You see, God says right
at the start of Proverbs, he says this, because I have called
and ye refused, You see, you can't say God hasn't called to
you. Nobody can say God hasn't called to you. Even the call
of creation around, you can't say God hasn't called. But he
says, I've called and you've refused. I've stretched out my
hand and no man regarded. But you have set at naught all
my counsel. You've disregarded the counsel
of God. And with none of my reproof, you wouldn't listen to anything
that I was teaching you. God says this, I will also laugh
at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh,
when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then
shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall
seek me early. This is all those that have rejected
him. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. For
that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the
Lord. They would none of my counsel, they despised all my reproof.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be
filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple
shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely. and shall
be quiet from fear of evil. And also 2 Thessalonians chapter
2 and verse 10, with all deceivableness, you see he's talking about the
wicked one being revealed and coming, with all deceivableness,
of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for
this cause, that they received not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved. For this cause God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie. that they all might be
damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. There is a veil, as it says,
of the Jewish nation. There is a veil upon their hearts. Corinthians it is, 1 Corinthians.
There is a veil upon their hearts, a veil of ignorance. When they
read the law, there is a veil over their eyes. They cannot
see the truth of Christ in it. There is a veil upon their hearts,
a veil of ignorance and spiritual darkness. A veil of unbelief,
I will not believe this. There is a veil of enmity against
God, being the enemies of God by nature. And here's the clear
testimony from heaven by Christ that the natural man cannot receive
it. How is it received in the natural
man? Are we not all natural men by
nature, by birth? the sons of Adam by birth? Answer,
the Lord must take away the veil. Verse 8 of chapter 3, the wind
bloweth where it listeth. Thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth.
So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. We must be born of
the Spirit of God. It's all of the sovereign will
of God. Let me ask you, how can you tell if you have received
Christ's testimony. Look there, he that hath received
his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. How can
you tell if you have received Christ's testimony? Firstly,
do you see anything of the truth of God? Yes, I do. Yes, I can't
deny this. Compared with the other narratives
that this world gives me, I see the truth of God in this. Compared
with the narratives that I see in those all around me, I see
the truth of God in this. Can you see any sense of the
light of God shining into your soul? Yes, I can. I believe there
is a God to whom I must answer. Are the eyes of your understanding
having any enlightenment? any glimmer of enlightenment
that God is real. Because Psalm 36 verse 9, it
says this, in thy light, in the light of God, we see light. The more that little shaft of
light from God comes into the soul, the more we see the light
of God. It's like a laser, it amplifies
the light. Laser amplification, you know,
that's light amplification, that's what laser stands for. The more
we see a little glimmer of the light of God, the more it is
amplified clearly and we see light. It may be gradual, like
in that miracle of the man that Jesus gave his sight to. And
he said, what do you see? He said, I see men as trees walking. Well, it was there. He saw something
he didn't see clearly and go and wash again. And he came back
seeing clearly. But it is real sight. It was
real sight. Secondly, do you believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe the Ethiopian
eunuch said to Philip in his chariot, what is it that's stopping
me from being baptized? And Philip said to him, if you
believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, then you may.
He said, yes, I believe that. What more do I have to say? I
believe that Jesus is the Christ, is my Saviour. Do you believe
in Him? Are you aware in some measure
of the light of life from God in your soul? Is your soul committed
willingly to God's care. You know what Paul said, I am
persuaded, I know whom I've believed and I'm persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that
day of judgment. Do you sense, is there a feeling,
is there a tingle of joy and release in your soul at the news
of redemption accomplished? Praise God, redemption, how do
I know redemption's accomplished? How do I know to rejoice in it?
Because Christ is raised from the dead. He was risen from the
dead. That proves it's accomplished.
I know that it is well with my soul. I know come that day when
we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, I know
that he will say, come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Has the Word of
God as it's preached, like the seed sown by the sower, has it
fallen onto the wayside or in rocky ground or amongst thorns
and thistles of this world or has it fallen in your heart into
good ground, in your case? Are you grafted like that branch
that's grafted into the living rootstock and the sap from Christ. I am the root, ye are the branches.
Is that living, living sap from Christ flowing into your soul? Thirdly, do you sense the love
of God shed abroad in your heart, removing the enmity that is between
you and God? You know, as God's light shines
in fleshly darkness and enlightens the understanding to apprehend
the truth, as the gift of faith removes unbelief, where I cannot
believe, the gift of faith removes unbelief, and the people of God
are made willing in the day of His power to grasp divine truth.
And as divine love blots out the enmity and is felt in the
heart and the desires towards God, Christ's testimony is received
by believing him. Verse 32, he that hath seen and
heard that he testifieth. What he has seen, sorry, verse
33, and he that hath received his testimony hath said to his
seal that God is true. confirming God's truth, set to
his seal that God is true, the testimony of Christ received
in the understanding, the testimony of Christ embraced in the heart,
that we're persuaded of the truth and efficacy of what Christ has
accomplished. Efficacy, it gets the job done. It accomplishes
my salvation. It makes me right with God. It
secures my place in eternity. This is a personal individual
ratification, confirmation of Christ's testimony received in
the soul. He that hath received his testimony,
yes I believe him, hath set to his seal that God is true. You know how they used to seal
envelopes? This was the assurance. Only
he had this seal, and he put his stamp in that wax, and that
was clear. It's the king that has sealed
this envelope. He has set to his seal. You, me if we believe,
have set to our seal that God is true concerning all things
to do with Christ. It's a personal ratification
of Christ's testimony. It's personal approbation from
our own experience. This is setting your seal that
God is true. It's the solid foundation on
which all of your life is built. Think about how you react in
every situation. Your alignment is with God's
account of things in opposition to the world's account of things.
The world all around, it's in the media, it's everywhere around
us, what the world thinks. But you don't align with that
because you align with God's account of things. Everything
from creation, through redemption, to eternal hope. There's this
solid rock inside, in the midst of you. I rest my whole being
on this solid rock, which is Christ. That rock was Christ.
That solid rock is Christ within. This solid rock which is Christ
within is setting my seal that God is true. And the truth of
God that he's revealed in me. that he has revealed in me, but
you can't work it out for yourself, you must be born again. Verse
seven, chapter three, marvel not that I said unto thee, ye
must be born again. There must be. a new man created
by God within, by God's spirit within you, to bear fruit. That's
what it's for. We were looking at Ephesians
4 on Wednesday night, and it's put on the new man and put off
the old man. There must be a new man created
by God because it's that new man. that bears the fruit of
God's kingdom, which God will have testified in this world,
in this fallen world. He will have a people to bear
witness to the truth of God, to bear testimony to the truth
of God, to the solid rock on which they're built, that their
seal is set, that God is true. So, you might say, this is all
of God's free gift, and so it is, and not of my will. Most
definitely. The Scriptures couldn't be clearer.
So you say, well, what can I do about it then? I can't do anything
about it. It's entirely up to God. If God
has decided things that way, well, what can I do about it?
I'm as impotent as the man in the miracle, the man who had
the withered hand. What that exactly was, I don't
know. But you know, I often quote it, the man with the withered
hand. And you know what Jesus told the man with the withered
hand to do? He told him to stretch forth his hand. What couldn't
the man do? He couldn't stretch forth his
hand. It was a withered hand. He said, stretch forth your hand,
and with the command, with the call, came the power to stretch
forth the withered hand, and it was made whole. Do you hear
his call? Do you hear his call, saying,
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden? Not everybody,
just those of you that labour and are heavy laden, under a
burden of sin, and seeking peace with God and justification. Do
you hear his call? Come unto me, you, and I will
give you rest from your burden. Do you hear his call, saying,
Seek, and his promise that you shall find? Who does he say it
to? Whoever will hear. He who has
ears to hear, let him hear. Do you hear his call? Knock at
the door of the kingdom of heaven, and it shall be opened unto you.
If you hear it, he gives you power to follow it, and to approach,
and to find, and to enter in, to enter in to his marvelous
light. Out of the darkness of this world
of unbelief, into the marvellous light of the testimony of Christ. He that hath received his testimony
hath set to his seal that God is true. Amen.