Remember our evening services
this evening at 6 o'clock. Brother Bill Parker will be bringing
our message for us this evening. And remember that this Wednesday
evening, we will not have a service here on July 14. We will not
have a service. This morning, Brother Roger Waybright
is going to bring our message. Roger, if you don't know, Roger,
on the 4th Sunday of every month, ministers at the Open Door Mission
and has for many years. It's always a blessing to hear
Roger bring the gospel. Roger, you come now. It's a great privilege to be
here to share God's word with you men and women. I pray it'll
be a blessing to you. In fact, it's the same message
I preached at the Open Door Mission on the fourth Sunday last month.
We'll be in Luke chapter nine. It's about the Mount of Transfiguration,
which is a familiar story, but I hope to bring out some interesting
points that'll be to your edification. If I could put a title to it,
it'd be Hear Him. Why we should hear him and what
does he have to say? Luke chapter 9, starting on verse
28. It says, And it came to pass,
about eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John
and James and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the
fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was
white and glycerine. And behold, there talked with
him two men, which were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory
and spoke of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep.
And when they were awake, they saw his glory and the two men
that stood with him. And it came to pass as they departed
from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to
be here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses,
and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said. While he thus spake,
there came a cloud and overshadowed them, and they feared as they
entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of
the cloud saying, this is my beloved son, hear him. And when
the voice was passed, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it
close, and no man in those days, and told no man in those days
any of those things which they had seen. Hear him is the message. Why we should hear him? And what
does he have to say? Now, of course, I could read
the whole Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, to find what
he has to say. And it's all a blessing, all
for our edification. So I just picked out some high
points. But first, I want to see one reason why we're to hear
him is because he's the one who all the law, the Psalms, and
the prophets spoke of. That's why I like Luke's version
of the transfiguration. He talks about Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory. The Law and the Prophets are
truly glorious when you see Jesus Christ in them. They shine with
true glory when Christ is revealed in the Law and the Prophets. Jesus said in Matthew chapter
5 verse 17, think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the
Prophets, I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I
say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, till heaven
and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall know wise paths
in the law till all be fulfilled. Now we'll turn to chapter 24
of Luke and the familiar story of the
two disciples on the Emmaus road. You know, this is the first time
in 16 years that I haven't had my other Bible to church with
me, but it's getting so wore out, I can't hardly turn the
pages in it anymore. Chapter 24, and we can start
on verse 24. You know the story, they're left,
it's Cleopas and the other disciple. They're talking and Jesus comes
up and he says to them, what are they talking about? And they're
like kind of amazed, like, where have you been? You know, haven't
you known what's happening in Jerusalem, that Jesus who was
crucified? And he says in verse 21, we trusted
it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. And besides
all this, today is the third day since these things were done.
Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished,
which were early at the sepulcher. And when they found not his body,
they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels,
which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were
with us went to the sepulcher and found it even so, as the
women had said, but him they saw not." Now verse 25, then
he said, Jesus said unto them, O fools and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken. Jesus is the glory
of the prophets. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, he expounded unto them all the scriptures,
the things concerning himself." Luke chapter 24, verse 44. He's talking to the disciples
now, the apostles. And he said unto them, these
are the words which I spake unto 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. The glory of the law and the
prophets and the Psalms is when we see Christ in them. That's
the reason why we should hear him, amen? Luke chapter one,
going backwards. Maybe I should have put them
in a different order, but I didn't. Luke 1, verse 67, this is the
prophecy of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. And his father, Zacharias, verse
67, was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied, saying,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed
his people. and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in
the house of his servant David, as he spake by the mouth of all
his holy prophets, which have been since the world began."
You go all the way back, since the world began. All the prophets
have testified of Christ. He's the glory. That's why I
like Luke's version, they appeared in glory. The law and the prophets
are glorified when Christ is seen in them, amen? Now to Acts
chapter three. And like I tell the men at the
mission, I like to use preponderance of scriptures to prove my point.
You know, I don't want to use one scripture and then just opine
on my own opinion. Acts chapter three, verse 18. Speaking of Christ again, he
said, but those things which God before had showed by the
mouth of all his prophets, all his prophets, that Christ should
suffer, he has so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore and be converted,
that your sins may be blotted out when the time of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send
Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom heaven
must receive unto the times of restoration of all things, which
God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the
world began." Christ has always been the testimony, amen? And
when you see Christ in the law, the Psalms and the prophets,
they just shine gloriously. You know, Christ is the sun and
there are the lesser stars and they reflect his glory, if I
may say so. And we see back in Luke chapter
nine that they spoke of his decease, which is his departure or his
exodus. which Christ and which Christ
would be truly glorified. So that's one reason we are to
listen to Christ and hear what he has to say, because he is
the fulfillment of all the law, the prophets and the Psalms. Another reason we should hear
him because of who he is. He's God manifest in the flesh.
Hebrews 1.1 says, God, who has sent three times in diverse manners,
spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, has
in these last days spoken to us by his son, hear him, whom
he hath appointed the heir of all things, by whom also he made
the world. Who, being the brightness of
his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of majesty on
high, we are to hear him because of his glorious person. Amen.
He's the brightness of God's glory and the express image of
his person, upholds all things by the word of his power. Colossians
115 says kind of in the same language, he's the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him
were all things created that are in heaven and that are on
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions,
or principalities, or powers, all things were created by him
and for him. And he is before all things,
and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have the preeminence. That's why we're
to hear him. He, in all things, has had the
preeminence over the law and the prophets and the Psalms.
We're to hear and see Christ. Amen? Colossians 2 verse 9 continues,
says, For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He is God manifest in the flesh,
it says in 1 Timothy 3.16. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in the glory.
We are to hear him because of his person. Hear him, the Father
spoke. He is the Word of God, the Logos,
the Second Person, the Divine Trinity. In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The
same was in the beginning with God, and all things were made
by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.
He is the Word. Why would we not want to hear
Him, amen? And the word was made flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory is the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, grace and
truth. Hear him, the voice spoke from
heaven. He is the Father's beloved son,
the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. It says
another place in the scriptures when he came up out of the River
Jordan, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear
Him because of His person, because of who He is. We're to hear Him,
amen? He is that prophet. Another reason,
He is that prophet like unto Moses. Deuteronomy 18, 18, and
I'm trying not to go fast. I had a friend caution me. He
says, Roger, you start going too fast. I could tell you a funny story
about that down to Opendoor Mission, but I'll pass on that. They're
all used to it. Deuteronomy 18, 18 says, I will
raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto
thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak
unto them all that I shall command him. and it shall come to pass
it, whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall
speak in my name, I will required of him. He says the same thing
in Acts chapter three, verse 22, Moses truly said unto the
fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you
of your brethren, like unto me. Him shall you hear in all things
whatsoever he shall say unto you. Hear him in all things that
he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that
every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed
from among the people." Whoa. Oh, whoa. Not to heed the words
of the Lord Jesus Christ. So another reason we're to hear
him is his words will judge us. His words will judge. John chapter
12, verse 48. It's kind of cheating, I guess,
for me to print the words out and then expect you all to look
it up real quick. But that's why I'm trying to
go slower. I'm trying to heed my friend's advice. But I get
on a roll and I can't hardly stop sometimes. John 12, verse
48. He that rejects me and receives
not my words has one that judges him. The word I have spoken,
the same shall judge him in the last days. Oh, we better give
heed to him who is speaking. Amen. For I have not spoken of
myself, but the father which sent me, he gave me a commandment,
what I should say and what I should speak. We're to listen to him,
hear him, amen. And I know that his commandment
is life everlasting, whatsoever I speak, therefore, even as the
father says unto me, so I speak. Hear him, that voice came out
of the mouth, hear him. He has the words of life, John
chapter six. Not only words that judge, but
he has the words that gives life. John chapter 6, verse 63. He says, it is the spirit that
quickens. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak unto you
are spirit and are life. We're to hear him because his
words are life. Amen. We'll see that Peter responds
on that. Verse 64, but there are some
of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were that believed not and who should betray him. Verse
65, and he said, therefore I said unto you that no man can come
unto me except it were given unto him of my father. From that
time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with
him. Then said Jesus unto the 12,
will you go away also? Then Peter answered him and said,
Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. Hear him, amen. His words judge,
his words are life. He is that prophet because of
his personhood. And because number five fact
we should hear him is because it's commandment. Hear him. That's
not a suggestion. Hear him. That's a commandment
from the God who lives and dwells and reigns on high. Hear him. My beloved son, hear him. God
in the flesh, hear him. Hear him. Now, what does he have
to say that we should listen to? Like I said, I could read
the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and pick out, and pick
out, and pick out, and just stand up here and read, read, read.
But I tried to pick out some things that would be for that
application, and also challenge. You know, this message was for
the men at the mission, and I don't assume that the men are saved
when I go there, even though they're all supposed to be, and
they had all confessed that they were. Hear him. What does he have to
say? But first, let me give you a
warning that Jesus says in Matthew chapter seven, He talks about
the rain and the storm coming down upon the rock, the house
that's built on the rock and the house that's built on the
sand, and the difference between the house on the rock and the
house on the sand is one who heard and did and one who heard
and didn't do. So it's more than just hearing.
There's a hearing and a doing, amen? Let's hear some of the
things that Jesus has to say. Mark chapter one, verse 14. Now that after John was put in
prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom
of God and saying, the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God
is at hand. Repent ye and believe the gospel. Hear him repent and believe the
gospel. There's no other way is to our
detriment. If we reject his words, amen,
hear him, hear his. What else does he have to say? He speaks of man not knowing
God unless Christ reveals him, and this knowing is sovereignly
dispensed, Matthew 11, verse 25. No man can know Christ and
God the Father unless it's spiritually discerned, amen? Matthew 11,
verse 25. He says, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent. He hid them from the wise and
prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered
unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son but the Father.
Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal him. You're not going to, if you could,
you can read these scriptures from morning to evening, 365,
till you can memorize every verse in the Bible. But unless the
Holy Spirit opens your eyes and sees the truth of who he is and
what is, unless he enlightens you, you're, it's all vain. If the son doesn't reveal the
father, you're never going to find him. By searching, you're
never going to know God. Where are you going to look for
him at? How are you going to know? Hear him, hear him on man's inability,
but God's effectual drawing. Matthew chapter 19, this is after
the incident with the rich young ruler who went after him and
said, good master, what shall I do to inherit internal life? And then he goes on to say, it's
easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a
rich man to enter the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard
this, verse 25 of Matthew 19, they were exceedingly amazed,
saying, who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld and said unto
them, with men this is impossible. Thank the Lord it didn't end
there. But with God all things are possible. Matthew Henry on
this says, who can be saved, says the disciples. None, saith
Christ, by any created power. With men it's impossible. The
wisdom of man would soon be nonplussed and contriving, and the power
of man baffled and affecting the salvation of a soul. No creature
can work the changes that is necessary to the salvation of
a soul, either in himself or in anyone else. That's why I
tell the men at the mission, I can't pray you into heaven. With men, it is impossible that
so strong a stream should be turned, so hard a heart softened,
so stubborn a will bowed. It is a creation. It is a resurrection. And with men, this is impossible.
It can never be done by philosophy, medicine, or politics. But with
God, all things are possible. The beginning, progress, and
perfection of the work of salvation depends entirely upon the power
of God himself. Amen. John 6, verse 44. Man's inability,
but God's effectual calling. But with God, all things are
possible. We saw that in Matthew. John 6, verse 44. He says, no
man can come to me. The end. No, thank the Lord,
it's not the end. Amen. Except, thank you for that
word, except. Except the Father which has sent
me, draw him, and I will raise him up at the last days. No man
can come to me. It's beyond man's ability. Man
can't do it himself. We just read that. Man has not
the power to do so. No man, no man, no man. Not some men, maybe, who are
advanced or more brilliant or wise. No man. Except the Father which sent
me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last days. It is
written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God.
Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the
Father comes unto me. Amen. So we hear him on God's effectual
calling on man's inability. Do we hear him on man's great
need? You must be born again. You must
be born again. There's a story that George Whitfield
had a friend ask him one time, why do you stress so much that
you must be born again? And he said, because you must
be born again. You must be born again. That's not
something you can do through a reformation or turning over
a new leaf, going to AA or AAA or quadruple A. It's not something you can manufacture
in your own life. It's not something you can do.
A dead man can't make himself alive. You must be born again. It's imperative. You must be
born again. Hear him, Jesus says. You must
be born again. Let's hear him on the exclusivity
of salvation. Fancy word. John 14 verse 6,
Jesus speaking, says, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father
but by me. That's about as plain and simple
as you can put it. No man, there's not another way. There's not a third way, a second
way, or a fourth way. Men aren't making it to heaven
some other way. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. He says, I am the way, not I'm
going to tell you of your way or show you a way. I am the way. I am the truth and I am the life. No man cometh under the father,
but by me. Men may try to get in a different
way, but as, as I read the scriptures, there's only two roads, a broad
road that leads to destruction and a narrow road that leads
to life. Now on that broad road, there's many who think they're
on the right way, but there's a way that seems right unto a man,
but the end thereof is the way of death. The exclusivity of
salvation. Jesus was very narrow-minded,
you could say, but it's for our good to heed his words. You must
be born again, and no man comes unto the Father but by me. Now let's hear him about true rest. Matthew 11, verse 28. He says
in verse 28, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Hear me, the Lord says, amen. take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find
rest until your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is
light." You know, I can't help but think about the woman in
Luke who was bent down for 18 years, stooped over. That's how
we were with our sin. We were carrying a heavy burden. We couldn't straighten ourselves
up. But the Lord Oh, the Lord says, come unto me and I will
give you rest. No matter how hard we tried to
get rid of that burden. In fact, we made the burden heavier
by trying to do it on our own power and strength and will.
But Jesus says, come unto me and I will give you rest. True
rest, true rest, true rest. Rest is only found in Christ.
No other thing in this world will give a man rest. We can hear the Lord about true
spiritual satisfaction, hear him about this. What does it
take to be truly satisfied spiritually? John 6, 35, Jesus says, I am
the bread of life. He that comes to me shall never
hunger, and he that believes on me shall never thirst. Christ is the answer for all
man's needs. He is to be the satisfaction
of our souls. Even his brother Streeter was sharing in the Sunday
school class. He's to be our desire, our hope,
our strength, our life, our all in all, because he said he would
be, amen? I am the bread of life. Never hunger,
never thirst. Complete spiritual satisfaction
is found only in Christ Jesus only. Hear him. We can hear about the certainty
and security of our salvation. John chapter six, verse 37. Hear him, all that the father
gives me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will
no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which
he has given me, I should lose nothing. All that the Father gives me
shall come to me. Not one of God's elect is gonna miss the
boat. And not one of God's elect is gonna fall away. If that would
be possible, that means Jesus failed to do God's will. I don't
think people understand what that would mean. He would no
longer be the good shepherd because he lost one of his sheep. There's
security in Christ, there's salvation in Christ, Him only, Him alone,
amen? All that the Father gives me
shall come to me. That's why there's always hope
until they breathe their last breath. I don't know if they're
elect or not elect. You know, that's not my concern
and it's not your concern either to know whether you're elect
or not elect. The scriptures say whomsoever will. And when
you enter in, you'll know I'm one of the elect. You're not
called to know, am I elect, and then I'm gonna turn to the Lord.
But all God's elect will be saved infallibly and without doubt
to the very end, kept by the good shepherder of their souls.
And I will lose nothing, he says. Nothing, not even me, not even
you. And sometimes I wonder how it
had to be a great salvation that Christ could save a sinner like
me and keep me through all the things I've been through and
done and never lose me, never fall away, never quit loving
me. It's truly amazing. I don't know
about you people, but I'm amazed at it all, that he could love
me so much and keep me and sustain me and forgive me and cleanse
me and be with me and walk with me and sustain me. Hear him about true freedom.
And that's especially true for these men at the mission who
are, most of them are, they got alcohol and drug problems. They've
been in chains of sin. John chapter eight, verse 34. Jesus speaking again, says, verily,
verily, truly, truly, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin
is the servant of sin, the slave of sin. And the servant abides
not in the house forever, but the son abides forever. If the
son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Rest, freedom, spiritual life,
spiritual satisfaction only be found in Christ alone. I'm the
way, the truth, and the life. Very exclusive. I'm the way,
the truth, and the life. He speaks of life, hear him,
John 5, verse 24. John 5, verse 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that heareth my words, and believes on him that sent me,
has everlasting life, not probationary everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Everlasting life. He that hears
my words, hear him. If there's someone in this room
today who hasn't heard him, by God's grace, may you hear him
today. Hear him. The thief cometh not but to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have
life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Oh, what
more could we ask for? Really, what more could a man
ask for? That's why Jesus is called the Desire of Nations,
I believe, because everything a man desires is found in Christ.
Everything man looks for in reality is only found in the Lord Jesus
Christ, not in things of this world that man tries and seeks
and does. Never any satisfaction, never
any peace, never any rest, never any joy. Hear him talk of true peace.
John chapter 14, verse 27. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not
as the world gives, give I unto you. The world can't give you
peace anyway. The world's peace is very fleeting,
amen? Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. Peace, peace I leave with you.
Peace I give to you, not as the world gives, gives I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Hear
Him, hear Him. These things I have spoken to
you, John chapter 16, verse 33. These things have I spoken to
you, hear him, that in me you might have peace, in the world
you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. In the world you'll have tribulation. You know, when I think about
peace, I gotta go back to Psalms chapter 40, verse two. Psalm 40 verse 2. It says, he
brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay and
set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. Now that word, he
brought me also up out of a horrible pit, the marginal reading is
a pit of noise. I don't know if you can relate
to that, but when I was in the world, and that's how the world is for
sinners. It's confusing, noisy, loud,
raucous. There's no peace in it. It's
a pit of noise. That's why I like that marginal
reading. It's a pit of noise, confusion, chaos, hurt, harm,
destruction, a pit of noise. There's no peace in it. There's
no rest in it. It's just on and on and on and
you can't shut it out. But he brought me out of that
pit of noise. Amen. That's why if you read Psalms
23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me
lay down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. The marginal read on that is waters of quietness.
Oh, quietness, peace in heart, quietness in the tribulations
and the trials, those storms that beat upon that house that
was on the rock. In the midst of that house, the man was in
peace because his house was built on the rock. quietness and peace,
no more the pit of noise, waters of quietness. Oh, thank you,
Lord, for quiet in my heart. There's times when I was unsaved.
I used to think, man, I've got to get somewhere or do something.
I've maybe shared it before on my way back to my hometown from
WVU. I went to West Virginia University,
wasted my time there. I got an expensive piece of paper
that hangs on the wall. But I used to be driving home
sometimes, my hometown, which is about 60 miles away, and sometimes
I'd be driving by and I'd look at these houses out in the country.
And I would think, I'd like to just pull into the driveway and
get out and go sit down in the chair and just be in peace. You know, you're looking for
peace, but there was no peace because I was in that pit of
noise and confusion, dead in trespasses and sin. Oh, but my
heart longed for peace. I don't know if you can relate
to that or not, but peace. And with peace, there's true
joy. Let's hear him about true joy. John chapter 15, verse 11. These things have I spoken in
you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might
be full. Wow, can it be? Is the Lord speaking
the truth? Is he just giving us some pie-in-the-sky
homilies, you know, feel-good-isms? Or is the Lord speaking the truth
about peace and joy and rest and life and freedom? Is he speaking
the truth? Of course he is, amen? He is
the way, the truth, and the life, full of grace and truth. Why do we seek our joy in other
things? And our joy is so fleeting when we're putting it in other
things. But he is our joy. He is our peace. He is our freedom.
He is our life. He is our satisfaction. Amen. Let's hear him what he says about
what is necessary to be fruitful and our total dependence upon
him. John chapter 15. Verse four,
he says, abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except
you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abides in me and I in
him, the same bring forth much fruit, for without me you can
do nothing, nothing. That's a pretty broad statement,
isn't it? It's like one commentator said,
we can do nothing that is spiritually good, no, not anything at all,
be it little or great, easy or difficult. We cannot think a
good thought, speak a good word, or do a good action, can neither
begin one, nor when it's begun to perform it to completion.
Apart from me, you can do nothing, but in Christ, and you know,
that's where a branch, I always like to think of that branch,
that branch rests in Christ. You know, that branch can't tell
him, please provide more for me. A branch, you know, and I
relate to this because I do landscaping and lawn maintenance for business.
Those plants, they're not struggling, wondering whether the root's
going to supply them water and food and nutrition. It does,
or else they die. So we're in Christ, we rest in
him that he will provide all that we need to stand and be
strong and persevere and be fruitful, amen? I don't have to beg him
to supply the need. He is willing, amen? And able
and wants to. Let's hear him about love, his
love and our love. John 15, verse nine. He says, as the father has loved
me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. As the
father has loved me, so I have loved you. Continue ye in my
love. If you keep my commandments,
you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father's commandments
and abide in his love. These things have I spoken to
you that my joy might remain in you. and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, now this
applies to me and you, that you love one another as I have loved
you. He is the life, the way, he's our love. I thank the Lord,
that commandment, what is a great commandment? You shall love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, strength, and mind. And you shall love your neighbor
as yourself. Impossible. I had a friend tell me once he
was in a Sunday school class and the teacher stood up and
said, do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength,
and mind? And of course, no one was brave enough to raise their
hand. So he said, you're all going to hell. But see, Jesus has loved the
Lord thy God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind, and
he has loved his neighbor as himself, and his life is my life. He is the sustainer, and he is
mine. He, in Christ, I love Lord God
with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind. And in Christ, I love
my neighbor as myself. I can't do anything else but.
Apart from him, I can do nothing, amen? I sure can't fulfill the
great commandment. But that is a commandment, hear
ye him, love one another as I have loved you. That's a pretty high
standard, people, and you can't meet it in yourself. So you gotta
seek to the Lord, and he promised to meet your need, amen? He doesn't
command something, then not provide the way to do it. It's God who
works in you both to will and to do, amen? Let's hear about
great love. John 17, verse 23. John 17, verse 23. He's speaking,
he says, I in them and thou in me, that they may be perfect
in one, that the world may know that you have sent me and has
loved them as thou hast loved me. Now, is he speaking just another
pie-in-the-sky verb here, or is he trying to throw out some
sweet-smelling nothing? I believe what Jesus Christ says,
don't you? Hear him. As thou hast sent me
and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. That's forever. Those whom God
loves, He always has loved. Amen. He's loved us in Christ
since before, before, before, before, before. His love has always been upon
us. He didn't start loving us at some time. He didn't send
Jesus to pay for my sins so that He could love me. He sent Jesus
to pay for my sins because He did love me. As thou hast loved them, thou
hast loved me. That's too amazing to even believe. It's too amazing to grasp that
God could love us in such a great love. But he only loves us because
he sees us in his son, whom he loves with a great love. He sees
us in the dear beloved, amen? Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. Oh, what a promise
that is, isn't it? through life and death, amen?
You're not gonna fall away. I will, I will, I will that they
be with me where I am. That they may behold my glory, which thou has given me for you
loved me before the foundation of the world. Oh, that means
he loved me and you from before the foundation of the world.
And it's God's will, Christ's prayer, I mean, that we be with
him in glory to behold his true glory, not like the glory on
the Mount of Transfiguration, I mean, which that glory was
fleeting, and that was just a fraction of his glory. Man could never
behold his true glory. It would destroy him. But we're
gonna behold it one day. Oh, righteous Father, the world
hath not known thee, But I have known thee, and these have known
that you have sent me. And I have declared unto them
thy name, and will declare it, that the love which you has loved
me may be in them, and I in them. Christ in us, the hope of glory."
Isn't that what the scripture says? Now, there's one more thing
I can add in that he wants us to hear about the completion
of the work the totality of the work, all things necessary to
save a sinner, when he spoke those words on the cross, it
is finished. He's not calling upon me to perform a task or
do something. No matter what it called upon
me to do, no matter how little it was, I'd fail in doing it.
If you had to earn your salvation, woe unto you. But his words hear
him, it is finished. We enter into his work, amen,
and we find rest. We're no longer striving to please
God because we find crisis to please God for me on my behalf.
And he's my promise of heaven. He's my promise of security. He's my promise of peace, life,
truth. All things needed, all things
needed, all things needed. It's in Him and Him alone. He
is the way, the truth, and the life. Repent and believe the
gospel, amen. Thank you, and I pray God will
bless the word to your hearing. And if I spoke anything unseemly
or out of place, may God make it all straight and right. In
Jesus' name. Thank you, Roger. That was a
blessing. If you hadn't heard the gospel
before,