Certain events and situations
in the past few weeks has led me to this question and this
message for you this morning. We normally are an axe, but sometimes
things just override where you think you need to be or where
you should be. And after a certain, like I said, certain events and
situations arose, to where I think the Lord's leading was very evident
and very clear for me. So if we're turning to Acts,
I apologize because we're not going to be in Acts at all this
morning. In Isaiah 45 and verse 22, Our Lord says, look unto Me and
be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there
is none else. And then in Hebrews, in chapter 12, in verse 2, the apostle or the
writer of Hebrews simply says, 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, and is set down at
the right hand of the throne of God." The title, I suppose, could be
of this message, Why We Implore Sinners. Like you and I, why
we tell men and women to look to Christ. Why we tell sinners
to look to Christ? Well, the two-fold answer, and
then we'll delve into the message, the two-fold answer that I've
come to realize in these years of, I believe, looking and following
Christ, having Him being revealed to me, is that, do you realize
that if All spiritual blessings in heavenly
places are in Christ. That's what Ephesians chapter
1 and verse 3 tells us. If that is true, then looking
to Christ solves all spiritual dilemmas. If all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places are in Christ, then a look to Christ will solve
all spiritual dilemmas. And this religious world has
a bunch of problems. But they don't look to Christ.
They look to themselves. They look to numbers. They look
to catechisms, baptisms, sprinklings, decisions, contemporary worship,
old worship, Ministries ministers of music youth ministers youth
groups counseling sessions, but they don't look to Christ They're
not told to look to Christ But one charge that I have has been
leveled against me and charges have been leveled against some
of the other preachers I know is that you guys Just keep preaching
Christ when there's more You keep telling your people, saved
or unsaved, to look to Christ. And I say amen to that. because
every spiritual dilemma is solved by looking to Christ. Secondly,
if, and it is certainly so, from this book, Colossians chapter
2 and verse 9 says that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells
bodily in Christ Jesus. That's what it says, what Paul
says, under inspiration of God. If that is true, and it certainly
is so, then every real spiritual and practical question has its
answer by looking unto Jesus and being in Him. So let's observe the total and
complete importance of imploring sinners like you and I to look
to Christ. To look to Christ. There's one
thing that you won't, by the grace of God, even in Bible class,
and Bruce is going through Colossians and going verse by verse, but
you won't even see it or hear it in Bible class, when he gets to a section on
husbands and wives, you know, or whatever, he's not, you know,
Bruce isn't going to give you a list of 20 things to do in
order to be a promise keeper, or a better husband, or a better
wife. Now, obviously, there's things
in the book that describe the believing husband and the believing
wife, but I'll tell you what, if you've got to go to the passages
of the book to browbeat your wife or browbeat your husband,
you're missing the import of the book. This is not a book
about morality, it's a book about Christ. And we'll see as we get
in through some of the things in this text. I remember listening to a message
that I actually didn't listen to, I couldn't handle it. The
preacher, the famous preacher out east, legalist, he's not a gospel preacher,
preached, I think it was 20 part message on repentance, how you
have to repent. Well, I just it was comical even
back then. This was back in the 80s when
I listened. I thought it was even comical then because what
if I got sick? On lesson five and six, you know. Ron's laughing, that's you know,
oh, we better get the tape before you come to the next services,
because he built on it. You look to Christ. If God gives
you grace to look to Christ, I guarantee you, you'll repent. Right? Plus, you're already disadvantaged
because this preacher standing before you is not very smart. Bless God for the simplicity
that's in Christ. This is not a blue collar gospel. This is a gospel for sinners. The first thing I want to notice,
I want you to notice, as I read in Isaiah 45, he says, the first
point is there is life in a look. Why do we implore men and we
implore sinners to look to Christ? Turn again, if you would, back
to Isaiah 45, because there's life in a look. There's life
in a look. Isaiah 45, he says, Look unto me and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else. There's life in a look. Now again,
who are you looking to? Is it a God with a small g? He
can't save. But we implore men We, as in
those who understand and the gospel's been revealed to and
therefore we are retelling the story, the same old story. To
look unto the Lord Jesus Christ, looking unto Jesus, look to God,
because there's life in a look. To look to Christ is to look
nowhere else for true redemption. to God and God alone, God who's
on his throne, God who's sovereign, God who's not trying to do anything,
never tried to do anything, but the God of this book who is completely
in charge and in control of all things. So Bruce made a comment
this morning in Bible class that was, I thought was outstanding,
is that everything that God does, whether we understand it or not,
From the salvation of his people to the damnation of the reprobate,
everything is done for God's glory. And the believer submits
to that. What happens is mothers and daughters
and husbands and sons and that, we
start fixing emotional things. Because we're emotional creatures.
But the overriding theme in the believer is that to God be the
glory. if the Lord will. We had some
things scheduled to do yesterday, and we didn't get them all done.
There were some things that happened, and Melinda and I, as we were
standing in the hospital waiting to go in and see one of our beloved
sisters, we were sitting out there waiting to get the okay
to go back in the emergency room, and we were looking outside at
the landscaping, and I said, if the Lord will. We didn't say
that until we got there, though. We had our day planned. if the
Lord wills. We submit to that. Sometimes
it's hard, but we submit to that. But why do we implore men and
sinners like you and I to look to Christ? First of all, because
there is life in a look. A look to Christ. Not to self.
There's no life there. There's death. We don't implore
sinners to look to the law. We don't implore sinners to look
to religion, or to creeds or traditions, but only to look,
that is to believe and trust in Christ Jesus the Lord. And this look, it's singular. And it's a narrow look. And if
you are looking and you're able to look, it's because it's been
God-given faith for you to look. God-given faith in the person
and work of Christ Himself produced in the sinner and in his soul
by superabounding and supernatural grace. Grace is not something
you can earn. Grace is not something you can
work for. You look and there's a life. There's life in a look.
Turn to Zechariah chapter 12, perhaps one of my favorite passages. Zechariah chapter 12, and maybe
the Lord has used this to open my eyes to many things, but it's
just so you have the workings of grace in this sequence here. Starting in verse 9 of Zechariah
chapter 9. Again, there's life in a look. Okay? Look at Zechariah chapter
12 and verse 9. And it shall come to pass in
that day. This is a day of grace. It's
a day of a look. that I, God Almighty, will seek
to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I,
who's that? That's God Almighty. Someone
you can't fight, someone you can't resist, someone you can't
turn back when His will and decree is determined to do what it is
to do. And I will pour upon the house
of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem What's he gonna
do to these elect sinners, not everybody in the world, he didn't
come to redeem everybody in the world, he didn't come to shed
his blood for everyone in the world, he didn't come to love
everybody in the world, but for those particularly who are called
here, the house of David, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
spirit of grace and supplication, and what happens when he does
that? Look at the very next thing. And they shall look upon me.
There's life in the look. They shall look upon Me, whom
they have pierced. I don't have to browbeat you
to tell you the story of Christ and Him crucified when God the
Holy Spirit gets a hold of your heart and quickens that and changes
your heart from one of stone to flesh and He causes you to
look to Christ. I don't have to make you feel
bad because the Spirit of grace and supplication causes you to
look to Him first and then they shall look upon me whom they
have pierced." We understand that it was our sins that nailed
Christ on the cross. Yes, He had to be there to fulfill
God's law and satisfy God's righteousness, but God laid Sins hard upon the
back of Christ they shall look upon me whom they appears and
they shall mourn for him for who Christ as One that mourn
for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him as one
that is in bitterness For his firstborn I'd say that's repentance
I'd say that's repentance when a definition of repentance I'd
say there is in verse 10 and And in that day shall there be
a great morning in Jerusalem, as the morning had at Rimon,
in the valley of Midegon. And the land shall mourn every
family apart, the family of the house of David apart, and their
wives apart, the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their
wives apart, the family of the house of Levi apart, and their
wives apart, the house of Shimei apart, and their wives apart,
all the families. that remained every family apart
and their wives apart. And in verse chapter 13, verse
one. And in that day, this is still a day of grace and supplication.
There shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. Those whom Christ gives the look
of life are those for whom Christ gives full forgiveness for sin
and uncleanness. There's life in a look. Looking
to Him, in looking to Christ, we see our real selves. Nobody beats up the believer
more than he does himself. Because we've got two natures.
We've got a nature that's imparted to us by the grace of God, that
nature of Christ. Christ in you, the hope of glory.
And we've got that old man who's never going to get any better,
no matter how much makeup and cosmetics or whatever we try
to do, or what people look and see, how we act religious or
don't act religious, that old man is never going to get any
better. And so the believer, the believer
is a paradox to himself. let alone your neighbor. We beat
ourselves up. And people say, well, what's
your problem? I'm fine. I'm right with God. There's no
problems here. Well, he didn't know anything about the grace
of God. Because the grace of God, when you look upon Christ,
whom you've pierced, then you mourn. He's everything and we
are nothing. So by looking to Him, there's
life in a look and that life involves knowing and understanding
our real selves and our real need to be cleansed. And we understand
for the first time in our lives, real forgiveness and real salvation. It's not pasted on. It's not
a band-aid. We're completely made whole and we understand
that. Turn, again I'm going to have
you do your finger thing, turn to John chapter 3 and Numbers
21. I love this as well. John chapter 3 and Numbers 21 I Said we're still under this
first point. There's this is the main point. I suppose there's
life and look That's why we implore men and women and boys and girls
implore sinners to look to Christ Look at John chapter 3 verses
14 and 15 John chapter 3 verses 14 and 15 as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness and which will go look here in a minute in numbers
21 even so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever believes
in him Christ shall not perish but have eternal life there's
life in a look it says here to anyone that believes in Christ
and believes on Christ. And in Numbers, turn there now,
Numbers 21, he says, what do you mean, like that serpent in
the wilderness? Let's look at that situation.
Let's look at the very example that Christ himself pulls from.
Numbers chapter 21. and look at verse four, and then
they journeyed, that is, the Israelites, they journeyed from
the Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to compass the land of
Edom, and the soul of the people was much discouraged because
of the way. And the people spake against
God and against Moses, Wherefore have you brought us out of Egypt
to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither
is there any water, and our soul hates or loathes this light bread.
And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit
the people, and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people
came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against
the Lord and against thee. Pray unto the Lord that he take
away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make a fiery serpent and set
it on a pole. That's what he's talking about
in John 3. Just like the serpent was lifted up, so Christ, exalted
above all. And God says to Moses, you make
a serpent, and you put it on a pole, and it shall come to
pass, in verse 8, that everyone that is bitten, look at the next
phrase, when he looks on it, shall live. Moses made a serpent
of brass and put her on a pole and it came to pass that if a
serpent had bitten any man When he beheld the serpent of brass
He lived There's life in a look Christ and he's like he says
in John chapter 3 is the Moses was lifted up As Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness even so the Son of Man must be
lifted up exalted when you look to Christ and You're not looking
down here, the Christ that's preached from most pulpits. He's
kind of trying to do some things. He wishes you would do some things.
He's a little baby Jesus still in the manger. He was baby Jesus
in the manger, but he was sovereign, ruling monarch when he was in
that body that was prepared him. He never ceased to be God when
he was man in earth. Now, explain that. Look. Look. So Christ exalted, Christ believed
upon, Christ looked to or trusted on equals life. Our problem is that we won't
look because we don't know we've been bitten. You can't find a
sinner. Everybody's religious, but there's
no sinner. When God gets a hold of you and
you're bitten, you look. Not a fire escape from
hell, that's what I'm talking about. Not scaring you into salvation,
not trying to make you feel better, but true Holy Spirit conviction
causes a look to Christ. And you live. You live. Secondly, we preach to sinners. We implore sinners to look to
Christ because there's life in a look. Secondly, there's sustenance
in a look. There's sustenance in a look. I ask these questions of myself.
I'm sure you have as well. Will I finish the race once I've
started it? You ever get concerned about
that? Will you finish this race that
you started? Will you and I remain until the
end? Or will we fall? Will I be overcome by the sorrows
and trials of this life? Because there's many. Hebrews chapter two. I'm sorry. And I say to let me
check now, 12, the same passage we've looked at. There's sustenance in a look,
there's a state he will sustain you. Hebrews 12 and verse two,
we've already read it. Looking unto Jesus, the author,
he started your faith. He going to finish it if your
faith comes from you. It's going to end in you, and
it's going to end in damnation. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who incidentally, for the joy that
was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is set down right now at the right hand of the throne of God,
making intercession for you and I. We will be sustained. There's
sustenance in a look. If Christ endured the cross,
underwent the cruel beatings and betrayal of this world, and
even forsaken by His Father on our behalf, on the sinner's behalf,
then, with that precious look that He gives you, will certainly
come the sure promise of everlasting rest and peace. I don't know
if I'll continue on in the faith. Look to Christ. I don't know
if I have ever believed Him. Look to Christ. Preacher, I don't
know if I've ever had any interest. Can you give me some things to
do? I won't do it. Look to Christ. to Christ and
the Christ that I'm preaching. And if it's not the Christ of
this book, if you look to Him, you'll be deceived like many
others. But if it's the Christ out of this book, the sure, sovereign,
kinsman-redeemer, who laid down His life on purpose for a particular
people to redeem them and bless them and give them His righteousness
and present us faultless before the throne of grace. If it's
that Christ, you look to Him You'll live, and he'll sustain
you. Thirdly, there's faithfulness
in a look. And this is where, oh, if I could
get preacher's ears, this is, this is, and I get discouraged
like other preachers. There's faithfulness in a look.
I ask myself, will I and how do I remain faithful to my Lord
in the service of his kingdom while I'm here? Will I and how
do I honor him as a husband or wife or the place of my employment?
How do I confess him and worship him and obey him daily? By looking
to him and nowhere else. Let me ask you this. Did anyone
ever love his bride, the church, like Christ our Lord did? He
says, husbands, love your wives. Like Christ, love the church. How many sub points and subtitles
do you need on that? I believe me, I've been there.
I got to be careful here, too.
Looking for a wife. I go to Proverbs. Find me a wife
like that one in the Proverbs. You're in trouble. Everybody
here is married. Well, you look to Christ. You start
doing a bunch of do's and don'ts. And if the woman is smart enough,
she's going to go in the book and find somebody that you, and
guess what? You're both going to fail miserably.
So you know what? How do you love one another? Before I marry somebody, do I
counsel them? I don't even like those words.
Leave that for the school people. I'll talk to you. I'd like to
talk to you just to tell you what marriage is about. But the
people I've married that they could tell you, it pretty well
centers around Christ. Women, how do you submit to your
husbands? Oh, let's get the book out and let's do it. Was there ever anyone that submitted
to the foreordained decree of the Heavenly Father like our
lovely Lord Jesus Christ? He was always about His Father's
business. Was there ever anyone who was lock, stock and barrel,
sold out to the obedience of His Father and His Father's will?
Lo, in the volume of the book that is written of me, I come
to do Thy will, O God. Oh, I sure wish I knew how to
do His will. I sure wish I knew what the will of the Father.
I wish... Look to Christ. Being among His people. Come
hear the Gospel, where Christ is preached, fellowship among
the believers, where Christ is spoken of. You know, we all have
to go to work tomorrow. And in that place, they're not
going to be talking about Christ. They're going to be talking about
the weather. They're going to be talking about the fall colors, the economy,
Christmas, Thanksgiving. Show me Christ and point me to
Christ. And as I said, therein is every
spiritual dilemma resolved and every question answered. Only Christ could say, he was
always about his father's business so look to him for all we need
or we ever hope to need which is securely and wonderfully tucked
away in our kinsman redeemer and incidentally if the father
says this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased look to
him because the father is well pleased he's not well pleased
with us he is with us as we are in Christ as we are in Christ. Two brief
points. Well, I thought it was brief,
and then I started, the more I looked at it last night, I
started writing stuff down. Fourthly, there's love in this look. There's
love in this look. Turn to Luke chapter 22. There's
probably not enough said about this, but this means a lot to
me. One, because, Melinda could probably
tell you, but I felt like some people think, oh, I feel like
I'm David, or I feel like I'm Abraham. Personally, if you were
to find somebody in this book that was probably pretty closely
related to me, it'd be Peter. What a mess. He's a brother. I don't know, I hope I can read
this. There's love in this look. There's life in this look. There's
sustenance in this look. There's faithfulness in this
look. And there's love in this look. Luke 22, verse 54. They're getting ready
to crucify Christ. And they took Christ and led
Him and brought Him into the high priest's house. And Peter
followed afar off. He's curious. And when they had
kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were set down together,
Peter sat down among them. But a certain maid beheld Peter
as he sat by the fire and earnestly looked on him and said, this
man was also with Christ. Peter denied, denied him saying,
woman, I know him not. You ever do that? Oh, I'm a believer, I can't do
that. You got that old nature with
you, I'm telling you. Don't say, don't say there's nothing you
wouldn't do. Well, that's one reason why when we
look to Christ, we weep bitterly, because we are so, by ourself,
we are so insufficient, deficient. And after a little while, another
person saw Peter and said unto him, Thou art also of them."
You're with that group, you're with those sovereign gracers.
And Peter said, man, I am not. And about the space of one hour
after another confidently affirmed saying of a truth, this fellow,
Peter, also was with him, for he's a Galilean. And Peter said,
man, I know not what you say. And immediately, while he spake,
the cock crew. Verse 61. And the Lord turned and looked
upon Peter. Now, Peter was looking and denying,
and Christ turned and looked at him. There is love in this
look. And Peter went out, verse 62,
and wept bitterly. Now, he wouldn't have wept bitterly
had he looked at the law or this or that. He looked at the Lord
and the Lord looked at him. And I'm so thankful that there
is love in this look. And love, the love of Christ
constrains us. to meet when we meet, to talk
about Him when we talk, to worship Him, to love Him and love one
another. The love of Christ, this book says, constrains us.
And I'm not going to put on you a yoke that you can't bear and
I can't bear, but I can tell you to look to Christ. Lastly,
before the concluding remarks, there's willingness in this look. Well, if we just tell people
to look to Christ, how do you know who's saved and who's not? Well, we've been studying the
book of Acts, and when God deals with somebody, they know it,
and the people around them know it, and then they publicly confess
Christ and believe His baptism. Seems to be, say, well, not everybody.
Well, not all the people on the cross. He couldn't come down
off the cross. And all that, as far as I'm concerned,
shows that salvation is pure, free grace. He couldn't. He was providentially, people
use the word providentially hindered. But lastly, there's willingness
in this look. Turn to Psalms 110 and verse
3. Psalms 110 and verse 3. My, uh, thy people, God's people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. Well, we've already
saw in Zachariah in the day of his power is the day of grace
and supplication. When they look upon him, whom
they've peers, there is willingness in a look. Or you mean, I know
years ago used to be thrown. Well, God saved me against my
will. No, no, he breaks your will. takes out
that old stony heart, puts in a new heart of flesh, and makes
you willing to the day of His power. If you don't want to come
to hear the gospel, don't come. Oh man, if we preach what you
preach, we wouldn't know, we wouldn't, the numbers and all
that kind of stuff, fine. That's not why we gather together.
We gather together to honor and glorify Him, not numbers. Well,
if we preach that way, you people would do whatever they want to
do. Amen. People who shall be willing in a day his power his
power who's sovereign That's one of the big arguments. I got
with some of these groups that Not that you and I know but some
of these other legalistic Theologically somewhat accurate legalists.
That's the big thing everything they were saying they had to
do with a lot of this getting in people's lives and Ruling
over people's lives. I said you're acting like you
don't believe God is sovereign over your people's lives Never
they never could give me a good answer for that Sure, every time
the doors are open, I want to see a full house. Sure, I'd like
to see all this city, this county, come to know Christ. That's His
business. I'm not going to scheme or coerce. I'm going to stand up here on
these two high legs, and I'm going to preach Christ and Him
crucified, and I'm going to say, look unto Him. Usually, once
we start putting these hands to something, it messes it up. And that's one good thing about
husbands and wives, they help meet. Sometimes we see things
and we get focused, and our helpmate says, eh, you know. But out of the word. Shows, excuse
me, out of the word. Now in closing, I leave you with
a sobering passage. Turn in closing to Isaiah 31.
Isaiah 31. I implore you, as God's ambassador, to look
to Christ. There's no salvation in any other
than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory. However, Isaiah
31 and verse 1, if you do not look to Him, and will not look
to Him, This is for you. This is a very sobering verse. Verse 1 of chapter 31 in Isaiah. Woe to them that go down to Egypt
for help, and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because
they are many, and in horsemen, because they are very strong.
All the excuses I've ever heard, you can find them in there. for
either not coming, or not believing Christ, or not looking to Christ,
or not whatever it might be. But here's the real problem,
because, but, they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither
seek the Lord. That's the problem. Excuses come
and go, but the bottom line is, They're trusting in everything
and everyone and not looking to Christ. May God give us grace
to simply look to Him. There's life in a look. He's
promised to sustain you. He'll keep you faithful. He'll
keep you loving Him. and He'll make you willing to
do as He commands. The desire to worship and please
Him. Again, it's a marriage relationship. If your marriage, my marriage,
gets to the point where I have to be forced to stay together, it's already over. The Lord's people, we have to
look, but we have to because we want to. And when it all comes
down at the end of the day, we'll say, to God be the glory. It was all His grace. His grace
sought me, His grace bought me, and His grace will keep me. All glory. goes to Him. And that is why we're here, to
give Him the glory. Nathan, would you close us please?