I've entitled this message, Many
Believed on Him There. And it's my prayer that a duplication
of what took place then will take place here this morning.
Let's read this passage of scripture together, beginning in verse
39. Therefore, they sought again
to take him, But he escaped out of their hand. And went away
again beyond Jordan. Into the place where John at
first baptized and there he abode. And many resorted unto him or
came unto him and said. John did no miracle. But all
things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him there. Verse 39, Therefore, they sought
again to take him, but he escaped out of their hand. How many times
did the Lord miraculously escape from those who wanted to take
his life. In Luke chapter 4, when he began
his public ministry, they became so enraged at what he said that
the scripture says a bunch of them grabbed him and took him
up to the top of a cliff to throw him down and get rid of him.
But he escaped. out of their hand. The scripture says he passing
through the midst of them went his way. You see, his time was
not yet. So he escaped out of their hands. And then we read in verse 40.
He escaped out of their hand, another murder attempt, and he
went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at
first baptized and there he abode. He came to this certain place,
the place where John first baptized and he stayed there. His itinerant
ministry was over. As a matter of fact, this is
shortly before he is going to die. He no longer went from town
to town preaching the gospel. He stayed in this place and he
wasn't going to leave really until he went to Jerusalem to
be crucified. There he abode. And in this place
where he abode, we read that many, in verse 41, resorted unto
him, or came to him, that's the word, many came to him and said,
John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of this
man were true, and many believed on him there. So this thing of
them coming to him was more than just a physical coming, it was
a spiritual coming. It issued in their believing
on him. Now, he came to the place where
John first baptized. That's where he came to remain
for the rest of his earthly days until he would go back toward
Jerusalem to be crucified. He remained at this place where
John first baptized. Baptism. What is it? To baptize means
to immerse. The Lord Himself was baptized
by John and He made an issue of John's baptism. He came back
to that place where John at first baptized. Now turn back to Luke
chapter 20 for a moment. The Lord Jesus made an issue
of the baptism of John. Look in Luke chapter 20. Verse 1, And it came to pass
that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple
and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes
came unto him with the elders and spake unto him, saying, Tell
us, by what authority doest thou these things? Or who is it that
gave thee this authority? Now, what had he done? Well,
he came into the temple where there were a bunch of people
selling sacrifice, sacrificial animals and exchanging money
and so on. And he comes in and turns over
their table. He makes a whip and he drives them out of the
temple. Now, the Lord did that. The Lord did that. He made a
whip and drove them out of the temple. And they come to him
and said, who gave you the authority to do this? What makes you think
you can come in here and do something like that? Who gave you this
authority? And look at the way he answers.
And he answered and said unto them, I'll ask you one thing
and you'll answer me. The baptism of John. Was it from
heaven? Or of men? His baptism. Is God in this? Is this inspired
by God? Is it the truth of God? Is it
from heaven or is it just something man made? And, you know, that's
a that's a question we ask regarding what we hear, isn't it? Is it
from heaven? Is it of God? Or is it of men? Good question. And they reasoned
within themselves, saying, if we shall say from heaven, he'll
say, why didn't you believe in them? But if we say of men, all
the people will stone us, for they'd be persuaded that John
was a prophet. And they answered that they couldn't tell which
it was. And Jesus said unto them, neither tell I you by what authority
I do these things. So, we see the emphasis the Lord
put on the baptism of John. It was from heaven. Now, these
people didn't have the honesty to tell what they really believed.
They were afraid of the consequences. But the Lord made an issue of
the baptism of John. Now, what was the baptism of
John? Turn back to Mark chapter 1. This is where our Lord chose
to remain. The latter part of His days here
on earth was that place where John first baptized. I look here in Mark chapter one.
Verse four. John did baptize in the wilderness
and preach the baptism of repentance. For the remission of sins. and there went out unto him all
the land of judaea and they of jerusalem and were all baptized
of him in the river of jordan confessing their sins now here's
the baptism of john it's called the baptism of repentance for
the remission of sins and we actually read that these people
before they were baptized they would confess their sins and
that doesn't mean they got in front of everybody and publicly
confess their sins i heard uh... A story recently of Scott Richardson,
it tickled me. There was somebody that came
into his church where he pastored and said, I think that we all
ought to confess our sins to each other. I think we ought
to get up publicly and confess our sins and come clean. And
Scott said, oh? He said, start then. Go on. And the guy, well, I'll do it.
This doesn't mean that we're supposed to get up and publicly
confess our sins to other people. For one, you don't have enough
time. I mean, it would last forever. And for another thing, that's
just insincere. That's foolishness. He's not
saying that you're supposed to get up and confess your sins
before baptism. What he's saying is baptism is
the actual act of confession. When I'm baptized, I'm confessing
that my sin is such that the only thing that'll save me is
the life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ.
That's what I confess in baptism. Now, he preached the baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins. Now, does that mean
that you have to repent before your sins can be remitted? You
need to repent of all your sins before your sins can be remitted.
Now, let's stop for a minute. What does repentance mean? Now,
you may find this interesting, but the phrase, repent of your
sins, you know how many times it's found in the Bible? Not once. Not even once. I used to hear
preachers talk about repentance. I thought, what does it mean?
What does it mean to repent? Well, I hope this will be helpful
to you. He preached the baptism of repentance
regarding the remission of sins. Now, or for the remission of
sins. And that word for, in our text, He preached the baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins, five times that same
word is translated concerning. He preached the baptism of repentance
concerning the remission of sins. Now, repentance means a change
of mind. a change of mind. Now, it will
result in a change of manners too. Don't think it won't. It
will result in a change of manners. If somebody repents before God,
they're going to be different every time. But what the Word
means by definition, repentance concerning the remission of sins,
I changed my mind concerning how sins are remitted and concerning
why sins are remitted. See, here's what the natural
man thinks. We think that the remission of sins comes at the
end. If I straighten out my life,
if I repent of all my sins, if I start doing good, if I turn
things around and start acting the way I ought to act, then
I'll have the remission of sins. God will forgive me of my sins.
Now, salvation doesn't end with the remission of sins. You change
your mind about that. You say, I don't believe that
anymore. I see that's foolishness. Salvation begins with the remission
of sins. Salvation begins with God remitting
your sins for Christ's sake. You change your mind. You don't
believe that foolishness of remission of sins comes because of something
you do. You believe that your sins are remitted for Christ's
sake and only for Christ's sake. Do you believe that? Ephesians
4.32 says, Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as
God for Christ's sake. Not because you do anything,
but even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. There's
a repentance regarding the remission of sins. You now believe that
the remission of sins comes from what baptism signifies. The death,
the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. That's why my sins
are remitted. Not because I've done anything,
but because of what Christ did for me. He lived for me. When
he lived, I lived. When he died, I died. When he
was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead. And I repent
of anything contrary to that. That's what repentance is. Now,
back to our text in John chapter 10. Our Lord came to this place
where John first baptized, where this message was preached. And
the scripture says, there he abode. He did not leave there. Verse 41, And many resorted unto him, this
place where he abode. Many came to him and said, John
did no miracle, but all the things that John spake of this man were
true, and many believed on him there. In this place where he abode,
many people came to him. Now, in order to come to him,
this is very important, in order to come to him, you had to come
to the place where he was. If you came anywhere else other
than here, you wouldn't be able to come to him. You had to come
to him, to the place where he was, where he abode. where he
was. And that means more than a physical
coming to him, because this resulted in their believing. Look what
verse 42 says, and many believed on him there. These people who
came to him there, where he abode, many believed on him there. Now, coming to Christ, many resorted
to him, and they came to him. Coming to Christ is the act of
spiritual life. Let that sink in. It's not just
getting your doctrine straight. It's not coming to a right position
on what the Scripture teaches concerning certain subjects,
although that's very important. I wouldn't take away from the
importance of that. But the act of spiritual life isn't being
right. It's not straightening things.
The act of spiritual life is coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember what our Lord said
in John chapter 5 verse 40. He said, you will not come to
me that you might have life. Coming to Christ is the act of
spiritual life. You see, coming to Christ is
the evidence of divine election. Remember that verse of scripture
in John chapter 6 verse 37? Our Lord said, All that the Father
giveth me, there's divine election. God gave Christ to people before
time began. How I love the holy truth of
God's electing mercy. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Coming to Christ is the evidence
of divine election. Look back in John chapter 6 for
a moment. Coming to Christ is what people do who are drawn
by God and what people do who are taught by God. Look in verse
44, John chapter 6. No man can come to me, except
the Father which has sent me draw him. And I'll raise him
up at the last day. Now what happens when God draws
you? You come to Christ, don't you? Look in verse 45. It is
written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God.
Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the
Father cometh unto me. Coming to Christ is what those
who are drawn by God and taught by God do. And this in reality
is the message of true evangelism. We open this service reading
Revelation chapter 22 verse 17. And the Spirit and the bride
say, Come. Not go and do. Not go away. The
Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say,
Come. And whosoever is athirst, let
him come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. Now this thing of coming to Christ,
now you listen to this real carefully. This is not something you did
when you were first saved, although it is. It's something you do
all the time. To whom, 1 Peter 2.4, to whom
Not to what? To whom? Coming, as unto a living
stone. This is the continual motion
of the soul. You come to Christ, you come
to Christ the same way you came to Him the first time. When I
first came to Christ, I know this much about it. When I first
came to Christ, I came as an empty-handed sinner needing His
mercy with nothing to commend me. Have I graduated past that? Not on your life. You come to
Christ the same way you came the very first time, to whom
coming. This is the continual motion
of the soul of the believer to Christ, to whom coming, as unto
a living stone. Now, if I come to Him, Remember,
coming to Christ is the action of spiritual life. It's the evidence
of divine election. It's what all who are taught
by God do. It's the continual action of
a believing soul, always coming to Christ. If I come to Him,
I must come to Him in the place where He abides. Scripture says He abode there.
To get to Him, you'd have to go to that place. Now, in order
to come to Christ, a true spiritual coming, I'm going to have to
come to the place where He abides, where He is. Now, here's a very
important and a very interesting question. Where is He? Where is Jesus Christ, the Lord,
for me to come to Him? I'm going to have to come to
where He is. Where is He? Well, the Bible answers that
question. As I'm speaking right now, where
is Jesus Christ? Where is he? Well, the scripture
says he is seated at the right hand of God. Sitting on a throne. What's he doing on that throne?
Ruling and reigning as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. That's where he is. He's seated
at the right hand of God, on the throne, ruling and reigning. And for me to come to Him, I'm
going to have to come to Him where He is, seated on the throne. You see, if I really come to
the Lord Jesus Christ, if I truly in my heart come to Him, and
this is a spiritual coming, you know it's not a physical coming,
it's a spiritual coming. Something done in the heart.
If I truly come to the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm going to come to
Him exactly the way that leper did. That leper came to Him saying,
Lord... He knew He was the Lord, didn't
He? Lord, if You will, You could make me clean. I don't have any
control in this. I can't make myself clean. There's
nothing I can do to get you to make me clean. I have absolutely
no control. Everything is in your sovereign
hands. If you will, you can make me
clean. You see, if you come to Christ,
you come to Him as the absolute sovereign of the universe. Let
me tell you something that I despise. Won't you accept Jesus Christ
as your personal Savior? I despise that. He's the Lord. personal Savior. He's the Lord
of glory. And you come to Him as such,
the absolute sovereign of the universe. You know you're in
His hands and He can do with you whatever He's pleased to
do. If He sends you to hell, is He right? Is He just? And He can save you in a way
that magnifies His justice. You know you're in His hands.
And that's the way you come to Him. You come to Him as the sovereign
Lord of all. Where is He? He's seated on a
throne, ruling and reigning. And if you come to Him, you're
going to come to Him where He is. Seated on a throne. Where
is He? Listen to this scripture. Matthew
18.20 says, Where two or three are gathered together in My name, There I am. Most of the time. Doesn't say that, does it? Where
two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am. In their midst. Where is Jesus
Christ? Right Wherever two or three are
gathered together in his name, there he is in their midst. He is in the public assembly
of his people. He walks among the golden candlesticks
of the churches. Now, if I miss what we're doing
right now, if I don't show up, I'm not showing up to a place
where he is. Now, that's why, quote, coming
to church is so important. He's here. Where do I find him? He's in the public assembly of
his saints. Where is he? Well, he's at the
right hand of the Father. He's wherever his people meet
together. He said that in Matthew 18, 20, you know, where two or
three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst
of them. Where is he? He's in the truth. You see, He is the truth. That's
why He's in the truth. Now let's go on reading back
to our text in John chapter 10. Look what it says next. Verse 41, And many came unto
Him, and said, John did no miracle, but all things that John spake
of this man were true. He is in the truth preached.
Ah, everything John said about this man. Now, he didn't perform
any miracles, old John the Baptist. I mean, I never saw him raise
the dead. He never gave sight to the blind. He never did any
of those things. But let me tell you this about
John, and this is the highest commendation you could ever give
of anybody. He said everything he said regarding this man is
true. Well, what did he say? Well,
we could spend weeks on that, I'm sure. But let me read some
Scriptures in John chapter 1. Verse 6. There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John. The same came for a witness,
to bear witness of the light that all men through him might
believe. Verse 15 of John chapter 1, John
bear witness of him and cried, saying, This was he of whom I
spake. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he
was before me. He's always been. The same was
in the beginning with God. And of His fullness have we all
received, and grace for grace, grace because of grace. For the
law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time.
The only begotten son, which is in the bosom of the father.
He had declared him. This is what John had to say.
Look in verse 26. John answered them saying, I
baptized with water. But there standeth one among
you whom you know not. He it is who coming after me
is preferred before me, whose shoe latchet I am not worthy
to unloose." These things were done in Bethabara, beyond Jordan,
where John was baptizing. The next day John see Jesus coming
unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world. That's what John had to say.
Behold, oh may God give us grace to do this. Behold the Lamb of
God. Now, I don't have any doubt that
what John was referring to was Genesis chapter 22. When Abraham
and Isaac are walking up that mountain, and Isaac says to his daddy, here's the fire, here's the wood,
where's the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham replied
to his boy, my son, God, will provide himself a land for a
burnt offering. And that means three things.
One, God's the one who does the providing. What can you provide? What can
you give God that he would accept? You got anything? Bring it on.
Come on, bring it on. No, if you have any spiritual
understanding at all, you know you have nothing in and of yourself
that God would accept. Thank God He does the providing. All that He requires, He provides. Isn't that good news? God will provide for Himself
a lamb for a burnt offering. You see, the lamb is not so much
for you, it's for God. For God to do something for me
or you, He first had to do something for Himself. The blood of the
Lamb is to satisfy God, to satisfy His justice. That's what the
blood of the Lamb is for. The blood of the Lamb is for
God. He'll provide for Himself. And God will provide thirdly.
God will provide Himself as the Lamb. He is the Lamb. Behold, the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. And He did take away the sin
of the world. Jew, Gentile, He took it away. 1 John chapter
3 verse 5 says, He was manifested to take away our sins and in
Him is no sin. Where is he? I must know where
he is in order for me to come to him. He's sitting on a throne.
He's where his people meet and he is in the truth. In the truth
preached. In the gospel. He is not in error. He is in the truth. And there's
a lot of folks who seem to think that God is bigger than the truth. He can work with the truth or
without the truth. My dear friends, God is the truth.
Christ is the truth. And He does not work apart from
who He is, does He? He's the truth. So where can
I, if I want to come to God, if I want to come to Christ,
where can I find Him? He's on the throne, ruling and reigning,
sitting at the right hand of the Father. He's wherever His
people meet together. He is in the Gospel. He is in
the truth preached. That is where He is. And the
Scripture says many resorted to Him at that time. Many came
to Him. Now what does it mean to come
to Christ? What's it mean? I mean, He's at the right hand
of the Father and I'm down here. I can't see Him. What's it mean
to come to the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, it's a purely spiritual
act done in the heart. What is it? Well, to come to
Christ is to leave one place and go to another with the emphasis
being on where you're going and not what you're leaving. That's
what it is to come to Christ. It's to leave one place. I've
left salvation by works. I've left salvation by my own
doings. I've left it. I've repented of that mess. It's
to leave one place and go to another, the Lord Jesus Christ,
with the emphasis being on where you're going and not what you
are leaving. In coming to Christ, there's
a place I leave because I've seen something better. Christ
is better. He's better than the world, isn't
He? Is there anything in this world that can compare with the
Lord Jesus Christ? There ain't no way. He's better. He's better than salvation by
works. He's better than the pleasures of sin. Christ is better. And that's why I come to Him.
He's better. And anybody who sees Him comes to Him. Coming to Christ is not a long
journey. If I make a long journey out
of it, I haven't come. You see, you get there as soon
as you come. If you're in Christ, you're already in the very presence
of God. There's nowhere else to go. If you make a long journey
of it, that's not coming to Christ. That's something else. That's
coming some other way. You get there as soon as you
come. Now, our text tells us that those who came to Christ
are those who believed on Him. Look in John 10. It says in verse
41, And many resorted unto Him. And
then verse 42 says, And many believed on Him there. Many believed
on Him. You see, to come to Christ is
to believe on Him. It's the exact same thing. Look at John chapter
6, verse 35. And Jesus said unto
them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. So to come to Christ is to believe
on Christ. It's the exact same thing. Now, let's turn back to Revelation
22, where this service began. Revelation 22. Reverse 17. And the Spirit, God the Holy
Spirit, and the Bride, the Church, hears their unified message. Come! Come to the Lord Jesus
Christ. And let him that heareth say,
Come! And let him that's athirst, Come! And whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely. Now I want to ask four questions
from this verse of Scripture I just read. Who is commanded
to come to Christ? Second, why do they come? Third,
how do they come? And fourth, what is the result
in their coming? Now, first, who is commanded? Who is told to come to the Lord
Jesus Christ? Well, in our text, we have an
answer. Let him that hears. Do you hear? Do you hear? Do you hear this
message? Do you hear that coming to Christ is salvation? Do you hear? Come on in. Come
and welcome. Whoever hears. Who else? Well, he says, let
him that's a thirst come. Are you thirsty? He doesn't say,
how thirsty? Well, I'm afraid I'm not thirsty
enough. You're probably not. But are you thirsty? Thirst is
the pain of absence. You thirst for that which you
can't produce yourself. You know when you're thirsty,
you know you can't satisfy your own thirst. That satisfaction
is going to have to come outside of you. And you know it's going
to have to be brought into you, whoever's thirsty. Let Him come. Whosoever will. I love that.
Whosoever will. Let Him take the water of life
freely. Whoever wills. But I can't. I didn't ask you whether you
could. I asked you, are you willing? Are you willing to be saved by
Jesus Christ in a way where He gets all the glory and none goes
to you? Are you willing? Are you willing
to be saved by God on His terms? Are you willing? Whosoever will,
let him take the water of life freely. Here's the fourth mark
of somebody who's told to come. The person who hears, the person
who's thirsty, the person who wants to, here's the fourth,
let him take, let him take the water of life freely. You see,
there's givers and there's takers. In this thing of salvation, All
I am is a taker. I've got nothing to give. I'm
a taker. And I take the water of life
freely. Now, why do I come to Christ?
Well, I know it's because God draws me, but why do I come to
Christ? Let me give you these four powerful reasons why I come
to Christ and why everybody who comes to Christ comes. Here's
the first reason. We come to Christ because we're
commanded to. You're right to come. comes with
this, God commands all men everywhere to repent. You're commanded to
come to the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't need to worry about,
well, what if I'm not one of the elect? What if Christ didn't die for
me? What if I... No, you don't... God commands all men everywhere. Are you in that group? Are you? God commands all men everywhere
to repent. Whosoever will. I'm willing to be saved by you.
Let him take the water of life freely. First of all, I come
because I am commanded to. Secondly, I come to Christ because
I have a need. I love that song, I need the
precious Jesus. For I am full of sin. My soul
is dark and guilty. My heart is dead within. I need
the cleansing fountain where I can always flee. The blood
of Christ, most precious. The sinner's perfect plea. I
need Jesus Christ. I have a need. Not I had a need,
but I have a need right now. I need His mercy. I need His presence. I need His
grace. I need His grace to give me grace
to believe, to give me grace to repent, to give me grace to
persevere. I need His justifying grace to
make me just before God. I need His redeeming grace to
pay for my sins. I need the Lord Jesus Christ.
Nobody ever needed Him any more than this sinner talking to you.
I know that. Nobody ever needed. I need Jesus Christ. And I come
to Him because I have a need of Him. Thirdly, I come to Christ because
I really don't have anywhere else to go. It's not like I have
any other options. Where would I go? Will you also go away? Peter
said, Lord, to whom should we go? Where would we go? Thou hast
the words of life. And we believe and are sure that
Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. It's not like
we have any other options. I mean, we don't have to get
confused about this. There's only one place to go. It's not
like we reach a fork in the road. There's no forks in the road.
There's only one place to go. Christ, we have no other options.
Why do I come to Christ? Here's my fourth reason. Because
I want to. I want to. You know, people do
what they want to do, don't they? People do what they want to do,
and I want to. It's true I'm drawn by Him and
I'm driven to Him and I come because I don't have any choice,
but I want to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Out of my sorrow, bondage, and
sin, Jesus, I come to Thee. I want to come to Him. I cannot
not believe. Now, how do they come? Look at
our text again. Let him take the water of life. This is Revelation 22, 17. Let him take the water of life
freely. Do you hear that word? Freely. You know something that's
very amazing? If I said you could have Christ
and all of His benefits for a hundred dollars, Everybody in this room
could find a way to come up with a hundred dollars, wouldn't they? But what if I say freely? There's people that'll leave
without having received it. If I said for a dollar, you'd
come up with it. But freely, freely, freely, without a cause
in you, let Him take the water of life freely. Now listen to this scripture.
I'm going to quote it to you. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 15. The most glorious statement mortal
men have ever heard. This is a faithful saying. And it's worthy of all acceptation. Everybody ought to rejoice in
this. It's that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. of whom I am the chief. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. And I'm taking you at your word. If I perish, I will perish trusting
Jesus Christ the Lord. It's the only hope I have. And
my dear friends, that will never happen. Let him take the water of life
freely. What is the result of coming
to the Lord Jesus Christ? Everlasting life. Life. Remember his precious promise. I quoted the first part of this
already. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Listen
to the next part of this verse. Him that cometh to me I will in no wise for no reason
whatsoever cast out. Now our text in John chapter
10 says many Many believed on Him there. Now, here's a good
time to follow the crowd. Now, generally speaking, it's
a bad thing to follow the crowd. Don't follow the crowd. The crowd's
wrong. But here's a good time to follow the crowd. Many believed
on Him there. I'm believing on Him. Why not you? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Amen. Let's pray.