Again, if you'll turn back with
me to Matthew chapter 3. As we just read, we see our Lord
in the fullness of time and by the will and purpose of God come
from Galilee to the River Jordan to be baptized of John. The words
that John spoke that day, and as we saw in verse 14, should
be of no surprise to any one of us, John knowing who it was,
that asked him, said, I have need to be baptized of thee,
and comest thou from me. There's no doubt that John knew
who Christ was. And our Lord, as we read, said,
John, you suffer it. You allow it to be so. Give me my request. comply with
my desire to fulfill all righteousness." You see, this was the Father's
will that Christ might fulfill the ministry in which He had
received. And who among us, I ask you dear
friends, would have not felt as John did? John must have thought,
shall the servant baptize the master? Shall the sinner? to
baptize the Lord and Savior. But our Lord would do all that
we were afterwards to do, and therefore, He would be baptized
and, as in all things, set the example that He would have us
to follow. But this morning, I want us to
consider as our text, verse 17. And it says, And lo, a voice
from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased. Notice it says a voice from heaven. And friends, if we're ever to
truly, truly hear from God Almighty, it will be from the mouth of
the Father Himself that speaks from above. God must speak to
us from His throne of grace on high. And not only did this message
come from the greatest of all, being God Himself, but it is
also the greatest message that has ever been proclaimed. This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Now we have said
many times that the two most urgent and pertinent questions
ever asked to center from the Scriptures are found in one verse
in Matthew 22. You don't have to turn there,
but verse 42 of that chapter says, What think ye of Christ?
Whose son is he? Two urgent, urgent questions. And here in the verse, God himself
answers the question of whose son he is. God says, this is
my beloved son. This is my beloved son." And
God doesn't stop there. He says, "...in whom I am well
pleased." God is well pleased. Pleased above measure with His
Son. So I want you to just consider
with me for a few minutes this morning the very foundation of
God's amazing gospel. Gospel means good news. Good
news to sinners. Christ came into the world to
save sinners. And if you're a sinner, this
will be the best news you ever heard. The Father is well pleased
with His beloved Son. God's always been pleased with
His beloved Son. There was never a time that God
was not pleased with His beloved Son. and there will never ever
be a single second throughout eternity that God is not pleased
with him. Before our Lord was born here
among men, before He took upon Himself a body of flesh, before
His first infant cry in the stable of Bethlehem, God the Father
was pleased with Him. Before He was ever perfectly
obedient to His earthly parents at Nazareth, God was well pleased
with Him. Before He toiled in the carpenter's
shop, God was well pleased with Him. You know, I thought about
that. You know, it's a simple statement. He worked in the carpenter's
shop. God did. God became an infant. born in a stable. God was obedient
to his earthly parents. God worked in a carpenter's shop.
I thought about this when I was studying. I once worked for my
father, and my father was the boss. He knew the business, not
me. But I'm telling you, friends,
there wasn't a day that I didn't complain, murmur, question how
he did things, why he did things the way that he did them. But
our Lord never complained, never murmured, never was disrespectful
in any way. He was always obedient, never
once thinking a proud or a sinful thought. And we could go a step
further. In the far distant age of eternity
past, when the worlds were made and everything in it were spoken
into existence by God the Father, He took counsel with His beloved
and equal Son. And when it was all finished
and done, God saw everything and He said, It's good. It's
very good. You see, it was Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, who balances the galaxies, holds the stars
in their perfect order. It's He that arouses the light
of the sun and suspends the earth on its perfect rotating axis. It's Him. It's the Father's beloved
Son in whom He was well pleased with before the earth was ever
made. And Mark 7.37 says, He doeth all things well. Notice the words here that our
great God uses. He says, this is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased. He doesn't say in whom I was
well pleased. He doesn't say in whom I hope
to be well pleased or will one day be well pleased. No. I am
well pleased. I am well pleased. He was pleased
with him in Gethsemane when his sweat, his great drops of blood,
dripped to the ground. When he said, Lord, if it be
possible for this cup to pass from me. God was well pleased
with him. He was pleased with him when
he gave him up to be nailed to the cross of Calvary, for though
it pleased the Father to prove him, and he did for a while,
hiding his face from him because of the necessary purpose of his
atoning sacrifice for his people, yet he always loved him. Always. I don't think that our
Lord was ever fairer more beautiful in the eyes of His Father than
when He was pale, beaten beyond recognition, so much so that
the Scriptures say that He didn't even resemble a man. God loved Him and was well pleased
with Him. God's never been more pleased
with His Son And our Lord never seemed so lovely to him than
when his obedient hands were given to the nails, and his willing
feet were fastened to the tree. And though there's nothing about
us, now listen, there's nothing, nothing about you and I who are
the Lord's children that can please our Heavenly Father, God
is always well pleased with His beloved Son. And you know, God
is not only well pleased with Christ, He's perfectly pleased,
perfectly pleased with Him. He couldn't be more pleased with
Him than He is. And there could not be anything
more in the Lord Jesus Christ that would be more pleasing to
the Father than He already is. Yes, God the Father is perfectly
pleased with Christ as God and with Christ as man. And this
is why, this is why the saved sinner rejoices in God being
perfectly pleased with him. For in him is beloved Son. Now listen, this is why I said
all this to say this. This is why, for in him, the
Lord Jesus Christ. God is well pleased with those
who fully trust in Him. That's the true beauty of the
Gospel, to those who believe in Christ. God is well pleased
with you and I. How can it be? Well, that's exactly
how it can be, because God is pleased with Him. Romans chapter
3. I want to look at just a few
passages of Scripture here. Let the Scriptures do the preaching
for a moment. In verse 24, what is it to be
in Christ? Well, for sure it's salvation. It's redemption. It's to be perfectly
righteous and holy in the eyes of a thrice holy God. And in verse 24 of Romans 3,
the Apostle Paul writes, being justified freely by His grace,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. You see, redemption is in Christ
Jesus, who justified the ungodly freely by grace alone in Him. Look over at Romans 8, verse
1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are where? In Christ Jesus, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit. An old hymn writer wrote,
free from the law, happy condition, Jesus has bled, and there's remission. You see, friends, God is well
pleased with His Son. And in Him, God's well pleased
with me. Look at verse 39 here of chapter
8. nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature shall be able to separate us from the love
of God." Where is the love of God? Which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. God loves those forever who are
in Christ and nothing, no one can separate them from the love
that is in Him and Him alone. If you would turn over to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. I want you to see this in your
own Bible. In Christ. Verse 19. In this life only we have hope
in Christ. And we are of all men most miserable. Listen, miserable men now are
happy and full of joy because they have hope in Christ alone. Look at Verse 22. Well, let's start in verse 21.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection
of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ, in Christ shall all be made alive. 2 Corinthians chapter 2. Another
couple pages over. Verse 14. Now thanks be unto
God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ. Friends, we
were defeated. The wages of sin is death. But
God always causes us to triumph in Christ our Lord. You want
to know why? Because God will please with
Him. That's not hard, is it? Turn
over to chapter 5, since we're here in 2 Corinthians. Chapter 5, verse 17. You know
this verse by heart. Therefore, if any man beware
in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold,
all things are become new. I remember when the Lord first
began to deal with me. So much guilt. So much shame
about my past life. You see, it wasn't hard for God
to forgive me, it was hard for me to forgive me. And then one
day I read this verse, that therefore if any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. And all those old things, those
dead things that I'd drug along behind me for years, passed away. They're gone. And behold, all
things have become new. And I get to start fresh every
morning. All past, present, future sins, forgive me. The old things
in our life are passed away, and in Christ we're new creatures,
perfectly righteous, innocent. Completely totally innocent me
You absolutely Absolutely in him in him look at verse 19 of
chapter 5 To wit that God was where in Christ God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses
unto them and Now, if you don't have any trespasses, that won't
mean much to you. But if you do, God doesn't impute
them to you in Christ. And you know why? I'm well pleased
with Him. Well pleased. Well pleased. God is in Christ, and in Christ
we are in God, reconciled, joined again with Him. And our trespasses
which were against Him and Him only, are not imputed to us. Forgiven. Forgiven. What a wonderful word. Men forgive,
but they don't forget. Well, I'll forgive you, but I'm
not going to forget it. That's true, isn't it? It's amazing
the things I can remember against those who I didn't feel treated
me fairly. But God forgives and forgets.
And all things are new. All things are new. Oh friends,
the Scriptures go on and on. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places. Where? In Christ. God's well
pleased with Him. We're blessed with all spiritual
blessings. Did you hear that? All of them.
In heavenly places, but it's in Christ. And now life for the
believer is simply heavenly. Ephesians 2.13 says, But now
in Christ Jesus ye who were sometimes afar off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. Like that prodigal son. Probably
one of the most famous stories in all the New Testament. Went
to his father and said, I want what's coming to me. Took it. Wasted it. Squandered it. With
righteous living. wound up in a pig pen eating
the husk of corn that the swine ate. And the scripture said he
came to his senses. He came to himself. I wonder
what that man means. God divinely intervened. God spoke to his heart and said,
go back to your father. Oh, friends, like the prodigal
son, we were far off from the father, but by the blood of our
Savior, we're brought home again. Brought home again. Oh my, who
has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works? Aren't you glad about that? That's
the reason we don't have assurance now. We look to our filthy rags'
works of unrighteousness and we think to ourselves, how could
God save a wretch like me in Christ with whom He's well pleased? according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. We see here that by God's grace
that God the Father is well pleased with His beloved Son. That's
what the Scripture says. But let me ask each one of you
here this morning another question. Are we also well pleased with
the Lord Jesus Christ? Can we look at Him and say, this
is my beloved Savior in whom I am well pleased? Here's the
point where God and our souls can meet, friends. If God loves
Christ His beloved, so should we. If God Almighty delights
to glorify Him, so should we. Since God makes all things obedient
and submissive to the honor of Christ, should not we? Oh, across
that marred body of the spotless and lovely Son of God, God and
man can now embrace one another. Oh, the mighty cost that God
did spend at Calvary. I'm a sinner and the Father takes
me, the sinner, by the hand and He says, I've forgiven you for
my dear son's sake. Because you see, I'm well pleased
in Him. Well, can't you see the beauty in this? Are you not well
pleased with Him as your substitute and Savior? Those of you that
are yet without Christ, trust in Him. He is all in all. Can you hear the God of heaven
and earth say, I gave Him to bless you, my beloved Son in
whom I'm well pleased. I gave Him to bless you. I intended
Him to bless you. And I now delight that you should
bless Him. Praise His name. Christ is all. Christ is all. He's all we need. He's all that we must have. And
all the blessings of God are in Him, in Him alone, as we've
read. Now listen, what does God require
of me? What do I have to do? Listen,
all that God requires of you is simply this. Do you feel your need of Him?
Do you? Do you see and feel your desperate
need of Him? Do you see your need of Christ?
Are you well pleased with Him? God is. And so is every elect
child of God who has heard God's voice from heaven thunder, this
is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. There was a wealthy
man who had a son, and they loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their
collection, everything from Picasso to Raphael. And they'd often
sit together and admire the great works of art that they had collected. And when the Vietnam conflict
broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous. He died
in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified
and obviously was grieved deeply over the loss of his only son. About a month later, just before
Christmas, there was a knock at his door and a young man stood
there with a large package in his hands and he said, Sir, you
don't know me, but I'm the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day.
And he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the
heart and he died instantly. But he often talked about you
and your love for art. And the young man held out this
package and he said, I know this isn't much. I'm not really a
good artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to
have this. And the father opened the package and it was a portrait
of his son. And it was painted by the young
man in whom his son had given his life. And the old man stared
in awe at the way the soldier had captured his personality
in this painting that he had so humbly drawn. And the father
was so drawn to the eyes, he had just captured his personality.
the essence of his son, and his own eyes welled up with tears,
and he thanked the young man, and he offered to pay him for
the picture, and of course the young man said, oh no sir, no
sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift. I want you to have it. And as
soon as the young man left, the father hung that portrait over
his mantle. And day in and day out he stared
upon that picture of his son, not all the other great works
of art that he had. Every time visitors came to his
home, he took them to see the portrait of his son before he
ever showed them any of the other great works that he had collected.
And finally, after a period of time, the the father of the old
man passed away and there was to be a great auction of his
paintings and many influential and wealthy people gathered excited
overseeing the great collection that he had and the opportunity
to purchase one of them for their own collection but first up on
the platform when the auctioneer began to start the auction there
was a picture of the portrait of the son And the auctioneer,
he pounded his gavel and he said, we'll start the bidding with
this picture of the sun. Who bid for this picture? And there was silence. And then
a voice in the back broke out and said, we want to see the
famous paintings. Skipped this one, but the auctioneer
persisted. Will somebody bid for this painting,
he said? Who will start the bidding? How
about 100? What about 200? And the other voice said angrily,
we didn't come to see this painting. Show us the Van Goghs. Show us
the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids, he
said. But the auctioneer continued,
the son, the son, who will take the son? And finally a voice
from the very back of the room was a long time gardener, the
man and his son, a poor man. And he said, I'll give $10. It
was all he could afford. The auctioneer said, we've got
$10, who will bid $20? Give it to him for the $10 one
shot and let's get on with this thing. Let's see the masters. $10 is the bid. When somebody
bid $20, the auctioneer said, the crowd became angry. They
didn't want the picture of the sun. They wanted the more worthy
investments for their collections. And the auctioneer pounded the
gavel, going once, going twice, sold for $10. A man sitting on the second row
shouted, okay, now let's get on with the real collection of
treasures. And the auctioneer laid down
his gavel and he said, I'm sorry, the auction's over. What about
the paintings? The people yelled. I'm sorry,
he said. He said, when I was called to
conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the
will. I was not allowed to reveal that
stipulation until now. That stipulation was this. Only
the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought
that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the
paintings. The man who took the son gets
everything. This is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased. All who have him have everything
that belongs to God. Everything. Everything. Oh, may God show you that have
not yet seen that Christ is all. And may all of you that have
Christ, trust Christ, thank God again and again That He's made
you well pleased with His Son in whom He's filled.