You all wondering why I'm smiling? It's because when I get through
in a little bit here, I'm going to sit in right there. Don't
anybody get my spot? That's my spot right there. And
I'm just going to take a deep breath, let it out, and for the
rest of this meeting, I'm going to listen to these fellas preach
the gospel to me. Brother Gene's right. There's no greater privilege
than preaching the gospel. Unless it's sitting there, and
listening to what we're benefiting from hours and hours and hours
of their study and commitment. Really, more than that, a lifetime
of commitment by God's grace. to preaching the gospel. And
we sit there for 45 minutes in the air-conditioned on a padded
pew and benefit from all of that. And more than that, from God's
blessing because through the preaching of the gospel, He meets
with us and blesses us and teaches us. So I'm looking forward to
that. But I have a burden to deliver
first. From John chapter 5. Let's look at John chapter 5. for a little while. The beginning of this chapter
is a recording of one of Christ's miracles, not one that you probably
hear about a lot, not as much as others perhaps. But in all
of these miracles which our Lord performed, in every situation,
where we find Him dealing with sinners. The Gospel of God's
free, sovereign grace in Christ is portrayed and set forth in
these miracles. And if you notice in the Scripture,
in the various miracles that He performed, often a different
attribute, a different aspect of God's saving grace will be
emphasized. Have you noticed that? In Luke 7, verses 36-50,
that woman that loved Him much, And with the hairs of her head,
wiped his feet with her tears. And the Lord said to her, do
you remember the last thing he said to her? Thy faith hath saved
thee. In that passage, the necessity
of God giving saving faith is emphasized, wouldn't you say?
When Lazarus was raised from the dead, what's emphasized there? The almighty power of His grace. Paul said, God who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness had shined in his heart. He didn't
suggest it or make it available to me. He said, let there be
light. And there was light. And he said,
Lazarus, come forth. And we came forth. And when He
spoke our name, that emphasizes the almighty, irresistible power
of His grace. What Brother Donnie preached
last night emphasizes His majestic deity. I Am. I Am. And as he said, these passages
set forth a Person. They exalt a Person. They tell
us of a Person. Well, as I read this passage
here, you see if you can tell What aspect of divine salvation
is emphasized here? You look at it with me. After
this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by
the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue,
Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude
of impotent folk. Picture this scene. Here's a
vast multitude of people laying around this pool. Why are they
laying there? Well, look at the description of them. They were
blind, impotent, haught, withered, waiting for the moving of the
water. Why were they waiting for that? Well, an angel went
down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water. Whosoever then first, after the
troubling of the water, stepped in was made whole of whatever
disease he had. And a certain man was there,
which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. Now the first
thing we're told in verse 1 is that Jesus went up to this place.
And look at this, when Jesus saw him lie. He just saw him
laying there. What were all the rest of them
doing? They were just laying there too,
weren't they? But this one's different because the Lord saw
him laying there. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now
a long time in that case. 38 years he'd been in this condition. And the Lord's asking the question,
will thou be made whole? Now already, what attribute,
what aspect of the saving grace of God is emphasized here? And
the impotent man answered him, I have no man when the water
is trouble to put me into the pool. What a miserable case. What a sad, miserable case. Nobody
cared enough about him to help him at all. But while I'm coming, another
step is down before me. Even a blind man can get there
faster than I can because he knows where it is. He's felt
it. But I'm a lame. I can't get there. I can't get
there in time. Another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto
him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. Alright, now. The Lord Jesus walks into this
scene with a multitude of people laying around and He says to
one man, Will thou be made whole? You reckon he got the attention
of any of the others laying around there? But he wasn't talking
to them. He wasn't talking to them. And
the man didn't even say yes. He didn't even answer the Lord's
question, did he, Don? He didn't even answer his question.
All he did was complain. I can't be made whole because
of this and that and the other thing. The free, electing, distinguishing
grace of God can be seen in this. You reckon the truth that Christ
quickens whom He will can be seen here? We're not told what
feast this is in verse 1. It's not important. What's important
is the Lord was there. The Lord was there. These feasts
were important in their time and in their purpose, weren't
they? Why? Because they pointed to Christ. They set forth and
exalted Christ. But now that Christ is here,
the only thing that matters is where He is. That's true of this
place and any church where we're at there in Nashville. It doesn't
make much difference who else is there if the Lord is there.
Right? The Lord is there. Not important
what feast it was. The Lord makes whatever he's
associated with to be vital and important. Why was the ground, why was that
holy ground Moses was standing on? It's just dirt. No, the Lord
Jesus Christ was there. That's holy ground. It's holy
ground. There was also a great multitude
there. They must have been a pitiful
sight. Can you imagine? Diseased and impotent and blind
and withered. deformed people, a multitude
of them laying there. What a terrible scene. All these
folks waiting with the hope of being healed. There are a lot
of ideas now in the commentaries about this phenomenon of the
angel coming down and stirring the water. What do you reckon
happened there? You think they just had heard
just a rumor that was going around that they thought there was an
angel? Somebody made it up? Well, the Bible says an angel
came down and stirred the water, doesn't it? The understanding of Scripture
that does not require any speculation or human reasoning on your part
is the right one. Is that right? Is there any reason
whatsoever to believe that an angel didn't come down and stir
this water? They're God's angels, aren't they? They do what God
tells them to do. Could God tell them to come down
and stir that water and heal whoever goes in there first after
it happens? I believe He could. Why would
He do that? Why would God do that? Well, I believe God orchestrated
this entire event to set forth the Gospel of His Son and the
free, sovereign, electing, distinguishing grace of God in Christ, don't
you? Why was that blind man in John chapter 9 born blind? Do
you know? Let's look at it. John chapter
9 verse 3. I know why he was born blind,
don't you? And Jesus answered, they said,
why was he born blind? They didn't really say it that
way, did they? They didn't say, why was he born
blind? They said, who said that he was born blind? They were
self-righteous like us. And Jesus answered, neither hath
this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should
be made manifest in him. What is the work of God that
you believe, O my son? Was Lazarus sick in John 11? And why did he die? Can you answer
that? Look at it in John 11. Verse
4. Why? Did that happen? Why did any of God's sheep get
sick? And why did they die? When Jesus
heard that, when the sister said, Lord, the one You love is sick,
You know, that's a good thing to say, wasn't it? That's a good
thing to say. If you're praying for somebody,
that'd be a good way to do it. Lord, the one you love is in
need. Oh, pray for me like that. I
like that, don't you? They did the right thing there.
Well, when Jesus heard that, He said, This sickness is not
unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might
be glorified thereby. Oh, why does God do anything
but for His glory and for the good of His sheep? So let me
ask you again, why would God send an angel down to stir that
water? I think I know, don't you? I really do. I really do. That the Son of God might be
glorified. And He was in this, wasn't He?
Oh, we see our Savior here. Can you imagine? this scene again,
the fighting, the posturing, you know how we are. Are you
honest with yourself? Do you know something of your
nature? If there was only one person going to be healed, would
you step back and say, you know, that poor old fellow there, I
think I'll let him go now. Oh, you'd want to be the one,
wouldn't you? You'd want to be the one. And
all of them did. And they couldn't all be the one. So they were
posturing and trying to... Or, I was here first. No, I was
here first. You can just imagine the scene. And don't you imagine
there were times that a gust of wind would come up and stir
that water and everybody would rush down there, splashing and
fighting and hitting one another. It's just a false alarm. I imagine
it happened. I'm sure it did. How sad. What a sad state humanity is
in. And we're not told how often
this angel came. It may have just been once or
twice in a lifetime. It may not have happened in these
people's lifetime. They may have just heard that it had happened
before. Their grandfather told them, you know, that the angel
did that one time. And so there they are, waiting.
for an opportunity. I don't know, but I know this. As they were sitting there waiting
for an angel to come down and stir that water so they could
be healed, the one who commands the angels was walking in their
midst. The one with the authority to
give all of them perfect healing in an instant was standing there
in their midst and they didn't know who he was. They had no
idea who he was. And I know this, salvation's
not in a place, salvation's a person. They were waiting for physical
healing when the one who healeth all of our soul's diseases was
standing right there in their midst. What would have benefited
if they had gotten down there first and been healed? They would
have gone in a crippled, dry, hell-bound sinner and come out
a walking, wet, hell-bound sinner. It doesn't say anything about
the saving of the soul in that book. It wouldn't have done him
any good. I was talking to the fellow that
painted our auditorium back home. And he was saying, oh, in our
church, boy, God comes in power and He heals people. He told
me about a lame man that came and got up out of his wheelchair
and went running up and down the aisle. And I said, what difference
does it make if you don't know Christ? The Lord said, if your
right hand offends you, chop it off. It's not about physical
healing. It's not about being whole physically.
That doesn't make any difference. You'd be better off withered,
haunted, lame and blind than knowing the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I tried to tell him about that. Look at verse 5. A certain man was there which
had an infirmity thirty and eight years. And our Lord said to his
eyes, upon this one man. Was he crying out to the Lord?
Is that why the Lord fixed His attention upon him? No. Was he
even looking at the Lord? Did he even notice Him? There's
no evidence that he did. What was he doing? He was doing
the same thing that I was doing when the Lord fell on me. Just
laying there, dead in trespasses and sins. Impotent. Unable. When we were yet without strength. Christ died for the ungodly.
Not when we didn't have much strength. We couldn't lift a
little finger toward God. That's where He found me, just
lying there where this man was. Lying at that pool, he was hoping
to see some movement there. Somehow he could be the one,
if somehow. Maybe everybody else would trip
and fall and he'd somehow crawl down there before they could
get there, go into that pool. before everybody else. There
were a lot of other miserable, miserable, deformed, blind people
there. Why didn't the Lord go to one
of them and speak? One of the multitude. Why this lame man? Christ chose to come to him and
to speak to him. He said to His disciples, you
have not chosen Me, I have chosen you. And He chose this man out
of this vast multitude. Is that how you met the Master?
Or you got one of them bunker stickers that said, I found it,
whatever it is. The Lord Jesus Christ found me. It says He left the ninety and
nine and went after that one sheep. There's a lot of speculation. Who's the 99? Who's the one sheep?
You know who I was? I was that one. Weren't you,
Donnie? It was you too. It was you if
you know him. His people are that one sheep.
He went after us. And he found us where we were.
And he laid us on his shoulder and brought us home rejoicing.
Saying, look, rejoice with me. I found my sheep which was lost. And there one of them was laying
by that pool. And that's what he did. He wasn't
paying any attention to the 99. He was after that one sheep.
That one sheep. Jesus saw him live. And the only difference between
him and everybody else there was that the Lord saw him doing
it. The Lord saw him doing it. He didn't see him making a decision.
He didn't see him waving to it. He saw him lie. And that's what
we were doing. Luke 15.3, let me quote it to
you. You can turn there if you'd like to. Let's look at it together. where I was just reading. I want
to quote and I want to read you that passage. 15-3 of Luke. He
spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having
a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety
and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until
he find it? He found one there, didn't he?
He knew where he was from eternity. But he came and found us. That's the effectual nature. He finds us. He doesn't wait
on us to do something. Not trying to get anybody to
do anything for God, but our prayer is, by God's grace, as
the Gospel goes forth, that God would do something for you and
for me. He found us. And when He hath found it, He
layeth it on His shoulders rejoicing. Oh, for the joy that was set
before Him. He endured the cross, despising
the shame, counting the shame a small thing. Rejoicing, and when He cometh
home, He calleth together His friends and His neighbors, saying
unto them, Rejoice with Me, for I have found My sheep which was
lost. I say unto you that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents." One. One,
Brother Donnie said. One. Go out in the desert. Why? There's one out there. There's
one of the sheep. I must needs go through Samaria.
Why? Oh, there's one at the well there.
And there's an appointment with her. The appointment of grace. Joy. And then verse 8, either what
woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not
light a candle and sweep the house and seek diligently till
she find it. That coin is worthless as long
as it's lost. It's not worth anything. How
are you going to spend something you can't find? But she went and
looked for it. And when she had found it, she
called her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with
me, for I have found the peace which I had lost." Now it has
value, right? Likewise, I say unto you, there
is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner
that repenteth. Notice here in our text also
that the Lord is intimately acquainted with this man's case. Oh, he'd
been in this case for 38 years, and the Lord, as far as we know,
had never crossed his path before, but he knew exactly how long
he'd been in that case. He knew exactly how long. The
Holy Spirit records for us here the actual number of years that
he was in this case. Perhaps this morning, there's
one of the Lord's little lambs here. and you have no idea who
he is the one who commands the angels and speaks the word and
there's life is in your midst and you don't even know him you
have no idea you wouldn't recognize him but if you're one of his little
ones he knows who you are oh yeah he knows that you've been
a long time in darkness you've been dead a long time And maybe
He came here this morning to seek you out. If He did, you'll
know it in a little while. You'll know it. He knows His
sheep. He's acquainted with them. He
calls us by name. He has an appointment with us.
And He will cross our path. And He has a question this morning
for you if you're here. And you're one of those. Wilt
thou be made whole? You know who will say yes to
that? Somebody that's not already whole.
That's who. Somebody that's lame, sick, impotent,
needy, blind. If you do not know the Lord Jesus
Christ this morning in the free pardon of sin, if you do not
have life, Because he that hath the Son hath life, and he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life. If you're yet in your
sins without Christ this morning, I know why. I know why. It's because you don't need Him.
It's because you have no need of Him. I said all of these miracles
emphasize a different aspect of saving grace, but they all
have the same elements in them, don't they? There's always a
vital, urgent need. He didn't go around blowing people's
noses and helping people with the stiffles. He healed lepers. Lepers. He raised the dead. He
did that for folks which they could not do for themselves.
And that's where you are in your sins. There's nothing you can
do about it. You'll spend all you have and you'll just be worse.
But then perhaps the Lord will cross your path. I pray that
He will. He said in John 9, 39, for judgment
I'm coming to this world, that they which see not might see,
and that they which see You might be made blind. And some of the
Pharisees which were with Him heard these words and said unto
Him, Are we blind also? We who have studied the Word
of God and have degrees and we're the authorities on the Word of
God. Are we blind? Jesus said, If you were, you'd
have no sin. But now you say we see, and therefore
your sin remaineth. That's why your sin remaineth
too, if it does. It's because you say, I see,
I see, I know God, I'm fine, I have no problem. Let me ask it to you this way,
will you be made whole? Will thou be made whole? I didn't
say, do you believe that sinners can be made whole? He said, will you be made whole?
This is between you and the Master. Will you be relieved of the burden,
the bondage of the law? Are you happy under that yoke?
Oh, I'm carrying it just fine, thank you. I'll be alright. Me
and the Lord got a good thing going, you know. Come unto me,
all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest.
As the burden brought you to your knees, brought you into
the dust on your face, come to Him. He is the rest of God. He is the Sabbath of God. Will
you be healed of the disease of sin? You want to know what
love is? You think you know now. You don't
know what love is until you've experienced sovereign, distinguishing
love. Then you'll know. Then you'll
know. Wilt thou be made whole? Do you desire to be righteous? The Lord Jesus said, blessed
are they that desire that. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness. They'll be filled. It's not just
their candidates to be filled. They will be filled. Do you have
that hunger? Do you desire to be righteous
before God and know that you're hopeless in yourself? Christ is the righteousness of
God. Think of it another way. Will
thou be made whole? Not the way you expect it. But will you submit to the sovereign
Christ and be made whole? Brother Donnie talked about naming
the leper. He didn't want to be made whole,
did he? Not God's way. Not at first. But the Lord humbled
him, didn't he? Brought him down. And he was
ready because he was a leper. If you ever become a leper, you'll
be a leper. And until then, you know, you're
going to be You got a lot on your plate until you're a leper
and then everything else is gone except that in it. This man was 38 years in this
case. This is what identified him. He's that one that's lame. And
your identity is what? The sinner. The sinner is what
we are. Won't thou be made whole God's
way? I am the way. Christ said the truth and the
life. Wilt thou be made whole? Look at the man's answer in verse
7. The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man when
the water is troubled to put me into the pool. But while I
am coming, another steppeth down before me. Religion says, oh
yes, Christ comes to the sinner and offers life to the sinner,
but you have to accept it. You have to say yes. This man
didn't. No. He showed no signs of enlightenment
whatsoever. You see, the Lord doesn't save
enlightened sinners. He saves sinners. Sinners. You have to choose to accept
salvation. This man didn't. No. You have to make a decision for
Jesus. Not this fellow. They represent salvation, you
know, as the Lord throwing you a life preserver, and then you
make a decision whether to grab hold of it or not. That's not
what I see in the Word of God, do you? When Peter was sinking
beneath the waves, and he said, Lord, save me! Did the Lord throw
him a life preserver? No, you know what he did? He
immediately reached forth and grabbed ahold of him. That's
what he did for me, too. That's what he did for me. He
took hold of me and pulled me out of the fire. Pulled me out
of the fire. A worm with nowhere to go. Nowhere to go. Christ asked this
impotent man a yes or no question, and he couldn't even say yes.
There is no evidence of faith whatsoever in this man's answer,
is there? Not a lick. Will thou be made
whole? Sir, I have no man to help me
so that I can be made whole. No faith whatsoever in that.
Faith does not attract the mercy of Christ. Faith is the result
of the mercy of Christ. Why would the Lord even heal
this man with an answer like that? Well, I like one thing
he said. I'll tell you one thing that
caused the Lord's heart to go out to him. You reckon? He said,
I've got nobody. I got nobody. If there's any
sign of grace in this man, it'd be that. He's just talking about,
he's still wanting to get down in that pool, and he has no idea
who the Lord is. But the Lord yet says to him,
rise, take up thy bed, and walk. But what a pitiful case he was
in. I got nobody. I got nobody. The psalmist said,
when my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will
take me up. Everybody had forsaken this man.
Nobody was interested in helping him in any way. But the Lord
came where he was. Came where he was and had mercy
on him. Mercy on him. The Scriptures
say, can a mother forsake the child that's feeding at her breast?
Boy, you might react, no, no, that would never happen. Oh no,
but the scripture says she might. She might. It's happened before,
hasn't it? It happened quite a bit. But
the Lord said, I'll never forsake you. He came where he was. And I'll close with this thought.
On the same day was the Sabbath. I was saved on the Sabbath too. I have no idea what day it was,
but I'll tell you this, when I ceased from my labors and entered
into His rest, that's the day I was saved. How about you? Very
good. Thank you, Brother Chief. That's a good way to start. I
enjoyed that. I could identify with that man
through you. I was right there. Right there. Scripture says without
God, without hope. Ever think about that? Without
hope. If what these people are teaching
is true, then it certainly isn't. If man can make a decision that
determines his eternal destiny, then he's not without hope. But
that's what God does. He brings us to that place where
we see ourselves without hope. And that's the working of God,
the Holy Spirit. That's the work of God, believe
what I'm saying. And so I enjoy that so much. Let's take our
handbooks, please.