Last night, after dinner, Brother
John Chapman told me that Brother Mahan used to tell them in preaching
school that if you ever got nervous while preaching, to just slow
down. Most of the time I try to keep
messages to about 30 minutes, so I feel as though I must warn
you, right up front, this could take a while. I've heard it said before by
men who were much wiser than I that you really can't enter
into the responsibility of being a parent until you become a parent. And I agree with that. And I've
also come to know in the past year that you truly cannot enter
into the awesome responsibility of being a pastor until you become
one. And I thank God for you pastors
who faithfully preach, and especially you, Brother Maurice. If you
would turn with me to John chapter 17. John chapter 17. I suppose there's no passage
of scripture that I love more than the 17th chapter of the
Gospel of John. This wonderful and amazing intercessory
prayer from Christ to the Father is sure to bless every elect
child of God as they read Christ's words concerning them. He's talking about me in this
wonderful chapter. Every time I read it or preach
it, I'm refreshed, encouraged, blessed. And as rich as the words
out throughout this passage, I had never really seen the beauty
in the last two verses. These two verses that we have
before us present an outline of seven things that I want to
give you quickly that can be clearly seen, but only if God
gives you eyes to see. God's got to give us eyes to
see. Now, our Lord and Savior addresses His Heavenly Father
and our great God in verse 25, and He opens with these Three
words, O righteous Father. That's a good way to address
our great God, isn't it? O righteous Father. He's holy. He's a holy God. He's righteous. So much holy and righteous that
they're a part of His name. O righteous Father, the Lord
Jesus says. He has made Himself a caring
and loving Father to us. But this is God's Son addressing
Him. And He calls Him righteous Father.
That's the first thing I want you to see. God is righteous. That's not a hard thing to say.
But child of God, It's not our nature
to believe that God's righteous, not forsaken. God's got to reveal
to us. We've got to have a divine intervention. Men are ignorant of God's righteousness. This is why men go about to establish
their own righteousness. That's what Paul said in Romans
10. He said they being ignorant of
God's righteousness and going about to what? Establish their
own righteousness. Have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. Men would not endeavor to establish
their own righteousness if they were not ignorant of God's. How
can I be ignorant concerning God's righteousness? The answer
is just what I just read, going about to establish my own. That's
an ignorant path to go. But not submitting to God's righteousness,
trying to establish my own. And yet that's what men and women
do all the days of their life, unless God intervenes. I'm really rebelling against
the Word of God when I go about to establish my own. I'm shaking
my fist at God's righteousness. I'm saying in my heart, I will
not have this man to rule over me. You see, man by nature wants
to have something to do with his own righteousness. He wants
to contribute somehow or another to his own salvation. My friends, it only makes me
ignorant. It only makes me ignorant. Because
God is righteous and to be reconciled to Him, I must be as righteous
as He is. And the scripture says that there's
none righteous, not a one. Oh, that puts me in a dilemma. The only way I can be as righteous
as He is is to submit to His righteousness, which is submitting
to Christ. Who is God's righteousness? The
Lord Jesus Christ. He is God's righteousness. Now
there are many that claim to believe that God and His Son
are righteous, but they never submit. Remember when God sent
Moses to Pharaoh? with the message of, let my people
go. You know the story well. Pharaoh
refused, and when he did, God sent 10 horrible plagues upon
the Egyptians. If Pharaoh had let God's people
go in the beginning, after the first one, there'd only been
one plague. But there were 10. If he'd heeded
God's word, I would have been one. And Romans 9 tells us, for
he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.
And I'll have compassion on whom I'll have compassion. So that
it's not of him that willeth, not of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose, I've raised thee up. That I might
show what? My power in thee. And that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. Therefore, the summation is,
he hath mercy on whom he'll have mercy. And whom he will, he hearteneth. And God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
And God sent these ten horrific plagues, and each time Pharaoh
hardened his heart more. Each time in rebellion and obstinance,
he said, no, I will not let them go. Absolutely not. And each time mercy was shown
to God's people, but wrath was shown to the Egyptians. What a God. God sent the plague
of blood, the plague of frogs, the plague of lice, the plague
of flies, the plague of beasts, the plague of boils, the plague
of hail, the plague of locusts, the plague of darkness, and the
plague of death on the firstborn. And this is amazing. Look at
it sometime. I won't have you turn there,
but in Exodus chapter 9, verse 27, Pharaoh says these words
after the seventh plague. The plague of hell. It says Pharaoh
sinned and called for Moses and Aaron and he said unto them,
I have sinned this time. Duh. He says the Lord is righteous,
no kidding. And I and my people are wicked. I couldn't believe that when
I read it. And you know what? Moses wasn't
a bit fooled by it. In verse 30 of that same chapter,
Moses says, but as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye
will not yet fear the Lord God. That's what he said. And then
just four verses after that, in verse 34 of the same chapter
again, the Scriptures tells us plainly what happened. Now listen
to this. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and
the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more. He sinned yet more. And he hardened
his heart, he and his servants. Oh, what a picture here of me
before God, saved me by his grace. No matter how many times Pharaoh
was told, no matter how many times God showed him, he sinned
yet more and hardened his heart. And so it is with those who steal
who will not bow to Christ. Each time they resist, they're
hardened more unless God intervenes. But one day, my friend, scripture
says that every knee will bow. And that every tongue is going
to confess that Jesus Christ is righteous. He's just. He's holy. And Lord of all, as
my dear brother just preached. Lord of all. For some, it'll
be too late. Oh, that God might show sinners
now, Brother Bruce, right now. Oh, that He might show them now
their unrighteousness and cause them to submit to Christ and
His Word. Psalm 7-9 says, Oh, let the wickedness
of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just, for the
righteous God trieth the hearts and reigns. Psalm 117, For the
righteous Lord loveth righteousness, His countenance doth behold the
upright. Psalm 116,5 Gracious is the Lord,
and righteous, yea, our God is merciful. He delights to show
mercy. He gives Him pleasure to show
mercy. What a God we have. What a God
we have. Psalm 129, verse 4, the Lord
is righteous. He hath cut asunder the cords
of the wicked. Psalm 145, verse 17, the Lord
is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works. Okay,
the second thing. In verse 25, O righteous Father,
the world hath not known Thee. And that's my second point. hath
not known God." If Christ died for the whole
world, my dear friends, then the whole world would love Him
and know Him. In John chapter 8, the Lord Jesus
spake unto them again, saying, I am the light of the world,
and he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall
have the light of life. Who is the light of life? That's right, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And this is the condemnation
Christ said, that light has come into the world and men love darkness
rather than light. Why? Because their deeds were
evil. I'll tell you, we're a mess. Brother Todd told me last night,
he said, you're not going to believe this. He said, I went
to the doctor the other day, and he said, my doctor was a
fellow you went to high school with. And he told me the name. I said, yeah, I did. And he goes,
you know what? He said, he couldn't believe
it when I told him you were a preacher. And he said, he'd give me your
cell phone number. He'd give me his cell phone number.
I said, what, he didn't believe you? And to be quite honest with you,
I can't believe he's a doctor. But the point I'm trying to make
is that it doesn't surprise me that he thinks that I wouldn't
be a preacher. I never did anything that would
make anyone think there was anything good in me. And we are yet, preachers,
we're sinners in need of the grace of God. I tell the people
there at home all the time, don't get your eyes on me. I'll let
you down every time. I need grace. I need mercy. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto
him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. Look back in verse 3 of chapter
17 with me to see the importance of this. John 17, 3, and this is life
eternal. You want to know what life eternal
is? Here it is. that they might know Thee, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. And here
in our text, our Lord plainly says, the world hath not known
Thee. They had known Thee. Pour out Thy wrath upon the heathen
that have not known Thee, David wrote, and upon the kingdoms
that have not called upon Thy name. Luke 24, 16 says, but their eyes
were holding that they should not know Him. Who held their
sight? The same one said, I'll have
mercy on whom I'll have mercy. The world does not know Christ. For if the world had known God,
they would have known the one He sent. Well now, brother, People need
to see Christ in you. People didn't see Christ in Christ,
or they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of Glory. Didn't they say one day, here's
the God-man in front of them, doing wonderful works, healing
the sick, And he told them, he said, I
came down from heaven. And you know what they said?
They said, is this the same Jesus, son of Joseph, whose father and
mother we know? How is it then he said he'd come
down from heaven? You'll never understand this
with your natural mind. God's got to give you a heart
to believe it. Salvations of the Lord, my dear
friends. Christ said in Matthew 11, all
things are delivered unto me of my Father. And no man knoweth
the Son, but the Father. And neither knoweth any man the
Father, except the Son. And he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal Him. And that's my third point. Only
Christ knows His righteous Father. Look at it. O righteous Father,
the world hath not known Thee, but I have known Thee." Christ
knows the Father. The Father knows the Son. And
He, to Whomsoever He reveals. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is of the Lord. If you've seen the Son, my dear
friends, you've seen the Father. If you've seen the Father, you've
seen the Son. God in three persons, Father,
Son, and Spirit. Colossians chapter 1, For by
Him were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth,
visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him
and for Him. He's before all things. And by
Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.
Then in all things, as our brother preached, He might have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in Him, in Him, in Him, that
all foolish dwell. When God created the heavens
and the earth, who was with him? Well, I didn't know anybody was
with him. Well, why did he say, let us make man in our own image? Father and the Son, boy, they
know each other so well. The fourth thing, Christ reveals
the gospel to his elect. Still in verse 25, O righteous
Father, The world hath not known thee, but I have known thee,
and these have known that thou hast sent me." These have known. Who are these these? These have known that thou hast
sent me. And in Matthew 11, 27, Christ
says, neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and
to whomsoever as we read, the Son we reveal. Now look back
at verse 9 of chapter 17. I pray for them, these, them. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine. These, they, they, them. God's sheep. God's people. God's elect. Are you one of God's
people? If you're looking to Christ and
Him alone, I'd say there's a good chance you are. Look back at
verse 24. Father, I will that they also
whom Thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory which Thou hast given me. For Thou lovest me
before the foundation of the world. Now listen, if God loved
Christ before the foundation of the world, and God chose us
and gave us to Christ before the foundation of the world,
then we must conclude that God loved the ones that Christ gave
him before the foundation of the world. And you know what
he said, Bob? I won't lose a one. Not a one. Not a one. Fifth thing, Christ
declares unto us, and he will continue to teach us, the truth
about himself. And I have declared unto them
thy name and will declare it. We're sick in sin, dear friends. We have a disease that has only
one cure. There's only one physician who
knows the cure and how to administer it. And he, the physician, is
himself the cure. This is the gospel of God. The
great physician is the cure. Mark 2, 16 and 17, when the scribes
and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said
unto his disciples, how is it that he eateth and drinketh with
publicans and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he said
unto them, they that are whole have no need of the physician. But they that are sick, I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Are there any sick here today?
Are there any sinners here today? Here's the cure. Here's the cure. When speaking of the whole or
the well in this verse, Christ is saying those that are well
in their own sight. For we're all sick, every man
born of woman. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. There's none that seeketh after
God. They've all gone astray. They've all gone their own way. Those who in self-righteousness
see themselves whole, without need. And the three words that
stick out like a flash of neon light to me in this verse is
have no need. Do you have a need? I have a
desperate need. And I didn't know it until God
showed me. They that are whole, righteous in their own eyes,
have no need of the physician. No need. Christ is the great
physician, you know that, and God is going to make sure that
his people are going to see their disease. Well, you wouldn't go
to the doctor if you weren't sick. God's going to show you
you're sick and then send you to his doctor, the great physician. This isn't an ordinary physician. And our disease, my friends,
is sin. Sin is not what we do. Sin is
what we are. I've heard that for a long time,
and I think maybe I'm just beginning to enter into it. The Lord teaches us that we're
sick, and therefore we have great need. He didn't come to call
the righteous, those that are well in their own minds. He came
to call sinners, the sick, to repent. He's the great shepherd. We're lost sheep. Ezekiel 34,
my sheep wandered through all the mountains and every high
hill. Yea, my flock was scattered upon the face of the earth, and
none did search or seek after them. In the same chapter of
Ezekiel 34, as a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that
he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out
my sheep. And I will deliver them out of
all places where they've been scattered in the cloudy and dark
day." Friends, we live in cloudy and dark days. These are truly cloudy and dark
days in which we live. But did you hear what he said?
He finds his sheep every time. Never failed once. Said, I wouldn't
lose a one. Rejoice, those that are His. I'll tell you what, it's a joyful
thought. So much so that the Lord Himself said in Luke 15,
and when He cometh home, He calls together His friends. He calls
His neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with Me. I fell my sheep, which was lost. I fell my sheep. I say unto you that likewise
joy, joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more
than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. I'm the good shepherd. I know
my sheep and I'm known of mine. But you believe not, because
you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. Sixth thing, and I'm about done.
The love God has for Christ, listen, he also has for me. Verse 26, that's what he says.
And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it,
that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them. This is too good to make up. Look back at verse 6, chapter
17. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest
me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest
them me. Thou gavest them me, and they
have kept thy word. Keeping God's word, my friends,
not the cause. We don't straighten up. Straighten
up and fly right. Well, give me something I can
do. That's not the cause. We keep
God's word because God gave us to Christ. God gave Christ to
us. That's right. Look back at verse
8. I'm going to wear you out. For
I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they
have received them, and have known surely that I came out
from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me." Isaiah 43, since thou wast precious,
precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable. Me? Honorable? And I've loved thee. Oh, that's
how I'm honorable. Therefore, will I give men for
thee and people for thy life. Which came first, dear friends,
our honor or the fact that we were precious in His sight. We
were made honorable because we were precious in His sight. Of
course, that's it. The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, with loving kindness,
I have drawn thee. I remember a message Brother Maurice
preached one time. He said, That's a bed you can
stretch out on. That's a blanket big enough to
cover yourself up in. We love Him because He first
loved us. Okay, now in closing, the seventh
point is the title of the sermon. Christ is mine. Christ is mine. Verse 26 again, and I have declared
unto them thy name and I will declare it that the love wherewith
thou hast loved me may be in them, and notice those last four
words, and I in them. Christ in me, the hope of glory. Oh, one day the Lord appeared
unto his disciples and old Thomas was gone. They told old Thomas about it,
and he said, well, I'm just going to tell you right now. Thomas
must have been from Missouri to show me. He said, except I
see his hands. Except I see the print of the
nails in his hands. And I thrust my hand into his
side. I will not believe. And after eight days went by,
The disciples were with Thomas. Then came Jesus and the doors
being shut, He stood in the mist and He said, Peace be unto you.
And He looked at Thomas. Oh my, can you imagine? The Lord
of glory, the God of heaven and earth looking into Thomas' eyes.
And you know what He said? He didn't rebuke him. He didn't
throw him out to the wolves. He said, Thomas, Thomas, reach
hither thy finger. Behold my hands. Reach hither thy hand and thrust
it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing. Lord, I believe,
but help thou my unbelief. You know what Thomas said? My Lord
and my God. My Lord and my God. He said, Thomas, because thou
hast seen me, thou hast believed. Now here's mine and your hope. Blessed are they that have not
seen and yet have believed. Paul said, I count all things
but loss. For the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ, Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but done, that I may win Christ. Christ is mine. This is a personal
thing. He may be yours, but that'll
do me no good. He must be mine. He must be my
Savior. if I'm to be saved. Well, He's
my prophet. He's my priest. He's my king.
He's my Lord and my God. He's my everything. My all and
an all. He's my advocate with the Father.
He's my city of refuge. He's my ark. Oh, that ain't just
Noah's ark. That's my ark too. that protects
me from the wrath and justice of God. He's my fiery serpent upon that
pole. And I look to Him and I live.
He's my lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He's
my rock that springs forth living water. He's my hiding place. He's my rock of ages. Christ
is mine. Amen. Is he yours? I trust he
is. Don't believe you'd be here if
you wasn't looking to him. Whosoever believeth in him shall
not perish, but have eternal life. Christ told the woman at
the well, he said, whosoever drinketh of
the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. The water
that I shall give him shall be in him, in him. A well of water springing up
into what? Everlasting life. Amen.