I'm going to be working my way
to one verse of scripture in John chapter 17, but we're going to use a few
other verses sort of as stepping stones to get us to that place. Years ago, in the 1800s, there
lived a man, a preacher, by the name of John Warburton. You may
have heard of him. I have his autobiography. Just
a great book. Just a great book. He was such
a simple man, but so honest about himself. But the title of his
autobiography is Mercies of a Covenant God. Have you heard of that?
And the subtitle of that book is this, An Account of the Lord's
Dealings in Providence and Grace with John Warburton. He died
in 1857, but a few years before that,
he said this, he wrote this. He said, the longer I live, the
more I feel, If there were one thing left undone, if the devil
were not conquered, sin not expiated, justice not satisfied, the law
not honored and magnified, death not overcome, and every burden
carried away, he said, if that wasn't so, I should not have
a ray of hope. Not one ray of hope. On the Mount
of Calvary, The Lord Jesus undertook the cause of his people, and
there is not a jot nor a tittle that he left undone. But by one
offering, he perfected forever them that are sanctified. There
is therefore now, because of that, there is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Here is complete
salvation, he concluded, saved in the Lord with an everlasting
salvation. In Hebrews chapter 6 verse 19,
the writer there tells us the grounds of our hope, as Warburton
did. In verse 19 of Hebrews 6, the
writer says, which hope we have now, now, present tense, which
hope we have as an anchor. I like that. I like that. An
anchor. Ever felt like you need an anchor? Something to hold your little
boat on troubled sea? The writer said, we have an anchor
of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that
which is within the veil. Of course, he's speaking of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He entered within the veil into
the very presence of God. And that which anchors our souls
in this turbulent world is the blessed hope that we have in
Jesus Christ. Paul said, if in this life only
we had hope in Christ, we would be of all men most miserable. But all we have a hope that looks
to the Lord Jesus Christ And we stand, as it were, as Don
says, my pastor Don Fortner, we stand upon the tiptoe of faith
looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit tells us that
the hope is both sure and steadfast, and you know why. You know what
makes it such a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul? It rests
upon, altogether, completely, upon the Lord Jesus Christ. I'll
build my church on this rock, the rock Christ Jesus, that one
that God laid and not man. And the soul that believeth on
him, on that rock, the storms will come. God's people are not
exempt from storms. And the wind's going to blow.
The rain's going to beat on that house. But Christ says, I'll
tell you what, because of the foundation that is built on,
it's not going to fall. It's not going to fall. Not one
of God's sheep will ever be plucked out of the hand of the great
shepherd. Our everlasting union. with the
Son of God is the basis of our safety and security. God's elect
are as safe and secure as Christ himself. Now Larry, you've gone
too far. No, I haven't. Not if that's
scriptural. Not if we can prove it in the
Word of God, which we can in many places, but just one. We
are as safe and secure as Christ himself because we are accepted
in the beloved, in Jesus Christ. The devil's got to get to him
before he gets to me. I'm in his son, the son of God. One of my favorite scriptural
examples of that blessed truth is in Mark chapter 4, actually
chapter 4 and 5. But you remember after a day
of healing preaching, teaching. The Lord Jesus Christ told his
disciples, the same day when the evening was come, he said
to them, let us pass over into the other side. Don't you just
love that? Let us pass over. But in the
midst of that journey, from beginning the journey to the other side,
and actually arriving on the other side, it wasn't a calm
sail. You know, a great storm arose.
And the disciples, several of them, at least four, were experienced
fishermen. And they said, man, this is too
much for us. And all during that time, the Lord's asleep. And
they wake him up. Don't you care that we're going
to perish? He said, why are you so fearful? Why are you so fearful? Where's your faith? Where's your
faith? You ever felt that way? We read
there in Hebrews 5, or I'm sorry, Mark 4, while they were passing
over that great storm came up and the boat was now full. It can't hold anymore, Lester.
It's full. It's full. Another wave might
take it to the bottom. You ever feel that way? Can't
take it anymore. Can't take another way, can't
take any more bad news, can't take any more trial, can't take
any more of this heartache any longer. Man, I'm full. I'm full. Why are you so fearful? How is
it that you have no faith? But here's the comfort. Whatever happens on that stormy
sea happens to both Jesus Christ and his people. If that ship
goes down, Christ is going down with it. If the disciples perish,
it'll only be because Christ perishes with them. If they perish,
he must perish. As you've heard said, how can
a believer drown? He's a member of Christ's body.
Christ is the head of the church. How can the church drown one
member of his bride perish with her head so high above the water? It's impossible. God's exalted
him. Look where our head is. Ruling,
sovereignly ruling everything. If he passes over to the other
side, so will they, because they're with him. And that's exactly
what we read in verse 1 of the next chapter, Mark 5. And they
came over. I like that. And they came over. Jesus said, let us pass over.
And they came over unto the other side of the sea, unto the country
of the Gadarenes. When the storms of life are raging,
stand by me. The old hymn writer said, when
the storms of life are raging, stand by me. When this world
is tossing me like a ship up on the sea, O thou that rulest
wind and water, stand by me. If he stands by me, it's going
to be all right. If he stands by me, oh, storm
will still come, but I won't drown. I'm passing over unto
the other side. He said so. We are assured of
the hope of glory by Christ's entrance into glory as our forerunner,
on our behalf. Hebrews, back in Hebrews 6 verse
20, whither, that is within the veil, the forerunner for us is
entered, even Jesus Christ, made a high priest forever. After
the resurrection from the dead, his resurrection, The Lord Jesus
ascended up into heaven and entered into glory, not for himself,
but for us, as the head and representative of his elect, for whom he suffered
and bled and died upon the cross. He entered into heaven as our
forerunner. We just read that, the forerunner. His entrance there guarantees
our entrance. Again, in Hebrews chapter 9,
we read that he appears in the presence of God for us. For us. He represents us. So our head is there. His body
is bound to follow. How comforting to read that the
foundation of a believer's acceptance is not something they do for
God. Oh my soul, if I thought that
was true, And unless I was insane, I couldn't rest at night. I couldn't
rest at night. If I thought that anything about
my everlasting salvation, I mean anything, you pick any point
in the great plan and purpose of God saving my soul, in any
place, if it's dependent upon me, my choice, no, He chose me. And I certainly couldn't redeem
myself. I couldn't give myself spiritual
life. I couldn't raise myself from the dead. I couldn't believe
unless God gave me the gift of faith. And I certainly couldn't
persevere to the end unless I was in the hand of the great shepherd.
And I could never appear before the throne of God without a spot
of a blemish on my own. Of course not. It's grace from
beginning to end and what a comfort that is. What a comfort that
is. Our acceptance in Christ is spoken
of as something accomplished by the Lord God Himself from
eternity. He's the Lamb slain, the Lord
is, from the foundation of the world. Christ, appointed as our
Redeemer, was not an afterthought on the part of God. The fall
of Adam did not catch God Almighty off guard. I hear people talk that way.
And I'm thinking, man, what kind of God do you believe in? He
sounds like me. Don't trust him. No, it's not
something accomplished by us in time because it's something
done by God and done by God from eternity. It cannot be dependent
upon anything done by us in time. That's good. That's good. I'm glad to hear that. You remember
when Job and his miserable, comforting friends were trying to figure
out why Job was passing through what he was? Well, Job, you've
sinned and we've come to help you figure out the sin you've
committed against God. Otherwise, all this wouldn't
be happening. And then after they'd exhausted
all their intelligence, All their guesswork was done. Job still
sat inside cloth and ashes. And then God came. God's came. Job, stand up. Stand up. I've got something
to ask you. Where were you, Job, when I laid
the foundations of the earth? Answer me. Answer me if you can,
Job. Where were you? You remember what Job done? He
said, I've tried to utter things too deep for me, too high, too
high. It's the same way with the wonderful
election of God's grace. Just as Job wasn't there when
God laid the foundation of the earth, we weren't there when
we were chosen in Christ. Thou art my first elect, God
said, and then chose us in Christ our head. We were chosen in Christ,
in Christ. There's no election apart from
Him. There's no union with Christ apart from the election of grace.
God Almighty chose our Redeemer and then He chose us in Him,
those to be redeemed. It's all a matter of His electing
grace. John Aerosmith, a man that lived
many years ago, he put it this way. He said, election having
once pitched upon a man, it will find him out and call him home
wherever he may be. People say, oh, if I believed
what you do about election. I've had people tell me that.
I wouldn't preach, they say. Why would you preach? Man, why
would you preach if you didn't believe there's an election according
to God's glorious purpose of grace? Arrow Smith went on to
write, election called Zacchaeus out of a cursed Jericho, called
Abraham out of an adulterous ur of the Chaldees, found Nicodemus
and Paul out from the Pharisees. In whatsoever dunghills, God's
elect are he, and that's usually where they're at, Election will
find them out and bring them home. All the way home. All the way home. Is that not
what our Lord said again and again? But I say unto you, ye
also have seen me and believe not. You believe not. A man can't
be saved without believing. No such thing as being saved
without believing. I know it's a gift of God, but
it's also the exercise of a renewed man. But you believe not, our
Lord said to that multitude. Well, what will God do now? Does He have a backup plan? Because
they won't believe. Does it sound like God Almighty
needs a backup plan? I mean, listen to Him. Thus saith
the Lord, the King of Israel, the High King of Heaven, and
his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first, I am the last,
and beside me there is no God. And who is I shall call and shall
declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the
ancient people. And the things that are coming
and shall come, let them show them unto me. Fear ye not, neither
be afraid, have not I told you from that time? and have declared
it. Ye are even my witnesses. Is
there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God. I know
not any." Isaiah 46. Remember the former things of
old. For I am God and there is none else. I am God and there
is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning.
From ancient times the things that are not yet done say my
counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure." Doesn't
sound like God needs a backup plan. That sounds so much like
God in the flesh. When He said much the same thing
in Luke chapter 18, then He took unto Him the twelve, that is
the Lord Jesus, and said, Behold, behold, we go up to Jerusalem
And all things, all things that are written by the prophets concerning
the Son of Man shall be attempted. No, I hope you know better than
that. No, it says, all things concerning
the Son of Man shall be accomplished. He's going to get the job done.
For he shall be delivered into the hands of the Gentiles, and
shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on. And
they shall scourge him, and put him to death. They did all those
things exactly like he said they would. But he didn't stop there.
He said, and the third day he shall rise again. Oh, high king
of heaven, my victory won. The reason he rose again is because
he finished the work that God gave him to do. His resurrection
is the proof that he accomplished successfully everything God Almighty
sent him in the world to do. Otherwise, he'd still be in the
tomb. Oh, set thou at my right hand, my son, and I'll make your
enemies your footstool. Now, back to John 6, when we
read a moment ago You also have seen and believed not. Did God
need a backup plan? Well, listen to this. Our Lord
went on to say in verse 37, all that the Father giveth me shall
come to me. You won't believe. Oh, you won't
come. And him that cometh unto me,
I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this
is the Father's will which had sent me of all, of all, and John
saw that all. It wasn't one or two. It wasn't
a few hundred. John said, I couldn't count them.
It was a multitude before the throne of God, redeemed by the
blood of the Lamb, a multitude that no man could number, and
of that multitude that can't be numbered, Christ said, all
shall come to me. and I should lose nothing, I'll
raise them up again at the last day." What a blessed, blessed
union between Christ and His people. To which Jesus and the
chosen race subsist a bond of sovereign grace that hell with
its eternal train shall never dissolve nor rend in vain. Hell's sacred union firm and
strong, How great the grace, how sweet the song, that worms
of earth should ever be one with incarnate deity. This sacred
tie forbids our fears, for all he is and has is ours. With Christ our head we stand
or fall, our life, our surety, our all. With that in mind, let's
go to John 17 verse 24. 17 and 24. We won't be much longer. The
title of my message is More to Follow. More to Follow. I'll tell you where I got that,
if I haven't told you the story before. I thank Mr. Spurgeon for this. He told the
story about Roland Hill, another preacher of yesteryear, who loved
to bring the love of God to the poor and the struggling in London.
On one occasion, Spurgeon told the story, Hill was given a rather
large sum of money to help support the pastor of a church in a low-income
area. In thinking, Rowland Hill thought
that the amount was too much to give him all at once. He decided
to give it to him in stages. Each week, Rowland Hill sent
a portion of the gift with a note that simply said, more to follow. Within a few days, the pastor
received another envelope containing the same amount of money with
the same message. This is all. More to follow.
Then there came a third and a fourth. In fact, they continue with regularity,
always accompanied by those comforting and cheering words until the
entire sum had been exhausted. And Spurgeon said this, when
God forgives our sins, there is more forgiveness to follow.
He justifies us in the righteousness of Christ, but there's more to
follow. He adopts us into his family,
but there is more to follow. He prepares us for heaven, but
there's more to follow. He gives us grace, but there's
more to follow. He helps us in old age, but there
is still more to follow. And Spurgeon concluded, even
when we arrive in the world to come, there will still be more
to follow. Verse 24 of John 17, Father,
I will, I will, that they also, in addition to everything else
he'd already prayed for, for his people, he says, I will that
they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that
they may behold my glory, wow, which thou gavest me, for thou
lovest me before the foundation of the world. Remember, these are the words. The one doing the speaking is
that one of whom God Almighty Himself said, Behold my servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect, and whom my soul delights. I have
put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed
shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quince. He
shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail. Now that's the one who just,
we read, said, I will that they be with me. And of him, God said,
he shall not fail nor be discouraged until he has set judgment in
the earth. So when He says, this is what
I'm getting at, when Jesus Christ says, I will, who's going to
stop it from happening? I mean, no matter what comes
after I will, no matter what He wills, no matter what follows
those blessed words, it has to take place. Who's going to stop
it? Who's going to stop it? When He who is the mighty God,
the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, when he says, I will
this, who's going to stop it? If you haven't read, I hope that
you will read the article on the last page of your bulletin
by Stephen Charnock. It's along that very line. From
Revelation 6 is the verse where they cry out that multitude before
the throne. They rejoice to sing, hallelujah,
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Charnick went on to conclude
his article this way, to be God and get inferior to another is
a contradiction. If anything can overpower God,
then that's God, whatever it is. If anyone's concept of God
allows the slightest possibility that God can fail in anything,
I mean anything, He wills to do even one time, I mean even
once, for a millimeter of a second, one time, God Almighty doesn't
absolutely rule everywhere, all the time, totally, then He's
not God. I'll tell you what upheld David.
The same thing they rejoiced about in glory. They don't have
a problem with God's sovereignty. Oh, no, they cast their crowns
before his throne and sing to his glory. He reigneth. David,
one of his enemies, said, where is your God now, David? Your
own son hates you. Your own son has driven you from
the throne. You're hiding out at this cave
in Absalom sitting on your throne. Where is your God now, David? Mocking him, mocking him. And
here's a proof of the sufficiency of God's grace, because David
was flesh and blood. He proved that many times, didn't
he? He wasn't made out of anything different than you and I. And
yet God gave him grace to raise his hand to heaven and say, my
God is in the heavens. He's done whatsoever he hath
pleased. Hallelujah. The Lord God omnipotent
reigneth. Psalm 29 and 10, David wrote,
The Lord saideth upon the flood, Yea, the Lord saideth, King forever."
Forever. All the time. Oh, my soul. Lyric. When the storms of life
are raging, remember that. Remember that. He says upon the
flood, when the waves and the billows roll over your head,
sorrow after sorrow, trial after trial. Remember, your God's in
the heavens. He's in control. He's got this. There's a lawyer on TV. Y'all
seen him? They only have about 150,000
on there with commercials. But this one says, call me. I
got this. I looked at Rob and said, yeah,
I bet he has. No, God's got this. God's got this. knowing brethren
be loved your election of God because our gospel came not unto
you in word only but in the spirit and in power and in much assurance
and ye became followers of me. Oh blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and calls us to approach unto thee. In John 11 our Lord
said I am the good shepherd The good shepherd giveth his life
for the sheep. John 10, verse 11. Again in that
same chapter, verses 14 and 15. I am the good shepherd, and know
my sheep. He knows me. That means he loves
me. He knows all about me, and he
still loves me. And I'm known of mine. As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. And I laid down
my life for the sheep, for the sheep. Christ loved the church
and gave himself for it. In this same chapter of John
17, verse 9, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou gavest me out of the world. Oh, child of
God, when we remember him, apply these words to your heart.
Complete atonement thou hast made, and to the utmost farthing
paid whatever thy people owed. How then can wrath on me take
place, if sheltered in his righteousness and sprinkled with his blood?"
I ran across this comment by Martin Luther. I don't ever recall
reading it or hearing it before. But I liked it. He said, when
I look at myself, I don't see how I can be saved. But when
I look at Jesus Christ, I don't see how I can be lost. I like that. Oh yes, there's
more to follow. Father, I will. And that's enough
to get it done. That they whom thou hast given
me be with me where I am, where Christ is. You won't find a better
description of heaven in the Word of God. It's where Christ
is. Be with me. Oh, that's the heaven
of heaven. That's the glory of glory. I
mentioned earlier that I had planned to see my good friend, one of my very best friends,
Dave Coleman, on my return trip from Indiana. a week from this
Monday or Tuesday, but David's Redeemer willed otherwise. He willed that David Coleman
be with him where he is that he might behold his glory. I talk to David weekly. I don't
think it was last week, but the week we talked last week, but
the week before when I told him I wanted, I hope that the Lord
willing I could see him before much longer, and he said, well
Larry, if I don't see you here, I'll see you in heaven. Don's
text to me yesterday morning simply said this, Brother Dave
is with the Lord, because the great shepherd willed
that he be with him, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Before I even read Don's text,
I talked to Dave's oldest daughter, Amy, on the telephone. She asked me if I would say something
at the graveside at the committal service, and I told her it would
be an honor to do that. And she said, you know, Larry,
I mentioned something about Dave singing. She said, my daddy's
singing in heaven right now. Dave was a gifted singer. When
he was with us, he said, I think he sang two songs in each service,
maybe three. Remember that? It's been several
years ago. He always wanted to come back, but something kept
preventing him. And then the last several years, of course,
it was his health. But oh, he was a gifted singer and piano
player. And he said, I think, on the last morning of our service,
when he sang for the last time, he said, Larry's made me sing
every song I know. But I remember him singing this
one, and I'll close this message with it. Not singing it, but
just quoting it. Wayfaring Stranger. He sang that,
didn't he, Bob? He said, I'm a poor wayfaring
stranger while traveling through this world alone. There is no
sickness, toil, no danger to that bright world to which I
go. I know dark clouds will gather
over me, I know my pathway is rough and steep, but golden fields
here lie out before me, where weary eyes no more shall weep. I'm going there to see my father. I'm going there no more to roam.
I'm just a-going over Jordan. I'm just a-going over home. I'll
soon be free from every trial, and this form will rest beneath
the sun. I'll drop the cross of self-denial. and enter in my home with God.
I'm going there to see my Savior, who shed for me His precious
blood. I'm just a-going over Jordan. I'm just a-going over
home. I'm going there to see my Father.
I'm going there no more to run. I'm just a-going over Jordan.
I'm just a-going over home. And every child of God will,
because Father, Christ said, I will that they also whom thou
has given me be with me where I am that they may behold my
glory. Brothers and sisters in Christ,
God help us to remember there's more to follow. Amen. Amen. God bless you.