Now let's look at John 17, verse
1. It says, These words spake Jesus. That's referring to what I talked
about in the message this morning. The words that He spake in chapters
13, 14, 15, and 16 regarding His going away. regarding his father's house
and many mansions, regarding his return and the Holy Spirit's
coming in reference to their love to one another and the trials
that they would be called upon to bear, regarding their living
union with him. And these words he spake in order
that their joy might be full. Look at John 15 with me, verse
11. In John 15, 11, Christ said,
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain
in you, and that your joy might be full. The word of our Master
ought to bring joy to our hearts, ought to encourage us. Then in
John 16, 1, he said, These things have I spoken unto you, that
ye should not be offended. When these trials and tribulations
come upon you, when men persecute you and say all manner of evil
against you falsely for his sake, don't be offended. Don't be discouraged. Don't be discouraged. And then
in John 16, 33, he said, These things have I spoken unto you,
that in me ye might have peace. that in me you might have peace.
In this world you're going to have trouble, trouble, trouble
in the flesh, trouble in the home, trouble in the world, tribulation,
but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. These words spake
Jesus that their joy might be full, that they might not be
discouraged and offended and fall by the wayside. and that
through it all they might have peace and be encouraged. And then it says in verse 1 of
chapter 17, he lifted his eyes to heaven. Now he's been speaking
to his disciples about all these things, and then he lifted his
eyes to heaven. Now Charles Spurgeon said one
time, any time that I read, study, or speak from John 17, I feel like Moses standing on
the mountain when God said to him, take off your shoes. You're
on holy ground. This, my friends, is the Word
of God. No question about that. This
is the Word of God. From Genesis to Revelation, this
is the Word of God. The Word which He by His Spirit
inspired me to write. This is the Word of God. But
this John 17, this chapter, literally is the words, the prayer of our
Lord Jesus Christ with His Father. This is Christ speaking to His
Father. We're more or less eavesdropping
here, but we're listening in on glory. We're listening in
on glory. We need to listen carefully to If you knew some great preacher,
all of you have men of the past that you admired. I remember a little story. Brother
Barnard was holding a meeting for Brother R.J. Coots out in
Houston, Texas. Barnard was unpredictable, totally
unpredictable. Nobody knew that like I knew
it. One time he came to me, we were having these Bible conferences,
and he said, he said, why don't you assign subjects to these
preachers? He said, they're getting up there
preaching their sugar stick sermon. You know what a sugar stick sermon
is, don't you? And he said, you need to assign
subjects. Well, I was just a kid then.
He was about my age, what I am now. And I said, yes, sir, I'll
do that next time. I'll give that a try. Well, I
signed just the evening speakers, the five points of Calvinism.
I signed him election for Wednesday night. This place was packed.
Barnard was going to preach on election. Well, he's mad about
something. I was sitting down on the front
row and he got up here and he said, anything I hate somebody
do tell me what to preach. If I'd have had a gun, I'd have
shot him right there in the pulpit. And he thought, you remember
that, and he thumbed through the Bible and said, well, it's in here
somewhere. I know, I don't likely know where, but it's somewhere.
He's unpredictable. Great preacher, but totally unpredictable. But anyway, he was out in Houston
holding a meeting for Brother Coots. First time Brother Coots
had ever had him in his home, the great Brother Barnard. He
admired him, respected him, and loved him. And he had all his
family around the table, and they were going to have a meal.
And Brother Barnard was seated at the head of the table. And
it got quiet in the room, and Brother Coots, in a very ministerial
fashion, said, and Brother Barnard, thank the Lord for the food.
And he said, I bowed my head waiting to hear these great words
from this great soldier of the cross. It stayed quiet and in
a minute Barnard said, thank you Lord for the food, amen.
He did what he told him to do. But you know, if you could kind
of slip in, into the ante room, beside the study of John Calvin
or Martin Luther, or as Wingley or Huss or Owen or Whitfield
or Spurgeon, one of those men, and listen to him talk to God
about a passage of Scripture or about a sermon. It would be
interesting, wouldn't it? I like John Newton. I'd love
to hear Newton pray or love to hear Newton talk about the Scriptures. But brethren, we're hearing the
Lord pray here. There's something here. There's
something here that's more than all of the preachers and prophets
and apostles and evangelists and missionaries and angels that
have ever flown through that universe out there, this is more
than all of them put together. One word from his mouth is equal
to every word that's ever fallen from anybody's mouth plus a million
times more. One word. I mean that. I mean
that. And he lifted his eyes to heaven,
his father was there. He lifted his eyes to heaven,
his throne was there. He lifted his eyes to heaven,
the seraphims, his seraphims and angels were there. He lifted
his eyes to heaven, his glory, he said, glorify me with the
glory which I had with thee before this world was ever hurled into
space. His glory was there. And he said, my father, the hour
is come. This is it. Now that's awesome. It's the hour. I'm talking about
the hour. There never was one before it
or since, like this hour. This is the hour on which the
eternal counsel was convened for this hour. That's right.
This is the hour of which they spake around that council table
in Gloria, whatever it was, Tom, this hour. This is the hour of
which Moses and Elijah spoke when they came back from Gloria
and appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, this hour. This is the hour of which he
spake when he said, Mine hour is not yet come. What have I
to do with thee? Mine eye was not yet come." This
is the hour of which he spake when Peter said, "'Far be it
from thee,' he said, for this hour came I to this place." Boy,
I'll tell you, you could preach for six months on the hour is
come. The hour. The hour. The hour for which every priest
ever went into the Holy of Holies, he was typifying this hour. This
is the hour typified by every lamb slain, every ram slain,
every bullock slain, every turtle dove offered. This is the hour
of hours. This is it. This is the peak,
the hour of all creation, eternity past or eternity future. This
is the hour. I tell you, eternity itself could
never fathom the depths and the meaning and the glory of this
statement right here, let alone this prayer. The hour has come. But our Lord mentions some things
in this prayer as we eavesdrop and listen in on him speaking
with the Father. He mentions some things, several
things on which he places great importance. things which the
Father had given to him, things which the Father had given to
him, to which he had been faithful, and these things which the Father
had given to him are committed to his trust and to which he
had been faithful, and things which he had given to us, that
he had given to us, that I'm involved in this practice. The
Lord Jesus Christ, the great intercessor, the great advocate,
the great high priest, right here is praying, believe it or
not, for me and for everybody here who believes on him. Literally,
actually praying for us. These glorious things, I know,
were given to him by the Father. He says that over and over again.
The Father gave them to him. Secondly, they were given to
Him because He earned them. He has a right to them. Everything He's given to me in
myself, I have no right to them. In Christ, I do have a right
to them, being identified with Him. Now, I know we can mealy-mouth
around and bat-mouth and talk about ourselves and tear ourselves
down. We're supposed to. But in Christ,
I'm a son of God, with every privilege and right of a son
of God. Did you know that? That's right.
That's right. I'm nothing, that's right, in
myself. But in Christ, I have all things. You're looking at a child of
the King, and I'm looking at some children of the King. Beloved,
now are we sons of God. That's not to be sneezed at. That's not to be sneezed at. And he has a right to these things. He's earned them. And they are
given to him, listen to this, because he's the only one in
the universe who can be trusted with them. These things we're
talking about here, the Father gave to him, he's the only one
in the universe, only one in heaven, earth, or hell, who can
be trusted with all things. Did you know that? The Heavenly
Father knows right where to put all things. He earned it. He's the only one
who can contain it. He is so infinite in His glory
and infinite in His power and infinite in His wisdom and infinite
in His name and person, He can contain all things. And He can
be trusted. And this is true. before I give
you these things. They're given to him because
he's the only one who can properly, by the glory of God, disperse
them. That's right. God is going to
save all whom he can wisely save. That's exactly right. Our Lord
with wisdom has dispersed God's mercies. That's right, where
they'll bring Him the most glory. And He's the only one. I heard
a preacher say one time in Apliso, you better be glad I'm not God.
That's right, I'm glad you're not God. I'm glad an angel's
not the Savior. I'm glad that a human, I'm glad
that a seraphim, I'm glad Christ is the Savior, because He'll
do right. And none of us would. Ah, we
would, we'd sell it. Yes, we would. Yes, sir. Somehow we'd finagle around.
Somehow any creature cannot be trusted. Every creature has fallen
under every environment and every circumstance because they can't
be trusted. The angels failed. Adam failed. Old Noah stepped off the ark
and failed. David failed. Abraham failed. Peter, an apostle,
denied the Lord. No creature could be trusted.
But the Lord Jesus Christ, the Father, hath given him all things
because he can contain them, he can be trusted with them,
and he's the only one who can properly disperse them, and he's
the only one who can sustain these things and those to whom
they're given. Got that? Where our Lord puts
something, it stays. Because he keeps it there. If
he puts it there, now you can get saved and perish. But if
He saves you, you'll never perish. Now, you can accept religion. You can even accept Him as your
personal Savior and go to hell. But if He accepts you in the
Beloved, you'll never perish. That's the difference. I'm telling
you the truth. You tell me you're trying to shock people. No, I'm
not telling you the truth. Anything that a preacher can do for you,
you can lose it. You can drop it along the way.
It can tarnish. and become nothing. Anything
that you do for yourself, anything that a church can do for you,
your daddy and mama. My daddy and mama left me a rich
heritage. Well, it'll tarnish. It'll tarnish,
I guarantee you. It'll tarnish. Anything any man's
ever left you, or given you, or built up in you, the gift
of God's eternal life. And if he ever does a work of
grace in you, if he ever sets his heart upon you, If he ever,
through Christ, accepts you in the beloved, you'll never perish. I give them eternal life, he
said. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.
He said, you drink of this water, you'll thirst again. But if any
man drinks of the water of what? What kind of water? That I give
him. You know what he's saying? That's
what he said. The water that I give him, you'll
never thirst. He gives it though. Say what
you want to. He gives it. It's his to give. He said, The Father hath life
in himself, even so he hath given to the Son to have life in himself.
And as the Father quickeneth whom he will, the Son quickeneth
whom he will. I know the preachers are all,
I know everybody's headed that way. Let them go. But they're all trying to get
somebody to do something for Jesus. They've just got that
net out there and they are reaching out and always pleading and pulling
and begging and coercing and persuading and inviting. Keep
on doing that now. But it'd be better if you'd turn
your eyes in the direction from which grace comes and pray that
the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into the
field. Pray that the Lord of the harvest would be pleased
by His Spirit to visit some poor son of Adam sitting on his dunghill.
and wash him and save him and bring him to Christ. And that's
where it is. I'm telling you that's where
it is. We've been looking the wrong way. We've been saying, God's
sitting up there waiting on you to do something. I beg your pardon.
I never in the Bible ever hear anybody say, That God's waiting
on sinners, but I read over and over again, wait on the Lord,
wait on the Lord, wait on the Lord, wait on the Lord, wait
on the Lord. I had fainted unless I believed to see the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord, David
said. Again I say, wait on the Lord. The Lord is good to them
that want, wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Well, seven
things I've given to you. one at a time. Verse 2, did you
pick them out? Number 1, he says, Thou hast
given him authority over all flesh. Now brethren, I perhaps,
it has entered your mind, perhaps you've been guilty of saying
this, that we preach too much or perhaps too strongly on the
immutable, infinite, absolute, sovereign power of Christ. And
I'll tell you, after 30 some odd years, I was down at the
drugstore yesterday. I had my day made yesterday.
Went down there and bought something. And I came up to the counter,
and this lady, I've known her a good while, she said, hi, Reverend
Mahan. I said, hi. I said, hang on, I'm going to
get something over here. She said, say, you going to pay
cash for this or charge? I said, cash. She said, you're
a senior citizen yet, you get a discount. So I've been around a while. I gave her my brightest 13th
Street smile. Andy, the smile you gave me,
you know, my dentures. And I said, not yet. But by the
way, how much did I get off when I get there? But I'll tell you
this. I do not believe that I have
ever honestly I have ever been able to preach the sovereignty
of Christ quite like it ought to be preached. I just don't
see how, I don't see how that anyone can even think that a
human being, a creature of the flesh, would be able to properly
exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in his great sovereignty and power. He said, all authority, that's
what's strong in me, is given to me in heaven and That's pretty
strong. In Hebrews chapter 2, verse 8,
it says, Thy throne, O God, is forever. Thy throne, O God, is
forever. Ephesians chapter 1, listen to
this. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 20
and 22. The Scripture says this. Ephesians 1, 20 and 22. Talking
about Christ. He has exalted Him at His right
hand far above, listen, all principalities, all power, all might, all dominion,
every name that is named, not only in this world, but in the
world to come, and has put all things under His feet. That's
pretty strong. That's the Heavenly Father speaking
by the Holy Spirit. Now this weak, defeated, bewildered
Jesus being preached today is just not the Christ of the Bible. He says here, Thou hast given
me all power, all power over all flesh. He has this power
by creation. Everything was created for him
and by him. He has this power in God's decree. The Heavenly Father hath exalted
him and given him a name which is above every name, that is
the name of Jesus. Listen to this. Every knee will
bow, every knee in heaven, earth, and under the earth. Every knee
will bow and every tongue, there's a tongue in the universe, there's
a tongue in all the universe, in heaven, earth, and under the
earth, that will not declare someday that Jesus Christ is
Lord. That's power. The whole, the
whole, as Martin used to say, kitten caboodle. With one voice
and one tongue going to say he's Lord. That's power. He has this
power by purchase. He bought all things. He died
that he may be what? Lord of what? Dead and the living. Dead and saved and unsettled.
Those in heaven and earth. Now listen, turn to Revelation
5. I want you to look at this. Revelation
5, all authority, all power. He
said, Father, thou hast given me all power, power over all
flesh, all flesh. It says by creation, by decree,
by purchase, and mainly because he's the only one who's worthy.
Look here, in Revelation 5, Verse 2, I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, who is worthy to open this book and to loose
the seals thereof, and no man, watch it, no man in heaven, in
earth, neither under there, no creature was able to open the
book even to look on it, but not one creature. And I wept. Oh, I cried much,
because no man was found worthy to open to read the book, neither
to look thereon. And one of the elders said to
me, Weep not, behold, the line of the tribe of Judah, the root
of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seals
thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, in the midst of
the elders, stood a lamb. as it had been slain. And we
sung a new song, verse 9, Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy,
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to take the book and to open the seals,
for Thou was slain and hath redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of
every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, and hath made us
kings unto our God, kings and priests. Father, the hour has come. Now
glorify me with the glory which I had with thee before the world
was. Standing speaking to his Father is not a frustrated, defeated
reformer or a failure, but the sovereign Lord of Lords and King
of Kings who declares in the hearing of the whole universe,
Thou hast given me complete supreme, absolute authority in heaven, earth, and under the
earth. It's not what you're going to do with Jesus. It's what he's
going to do with you. I guarantee you. Oh, how proud
we little peanuts are, lifted up in our arrogance. He's worthy. He's worthy. That's what I'm
preaching. He said, what he hoped to accomplish, I hope somebody
got sense enough to fall down on his face and say, Lord, be
merciful to me a sinner. I hope somebody like the thief
on the cross, a dying thief, rejoiced to see that fountain
in his name. And I hope somebody, somewhere,
will have sense enough to recognize power when he sees it and cry
out, Lord, you're not going to stay dead. You're coming into
our kingdom. Remember me. Huh? I reckon somebody
would. Do you reckon somebody would
know? No, we're all fixed up. We're Calvinists. We've got the
doctrine. We've made a decision. We've
joined the church. We've lived a good life. We've
taught Sunday school. We've prayed. We've done all
these things. We've never met the Master, though. All right,
secondly, verse 2 of John 17. He says here, you gave me something
else. You gave me a people. Thou hast
given me authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to as many as Thou hast given him." Did I preach that too much?
Well, let's see what he said about it. Somebody said, you
preach election too much. Election's family food. Election's
children's bread. Election's not supposed to be
preached to lost people. Somebody ought to have told Peter
that on Pentecost. He preached it. He preached it. But he said, you've given me
authority that I should give eternal life to as many as you've
given me. And my friends, in this one prayer,
would you listen to me in this one prayer? Six times in this
one prayer the Lord mentions the people that you gave me.
Six times. He says it in verse 2. He says
it in verse 6. I've manifested your name to
the men you gave me. He says it in verse 9, I pray
for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou
hast given me. He says it in verse 11, and now I am no more
in the world, but these are in the world, I come to thee, keep
through thine own name those whom thou hast given me. He says
it in verse 12, while I was with them in the world, I kept them
in thy name, those that thou gavest me I kept, none of them
lost. Verse 24, he says it again. Father,
I will, that they also whom thou hast given me." Over in John
6, 37, he used the same term. He said, All that my Father giveth
me shall come to me, and that cometh to me out of no wise cast
out. He said in John 10, he said,
My sheep hear my voice, they follow me, I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. No man can pluck them out of
my hand. My Father which gave them to me, It's greater than
all, no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand." We were
chosen in Christ. I'm not ashamed of that. I'm
not ashamed to declare publicly, on tape, television, radio, printed
page, wherever, that we didn't love Him, He loved us. And that's
so. The Scripture says herein is
love, not that we love God, He loved us. We didn't choose Christ.
Not first, he chose us. He said that to the disciples.
He said, you didn't choose me. I chose you. I'm not ashamed
of that. If I ever stood in a pulpit where
I could not declare without compromise what Christ said in the Word,
I'd want some other place to preach, wouldn't you? You know,
I told the folks down wherever I was preaching last, somewhere,
that when our Lord went into the temple, and I know we go
into church and you've got a great big picture of Jesus, and we
say, better leave that there, it may offend somebody, you know.
And I'm talking about pastors now, and pastors go into places
where they're using literature that compromises the gospel of
Christ. You had experience with that
down in Florida. We said, well, let's leave it there for 17,
18 years. Maybe they'll get rid of it,
you know. When our Lord went in the temple, he platted a whip. And he went in there and he said,
my house shall be called a house of prayer. And you've made it
a den of thieves. Now, every one of you, get out
of here. Well, know what he said? And
he emptied that place except for him. I don't know but what
God just may bless us As pastors and leaders, if we go into a
situation where the gospel of Christ, I'm talking about the
gospel now, let's make it a gospel issue, isn't that right, Bill?
Make it a gospel issue. Make it around the cross. But where
the gospel of Christ is compromised and drive out the thieves, if
there's nobody left but me or you, huh? Oh, I tell you, he
chose a people. We didn't seek him, he sought
us. We didn't call him, he called us. Turn just, if you will, to
2 Samuel 9. Let me show you something here.
Old Mephibosheth. I love this. 2 Samuel chapter
9. Talking about, you know, David
took the throne and then they, he said, anybody left of the
house of Saul that I may show him kindness? What's the key
to that statement? For Jonathan's sake. You know
what he said? For Jonathan's sake. And they
went down there and they found One of Saul's grandsons was the
son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth, lame on both his feet. When he
was a little boy, the nurse picked him up to run from some bandits
or warriors and dropped him and crippled him on both his feet.
He was lame, living in the house of no bread, a beggar. And old David sent down there
and got him, and they brought him up and set him in front of
David. It was David in his splendor
and glory and power and majesty, king of all the land, the most
powerful king on earth. surrounded by all of his glitter
and glamour and gold and these things, you know, and his princes
and captains, and Joab was enough to scare anybody to death. And
all these fellas, and there sat that little old young fella,
you know, with his rags and his hair all messed up and crippled,
lame on both his legs, you know. And David said, You're going
to be one of my sons and sit at the king's table. And look
here, he says in verse 8, and he bowed himself and said, What
is thy servant? that thou shouldest look upon
a dead dog as I am." Well, I'll tell you why. Look at verse 1. David said,
Is there yet any that's left of the house of Saul that I may
show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Jonathan was David's beloved
friend. And before Jonathan died, he
said to David, He said, will you show kindness to my house
because of what you feel for me, your love for me. And I'm
telling you this, anything God does for me or you or any other
sinner, He does it for Christ's sake. He does it because He loves
the Son. And I know they can run around
all over this world talking about all God's great love, all these
different worms wiggling around, you know, and magnets working
in flesh. But I'll tell you where God's
love is. And you remember this and bring it up to me at the
judgment. It's in Christ. And I'm telling you, he loves
Christ. He loves Christ. And his love for us is because
of Christ, it's through Christ, and it's in Christ, and it's
for the glory of Christ. That's so. He said, you've given
me a people. And then I'll tell you something
else, verse 3. And this is life eternal. that they might know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."
The Father has given the Son life in Himself to give to those
people. Now, my friends, look at John
5, 25. I wish this is something that
I've tried to make the theme of my ministry, and it will be
the theme as long as I'm able to preach. Salvation, salvation
is not It's not just learning a doctrine. Salvation is not
learning a moral code. Salvation is not accepting a
doctrine. It's not living up to a standard.
Salvation is not joining the church. Salvation is a living
union with a person. Salvation is in Christ himself. Now get this, salvation is not
even in the throne of God. It's in God who sits on the throne.
It's in the Christ who's... Salvation is not in the cross.
If you could find the cross on which Christ died and bring it
into your home and sleep on it, you'd still go to hell. Do you
understand what I'm saying? The people that stood under the
cross and his blood literally fell on them. He was bleeding. And those fellows drove the nails.
They put that nail and drove it and the blood splattered on
them. You could bathe in the blood of Jesus Christ and perish.
Is that too hard? That's right. I'm telling you. You can bathe in that pool, you
can eat, you can eat the wafers and drink the wine, you can go
about all the routine. Salvation's in a person. It's
in a person. Quit wearing those things around
your neck called crosses. Quit wearing them in your buttonhole.
Quit putting them on the steeples of your church. They are not
the insignia of anything but shame. He died on a shameful
cross. Christ is our banner. Christ
is our King, Christ is our light, Christ is our hope, Christ is
our refuge, Christ is our rock, Christ is our foundation, Christ
is all we need. We don't need any visible reminders
of salvation but Christ. I'm telling you now, I'm telling
you the truth, this is so John 5, listen to this verse 25. Verily
I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall
live. For as the Father hath life in
himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself,
and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because
he is the Son of Man." Oh, I wish I could make that
clear. This is the record. God has given
us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the
Son, not he that hath the profession, or he that hath the law, or he
that hath the theology, or he that hath
the right baptism, or he that hath the right Perpetuity back
to John the Baptist, he that hath the Son hath life, and he
that hath not the Son of God hath not life. Eternal life is
not just in this life, it's the life of God. Eternal life is
in Christ. Christ is eternal life. Eternal
life is a present possession. He that hath the Son, what? Hath
life. This life, listen to me now,
this eternal life is not something I'm going to get after I die. This eternal life is something
I have right now that's going to keep me from dying. You say,
you'll die. My body will die, but I won't.
I've already died on account for it. You know, you used to
go back and haul that cross back up here. I've already died. It
served its purpose. Burn it! Burn it! Huh? You know, you just haul
in that open grave, people go over there and they look in,
you know, and cross themselves and go through all that junk.
Burn it! Isn't that right, Bill? Destroy
it! If the grave of Jesus Christ
were out here in the backyard, I'd run a bulldozer over it.
You say, you're sacrilegious. No, I'm honest. Because some
fool will try to get saved out there. The grave has served its
purpose. Forget it! The manger has served
its purpose, forget it! Grace is enthroned! Salvation
is in a person, Charlie. That's right, it's in a person.
And nobody in this whole wide world says that again. I'm going
to say it again and again. Salvation is in a person. In
a person. The present possession is life,
the life of God. I in them and thou in me." The
Father gave him something else in verse 4. The Father gave him
a work to do. He said, I've glorified thee
on the earth and I've finished the work you gave me to do. I've
finished it. I've finished it. Listen to me.
That work was first prophesied in Genesis 15. He'll bruise the
serpent's head. That work was first pictured
in Genesis 3.21 when God slew the Lamb and covered Adam and
Eve, not with wool, with skin. That's right. That work was typified
in Genesis 4-4 when Abel brought a lamb. And that work was typified
in the Passover and the smitten rock and the serpent of brass.
And that work was performed in person when Christ came, born
of a woman, and walked this earth and walked up Calvary's mountain,
stretched forth his hands and bled and died, and he cried,
It's all done. It's done. The great transaction's
done. I am my Lord's and he is mine. It's done. I tell you, that theology
will be, as John Riesinger said, be a soft pillar for a weary,
tired head. And that's the only comfort you
can find in him. You're going to change. That's
right, I am too. You're going to fail, our health
is going to fail, our hearing is going to get worse, our eyesight
dimmed. We may even come to the place
where we can't even remember our names. But I'll tell you
this, he'll never forget them. That's what you've got to rest
on. He knows my name. And that name's written. He said,
don't rejoice that the devil's a subject under you. You rejoice
that your name's written in the Book of Life. Why don't you rest
in that? We just go around wrestling and all this religious tommyrot,
the world influences us, it sways us, the counterfeit, the imitators,
they just have such a pull on us. We watch them with all their
glamour and glory and fleshly power and influence and it pulls
at our hearts. Why don't you look at this word
right here, this is where it is, Father, I was called. You've given me authority over
all flesh, that I should give eternal life to as many as You've
given me. This is life eternal. This is
life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God
in Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. I've finished the work
You gave me to do. It's finished. It's finished. I finished it. In verse 6 he
said, I've manifested your name. The father gave the son the responsibility
to reveal himself to sinners. That's right. Moses talked with
God, but he never saw him. For Moses talked to God. No one's ever physically seen
God, and God's a spirit, and therefore he's invisible. We
don't see God himself, but we see God revealed in Christ. God
walked this earth one day. in the person of his beloved
son. He's the express image of his person. He's the very image
of God's nature. He reveals God to the believer. And nowhere else is the glory
of God seen except in the face of Jesus Christ. A man gave me an article to read
some time ago. It was good. It was theologically
accurate. It was what I believe about some
theological things. But it had one thing missing.
The Lord Jesus Christ. He was just flat missing. Christ
in his substitution, Christ in his sacrifice, Christ in his
sin offering. It wasn't that. Brethren, that's
what's missing. That's what's missing. How can
God be just and justifier? How can we approach God without
a lame? I know they're fighting some of these things, and I guess
some of these things ought to be fought. And I know they're
trying to get folks to join the church and believe on somebody
named Jesus. But I tell you, the glory of
God is seen in the face of Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Redeemer. And then verse 8, I'll quickly
hurry. I've given them the words that you gave me. You've given
me your word, and I've given them your word. Jehovah conceived
the testimony of the gospel, and Christ fulfilled the testimony
of the gospel, and the Holy Spirit revealed the testimony of the
gospel, and the apostles wrote it down. Aren't you glad we got
it? And then last of all, verse 22,
now here's the staggering thing, and I'll close with, and the
glory, and the glory which thou gavest me. and the glory I have
given them." I'll tell you, here Christ tells
the Father, in our hearing, the amazing fact that the very glory
which the Father, the glory which the Father has given to the Son,
that He is going to give to us. Now you think about it. It won't be too long until you
and I are going to enter into that glory. Can you conceive
of such a thing? The very glory, the very glory. I'm talking about the glory arising
from his sonship. I'm talking about the glory arising
from his infinite sacrifice. I'm talking about the glory which
arises from his conquest of death, hell, sin, and the world. I'm
talking about the glory of his victorious resurrection, his
ascension and intercession. I'm talking about the glory of
His exhortation to the right hand. I'm talking about the glory
of the riches of His grace and glory in mercy and the glory
of His crown. It's going to be ours. Oh, I tell you, that's just inconceivable. Inconceivable. Folks talking
about So don't talk about even mansions and glory. I hear preachers
talking about mansions and little houses and all that. We're looking at the glory of
God that's going to be ours, the glory of God throughout eternity. The glory of his holiness, the
glory of his perfection, the glory of his righteousness, Listen
to this, verse 22, "...and the glory which thou gavest me, I
have given them, that they may be one," here it is, "...as we
are one." I don't understand that. I'm kind of going to hang
around waiting to see what happens on that.