Come see a man which told me
all things that ever I did, is not this the Christ? This is
her testimony. Look in verse 39. And many of
the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the
woman which testified. He told me all that ever I did. Like I said, I've entitled this
message, The Believer's Testimony. Now, what a testimony this woman
gave. And you know, you only testify
to that which you personally have seen and experienced. If you haven't seen it, and if
you haven't experienced it, you can't really give a testimony
regarding this. Now, you may testify regarding
something, and someone may say, well, I don't believe what you're
testifying. Your reply is, I've seen it.
And if you don't believe it, that's okay. I'm still only giving
testimony to what I personally have seen and what I have heard. This woman is giving her testimony,
and what a powerful testimony it is. He told me all things
that ever I did. And you know that if you're a
believer, you're going to find that this testimony is your personal
testimony. You're going to find in hearing
this message, if God is pleased to bless this, that your testimony
is the same testimony as hers. And I pray that the Lord will
give us grace to see that. Now, we read in verse 28, the
woman then left her water pot. And when her way into the city
and say it to the men, now that's an unusual detail that the Holy
Spirit records, isn't it? The woman left her water pot. Now, remember, she came to this
well for water and something happened that made her forget
it. Now, water is important, isn't
it? But somehow it lost her, its
importance to this woman, and she left What she came there
for, she left her water pot to go to the men in the city. Now, what is it that caused her
to forget her water pot? Well, verse 26, Jesus said unto
her, I that speak unto thee am he. She found out who Jesus Christ
really was. And the knowledge of who he really
is made her leave her water pot, she was no longer interested. Have you ever left your water
pot? What once was important is not
important any longer. Now, there's only one thing that
will cause you to leave your water pot, and that's finding
out who he really is. It says, then she left her water
pot. after she found out who he really
is. And look what she said. Verse
28, the woman then left her water pot and went her way into the
city and saith to the men. Now here's her testimony. Come
see a man which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this
the Christ? Now you can't help but be struck
with the fact that when somebody comes to know Christ, they automatically
want other people to know him. First thing she did is go back
into the city to tell everybody she'd known, come see a man who
told me all things that ever I did. And I like where she begins.
She doesn't begin with herself. She doesn't say, look how I've
changed. Look how I've reformed myself. I mean, you know how
I used to live. Look at me now. She didn't say anything like
that. She said, come see a man who told me all things that ever
I did. She didn't say, you guys need
to get your life straightened out. You need to straighten up and
you need to start living right. She didn't say anything like
that at all. She said, come see a man. This is what I want you
to see. This is who I want you to see.
Come see a man who told me all things that ever I did. Is not
this the Christ? This man told me all things that
ever I did. Now look back in verse 16. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call
thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said,
I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said,
I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands. This woman
had been married five different times. I mean, this woman obviously
had issues. She had a lot of problems. Married
five times? What was going on? Obviously,
she was an unusual woman, to say the least. She had been married
five times. He says, the one that you have is not your husband.
He whom thou now hast is not thy husband. You're living with
someone in a sinful way. You're not living in marriage
and wedlock. You're living in a wrong way. And that sets it out truly. You
were telling the truth when you said I didn't have a husband. She said, I thought I perceived
you to be a prophet. But when she comes back to those
people, does she say to them, he told me that I'd been married
five times, he knew about it. And he knew that I was living
with a man out of wedlock. Is that what she was talking
about when she said he told me all things that ever I did? Is that
what she was referring to? Was that all things she ever
did? I mean, look at the language. Look at verse 29 again. Come
see a man which told me all things that ever I did. He told me everything. He didn't leave anything out.
He told me everything that I'd ever done. No doubt included
in that is the five marriages and the fact that she was living
with a man. No doubt that was included, but
there isn't anything supernatural as far as him being able to find
out that she'd been married five times. I mean, you can find that
out about somebody. She says, he told me all things. Every single event of my life,
he told me everything that I have ever done is not this The Christ. This must be the Christ. Only
the Christ could tell me all things that ever I have done
now with one word. She was made to see that all
things. That she had ever done. There's
one word to describe it. You know what that word is? See. Now, only Christ can tell you
this. If I tell you this, you won't agree. But if Christ tells
you this, you'll know. Everything that I've ever done,
doesn't matter what it is, everything that I've ever done is sin. Have
you ever seen that about yourself? Everything. Every thought you've
ever thought, every deed you've ever done, every desire you've
ever had, it's all sin. Now, when was it that she came
to this realization? When she found out who He is.
Now, I can talk about sin and how bad we are and read the papers
and that'll prove it and so on. It really won't mean much to
anybody. I mean, you might agree with it, you might not. You might
say, well, that's his view of human nature and somebody else got
some other view. I realize all the different things
people think. But if you ever see who He is, And that's exactly
what happened to this woman. She found out who the Lord Jesus
Christ really is. And it made her conclude, regarding
herself, that everything that she had ever done was sin. And let me give you some scriptural
background to this. Job. Job was an upright man who
feared God and eschewed evil. That's what the Bible says about
him. And he said, I won't let go of my integrity. God appeared to Job in the whirlwind. And all this time that Job had
been holding on to his integrity, now all of a sudden he says,
Behold, I'm vile. I've heard of you at the hearing
of the ears. I've heard all kinds of stuff about you. But now my
eyes have seen me. Wherefore, I hate myself. And I repent in dust and ashes. Turn to Isaiah 6. I'd like you
to see this. Verse 1. In the year the king Uzziah died,
I saw also the Lord. Sitting upon a throne, high and
lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the
seraphims. Each one had six wings. With Twain, he covered his face,
ashamed of himself, even the seraphim. With Twain, he covered
his feet, ashamed of his walk. With Twain, he did fly, ready
to do the bidding of the master, the glorious God. And one cried
into another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory. And the post of the door moved at the voice of him that
cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe
is me, for I am undone. I am cut off. I couldn't be anything
more than a reprobate, because I am a man of unclean lips. And
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, and here's why
I'm saying this, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord
of hosts. And if you ever see the King,
if I ever see the King, I am sure of this, I'll see that everything I've
ever done, everything I've ever thought is sin. Do you remember what Daniel said?
He said, when I saw Him, my comeliness, that which I thought was beautiful
about myself, my comeliness, it turned to corruption. What about Peter? When Peter
found out who the Lord was, you know what he had to say? He said,
Lord, depart from me. You don't want to have anything
to do with me. I'm a sinful man, O Lord. I'm full of sin. That's what you see when you
see the Lord. And if you don't see it, it's
because you've not seen Him. That's all I can say. If you
have ever seen Him, you believe what I'm saying about you. This
woman's testimony is your testimony. You believe that everything you've
ever done is sin. All things. Across the board. You believe that about yourself?
I'm not trying to talk you into it, but I know this. If you've
ever seen who God really is, if you've ever seen who Jesus
Christ really is, You can't see yourself in any other light. Now, before I leave this thought,
you know the cross tells me that all I've ever done is sin. If you want to find out about
yourself, don't look within, don't read the newspapers, don't
even look at the things that you've done. If you want to find
out the truth about yourself, look at the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. If God left you to yourself,
you would murder the Son of God. That's the truth regarding you. That's the truth regarding me.
He said, come see a man. And the only one who can where
you'll receive this is if he tells you this. If I tell you
this, you'll probably just get on your nerves. You'll just think
I'm negative. You'll think the guy needs to lighten up. But
if he tells you this, you'll know it's the truth. But I don't
want to stop there. I don't want to stop there. Come
see a man who told me all things that ever I did. If all I see
is my sinfulness, is that saving knowledge? No, there's something else that
goes along with this knowledge. Come see a man who told me all
things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? Stick
with her testimony, and once again, if he tells you this,
you'll believe it. Come see a man who told me all
things that ever I did is not this Christ. Now, it's not merely
knowing that all you did was ever sin. Look down at verse
39. Again, John 4, 39. And many of the Samaritans of
that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which
testifies. He told me all that ever I did. There's that testimony.
So when the Samaritans were coming to him, they besought him that
he would tarry with him, and he abode there for two days.
Can you imagine what those two days must have been like? Listen
to the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, that must have been
something very special. He abode there two days and preached
to those people. And many more believed because
of his own word and sent him to the woman. Now we believe,
not because of your saying, for we've heard him ourselves. And
we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. Now, him telling her all things
that she had ever done also had something to do with him being
the Savior of the world. Now, how can that have anything
to do with him being the Savior of the world and him telling
me all things that I've ever done? Let me try to answer that
question. We're going to be having, after
the service this morning, a baptism. Now, what do I confess when I'm
baptized? What do I confess? Baptism is
the confession of the believer. What is it I confess? Well, there's
a scripture that says they were baptized of him confessing their
sins. When I'm baptized, I'm confessing
before all that I'm so sinful that the only hope that I have
is the perfect life, the redeeming death, and the justifying resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm confessing I'm so sinful
that that's the only hope that I have. But I'm also confessing
this. I'm confessing union with Christ. I'm confessing identification
with Christ. When I'm baptized, here's what
I confess. I confess that when He lived, I lived. When He died
on Calvary's tree, I died. When he was raised from the dead,
I was raised from the dead. I'm confessing that what he did,
I did. Turn with me for a moment to
Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter 6. Verse 3. Know ye not that so many of us
as were baptized into Jesus Christ, we were baptized into His death.
When He died, we died. When He was immersed in death,
we were immersed in death. Therefore, we are buried with
Him by baptism into death. That's what water baptism signifies. It signifies union with Him.
When He died, I died. That like as Christ was raised
from the dead, By the glory of the Father, even so we should
walk in newness of life. We're confessing union with Him.
This is the great mystery of the Scripture. Union with Christ,
the two shall be one. When Jesus Christ, now you listen
to me real carefully. When Jesus Christ kept the law
and lived a perfect, holy life. You know who else did? I did. Did Jesus Christ ever sin? He knew no sin. He honored God
perfectly in all that He ever did. Everything He did was perfect. Everything He did was holy. Everything
He did was pure. He never sinned. You know who else never sinned? Me. All I have ever done is perfect
because of union with the Lord Jesus Christ. I really believe this. Turn with me for a moment to
Psalm 24. Psalm 24. Verse 3. Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy
place? He that hath clean hands. He's never done anything wrong
in his actions. And a pure heart, not only has
he not done anything wrong in his actions, he's pure on the
inside. who hath not lifted up," listen
to the language of this, he's not lifted up his soul unto vanity,
nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the
Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Who is
the person who God is going to accept? That person who has clean
hands and a pure heart and he's never, not once, lifted up his
soul to vanity. Are you saying that's you? Yes,
I am. Yes, I am. That's how real union
with Christ is, and that's what I'm confessing in baptism. When
he obeyed the law, I really did. I've got this is my righteousness. I've got these clean hands and
this pure heart spoken of in Psalm 24. When he died, my sin
was washed away. When he was raised from the dead,
I was justified. Now, this man who told me all
that ever I did is not this, the Christ. Is that your testimony? Your
personal testimony? My personal testimony is this.
Everything I've ever done is sinful. My personal testimony is this.
Everything I've ever done is perfect. In Christ, everything
I've ever done is perfect. His righteousness really is my
hope. This is my testimony. I'm giving
testimony regarding this. Now look what she says next in
our text. Back to John 4. Verse 29, Come see a man which
told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? Now I love the way she says this.
She doesn't say this is the Christ, although he was. But she doesn't
say it that way. She lets people draw their own
conclusions. Is not this the Christ? I'm bearing testimony
to you right now, and I'm not trying to convince you of anything,
but I am saying this. Is not this the Christ? There's
somebody here that's saying, yes, it is. Can you believe this? Is not this the Christ? Now, what's involved in Jesus
being the Christ? Is not this the Christ? Now,
Christ is not his last name. Todd Marbury, that's my last
name. Jesus Christ, that's his last name. That's not at all.
his last name, it means God's anointed is not this God's anointed. Now, in the Old Testament, you
know, there's all kinds of preachers. I read ads in the papers that
say, come here, this anointed servant of God. This man's anointed. He's got the spirit. This is
an anointed preacher. This is anointed. You know, when
I hear that, to be honest with you, it irritates me. It irritates
me. Let me tell you why. There's
only one who's God's anointed. That only speaks of one person. In the Old Testament, there were
three people who were anointed. You know who they were? The prophet? God's prophet was anointed. God's
priest? He was anointed. God's king? He was anointed. When she says,
is not this the Christ? She's saying, is not this God's
anointed? This is God's anointed prophet.
What is a prophet? Somebody talks real loud and
forceful and speaks with authority? No. He brings a word from God. This is the word of God. He is
the word of God. He's God's priest. He's God's
anointed priest. What is a priest? A priest He
brings men to God and presents men to God. I can't come to God
alone. I don't have the moral whatever
it is. I can't come alone. The only
way I can come is if He brings me. And the Scripture says He
presents us to the Father. Now unto Him that is able to
present you. Faultless before His throne with exceeding joy.
To the only wise God our Savior. This is His presentation. He's
God's anointed priest. He's God's anointed King. Yet
have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I've declared the decree this
day of my begotten day. She says it's not this God's
anointed. It is not this the Christ. Can you say with Peter, when
the Lord said to his disciples, you fellows want to leave too?
Will you also go away? He says, there's the door. What
are you saying? He's not going to have any unwilling disciples.
And Peter answered, where would we go? Thou art the Christ. God's anointed, God's anointed
prophet, God's anointed priest, God's anointed king. Thou art
the Christ, the son of the living Is not this the Christ? Whom do men say that I am? Well,
they say good things about you, but whom say ye that I am? Peter
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Listen
to this scripture. 1 John 5 says, Whoso believeth that Jesus is
the Christ, you really believe he's God's anointed prophet.
He is the Word of God. He's God's anointed priest. If
He brings you to the Father, you're brought to the Father.
You're saved. He really is God's King. He's
the King of the universe. He's in control. That's what
you really believe. Whoso believeth that Jesus is
the Christ is born of God. Oh, I love that Scripture. You
know what that means? It means I'm born of God because I believe
that Jesus is the Christ, God's anointed. This woman gave a powerful
testimony, and look at the interest it created in verse 30. Then
they went out of the city and came unto him. Now look in verse
39 of John chapter 4. And many of the
Samaritans of that city believed on him. And that's saying something. Whoso believes on him hath everlasting
life. It says they believed on Him.
Many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the
saying of the woman which testified. This was her testimony. He told
me all that ever I did. When He told me all that ever
I did, all that ever I did was sin, and all that I ever did
was righteous in Him. That's my testimony. That's what
I'm giving testimony to. And many of the people, when
they heard this testimony, Scripture says they believed on Him. That's very special. Now look
in verse 40. So when the Samaritans were coming to him, they besought
him, that he would tarry with them, and he bode there two days. And I love to think about what
those two days must have been like. It must have been very
special. And verse 41 says, And many more
believed because of his own word. They didn't just simply believe
because of the woman's testimony. Now they've heard from him. Many
believed because of his own word, and they said unto the woman,
Now we believe, not because of thy saying, for we have heard
him ourselves. And we know that this is indeed
the Christ, the Savior of the world. Now, faith always begins. If you have faith, it always
begins by hearing somebody else's testimony, doesn't it? That's
where it begins. You hear something. Somebody
else's testimony from the scriptures, from the preaching the gospel,
from the word of the gospel begins right there, but it doesn't stay
there. We don't simply believe because of what somebody else
says. We believe when we hear him ourselves. He said, now we
believe is what they said. But we believe not just because
you told us about it, but we've heard ourselves and we know that
this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. We've heard
him ourselves now. Understand, I have never heard
the audible voice of Jesus Christ. And you haven't either. And anyone
who claims to have heard the audible voice of Jesus Christ
is lying. No man has heard his voice audibly. I have heard it in a much more
loud fashion than audibly. The hour is coming, our Lord
said in John 5, 24, and now is when the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. Now, let me tell you when you've
heard the voice of the Son of God. I can tell you when you've heard the
voice of Him. When you hear the preacher preach and you don't
think, well, that's just his opinion. As long as what I'm
saying is just my opinion and my opinion is as good as anybody
else's, you haven't heard from God, that's for sure. You've
heard the voice of the Son of God when you know this is God's
Word. This is the truth. This is the
Word of God. This is the Gospel. It's not
just some preacher's opinion. This is the very truth of God.
That's when you've heard the voice of the Son of God. You
know. You know. This is the truth.
I know this is the truth. First Thessalonians, Chapter
2, for just a moment. Verse 13. For this cause also thank we
God without ceasing Because when you receive the word of God,
which you heard of us, now we preached it, but he calls it
the word of God, which you've heard of us. You received it
not as the word of man, not as Paul's opinion, but as it is
in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you
that believe. We hear the gospel when we hear
it as the very word of God. And then when we we say now we've
heard it, not just because you told it to us, But we've seen
for ourselves, we've heard Him ourselves, and we know that this
is the very Word of God. Now, you know, when I preach, when you preach or witness, if
you're a believer, what we're saying is testimony. It's not
just something somebody else has told us. It's testimony. I'm giving testimony to what
I have actually seen. For instance, when I talk about
the total depravity of the human race, I'm giving personal testimony
to the fact that it's true. I am one. In my own experience,
I'm totally depraved. I'm not just saying that because
somebody told me about it. I believe it regarding myself. I'm giving
testimony to this. I mean, I'm an eyewitness to
this. You say, I don't believe it. I don't care. It's still
what I've seen. I know this. I know. I'm giving testimony
to the fact. Listen to me. I'm giving testimony
to the fact that God elected a people. Now, what do you mean
you're giving testimony to that? I'm testifying that the only
hope I have begins not with my choice of Him or something I
do. The only hope I have is His choice of me. I'm giving testimony
regarding that. This is not just my opinion versus
your opinion. When I talk about Christ's effectual
redemption for His elect, His complete putting away of the
sins of everybody He died for, that's the only gospel. There
is no other gospel, just in His effectual atonement for His elect.
I'm giving testimony that this is the only hope of this sinner's
talking to His God, that what He did is enough and I don't
need anything else. I'm giving testimony to His irresistible,
invincible grace. If His grace is not irresistible
and invincible, then I won't be saved. I'm testifying to this. I get testimony to what I'm preaching.
We've heard him ourselves and we testify that this is indeed
the Christ. Look what he says in our text
in John 4. They said to the woman, verse
42, Now we believe, not because of thy saying, for we've heard
him ourselves and we know That this is indeed the Christ, the
Savior of the world. We know. Are you saved? I hope so. I think so. What do you know? I know that
he's the Christ. I know that. What hinders me from being baptized?
Said the Ethiopian eunuch to Philip. Philip said, well, if
you believe with all your heart, you may. And he said, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. You believe that? That's what I know. I know He's Christ. A lot of
other stuff maybe I'm not all that sure of, but I know this.
He is God's anointed prophet. He is God's anointed priest.
He must be successful. He's God's anointed king. He's
running the show. And look what it says next in
verse 42. We know that this is indeed the
Christ, the Savior of the world. Now, that does not mean that
we believe that all the world will be saved when he says he's
the Savior of the world. Nor does that mean we believe
that he intended on saving everybody in the world. If that were his
intentions, one of two things are true. One, he's a failure.
Or two, everybody will be saved. Now, when it says he's the savior
of the world, that certainly does not mean we believe that
everybody in the world will be saved. But we know this. If a
sinner is saved out of this world, there's only one reason why he's
saved. There's only one hope in this world. It's the savior
of the world. If you're saved out of this world,
if God does something for you, there's only one reason for that.
That is the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, He is the Savior of the
world. If you're saved, it's because
He saved you. You've got no other hope. There's
only one Savior in this world. That is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Savior of the world. That's why I call His name Jesus.
It means Savior, for He shall save His people from their sins.
Turn with me to 1 John chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4. Verse 14. And we have seen and do testify,
this is something we're giving testimony to, that the Father
sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Now, this is what
we give testimony to. The Father sent the Son to be
the almighty Savior of the world. Anybody in this world is saved,
He's the Savior of the world. I look back in verse 9. He talked
about the Father sending the Son. Verse 9, 1 John chapter
4. And this was manifested, the
love of God toward us. Because that God sent His only
begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. He didn't send His Son to condemn
the world. The world already was condemned.
He sent His Son into the world that we might live through Him,
that He might save us. That was His purpose. Verse 10,
here is love. Not that we love God. When you
want to talk about love, you want to talk about your love
for God. Is that how you want to define love? I want to tell
you about love. I want you to see how much I
love God. I love the way John describes himself. He describes
himself as that disciple which Jesus loved. He doesn't talk
about his love for God, but God's love for him. Now, he says here
in his love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and
sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. That's a big word,
propitiation. What's it mean? God sent his
son to be the propitiation for our sins. For God to do something for me
or you in favor, he first had to do something for himself.
A propitiation means he appeased himself. You don't propitiate
God. I don't propitiate God. Only
God could propitiate God. Only God can be satisfied with
what God does, with what he requires and what he does. What this is
a reference to is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Christ
Jesus died on Calvary's tree, the father was propitiated. You
know what that means? His reason for anger was removed.
If Jesus Christ died for you, now listen to me real carefully.
I want this to sink into your ears and your heart. If Jesus
Christ died for you, God has no reason to be angry with you. He's propitiated your perfect
in God's sight. Is that good news or what? He's
propitiated. Now I want you to turn with me
in closing to Luke chapter 18. He's the Savior of the world
because of his propitiation. Luke chapter 18. Let's begin reading in verse 9. And he spake this parable unto
certain which trusted in themselves, that they were righteous. And
here's what everybody who's like that does. They despise, they
look down upon others. Two men went up into the temple
to pray, the one a Pharisee. I mean, this fellow was a religious
leader. He was in the who's who of the religionists of that day. Thought he spoke with moral authority.
He was a Pharisee. And the other, a publican, a
despised tax gatherer, one who everybody hated. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself. I love the way the scripture
says that. He thought he was praying to God, but was he? Oh,
no, no, no. He prayed thus with himself.
God, I thank Thee that I'm not as other men are. Now, one of
the things This fellow gave God the credit, didn't he? He didn't
say, God, I thank myself that I'm not like everybody else.
He said, I'm giving you the credit that I'm not like everybody else.
I'm different. I've got some good things about
me. I'm giving you the credit. I've taken it for myself, but
it's real anyway. God, I thank Thee that I'm not
as other men are. What do you go on to say? I'm not an extortioner. I'm not
unjust. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not
like this publican. I fast twice in the week and
I give tithes of all that I possess. Now let me tell you one thing
about this fellow. He was a liar. Everything that he said he was
not, he was. He was a lying hypocrite. In his heart, he had committed
every single one of these things, if not in reality. And remember,
if you do it in your heart, it's the same thing in God's sight.
Let's do it. This fellow was a liar. He didn't
have any integrity, but he started talking about, Lord, I thank
you that I don't do this. I fast twice in the week. You
know what I think is really interesting? Where in the Bible does it ever
say you need to fast twice a week? Do you know that's not in there? It's a man-made commandment.
I pass twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess,
not just my money. I mean, when I eat an orange,
I make sure a tenth of the seeds go in the ground. I mean, he
was so right down the line. I give tithes of all that I possess.
Now, let's look at the public in verse 13. qualified to go to the front
of the church. I don't suppose there's anything
much more ridiculous than an officer call. Come down to the front
of the church. Come down to the front. Where's
that in the Bible? Not in there. This fella stood
back in the back. He said he didn't want to come
up front. He felt totally unqualified. He's standing afar off. He wouldn't
lift up so much as his eyes to heaven. But he smote upon his
breast, saying, God be..." Now see that word, merciful? In the
original, that word is propitious. God be a propitiation. God be propitious. God be appeased
for the sacrifice of Satan. God be propitious to me, the
sinner. Now this man believed that everything
that he ever did was sin. He believed that, and he confessed
it. God be propitious to me, thee
sinner. All I have ever done is sin. Verse 14. I tell you, this man went down
to his house forgiven, rather than the other. Obviously, I didn't read that
right. This man went down to his house pardoned, rather than
the other. This man went down to his house
a changed new person, turned over a new leaf, rather than
the other. No one says it. It says, this
man went down to his house justified. Justified. You know what justified
means? It means you never did it. You never sinned. It doesn't
mean that you're forgiven. It doesn't mean it's just as
if you never sinned. It means you never sinned. If you're justified,
that means you're not guilty. Nothing to feel guilty about.
Perfect in God's sight. This man went down to his house
justified. All he ever did was perfect before
the law of God. That's what the propitiation
of Christ does. It makes every believer not guilty,
justified. So here's my testimony. Here's my personal testimony. Everything that I've ever done,
everything I've ever given, every thought I've ever thought, every
motive I've ever had, every deed I've ever done is sin. I believe that. And I'm speaking,
testifying. I know it's the truth regarding
me. I know it. But that's not the only part
of my testimony. I'm also testifying, this is
my hope, that everything that I've ever done is perfect in
the very sight of God. because of union with my Lord
Jesus Christ. That is my testimony. Is that your testimony? That's
the testimony of every believer. Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we give thanks for this testimony of this woman. Lord, I ask that you would speak
to each heart here and cause us to leave this place saying
that we don't believe simply because of some man's testimony,
but because we've heard your voice ourselves. Bless this message
for the Lord's sake. In His name we pray, Amen.