I keep a notebook of sermons
that I would like to preach, that I've thought about, and
I will write it down if something inspires me from Scripture. And
I've had this message written down for 20 years, and I'm just
now getting around to preaching it. And I trust the Lord will
bless us in this. I believe I feel impressed of
God to bring this message. It's entitled, What Jesus marvel
that. What Jesus marveled at. Now, there are a lot of things that
I marvel at. There are a lot of things that
I'm utterly amazed by. I marvel at this creation. I marvel at the sun. And the stars and the galaxies,
I marvel at this earth. I marvel at the geology, the
things about this earth. You know, what happened this
week is a reminder to us in Japan of how powerless we are. I mean,
what can anybody do about something like this? You can you can do
all you can to prevent it, but there's nothing you can do. We're
so powerless. I marvel at the plant kingdom. I marvel at the animal kingdom.
I marvel at the works of man. You know, I was in New York City
for the first time this year, and I was dumbfounded by the
architectural achievements of man. I mean, just looking at
that place was just amazing to me, the immensity of it. I marvel
at the engineering achievements of man. I marvel at the technological
achievements of man. Look at the advances in medicine.
Think of an MRI or a CAT scan. It didn't have anything like
that 50 years ago. You look at the advancements that have taken
place in medicine because of these things. And I'm amazed
by these things. I couldn't come up with it. I look at, you know,
how did somebody figure out aerodynamics? How to make a plane? I know the
principle behind it, but I'm amazed. I could never come up
with something like that. It's amazing, isn't it? I'm amazed
at the literary works of man. The arts. How can people paint
such beautiful pictures? I'm amazed. I marvel at many
things. Now, I've got a question. Does
the Lord Jesus Christ marvel at the things I just mentioned? Is he amazed by them? He who
made the universe understands it all together. You know, one
of the things that I marvel at is how men can figure out how
to split an atom. He who made the atom knows how
to split the atom. And he gave man the understanding
of splitting an atom in order to accomplish his purposes. Turn with me for a moment to
Mark chapter 13. Verse 1, And as he went out of the temple,
one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner
of stones and what buildings are here. And they were impressed.
This was a great temple. It was impressive. It was an
architectural masterpiece. It seemed so mighty and strong.
You've been in places like that where you're just dumbfounded
by the greatness of the building, supposedly. And look at the Lord's
response, and Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these
great buildings? There shall not one. Be left
one stone upon another, and it will all be thrown down. Was
the Lord impressed? No. He said, all this is going
to be thrown down. Now, what would it take for the
Lord Jesus Christ to marvel at something? That concept is an
incredible thing to think about, isn't it? I mean, the Lord, he's
omniscient. He knows everything. He's never
learned anything. He's omnipotent. He's all powerful. He's got the power to make sure
his will comes to pass and he can do anything. There's nothing.
Is anything too hard for the Lord? What would it take for
him to be amazed by something? That's an amazing thing to think
about, isn't it? That he could be amazed. Now, I can understand why I marvel
at things, because I have so many limitations, because I'm
so finite. But the Son of God, who has all
the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in His body, Him marveling? That's an amazing thing, isn't
it? Now in the Bible there are two things that he is said to
marvel at. We read in Mark chapter 6 verse
6 where he marveled at their unbelief. He looked at their
unbelief and he was amazed. And the other time he is said
to marvel is when he marveled at a man's faith, a particular
man. You can read about it in Luke
chapter 7, verse 10. When he looked at the faith of
this man, he turned to his disciples and the scripture says he marveled.
He was amazed by this man's faith. And he said, I say to you, I've
not found so great a faith. No, not in Israel. This is the
greatest faith I've ever seen. And he marveled at it. So there are two things the Lord
is said to marvel at. unbelief and faith. Now, in Mark chapter six, verse
six, we read where he marveled at their unbelief. Turn back
to Mark chapter six. Let's read what took place. Verse one. And he went out from
thence and came into his own country, and his disciples follow
him. And when the Sabbath day was
come, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing him
were astonished, saying, For whence hath this man these things? And what wisdom is this which
is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought
by his hands? Is not this the carpenter? He
didn't have any education. He doesn't have any power. He's
a common carpenter, the son of Mary. We know his mom, the brother
of James and Joseph, and of Judah and Simon are not his sisters
here with us. And they were offended at him.
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but in
his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hand
upon a few sick folk, and healed them, and he marveled. He was
amazed because of their unbelief. If you told me that you were
going to confess your darkest sin to me, the one you were most
embarrassed by, the one that you would be so humiliated horrible sin. If you told me
you were going to confess your darkest sin, and then you said
to me, I'd be waiting for something scandalous, I'd be like, oh,
what's that? And if you said my darkest sin
is unbelief, I'd be kind of relieved. I'd be kind of relieved. Or at
least it wasn't, you know, a bunch of different things. What that
demonstrates to us is how little we understand about the sinfulness
of unbelief. Unbelief is the greatest sin. Now let me repeat that. Unbelief
is the greatest sin. It's the sin from which all other
sins come from. Now, what is unbelief? Well,
to understand what unbelief is, I have to have some understanding
of what faith is. So what is faith? Faith is believing
God. Faith is not believing in God.
The devil believes in God, doesn't he? And he doesn't have any faith
at all. Faith is not believing in the
existence of God. Faith is believing God. It's
believing what God says. It's believing His word. The devil in the garden. What did he tempt our first parents
with? Yea, hath God said? Do you really have to believe
what he says? Is it absolutely critical to believe what he says
exactly as he says it? Has God said, you'll surely die? You don't have to take that literally.
You'll not die. What he tempted our first parents
with was unbelief, not believing what God says. Now, unbelief is not believing
what God says in his word. Now listen to this statement
real carefully. The only reason for unbelief
is a dislike for what God says. That's it. There is no other
reason. You can come up with all kinds
of excuses, but the only reason for unbelief is a dislike for
what God says. You take the Word of God. Somebody
says, well, I don't believe the Bible is the Word of God. Now,
wait a minute. Wait a minute. The only reason you don't believe
the Bible is the Word of God is because you don't like what it
says. That's the only reason. No, it's because you can't prove
that God wrote it, that men wrote it, and you can make all kinds
of objections and so on. But if God can create the universe,
He can preserve His Word. The only reason to not believe
the Bible is the Word of God, the inspired Word of God, is
because you dislike what it says. That's what unbelief is. Essentially,
it's disliking what God says in His Word. It's not liking
the testimony concerning who He is. When you hear who He is
from His Word, you say, I don't like that. I don't want Him to
be that way. That doesn't seem fair to me
for Him to be that way. It's an objection to who God
is. It's an objection to what He says about man. I don't like
what He says about man. That's what unbelief is. It's
a Rejection of what God says. Turn with me to John chapter
3. The carnal mind is enmity against God. This is why unbelief
is so bad. What it is principally is a hatred
of God. John chapter 3 verse 18. He that believeth on him. John
chapter 3 verse 18. There's faith. He that believeth
on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not, that's
unbelief. He's condemned already because
he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation,
that light is coming to the world. And men loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that
doeth evil hateth the light, neither comes to the light, lest
his deeds should be reproved. Verse 2, Now the Jews feast of
tabernacles was at hand, and his brethren therefore said unto
him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also
may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth
anything in secret. He himself seeks to be known openly. If
you do these things, notice that word if, if you do these things,
if you are real, show yourself to the world. For neither did
his brethren believe in him. I mean, his own brethren didn't
believe in him. Then said Jesus unto them, My time is not yet
come, but your time is always ready. The world can hate you,
but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof,
all the works thereof, are evil. Now, that's his testimony. And
the reason men dislike the Word of God or don't believe the Word
of God is because they dislike what it says. Everybody who believes
has this in common, they love what the Word of God says. They
find salvation in what God says. The only way they can be saved,
the only way they can be accepted by God is by what God says in
His Word. Therefore, it comes as good news
to them. I mean, it's really gospel. It's good news. It's
good news to me that God chose a people, because I know if He
didn't, I'd never choose Him. It's good news to me that Christ
made an effectual atonement and actually accomplished salvation
for everybody he died for because if he didn't, I got no hope. You see, the message of the gospel
is good news to me. I received the love of the truth.
I love what I'm preaching. I love who I'm preaching. It's
good news. Now, the natural man is offended
by what he hears. He's offended by the gospel.
I just can't believe God's like that. I can't believe He'd choose
some and pass by others. That's not right. He's offended. He's offended at what God says
about him. His sense of personal righteousness
is offended because God says you don't have any righteousness.
His sense of freedom and personal rights is offended because God
says you don't have any personal rights because of your sin. His
sense of free will is offended because the Bible denies that
man has a free will, but that he's enslaved to a sinful nature
and totally in the hands of the sovereign God. Men are offended
by that. Now, if you believe that, though,
you're not offended by it, you know it so, and you see your
only hope is in the gospel that's being preached. Now, when the
Lord defines sin, turn to John chapter 16. Look at the Lord's definition
of sin. But when He has come, He will
reprove, speaking of the coming of the Holy Spirit, when He has
come, He will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and
of judgment, of sin. Why? What? Because they believe not. on me. That's how the Lord defines
sin. Of sin. Because they believe
not on me. Turn back to John chapter 3. Verse 36. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides, resides, is going
to stay on him. You see, unbelief is the damning
sin. Turn to Mark 16. I want you to
see this in the Scripture. Mark 16. Verse 16, He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be
damned. Now, that's what the Word of
God says. That person who dies unbelieving shall be condemned
eternally. Now, unbelief, what a horrible,
horrible thing. That's why a man goes to hell,
because he rejects what God says. Unbelief is not ignorance. Unbelief
is not lack of assurance. Unbelief is a willful rejection
of what God says concerning how He says who He is and who we
are. That's what unbelief is. And that's why men go to hell,
because they reject, they hate what God says. They hate His
testimony concerning Himself. And what that means is they hate
Him, and they hate His testimony concerning man. Now, Hebrews
318 says it prevents us from entering in the promised land.
They entered not in because of unbelief. Turn with me to John
chapter 10. John chapter 10. Verse 24. Then came the Jews round about him
and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? Did the
Lord make them doubt? Well, you know better than that.
But that's what they said. If thou be to Christ, tell us
plainly. Everything he ever said was plain.
Jesus answered them, I told you. And you believed not. You rejected what I said to you. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me, and that leaves you without excuse.
But you believe not, because you are not of my sheep, as I
said unto you." Now, notice, he didn't say, you're not my
sheep because you don't believe. He said, you believe not because
you're not of my sheep. His sheep are his elect, those
he laid down his life for, those the Father gave him. Unbelief. is the characteristic of that
person who is not a sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, faith
is what sheep possess. Unbelief is what goats possess. Now, somebody may be thinking,
and if you're a believer, what about the unbelief that I have? Because if you have any honesty
at all, you have to say, I've got unbelief right now. Remember
that fella in Mark chapter 9 who said, Lord, I believe. Help thou by unbelief. How could that be? How could
you believe and have unbelief at the same time? It seems like
they would negate each other. If you believe, you don't not
believe. And if you don't believe, how
can those two things be? Well, here's a very simple answer. The new nature believes. The
old nature never believes. And as long as we're in this
body, there will never be a time when I can say I have no unbelief,
because as long as I'm in this flesh, this sinful flesh, it
does not believe. That's why A believer deals with
unbelief. Lord, I believe. I do. Help thou mine unbelief. Now, the reason a man does not
believe is not because the gospel is unbelievable or unreasonable. or irrational, it's because they
do not like what is being said. That's the bottom line. Now,
why did the Lord marvel at it? He marveled. He was amazed by
their unbelief. Well, he marveled at it because
it shows the desperate wickedness of man, that he can hear something
so glorious, so perfect, and reject it. He marveled because
of their unbelief. Now unbeliever, this is your
greatest sin. Unbelief. Believer, this is your
greatest sin. Unbelief. Now turn with me to
Luke chapter 7. The other time we read where
the Lord marveled was at a man's face. Luke chapter 7. Verse 9. When Jesus heard these things.
He marveled at him. He was amazed. And he turned
about him and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto
you, I have not found so great a faith. No, not in Israel. And they that were sent returning
to the house found the servants whole that had been sick. Now here the Lord marvels. at
the faith of a particular individual. Now let's read what took place.
Let's start up in verse 1 of Luke chapter 7. Now when he had ended all his
sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.
And a certain centurion servant, and this was a man, a Gentile,
who was employed by the army of Rome, having A hundred people
under him, a hundred soldiers. A certain centurion servant who
was dear unto him was sick and ready to die. And when he heard
of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching
him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came
to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying that he was worthy for
whom he should do this, for he loveth our nation, and he built
us a synagogue. And Jesus went with him, and
when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent
friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for
I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof. Wherefore,
neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in
a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man
set under authority. I understand something about
authority. Having under me soldiers, I say unto one, go. And he goes. And to another, come. And he
comes. And to my servant, do this. And he does it. And when
Jesus heard these things, he marveled. He was amazed. And turned about and said unto
the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found
so great a faith. No, not in Israel. Now let me ask you a
question. When you read this, do you find this to be the most
amazing faith that you've ever heard of? Now, all faith is amazing
because it's the gift of God. All faith is amazing, and I admire
this man's faith, but if I thought of the greatest faith in all
of Israel, this is not what I would pick out. Noah. He spent 120 years building an
ark before there was a drop of rain. Now, I'm impressed with
that. Everybody making fun of him.
I mean, he was the laughingstock of everybody that saw him, but
he continued building that arc. Now, that's impressive faith,
isn't it? I tell you, impressive faith. When Abraham started walking,
God said, leave. And he started walking, not knowing
where he was going, simply obeying God, believing God told him to
do it. I tell you what great faith was. When Abraham took
his boy and he offered him up, willing to kill him. God said,
offer him up to me as a burnt offering. And he held up the
knife in order to do it, believing that God would raise him from
the dead. You think of that. He really believed because God
had promised the Messiah was going to come through him. He
believed that God would raise him from the dead. Now that's
impressive, isn't it? What about David? I think of David, that
young 17-year-old boy running at Goliath with a stone and killing
him. Now, that is impressive faith. He knew... I'm impressed with
that. I can show so many... I'm impressed
with Daniel going into the lion's den. I'm impressed with Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. so many examples of greatly impressive
faith. What's so impressive about this
man's faith that the Lord would marvel at it? He never said to
marvel at anybody else's faith, but here he says he marvels at
this and says this is the greatest faith I've seen in all of Israel.
Now what is so impressive about this man's faith? Now, there
are two things that I see in this man's faith. First, An utter lack of a sense of entitlement. A low view of self. When this man, he wouldn't even
come to the Lord. He sent somebody else, not because
he was too lazy to come, but he didn't feel like he was worthy
to come into the Lord's presence, so he sent somebody else. He
didn't want the Lord to come to his house because he did not
feel worthy to have the Lord even come. He had a complete
absence of any kind of sense of entitlement. Now listen to
me. It's a sense of entitlement that makes a man unbelieving
and reject the truth of sovereign grace. That's the only reason
men reject the truth. It's because of a sense of entitlement,
a high view of themselves. Let me show you this. Turn to
Romans chapter 9. Hold your finger there in Luke 7 when we come
back to it, but turn to Romans chapter 9. Verse 11. This is talking about
God's election. Romans chapter 9, verse 11. To
the children being not yet born. neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto
her, The elder shall serve the younger, as it's written, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated." That's God speaking. What shall
we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? Is God unfair? Is it wrong for Him to love one
and hate the other? Why, He's discriminating between
the two. He's showing favoritism to one
and passing by the other. That's not fair. Beloved, fair is hell. You believe that? Fair is hell. For me to object to God's electing
mercy, Him saving one and passing by another, I'm saying it's not
fair. God owes me salvation. I'm entitled
to His mercy and to His blessing. And when I come into His presence
by way of entitlement, I don't come into His presence at all,
do I? I am rejected. That's not fair. You know, any objection, any
objection to salvation by grace has this behind it. A sense of entitlement. A high
view of yourself is what it is. Viewing yourself higher than
God says you are in his word. That's what's behind it. So this
man, first of all, when our Lord looked at him and he said he's
got the greatest faith in Israel, you see a complete lack of a
sense of entitlement. I'm not worthy to come to you. I'm not worthy. Have you come
into my house? Speak the word only and my servant
shall be healed. Now, here's the second part of
this man's faith that was so great. Oh, what a high and exalted
view he had of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, all you've got
to do is will it. And it is. If you speak the word
only, I don't care about my experience. I don't have to be there. All
you've got to do is will it. And it happens. He had such a
high view of the Lord Jesus Christ that he knew his will was supreme. And if he willed the salvation
of his servant, he'd be saved. He'd be healed. He had a high
and exalted view of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, he said, I
understand authority. I've got some authority, humanly
speaking. I say to my servant, go, and he goes, another come,
and he comes, another do this, and he does it. I understand
authority. And you have absolute authority because of who you
are. He believed Jesus Christ as God.
No question in my mind about that, because he believed that
his will was supreme. All he had to do is will it,
and it took place. I understand authority. All you
have to do is will the healing of my servant, and it takes place
because of who you are. Now, everything in faith hinges
on who you believe he is. That's it. That's the only issue.
Who is Jesus Christ? What you believe is completely
determined by who you believe. Let me ask you a question. Do you believe he's God? Do you believe he's sovereign?
In control of everything? Do you believe he's all powerful?
That his will is done? and must be done. Do you believe
that if he wills your salvation, you must be saved? You believe
that? Do you believe that if he died
for your sins, the very justice of God demands your salvation
because you have no more sin if he died for your sin? Do you
believe that? You don't want to presume on it. You don't want
to simply presume that he did this for you. But you really
believe that if he did, you must be saved because of who he is. And that's what faith is. It
has a low view of self. I'm not worthy. And it has a
high and exalted view of the Lord Jesus Christ. If he died
for me, I must be saved. Now, here's the elements of great
faith. A low view of self and a high view of Jesus Christ.
Isn't that what faith is? In Matthew's account, the Lord
said, Go thy way as thou hast believed, so be it unto thee. As you believe. What did he believe?
He believed that if Christ willed it, it's going to be. And the Lord calls that the greatest
faith in Israel. He marveled at the greatness
and the simplicity of this man's faith. I want to look at one
final scripture. Turn to John chapter 6. Now, let me remind you, if you're
an unbeliever, The reason you're an unbeliever is because you
dislike what God says in His Word. That's the only reason
behind unbelief. There are no other reasons. You
can make all kinds of excuses, but that's the only reason. And if you have faith, you're
aware that that unbelief is evil, wicked. You see it in your flesh.
You know what it is. You cry out, I believe, Lord,
help thou my unbelief. Now, John chapter 6. Verse 25, And when they had found him on
the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest
thou hither? Jesus answered them and said,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, You seek me not because you saw
the miracles, not because you believe who I am, But because
you did eat of the loaves and were filled, you got your bellies
filled, you got a free meal. That's why you're seeking me.
Verse 27. Labor not for the meat which
perishes. Isn't that everything? Labor not for the meat which
perishes. This life is so transient and
temporary. What if you get the whole world
and lose your soul? Labor not for the meat which
perishes. But for that meat which endureth
unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto
you, for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him,
What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Now, they
heard the Lord say, labor not for the meat which perishes,
but you labor for that meat which endures to everlasting life.
All they got out of it was work. Well, what work do we need to
do? What do we need to labor to do? That's all they heard.
Now listen to what the Lord said. Verse 29, Jesus answered and
said unto them, This is the work of God. What? That you believe on Him whom
He has sent. What's God's will for me? That
you believe on Him whom He has sent. Now, you don't need to
worry about whether or not you're one of the elect. You don't need
to worry whether or not Christ died for you. Here's what you're
called upon to do right now. This is the work of God. Believe
the gospel's truth. It's the truth. Believe on him
whom he hath sent. You know what comes after that? a period. May God enable us to believe
on Him whom He has sent. Let's pray together.