I asked my wife what Todd just
said, and she said nothing. I'm glad I don't hear well. Last time I preached for Donny
Bell, it was at the end of the meeting like this, and he said,
well, we've had a good meeting so far, as he was introducing
me. Boy, that was just the encouragement
I needed. It is a great blessing to be here with you all. I was
just thinking about where Paul told Timothy to preach the word
in season and out of season, when it's convenient, when the
audience is wanting to hear the gospel, and when they're not.
What a blessing it is to be able to preach in season with brethren
that want to hear about Christ. Tim, thank you. I don't know
where you went, but thank you for that clear declaration of
the gospel. Our Lord's sacrificial and substitutionary
death. I was blessed by that. I want
to ask you if you'll turn with me to the book of Mark, chapter
2. When John read this passage last
night, I got a little nervous, but actually these verses in
Mark, chapter 2, I want to read by way of introduction. and then
move to John chapter 11. So, Mark chapter 2 verse 15,
And it came to pass that as Jesus sat at meat in his house. I pray that's what's happening
right now. That the Lord is here with us. This is his house. We're sitting at his feet, and
we'll be blessed to hear his voice. Many publicans and sinners
sat also together with Jesus and his disciples, for there
were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and
the Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said
unto his disciples, how is it that he eateth and drinketh with
publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he saith
unto them, they that are whole have no need of a physician,
but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. My question to you and to me
and the title of this message is, do you need a physician? Are you in need of a doctor?
Will you open your Bibles with me now to John chapter 11? Are you sick? Don't be like me when it comes
to needing to go to the doctor. My first reaction is, I'm okay.
You know, kind of like that self-help book, I'm okay, you're okay.
Well, I'm not okay, and neither are you. My next reaction often
is, well, it's, Too expensive, I can't afford it. You can't
afford not to. Plus, the bill's already been
paid, as we just heard. Already been paid in full. Hey,
well, one of the things I do when I get sick is I try self-medicating. And sometimes that actually aggravates
the symptoms and makes things worse. What are the symptoms of being
sick? What are the symptoms? We're always encouraged when
a person's been sick for an extended time, and I talked to Todd a
couple of weeks ago when Lynn was in the hospital, and he said,
well, she's getting her appetite back. That's a good thing. When a person's sick, they lose
their appetite. I have to ask myself, why is
it that I don't hunger and thirst after righteousness as I ought.
Why is it that I don't crave the sincere milk of the word
of God as I ought? Why don't I have the appetite
that I ought to have? And God says, my hand's not short
that it cannot save, nor is my ear heavy that I cannot hear.
Your sin has separated you from your God. That's what causes our lack of
appetite, our sin. Another symptom of being sick
is weakness. Weakness. I can relate so much
better with a man who said, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief,
than I can with what's said about Abraham who staggered not in
unbelief, but was strong in faith, believing God was able to perform
that which he had promised. My faith is weak, not what it
ought to be. And the reason for that is sin,
sin. Another symptom of being sick
is that our senses become dull. We don't see as clearly as we
ought to see. The sweetness of taste is not
as it ought to be. The smells of the aroma of the
gospel are not as they ought to be. All because of sin. Do you have the symptoms of sickness? Do you need a physician? One of the most devastating things
about sin is that it's contagious. I fear And my sin will affect
others. And it always does. Always does. We never sinned ourselves. Sin
is contagious, just like leprosy. It's a contagious disease. I would ask you and ask myself
this morning, are you a sinner? Do you need a doctor? Lord said,
I came righteous. I came not the well don't need
a physician. I didn't come to save the righteous. Are you a
sinner? You ask somebody that and they
say, well, yeah, I'm a sinner. Oh, so you're a God-hater. Well, no, I'm not that bad of
a sinner. While we were at enmity with
God. Say, well, you're a murderer
then. No, I'm not quite that bad of a sinner. We just heard about what? our
sin did in the lowest form of murder that ever took place on
the face of the earth. So you're an idolater, a blasphemer. Oh, no, no, I'm not that bad
of a sinner. Well, then you're not a sinner. You're not a sinner. You say, well, I don't have those
symptoms. Well, you know, the worst kind
of sickness of all is the one that has no symptoms. Truth is,
Dead people have no symptoms of sin, none whatsoever. See, in order to sense the symptoms
of sins, you have to be made alive. And in fact, the most tragic
thing of all is when we hear the stories of a seemingly healthy
young athlete who collapses and dies suddenly. on the field of
play only to discover that he had a congenital heart defect
that was never detected by symptoms. Now there's your and I problem.
That's our problem. We have a congenital heart defect. The problem is that open heart
surgery is not the solution. Lord's not going to take our
hearts and fix them. He's got to give us a new heart. He's
got to take out. We've got to have a heart transplant. That's
our condition before God. If you don't see yourself that
way, then I guess there won't be anything
of real relevance or encouragement in this in this passage from
John chapter 11 for you. Here we have the story of two
sisters and a brother who lived in Bethany, just a bedroom community
to Jerusalem where our Lord often stayed when he was in Jerusalem.
Very, very dear friends of our Lord whom he had spent much time
with. Scripture tells us where our
Lord was. He was in the place where John had been baptizing,
and he receives a message from Martha and Mary. The message is very simple. Lord,
behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. Now, there's two words
in the Word of God for sickness. One of them has to do with the
illness itself and the other one has to do with the consequence
of that illness. And this is the strengthened
form of the latter word, which just simply means that literally
translated what this message said was, Lord, behold, he whom
thou lovest is dying. He's dying. In fact, he was already
dead when the message got to our Lord. Say, how do you know
that? Well, like I said, Scripture tells us where the Lord was and
where Bethany was in relationship to that. It was a one day journey.
And the Lord remained where he was after having received this
message for three days. And then when he got back to
Bethany, What did we find out? Lazarus had been dead for four
days. Matter of fact, the Lord responds
to the messenger to the disciples by telling them Lazarus is asleep. And they said, well, Lord, if
he sleep, if he'll rise again, he'll be, he'll be okay. And
then he spoke plainly to them and told them Lazarus is dead. When the message of Lazarus sickness
came to the Lord, Lazarus is already dead, already dead. Our Lord said, this sickness
is not unto death. I'm so thankful for that. He
said, it's not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the
son of God might be glorified thereby. Now in this one verse
of scripture, look with me in John chapter 11 verse 4, 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.
And the previous verse, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is
sick. We discover four things that
are of great encouragement. to sick folk. The first thing
is, it tells us where to go for help. Where to go for help if
you're sick. A physician that can help you.
You know, if you get sick seriously, you want to find out who the
best physician is that can tend to your illness. This physician
has never lost a patient. Not one. It's the Lord. This passage of scripture tells
us what to say when we get to him, when we come before him.
Have you ever gone to a doctor and you had a list of things
you wanted to talk about but you didn't write them all down
and you get home and your spouse says, well did you ask him about
something? No, I forgot. Forgot. What do I say? Sometimes it's
a little It's a little unnerving to discuss things with a physician. What do we say when we go before
the great physician, the Lord? One word. Behold. Behold. On what grounds do we have the
sure evidence that he'll see us? He whom thou lovest is sick. And what's the result of having
gone to him for help? His glory, his glory. Now two things I want to say
about physical sickness before I apply this portion of scripture
to the more serious problem of spiritual sickness, sin sickness. The first one is that physical
sickness is no sign of God's displeasure or evidence of His
judgment any more than health and prosperity is proof of His
blessing. He whom thou lovest is sick. Listen to what Solomon said in
Ecclesiastes chapter 9, no man knoweth either love or hatred
by all that is before him. For all things come alike to
all, to the just, to the unjust, to the righteous, to the wicked,
to the clean, to the unclean. Some people live in prosperity
and some live in poverty. Some live weak and sickly and
some live strong and healthy. You cannot tell by our outward
circumstances whether or not God is being gracious and merciful. Whether we're vessels of wrath,
fitted for destruction, or vessels of mercy for his glory, you cannot
tell that by your outward circumstances. Paul said, I have learned that
whatever state I am in to be content. Whether I base or whether
I bound, I know that all things are possible through Christ who
strengthened me. The preacher who says that sickness,
or anybody for that matter, that says that sickness is a sign
of unbelief, well, to put it kindly, they have no clue what
they're talking about. They're ignorant of the scriptures
and of the power of God, for there's no evidence in the word
of God that that is true. The second thing I would say
about physical sickness is that if you're not sick and dying
now, and I assume that most of us are not, you will be soon. Lazarus isn't here today. Lazarus
got sick again, not long after this, and he died. He died. You and I are mortal sinners
headed toward an eternal destination at a breakneck speed. At a breakneck
speed. My granddaughter, when she was
little, on her first airplane flight, Oh, she was so thrilled
of the sensation of taking off and watching the land, the speed
of that plane as it took off. Little thing, she got up to 30,000
feet and she looked over to my daughter and she said, Mommy,
looking out the window, she said, Mommy, we've stopped. Not knowing that she was flying
at over 500 miles an hour towards her destination and would be
there very soon. From her perspective, it seemed
as if she had stopped. Isn't that the way we are? We
think time's just creeping along, when in fact, we are traveling
at a supersonic speed toward eternity. If you're not sick
and dying now, you will be soon. You will be soon. I got an email from Janet about
a year ago. Never met Janet before. It was
the most unusual email I'd ever received. She said, Brother Greg,
would you consider preaching the gospel at my funeral? Of course, I called her right
away. Found out she lived about two and a half miles from us,
two and a half hours from us. And I drove to see her a couple
times within two or three months. She was in late stages of cancer
within two or three months. The Lord took her home. Last
thing she said to Jack, her husband. Jana was 57 years old, been married
since she was 17, 40 years her and Jack had been married. Last
thing she said to Jack was, Jack, honey, God's gonna provide for
you, and you'll be coming behind me real soon. Jack's been driving two and a
half hours and attending services for the last year in our church,
and I've just been so thankful, so thankful. You'll be following
me soon, honey. The Lord will provide. Look at verse 25 in John chapter
11. Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. This sickness is not unto death,
not for the believer, but for the glory of God, that the son
of God might be glorified thereby. You see those last three words?
That's for you and that's for me. Believest thou this? Do you believe this? Look what Martha said. Yay, Lord.
I believe. that thou art the Christ, the
Messiah, the anointed one, the one promised of God from the
beginning of time that would come and bear the iniquity of
God's people. You are the Christ, the Son of
God, which should come into the world. Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest
is sick. Where do we go when we're sick?
When we're dying, men, which you are, and I am, where do we
go? The answer is very simple. To
the Lord. He's the only one that can help
us. Only one. To the Lord. And the truth is, that no one
can call Jesus the Christ Lord with any understanding without
the Holy Spirit. Well, people call Him Lord all
the time. Yeah, they honor Him with their lips, but their hearts
are far from Him. They call Him Lord, but they
strip Him of His deity. They deny Him of His glory. Turn
with me to 1 Corinthians 12. Look at verse three. Wherefore, I give you to understand. Calling Jesus Lord with understanding. When a person says that you're
going to make Jesus Lord of their life, I know they have no understanding
of who he is. You can't make him something
that God Almighty has already made him to be. He is Lord over
the living and of the dead. So what is this? We call him
Lord with understanding that no man speaketh by the Spirit
of God calleth Jesus accursed and that no man can say that
Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost. If a person says that Jesus Christ
suffered on Calvary's cross the wrath of God's judgment for the
sins of men who will ultimately end up in hell, then what they are saying is
that God's not satisfied with what the Lord Jesus Christ did.
If God's not satisfied with what the Lord Jesus Christ did, then
there can be no resurrection. The resurrection is not a historical
event as we heard about the crucifixion. The resurrection is the proof
positive that God gives to His people that He's satisfied with
the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for all the sins of all
of God's people. No other sign would be given
unto you. A wicked and perverse generation seeketh after a sign.
The sign of Jonah is the sign that God's given to his church
to prove that God Almighty is satisfied with the sacrifice
of Christ for all the sins of all of God's people. Not one
drop of his blood was wasted. People say Christ died for everybody.
If Christ died for everybody, then God wasn't satisfied. If
God was not satisfied, there can be no resurrection. If there
is no resurrection, then the Lord Jesus Christ is accursed. Anathema. Read that verse again. No man speaking by the Spirit
of God calleth Jesus accursed. No child of God who has the Spirit
of God, apart from which you cannot know God, would even dare
suggest that the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary's cross for the
sins of all men, that's calling him accursed. It's calling him
accursed. And no man can call him the Lord.
Not with understanding. Not with understanding. Not believing
that he really reigns sovereign over all the affairs of men.
that he does with the armies of heaven and with the inhabitants
of the earth whatsoever he wills. He always has his way. He does
what he wants, with whom he wants, however he wants, when he wants,
and he always does it right. He's Lord. I love that. He's God. Don't strip him of
his deity. Don't make him less than he is.
Don't honor him with your lips and believe something that's
contrary to what he's revealed himself to be. He's God. He's got the sovereign right
to choose a people according to his own will before the foundations
of the world, not looking down through the corridors of time,
determining who he'll choose based upon some decision they're
going to make. No. Apart from anything other than
the sacrifice of his dear son, he chose a people. He dipped
his finger, if you will, in the blood of his own son and wrote
the names of his elect indelibly in the Lamb's Book of Life. He's
Lord. He's got the right to do that. No man can stay his hand or say
unto him, what doest thou? He's the potter. We're the clay. He's got the right to make of
the same lump of clay some vessels of honor, some of dishonor. He's got the right to fashion
men from the dust of the earth and make them to be vessels of
destruction, vessels of wrath. He's Lord. When he bowed his mighty head
on Calvary's cross and said, it is finished, he accomplished
everything he came to do. He cannot fail. He's not frustrated. He's Lord. He's Lord. When he went back into glory,
he took with him the names of those for whom he lived and died,
presented them before the Father, and he ever lives to make intercession
for his elect. He's Lord. He's not gonna lose
one of his sheep, not a single one of them. He's Lord. Lord? What did Martha and Mary know
about Jesus? Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. They knew he was the Son of God.
And they approached him as Lord. Lord, are you sick this morning? Do you need a physician? It's
who he is. It's who he is. Just go to him and address him
as Lord. bow before him and say, Lord,
you've got the sovereign right to do whatsoever you will. I
am completely dependent upon your mercy and your grace. You're
Lord. He makes his people willing in
the day of his power. He keeps them. He's Lord. He's Lord. Never, never has he
lost a patient. What do we say? When we come before the sovereign
Lord of glory, what do we say? How do we present our case? What do we say to him? One word. All you got to say is one word.
If you're sick, go before the Lord and just say, Lord, behold. The Lord behold. Martha and Mary
didn't try to suggest. As we do, we go to the doctor,
well, I think you need to do this or that. I'm sure doctors
get frustrated with patients that think they know. We have
just enough knowledge to be dangerous most of the time, don't we? WebMD
and all the other stuff. I've talked to doctors. I know
they are. They're frustrated when people come, they think
they know all that they need. Don't try to self-diagnose. Don't
try to suggest to the physician what he needs to do. Just say, Lord, would you look
upon me? Just go before, strip off all
your clothes, stand before him naked, and say, Lord, behold. Behold, Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, you know, Romans, Such
a clear declaration of the gospel, the first 11 chapters of that
book are, aren't they? And then when the transition
is made in chapter 12, verse 1, what does the Lord say? What's
he say? I beseech you, therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present yourself a living sacrifice,
wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Only then, only then will you
prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Lord, behold. Lord, remember
me. We read that passage earlier
in the service. Remember me when you come into
your kingdom. Lord, you see me for what I am.
You know everything there is about me. And one of the things I've learned
about children and teenagers, don't ask your kids why they
did what they did. They don't know why they did
what they did. Well, you know why they did what they did? Because
they wanted to and they could. And that's exactly why you do
what you do. Lord, we try to figure everything out, don't
we? Lord, here I am. Lord, no excuses. We've been playing the blame
game ever since our father Adam pointed at his wife, didn't he? And pointed at God and blamed
him. Lord, behold. Lord, here I am. in all my uncleanness
and all of my nakedness and all of my need. Lord, I don't know
why I do what I don't know why I think what I thought. But if you'll take notice of
me, if you'll just look upon me with mercy and with kindness
and with grace, Lord, that'll be sufficient. If you'll just
remember me. This tells us where to go and
it tells us what to say, doesn't it? And this word, behold, is
a word of urgency and earnestness and sincerity, isn't it? We're
not playing games with God. God, this is life and death.
I am flying at a supersonic speed towards eternity. And Lord, I'm
a sinner. I'm in need of a savior. I'm
in need of a righteousness that I cannot provide for myself.
Lord, I'm sick unto death. Lord, behold me. Lord, take notice
of me now. Today is the day of salvation.
The scripture never says, you know, you need to think about
this. You need to consider, go home and process this. No, when
God commands his peace, he says, come right now. Right this very
minute. Come right now. Behold, Lord, notice me right
here, right where I'm at. David put it like this in Psalm
69. Save me, O God, for the waters
are come unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where there
is no standing. I am come into the deep waters.
The floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying. Lord, just behold me. God is our refuge. and our strength,
the very present help in time of trouble. Are you in
trouble? The Lord of glory is able. He's able. He's Lord. Yeah, I
know what the world says. The world says, well, he's willing
to say, but he's really not able unless you let him do what he
wants to do. No, he's able. I'm persuaded
of that. He's able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. I've got all my eggs
in one basket. The only hope I have is in the life, death,
resurrection, ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ as my advocate
before God. The only way I can be accepted
before him. The only way my sins can be put away once and for
all. is by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Lord, behold me right now. When the people murmured and
rebelled against Moses, the scripture says he cried unto the Lord. When Hezekiah was threatened
by those letters from the Assyrian king of annihilation, the scripture
says that he took the letters and just spread them out before
the Lord. Lord, just look. Just look upon my case. Lord,
I don't know what to do. He's touched by the feelings
of our infirmities. He's full of a compassion. He's
acquainted with our griefs. Cast your burden upon him. Be
like blind Bartimaeus. Jesus, son of David, have mercy
upon me. Lord, just look at me. Look at
me over here and all my rags and all of my inability, Lord,
I can't see. I can't do anything for myself.
I'm just a blind beggar. Lord behold. On what grounds do we have assurance
that he'll hear us? You know, really good doctors
are hard to get in to see. I have a doctor, we contact him,
well, he's not taking any new patients. He's got all he can
handle. On what grounds do we have any
assurance from the Word of God that the great physician, the
Lord Jesus Christ, the lover of sinners, the healer of souls,
will take us in and see us? Did Martha and Mary say, Lord,
Lazarus, you remember Lazarus? Lord, he's such a faithful disciple. Lord, he loves you. Lord, we've
housed you in our home. Lord, we're here for you. Lord,
the one that loves you is sick. Is that the grounds upon which
they made their plea that the Lord Jesus Christ would come
and do something to help them? What are the grounds upon which
we cry? The severity of our sickness.
Truth is, you have no idea how sick you are. People say, well, you don't know.
My sin's too bad. It's worse than you think. It's
worse than you think. You have no idea how sick you
are. We're clueless. Do we approach the Lord based
on the severity of our sickness? What about the sincerity of our
plea? Lord, I mean it. I mean it. Lord, I promise you,
if you'll help me, I'll serve you. Is that the grounds upon
which we come? Can we expect God to respond
based on that? What about the guarantee of our
commitment or the earnest of our love, the devotion of our
faith or the extent of our sacrifice? If we're sincere, surely the Lord won't be able
to. They didn't say, Lord, our brother,
Lord, your disciple. The appeal for help was based
upon one thing. He whom thou lovest is sick. It's the first cause of our salvation. Those whom he foreknew, those
whom he sovereignly placed his love on, and he's loved his people
with an everlasting love. Never been a time when he didn't
love his people. Those that he did foreknew he did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his son and them that he predestinated
he called. He called. Having loved his own which were
in the world, he loved them to the end. To the end. The only hope that you and I
have that God Almighty would have mercy upon us and put away
our sin is his love for us. Herein is love. John describes
love. He defines it. He says herein
is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and gave
his son as a propitiation of our sins. The wrath of God was
satisfied. Sin's been put away. Why? for God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son. It's the love of God upon which
we, our love is so feeble, it's so fickle, it is so far short of what it
ought to be. His love is infinite, it's eternal,
It's affectionate. And it's effectual. It is. Who do we go to if we're sick?
The Lord. What do we say? Lord, just behold
me. Don't try to explain to him what
you did and why you did it and what you're going to do and how
you're going to be better. Just don't do any of that. Just,
Lord, behold me. Lord, here I am just stripped
naked before you. Here I am. No excuses. And Lord, based on your love
for me, based on your love for me, would you hear my case? The
only claim I have to access into your presence is that you would
love me. You would love me. What is the result? of going before the Lord, saying,
behold, and asking his mercy based solely upon his love for
us. What's the result? This sickness
is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of
God might be glorified thereby. Lord, why was this man born blind?
Was it because of his parents' sin or because of his sin? Oh,
no. You err. But that the Son of
God might be glorified thereby. You see, in the final analysis,
everything is for the glory of God. And here's the glorious
truth. His greatest glory is our greatest
need and our greatest good. This sickness is not unto death,
it's for the glory of God. You see, the truth is that where
sin abounds, grace does much more abound. Adam. knew more about the glory
of God after the fall than he did before. So Adam walked with the Lord
in the cool of the day in the garden. Yeah, and he had sweet
fellowship with the Lord. It wasn't till he tried to cover
his naked with his own hands, his own righteousness, his own
works. The Lord called him out. Can
you imagine the terror and the shock that gripped the heart
of Adam when he saw death for its first time? He saw the Lord
God take a hold of that sweet, innocent, spotless lamb that
he had obviously petted and loved and cared for and named and took
that lamb. and drew the sword of his justice,
and slaughtered that lamb, and shed its blood right there before
Adam, and skinned that animal, and took the fleece of that animal,
and covered the nakedness of Adam. Adam knew nothing of the grace
of God until after sin. Now I'm not justifying sin, I'm
just saying that this sickness is not unto death, but for the
glory of God. You see, the truth is that our
sin, that why did God allow sin? Why did he do it? To show forth
his glory. Where sin abounds, grace does
much more abound. We don't know anything about
God's mercy. You know, you say, well, Adam
knew about his love, but he didn't know about his grace. No, Adam
didn't even understand the fullness of his love until after he sinned.
Adam didn't know as much about any aspect of the nature of God
before he sinned as he did afterwards. We really don't understand the glory of God until he makes
us to be sinners in his presence and shows us what he did when
he sheathed the sword of his justice into the heart of his
own son and shed his precious blood on Calvary's cross, demonstrating
his love and his grace and his glory and his mercy for sinners. What I'm saying to you is that
your sin is an opportunity for God's glory. This sickness is not on death
but for the glory that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
You see that in verse 5 of our text or verse 4? That the Son
of God might be glorified thereby. Exodus chapter 33, and I close. Would you turn with me there,
please? So Moses, by Exodus chapter 33,
had seen a lot of demonstrations of God's glory. And he had. He saw the bush that burned and
it wasn't consumed. He heard the audible voice of
God. He observed the plagues in Egypt. He saw the slaying
of the Passover lamb and the blood on the door and the deaf
angel come through. And he saw the firstborn of all
the Egyptians slaughtered. He saw the Red Sea divided and
the children of Israel safely transported across and Pharaoh
and his army destroyed in that same watery grave. He saw the
mountain quake. He had been already on the mountain
by Exodus 33. He had received the law of God.
He saw the manna come down from heaven every day. The water spring
forth from the rock. He saw the pillar of fire by
night and the pillar of cloud by day. Moses had seen much of
God's glory. But something happens in Exodus
chapter 32. Aaron, while Moses is on the
mountain, leads the children of Israel in idolatry. He leads them to fashion out
of their gold, a golden calf. The children of Israel sin grievously
before God. And Moses comes down and God
commands Moses to lead the Levites to slaughter those who had sinned. There was a great sin in the
camp for the first time. And Moses goes back before the
Lord. And he says, Lord, is there any way we can find grace in
your sight? Lord, if I found grace in your sight, Lord, Lord,
lead us. Lord, don't let us leave this
place unless you go with us. The first mention of grace is
found in Exodus chapter 33 in the book of, in the, in the,
in the life of Moses. There's no mention of grace until I, when did, when was grace
needed? When was grace needed? When sin
abounded. When sin abounded, grace was
needed. And the Lord assured Moses, I'll
be gracious to you and I'll lead you. And Moses said, look at
verse 18 of Exodus chapter 33. And Moses said, I beseech thee,
Lord, show me thy glory. Show me thy glory. You say, well,
Moses, you've seen the glory of God. Surely all these fantastic
miracles that God has demonstrated right before your eyes. Surely
you've seen his glory. And Moses says, Lord, show me
your glory. And the Lord said, I will make
all my goodness pass before thee. That'll be my glory. Why callest
thou me good, for there is none good but God? What is it to have the goodness
of God pass before you? It's to see the Lord Jesus Christ
for who He is as your Savior and as your Lord. I'll cause
my goodness to pass before you, and I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy.
Here's who I am, Moses. I'm going to reveal myself to
you. I'm going to show you my glory in my salvation. And here's my glory in salvation,
salvations of the Lord. I'll have mercy upon whom I'll
have. I save in the manner in which I save. Here's my name,
Moses. Here's who I am. You asked for
my glory. I'm going to show you my glory. Look at verse 20. And he said,
thou canst not see my face. For there shall no man see me
and live. And the Lord said, behold, there is a place, there
is a place by me and thou shalt stand upon a rock. Oh, the rock of ages, the rock,
the rock that the builders rejected that became a stumbling stone
out in the yard has become the head of the corner. The Lord
Jesus Christ himself said to the disciples upon this rock,
what rock? That I am the Christ, the son
of the living God. We believe that about you. What
do you, who do you say that I am, Peter? Who do you say that I
am? Not what other men say. Who do
you say that I am? Thou art the Christ, the one
son of God. the son of the living God. Blessed
art thou, Simon Barjona, flesh and blood has not revealed this
unto you. My father, which is in heaven, has made this known
unto you. And upon this rock, the rock of who I am and what
I've accomplished, I'll build my church. Moses, I've got a
rock for you to stand on. Stand right there. And when the
storms of life come, that house will stand. It'll stand. And when the storm of God's wrath
and judgment comes in the day of wrath upon this earth, when
all sin will be punished, those who are standing upon the rock
will be safe, will be safe. And it shall come to pass, while
my glory passes by, the glory of God is seen in the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This sickness is not unto death.
It's for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified
thereby. Your sin's not unto death. Your
physical illness is not unto death. You believe in me, you
shall never die. But it's for my glory. It's for
my glory. That I will put thee in the cleft
of the rock. I'm going to hide you in Christ. Our only acceptance before God
is found in the beloved, in the beloved. I'm going to hide you
in that rock and I'm going to cover you with my hand, my hand. Your hand is not sufficient,
but the right hand of God, that's a covering, that's a covering
that'll cover every sin. I'm gonna take away my hand for
a moment. And Moses, you're gonna see my
back parts, but my face shall not be seen. You know what that means? To see the glory of God, we look
back to where he's been. And we don't know where he's
going. Truth is, you have no idea what
God's got ordained for you tomorrow. No idea. Next week, next year,
and don't want to know. Don't want to know. We walk by
faith, not by sight. We don't know what God's got
in store for us. But we know where He's been. We know something
of His back part. We can look back 2,000 years
To that cruel cross where the Son of God was suspended between
heaven and earth as a sinner substitute and bore in his body
all the sins of all of God's people and suffered the full
wrath of God's judgment in order to satisfy divine justice once
and for all. We can look back to that. Moses,
I'm gonna let you see where I've been. And that's my glory. And that's
your hope of salvation. Are you sick unto death? Simple prayer from the heart
by the Spirit of God, Lord, that's who you go to, what do you say?
Behold, just look at me. On what grounds do you have hope
that he'll hear you and heal you? His love for you. What's the result of your sin,
sickness, your physical sickness, all of your maladies, all the
things to which he provides the only hope of salvation? What's
the solution? The glory of God. And his greatest
glory is our greatest good and our greatest need. Can you pray that prayer? Do
you need to pray that prayer? pasture.