Turn with me to revelation chapter
21. I'm Purposely going back to recap
every week so I can keep things In the context in which they're
written, and then we'll move ahead a few verses as we go Our Lord said to his servant
John We looked in that last week and the week before He told him
to write. Write. Now, this thought came
to me in my study, no man has any right to pin anything for
men from God, except God give him permission. And here God
tells his servant to write, not to write hit down his vain imaginations,
or not to write down his thoughts on something or other, but to
write down what God had revealed to him. What he'd revealed to
him about those beasts that rose up out of the sea, and to write
down what he said to him, what he revealed to him about his
church and their salvation, and about their Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. he said, you write this down,
write it. Peter said this, he said, prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Man didn't just sit around and suddenly
realize, you know, Something needs to be written. Something
needs to be said to our generation. And then he called a committee
to convene and they consulted all the philosophers and all
the scientists and all the princes of this world, all the well-known
men, all the popular men, men of high renown, and then they
all come together and said, okay, now, what should we write in
this book about God? And one said, well, I think we
ought to write this. And another one said, I think
we ought to write this. Peter said prophecy didn't come
in old time by the will of man. He wasn't looking for something
to write about God. There's none that seeketh after
God. There's none that understandeth. He wouldn't know if he did write
it. He wouldn't know what he was writing. But this prophecy,
holy men of God, how'd they get to be holy? God set them apart,
made them holy, sanctified them. Holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost. That's how Moses wasn't even
alive when the world was created, but he penned everything about
the creation in a book. Where'd he get his information?
Got it from God. Adam wasn't in the garden. I
mean, Moses wasn't in the garden when Adam fell. Where'd he get
his information? There was nothing written. Where'd
he get his information? He was moved by the Holy Spirit
of God to pen these things. If a man's pen to write future
prophecies concerning Christ that hadn't come to pass for
another 2,000 years or another 1,000 years, surely God can,
His Holy Spirit is sufficient to take him back a few hundred
years where he can write about the creation. You see what I'm
saying? This didn't come by the will
of man. And I've heard that argument many times talking to people
about, oh, that's the old Bible. That's the old Bible. See, that
was written to their generation. That was written to this old
generation. Well, that's not what it says
in the Bible. I tell you, before you start telling people your
opinion on the Bible, you need to read it. You need to read
it all the way through. Because these things, all these
things are written there. They were written for your profit.
Your profit. Man didn't take a census and
focus on man's troubled areas or consult philosophers. Prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man. But certain men, certain
men, chosen of God, were moved by the Holy Ghost. And then he
said to John, after he told him to write, he said, now, he said,
it's done. It's done. The revelation, here's what he's
telling John, the revelation's complete. It's complete. The Bible's finished. God's finished with his testimony
concerning his son. He doesn't need to add anything.
He said if any man adds to or takes away from this, I'll take
his part out of the book of life. It doesn't need added to and
it doesn't need taken away from. I guarantee you, and they had
in their translations. They've tried to go in and take
out what I'm gonna preach to you about here in a little bit
about predestination. Man tried to go in there and
get rid of that word and find some other word to use. They
like to take those troubled areas that talk about the absolute
sovereignty of God and just get rid of that, get rid of that
portion, find some excuse to get it out of there. taken whole
chapters out of the book of John, especially that sixth chapter. The revelation's complete, the
Bible's finished. God's finished with his testimony
concerning his son, and man has a book inspired of God, everything
that God intends to say, he said. His word's complete and it is
sufficient. He tells us this in the second
book of Timothy, that his word is sufficient for doctrine, reproof,
correction, and instruction in righteousness. It's done. Who said that? Some angels say
that. Who said that? The Lord Jesus
Christ said that. Now listen to what he says here.
It's done. I am Alpha and Omega. That's who's talking to you.
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Jesus Christ is
God, our Savior. I don't have the power to press
that upon your heart, but God has. Jesus Christ is all of God
that you're ever gonna see. This is God come into the flesh.
He came into the flesh for what reason? To give us an understanding
that we may know him that's true. And that we're in him that is
true. He's God our Savior. John the Baptist said this, he
said, what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth. And this
is what he's telling John, I'm Alpha and Omega. He can speak clearly of an everlasting
covenant and the blood of the everlasting covenant because
he was there when the covenant was made. And he become the surety
of that everlasting covenant and it's by his own blood that
it's sealed. He can speak clearly. What he
tells John to write, he knows what he's talking about. We like
to discuss it and give our opinions and sit around and do those things
and call that worship. That's not worship. That's questioning
God. What He's spoken, He's seen and
heard. That's what John the Baptist
said. He can speak clearly of that
everlasting covenant. He was there. He's alpha. He
doesn't need to consult men about creation. He created the world. Do you ever think about that?
He can speak clearly about creation because he's the creator. I'm Alpha and I'm Omega. Christ
is all. And then thirdly, we talked about
this. Because of who he is and why he came and what he did and
where he is right now. He said, I'll give unto him that
is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Now that's why these things are
written. That's why he's alpha and omega
concerning the revelation of God. I want to read you something
that you heard me quote many times over here in John chapter
6 and verse 40. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on
Him may have everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at the
last day. My friend, election is made known
to men by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Paul said.
I know your election of God. Because my gospel didn't come
unto you in word only. It came in power and it came
in the Holy Ghost. And the preacher's one great
charge is to preach the word, study the word, preach the word. Not just any word, but the word
of God's testimony concerning his son and his gift of eternal
life through him. Over in 1 John chapter 5, John
said this, this is the record that God has given to us eternal
life and this life is in his son. Now he that seeth the son
and believeth on him, he has the testimony in himself. He
knows the record. And this one who is Alpha and
Omega, the first and the last, has written these things. And
he's written them not only to declare to us where eternal life
is and who eternal life is, but also to make us to understand
something of his willingness. His willingness. Is a man thirsty? Come and drink. Come and drink. Men like to They got all these
other things, all these pre-things. They've got all kinds of names
for them, but you have to do this, and you have to do that,
and you have to do something else. That's not what God said.
God said, are you thirsty? Here's the water. Come and get
it. Come and get it. I'll give unto him that is a
thirst of the fountain of the waters of life freely. Now let's stop for just a second
and talk about that thirst for just a minute. Our Lord confronted
a Samaritan woman. He sat there on the edge of that
well and waited for her. He went all the way to Samaria
just for that reason. And he sat on the edge of that
well and he waited for this woman to come. And she got out there
with her bucket, and got ready to lower the bucket, and she
pulled the bucket up, and he said, can I have a drink? Can I have a drink? And the woman
said to him, the Jews have no dealings with Samaritan. How
is it that you ask me for a drink? Now watch this. Our Lord said,
if thou knewest the gift of God. And who it is that saith unto
you, give me to drink? You would have asked of me. This Samaritan with whom the
Jews have no dealings, that Samaritan would
have asked that Jew for a drink. That sinner would have asked
that righteous man for a drink. If you knew the gift of God and
who it is that saith unto you, give me to drink, you would have
asked of me and I would have given you living water. And she said, now wait a minute.
This is a deep well. This ain't no little shallow
cistern. This is a deep well and you ain't got anything to
draw with. Where you gonna get this water?
Where you gonna get this water? And he pointed to that well,
and then he looked up at that woman. And he said, whosoever
drinketh of this water, he's going to be thirsty again. You
come out here every day to draw water. And you drink that water,
and you come back, and you get you some more. And you drink
it, and you come back and get you some more. But whosoever
drinketh of the water that I'm going to give He'll never thirst. He'll never thirst. But the water
that I'll give him shall be in him a well of water springing
up unto everlasting life. Christ himself is the water of
life. And sinners are made thirsty
as they're made to know their need. That need of him. They have to
have him. And to every thirsty sinner,
our Lord said, I will give unto him. I'll give it to him. Of the fountain of the water
of life, freely. Isn't that what that leper found
out? Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. I will. The old soldier said, Was it
his daughter that was dying? His daughter, his son, one or
the other were dying. And he said, Lord, if you just
speak the word, I'm a man of authority, I understand, I got
men under me, I say you go here and he goes there and you go
there and he goes there. He said, just say the word and
it'll be done. He said, I will, I will. He's willing, he's willing. Every thirsty sinner, he said,
I will give unto him of this water. It is a thirsty sinner
drinking from the fountain that causes him to overcome. I'm saying all this so that you
understand the verses. John said, and listen to this,
here's Revelation 21 7, he said, he that overcometh shall inherit
all things, and I'll be his God, and he'll be my son. This thirsty
sinner drinking of this fountain of the water of life, he's the
one who's gonna overcome. Who is he that overcometh, John
said? Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the man who's gonna overcome.
Not the man who attempts to keep the law, not the man who makes
his decisions or had his experiences, the man that believes that Jesus
is the Christ. He's a son of God. He did God's
work. He saved God's people. And this
faith is the product of a new birth, John tells us. You can
find all this in 1 John 5, right in the first few verses. Whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world. And this is the victory that
overcometh the world. This is the product of that new
birth, even our faith. True saving faith is made possible
by way of the new birth. Our Lord said that. He said,
except you be born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.
That word is perceive. And Peter said, God hath begotten
us again unto a living hope. So faith is the product of the
new birth. How does a man know if he's born
again? Huh? By some experience he had? Boy felt bad one day, next day
he's on top of the cloud. Is that how you know you're born
again? No. You know you're born again if you come to Christ.
Rest in Christ and believe on Christ. That's the product of
the new birth. I don't want anybody to leave
here this morning thinking that they've got some ability in them
to make them victorious over this world. You don't. You don't. If God doesn't intervene on your
behalf, this world gonna swallow you up. Christ is our victory and we
have Christ by faith. And we have that faith not of
ourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works lest any man should
boast. And because it is the work of
God, it cannot fail. That make sense? We're kept by
the power of God through faith, through faith. And all that faith
consists of, the affection it creates in our hearts, the mercy
that it partakes of and the grace and the understanding that it
reveals. He that overcometh shall inherit
all things. Believers are heirs. were heirs,
if we believe. To as many as received Him, to
them gave He power to become the sons of God, which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will
of man, but of God. Paul tells us again in Romans
8, as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the
sons of God. And in Galatians 3, 26, he says
this so clear. For ye are all the children of
God by faith in Jesus Christ. Revelation 21, verse seven. He
that overcometh shall inherit all things and I'll be his God
and he'll be my son. But the fearful Those who fear
men more than they fear God. Those who fear the consequences
of opposing their families and friends and opposing the learned
men of this world. Who fear the multitudes and public
mockings and shame. Those whose fear, they fear missing
out on all the pleasures of this life. The fearful. and the unbelieving. I don't know, unbelief may be
the greatest evidence of our sin. It's certainly that point
about our sin that the Holy Ghost uses to convince us of it. You say, I can believe, why don't
you? Because you can't. Unbelief may be the greatest
evidence of our sin. Here, condemnation, light came
into the world. Men love darkness rather than
light. Unbelief takes the present and
refutes eternity. You let that sink in for a moment,
what I said. That's some deep doctrine there. Unbelief grasps the present. It'll take that experience. It'll
take that dream. It'll take that emotion. It'll
take that decision. It'll take that which is created
in a moment and refute everything that God's done in eternity. That's unbelief. Unbelief rests
in a passion and ignores the word of God. Unbelief loves darkness
rather than light. Unbelief rests in the lies of
religion and ignores the person and work of Christ. Unto the fearful and unbelieving
and the abominable, who are they? Who are the abominable? Let me say this first. Every
man by birth, by nature, and choice, and also by practice,
is an abomination before God. He drinks iniquity like water,
the scripture said. No fear of God before his eyes,
swift to shed blood, and loves darkness rather than light. He's
an abomination. All men by birth are an abomination
before God. But even in this passage, he's
already began to define these abominable. The first definition
of the abominable is found in Proverbs 17, and it has to do
with the unbelieving religionist. Proverbs 17, 15, he that justifies
the wicked. Is that not what men do? That foul sinner comes down that
aisle, confesses some, his desire to
join the church, makes his decision, accepts Jesus as his personal
savior or whatever else they told him to do, and he does it,
and they say, your sins are all gone. He that justifieth the
wicked, and he that condemneth the just Even they both are abomination
to the Lord. You know what he says? The Bible
said in Romans 3 verse 20, by the deeds of the law there shall
no flesh be justified in God's sight. And yet, Our own state, our own county
are right here, right around us this morning. There's preachers
standing in the pulpit, just like I am this morning, talking
about men being justified by their works. This is an abomination
before God. When I'm talking to you about
the filthiness and wickedness of religion, I'm not talking
about all the rank things like those people over in the bar
and all that. I'm talking about something way
down from that. Self-righteous religion. God-denying
religion. They're an abomination, he said
to the Lord. A man studies the law of God
and he does his best to keep it, hoping that God will accept
him for his efforts and determination to do the best he can. And believing
this, he begins to try to convince others that this is the way to
God. This is the way that God saves
sinners. And this, he said, is an abomination
to the Lord. You see, free will works religion
is not just a gospel with some weak points of doctrine. It's
an abomination before the Lord. And the same thing applies to
the same people who condemn the righteous. Let me read you something over
here in Romans chapter eight. Romans eight verse 33. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. You
gonna condemn the righteous? Wow. I saw that man. I remember years ago down in
Kitchens Creek, my father-in-law had come down, and my father-in-law
drank beer. He liked to drink beer in the
afternoon, and he was sittin' out back under the thing, wasn't
sittin' out on public road somewhere, he was sittin' out on my back
porch and he had a cold beer and he was sittin' there in a
chair on the back porch. And one of the old members from
the church was over in that cemetery, self-righteous man. And he looked
down and he brought it up for the church. He said, this pastor
was servin' beer to his company on his back porch. And I told
him, I said, aren't you the one that when you went on vacation
the other day had me come over to your house and stir the wine
that you were making? And he just looked down at the floor. You gonna condemn the righteous?
You gonna condemn that man that God has justified? Well, how
do you get justified? Justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. Any man, any man, any man who
condemns the righteous is an abomination before God. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect, it's God that justifies. God justified him in this way
that he might be just and justifier of all that believe. And then
he says this, who is he that condemneth? You can't lay anything at his
charge because God justified him and you're not going to condemn
him because Christ died for him. To condemn the righteous, I'm
talking about God's righteous, that righteousness which is hired
by faith. You condemn that man, then you
make the death of Christ of no account. Is that right? That's
exactly right. Jesus Christ was delivered for
our offenses and raised again for our justification. And all
those who justify the wicked and condemn the just are an abomination
to the Lord. Secondly, who are these abominable? Those who attempt to worship
God apart from the Spirit and the truth. Our Lord said to that
same woman that I was talking to you about a while ago at the
well, He said, you worship God in Jerusalem, we worship God
up on the mountain. He said, you worship you know
not what. Huh? Oh, Isaiah goes into details. He said, you went down and hired
a silversmith. and he weighed the silver into
balance and some gold into balance and then you went and got a carpenter
and he was an artisan. He whittled you out of God after
your imagination and he overlaid that thing with that gold and
silver and you put him up on your back and you carried him
because he couldn't walk, he couldn't go where he wanted to,
but you had to bear him on your shoulder and you took him down.
You read this in Isaiah 46. You took him down and you set
him up in his place and then you prayed to him, but he couldn't
do anything about it. He couldn't even talk to you
about it because he's an idol. He just sits there, a big dumb
idol, and he sits there and you talk to him and he can't answer.
You want him to come down to your house and heal your children,
but he can't walk. He got no power. That's idolatry. This world is
filled with idolatry. You worship you know not what.
That's an abomination. He said over in Isaiah chapter
one, who told you to do all these things? He said bring no more vain oblations,
sacrifices without understanding and without faith. You're incense. is an abomination unto me. The
new moons and sabbaths and calling of assembly, I cannot away with
it. It's iniquity, even your solemn
meetings. Going through the motions of
ceremonialism and tradition without faith, without understanding
and without affection is an abomination to the Lord. And then thirdly,
I'm all out of time. The abominable, are those who
practice freely and without conscience immorality. They live immoral
lives. They drink iniquity, Job said,
like water. Like water. May the Lord give
you some understanding of what he's talking about here. Thank
you.