Now, if you'll find Mark chapter
3. Mark chapter 3. Our blessed Savior
is going to demonstrate that He is Lord of all things. He's Lord in creation. He's Lord
in providence. And He is Lord in salvation. And He is Lord of the Sabbath. Notice, if you will, in Mark
3, verse 1, and then back up one verse. Therefore the Son
of Man is Lord also, He is Lord also of the Sabbath. He is Lord in all things. Of Him, and through Him, and
to Him are all things to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. And he entered in again
into the synagogue. Into their place of assembly. Their place that was designated
for worship. Designated to learn about God
from the Word of God. And there was a man there. No
accident that he was there. I'm sure this is not the first
time he was there. Probably a member of this assembly.
And he was there probably each Sabbath day seeking God's favor,
seeking God's mercy. And there was a man there which
had a withered hand. And guess who he meets? The Lord of all things. We see the Lord Jesus Christ
on another mission of mercy. This man who has a withered hand
is one of those sheep that the Lord said, I'm going to lift
my sheep out of the pit, even if it's on the Sabbath day. We
see the Lord of glory on a mission of mercy, seeking out someone
who needs healing to demonstrate His glory, to demonstrate His
power, to show us how He saves sinners. The Lord Jesus, being
under the law and obedient to the law, come to this place designated
for worship, Doing his father's business you remember he said
I must be about my father's business He's doing the father's business
according to the father's will This is the will of him that
sent me that of all that the father has given me They will
come to me and I'll raise him up at the last day and I'll not
lose one of my sheep not one will be lost now notice if he
will verse 2 and they watched him and They watched Him, whether
He would heal on the Sabbath day, not that they might worship
Him, not that they might learn who He is or why He came. They watched Him for one reason,
that they might accuse Him, to find reason to kill Him and to
stone Him. These Pharisees, these most self-righteous
religious men, they watched Him. to accuse Him, not to adore Him,
not to worship Him, not to learn of Him, but to find reason to
pick up the stones and to cast stones at Him, to condemn Him.
Notice this, the Lord is not intimidated by their pious presence. He stands right in the midst
of them. and declares unto them this man. He addresses him who
had the withered hand. He's not intimidated by their
pious look. He's not intimidated by the hatred
of their heart, even though he knows their heart. He knows their
purpose, their motive to destroy him. But he's not intimidated.
He stands up in the midst of the enemy of God in the gospel,
and he singles out this man who was so diseased in this hand
and he says stand up stand up get up I'm going to demonstrate
salvation is of the Lord the Lord has come to set his love
and affection on this sinner with a withered hand and he's
determined to show mercy to this sheep now the title of this message
is stretch forth your hand Stretch forth your hand. Sinner! Stretch
forth your hand! As soon as the Lord manifested
his tender compassion on this poor man, on this poor man, the
religious went out and took counsel, it says there in verse 6, how
they might destroy him. Luke said they were filled with
madness against Him. Don't tell me that men aren't
totally depraved. Don't tell me that we are not
totally depraved. God leaving us alone to our own
wicked nature, we would have the exact same opinion being
filled with madness against God. The carnal mind is enmity against
God, hatred against God. The carnal natural man is not
in love with the true and living God. He is at war with God. And he must be conquered by the
King or he will go right on in his rebellion straight to eternal
condemnation. Now this message has five points
about this man with a withered hand whom the Lord singled out,
commanded this man to stand up and to stretch out his hand.
Now this hand was gnarled. It was twisted. It was lifeless. There was no life in it. The
nerves had shrunk. The blood diminished in its capacity
to replenish life. It was gnarled, useless, dead. dead. And we see here a condition
of all mankind. The first point of this message
is this. Look at this man who is in need. His right hand withered, withered. He is a sinner in need of mercy,
in need of healing. His hand was useless, distorted,
diseased. Such is our case by nature. Our nature is withered, sinful,
diseased, distorted. Well preacher, how did we get
that way? I was born that way. I was born with a withered, sinful,
rotten nature that I received from my dad and my granddad and
my great granddad and right on back to my daddy Adam. And Adam
all died. There is none righteous, no,
not one. Man in his best state is all
together like this hand, withered, gnarled, wicked, useless, dead. in sin. That's us. He was totally, this man was
totally incapable of healing himself. I'm sure that somebody probably told him, well,
why don't you just stretch out that hand? I can't. I want to. I can't. Totally incapable of
healing himself. totally incapable even of obeying
the Lord's commands. Stretch forth your hand. He had
not a sham disease. It wasn't a sham. He was really
unable, really incapable to stretch out his hand. Yet the Lord tells
him to do what's impossible to do. Isn't it? The Lord tells
him to stand up and to stretch out your hand. Well, humanly
speaking, He could not stretch forth his hand. It was impossible
to stretch forth his hand. We as spiritually dead sinners
have no ability to obey the gospel in ourselves. Now listen to me.
We as spiritually dead sinners have no more ability to obey
the gospel than we do to obey the law. None! Turn to John chapter 6 and look
at this. John chapter 6. Did you ever
notice this scripture? Verse 44, John 6, verse 44. No
man can come to me. Why? Nobility. No desire. No will. No man can come to me
except the Father which sent me. Draw him and I'll raise him
up at the last day. See right here in John 6, turn
over here to verse 65. Therefore said I unto you that
no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my
Father." Had no ability. No ability whatsoever. We as spiritually dead sinners
have no more ability to obey the gospel than we do to obey
the law. Now listen to me. If this man
had ability, had the ability naturally left to himself to
extend his hand Wouldn't have been a miracle. It would not
have been a miracle of grace. Would it? If he had the ability
to stretch out his hand, he wouldn't have been a miracle of grace.
If we have the ability, now listen to me. If we as dead sinners,
if we have the ability to exercise our so-called, what some folks
call, well you know, just exercise your free will. If we have the ability to exercise
our free will to heal ourselves, as some folks say, there is no
miracle of salvation by God's sovereign grace. Is it? If salvation
is by your will, if God has done all he can do and that is left
up to your will, our Lord said, you will not come to me that
you might have life. But if salvation is left up to
my will, it is no miracle of grace. Who gets the glory if
salvation is in my hand? Well, I do. I do. But my friend,
the scriptures plainly teach, with men, the apostles asked
this question, well, who then can be saved? He said, with men
it is impossible. Remember? But with God, with
God, with Him, all things are possible. You see, if salvation is left
up to the will of the creature, The creature's going to get all
the glory, not God. So that's the first point. Something
about this man, dead in sin, withered. And that's us by nature.
Without God, without help, without hope, without strength, and without
Christ in this world. Here's the second point. The
person who gave the command. Now who's this one that's speaking
here? Who's this one that's speaking? He saith, verse 3, unto the man
which had the withered hand. Who is this one that is speaking?
God Almighty. The Lord of glory. The person
who gave the command is the Lord Jesus Christ. He saith unto the
man. Now two things about our blessed
Lord that we see here. He is all-knowing. It says in
Luke 6 that He knew their thoughts. It says here in the story that
He was grieved. Because of the hardness of their
hearts, He knew what was in their hearts. He knew what they were
thinking. As they watched Him, He knew their heart, their thought
that they sought to kill Him, to destroy Him. He knew all about
this man with the withered hand, did He not? He knew his sin. He knew his weakness. He knew
his disease. The Lord knew he merited no mercy. The Lord knew he merited no healing.
Yet he shows great compassion on this woman, even though he
knows all about him. He knows his disease, his condition,
yet he shows compassion on this man. Such is the case of every
sinner saved by God's grace. The Lord knows all about us.
All about us. Yet He's determined to save His
people. Knowing all of our sin, our ungodliness, our wickedness,
yet He's determined to set mercy upon us. You remember what it
says in Mark chapter 2 verse 17? Look over there. They that
are whole need not a physician, but they who are sick. I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners. Sinners too. Repentance. Turn over here to Romans chapter
5. See, the Lord knew all about
this man. He knew his condition. But it didn't hinder His mercy,
did it? It didn't hinder His compassion,
did it? And the Lord knows all about us. He knows our frame. He knows that we are but dust.
But our sin doesn't hinder His compassion toward His own. Look
what it says here in Romans chapter 5. Look at verse 6, When we were
yet without strength, when we were yet without strength, in
due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet maybe, or perventure, for a good man
some might even dare to die. But God commended His love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified
by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if
when we were enemies we were reconciled with God by the death
of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. The Lord knew all about this
man and He knows all about us. And God is determined, even though
that we are sinful, even though that we are wicked, God is determined
to save us, not because we're deserving. Does He save us because
we're deserving of mercy? No, He saves us because He delights
to show mercy on whom He will. This is a faithful saying, worthy
of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners. You got the first point? Something
about this man. Oh, he was in a terrible condition.
Something about this one, the Lord Jesus Christ who came that
day, all-knowing, knowing everything and every situation, yet it did
not hinder His power, His mercy. So we see the Lord is all-knowing,
but not only that, He is Almighty. He is the Almighty Lord. He spake,
and it was done. He commanded, and it stands fast. Psalm 33. This is the King of
kings and Lord of lords, My friend, the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords is not a beggar. He didn't stand up in this crowd
of those God-haters, and this man sitting there, he didn't
stand up and say, now, why don't you let God do something for
you? I've done all I can, why don't you do something? God is
not a beggar! He's a King. He commands deliverances. Did you notice that scripture
over here in Psalm? Psalm 71. I read this last week. Did any of you see this in Psalm
71? You see, our God is not a beggar.
He commands and it shall be done. Whatsoever the Lord please, that's
what He did in heaven and earth, seas and all deep places. Psalm
71. In thee, verse one, O Lord, do
I put my trust. Let me never be put to confusion.
Deliver me in thy righteousness. Cause me to escape. Incline thy
ear unto me and save me. Verse three, Psalm 71. Be thou
my strong habitation whereunto I may continually resort. Thou
hast given an invitation to save me. What's that word there? Commandment. It's not an invitation. The gospel
is not an imitation, it's command of the King. Sinner! Bow to the
Lord Jesus. Thou has given commandment to
save me, for thou art my rock. Thou art my fortress. Oh my God. You see, this is the Almighty
God that told that man to stand up and to stretch out your hand. This is the blessed Savior. And this is blessed and sweet
to me. The Lord Jesus Christ is a sovereign
Lord who is able to give salvation to whom He will, to whom He commands
to live, sinner live. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make
intercession for us. We read in John 10, I am the
door, by Me, if any man enter in. Has he entered in? By me,
he shall be saved, and he shall go out of death and into life
and liberty in Christ Jesus. Our Lord said, All that the Father
hath given to me, they will come to me, and those that come to
me I will in no wise cast out. Blessed is the man whom God hath
chosen, and the man that he causes to approach unto him by his grace. You see, the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ is a commandment. You remember the story of Paul
and Silas in that Philippian jail. They are at Philippi. And they are singing the praises
of God. And God sends an earthquake.
And God sends an earthquake to an ungodly pagan Gentile, an
unbeliever, and disturbs him greatly. And the Apostle Paul
said, now, well, you know, you come forward and make your decision.
And everything will be okay. No, he said, Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It's a command of God. Our believing the gospel is by
His sovereign command, not our will. His will. You see, He makes
us willing in the day of His power. Now, I want you to find
Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. Did you ever notice this? You
know, a lot of times when you talk to people about the gospel
of God's grace, oftentimes the argument they want to throw back,
well, you know, a sinner has to believe, a sinner has to repent,
as to impugn that that's something that we muster up, or that's
something that is from the dead sinner. No, repentance and faith
are both sovereign gifts of God. And He gives us to whom He wills.
Yes, we do believe the gospel. As many as were ordained to eternal
life, they will believe the gospel. But how do we believe? You want
to know the answer? Are you interested? Ephesians
chapter 1. Look at this here. Ephesians
chapter 1. We cease not to give thanks for
you, verse 16, making mention of you in my prayers. that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ," Ephesians 1, 17, "...the Father
of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom, revelation
in the knowledge of Him, that He may," what? "...give this
to you, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may
know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches
of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the
exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe." Don't leave out this next line,
according to the working of His mighty power. That's how we believe. What kind of power does it take
for us to believe? Well, the next verses there in
Ephesians 1, verse 20, tells us about the resurrection of
the Lord. The resurrection of His dead body, which He wrought
in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at
His own right hand in heavenly places. You see, when a sinner
believes the gospel, it's the fruit of life. There's been a
resurrection from the dead. And the fruit of that life is,
I do believe Him. I do repent. And I do trust Christ. It's the one who speaks the command.
Here's the third point. The command itself. The command
itself. Look back at the text again.
The Lord said in verse 5, stretch forth, stretch forth your hand,
thy hand, thy hand. It addressed the core problem,
did it not? What was this man's problem?
His hand. It wasn't his foot, it was his
hand. It addressed the core issue,
the wizard hand. It was a certain command given
to a certain problem. He didn't say rub the hand with
the other hand. He didn't say show your hand
to the high priest. He didn't say go wash your hand.
He said stretch out your hand. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is given to address our very core Problem, sin and unbelief. The very rebellion of our wizard
nature is our sin against God. The command of the gospel is,
sinner, bow to Christ. Believe the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Submit to Him, believe Him, trust
Him, and thou shalt be saved. Is that what the gospel says?
Let's see. John chapter 3, turn over there. John chapter 3, Luke verse 35.
John 3, 35. The Father loveth the Son, and
hath given all things into His hand. All things. The Father
hath given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal
life to as many as the Father hath given Him. He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the
sun shall not see light, but the wrath of God abides on him. John 5.24. Turn over there. You
see the command of the gospel is, sinner, look to Christ. Look
unto me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth, I
am God and there is none else. John 5.24. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me,
has, right now, everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation,
but is passed from death unto life." John 6, 40. Turn over there. John 6, 40. Our Lord said, Come unto Me.
All you that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest." John
6.40, And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone
which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting
life. And I'll raise Him up at the
last day. Throwing over to John 11. John
11, He said, My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they
will follow Me. John 11, verse 25, the Lord said,
I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth
and believeth in me shall never die. Do you believe this? In Acts chapter 13, the apostle
preached by him, all that believe are justified from all things
which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. No wonder
faith is called precious. The command. Stretch out your
hand. Same thing as the Gospel says,
Sinner, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. The Gospel is given as a command
to the core issue of our sin and unbelief against God. Now
here is the fourth point to this message. The Lord has given the
command. What's this man going to do?
What's going to happen? Look what it says in the text,
Mark chapter 3, verse 5. The command is given, stretch
forth your hand, and he stretched it out. He did exactly what the Lord
commanded him to do. In Luke 6.10 it says, and he
did so. He didn't reason in himself.
Well, you know, maybe, but if, if... He didn't reason in himself. The Lord spoke to his heart with
a sovereign command and he didn't reason, he stretched forth his
hand. He didn't raise any questions.
Well, who are you? Who sent you? What are you about? What's your background? What's
your color? Where did you go to school? He didn't reason. He didn't question. He obeyed
His command. And he stretched forth the hand. He obeyed the Lord's command.
Someone that day might have asked him, or maybe the day later,
How did you do that? We've known you all your life
and your hand has been like that. How did you stretch out your
hand? How did you do that? By your
own power? What would he say? What would that man say? Oh,
no, no, no. What was it made? I didn't have
it within me. But by His power, by His command. Have you met the one that commands
sinners to live? By His command. Oh, it wasn't
me. You see, it was Him. Well, who gets the glory? To
Him be the glory. Great things He hath done. How
did you believe the Gospel, sinner? By your own power? By your own
will? Oh, no. Oh, no. See, I was dead. I was lost. I was blind. I could
not see. But by His purpose and grace. It's not Him that willeth nor
Him that runneth, but it's God that shows mercy. Not by our
works, but according to God's own purpose and grace did He
call us and save us. By His grace. Oh, no. How do you believe the Gospel? By His grace, by His power. Here's the last thing. The blessed
results. Look what it says in the text.
Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it out. And
his hand was restored whole as the other. The blessed results. Restoration. Regeneration. Salvation has come. to this house. The cure was immediate. Immediate. Remember over here in chapter
2, turn back over there. The man who was paralyzed, laying
on that stretcher, and the Lord said to the man, Arise, take
up your bed and walk. that you may know that the Son
of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins. I say unto thee,
Arise, and take up your bed, and go into your house. Verse
12, And immediately he arose, took up his bed, and went forth
before them all, insomuch that they were all amazed and glorified
God, saying, Boy, we've never saw it like that before. We've
never seen anything like that before. Oh, the blessed results
of God's salvation. His immediate cure from death
to life. Translated out of the kingdom
of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Being called
out of darkness into His marvelous light. The blessed result, the
cure was immediate. The cure was perfect. I like
that word, whole. Restored whole like the other. Can you imagine what he thought
when the blood started circulating, when the nerves started feeling? He had no feeling in his right
hand. He marveled, restored whole as
the other. And that's exactly what God does
for us in salvation. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in Him you are complete, whole,
made new. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature, a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things have become new. All the blessed results of salvation
restored whole as the other. The cure was immediate, the cure
was permanent, perfect, and lastly the cure was permanent. It was
a permanent fix. He didn't come back the next
week or the next month with his hand drawn up. The cure was permanent. His hand
was restored whole as the other. And my friend, the Lord Jesus
Christ, when He saves sinners, He gives them everlasting life
and eternal salvation. You don't have to come back the
next week and the next week and the next week to get cured again,
to get healed again. No, He heals us once for all.
We do come back to hear more of him. I'm sure this man followed
him. It doesn't say, but I'm sure
that this man followed him. And I'm sure that this man told
others of this one who had healed him. And this is salvation. Complete deliverance from the
withering power of sin now and forever in Christ Jesus. That's what he does for sinners.
We read in the Scripture, there is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus. What do you reckon this man told
when he went home and his children saw him? Daddy, what happened? His wife? What an amazing story he had
to tell. And what an amazing story God
has given to every sinner saved by His grace to tell of His wonder,
His person, His work, His majesty, His glory, His power, His greatness.