I want to hear what he has to
say. Well, we have in this passage of Scripture the last sermon
of John the Baptist. It's the last recorded sermon
of John the Baptist. He would shortly be put into
prison and beheaded. And this is the last public sermon
we have of his. Now, this is the one whom the
Lord said. of them that are born of women,
there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist." Now that
catches my interest. I want to hear what this man
has to say. Verse 23 of John chapter 3. And John also was baptizing in
Aeon, near to Salem, because there was much water there. And
they came and were baptized, for John was not yet cast into
prison. He would be shortly, but not yet. Then there arose
a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about
purifying. And they came unto John and said unto him, Rabbi,
he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest
witness, Behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. Now,
this had something to do with who was having the most baptisms. Who was being the most successful
in their teaching and preaching, John the Baptist or the Lord
Jesus Christ? The disciples of John were concerned
about this. It seems like the Lord Jesus,
the one you bear witness to, he's baptizing more people. More
people are interested in his ministry. He seems to be going
up and you seem to be going down. And then we're concerned over
this. Look in chapter four, verses one and two. I know this is what
was going on. When, therefore, the Lord knew how the Pharisees
had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than
John. Though Jesus himself baptized
not but his disciples, he left today and departed again into
Galilee. So we see that this is what was going on. Who is
being the most successful? Who is being the most used? And there's a hint of jealousy
in this. Did I say hint? It's obvious,
isn't it? There was some jealousy going
on. The disciples of John came to him saying, you're losing
your followers and everybody's going after him. He's more popular
than you are. Now, let's listen to John's reply. Verse 27. John answered and said,
A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.
Now, the apparent success or lack of success is totally from
above, John says. I can't save anybody. I can't save anybody. My success or lack thereof is
from above. What I'm doing or what I'm not
doing is from above. What I receive or what I don't
receive is from above. And you think I'm jealous? Do
you think I'm jealous of the Lord Jesus Christ, that he's
having more success than me? Everything that I do or do not
have is by divine appointment. Do you think I'm jealous? Verse
28. You yourselves bear me witness that I said I'm not the Christ,
but that I'm sent before him. And you think I'm jealous of
you? Remember John's message concerning the Lord Jesus Christ?
He said, behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of
the world. That was his message. He didn't
say behold me. He didn't talk about his ministry. You know,
the one thing I don't like to hear a preacher talk about is
his ministry. Something wrong with that. John said, You think
I'm jealous? This is what I've been preaching
all along. I rejoice that people are coming to him. That's what
I want in the first place. You yourself bear me witness
that I said I'm not the Christ, but I'm sent to bear witness
of him. Verse 29, He that hath the bride is the bridegroom.
But the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and heareth him
rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy,
therefore, is fulfilled. You mean you think I'm jealous
of this? He said, my joy is fulfilled in seeing this, in seeing men
come to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what I'm all about. This
is what I want. Jealous. Verse 30, he must increase. But I must decrease. Now, here's the desire and the
aim of every true preacher. He must increase. And I must
decrease. Now, when the sun comes up, You
do not see the stars, do you? They're still there. But you
don't see them. And here's what every true preacher
wants. If I'm a true preacher, this is what I want. I want you
to leave this place not even thinking about me or how I delivered
the message or what I said. I want you to leave this place
thinking on The Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that's in him,
I want to decrease to where I'm not even thought about. He must increase. To have him to increase is to
be more and more taken up with him and for self to decrease
is to be less and less taken up with self. Is that what you
want for yourself? Sure, it is. If you're a believer, this is
the desire of your heart. He must increase and I must decrease. That's what I want. Verse 31,
he says, he that cometh from above. Is above all. I love this description of Jesus
Christ, he that cometh from above. He is above all. He doesn't say
He has the right to be above all or He should be above all.
He says He is above all. You know what that means? That
means everything is under His thumb. He is above all. He's the Lord. It's not that He has the right
to be Lord. He is the Lord. He is the Lord
of glory. He is the Lord of creation. It was He who spake this world
into existence. He is the Lord of providence. That means everything that happens
is according to Him. Everything. He's in control of
it. He is the Lord of providence. By Him all things consist. He
is the Lord of salvation. That means that you and I are
in His hands. Do you know you have absolutely
no control? in this thing of salvation, or
anything else for that matter, but particularly in this thing
of salvation, you have no control. It's up to Him what's going to
happen to you. He that cometh from above, He
came from the presence of the Father. He is above all. And look what John says next
in verse 31. He that is of the earth, is earthly. Who's John speaking
of when he speaks, he that's of the earth is earthly and speaketh
of the earth? Who's he talking about? Himself. Now, this is what that one who
the Lord said of them that are born of women, there's risen
none greater than John the Baptist. Here's what he says of himself
and his preaching. He that is of the earth is earthly
and speaketh of the earth. Now, there is no doubt in your
mind when I'm preaching to you, there is a weak, fallible, earthly
man. You know that. I don't have to
convince you of it. You don't look at my voice as
infallible, do you? Why would it be blasphemous to
think That of any man, you know, whoever the preacher is, there
is a savor of humanness in it, isn't there? I don't care who
he is. I mean, you can tell he's human. He's human, and that's
what John is saying about himself. You can figure that out just
by hearing me preach, but he that he says in verse 32, he
speaks of the earth, but he that cometh from the heaven. is above
all. And John says, do you think I'm
jealous of him? I'm earthly. I speak of the earth. I mean, if I say it, that makes
it earthly, even if what I'm saying is the truth. There's
just a savor of humanness in every preacher, but he's coming
from heaven. He's above all. John says, I'm not even worthy
to untie his shoes. And you think I'm jealous of
him because he's baptizing more people than me? Verse 32. And what he has seen and heard,
that he testifies, and no man receiveth his testimony. Now
he's talking about the Lord Jesus and his preaching. Now, I want
you to think of the difference between me or any man preaching
and the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is an infinite difference. You know that. I don't have to
convince you of that. You know it. When he speaks,
when I speak, I speak what the Lord's taught me. When he speaks,
he speaks what he has seen of the Father. There's a sense in which my information
is firsthand information, if he taught me. There's a sense
in which it is. I mean, if he taught me, I'm
given what the Lord taught me and it's coming from the heart. But there's also a sense in which
what I bring is what somebody else has told me. It's not what
I've seen. I haven't seen the way he's seen. But when he speaks,
he brings that which comes directly from God. When I speak, It's
me speaking even if it is His Word. It's still me speaking.
When He speaks, it's God speaking. It's not just as if it were God
speaking. It is God speaking. Big difference. And He gives
testimony. Let's see what His testimony
is. Now notice where it says in verse 32, He says, In what
he has seen and heard that he testifies. He gives a testimony.
Turn over to 2 Timothy chapter 1 for just a moment. Verse 8. And here's the testimony
of the Lord. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord. So we see what this is. This
is the testimony of the Lord himself. Nor of me, his prisoner,
but be thou a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according
to the power of God. And here's his testimony. He
saved us. And he called us with an holy
calling Not according to our works, but according to His own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. Now, that's the testimony of
Jesus Christ. Everything I have was given me in Christ before
the world began, verse 10, but now is made manifest by the appearing
of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who abolished death. That's what
He did in His death. He put death to death. And he
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel whereunto
I'm appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the
Gentiles. Now that's the testimony of Christ.
And here's the guilt of man in verse 32. What he has seen and
heard that he testifieth and no man receiveth his testimony.
Not one. Not even one. He testifies of
that which he has seen, and not one single man in and of himself
has ever received his testimony. I'm guilty. You're guilty. But
thank God there are some who receive his testimony, the elect,
those the Father gave him. They will receive his word. Now,
let's read verse 32 and verse 33 together. And what he has
seen and heard that he testifies and no man receives his testimony.
He that hath received his testimony. There are some that have. Every
believer. He has set to his seal that God
is true. There are some that will receive
his testimony. Those were made willing in the
day of his power. Do you receive this testimony
as good news? That's all I'm asking you right
now, this testimony I just gave. He saved us. Is that good news
to you? He called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, doesn't have anything to do with our works, but according
to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began. Now, do you receive this testimony
as good news? And you know whether you do or
not, whether this is good news to you. Well, if it is, here's
what happens with you. He has set to his seal that God
is true. You know that Jesus Christ is
God, and you know that what God says is true. It really is that simple. Here's
where the assurance comes from. You know this is true. Now that's
the evidence of God doing something for you. You know this is true. His testimony, it's the truth. You may not even understand it
all, but you believe it all. Matter of fact, as far as what
we believe, we don't have a full comprehension of any of it, do
we? I mean, we don't completely grasp
anything that we believe, but we believe it. You don't have
to understand it to believe it, but you certainly have to believe
it. You know, it's only been in the last two or three months
that I've understood how a plane flies. Every time I got in a
plane, I thought, what is keeping this thing up? I didn't understand
the physical laws of aerodynamics, and I've always been just kind
of mystified by how this thing stayed in the air. I mean, what's...
Well, I finally found out what happens. And it explained it
to me. Now I understand why it stays
in the air. But you know, for many years, I had no understanding
of why it stayed in the air. But I still believed it would
get me where I was going. That's why I got in a plane.
You don't have to understand. You have to believe. And if you
believe, you will understand. Now, he that Received his testimony. That's what he does. He receives
to his testimony. He has this set to his seal.
He knows that this is the truth. He knows that God is true. What
he says is true. Verse 34. For he whom God has
sent speaketh the words of God. For God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him. Now, I have a measure of the
Spirit. But you can figure out I'm not infallible, can't you?
You know, for a man to claim infallibility is so ludicrous,
it's so ridiculous, it's laughable. I have a measure of the Spirit.
And when I preach, I preach with a measure of God, the Holy Spirit.
If you have heard the gospel in power, it's because of the
Spirit of God that He's given me, that He's given you. He gives
me the grace to preach. He gives you the grace to hear.
I have a measure of the Spirit. I do. I preach the gospel with
the Holy Spirit. I've got such confidence in that.
I've got confidence in Him and His blessing on the Word. But
it's a measure. You know that, don't you? It's
a measure. Every man has no more than a
measure. But He had, the Lord Jesus Christ has the Spirit without
measure. His Word is nothing less than
the very Word of God. He doesn't have a measure of
the Spirit. I love that scripture where it says, He spake as one
having authority. And that wasn't just a big booming
voice. That's not what that's talking about. His very Word
recommended itself as the Word of God. He didn't have a measure
of the Spirit, did He? For God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him. Verse 35. The Father loveth the
Son, and hath given all things into his hand. Who does God love? Good question, isn't it? Who
does God love? I know He doesn't love everybody. You know as well as I do that
He doesn't love Esau. He said, Esau have I hated. Psalm 55 says thou hatest all
workers of iniquity. God doesn't love everybody. God
doesn't love the devil, does he? You think God loves the devil?
If God loves everybody, that means God loves Satan. And you
know he doesn't love Satan. He doesn't love the fallen angels.
I don't believe for a second that God loves those people he
sends to hell. What kind of love is that? He
doesn't love somebody he sends to hell. Well, who does God love? The Father loveth the Son. Oh, the love that exists between
the Father and the Son. He says, this is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased. And if you're in the Son, the
Father loves you with the same love He loves the Son. That is
why Paul said, I'm persuaded that nothing shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is where? In Christ
Jesus, our Lord. The Father loveth the Son, and
he hath given all things into his hand. Turn over to Matthew
chapter 11 for just a moment. John's last message is a great
message, isn't it? I mean, everything he says is so utterly glorious. You know, I'm thinking about
this. This message I'm preaching, I
got it from somebody else. Nothing original about it, is
it? All I'm doing is saying what John said, just repeating it. There's nothing wrong with repeating
somebody else's message, is there? That's what I'm doing right now. This is John's message. You're
preaching somebody else's message. Yep, sure am. I don't apologize
for it either. It's good. This is a great message. This is the message of John the
Baptist. Verse 25, Matthew chapter 11. At that time, Jesus answered
and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you've hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father. And no man knows the Son, but
the Father. I love that. You know, the Lord
is saying, I am so infinitely great that the only one who can
know me is the Father. And no man knows the Father,
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. You
and I are completely dependent upon Him to reveal Himself to
us. Now, He says, all things are delivered unto me of my Father.
All power, He said, is given to me in heaven and earth. Thou
hast given Him power over all flesh that He should give eternal
life to as many as Thou hast given Him. Now, that's who the
Lord is. Now, let's go back to John 3. The Father loveth the
Son. And you know, there's something about
that that touches the believer. Aren't you glad it's that way?
The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his
hand." Now, verse 36, "...he that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son
of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."
Now, that's where I got the title to this message. He that believeth,
and he that believeth not. Now may God give you and I grace
to hear what is being said. John says, he that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. Not he will have everlasting
life, but he hath it. You know what that means? He's
got it. Right now. He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. All that is entailed in everlasting
life, he has. Right now, if I believe on the
Son, I have everlasting life. I have life before God's holy
law. God's holy law looks me through and through and finds
no reason to condemn me. I have spiritual life. I have the life of God in my
soul. According to the Scriptures,
I am fit right now, while I'm talking to you, I am fit for
the inheritance of the saints in light. I am fit for fellowship
with God. I am holy in God's sight. You know, it almost scares me
to say that. David said it. I'm holy. I am perfect in God's sight. When He sees me, He does not
see any sin. You know why he doesn't see any
sin? Because there's none there. That's why. It's not like it's
covered up and he just can't see it because it's covered.
No, there is none there. I have all that pertains to everlasting
life right now. Really? Really. No spot or wrinkle or any such
thing. In God's sight, I am holy. I really am. Do you know what? I can't see it. I cannot see it. I've been making some pretty
big claims But when I look at myself, I
cannot see that. As a matter of fact, when I look
at myself, all that I see is sin. That's it. And yet I say, I'm holy. I really am. I'm perfect in God's
sight. But I can't see it in my personal
experience. But I believe it. I might not conceive it, but
I believe it. You see, faith has something
to do with believing what you cannot See, we walk by faith
and not by sight. Let's say you're out in the ocean,
dark blue water, 500 feet of water. You can't see the bottom,
can you? I mean, you can't see. Let's
say you're in that boat and you have the best anchor money can
buy. It's got plenty of line to get
down to the bottom of that Best anchor money can buy, and it's
there in the ship with you, and you can see it. What good is
it doing you? If you can see it, it's not doing
you a bit of good, is it? It's only when you take that
anchor and throw it overboard, and it goes down into the depths
where you cannot see, that's when it's doing you good. You
can't see it, but it enters in and holds you down. Christ, faith
in Christ is called an anchor of the soul that enters to that
within the veil. Now, I can't see within the veil,
but He does. He's there. He's the anchor of
my soul. Faith is not what you see. It's what you believe. Now,
I can't see that I'm holy. I can't see that I'm perfect
in God's sight. I can't see that I'm utterly
righteous. You can't see it either. But I believe it." That's what
faith is. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. It's the substance of things
hoped for. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. That's what faith is. You believe
what you cannot see. I can't see that I'm literally
perfect before God, but I believe I am because the Bible says this.
Turn to Hebrews chapter 10 for a moment. Verse 12. But this man, the Lord
Jesus Christ, After he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting
till his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." Do you believe that? Do you believe
that if Jesus Christ died for you, you are perfected forever? You can't see it, though, can
you? But you believe it because God says it in His Word. Faith
is believing what God says. Now, beloved, if you believe
on the Son right now, all that eternal life is you possess. I might not conceive it, but
I believe it. And when I see it, I won't need
faith anymore, will I? When I see that I'm perfectly conformed
to His image, I won't need faith. I'll be in His very presence.
But until then, I believe. Now, we read of those who believe
on the Son, and they have everlasting life. But look what it says next. He that believeth not the Son. John 3.36. He that believeth
not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth
on him." Now, we read of those who believe and those who believe
not. You know, in Hebrews chapter 3, verse 18,
we read of God swearing with an oath regarding the curse of
somebody. Now, if God swears with an oath,
that's awful strong language, isn't it? And we read in Hebrews
chapter 3, verse 18, to whom swear he that they should not
enter into his rest, but to them that believed not. So we see they could not enter
in because of unbelief. Now, there are those who believe.
And there are those who believe not. Those that believe not are
the people who are not his sheep. Do you remember what he said
to that crowd in John chapter 10 when they said, if you're
the Christ, tell us plainly. How long you make us to doubt?
He said, I told you plainly and you believe not. He said, you
believe not because you're not of my sheep. As I said to you,
my sheep hear my voice. The reason you fellas don't believe
is because you're not of my sheep. Now, there are those who believe
not, and unbelief is the greatest of all sin. It is the sin from
which all other sins are born. It is the master sin if you do
not believe. Now, listen to me real carefully.
Right now, if you're somebody that does not believe, it is
because you choose not to believe. That's why it is so bad. After
this morning, at any rate, you can't say, I just want to know
the truth. You've heard it. You've heard
it as God is my witness, you've heard the truth this morning.
And if you don't believe it's because you choose not to believe. Now, if you believe it's not
because you choose to believe, you just believe because it's
true. That's why you believe. You don't
make a choice to believe the truth. When you see it's true,
you just believe it. But you have to make a choice
to not believe. And you've heard the truth this
morning. And if you don't believe, it's because you choose to not
believe. And this is what came to my mind
when I thought about this thing of unbelief. Would you turn with
me for a moment to Luke, Chapter 22? I've read this passage of
Scripture of the Lord Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. Let's begin reading verse 39. And he came out and went as he
was wont to the Mount of Olives. And his disciples also follow
him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, pray that
ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them
about a stone's cast. And he kneeled down And he prayed,
saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Now,
hold on for a minute. He came for this purpose. And yet here he is at the brink
saying, Father, if it is your will, Let this come. What come? The come of suffering
the wrath of God. The thought of being made sin. The thought of bearing our sin
in His own body. The thought of being forsaken
by God. That's why He came. His hour
has come. And now that it's here, even
this is the God man. He's not like me or you. This
is the God man. Yet at the thought of being forsaken by his father,
he's made to pray. Father, if it be possible, obviously
it's not. If it be possible, let this cup
pass from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him and being in agony. And this is the Son of God being
in agony. He prayed more earnestly. And his sweat was, as it were,
great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Now, I see
the Son of God in Gethsemane's garden overcome with what he's
getting ready to go through. And he knew why he was doing
it for the salvation of his people, for the glory of his father.
But still, when you see him doing this and somebody seeing that,
and this is what unbelief is. I just read that passage of scripture
regarding what our Lord was getting ready to accomplish on Calvary
Street. And somebody says, I don't need that. I don't need to. trust him. I don't need that. I mean, it's
nice. I love seeing somebody's willingness
to do the Father's will, but as far as me actually having
to trust that only as my salvation, I don't need that. You know what? The wrath of God
abides on you. And it will not leave. And it is right that it should
be so. If you don't believe on the Son
of God, you ought to be damned. And God is holy and right in
sending you to hell forever, if you do not believe on the
Son of God. Now, I'm not saying you understand
everything. I don't. But I tell you what,
I believe Him. And my only hope is that what
He did is everything in my salvation. I'm believing on the Son. That's
what I'm doing right now while I'm talking to you. And if you
don't believe on the Son, God's wrath is on you for good. And when you wake up in hell,
you'll know it's going to be there forever. He that believeth not on the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Paul put it this way, if any
man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha. Let him be damned upon the return
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, faith, my dear friends,
is the gift of God. It's out of your reach. And you won't believe unless
God gives it to you. Yet you'll be damned if you don't believe. Believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And thou shalt be saved. That's what God says for you
to do now. Don't anybody here think, well,
what if I'm not one of the elect? You don't even need to think
that way. That's ridiculous thinking that way. You are to believe
on Christ right now. Is it the truth? Shouldn't you
believe the truth? Shouldn't you believe that what
He did is enough to save you? Shouldn't you rely on Him? Do
it right now. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Do you believe? Or do you believe not? That is to be settled right now. I'm calling for a verdict. Right now. I want to close by looking at
one verse of scripture. Turn to John 9. John 9 verse. 34 This is the man that the Lord
had given sight to, who was born blind, John 9, 34. They answered
and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and
dost thou teach us? They cast him out. They kicked
him out of, they excommunicated him is what they did. Jesus heard
that they had cast him out. And when he found him, he said
unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son
of God. And he answered and said, Who
is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him,
Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. and he worshipped him. Does thou believe on the Son
of God? Lord, I believe. Now remember, if you can see
it, it's not faith, is it? I believe. and he worshiped. Let's pray together.