They Saw His Glory

Now, if you will open your Bibles
to the 9th chapter of Luke again. Our Lord took three of his disciples,
Peter, John, and James, up into, the Scripture says, a mountain
to pray. Evidently, our Lord prayed for
a long time, because the weary disciples fell asleep. The Scripture
says they were heavy with sleep. And while they slept and while
our Lord prayed, the scripture says that his face lit up with
all his inner glory. It says that his clothes became
radiant, that they were glistening white. The glory of the Lord
shone round about. And behold, verse 30, there talked
with him two men, which were Moses and Elijah. Now when the
people of God die. Moses and Elijah had been dead
a long time. They live. God's people never
die. They live. Moses and Elijah still
live. And they live personally. It
was Moses and Elijah who appeared and talked with our Lord. And
they're known by their names. And they enjoy sweet, intimate,
personal fellowship with the Lord. Our Lord was praying His
face was lit up with all of the inner glory of our Sovereign
Lord. His clothes were white, glistening
white and radiant. And there stood talking with
him Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets. What did they
talk about? Well, look, if you will, at verse
31, who appeared in glory and spake of his death, spake of
his sacrifice, spake of his atonement. spake of Calvary, spake of the
death which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. This was their
message on earth. Our Lord said, Moses wrote of
me. Abraham saw my day and was glad. The law and the prophets
speak of Christ. This was their faith. It was
not in the law, it was in Christ. Their faith and their hope was
in Christ. Turn, if you will, to Luke 24 and listen to the
Master. He's talking to his disciples
after his resurrection, and it says in verse 44 of Luke, chapter
24, And he said to them, These are the words which I have spoken
to you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the Psalms, concerning me, his person, his work, his
obedience, his death. his righteousness, his sacrifice. Moses and Elijah wrote and preached
of Christ and of his atonement and of his death. And here on
the mountain, when our Lord was glorified, when our Lord was
transfigured, Moses and Elijah stood and talked with him, and
they talked with him about Calvary. They talked with him about his
death. Well, the scripture says in verse 32, Peter and they that
were with him were heavy with sleep. And when they were awake,
when they woke up, they saw his glory. They saw his glory. Now watch the next line. And
the two men that stood with him, notice it does not say they saw
his glory and the glory of Moses. It does not say they saw his
glory and the glory of Elijah. It says they saw his glory and
the two men who stood with him. There's nothing said about any
glory being around these men or upon these men, great as they
were. Great as they were, they were only the two men that stood
with him. He's greater than all combined.
His name is above every name. The Father hath given to him
a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus Christ
every knee should bow, and every tongue should confess that he
is Lord." This is what the book of Hebrews is all about. If you
read the book of Hebrews with this in mind, that Jesus Christ
is greater than the angels. God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake to our fathers by the prophets, hath
in these last days spoken to us by his Son, he is greater
than the prophets. Our Lord Jesus is greater than
Moses. Our Lord Jesus is greater than
the priest. Our Lord Jesus is greater than
the law. Our Lord Jesus Christ is greater
than the tabernacle. Read the book of Hebrews with
that in mind. When the disciples awoke When they were awake, they
saw His glory. They saw His glory and the two
men who stood and talked with Him. His glory. We were down
in Mexico last week, and one of the things that I like about
that trip as much as anything is to stand out on one of those
lonely dirt roads about 10 or 11 o'clock at night and look
up at the sky. There's not a cloud of pollution. There's just the sky like God
made it. The air is clear and crisp, the
sounds of the night, but you can see every star. You can see
the Milky Way and the Dippers and all these things just multiplied
millions and millions and millions of bright twinkling stars. You can almost turn your car
lights off and drive down the road. It's so brilliantly bright,
all of those stars. But you know, when I get up in
the morning, down there in Mexico, and the sun has come up, those
stars are every one still there. But you can't see a one of them.
They're every one exactly where they were. They're in the sky. The moon is in the sky, and the
stars are in the sky. But you can't see a one of them.
Why not? Because of the brilliance and
brightness and glory of the sun. And I'm telling you this as great
as Moses is, and I'm not taking anything away from Moses, his
faith, his courage, his boldness, the way God used him. Or Elijah,
we're not worthy to even carry his books or his parchments or
scrolls. We're nothing, even compared
to him. But when the disciples were awake,
They didn't see Moses and his greatness and his glory. There
was no glory at all. They saw his glory, Christ's
glory. They saw Christ. And I'm telling
you this, the disciples had to be awake to see his glory. They were in sleep. They were
weary and tired and heavy with sleep. And as our Lord prayed,
the glory was there, but they were asleep. They didn't see
it. Here on this high mountain, It doesn't name the mountain,
I don't know where it was, but our Lord prayed and prayed and
prayed, and his face lit up, and his clothes were glistening
white, and the radiance and beauty and glory of God which was in
him was revealed outwardly. Moses and Elijah stood there
and talked with him about his death and his sacrifice, and
in a few moments the disciples woke up, and they saw his glory. They saw the two men with him,
but it was his glory that they saw. And I'm telling you this,
when the Holy Spirit awakens a sinner from the sleep of sin,
from the sleep of death, from the sleep of this dumb, ignorant,
darkened race, I'll tell you, when the Holy Spirit awakens
a sinner, he'll see the glory of Christ. And not until the
Holy Spirit awakens. Now he can take part in religion,
and he can see the glory of the statues and the images and the
pictures, and he can see the glory of the denominations and
the glory of ancient history and the glory of the old writers,
and he can talk about the musty old books and the dust-covered
old libraries and all of the relics of religion. And he can
go through the motions, and he can do all these things, he can
see Moses, and he can see Elijah, and he can see Abraham, he can
talk about these things. But when the Holy Spirit awakens
that sinner, he'll see the glory of Christ. Let's read that in
2 Corinthians 4. Let me show you that, 2 Corinthians
4. And this is what I want for you,
and for myself, and for all who hear the gospel that I'm trying
to preach. I want you to see the glory of
Christ. Not the glory of the Church,
not the glory of the law, not the glory of our great ancestors,
but the glory of Christ. Look at 2 Corinthians 4, verse
6. Verse 5 says, we preach not ourselves. We're not trying to persuade
you to be a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Presbyterian, or a Calvinist,
or a Fundamentalist, or a Premillinarian. We're not preaching ourselves,
we're preaching Christ Jesus the Lord, ourselves your servants,
for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, the same one back yonder in the beginning
when darkness was upon the face of the deep, and when the earth
was without form and void, and he said, let there be light.
And the same one who commanded that light to shine out of darkness
has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That's where
it is. That's what I want. When they
were awake, they saw his glory. But they had to wake up. It was
that. They were sound asleep. The flesh,
the weariness of the flesh, the burden of the flesh, The excitement
of the flesh had put them to sleep, but when they woke up,
oh boy, they saw his glory. And I'll tell you something else.
When the Holy Spirit is pleased to awaken a sinner, he'll see
the glory of Christ. And when the Holy Spirit is pleased
in God's purpose, in God's own time, for God's own purpose and
glory, to awaken a preacher, to see the glory of Christ, he'll
preach that glory. He'll cease to preach himself,
he'll cease to preach his denomination, he'll cease to exalt his intellect,
he'll cease to exalt his personality, he'll cease to exalt his knowledge,
he'll cease to exalt his doctrine, he'll glorify Christ. I guarantee
you. If he ever sees the glory of
Christ, he'll come away talking about Christ. Look here, let
me show you that in John chapter 12. in the 12th chapter of John,
verse 41. You say, well, why don't they
preach Christ? They've never seen his glory. Why do they spend their time
entertaining sinners on the road to hell? Why don't they preach
Christ and him crucified? They've never seen his glory.
Why do they try to get a church together on the basis of social
fellowship and entertainment and youth festivals and festivities
and all these things? Why do they do that? They've
never seen his glory. That's right. Why do they try
to do with carnal weapons what can only be done with the Word
of God? They've never seen his glory. You listen to John 12,
verse 41, "...these things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory,
he spake of him." That was his message from
then on. When King Uzziah died, he said,
I saw the Lord, and he came away talking about Christ. He was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, by his stripes
we are healed. That's right. And when they were
awake, they saw his glory. And when God awakens a sinner
from his sleep of death, and that's where you are, my unbelieving
sinner, you may not know it, you may be the most intelligent
person in this building, naturally, but you're asleep spiritually,
dead in trespasses and sin. You may know the sine and cosine
and tangents of geometry and trigonometry and these things,
but you don't know the Lord. You've got to be awakened by
the Holy Spirit to see his glory. And the same thing is true of
preachers. And I'll show you something else. When the Holy
Spirit awakens a believer, he will see the glory of Christ
and he'll be taken up with that glory. Listen to Peter, verse
33. The Lord had been glorified. Oh, the radiance of his presence! And the disciples woke up and
they saw it, his glory! He's on their way down that mountain,
and Peter said, Lord, Master, it's been good to be here. Now, let's make three tabernacles,
one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. Look at that
next line, not knowing what he said. But I'll tell you this,
old Peter didn't know what he said, but he knew what he saw. And we're foolish, too. Paul
said, I'm not perfect, count not myself to have apprehended.
And Peter didn't know what he said, but I guarantee you he
knew what he saw. And he was so taken up with it,
he wanted to stay right there. He didn't want to leave. He didn't
want to leave. And you know, sometimes when
we're reading his word, it's like It's like our Bible class
this morning. Don, like, never left. He was
there at 10, 14, you know. But when we get in those classes
and get in God's Word and fellowship with God's people, I'm like,
Pete, let's just stay here. Let's just stay here. Some folks
come to the house of God, and they sing, and they'll be glad
when that song's over. And the preacher gets up to preach,
and they start checking the time to be sure he'll be through in
15 or 20 minutes, you know. But old Peter saw his glory,
and he wanted to camp right there. He wanted to camp right there.
He didn't want to leave. He didn't know what he was saying,
but he knew what he saw. Have you ever seen his glory?
Turn to Ephesians 2. Now let me tell you this. Let
me tell you this, this awakening is not a decision to join the
Church and go to heaven. That's not it. That's not an
awakening. This awakening of the sinner
by the Holy Spirit is not buying you some books and deciding who's
right, the Baptists or the Presbyterians, and coming to a mental agreement
or a mental acceptance of a doctrinal system. That's not an awakening.
No, sir. I pick up these books sometimes
and the title is this, From Seven-Day Adventism to Fundamentalism. He hadn't graduated at all. He
hadn't even made any progress. He's just out of one area into
another. That's right. This awakening is not deciding
which church is the right church. It's not an emotional experience
over the casket of a loved one. Mama dies, you know, and we all
go to the funeral home and Junior's been a bad boy, and he wouldn't
go to church, and wouldn't listen to the preacher, and wouldn't
be baptized, and wouldn't join. And Mama prayed for him, and
the pastor's there and said, Junior, don't you want to meet
Mama in Heaven? And Junior starts crying. Your Mama was a believer,
I know that, and a good woman, I know that. Well, the only way
you can meet her in Heaven, Junior, is to believe on Jesus. Give
me your hand. Will you believe on Him? Will you accept Him right
now?" Old Junior breaks down and sobs and grabs the bridge
and says, I'll accept Him. That's not it. That's not it. I'm not making fun. You'd be
surprised how many people in the Church just that door have
got them in. And I'll tell you something else, it's not a theological
education in a Bible school or seminary either. You know what
this awakening is? It's an encounter with a living
God. Listen to Ephesians 2, 1. And you, and you hath equipped
and made alive who were dead. dead in your trespasses and sin. You'll find these dead people
everywhere. You'll find them in the red light districts of
the town. You'll find them in the taverns.
You'll find them in the steel mill. You'll find them on the
street. You'll find them in the church. You'll find them in the
pulpit. You'll find them in the high places of spiritual power. That's right, they're dead. This
is an encounter with the living God. This is a new birth. This
awakening is a resurrection from the dead. This awakening is a
new creation. Behold, I make all things new.
This is an awakening. This is God coming to the grave
of Lazarus and saying, Lazarus, come forth! Lazarus comes forth
from the dead, dead, from the darkness of the grave, and his
eyes are opened, and he sees, and his ears are opened, and
he hears, and his heart begins to beat. Life is where death
reigns. God gives life. As many as received
him, to them gave he power, the right, the privilege to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which
were born. not of family inheritance, not of the will of the flesh,
not of the will of man, but born of God. Born of God. That's what this awakening is.
And I'll tell you this, when we are awake, when the Holy Spirit
is pleased to visit us in power, in quickening, awakening power,
in the new birth, in regeneration, in this new creation, in God
making something out of nothing, When we are awake, we see his
glory. Now let me give you just a few
things here that I want you to try to remember. First of all,
when we are awakened, when we are awakened to what really happened
back there in the Garden, we see the glory of his grace. Now you read with me the book
of Jude, verse 6. Will you turn over there just
a moment? The book of Jude, verse 6, most of you are familiar enough
with the Bible to know that before God created man, put him on the
earth, that he had created angels. There were angels. We know there
was Michael and Gabriel and one named Lucifer. From all that
we can conclude, from what we conclude from the Word of God
is this, that Lucifer must have been, he must have been, a powerful
angel. He must have been one only under
God. He must have been one with great
influence and great power. Now, here's something for you
to think about. Genesis 1, verse 1, the Scripture says, In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now, verse 2 begins
this way, And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness
was upon the face of the deep. Now, the word there in the Hebrew,
and most scholars who've studied the Hebrew, I haven't, but they
have, and they say this, that verse 2 of Genesis 1 says, "...and
the earth became without form and void." In other words, God
never created anything without form. God never created anything
void. God never created anything with
darkness around it or all over it and in it. God is light. And
so we believe the scriptures teaching here, and in the beginning
God created the heaven and the earth. God created the heavens
perfect, holy, beautiful. God created the earth perfect,
holy, beautiful. And that earth, now you remember
when God said to Adam, he created Adam, and he said, Adam, you
need multiply and replenish the earth. Now I'm like the darky
who said, the colored fellow who said, you can't replenish
something that ain't been replenished. He was sitting at the table one
day and he said, pass the lasses. And the fellow said, you mean
the molasses? He said, you can't have molasses, you ain't had
no lasses, pass the lasses. And God said, Adam, replenish
the earth. There's something here before
Adam was here. Someone here before Adam, not a man, Lucifer. There may have been millions
of years between Genesis 1-1 and Genesis 1-2. You want to
figure out the age of the earth? It's older than man. God created
the heavens and the earth, and the earth because of Satan's
fall. Satan was the power on this earth
and the power in the skies. He had control. He had dominion. And the angels that followed
him, and they fell. Turn to whole Jude 6 there and
turn to Isaiah just a moment. Isaiah 14. Isaiah chapter 14. Listen to this. In verse 12. Now get the picture. God created
the earth perfect. And the heavens perfect. And
Lucifer, son of the morning, brilliant, bright, beautiful,
powerful, with dominion over this earth. Control. Many angels
following him, under him. But he sinned, he fell. In Isaiah 14, 12, How art thou
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou
cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations? For thou
hast said in thy heart, I'll ascend into heaven. Where was
he? I will ascend into heaven. Where
was he? He was on this earth, in the vicinity about this earth.
This was his domain. He had dominion over. I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God. I'll sit upon the mount
of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I'll be God. And he fell. Thou shalt be brought down to
hell. Wait a minute. Isn't this what Adam did? God
created Adam, put him upon the earth that he had God came one
day, how many years between that first verse and that second verse?
I don't know, between the fall of Satan and the recreation. And God said, let there be light,
let the grass grow and the trees and the flowers and the rivers
and the seas. And then God said, let us make
man. And he put man on this earth. And he said, it's not good for
a man to be alone. He gave him a beautiful woman.
He said, two shall be one flesh, and for this cause shall a man
leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife, and they
shall be one flesh. And Adam, you and Eve multiply and replenish
this earth. But Adam is a tree over there.
All of the garden, you have dominion over it, control over it, multiply
and subdue it. You have dominion. Adam was a
king, king of the earth. The beasts were tame, everything
was beautiful. God said, but Adam is a tree
over there, the tree of life. Don't eat it, lest you die. And that tree stands. Adam, you're
strong, but I'm stronger. Adam, you're intelligent, but
I'm wiser. Adam, you're perfect, but I am
the most holy God. And Adam, you have dominion,
but I have dominion over you. And that tree is a token of your
subjection to me, your dependence upon me. Don't eat it. Satan
came down here. And he said, Adam said to Eve,
has God said you can't eat of all the trees? Well, God said
we can have anything we want but that one tree. Well, he said,
God knows that in the day you eat of that tree, watch it now.
What was his sin? I'll be God, he said. Adam, God
knows if you eat it, you'll be God. Adam committed the same
sin Satan committed. A desire to throw off. We'll
not have this man reign over us. He shall not have dominion. That's what they cried at Calvary.
We have no king but Caesar. Don't write up there he's the
king of the Jews. Write up there he said he's king
of the Jews. He's a liar. He's an imposter. Caesar is our
king. And Satan tried to do the same
thing. Now look at Jude 6. In verse 6 of Jude it said, And
those angels, and those which kept not their first estate,
left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting
change, under darkness, under the judgment of that great day,
no Savior, no atonement, no pardon, no redemption, no salvation."
Now turn to Hebrews 2. Now look at this, you talk about
if you're awakened to what really happened in that garden, if your
eyes are ever open, you're blind, you see, you think you're a pretty
good fella, and Adam's fall wasn't so bad and all that sort of thing,
you know. But if God ever wakes you up, sinner, you'll see the
glory of his grace. Look at Hebrews 2.16, "...for
verily Jesus Christ the Savior took not on him the nature of
angels, But he took on him the seed of Abraham. The angels have
no Savior, but man does. God was pleased in his sovereign
purpose and power and wisdom to send his Son down here, not
in the nature of fallen angels to redeem the angels. He could
have, but he sent him down here made in the likeness of sinful
flesh, in the fullness of time. God sent forth his Son into the
world made of a woman. made in the likeness of sinful
flesh. He came down here as man's Redeemer,
and he passed the angels by. O God, what is man that thou
art mindful of him? Who am I that you should show
mercy to such a dead dog? Lucifer, son of the morning,
but no Savior. Lucifer, power, strength, beauty,
but no Savior. That's right. And let me tell
you something else, secondly, quickly, when we're awakened
to our total inability. Now listen to me. What happened
in that garden? If God ever wakes you up to look
back yonder and see what happened in that garden, and what happened
to Adam happened to us. That's right. He stood. He was
our representative. As by one man, sin entered into
the world. And death by sin, so death passed
upon all men, for all sinned. That's right. Now, the disobedience
of one, many became sinners. Oh, the grace of God that he
was pleased to not pass us by and leave us in our darkness
and death, but send his Son to redeem us. And when we awakened
our total inability We'll see the glory of his election. I
know in some areas that's a dirty word. I know that men ridicule
it and they oppose it and they deny it. God's sovereign election
of some of Adam's fallen race to life eternal. But it's a Bible
doctrine. The scripture says, Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath chosen
us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy and without blame, before him in love having predestinated
us unto the adoption of son, to the praise of the glory of
his grace. Paul says, I thank God for you,
brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit
and belief of the truth. Christ said to his disciples,
you didn't choose me, I chose you. And you know what will make
you see the glory of his election? When you are awakened to see
your total inability. Christ said, You will not come
to me that you might have life. Christ said, O Jerusalem, how
oft would I have gathered you unto myself as a hen that gather
her brood, but you would not. This is condemnation. Light is
coming to this world, but men love darkness rather than light. Their deeds are evil. Christ
said, Let another come in his own name, and him you will receive.
I come in my Father's name, and you receive me not. No man can
come to me except my Father which sent me draw him. No man is going
to see the glory of Christ's sovereign election until he's
awakened to his total inability. It is not that I did choose thee,
Lord, that could not be. My heart would still refuse thee
if thou hast not chosen me. Thou from the sin that stained
me, washed me and set me free, and to this end ordained me that
I should live for thee. T'was sovereign mercy that called
me and taught my awakened mind. The world and sin had enthralled
me, to heaven's glories I was blind. My heart now loves none
above thee, for thy rich grace I thirst, but this knowing If
I love thee, thou must have loved me first." Inability. If we're ever awakened to our
inability, we'll see the glory of his elective grace. Thirdly,
if we're ever awakened to the corruption, the sinful condition,
and the limitations of human flesh, we'll see the glory of
his incarnation. Has it ever occurred to you,
someone said one time, if you'll carefully consider it, this is
the most extraordinary statement ever made in human language.
If you'll carefully consider it, this is the most extraordinary
statement, the most extraordinary fact ever declared in human language. Listen to it. The Word was made
flesh. You know the reason that you
don't gasp in amazement at that? Because you don't know the distance
between deity and flesh. That's right, that's the reason.
You talk about an angel becoming a bullfrog, that's nothing. You
talk about a seraphim or a cheraphim becoming a wiggling maggot, that
ain't nothing. The most extraordinary fact ever
uttered in human language is that God became a man. God Almighty
became a man. He took on himself the likeness
of sinful flesh. The Ancient of Days became an
Infant of Days. Think about it. Carried in the
womb of a mother, brought forth, and took nourishment from her
breast, and was totally helpless in the arms of a mother. who
waited upon him and fed him. The one who made the worlds didn't
own a foot of land. The one who made the rivers cried
out first. The one who cast out devils himself
was tempted of the devils. The one who is life, life, life,
was subject to death. That's unbelievable. The one
whom before before the one in whose presence the cherubims
and seraphims veiled their faces, was looked upon and laughed at
and mocked in his nakedness by filthy sons of Adam. That's unbelievable. He allowed himself to be spit
upon. His holy fingers formed the bough
which grew the thorns that crowned his brow. The nails that pierced
his hands were mined in secret places he designed. He made the
forest whence there sprung the tree on which his body hung.
He died on a cross of wood, and yet he made the hill on which
it stood. The sun that hid from him its
face by his own hand was hung in space. The sky that darkened
over his head by him above this world was spread. The spear that
shed his precious blood, was tempered in the fires of God.
The grave in which his form was laid was hewn in rocks his own
hand made." I tell you, if you ever wake up, if God's Holy Spirit
ever says, let there be light, Oh, we sit around in the darkness
of our ignorance and sit around in the darkness of our natural
depravity and we don't see anything. We're like a bunch of brine bats
that fly around with feelers, feelers of flesh. Whatever appeals
to the flesh, that's the direction we turn, you know. But oh, if
God ever said, let there be light! And we see the dungeon of sin
and the deal of iniquity in which we live. We want out of there,
and we'll see the glory of him who brought us out. When we awaken
to the holiness of his law, we'll see the glory of his life. That's
right. When we awaken to what happened
in the Garden, we'll see the glory of his grace. When we awaken
to our inability, we'll see the glory of his election when we're
awakened. to the limitations and corruptions
of human flesh, we see the glory of his incarnation. And let me
tell you this, if you ever see the glory of his holy law, if
you ever see the reality of it, the spirituality of it, the depths
of it, the holiness of it, you'll see the glory of his perfect
life. Most people don't have the slightest conception of the
holiness of God's law. Did you know that? Do you? The
Bible says, I shall not kill, I shall not steal, I shall not
commit adultery, I shall not take the name of the Lord thy
God in vain. Let me tell you something. The law of God does not demand
that you do the best you can do. Preacher, what did you say? I said the law of God does not
demand that you do the best you can do. It demands you do the
best that God can do. Now you wiggle that around a
little bit. The Bible does not demand that you love God first.
No, sir. The Bible, the word of God demands,
the law demands you love God with all your heart, mind, soul,
and strength. That's tough, isn't it? The Bible
does not tell you to love your neighbor. The law of God commands
you to love him as you love yourself. That's right. You quote the whole
law, don't give me half of it. That's what the Pharisees did
and built for themselves a sandy righteousness that damned their
souls. The law of God does not demand that you do no evil. The
law of God demands that you think no evil. The law of God does not demand
that you live a good life. The law of God demands that you
live a perfect life. as perfect and as holy as God
himself. And that's what my Lord did.
That's exactly what he did. From the time he came forth into
this world until the time he said it's finished, he lived
a perfect, sinless, stainless life. The scripture did not say
he did no sin only, it said he knew no sin. Oh, the glory of
that perfect life, the holiness of Christ. When you see, oh boy,
I'll tell you, you look through this Word and you see the holiness
of God's love. You know what it'll do? It'll
kill you. You'll quit running around criticizing and finding
fault and downing other people and bragging on yourself and
talking about how good you are. It'll kill you. It'll strip you. You'll knock all your foundations
of flesh out from under you. He'll humiliate you. He'll send
you into the dust of tears and repentance and grief and mourning
and crying for mercy. That's what he'll do. He'll all
kill you. Sometimes I think I look pretty good till I look in the
mirror. And the more you stay away from
this book and stay away from the true interpretation of the
law, the better you think you look. But boy, if God ever opens
your eyes and lets you look into his holy law, it'll kill you,
kill Paul. And I'll tell you something else,
it'll reveal the glory of his obedience. And then when you
see, when you awaken to the strictness of his divine justice, the divine
justice of God, you'll see the glory of his death. Listen to
it. I will by no means clear the
guilty. That's what God says. Oh, God'll
have mercy, will He? Will He? God's a loving God,
is He? Well, God'll take me to Heaven,
will He? I have every confidence that that's what God's for. Yes,
sir, if I die, I won't meet Mother. Will you? You sure? God said, the soul that sinneth
it shall die. That's what God said. Now, I
choose to believe God. And everybody be a liar and God
be true. God said, I will not clear the
guilty. Every transgression shall receive a just recompense of
reward. God's a just judge. Just. Ask Adam. Come on, Adam, tell
us about the strictness of God's law. God said, get out, Adam,
and don't come back. Call the people of Noah's day.
Oh, Noah, there's not going to be a flood. God's a loving God. The world's not going to be destroyed.
You know that's a bunch of bunk, Noah. What are you talking about?
Ask them. Call the sons of Korah. The earth
opened its mouth and swallowed them with their shoes on. call
the angels that kept not their first estate, call Sodom and
Gomorrah. Will God punish sin? I'm telling you, if you ever
see the strictness of his justice, every secret deed, every idle
word, every transgression, every disobedience, everything, even
one minute atom short of God's perfect glory shall be brought
to the judgment. unless you've got a Savior, unless
you've got a substitute, unless you can find somebody to pay
your debt. And that's what God did. He sent
his Son down here that he might be just and justify. He sent
his Son down here clothed in human flesh that his law might
be honored and his justice thoroughly, completely, totally satisfied,
that God might be God and still take you to heaven. Yeah, I believe
I'm going to glory. I believe I'm going to be like
Christ. But not because I believed, and not because I did good works,
and not because I preached, not because I let Jesus in my heart,
but because He died on the cross for my sins. If He paid my debt,
I don't owe it. If He paid my sins, I don't bear
them. If He died my death, I won't
die it. If He satisfied God's justice,
it's finished! payment, God's justice cannot
thrash the man first at my bleeding shirt, his hand, and then again
at mine? O my soul, my friend, if you ever see God's holy throne
of justice, righteousness, the strictness of his justice, you'll
thank God for Calvary. You'll see the glory of that
sacrifice. God Almighty cannot pardon one
sin without that sin being paid for. not and still be God. And I'll tell you this, I've
got to give you this before I close. When we're awakened, this is
important, and the Holy Spirit ever wake and ever sleep, and
these churches are sound asleep, and the pastors are too. Natural
man's religious by nature. But if we are ever awakened to
the sinfulness, and watch it, the sinfulness of our best deeds,
of our best deeds will see the glory of his intercession. What does the mediator mean to
you? I'll tell you, I can't pray, but he can. I can't worship. I've tried to. Oh, I've tried
so hard. Don't you? I wish I could worship
God, but he can't. I wish I could praise the Lord.
I just, I get so tired of this old repetitious praise the Lord,
hallelujah. It's just, you might as well
be saying a slang expression, a colloquial saying. I wish I
could praise God, as he's worthy to be praised, but I can't, but
Christ can. I wish I could feel, I wish I
could feel the depths of sin. I wish I could see the sinfulness
of sin, really feel it, mourn over it. I can't, but Christ
did in Gethsemane. Oh, the weight of sin was so
heavy upon him, he nearly died. He cried, My soul is exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death. I need a mediator. You know,
David said, My sins are ever before me. I know that. And John
said, if we say we have no sin, we're liars, I know that. But
Isaiah summed it up, really, what I want to say. He said,
even our righteousnesses are filthy rags. To stand at God's
right hand and make these frail, foolish, fleshly efforts and
attempts at preaching and worshiping and praying and praising and
singing for God to even receive them. If Christ didn't make my
prayers holy, God wouldn't hear them. I don't want to shock you,
but that's so. You never prayed a prayer yet
that ever got to the throne of God without Christ dressing it
up first, making it holy. You never prayed one yet, and
you never will until you stand in his presence, red of the flesh,
We need to hit the mediator to make our worship acceptable.
Sometimes we have an all-night prayer meeting. We fall on our
knees and weep and pray and put our arms around each other and
love each other and shake hands and walk out there saying that
was heaven on earth. Yeah, that's flesh too, a whole lot of it.
That's right. Don't get mad at me now. You
take the best prayer you ever prayed and it sends you to hell
without Christ. I'm telling you the truth. Christ
is the one that makes our worship acceptable, our gifts to be holy
without a taint of sin, and our meditation to be received. He
ever liveth to make intercession for us. That's right. I see the glory. I tell you,
I see the glory of his intercession. And then when I'm awakened in
that day, I'm going to behold the indescribable glory. He said
to those people, they murmured, he said, Does this offend you?
I talk about my sovereignty and talking about eating my flesh
and drinking my blood, I talk about substitution. Does this
offend you? Wait till you see the Son of Man ascend up where
he was before. Wait till you see that glory.
I want to, don't you? When this corruptible shall I
put on incorruption, when this mortal, and that's what it is,
everything out there is corruptible, everything up here. We can dress
it up and paint it up and polish it up and anoint it with perfume
and cologne, make it smell better and look better, but it's corruptible. Flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God. In the flesh no man can please
God. In the flesh dwelleth no good
thing. But when this corruptible shall I put on incorruption,
One of these days you can take the magnifying glass of God's
absolute holiness and you won't find one spot in me anywhere.
One of these days. Not now. Don't look too close,
please. You promised not to look too
close at me and I won't look too close at you. But someday
you can examine me with a microscope of His holiness and you won't
find one stain. incorruption, when this mortal
shall be put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the same." Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? David said, I'm going to be satisfied
some day. I'm not now. I love you, and
I long to be home. Last week I missed you, to be
back to worship with you, back in the fellowship of God's people
here. But I'll tell you this, I'm not satisfied, but I'm going
to be when I awake with his likeness. Every question will be answered,
every burden will be lifted, every sin will disappear. Someday
the silver cord will break and I know mores now shall sing,
but oh, the joy when I awake in the presence of the King,
and I'm going to see him face to face. Someday my earthly house
will fall. I don't know how soon it'll be,
but this I know, my all in all has now, right now, a place in
heaven for me, and I shall see him face to face. But I tell
you this, God's Holy Spirit has awakened us to a degree, not like we're going
to see him then. That which is in part shall be
done away, and that which is perfect is come. We know in part.
But my friends, I beg of you, and I plead with you, and I pray
for you, ask God to awaken you. Lord, awake thou that sleepest! Lord, don't let me sleep through
the revelation of His glory. Don't let me be like Peter, James,
and John and sit there asleep while the Lord is glorified in
my presence. Don't let others be awakened
and see his glory and pass me by. Open my eyes, open my eyes,
that I may see the beauty of Christ. Forgive us for our fleshly attempts
at praying and worshiping, but we must pray. We must ask. You have not because you ask
not. We must seek. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Call upon him while he is near.
We must knock. To him that knocketh it shall
be opened. O Lord, aid us. by Thy Spirit. We thank Thee
for our Mediator, the Lord Jesus, who makes our imperfections perfect,
and all our wretchedness holy and our sinfulness pure. In Him
we are holy and without blame, without blemish. Thank You for
Christ. Enable us, O Lord, through the
days that are ahead to see less of ourselves and more of His
glory. Let us be able to say from our hearts, not with just
our mouths, with John, I must decrease, He must increase. May the glory and the praise
and the honor forever and ever be His, to whom alone it is due,
reveal the Savior. For His glory and praise we ask
it. Amen.

They Saw His Glory

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They Saw His Glory

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