We'll read beginning at verse
39. You're very familiar with this
chapter. And Paul in verse 39 is referring
to all those that he has mentioned throughout the chapter. All those
Old Testament believers. And he says in verse 39, and
these all having obtained a good report
through faith, received not the promise. God having provided
something better, some better thing for us, notice he speaks
of them, but now he speaks of us with them, that they without
us should not be made perfect. Wherefore, Seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset
us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Looking unto Jesus, oh my, look what awaits us at the finish
line. as we run this race, oh what an incentive to lay aside
all the weight, anything that would distract us in this world,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before him, our supreme example, who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God. For consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied
and faint in your own minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto
blood, striving against sin." As you know, The key word in
the book of Hebrews is the word better. You find it, I believe,
in every chapter, sometimes several times in a chapter. Paul uses it here in verse 40,
God having provided some better thing for us, that is, that we
too, like believers that he referred to in the chapter previously,
that we with them be brought to faith and to heaven. What could be better than that? And then he points to the grand
object of faith, the object of faith. There's only one. There's only one object for genuine
faith, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, verse 2, what
blessed words. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. A more literal translation would
be looking away, looking away unto Jesus. Looking away from
everyone, even that great cloud of witnesses he mentions in verse
1 of chapter 12. Looking away from them and looking
with them to the sole solitary object of faith and that is the
Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, look away. Look away to Him. Looking away from self to Jesus. our glorious Redeemer. Because
only there, and every child of God, every believer here, and
every believer in this world, every believer that ever lived,
they that Paul mentioned previously, and us with them, they can all
testify to this comforting truth. Only when we look to the Lord
Jesus Christ, only then do we find rest for our weary souls. Is it not so? Is it not so, brother
Lord? How often, how often, as is our
nature to do so, we look everywhere else and to everyone else, but
it's only when God in Mercy and love and grace gently forces
us, directs our look back to Jesus Christ that we find rest
for our souls. We never will otherwise. He is
face resting place. Did he not say to all those who
worry, are heavy laden, are tired, wore out, come unto me and what? What? I'll do my best to give
you rest? No. I will give you rest. I will give you rest. You shall
find rest unto your souls. Jesus, Paul says, is the author
and finisher of our faith. What does that mean? What does
that mean? The author of our faith. The
same word that Paul uses in Hebrews 2. And it's translated there
the captain of our salvation. The captain of our salvation.
It means the commencer of our faith. Now, some of us can vaguely
remember our graduation from high school. And it was called
a commencement. A commencement. That is, we're
leaving high school now and we're going out into the world to commence,
to begin our life in this world. Even so, the Lord Jesus Christ
is not only the object of faith, He commences faith. It begins
with Him. That is, He gives it. He gives
it. Now I know and I hope, I sincerely
hope, That when we speak of faith, nobody here this morning is picturing
as their idea or definition of faith is doing something physical. Like physically getting up from
the pew and walking up here and shaking my hand and calling that
faith. Oh, no, no, no. No, faith is
looking. Looking. spiritually looking
to the Lord Jesus Christ, not with these eyes, not with these
eyes, but the eyes of the soul. Faith is that hand that reaches
out and embraces Christ. It's a spiritual coming. That's how the scriptures teach
it. And Christ alone commences faith. It comes from Him. and it flows back to him. He gives us faith and then says,
behold me, the Lamb of God. And then we find rest for our
souls. But Paul also says he's the finisher
of faith. What does that mean? This is
the only place in the Bible where you find this word, finisher,
finisher. Christ is faith's object, as
we said. Faith is Christ's gift. And Christ
sustains and keeps us in the faith. The just shall live by
faith. And Christ, being the finisher
of faith, shall consummate our faith. He shall complete our
faith. We'll finish this race looking
unto Jesus. We'll end this journey as Bobby
sang. My, my, my. How precious will
that moment be? A moment that begins my eternity
with him. As the old patriarch said, I know that my Redeemer liveth. Job didn't seem to be affected
by the skeptics of his day, did he? He didn't seem to be affected
by those who thought they were smarter than God and neither
should we be. These babblers. They say, let
them say. Who cares what they say? It doesn't
matter. Job said, I know that my Redeemer
liveth. My faith has found a resting
place. It's landed upon Him. And I rest
there and I know that in the last days I shall see Him with
mine own eyes and not another's. Oh, this is what it means that
He is the finisher of our faith, will end our journey. seeing
Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Now we see Him spiritually.
Oh, but then, then we shall literally see Him face to face, just as
real, Joe, as you're looking at me right now and I'm looking
at you. Imagine that. Imagine casting
that look in the direction of Jesus Christ, our God and
Savior. When I worked at the University
of Kentucky, they would hire some fellas that, honestly, I
don't know how they got past the interview. They were as lost
as a goose in the snowstorm. They didn't have a clue as to
what was going on in the shop. But anyway, it seemed like for
some reason they would give them to me. I don't know whether to take
that as a compliment or as an insult, but for some reason,
they would say, we'll let them work with Larry. Sometimes months
after the other guys had tried to work with him and say, if
you don't take him away from me, I'm going to quit. Can't
do it. Can't do it. Well, let's give
him to Larry. And one of these poor just clueless
individuals as to what we did in the shop was with me, and
he would follow me. I don't know whether he was afraid
to let me out of his sight, or I just don't know, but man, he
literally would walk, he'd be right on my heels. One time I
said, wait here, I'll be right back. I had to go to the bathroom,
and I stopped for a moment, and he walked right into me. I said,
buddy, A little bit of space. A little elbow room. Oh, but
concerning the following the Lamb of God, oh, that's a good
thing. That's a good thing. Oh, follow
Him. Follow in his steps. Oh, by the
grace of God, try to place every step you make in his steps. These are they, we're told, that
follow the Lamb, whether so ever he goeth. forgetting those things,
Paul wrote in Philippians 3, that are behind, I reach forth. I reach forth. I'm pressing. I'm laying aside every weight
and sin, like he says here, and I'm pressing toward the mark,
the prize, the glorious calling of God that's in Christ Jesus. That's worth striving for, isn't
it? Oh, for grace to continually
look to Him. Yes, Jesus is the author and
finisher of our faith. We began this journey by looking
unto Jesus. Did we not? Did we not? Did we not begin this spiritual
pilgrimage by looking unto Jesus? Is that not when we entered this
race? When he in sweet mercy said,
look unto me, Larry, you're looking to churches, you're looking to
preachers, you're looking to other professing Christians,
that won't do it. Look unto me. Look unto me. Faith's object is me. Look unto me. Oh, you know the
verse. And what? Look unto me, God says. Why do
you pray to a God that cannot save? Look unto me. I am God
and there is none else. A just God and a Savior. Look
unto me and be ye saved. And be ye saved. There's never been a sinner and
there never will be a sinner that's ever looked unto Him and
was not saved. That was not saved. As my granddaughter
says when she reads me a story and comes across a word that's
a little, that stumps her, Paul, Paul, that's a big word. And
salvation that is in Christ Jesus, that's a big word. That's a big
work. That's a big God and Savior that
we serve. Look unto me and be ye saved.
Be saved today. Be saved tomorrow. Be saved from
the penalty of sin. Be saved from sin's dominion.
And one day be saved from the very presence of sin. Look unto
me, the author and finisher of your faith. And when we end this
life, will be looking unto Jesus. John wrote, it doth not yet appear
what we shall be. We just can't know standing where
we are now. But we know this, that when he
shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as
he is. Brothers and sisters, what could
be better than that? What could be better than that? Turn, if you will, to John's
Gospel, Chapter 1, and we'll come back to Hebrews. John, Chapter 1. Here, I think,
is a good illustration of the Christian life. An example of
Jesus Christ being the author and finisher of our faith. Here
in John chapter 1, Andrew stands with another disciple, at that
time disciples of John the Baptist. And they're standing with John
who always said, it's not about me. Isn't that refreshing? We live in a it's all about me
generation. But John said to the religious
leaders, to the crowds that came to him when it was a popular
thing to do before the novelty wore off. And he said to these
two remaining disciples the same thing, it's not about me, it's
about him. Isn't that refreshing? Isn't
that refreshing to hear a man called of God tell us it's not
about me? I was doing a little channel
surfing this morning, checking the weather and so forth and
As you know, on Sunday morning, there's a lot of religious programs
on, and I paused. I couldn't stand very much, but
it was fellas standing up claiming to speak for God, and you know
what they were saying? It's all about me. Flip. No, it's not about you. It's
not about you. And if you think it is, God's
not called you. No, John said it's not about
me. It's about Him. It's about the
Lamb of God. And he stands with Andrew one
day. and possibly John the Apostle. But look what we read here in
John 1, verse 35. Again, the next day after, John
stood and two of his disciples, and looking up on Jesus as he
walked, oh, here's a faithful messenger. Here's a true God-called
preacher. He said, Behold the Lamb of God. Look away. Look away, boys. Look away from me. Look away
from me, the Lamb has appeared. He that has the bride, he's the
bridegroom. He must increase, I must decrease. Look away, look away. Behold
the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him
speak and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them
following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto
him, Rabbi, Master, which is being interpreted, Master, where
dwellest thou? And he saith unto them, Come
and see. Come and see. Oh, that's what
faith does. That's what the precious gift
of faith is. Christ opens our eyes to behold
him. Come, ye who once were blind,
and see. See me. See your Redeemer. See the Lamb of God. You've been
abiding in darkness long enough. I'm removing the scales. Come
and see me. And what a sight. What a sight
He is, the Lamb of God. And then in the last chapter,
remember, we read in Verse 2 of Hebrews 12. He's the finisher
of our faith. And how does John's gospel end?
John chapter 21. The Lord appears to his disciples
after his resurrection. This is the third time. And he's
prepared a meal for them. And in verse 12, Jesus saith
unto them, come and dine. Come and dine. Come and see. And now come and dine. or the author and finisher of
our faith. Christ Jesus is the originator
of faith. Just like the writer, the author
of a book. It bears his name. Why? Because he wrote it. He wrote
it. And this book, this book, the
Bible, the Word of God, it's a history book. What? Yes. H-I-S, that's one word. Story is another. It's His story. It's all about Him, the Lamb
of God. As I've said before, take out
Him and you've got nothing else. There's nothing left. It's all
about Him, our glorious Redeemer and what He did. It's His story. It's his story. Turn, if you
will, to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Just a page
or two back in your Bible. Hebrews chapter 10. It's about
him. And this is his story. Verse
7 of Hebrews 10. Then said I, Lo, who's doing
the talking here? Who's making this statement?
the only one that could, the only one that could, the Lord
Jesus. Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume, his story, in
the volume of the book that is written of me, I come to do thy
will, O God. I'm going to come and do thy
will perfectly, wholly, absolutely, and render eternal satisfaction
to every claim God Almighty has on his people. I come to do thy
will, O God. Well, did he? Did he? The salvation of my soul depends
on whether he did or not. Whether he did what he came to
do determines whether I spend eternity with him in glory. Now
listen, listen. It doesn't get much more important
than this. Or whether I wake up in hell. That's how important. It's not
up to what I've done. Where I spend eternity is not
determined by me. It's determined by Him. It depends
upon Him. Was He successful when He said,
I come to do Thy will, O God? In chapter 9 we read, once in
the end of the world had He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. Did He? Was He successful? There's no deliverance without
a ransom. A ransom that God will accept. I hear men talk, and it's the
common sad but common message of our day. It's not the gospel. It's the message of that other
gospel, which is not really the gospel at all. But it speaks
to sinners in such a way as though the sacrifice of Christ was made
for their acceptance was made to satisfy them. Won't you accept
what Jesus did? Oh, sinner, if you won't accept
what he did, then what he did was useless. It's all in vain. If you don't give Jesus a chance... Man, it's hard not to pitch a
tent there. Give him a chance? Is he that feeble? Is he that
weak? Is he that useless? That he needs
me to do something for him? Oh, no. No, that's not what we
read. He offered himself without spot,
not to you, but to God. The ransom was paid, Joe, not
to you, but to God. The question is not, does His
ransom, His atonement satisfy me? The question is, did it satisfy
God Almighty? Was God satisfied with it? In
every sacrifice that typified it. and every glorious proclamation
afterwards. And the good news of the gospel
rests on this blessed fact, yes. The answer is yes. It satisfied
God Almighty. God said concerning the offering
of Christ to him, it is enough. I'm satisfied. Put up the sword
of justice back into the sheath. Oh, he has obtained eternal redemption
for us. Did you notice in our text? Here
in verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame as it set down. Say what? We read that expression often
in Scripture, Old Testament and New. It's set down at the throne
of God? Why, John? Why did he set down? Because his work was done. because he obtained just what
we read in this book. Chapter 9 verse 12, he entered
once into the holy place having obtained, now does that sound
like a failure to you? Having obtained eternal redemption
for us and we will spend eternity singing, worthy. Worthy, all
worthy is the Lamb that hath redeemed us to God by His own
blood. Yes, God was satisfied with the
ransom that He paid and that's why He said, sit down right here
my son. right here until I make thine
enemies thy footstool. This very book of Hebrews begins
with that good news. When he had by himself purged
our sins, he sat down. He sat down at the right hand
of the majesty on high. The right hand of God, the place
of acceptance, of power, of majesty, of accomplishment, success. This was the joy that was set
before him. This is what he looked to, beyond
the suffering, beyond that cup that the Father hath given him
that he said, should I not drink it? Of being made sin for us,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. That's what he
looked to. enduring the cross, he looked
beyond at the result of his suffering, what it would accomplish. That
is, bringing many sons to glory. All the redeemed brought back
to God the Father by the captain of our salvation. The joy, the
joy of accomplishing all the Father gave him to do. The joy of not failing his father. Yes, his glory, God's glory,
is wrapped up in the salvation of his people that his son accomplished
at Calvary. As a boy at home growing up, I was sometimes in trouble. And
my father, as I've told you before, would not say, Larry, time out. Go stand in the corner. No. Say, Larry, I've got your time
out right here. Here's your time out when he'd
take off that belt. But I'll tell you what, that
hurt physically. And I needed it. I had it coming.
But what hurt more than that is when there were times I would
do something And he'd say, son, I'm ashamed of you. I'm ashamed
of you. I'm disappointed. That hurt more
than that belt, brother-in-law. My daddy, my father, looked down
at me and said, son, I'm ashamed of you. Let me tell you this. God's son, the only begotten
of the Father, he never disappointed his father. God Almighty was
never ashamed of his son. He said, this is my beloved son.
I want you all to hear this. This is final. This is my final
word about the matter. This is my beloved son. Hear
ye him, my son in whom I am well pleased. God was never ashamed
of him. That's why he said, set thou
my son at my right hand. Set thou, until I make all your
enemies bow before you. Set here, my son, because I've
given you a name above every name, and every knee's gonna
bow to you, my son. I'll see to it. God Almighty
will make that happen. We'll bow, being constrained
to do so by grace or we'll bow in justice before we hear the
words, depart from me. But one way or another, every
sinner that's ever breathed God's air is going to bow to King Jesus. There's no doubt about it. You
know why? Because God had highly exalted his son, never ashamed
of him. This is my beloved son. Pharaoh
said after Joseph was made governor in Egypt, There was a famine. Oh, people came. We're starving. And we know you've got grain
stored there. Pharaoh said, you've got the wrong man. You want something? You want something from me? You
want something from me? You've got to go to Joseph. Joseph's
the man. He's the one I put in charge.
And Christ said, no man comes to the Father but by me. No man approaches God in a way
of mercy and grace and salvation. Any gift of his glorious majesty,
no man can have it. No man can experience unless
he comes to me. He's our governor. He's our mediator
between God and man. Oh, what a comfort it is for
this sinner. The glorious thought, the thought
that Christ has honor-bound. Now think of this. God, Christ,
has honor-bound himself to bring me to glory. Now what about that? Now what about that? My soul,
That ought to make you rejoice, child of God. Jesus Christ has
bound His honor, His reputation, His very glory in bringing all
of His own back to the Father's house. His honor is at stake. Oh, then it's bound to happen.
With that in mind, looking at it in that light, remembering
it in that light, how Precious those words are of our Redeemer
when He said, I came down from heaven not to do mine own will,
John 6, but the will of Him that sent me. And this is the will
of Him that sent me, the Father. I'm honored and bound to my Father.
That of all which He had given me, I should lose none. His glory and my honor are bound
to see it through. but should raise them up again
at the last day. Turn, if you will, to Ephesians
chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. Just one verse, but I want you
to look at it with me. Ephesians chapter 4, look what
Paul says concerning forgiveness. In verse 32, speaking to God's
people. And just as he does, In Hebrews
12, he points us to Christ, the supreme example. Verse 32 of
Ephesians 4, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven
you. Oh my, what a foundation that
is. The grounds on which God forgives
a sinner is not that sinner's merit. My soul, God, don't give
me what I've earned. Please, no, give me mercy. Don't give me what I deserve,
but give me what Christ deserves. Forgive me for Christ's sake. And that's what Paul says is
exactly what God does. For Christ's sake. What volumes
these three words speak. What comfort, what hope that
every believer has to expect that God will freely give us
all things for Christ's sake. What will he not withhold from
us for Christ's sake? In Ephesians chapter 2, let's
look back there for a moment. Speaking of what we were by nature,
dead in trespasses and sins, but God has raised us up. Look
what he says in verse 4. Verse 4 of Ephesians 2. But God,
but God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith
He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, have quickened
us together with Christ, by grace you are saved, and have raised
us up together, and made us set together, together, us with Christ,
in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus. Oh, look away, look away
unto Jesus, seated there at the Father's right hand, accepted
and blessed forevermore. Isn't He something? But you notice
what Paul said? Look, look again, look again. It says we're sitting with Him.
We're sitting with Him, sitting together in that place of perfect
acceptance. Perfect satisfaction before God
Almighty. Blessed of God with Him sitting
at God's right hand. My soul, isn't that what it says? We have that from God for Christ's
sake. Man, I love those words. For
Christ's sake. Oh, that teaches me or should
to look away from self. and to approach God and ask for
Christ's sake, for Christ's sake. Often I don't feel that close
at God's right hand with Him together. But listen, listen. Which should I believe? Which
should I believe? Should I believe my wicked, desperate,
deceitful heart? Or should I believe what God
tells me? That I'm accepted in to be loved
for Christ's sake? I think I'll believe Him. I think
I'll believe God. I don't think I'll believe my
lying heart. I don't think I'll look for peace
there. I think I'll look to the Prince of Peace and just roll
over on Him and just rest easy because I am His. and he is mine
forever." Forever. Samuel Rutherford wrote, in our
fluctuations of feelings, it is well to remember that Jesus
Christ emits no change in his affections. Your heart is not
the compass that Jesus sails by. Don't you like that? Don't you
like that? And that's exactly what we read.
For Christ's sake, God give me grace to believe that what he
has promised me, he's able to perform. For me, just as for
each of those mentioned in chapter 11, oh, for grace to trust him
more. Are you looking to Jesus? Are
you looking to Jesus? Back in Hebrews 12 and 2, looking
unto Jesus, no one, no one, child of God, has more reason to be
thankful than you. The hymn says, count your many
blessings. That would be an impossible task. Oh, but having Christ Jesus,
I can sum them all up. Having Him, I have all God's
blessings. I have all God's blessings. If
I have Christ, I have all God's blessings in him, in him. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift. Words cannot describe his worth,
his merit, the preciousness of Jesus Christ. Looking unto Jesus,
are you? You know what the best thing
you can do The best thing you can do for your own soul's comfort,
for the glory of your God, and your glorious Redeemer. You know
the best thing you can do after you've looked unto Jesus is just
keep looking unto Jesus. Just keep beholding. Do you want
to honor God? I know you do. Do you want to
glorify God as you walk through this world? You know the best
way to do that is just keep looking unto Jesus, God's own blessed
and beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Just keep looking. If we're looking, if we're looking
unto Jesus, if I'm speaking right now to people who are looking
unto Jesus, Then it's because your eyes have been opened. Your
eyes have been opened. God's performed a miracle in
you. Or you would never look to Jesus.
You wouldn't know him. You wouldn't see him. Do something. Do something for me. Just for
a moment. Close your eyes. Close your eyes
right now. Let's close our eyes. Now open
them. Now open them. Keep them open,
please. Keep them open. It's not edifying
to look out and see people snoozing while you're preaching God's
Word. Keep them open. But what if, what if, when you
just now opened your eyes, there was still that darkness that
you had when they were closed? What if after you opened them,
you could see no more than you could when they were closed? Wouldn't that be terrible? Wouldn't
that be terrible? Some people, we've known a few,
are born blind, lose their sight like old John Newton did before
he died. But I'm speaking, of course, of spiritual darkness.
Those who have been blinded by the God of this world, they see
no beauty in Christ. They don't have eyes to see.
They love darkness rather than light. That's why, don't wonder
why this world is so eager to believe every stupid, ridiculous
lie that comes down the pike denying our Lord Jesus Christ. The world just embraces it. Just
the other day, A week or so ago, I saw a program on the news and
this nut, some nut, claimed to have discovered another gospel
that taught that Jesus Christ was married and had children. And the news commentator just
smiled and thought, well, isn't that something? And they said,
well, this changes things. Not for a child of God. It doesn't
change nothing. But why are people, even, I should
say, especially religious people, so eager, so anxious to believe
such a thing? Because they're lost. Because
they're blind. Because they want to believe
in their heart, perhaps like some of you want to believe this
morning. No God. No God. I will embrace, I will
try to convince myself of anything that will allow me to believe
that there's no God that I'm going to go stand before. Oh
yes, I'll believe the lie. That's what Paul said in 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2, didn't he? They refuse to believe the truth.
They willingly believe a lie and they'll be damned for doing
so. Be damned for doing so if they
don't believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I saw one just this week,
a similar news broadcast. The news anchor was interviewing
this scientist. Perhaps you saw it. John, they're
building a new telescope. It's going to be 100 times more
powerful than the Hubble telescope. And the news anchors asked the
fellow, well, is it worth it? because this thing is going to
cost billions, not millions, billions. And he said, is it
worth it? And this smart man, oh he's a
smart man, he said, oh yes. These are his words. He said,
we'll see to the origin of the universe. Blind, blind. I don't care how
big a telescope he looks to, he's blind. He said, we'll go
back to the beginning of time. We'll find out where we came
from. Billions of dollars. And I thought,
man, I'll tell you where you came from and I won't charge
you nothing. I'll tell you about the origin
of the universe and it won't cost you a dime. In the beginning,
God created the heavens of the earth. And you know what he would
say? Ha, ha, ha, poor ignorant. poor ignorant preacher, that's
absurd, because they willingly believe the lie. But, but, remember
what Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2? He says, but, I'm not talking
about everybody. But, and God helped us to do this
very thing, but, we are bound Sinner, you've been snatched
as a brand from the burning. God Almighty chose you before
He created this world unto salvation. Jesus Christ laid down His life
for you. He endured the wrath of God for
you. And He says wherever He is, He
wants you to be with Him forever in glory. My soul, are you not
bound to give thanks to Him? We are bound to give thanks to
God because He had from the beginning. He's not left you in darkness
like the rest of this world. He's chosen you to salvation
through belief of the truth. He's given you faith. Oh, thank
God, now I see. Now I see, Joe, I see. There's a lot we're ignorant
of. There's a lot about this book
I don't understand. But I tell you what, I know who
God is, and I know who Jesus Christ is, and I know who I believe,
and I know what the gospel is. If I didn't, I wouldn't be standing
here right now trying to preach it to you. We know some things. We know some things. We're not
stumbling around in darkness. We know whom we have believed.
Like old Simeon, Lord let me die, taking the Lord Jesus Christ,
that babe, that babe, up in his arms. He's looking at God Almighty,
Emmanuel, God with us. He says, let me now depart in
peace. How can any sinner leave this world in peace? We're all going to do it. You're
going to do it, Terry. You're going to do it real soon, real
soon. So are you, Don. So am I. So are every one of
us, from the oldest to the youngest. Very soon now, we're going to
leave this world. We're going to leave this world.
And we're not going to be lying in the grave with enduring soul
sleep. And we're not going to be ushered
in the presence of God as they teach, have another chance. No,
we're going to go into the presence of God Almighty. We're going
to stand before Him exactly like we laid down in that grave. Whatever we were when we laid
down, we're going to stand before Him that way. We're going to
be exactly what we were. And He's going to be exactly
what He is. My soul, how in the world can any sinner leave this
world in peace? How can I, drawing and gasping
for my last breath, have peace in my heart that I'm going to
stand before God in just a few minutes and I'm not afraid? What can give a sinner such peace
as that before such a God as that? I'll tell you what, what
Simeon was looking at, the Lord Jesus Christ. Looking unto Him,
the author and finisher of our faith. Have you seen Him? Have
you seen Him? Or even right now, even right
now, are you sitting in darkness? Are you sitting here this morning
in darkness? Are you blind as to who God is? Just blind as
to who God is? When you hear the gospel preached,
and you hear about God, His attributes, His character, adjusting to holy
God, Is that an unknown tongue to you? Who is that? I don't know who he's talking
about. Are you blind as to who Jesus Christ is? Are you blind
as to who you are? God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, may he shine into our hearts and
give us the knowledge, the glorious knowledge in the face of Jesus
Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. I've got to wrap
this up. Because if he doesn't do that,
if he doesn't say, let there be light, there never will be.
You'll sit in darkness or you might stumble around in religion.
Take your pick. I'm just saying that. Please
don't. But stumble around in religion but you won't know God. You won't
know God if you don't know Christ. You'll sit your whole life just
like that blind beggar sitting by the gate of Jericho He sat
there of a day, blind, blind. Bartimaeus, let me show you what
I've got here. He'd say, man, I can't see. I don't know what you're talking
about. I can't see. I'm blind. I was born in darkness. That's where you are right now
with our Christ. But one day, by chance, Oh no. One day, in glorious, sovereign,
ordained majesty and purpose, the Son of God comes by. Can
you picture that? Whoa! The resurrection and the
life. He's coming by. And Bartimaeus
hears, and he cried, Jesus, have mercy on me. If you walk by me,
I'm going to stay in darkness. And if he walks by you, you're
going to stay in darkness, and you're going to wake up in hell.
Jesus, have mercy on me. And he stood still. Glory to
his name. What do you want, Bartimaeus?
Oh, I just want to see. I just want to see. I want to receive my sight. And
the Lord said, so be it. Receive thy sight, and we read,
and he followed Jesus in the way. He followed Jesus in the
way. He never could have done it before,
could he? But after he had received his sight, he followed Jesus
in the way, glorifying God. And that's how every sinner does
so. When Christ gives them faith, sight, they follow Jesus in the
way. Turn with me to Luke 10 and we'll
wrap this up. This Thursday we're going to
gather the Lord willing with friends and family, have a feast
and thank God for it. Enjoy yourselves, I pray that
you do. Oh, but may God remind us of this, especially this. Be thankful for this. In Luke
10 verse 21, In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said,
I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou
hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent, the telescope
builders, and has revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered
to me of my Father, And no man knoweth who the Son is but the
Father, and who the Father is save the Son but the Son, and
he to whom the Son will reveal him." Now let that sink in. Not everybody
knows Christ. Not everybody's a believer. A
lot of people are in darkness, in churches but in darkness.
Well then, why aren't you? right here, verse 23. And Jesus
turned him unto his disciples and said privately, I'm not talking
to everybody. This doesn't apply to the world. Blessed are the eyes which see
the things that you see. For I tell you that many prophets
and kings have desired to see those things that you see and
have not seen them, and to hear those things, O glorious things
of thee are spoken. which you hear and have not heard
them. And he turned to them privately." Oh, my soul. Joe, one day, the King of Glory, very
God of very God, He turned. Where? Where did he turn? Where did he condescend to turn? Who did he look to? He turned to me. He turned to me. He came to my
darkened, oh how dark, My darkened, depraved soul, he came to Larry
Criss. And he said, let there be light.
Let there be light. John, he opened my eyes. And like Mr. Spurgeon, I can
tell you this morning, I've never seen such a sight in my life. the Lamb of God, the Lamb of
God, taking away all my sins. Brothers and sisters, again,
when you gather Thursday, oh, give thanks unto God for His
unspeakable gift. Thank you, Lord, for making me
whole. Thank you, Lord, for saving my
soul. Thank you, Lord, for giving to
me your great salvation, so rich and so free. Thank you. And give me grace to keep looking
unto Jesus. Amen. Amen. God bless you.