Would you turn with me to John
chapter 19? While you're turning there, we
won't be having midweek services this week because this is a time
when families get together. And so. Hope this will be an
enjoyable week for everybody. Now, the verse of scripture I'm
getting ready to read. excited me because it made me
think that somebody through this message is going to believe for
the very first time. That's exciting, isn't it? Let
me read this verse of scripture in verse 35. And he that saw it, talking about
the blood and water coming out of the side of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and he that saw it bear record, and his record is true, and he
knoweth that he saith true, that you might believe. Now here is God's record, and
this record is given that you might believe. Wouldn't it be something if that
you was you? Or me? Look back up in verse 31. I'd
like to read verses 31 through 37. Now this is after the Lord had
already died. He'd given up the ghost. Verse
31. and that they might be taken
away. Then came the soldiers and break the legs of the first
and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came
to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not
his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side. And forthwith came there out
blood and water. And he that saw it bare record.
And his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that
ye might believe. For these things were done, that
the scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith,
they shall look on him whom they have pierced. Now I think there
is quite a bit of irony In verse 31, the Jews, therefore, because
it was the preparation that the body should not remain on the
cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was a high day.
This was the Passover. This was a special Sabbath day.
They wanted the men hanging on the cross. They wanted their
legs broken so they would suffocate and they wouldn't be hanging
there on the cross on the Sabbath day, because that day was a high
day. I don't understand everything
behind this, but crucifixion was a very slow death. You know,
you see your main organs were unaffected. You were nailed,
literally, to a cross. And you can imagine the pain
that would be involved in that. But somehow, from what I've read
and what I've heard, that what they would die of is suffocation.
And they would try to raise themselves up with their legs to get another
breath and then slump back down and start having a hard time
breathing. And they'd raise themselves back up. And you can imagine
what a painful thing that would be with your feet nailed to a
cross trying to raise yourself. But that that desire to live,
you raise yourself up. And if your legs were broken,
you couldn't raise yourself up anymore. So the death would be
quicker. So That was a high day. That
was a holy day. So let's get the guys to take
an iron bar and break their legs so they fall in and suffocate. Verse 32. Then came the soldiers
and break the legs of the first and the other, which was crucified
with him. But when they came to Jesus,
and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs. Now,
these other fellows were alive and could have been alive for
another two or three days. They say sometimes they would
let him hang on the cross for two or three days, but they were
going to make sure that didn't take place. They broke their
legs. But when they came to the Lord,
he was already dead. Remember, verse 30 of this same
chapter, when Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar, he
said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and he
gave up the ghost. He's the only one to ever do
that, you know. He, at this time, gave death permission to come
and take him. What a glorious one he is that
he could do this. So when the soldiers come to
him, they see that he is dead already. Remember, the bones
of the paschal lamb were not to be broken. The soldiers intended
to break his legs, but they couldn't. An unseen hand controlled their
every move. His bones are not to be broken. Verse 34, but one of the soldiers
maliciously, callously, intentionally, with a cold, wicked heart, One
of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, an act of maliciousness. He just saw him undead. Well,
let's just make sure. He pierces his side. Now, he did what he wanted to
do, yet he was only doing what God dictated for him to do. Because
in the book of Zechariah, it's prophesied hundreds of years
before this takes place that his side will be pierced, that
this man was doing what he wanted to do, but he was answering the
prophecy of the scriptures. And when he did this. Verse 34,
but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and
out of his side. There came out. blood and water. Now, there's differing views
as to what happened. I've read and heard that when
he was pierced through at his side, the. What do you call it
around the heart, does anybody? There's a sac around the heart.
Paul, what is it? Pericardium. Okay. I've heard that his pericardium
was pierced and there's water in that and water and blood came
out. That may be what taken place.
It could have been something more miraculous. I don't understand
how maybe a flow of water and a flow of blood came out. I'm
not sure which it was, but it doesn't really matter. But there's
something very significant about the fact that blood and water
came out of his side. Now, I don't know whether it
was the sack around the heart being pierced or whether this
was something unusual. Whatever, something special is
being taught so much so that John says he bore record of it. He knows his record is true.
He bore record of the fact that when he was pierced, blood and
water came out. And he said, I'm saying this
that you might believe. Wouldn't that be glorious? If I believe. If you believe. This is why he's saying this.
That you might believe. And I fully expect the Lord to
cause you to believe through this message. You and I have a problem. have a real problem. And that
problem is called sin. And it's a twofold problem. We
read of blood and water coming out of the side of Christ. The
problem that you and I have is a twofold problem. It's the guilt
of sin and the nature of sin. the guilt of sin and the defilement
of sin, and both of these problems need to be taken care of or we
will not be saved. I need the guilt of my sin put
away, and I need something to be done about my evil nature. Now, if my guilt was forgiven,
but my nature would remain the same, that would be like pardoning
a hardened criminal. and then letting him back out
on the streets. His guilt was taken care of.
He was pardoned, but he was never reformed. And if we let him out
on the streets, it's a menace to society. Listen to this. If your sins are forgiven, but
you're not given a new holy nature, you'd hate heaven. If you were
brought into heaven, you'd be miserable there. And you'd make
that place into a hell if you were there. If your sins were
merely forgiven, but you aren't given a new and a holy nature. You see, I need my guilt taken
care of, my sin taken care of, and I need to be given a new
nature. If I was given a new nature that
was no longer sinful and evil, that wouldn't take care of my
past guilt. I needed something to be done
about my guilt. I can't have guilt before God. But I also have to have something
done about my evil nature, because even if the guilt was pardoned,
I still have this evil nature. I've given this illustration
before, but I think it's a valid illustration. Here's our situation. Here's our case. We're like somebody
Every one of us. I'm talking about you. I'm talking
about me. Every one of us. We're like somebody on death
row who in 24 hours is going to be executed. The sentence
has already been passed. And I also have a heart disease
that if I'm not given a heart transplant within 24 hours, I'm
going to die. Now, here I am. The governor comes and says,
you're pardoned. What good will that do me? I'm
still going to die. What if someone comes to me and
says, you're going to get a heart transplant? Great, I'll get a
heart transplant and a few minutes later, they'll execute me. What
good will that do? That's the state you and I are
in. We're guilty and we have an evil
nature. You see, if you pardon my guilt
and my nature is not made different, it won't do me any good. If I'm
given a new nature, but you don't take away my guilt, it won't
do me any good. We need something to be done
for us. We have to have our guilt taken
care of, and we have to have something done in us. That's
exactly what Toplady meant when he wrote the words to this hymn,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. Let the
water and the blood from thy riven side which flowed be of
sin, the double cure, save from wrath. and make me pure. And that's exactly what this
blood and water coming out of the side of the Savior represents. Save me from wrath and make me
pure. Now, this is a very big issue
in the scriptures, blood and water. Now, let's go back to
the Old Testament. Do you remember the tabernacle?
That place that represented the person of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that place where the presence of God was, it was the Shekinah
glory dwelt in the tabernacle, the very presence of God. Now,
the high priest would go into the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies,
where the presence of God was. What had to be done for that
priest and to that priest before he could go into the tabernacle?
You remember? First, blood had to be shed.
And then he had to be washed in pure water, right outside
the tabernacle. He'd shed that blood, he'd be
washed in pure water, and then he would go in. Now, what if
the priest would have said, you know, these are just rituals
and ceremonies. As long as my heart's right,
that's good enough. I can go into God's presence
without the blood, without the water. What would have happened
to that priest? God would have killed him like that. He would
have demonstrated by that how ignorant he was of his own self. Your heart, right? Oh, no, your
heart's wrong. What if the priest would have
said, well, as long as the blood is shed, that's enough. I mean,
the water is kind of secondary. I mean, it's it's important,
but it's not as important as the blood. So I'm just going
with the blood without washing in the water. What would have
happened? God would have killed him right there. What if the
priest would have said, well, as long as I'm washed, blood
doesn't need to be shed. I'll go on in. God would have
killed him. In order to get into the presence
of God. Blood. And water. Blood. Justification. That's what the blood of Christ
does. It makes me not guilty. It puts away my sin. Water. Regeneration. The new nature. the holy nature,
blood and water. I must have both. And both of these came out of
the side of the Lord Jesus Christ. The blood has to do with the
guilt of sin, justification, and the water has to do with
the defilement of sin, a new nature. Justification makes me
not guilty, Regeneration makes me holy and this makes me fit
for God's presence. Now you'll remember in reading
that passage of scripture when John bare record that water and
blood came out of the side of the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll
remember that John said this was in answer to an ancient prophecy
in Zachariah. Now, when the soldier wickedly
thrust that spear into the dead body of the Savior, he was doing
what God's hand and determined counsel determined before that
he should do. Now, he did what he wanted to
do. It was malicious. It wasn't like he was forced
to do it. He did what he wanted to do it. But God said that this
would take place. Now, in this piercing, just as
Eve came out of the side of Adam, The Church of the Lord Jesus
Christ comes out of this piercing. I'm justified through His blood.
That means I'm not guilty. I'm sanctified by His blood.
Now, hold on for a second. Listen, most people, most religious
people, they say, well, you're justified by what Christ did
and you're sanctified by what you did. You're justified by
what Christ did, but you're sanctified by your works. Now wait a minute. I'm justified by the death of
Christ. My sin became His. He was made
sin. I made the righteousness of God
in Him. But I'm also sanctified. declared by God himself to be
holy, I am holy through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That
water came out, which represents regeneration or sanctification. By the witch will, we are sanctified,
the writer of the Hebrews said in Hebrews 10, 10. By the witch
will, by God's will, we are sanctified once for all through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ. You see, justification comes
from his blood, out of his side, sanctification comes out of his
side. Now let's go back to Zechariah.
It's the second to the last book in the Old Testament. Zechariah. Chapter 12. Verse 10. This is God speaking and he says,
and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications. Don't you
want the Lord to pour that spirit upon you? The spirit of grace. And the spirit of supplication. So we are asking the Lord for
things that he's inspired you to ask him for. That's what a
supplication is. You know, when the Lord inspires you to pray,
you say, Lord, have mercy on me. That's what you pray. Lord,
let me be found in Christ. You know, I want to pray when
his spirit has been poured upon me and I'm enabled to pray. Now, he said, I'll pour. upon
the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
spirit of grace and of supplications. And when he does this, look what
will happen. They shall look upon me whom
they have pierced." That's talking about the piercing of the Savior's
side. They shall look upon me, whom
they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth
for his only son." Now let me say two things about a true mourning
for sin. This is talking about a mourning for sin. Mourning
for sin is the result of God pouring out His Spirit of grace
in supplication. He pours out His Spirit of grace
and you'll repent. Not before then. Mourning for
sin comes from Him pouring out the Spirit. And mourning for
sin comes by looking to Him. You look to Him whom you've pierced.
When you see that your sin, that sin is what caused Him to die
on Calvary Street, and it was your sin, you'll mourn. You'll
mourn. And what do they do? They look
to me. No merit is required. They look
upon him whom they have pierced. Now look down in chapter 13. In that day, that same day, in
that day, there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for two things. for sin and for uncleanness. The blood for sin. The water
for the uncleanness. Now when was this fountain opened? When he died. When he died this fountain was
opened. Opened for two things. Sin and
uncleanness. The blood deals with the guilt
of the sin. The water deals with the uncleanness. And there is a fountain opened. What are the requirements for
me to bathe in this fountain? Two requirements. Sin and uncleanness. I'm too dirty to take that bath.
That's stupid. That's stupid. Who needs a bath?
Dirty people. People with sin, with guilt. People with uncleanness. That's who this fountain is for.
Where are you there? Sin and uncleanness. And notice this fountain is open. It's not closed. Doors are shut,
the doors are open for everybody with sin and uncleanness. Now, what does this mean? Sin,
that means you're guilty. And unclean means you can't change
yourself, you can't make yourself clean. You're guilty, guilty
as charged, and there's nothing I can do about it. Even if you
pardoned, I'd still be the same way, evil in and of myself. I
need something to be done about my guilt, and I need something
to be done about my uncleanness. Well, this fountain is open for
sin and uncleanness. There is a fountain filled with
blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunge beneath that
blood, lose all their guilty stains. The dying thief rejoiced
to see that fountain in his day, and there may I, though vile
as he, wash all my sins away. A fountain opened for sin and
uncleanness, and beloved, it is still open. open for the very
chief of sinners, a cleansing fountain for sin and uncleanness. Verse 5, Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you believe Jesus is the Son
of God? Do you really believe that? Beloved, if you do, you
overcome the world. That's the person who overcomes
the world. Verse 6, this is He, the Son of God, this is He that
came by water and blood. Even Jesus Christ, not by water
only, but by water and blood. It's the Spirit that bears witness
because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, The Word and the Holy Ghost in
these three are one, and they're three that bear witness in the
earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three
agree in one. If we receive the witness of
men, the witness of God is greater, for this is the witness of God
which he testifies of his Son. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave
of the Son. And this is the record that God
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. Now, I want you to listen to
me, zero in, please. The gospel of Christ makes some
very lofty claims. It claims to be the only true
faith, and all other religions are wrong. It claims that her teachings
are infallible, and the gospel commands men to
believe. Those are lofty claims, aren't
they? She better have some strong evidence
to back this up. Now, I cannot make you believe
the gospel. I can't make myself believe. But God can. And if he testifies to you, You'll
believe. And not until then. And if you
don't believe, He never testified to you. Because if He testified
to you, you will believe. Verse 6, once again, this is
He that came by water and blood. Even Jesus Christ. Not by water
only, but by water and blood. It's the Spirit that beareth
witness. This is what God the Spirit beareth witness to, because
the Spirit is truth. For there are three that beareth
record in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,
the Triune God. And these three are one. And
this is what God beareth witness to. And there are three that
beareth witness in earth. The Spirit, God, the Holy Spirit,
and here's what he testifies to. Here's what he bears witness
to. The water and the blood. And these three agree in one. This is what God, the Holy Spirit,
bears witness to. Now, if God, the Holy Spirit,
is testifying to you, you'll believe. And you know what you'll
believe? You'll believe that out of the
side of Christ flows complete salvation. Justification. You'll believe that what he did
makes everybody he died for just before God. And you'll also believe
that the reason you believe is not because of an act of your
free will, but you believe because Christ died for you. And even
your regeneration, even your sanctification, it flows from
the blood of Christ. That's what you'll believe when
God testifies to you. You believe everything comes
from the Lord Jesus Christ. It all flows from his death.
You believe that when God testifies to you. Now, somebody says, I
don't believe that thing. God never spoke to you. But if
you believe that. God's testified to you. Turn with me for a moment to
Colossians chapter 1, verse 20. And having made peace through
the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto
himself, by him I say, whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven, and you that were sometimes alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in
the body of his flesh through death to present you holy, unblameable,
and unreprovable in His sight. Now, here's a question I want
to ask you. Do you believe that through the work of Christ on
the cross, this is what He did? He made everybody He died for
holy. I'm holy. UNBLAMEABLE and UNREPROVABLE. Can you believe that? Somebody says, I can't go that
far. Well, God never testified to you then. But if God ever
testifies to you, you really believe that the water and the
blood make you holy and unblameable. and unapprovable. And this is
a work that was done by him with no help from you. You believe
that? Then God has testified to you. That's the witness of the Spirit.
Now turn with me to Revelation 22, that verse of scripture that
we opened up with. Now, here we have this twofold
problem brought out. Verse 11. He that is unjust or
unrighteous, let him be unjust still. And he which is filthy,
let him be filthy still. Now, if you die unjustified,
You'll remain unjustified forever under the wrath of God. If you
die filthy, that's talking about the defilement of sin. The unjust
is talking about the guilt of sin. The filthy is talking about
the defilement of sin. If you die filthy, you'll remain
filthy forever under the wrath of God. If it's unjust, let him
be unjust. He that is filthy, let him be
filthy still. And he that is righteous, let
him be righteous still. And he that is holy, let him
be holy still. You see what a big issue this
is in Scripture? Justification and sanctification. Righteous. And this is what the blood of
Christ does. It makes me righteous. Everybody he died for is righteous. They don't have anything to feel
guilty about. What about your sin? What sin? It's gone. I'm righteous. The blood of Christ
has washed away my sin to this extent. I have no sin. But not only does the blood of
Christ make me guiltless, the blood of Christ makes me holy. I am given a new nature, a holy
nature. Now, the old nature is still
there. That evil nature is still there. It's the holy nature that
sees that. I've got a holy nature, a new
nature. And that did not come to me because
of some work I performed. That comes to me because of the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of salvation flows from Him. Blood and Now back to John 19, verse 34. But one of the soldiers with
a spear pierced his side Remember, he was already dead at this time.
And forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw bare record,
and his record is true, and he knoweth that he sayeth true,
that you might believe. Believe what? Believe what? that you might
believe that out of his side, out of his death, comes complete
salvation. Do you believe that? Do you believe that? I do. I believe that when he said,
it is finished, old Todd Nyberg was saved before he was even My salvation became historical
before I had any history. I am relying on who this one
is who died that causes water and blood to come out of his
side, which represents a complete salvation, not blood only, but
water and blood, not water only. but water and blood. I believe. I'm relying on this. I believe. Let's pray.