Every time we meet together around
the Gospel and take His Word and read it, and make an effort
to preach the Gospel from it, it certainly is a blessing to
the Lord's people. Together in the name of our blessed
Savior, to take His Word and to read it, and to worship Him,
to honor Him, to exalt Him, and say within our heart, But salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation is by His grace and
His grace alone. Now I'm taking the title for
the message today from verse 56 of John chapter 8. Your father,
Abraham. Abraham was revered by these
Jews. Abraham certainly is a pattern
of salvation. He's a pattern of one who was
faithful unto God. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day." This is what the Lord said. Abraham saw his
day, the day of salvation, and he saw it and was glad. So I'm entitling the message,
Abraham Rejoiced in Christ. Abraham. rejoiced in the Lord
Jesus Christ alone. Abraham, like every believer,
has only one hope of salvation. One hope of salvation before
God. And that one hope of salvation is in Christ alone. He is the
only hope of salvation. There is no other hope of salvation. The hope of salvation we have
is a good hope through grace. Abraham's one hope, only hope,
all of his hope, the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ, his substitute. Our blessed Lord said, Abraham
saw my day. Abraham looked to me for all
of salvation. He looked to me and he rejoiced
in me alone. Now, let's go back a few verses.
I want to begin at verse 51, and we'll end up back in Genesis
22 in just a minute. Our Lord said in verse 51, truly,
truly, I say unto you, if a man, a sinner, keep my saying, that
is, believe my truth, receive my word, he shall never see death. never experience death. The Lord declares those who are
of God, blessed of God, to hear and receive and believe the gospel
shall never die. Look just across the page. Turn
to John chapter 10. Here's the reason why. John chapter
10. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ,
when He gives salvation, you see John 10, 28? He said, My
sheep, hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me, and
I give unto them eternal life. What does He give them? Eternal
life. If they have eternal life, they
shall never perish. They shall never die. Neither
shall any man pluck them out of My hand. We belong to Him. We're in His hand. We shall never
die. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son of God does not have life. He that keeps
my saying, believes the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ shall
never die. Now look at the contrast here.
Look back to verse 24. Look at the contrast here. Those
who believe not the gospel, you remember verse 24? John 8, I
said therefore unto you that you shall die in your sins. You see the contrast there? For
if you believe not that I am, I am that I am, you shall die
in your sin. But now, if you believe the gospel
of the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll never die. Never die. Because the Lord Jesus
Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for us. as our sacrifice
for sin, the just for the unjust, putting away our sin. He appeared
once in the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. We shall never, the believer
now, shall never suffer the consequences of our sin. The consequences of sin is eternal
death and eternal separation. But because the Lord Jesus Christ
Took our sin to himself. We shall never suffer the consequences
of our sin. Because in the Lord Jesus Christ,
there is therefore now no condemnation. Because he put away our sin by
the sacrifice of himself. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? No condemnation in Christ Jesus
and no separation. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. If a man keep
my sayings, Abraham believed God. Abraham believed God. It was imputed unto him for righteousness. If a man keep my saying, he'll
never see death. Now it is true, one day this
sinful flesh We'll go back to the dust from which it came.
But death to the believer is not the end. Death to the believer
is the beginning. It's promotion, not punishment. Abraham did die in the flesh. His body went back to the dust.
But where did Abraham go? Abraham's with the Lord forever.
Abraham believed God. You see, death to the believer,
to be absent from his body is to be with the Lord forever.
Now you think about that. Those who believe the gospel
shall never, never see eternal death and separation. Death here
is just a parting of the sinful body and the soul that's redeemed
by the blood of Christ goes back to God Almighty. upon the Lord
declaring this great gospel truth of eternal life in Christ Jesus."
Look what the Jews, verse 52 and verse 53, look what they
had to say. They said to him, now we know
for sure, you're demon-possessed. Abraham, Abraham dead. Is he really now? And the prophets, they're all
dead. And you say, if a man keep my
saying that he'll never taste death, never experience death. Are you greater than our father
Abraham? Well, yes. Are you greater than Abraham?
Abraham is dead and the prophets, they're all dead. Whom do you
make yourself? whom makest thou thyself." Now,
God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. Turn
back over here to Mark chapter 12. You see, these folks here
had no true understanding of what salvation was all about. Did they? In Mark chapter 12,
look at verse 24, they ask the Lord many, many questions about
the resurrection, about the law, about paying tribute, other things. Verse 24 of Mark 12, Do you not
therefore err because you know not the Scripture nor the power
of God? For when they shall rise from
the dead, neither are they given in marriage, but are as the angels
which are in heaven, and as touching or concerning the dead that they
rise. Have you not read in the book
of Moses how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am
the God of Abraham and the God of Jacob, Isaac and Jacob? He's
not the God of the dead. These men are still living. But
the God of the living, ye therefore do greatly, greatly err." You
see, my friend, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, yes, they laid down
this body of flesh, but they went to be with the true and
living God when they departed this life. The Apostle Paul,
as he sat on death row waiting for execution, and he said, I've
fought a good fight, I've kept the faith, And he said, now the
time of my, he didn't even say death. He said, now the time
of my departure. Well, Paul, where are you going?
Well, body's going back to the dust. Paul, where are you going?
To be absent from this body is to be present from the Lord.
When we vacate this frail clay temple, we go to be with Him
forever. Now, back to the text. Verse
54-55, And the Lord answered and said unto them, If I honor
myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father, God Almighty,
that honors me, of whom you say, you say that He's your God. You remember what He said back
in verse 42, If God were your Father, You would love me, for I proceeded
forth and came from God, neither came I of myself, but He sent
me. In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son to redeem
us. If I honor myself, my honor is
nothing." Verse 54, "'It is the Father that honors me, of whom
you say that He is your God.' Yet," verse 55, "'you've not
known Him.'" You don't know Him? Look back at verse 19 of John
8. Then said they unto him, where
is thy father? And the Lord answered, you neither
know me nor my father. If you had known me, you should
have known my father also. But you have not known him, but
I know him. And if I should say I know him
not, I should be a liar like you. But I know him. I and the father, we are one. I know him. And I keep His saying. I keep it. The whole design,
the grand design of God's salvation, the grand design of redemption
is the glory and honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father
honoreth the Son. God has highly exalted Him. You
remember Philippians 2? God has highly exalted Him and
given Him a name which is above every name that at that name
Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord. God forbid we should glory save
in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a father that honors
the Lord Jesus Christ. The father honors the son. You
think about this. The father honored the Lord Jesus
Christ at his birth. He sent a whole host of heavenly
angels declaring glory unto God, peace on earth, goodwill toward
men. God did that, honored the Lord
Jesus Christ. God Almighty manifest in the
flesh at his baptism when John baptized the Lord Jesus Christ
to fulfill all righteousness for us. The Father spoke from
heaven and said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,
hear Him. And then at His transfiguration,
when He was transfigured, and His glory shone forth, glistening
white like the sun, brighter than the sun. And the Father
speaks again from heaven and said, and declares, this is my
beloved Son. The Father honored the Lord Jesus
Christ in His birth, in His baptism, when He was transfigured on the
Mount of Transfiguration. And God the Father honored the
Lord Jesus Christ at designating Him as the Lamb of God. The appointed
sacrifice of God. What an honor! To be appointed
of God. To be honored of God. To accomplish
all of salvation. And that's what He did. Him being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified the Lord
of glory, honored by the Father in His resurrection glory. When
He had by Himself purged our sin, what happened? He didn't
stay dead, did He? Sat down, ascended to glory and
sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. What is that?
That's a place of honor, isn't it? You see, the Father has honored
the Son in His birth, in His baptism, at transfiguration,
being the appointed Lamb of God, at His resurrection, at His ascending
glory, and throughout eternity, throughout eternity, the Lord
Jesus Christ in His sacrificial character as the Lamb of God,
behold, this blessed Lamb of God, worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive all honor and glory, both now and forever."
Forever. You see what he's saying here?
It is a Father that honors me, of whom you say that He is your
God. Yet, the Lord said, you don't
know Him. These most self-centered, self-righteous
people who jumped up and down and claimed that they knew God,
that they were the true children of Abraham, our Lord pointed
the finger straight in their face and said, you don't know
God. But I know Him. If I should say
I know Him not, I'd be a liar like you. But I know Him and
I keep Now this is a blessed thing right here. The last part
of that, verse 55, I keep his sayings. The blessed Savior honored
God by keeping every precept of that law of God, by honoring
not only every precept of that law of God. He said, I came not
to destroy the law, but I came to fulfill the law of God. Not
only every precept, but He satisfied the penalty of that law. He redeemed
us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. Our
Lord said, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me in to
finish His work. I always do those things that
please Him. That's what He said. My friend, that's our hope. That's
our hope. The faithfulness of the Lord
Jesus Christ accomplishing our salvation for us. Verse 56, your father Abraham,
he rejoiced to see my day and he sought, he sought and was
glad. The Lord says to these folks
who took so much pride in their pedigree, didn't they? You remember
back in verse 33, John 8, they answered and said, we're Abraham's
children, we're Abraham's seed. We're never in bondage to any
man. How sayest thou you shall be made free?" They took so much
pride in their pedigree and bragged about being Abraham's children,
yet the Lord says to them, you don't know God. If you were Abraham's
children, if God were your father, you would act like Abraham. You would love me. You would
hear me. You would believe Me. You would
honor Me. And you would rejoice in the
Lord Jesus Christ as Abraham did. If you were Abraham's children,
you would do the works of Abraham. You would be obedient unto God.
You would submit to His Word and believe Him. You would also
believe what Moses wrote about the Lord Jesus. You remember
back in John chapter 5? Turn over there. John chapter
5. Do not think, verse 45, that
I will accuse you to the Father. There is one that accuseth you,
even Moses, whom you trust. For had you believed Moses, you
would have believed me, because Moses wrote about me." Moses
wrote about the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham rejoiced in him. Jacob's
hope of salvation was in the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaac's hope
of salvation was in Christ. Abraham's only hope was the same
hope we have right now. Abraham's only hope of righteousness
is the same hope we have right now. The Lord, our righteousness. Abraham's faith was not in Abraham,
was it? Abraham's faith was in the Lord
Jesus Christ. You remember we read from Roman
chapter 4 Abraham was strong in faith Giving glory unto God
being fully persuaded That all that God has promised God's able
to perform Abraham's faith was in the Lord Jesus Christ You
want it says of Abraham in Isaiah 41 don't turn let me just read
it to you. But thou Israel art my servant and Jacob whom I've
chosen the seed of Abraham my friend Abraham was called the
friend of God the Lord Jesus Christ is the friend of sinners
Abraham saw the day of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith And you
know what? Abraham saw the day of the Lord
Jesus Christ I'm gonna shock you here through the preaching
of the gospel of God unto Abraham. Now you think about that. Let's
turn and read that. Galatians chapter 3. Who preached
the gospel to Abraham? The Lord Jesus Christ did. Abraham,
get out of your idolatry and go into the land that I'll show
you. And Abraham obeyed God. Look at Galatians chapter 3.
Verse 6, even as Abraham believed God, Galatians 3, 6, it was counted
unto him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which
are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. The scripture
foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith preached
before the gospel unto Abraham. God preached the gospel unto
Abraham, saying that in thee, that in Isaac, in Christ, Shall
all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith
are blessed with faithful Abraham now Galatians 3 look at verse
16 now to Abraham and his seed where the promise is made He
said not and to seed as of many but as of one and to thy seed
which is Christ Jesus When God said I'm gonna bless your seed. I He's talking about blessings
given in the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham, with an eye of faith, rejoiced in the Lord Jesus Christ. He rejoiced in the Lord Jesus
Christ through the promises God had given unto him, that in his
seed all nations of the earth should be blessed. Abraham saw
the Lord Jesus Christ, his day, of glory, his day of suffering,
his day of death, his day of resurrection from the dead, in
type and figure, in the binding of Isaac, in the sacrifice of
the ram, in the receiving of Isaac from the dead, he took
him off that altar, that's given to us in Genesis 22. So let's
turn back there, Genesis chapter 22. And this is a glorious gospel
picture, Genesis 22. It's all about God providing
a lamb, and it's about substitution and satisfaction. Isaac, in Genesis
22, is the type and picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. the only
begotten Son. Isaac in Genesis 22 is also a
type and picture of the believer. The ram was offered up in the
stead of Isaac. Now you imagine this young man
laying on the altar that Abraham had prepared. Abraham had tied
this young man up, laid him out, and had drawn back and was ready
to cut his throat. God stopped him and provided
a substitute What do you think Isaac thought about? substitution
When God provided that lamb that ram caught in the thicket, I
tell you what he thought thank God for the substitute Isn't
that our? Hearts cry today. Thank God for
the substitute the Lord Jesus Christ Now let's look at verse
7 and 8 in Genesis 22 for a moment Genesis 22, Isaac spake unto
Abraham his father, let's begin at verse 6, well verse 5, Abraham
said unto the young man, abide here with us and I and the lad
will go yonder and worship and come again. He believed, you
know what Abraham believed in his heart? He believed that if
he killed that boy that God would raise him from the dead because
God promised in that special son that he would have a people. So he knew if he killed that
boy that God would raise him from the dead. That's why he
said, I and the lad will go yonder and worship and we're going to
come again. We're going to come back. Abraham
took the wood for the burnt offering, laid it upon Isaac his son, even
that's a picture of Christ, carrying our cross, bearing his cross
to the Mount Calvary, laid laid it upon Isaac, his son. He took
the fire in his hand, and this is the fire of God's wrath that
fell on the substitute. And he took the knife, the knife
of God's justice, and they went both together. You see, the work
of redemption is done between the Father and the Son. The sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ is not offered up unto men, it's offered
unto God. You see that? He told the men here, you stay
back here. I and the son, we're going to
go worship God. Well, Isaac, verse 7, spake unto
Abraham and said, My father. And he said, Here am I, my son.
And he said, Behold, I see some articles here that was necessary
to prepare a sacrifice to worship God, to approach God. Behold,
a fire and a wood. Tell me, Father, where is the
lamb? Where is the blood offering?"
Abraham said, my son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a
burnt offering. So they went, both of them, together. Isaac here was taught that there
was no approaching God in worship. without a sacrificial lamb. Isaac was not going to make the
same mistake that Cain did in bringing the fruit of the ground,
but rather he was taught like Abel to approach God, you must
have a blood sacrifice. Where's the lamb for the burnt
offering? Without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission. And Abraham said, God will provide
himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went both of them together. Where's the lamb? Now, I love
the answer that Abraham gives here in verse 8. Three things
we see here. First of all, God will provide
himself as the lamb. Do you realize that? God demanded
a sacrifice, and he provided the sacrifice, and God himself,
he is the sacrifice. That is the God-man mediator.
John identified him as the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of
God. God provided himself as the Lamb
for the sacrifice. Secondly, God will provide for
himself. for himself a lamb. The blood
atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ was not shed to satisfy the sinner's
demand, but God's demand that he might be a just God and Savior,
that he might be just and the justifier. Thirdly, the Lord
will provide or the Lord will see to it. You see verse 14,
and Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh, That's
one of the seven names of our God, Jehovah Sidkenu, Jehovah
Reah, Jehovah Rapha. Seven different names. The Lord
our righteousness, the Lord our shepherd, the Lord our peace. As it is said this day, in the
mount of the Lord it shall be seen, or the Lord will provide.
The Lord will see to it. All things concerning salvation
will be done, will be complete, will be satisfied. Our Lord prayed
in John 17, Father, I've glorified thee on the earth. I finished
the work you gave me to do. Well, look at verse nine in our
story, Genesis 22. Your father, Abraham, rejoiced
to see my day and he saw it and was glad. And they came to
the place which God had told him of, the place designated, designated of God. And Abraham
built an altar there. Now they tell me, these old historians,
that Mount Moriah that he talks about here, Mount Moriah is the
same location where Mount Calvary was at. Same place. The geography is the same. That's
what the old Jewish historians say. And they came to the place
which God had told him of and Abraham built an altar there.
Now an altar sets the sacrifice apart. Abraham constructed this altar. And he laid the wood in order.
bound Isaac his son. I think that is emblematic in
a picture of the law of God, the claim the law of God has
on the sinner substitute the Lord Jesus Christ as he redeemed
us from the curse of the law. Laid him on the altar upon the
wood and Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to
slay his son. The angel of the Lord called
unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said,
here am I. And he said, lay not thy hand
upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I
know that you really believe God. You fear me. You really, I know now you really
believe what I say. saying thou hast not withheld
thy son, thine only son." Abraham fully intended, and in his heart
he did, to kill that special son that God gave unto Abraham
and Sarah, believing that God would raise him up from the dead,
because God had promised that in Isaac, in Christ, all God's
covenant people will be blessed. In verse 13 of Genesis 22, Abraham
lifted up his eyes. Here Isaac becomes no longer
a picture of Christ, but he becomes a picture of the believer. He's
a picture of us. And Abraham lifted up his eyes
and looked, and behold, a ram caught in the thicket. And Abraham
went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in
the stead of his son." Substitution. Substitution. God made him to
be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Christ Jesus. Isaac is removed from the altar
and the ram that God provided took his place, shed his blood. Verse 14, Abraham called The
name of that place, Jehovah-Jireh, as it is said to this day, in
the mouth of the Lord it shall be seen. Now here's my closing
thought. Only that which the Lord provides
will He accept. Only that which He provides will
He accept. It's not what we bring to the
table. We don't have anything to bring. All we have is sin,
and God threw away with it His filthy ranks. It's what God provides. It's what God brings to the table. And He brings everything for
us. He provides all things for us. You see, we are accepted
in the Beloved, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now think about this.
Everything God requires of us, Everything the law of God demands
of us. The law of God demands what?
Perfect, absolute righteousness, holiness. I can't produce that. You can't produce that. But everything
God demands of the sinner, the sinner substitutes fully satisfying. He did work out perfect righteousness
for us. He did by Himself. with His own
blood put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Everything
God requires of us is completely provided in Christ, fully provided
in Christ, eternally provided in the Lord Jesus Christ. But
my God shall supply all your need according to His riches
in glory through Christ Jesus. And that verse we quote all the
time, but it never gets old. It's that quote that's
always worth re-quoting. But of Him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Well, those who are blessed of
God to see the Lord Jesus Christ as Abraham, they do rejoice in
Christ Jesus, and they do worship God, and they do have no confidence
in the flesh. These Jews would not have it. They were going about to establish
their own righteousness. They said in Him, You are not
yet fifty years old. Have you seen Abraham?" And the
Lord said, "'Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham
was, I am.'" Look at this sad, sad response. Verse 59 of John
8, "'They took up stones to cast at him, murder in their heart. And the Lord hid Himself away,
passed by, left them in their rebellion against God. May God be pleased to bless us
as Abraham to see Christ as my substitute, as my righteousness,
and to rejoice in him always, always. And again I say, again
I say rejoice.