Good morning. Would you turn
with me to Luke chapter two? While you're turning there, these
are some samples of the DVDs of Brother Henry Mahan's TV tapes
or DVDs. And if you could get these and
pass them around and the ordering instructions are on the back,
all you got to do is read them, but grab one of these, listen
to it, pass it to somebody else. Luke Chapter two. This is a message. That I've
been wanting to preach for many years, as a matter of fact, back
when we were on American Avenue, that's how long ago this was,
I was thinking about preaching this message and I've never got
around to preaching it and I feel like this is the time to preach
it. That's interesting, isn't it? Um, what inspired this was
I was reading from Luke chapter two and Luke chapter three. And
this word, this one word just jumped out at me and made me
think about this. Look in Luke chapter two, verse
43. And when they had fulfilled the
days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem,
and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, Joseph and Mary, supposing
him to have been in their company, went a day's journey, and they
sought him among the kinsfolk and acquaintance, and when they
found him not, he wasn't there. They supposed he was. They supposed he was, and they
found out he was not there. When they found him not, they
turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. They took for granted
that he was there, and he wasn't. That's a solemn
thing to think about, isn't it? They took for granted that they
had his presence. They took for granted that he
was there, and he was not. Now look in Luke chapter 3. Verse 23, this is some years
later. And Jesus himself began to be
about 30 years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph. I understand why they made that
supposition, they presumed. that he was the biological son
of Joseph. And you understand why they made
that supposition, don't you? I do. But he wasn't. Now, this word supposed just
jumped out at me. They supposed, they presumed
he was in their company. And they went a day's journey
thinking he was. But they found out he wasn't
there. And it was supposed, it was presumed
that he was the biological son of Joseph, but he was not. Now,
when I looked this word up, supposed, I was surprised by its meaning. Now, this word is taken out of
the Greek word for law, nomos. That's the Greek word for law.
And it means to follow a custom, to make a law out of something.
You do it so regularly and habitually to follow a custom. And the idea
is you follow this same custom, this same routine, this same
habit, and you take for granted that everything is all right.
I've done it the right way. I've followed the rules. I followed
the custom. It's a presuming. It's a supposing. Now, Joseph and Mary had made
this trip to Jerusalem many times. And they supposed. They presumed
they assumed that the Lord Jesus was with them and they went a
day's journey thinking he was, but he wasn't. I believe this
will serve to illustrate what I'm trying to say. Husbands and wives can go through
the same routine day after day and get where they take each
other's love for granted. And they take each other's affection
for granted. I'm married now. I don't really need
to give the same effort that I did before I was married. Did
anybody ever fall into that trap? I'm married now. Everything's
fine. I don't need to give the same
effort. There really is no effort in
that relationship. And you know, there have been
times when these people who quit trying. Who quit putting effort
in. Who simply take for granted.
the love and affection of their spouse. They wake up or they
come home and they're gone. How many times does that happen?
You take something for granted and they leave. Now, I don't
want to suppose, I do not want to presume that I have the Lord's
presence, take it for granted, and follow my custom, follow
my routine, going through the motions, and then find out He's
not here. Let me show you a passage of
Scripture in the book of Judges. Would you turn with me to Judges
chapter 16? Now, you're familiar with this story. This is the
story of Samson and Delilah. Do you remember how Delilah wanted
to find the key to Samson's strength? Look in verse 4 of Judges chapter
16. And it came to pass afterward
that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorok, whose name was
Delilah. This is Samson, that man with
mighty, great strength. And the lords of the Philistines
came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see where
his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail
against him, that we may bind him to afflict him, and we'll
give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. Now
they said, we'll make you a rich woman if you can show us the
key to this man's strength, because he was defeating the Philistines.
You remember the story, and several times she would Now daddy, tell
me this key to your strength. And he'd say, well, if you bind
me with seven green cords or rope that's never been used,
I'll be bound. And then he would be laying there
asleep. And she'd say, rise up, Samson, the police team's wrong.
And he'd get up and break the rope and just have this mighty
strength. Now, finally, one day she tried
three or four things and she was getting upset. And look in
verse 15. And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee,
when thine heart is not with me? You have mocked me these
three times, and you have not told me wherein thy great strength
lies. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her
words, and urged him so that his soul was vexed unto death,
that he told her all his heart. And he said unto her, There hath
not come a razor upon mine head, for I have been a Nazarite unto
God from my mother's womb. If I be shaven, then my strength
will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any other
man. And when Delilah saw that he
had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords
of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath answered
and showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines
came up unto her and brought her money in their hand, and
she made him sleep upon her knees, and she called for a man, and
she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head, And
she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And
she said, the blessing be upon thee, Samson. And he woke out
of his sleep. Now catch this. And he said,
I will go out as at other times before and shake myself. He presumed, he supposed that
he still had his strength. I'll do what I've always done. And what happened? He wished
not that the Lord was departed from him. He assumed, he supposed
he had his presence, and he did not know that the Lord had departed
from him. I've entitled this message, The
Danger of Supposing. It's a real danger, isn't it?
The danger of supposing. Now, I've got eight scriptures.
I'm going to spend a couple of minutes, two or three minutes
on each one of them. Where this word supposing is used, the danger
of supposing, and I want to hear this warning and I want you to
hear this warning. First, turn with me to first
Timothy chapter six. beginning in verse three. If any man teach otherwise, first
Timothy, chapter six, verse three, and consent not to wholesome
words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the
doctrine, which is according to godliness, he's proud, knowing
nothing but doting about questions and stripes of word, whereof
comes envy and strife, railings and surmisings, perverse disputings
of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing
that gain is godliness." Supposing that gain is godliness. Everything's all right. Got health,
money in the bank, no trials. I must be doing something right.
Somebody up there must love me. That's a foolish supposition. Supposing that gain is godliness. Now, let's go on reading. He
says in verse 6, but godliness, true godliness, with contentment,
with satisfaction, is great gain. For we brought nothing into this
world, and it's certain we can carry nothing out, having food
and clothing. Let us be therewith content. Now here is what true godliness
is. Contentment with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Are you satisfied to be saved
by him? Do you find true contentment
in that? True contentment in His salvation. Well, you're not
looking for something else. You're not reaching for something
else. Now, you're always wanting to serve Him more and love Him
more. I realize that. But I'm talking about a true
satisfaction with Him. Content with beholding His face. My all to His pleasure resigned. No change in the season or place
could make any change in my mind. When blessed with a sense of
His love, a palace. a toy would appear, and prisons
would palaces prove if Jesus would dwell with me there. Having food and raiment. Now, we ought to be content just
to have food and clothing. Your materialism is overrated,
isn't it? It's overrated. You know that as well as I do.
But what this is really talking about is having Him as my food
and Him as my clothing. Him as my sanctification, Him
as my righteousness. Having Him, having Him as my
food and Him as my raiment, let us be satisfied, content with
Him. Turn to Luke 13. Luke 13. Verse one. They were present
at that season, some that told him of the Galileans. Whose blood
Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, now they had they
had offered up these sacrifices and Pilate had him killed right
then and their blood was mingled with the very sacrifices they
were offering. I mean, a violent, bloody, horrible death is what
that's talking about. And Jesus answering said unto
them, Suppose you. That those Galileans were sinners
above all the Galileans because they suffered such things, do
you suppose that these fellows were more wicked than the average
Galileans, more sinful, more evil because they suffered these
things? Is that what you think? Are you supposing that? He said,
I tell you, no. But except you repent. You're
going to perish the same way they did. Now, repentance is
something that if you've ever done it, you know what? You're
still doing it. As long as I sin, oh, how I need
repentance, a change of mind. In the context, this change of
mind has to do with how we view ourselves. Do you suppose that
these Galileans were worse than others? No, you are just as bad. And except you repeat, you shall
all likewise perish. Now, this change of mind has
to do with how we view ourselves as sinners. Not as ex-sinners,
not as used to be sinners. But as sinners right now, sinners
needing his grace, I hope I am a sinner doesn't become a religious
cliche with us. That's a very solemn thing to
think about, doesn't it? Nothing more than a religious
cliche. But then our sinnerhood drives
us to the Lord Jesus Christ, which you turn back a few pages
to Luke chapter seven. I'm still on the same point,
but I want you to see this. Verse 43, Simon answered and
said. I suppose. I suppose that he to whom he
forgave most. Now why did he say, I suppose?
I suppose. Well, let's look at this whole
passage of scripture. Look back up at verse 36. And one of the Pharisees
desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the
Pharisee's house and sat down to meet. And behold, a woman
in the city which was a sinner. When she knew that Jesus sat
at meet in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster box
of ointment. and stood at his feet behind
him, weeping. And she began to wash his feet
with tears and did wipe them with the hairs of her head. And
she kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment. Now, when
the Pharisee, which had bidden him, saw, he spake within himself,
saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who
and what manner of man this woman Mrs. is that touches him, for
she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto
him, Simon, I have some what to say to thee. And he said,
Master, stay on. There was a certain creditor
which had two debtors, the one owed him 500 pence and the other
50. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly, freely, graciously
forgave them both. Now, tell me, therefore, which
of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, Well,
I suppose. I suppose, hypothetically speaking,
Simon was a hypothetical sinner. He wasn't a real sinner. Didn't
believe himself to be that. I suppose that he to whom he
forgave most, and the Lord said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
You gave the right answer. And he turned to the woman and
said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house,
and thou gavest me no water for my feet. But she hath washed
my feet with tears. and wiped him with the hairs
of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman, since the
time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with
oil, thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet
with ointment. Wherefore, I say unto thee, her
sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but to whom
little is forgiven, the same loveth little. Don't forget your sinnerhood. Don't forget it. Turn to Matthew 20. Verse 10. But when the first came, they
supposed, they assumed, they presumed that they should have
received more. And they likewise received every
man a penny. Now, you know the story. The foreman has gone out at six
o'clock in the morning and he hired workers to work in his
vineyard. And they went to work six o'clock in the morning. And
he comes out again at nine o'clock in the morning and he sees others
standing in the marketplace idle. And he hires them. And they come
and work in his vineyards. And he comes out at noon and
sees others standing idle in the marketplace. He hires them.
He comes out again at three o'clock, only three days left in the day.
Sees others idle. He hires them. He comes out at
five o'clock, one hour before quitting time. And he hires these
people. And then at six o'clock all the
laborers are called back in to receive their pay. Now, the first
ones that are paid are the people that only worked one hour. And
then the people that worked three, and six, and nine, and twelve,
and so on. And when the fellas who worked all day long, twelve
hours, when it was time for them to receive what they had coming,
they presumed, they supposed, they assumed, they'd get more.
Wouldn't you make that supposition? I worked 12 hours, they worked
one hour. I ought to get more. They supposed
they should get more. But do you know they got the
exact same thing as the fellas that worked one hour. Don't suppose,
don't presume salvation comes in any other way but free grace. Don't you make any other supposition.
The fellows that worked 12 hours get the exact same thing as the
fellows that worked one hour because salvation is by grace. Pure, free grace. Every aspect of salvation. If
I go back before time began, when God chose a people to be
saved, that was an act of His grace. And everything through
my experience in salvation is grace. Don't presume. Don't suppose that any aspect
of salvation is anything other than absolute, free, complete
grace. Isn't that wonderful to know
that? Don't suppose it's anything else. That makes me feel good
right now to know that salvation is by the free grace of God from
election to glorification and everything in between. Salvation
is by grace. Saving grace. By grace are ye
saved. Not by works, lest any man should
boast. We're His workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus under
good works which he hath before ordained that we should want
in them. Luke 12. Verse 51. Suppose ye that I am come to give peace
on earth. Is that your supposition? I've
come to make everybody get along and make everybody one big happy
family? I tell you, nay, but rather division. Now, those are the words of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Do you suppose that I've come
to make everybody get along with each other? And there's going
to be no trouble, no conflict in your home. Forget it, he says.
I have come to bring division. Remember how he said a man's
foes shall be they of his own household. And he that loveth
father or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. That's what our Lord said. Now,
do you suppose that he's come to make everything easy for you?
And make it to where you're not going to have any trouble or
any conflict or any trial. He says, no, there'll be division. You see, this division started
a long time ago. You remember when Cain and Abel
had that discussion? And you remember how Cain rose
up and killed his brother? And what was the issue? Grace or works? Don't you suppose that everything
is going to be easy for you? I didn't come to send peace and
make everybody get along with each other. These are the words
of our Lord. He said, I came to send division. Don't suppose it's anything else. John, Chapter 20. Now this is after the resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 11, But Mary stood without at the
sepulcher, weeping. And as she wept, she looked down
and looked into the sepulcher, and seeth two angels in white
sitting The one at the head and the other at the feet, where
the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? She said unto them, Because they've
taken away my Lord, and I don't know where they've laid him.
And when she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus
standing and knew not it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her,
Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing
him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne
him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take
him away. Do not miss the power of that empty tomb. She looked right at him, and
suppose he was the gardener. There was a place where the body
of Jesus had lain, but his body was no longer there. Why? Because he was risen. Why are you weeping? You should
be rejoicing. He is risen. He walked out of
that tomb without your sins. He went into that tomb with your
sins, and He walked out of that tomb, the risen Christ, without
your sins. Don't think of Him lower than
He is. He is the risen. This next one is very similar.
Would you turn with me to Luke chapter 24? It's different. It's
similar, but it's different. Luke 24. Verse 36. And as they thus spake, Jesus
himself stood in the midst of them and said unto them, Peace
be unto you, but they were terrified. And they were frightened and
suppose they assumed, they presumed that they had seen a spirit.
They saw him, he appeared to them and all they could do is
assume or suppose this is a spirit. This cannot be real. That's what
they're saying. This cannot be real. Now, they had already been told
by two eyewitnesses of his resurrection. that he was risen from the dead,
two separate eyewitnesses, and they just couldn't get a hold
of it. Then he appeared to the eleven, and they were terrified,
and they supposed that they had seen the spirit. This could not
be real. Now let's go on reading. Verse
38. And he said unto them, Why are you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet. And we know they saw the holes,
the nail prints in his hands and in his feet. And he wanted
them to look at his hands and his feet. Behold my hands and
my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me, and see, for a spirit
hath not flesh and blood, as ye see me have." And when he
had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. Now seeing him as a spirit is
something less than real. And then he showed them. He demonstrated
to them His hands and His feet. Look at my hands. Look at my
feet. Now, what this reminds me of
is God really did become a man. Flesh and bones. And as a man, He really did keep
God's holy law. and on it. And as a man, he really
was truly nailed to that cross and suffered untold agonies under
the wrath of God. He truly suffered as the sinner's
substitute. And there was a man, flesh and
bones, that walked out of that tomb. And he appears To his disciples,
they say he's a spirit. They just couldn't get it. They
couldn't get hold of the reality of this. And what did he do to
show them the reality of this? He showed them his hands. With
the holes in them. And his feet. You know what this tells me? Knowing him is real. Salvation. is real. The forgiveness of sins, He shows
His hands and His feet. Why? As He sits right now in
the right hand of the Father, at the right hand of the Father,
making intercession for His people. You know what's there with Him?
What's part of Him? His hands and His feet. And when
he is praying, when he is interceding for his people, when he is representing
our names before the Father, he's not saying, oh, let him
go this time. No. All he does is show the Father
his hands and his feet. And his Father is completely
satisfied. And he's satisfied with me. Right
now, this is a present real. He's no spirit. He's flesh and
blood. He's real. Don't presume Him
to be anything less and don't presume His salvation to be anything
less than real. Remember the scars in His hands
and His feet. And you remember what He accomplished
by that. The complete salvation of everybody He represented.
Now turn to Mark 6. Verse 47. And when even was come, it was
night, the ship was in the midst of the sea. And he alone on the
land. And he saw them toiling in rowing,
they were scared to death, the boat was going up and down on
the waves, the wind was contrary unto them. And about the fourth
watch of the night, he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea,
and would have passed them by. But when they saw him walking
upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit. And they cried
out, for they all saw him and were troubled. And immediately
he talked with him and sayeth unto them, Be of good cheer,
it is I, be not afraid. Now, there was a great storm.
The wind was contrary. They saw him walking on the water. But did you notice in verse forty
nine, it says they supposed it had been a spirit. They saw him.
And they supposed it had been a spirit. They were troubled, they were
scared to death. And that's when our Lord said, Be of good cheer,
it is I. Be not afraid. Whatever storm you're in right
now, whatever storm you've ever been
in, whatever storm you'll ever be
in, you know who it is? It's Him. He says regarding everything,
everything, it is I. Now, you'd be of good cheer.
Don't suppose regarding anything that it happened just, it just
didn't. No, no, it's Him that did it.
I don't care what it is. He's in absolute control of it.
Don't suppose it's anything else. It is I. be of good cheer. Acts chapter
seven. This is the last one. Acts chapter
seven. Verse twenty four. This is speaking
of Moses. And seeing one of them suffer
wrong. You'll remember the story. He
saw one of the Egyptians mistreating one of the children of Israel
while they were working for the Egyptians. And seeing one of
them suffer wrong, he defended him. And he avenged him that
was oppressed. And he spoke the Egyptian, for
he supposed, he assumed, he presumed his brethren would have understood
how that God by his hand would deliver him. But they understood
not. He supposed they would. But they didn't. Now, for you
to walk with Christ, you will have to do things that sometimes
your brethren will not understand. And will not agree with. But you must do what he calls
you to do anyway. And as long as you're acting
in obedience to him, does it really matter if nobody understands? Not really. His call to us is follow me. Now, here's the thought that
I want to leave you with. Don't suppose. Don't assume. Don't take him
for granted. Do you know when you take him
for granted, you know what you've done? When you take his blessing for
granted, when you take his presence for granted, when you take his
mercy for granted, you know what you've done? You've ceased loving
him. Just like in a relationship of
man and woman, when they start taking each other for granted,
you know what they've done? They've stopped loving each other. That's exactly what's happened.
And I don't want to suppose, I don't want to presume anything. I want to love Him with a passion. Is He not worthy of utter passion
in our love to Him? And I don't want to just take
Him for granted. I don't want to go through the customs and
the rituals and everything we go through. Just going on and
finding out, He's left me. I'll tell you what, if you do
find out He's left you, as far as your experience goes. And
you remember when the woman in Song of Solomon, the beloved
knocked on her door. And she said, I'm going to get
up, but I'm already in bed. And I've already cleaned my feet.
I don't want to get up right now. I'll be there in a minute. When things are more convenient,
I'll be there. And so she finally gets up and she opens the door.
And you know what? He was gone. Now, what did she
do when he was gone? She went looking for him. Can you tell me where my beloved
is gone? Now, I know this. If you seek
Him, now don't take for granted, don't presume. Please don't do
that. May God deliver us from that,
this presumption. If you seek Him, you know what
promise you have? You'll find Him. That's a promise
from the Word of God. May God deliver us from supposing. May God deliver us. Let's pray.