Furnished and Prepared

Q: What does the Bible say about predestination?

The Bible teaches that God predestines all things, including the death of Christ for the redemption of His people. Predestination is a foundational doctrine in scripture, illustrating that God is sovereign over all events, including those relating to the redemption of humanity. Ephesians 1:4-5 indicates that God chose believers in Christ before the foundation of the world, showing His intentional plan for salvation. Additionally, Mark 14 reveals that Christ's sacrificial death was predetermined by God, ensuring that justice would be satisfied and that believers would be justified. This highlights that God's grace and purpose govern every aspect of salvation, assuring that those chosen will ultimately be saved.

Q: How do we know that Christ is God?

Christ's claims and deeds during His earthly ministry confirm His identity as God. The divine identity of Christ is affirmed through His own claims and the miraculous works He performed. Throughout the New Testament, Christ asserted His equality with God, stating, 'I and my Father are one,' (John 10:30), which incited accusations of blasphemy from the Jews. His actions, such as forgiving sins and performing miracles like raising the dead, further validate His divine nature. Only God can accomplish such acts, and since Jesus did this, He proves to be God incarnate, making Him the only suitable Savior capable of redeeming humanity from sin.

Q: Why is true faith important for Christians?

True faith is essential because it connects believers to Christ and assures their salvation. True faith is not merely an external adherence to religious practices; it signifies a deep, transformative belief in Christ as Savior. The example of Judas Iscariot illustrates the danger of false faith, as he was outwardly a disciple but internally devoid of true belief. In contrast, genuine faith results in a personal relationship with Christ, as outlined in Romans 10:9-10, which emphasizes the heart's belief leading to righteousness. True faith is crucial for salvation, and it assures believers of their eternal life and sustains them through trials. It is this faith that enables Christians to effectively bear fruit for God's kingdom.

Q: How does God prepare worship for His people?

God prepares worship for His people through the establishment of His Church and the sacrifice of Christ. Worship requires careful preparation and understanding of the sacrifice that has been made. In Mark 14, the disciples were instructed to find a furnished upper room for the Passover, signifying that God prepares specific places and means for His people to worship Him. This preparation is evident in the establishment of the Church, where believers gather to receive the Word and fellowship. Additionally, the ultimate preparation for worship is seen in Christ's sacrificial death, as He is the true Passover Lamb who enables believers to approach God with confidence. Worship is not a casual act but a heartfelt response to the grace and sacrifice of Christ.

Q: Why is the death of Christ central to the Christian faith?

The death of Christ fulfills the requirements for redemption and demonstrates God's love and justice. The death of Christ is central to the Christian faith as it addresses the critical issue of sin and God's justice. According to Romans 3:25, Christ was set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood, satisfying divine justice while providing redemption for the believers. This singular event illustrates the profound love of God, as He did not spare His Son but allowed Him to bear the consequences of human sin. Through His death, Christ initiated a new covenant, granting eternal life to all who believe in Him, making it the cornerstone of the Gospel message.

the Lord Jesus Christ be the
sacrificial, sin-atoning Lamb by whom our sins must be put
away. He predestined the time, the
place, and the means of his son's death at Calvary 2,000 years
ago. He predestined all things relating
to his death, including the certain accomplishments of his redemptive
work. Therefore, we read in the Scripture
how God set forth his Son to be the propitiation for our sins,
the justice-satisfying atonement for our sins, that he might put
away our sins by the sacrifice of his dear Son, and thus that
he might be both just and the justifier of all who believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. The holy, just, and true God
demanded satisfaction. and satisfaction for sin could
be made only by the sacrifice of one who is himself God Almighty. Therefore it is written, when
the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made
under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons." The Lord Jesus Christ,
having come into this world, lived for thirty-three years.
He lived the full age of a man. brought in an everlasting righteousness
by his obedience unto the Father. But his obedience in life alone
would never do us any good without his obedience in death. His death
and his death alone could satisfy the justice of God. And so our
Lord Jesus Christ came into this world specifically that he might
die at Calvary, and in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Now here in Mark chapter 14,
we've come to that solemn evening which preceded the most significant
event in history. Let's read the things recorded
here with great care. Asking God the Holy Spirit to
be our teacher, asking that he may inscribe the lessons that
are here taught, inscribe them upon our hearts with the finger
of his omnipotent grace. Mark chapter 14, verse 10. And Judas Iscariot, one of the
twelve, went unto the chief priests to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they
were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how
he might conveniently betray him. And the first day of unleavened
bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said Where wilt
thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the Passover?
And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them,
Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing
a pitcher of water. Follow him. And wheresoever he
shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The master saith,
Where is the guest chamber where I shall eat the Passover with
my disciples? and he will show you a large
upper room, furnished and prepared, there make ready for us.' And
his disciples went forth and came into the city, and found
as he had said unto them, and they made ready the passover."
Now, if you're taking notes, you'll find my title in verse
15, furnished and prepared. As we look at these verses together,
I want to direct your attention to three or four things obviously
taught in this. First, I want each of us to understand
that there are many in the visible Church of God, many in the professed
Church of God, many in churches just exactly like Grace Baptist
Church of Danville, many profess faith in Christ who do not possess
faith in Christ. just like Judas. Judas bears
the name of the betrayer, but there are many like Judas in
the Church of Christ, the outward church, the professed church.
Judas, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priest to betray
him unto them, and they promised to give him money. Judas is here
before as a glaring example of false faith. Wherever the Lord
Jesus sows his wheat, Satan sows his tares. Wherever God gathers
his sheep, Satan gathers goats with the sheep. Wherever you
find true faith given, you find false faith constantly, constantly
upheld as well. Like Judas, many, many women
feel much experience much and do much in religion in the name
of Christ. They do much, feel much, and
experience much, but their faith is a false faith, a satanic delusion. It's impossible to imagine a
greater example of this than Judas. J.C. Ryle wrote, If ever
there was a man who at one time looked like a true disciple of
Christ and bade fair to reach heaven, That man was Judas. Now you start to think about
the privileges this fellow had. You want to know just how far
a person can go and not have faith? Judas was personally chosen
by Christ himself to be one of the twelve apostles. He was named
among the elite of the elite in the kingdom of God. He was
a close companion to the Son of God for three years. He was
eyewitness of all the mighty works and the miracles which
our Lord Jesus wrought throughout his earthly ministry, and he
heard his doctrine on every occasion where he had opportunity. Judas
was a fellow laborer with Peter, James, and John. Those three
starward pillars of the church, Judas was their fellow laborer,
just the same as Todd Nabbit, Don Fortner, Henry May, and Maurice
Montgomery, are fellow laborers together, only different. These
men worked together day by day by day by day. Three years they
went everywhere together preaching the gospel. Judas was doctrinally
orthodox. My question is Judas' doctrine.
Well, Judas was just as orthodox as the rest of them. If he hadn't
been, he wouldn't have been among them. He believed and preached
the same thing the rest of them did. He was one of those men
who was taught, at least verbally and outwardly, he was taught
and learned the doctrine of the gospel directly from the lips
of the Son of God. He could not have been more orthodox
doctrinally. And he was sent forth with the
others. When the Lord sent out the 12 and sent out the 70 to
preach the gospel, Judas was right there with them. He was
sent out to preach the gospel and given power to perform miracles
in the name of Christ. Judas was highly regarded, highly
regarded by everyone who knew him. So highly regarded was he
that Judas was appointed treasurer in the church. He held the bag.
So highly regarded was this man Judas, that when our Lord told
his disciples plainly, one of you shall betray me, everybody,
everybody suspected anybody except Judas. Peter, we understand that. God,
we might understand that with him too. We might understand
that with James, Matthew, but not Judas. He was the last one
anybody suspected of being the betrayer. And yet Judas was an
apostate, a child of the devil all along. He departed from the
faith completely. He betrayed the Son of God with
the kiss of a friend. And when you think about that,
how on earth can you explain his behavior? How can we understand
what this man was and what he did? Was he once saved and then
lost at last? Why, that's nonsense. Those who
suggest such a thing know nothing at all of the grace of God. When
God saves, he saves forever. When he gives eternal life, he
says those to whom he gives eternal life shall never perish. Well,
how then do we explain Judas? He was a tare sown among the
wheat, a goat among the Lord's sheep, a wolf in sheep's clothing.
He had the garments of remission. but not the garment of salvation.
He had the doctrine of Christ, but not Christ. He had the religion
of Christ, but not Christ. Though he professed to be a disciple
of Christ, you see, Judas was a covetous man. Oh, what a danger covetousness
is. Probably the most subtle of all
things. the most subtle of all the lusts
of our flesh, the most deceitful, the most difficult to detect,
to sense, and to deal with. The love of money was the cause
of Judas' fall. Covetousness was his ruin. That same groveling covetousness
that enslaved and turned Gehazi into a leper, brought Judas to
apostasy and at last to hell. The Holy Spirit tells us plainly
in John 12 that he was a thief. Judas stands before us as a glaring
commentary on 1 Timothy 6.10. The love of money is the root
of all evil. Let us never be content with
anything short of the true grace of God in Christ. Don't be content,
my friends, with a lamp of religion. Make sure you have the oil of
grace. Money is not the one thing needful,
Christ is. And religion is not the one thing
needful, Christ is. Great knowledge, great Great
experiences, great privileges, an outwardly holy life of being
colored, church membership, power in prayer, preaching and witnessing,
all are useless things if we don't have Christ. You've got
to have Christ. You must be born again. Now,
I know in this day that term is so abused and misused and
misunderstood that hardly anyone knows what it means. Here's what
it means in Scripture terms. You're dead by nature. And it's
not enough that you get religion. It's not enough that you turn
over and you leave. It's not enough that you change
the way you live. You must be given life by God's
Spirit or you'll never live. You must be born again. given
spiritual life, given eyes to see Christ, ears to hear Christ,
a heart to believe Christ. You must be born again. You must
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You must be made righteous in
him. God must give you the righteousness
of his darling son. You must be converted. You must
turn to Jesus Christ. You must be turned to him. I
know that, but you must turn to him. You must turn from the
world to Christ, let go of the world, lay hold of Christ, believe
on the Son of God. Let us heed the Lord's warning
as we remember this man Judas. Beware of covetousness. It's like a cancer. It eats away
at you. It's the most heart-hardening
of all idolatry. If you indulge it, there is no
wickedness into which it will not lead you. Be content with such things as
you have." God teach me that. God teach me that. George Whitefield
had a companion who traveled with him a good bit, a young
man, and just before meeting one night in Pennsylvania, Whitefield
was passed a note And he got up before a huge crowd gathered
outside and he called the young man's name. He said, I want us
to have special prayer for this young man. He said, he has just
received word. He's received a large inheritance
and nothing could be more dangerous to him. Nothing could be more
dangerous. We all naturally are greedy and
covetous. let us not indulge ourselves
in that horrid lust of the flesh. All right, second, I must not
fail to point out that I've set before us another of those many
countless displays of this fact. The man Jesus Christ really is
God himself. Now, I keep stressing this because
most people Most people, even in conservative fundamentalist
religious circles, somehow have the idea that the teaching of
the Aryans or the teaching of the Mormons or the teaching of
the Russellites is somehow accurate, that Christ is sort of like God. He is close to being God, but
not really God. The Lord Jesus Christ is himself
God Almighty. And we have a beautiful example
of this in the text we've read. In these verses, our Lord told
his disciples, he said, you go to Jerusalem, and when you go
there, you're going to meet a man with a pitcher of water. And
when you see this man with a pitcher of water, you follow him into
whichever house he goes into. And when you go into that house
behind that young man, you say to the master of the house, Where
is the guest chamber? The master says, where is the
guest chamber that I may eat the Passover with my disciples? Now our Lord Jesus, throughout
his earthly ministry, claimed to be God. That's the reason
the Jews killed him. They took up stones. He said,
why are you going to kill me? They said, we're not stoning
you because of some evil work, because of some work you've done,
but because you, being a man, claim to be God. You make yourself
equal with God. That's exactly right. He said,
I and the Father are one. That means exactly what the Jews
thought it meant. He says he's God. Jesus Christ,
throughout the days of his flesh, was worshipped by his disciples
as God Almighty. And our Lord Jesus frequently
demonstrated, just in the most casual of manners, without long
discourses of theology, he said, now I said I'm God, let me show
you. Who but God could raise the dead
by just speaking his word, laying his hand or willing it. And our Lord did just that. Who
but God could cause a man who was paralyzed to stand up and
walk? The Pharisees on one occasion,
they heard him say, Thy sins be forgiven thee. And they really
got upset over that. Well, who is this man he can
forgive sin? None but God can forgive sin.
He said, all right, now you hang on a minute. take up your bed
and walk. And he took up his bed and walked.
Who but God the Creator could take a few small fishes and a
few little loaves of bread out of one little boy's lunch box
and feed five thousand people? So they were all fully satisfied
and then gathered up enough to feed a bunch of little boys.
Who but God? Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
omniscient, all-knowing God. Here, he shows his omniscience. He said, now when you get to
Jerusalem, you're going to meet a fellow that's carrying a pitcher. Now,
it's not written in our text, that means you're going to meet
the serpent who's been out to fetch water. And you follow him,
that one that you see carrying a pitcher of water, you follow
him into the house where he goes, and you say to the good men of
the house, The master says, where is the guest chamber that I may
eat the Passover with my disciples? He knew that because he's God.
He's God Almighty. You see, Jesus Christ, if he
is not God, over all, blessed forever, is an imposter. He's not a good man, he's a liar.
He's not to be honored, he's to be rebuked and to be shunned
if he is not himself God Almighty. He is no Savior, no Redeemer,
and not even a good example. But he who is our Savior is God
in human flesh. Only then could he be our Redeemer
and our Savior, for none but God could satisfy for our sins. All right, here's the third thing,
and I want you to get it. and get it good. The worship
of God requires preparation and sacrifice. The worship of God requires preparation
and sacrifice. I know the folks, you know, they kind of take this
business of going to church what they call worship in the most
half-hearted manner possible. And presume that when they come
and tip their hat toward God once in a while, they sure enough
worship God. The fact is, in order for these
men, including the man Christ Jesus, to keep the feast of the
Passover and to worship God, it was necessary for them to
go up to Jerusalem, and there it was necessary for them to
find a place where they could eat the feast together. It was
common in Jerusalem, as it would be in any other place where such
a great convocation was held, It was common for men to have
guest chambers that they would have ready and prepared, and
these guest chambers would be rented out to people who came
in from out of town as they kept the Feast of the Passover. Our Lord and his disciples did
not live in luxury. As a matter of fact, they deliberately,
purposefully avoided anything like a show of wealth. Our Lord
walked before men as a common man, yet when it came to worshiping
God, When it came to keeping the feast, Merle, nothing but
the best would do it. Nothing but the best. When the
Scripture says that they found a large upper room prepared and
furnished, one of the old writers said this is what that means.
The room was beautifully adored and laid with carpets. Once the
disciples found this room and rented it, beautifully adorned
room that was already laid with carpets, they were required of
the Lord to make it ready for them so that they might worship
God there. Now, there's much more that needs
to be said concerning this than I'll get said this morning, but
I want you to get these three things. Number one, you can't
worship God unless you come to the place where God's established
His worship. Can't be done. A church finder
requesting one of the questions. Are you willing to move? Got one this morning. No. No. I got a letter from a fellow.
Heard from him two or three times. Last week. Asked if he could
kill the David sentence. Wow. Well, who would even think
about going to a ballgame driving 40 miles? I don't know anybody
that do that, do you? But who would think about going
out to dinner and driving 40 miles? Well, that would be crazy, wouldn't
it? But who would think about just
getting away and driving 40 miles just for a leisurely drive? Well,
we shouldn't do that. My folks do it all the time.
But drive 40 miles to worship God? Now, that's expecting too
much. It is from anybody except somebody who wants to worship
God. Did you hear me? You cannot worship God apart
from the ministry of his saints, the assembly of his saints, and
the preaching of the gospel in the midst of the assembly of
his saints. You can't worship God in falsehood. We worship God where God has
established his worship in his Word. And you can't worship God
without preparation. You ever come to the house of
God and you go away and you think well boy there was nothing there
for me. I'll almost guarantee you one thing was missing. You didn't come in looking for
anything. Almost guaranteed. The Lord said
you go and make ready for us to worship. And you can't worship God without
personal sacrifice. Can't do it. Can't do it. People talk about worshipping
God and they're miserly and niggardly and they make a pretense. Our Lord said in Malachi 1, go
back and read that chapter again that we read earlier. He said
a man has a male of the sheep in his flock, but he pretends
to come to me and brings me something less than that which is perfect. And you expect me to receive
this from you? Take it to your governor and try it. Take it
to your president and try it. I am a great king! I'll be honored
if you are. When David came to worship the
Lord, Aaron said to him, you take everything. And David said,
oh no, I will not offer to God that which will cost me nothing.
I won't do it. I won't do it. Let me see if
I can illustrate what I'm saying. Recently, I was in a congregation.
Preaching. And I was so disappointed, so
terribly, terribly disappointed. Because these folks who were
capable of doing better. Now, you understand what I'm
talking about. I don't mind preaching in fat spruce buildings. I don't
mind preaching in open doors. I don't mind preaching in barns
or in houses. I do those things all the time. Don't mind that
in the least. But when people are capable of doing better,
Bob, they must do better. Preaching in a place, there wasn't
one family in that congregation who would live in a place like
we worship in here. Not one family in the congregation.
You won't worship God like that. It's not going to happen. You
can play tricks like that, but you won't worship God like that. I, uh,
recently, someone gave, a friend of ours gave a, uh, a gift, God's
grace. Now this is, this is, this is
not somebody who's poor as Job's turkey. Gave her something that
was used and worn out and then held over for gifts. I would
have been less offended if they had never even mentioned her
name. That's exactly right. What you give it? Something that
I can't use anymore? Something that costs me nothing?
Something that nobody else will have? Here, you take it. You
take it. Not God Almighty. Now, I've got
my tongue. He won't. He won't. You won't worship God with that
which costs you nothing. Believers are men and women who
take the worship of God seriously and they give themselves to it.
They do not simply fit the worship of God into their lives, they
arrange their lives around the worship and service of the Redeemer.
Now here's one last thing. Our text is talking about the
Passover and keeping the feast of the Passover. And the Apostle
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 5, 7, Christ, our Passover, is
sacrificed for us. That's what this story is all
about. It was not accidental, it was not a matter of chance
or a lucky circumstance, a lucky timing or blind fate which made
it so that the Lord Jesus was to be sacrificed at exactly the
time when the Paschal Lamb was being offered. Oh no, this came
to pass according to the arrangement of divine providence and God's
sovereign predestination. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb
of God, was sacrificed at this time in order to demonstrate
most clearly that He is the Paschal Lamb whom God Almighty had ordained
from eternity, by whom justice would be satisfied and sin put
away. The Passover was a reminder of
deliverance. deliverance from bondage, darkness
and tyranny. It was a reminder of deliverance
according to the promise of God made in a covenant long before
the bondage ever began. That's exactly what our deliverance
is through Christ our Passover. The Passover was a reminder of
a particular special redemption by the life's blood and violent
death of an innocent lamb. And so Christ, our Passover,
has redeemed us particularly and distinctly by his violent
death as the innocent, holy Lamb of God. The Passover was a reminder
of blood sprinkled, applied to the doorpost and metal of every
house in Israel by God's commandment. Now I saw something here in preparing
this message that I had never observed before. In Exodus 12.23
when the Lord speaks of the destroyer coming through Egypt, and he
says, when I see the blood on the house, I will pass over that
house. We usually have the idea that
somehow the destroyer and the Lord are the same person. The
destroyer was sent by the Lord. And that word, Passover, it means
as the destroyer is going through Egypt to destroy the firstborn.
I, Jehovah, when I see the blood, I will jump and leap against
the door of that house to protect the door and the household from
the destroyer. Children of God, you to whom
the blood of Christ has been sprinkled and applied by God's
Spirit, Jehovah himself stands before the door of our house
to protect us from the destroyer. What a picture! He who is God
himself has jumped over our door and stands between us and destruction. More than that, none were safe
on the night of the Passover except those who personally ate
the lamb. And I'm telling you that none
are safe from the judgment and wrath of God except you who by
faith eat the flesh. and drink the blood of the Son
of God. That is, you take His obedience unto God for your righteousness,
and His death at Calvary for your atonement. Believing Him,
God says you have eternal life in yourselves. Now then, all
for whom the Paschal Lamb was slain had the blood applied by
the Father's hand. They ate of the Lamb personally,
and they came out of Egypt by God's almighty stretched out
arm at exactly the time God had ordained, redeemed by divine
purpose, redeemed by divine purchase, and redeemed by divine power.
And I'm here to tell you that all for whom Christ was slain
as the Lamb of God, they shall have the blood specifically applied
to them by God's Holy Spirit. and they shall eat of the lamb
themselves by faith in him, and they shall be delivered by the
power of God at God's appointed time.

Furnished and Prepared

What does the Bible say about predestination?

How do we know that Christ is God?

Why is true faith important for Christians?

How does God prepare worship for His people?

Why is the death of Christ central to the Christian faith?

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About Don Fortner

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Furnished and Prepared

What does the Bible say about predestination?

How do we know that Christ is God?

Why is true faith important for Christians?

How does God prepare worship for His people?

Why is the death of Christ central to the Christian faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

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