Get that main control over there
on the right side bottom. Back it off a notch. There you
go. Do it again. There you go. That's good. All
right. Not getting any feedback now. Remember those who requested
prayer. I also remember Wanda. She's had another run with that
neuropathy after the shingles, and she's having a real hard
time. So remember her in your prayers. And seek help for the
others who requested prayer. Remember those who've lost loved
ones. And seek their help. News on Chris, my son-in-law's
sister, Cheryl. They found the cancer in the
colon and it hadn't gone through the wall. It's a very small,
it's almost like one of those things, like a polyp. And so
they think they'll be able to remedy that without too much
trouble. Colon cancer, if you catch it early enough, it's one
of the most curable cancers there is. Catch it late, ain't no hope
for you. But we're thankful for that. Any other announcements I need
to? Remember Lindsay, she got in
a fight with a dog and come in second. Bless her heart. But Harper's
looking good. Who's got Harper? Granny, great-granny? Okay. Let's begin our worship service
with hymn number, oh no, the sheep. Complete in thee. ? Complete in thee, no work of
mine ? May take, dear Lord, the place of thine ? Thy blood hath
pardoned but for me ? And I am now complete in thee ? Yea, justified,
O blessed thought ? And sanctified salvation wrought ? Thy blood
hath pardoned, bought for me ? And glorified I too shall be
? Complete in thee, no more shall sin Thy voice shall bid the tempter
flee, and I shall stand complete in thee. Yea, justified, O blessed
God, and sanctified, salvation wrought, thy blood hath for me
and glorified I too shall be complete in thee with more supply
and no good thing to me denied since thou my part ? I ask no more complete in thee
? ? Yea, justified, O blessed thought ? ? And sanctified, salvation
wrought ? ? Thy blood hath pardoned, bought for me ? ? And glorified
I too shall be ? ? May your savior win before thy
bar ? All tribes and tongues assembled are ? Among thy chosen
will I be ? At thy right hand complete in thee ? Yea, justify,
O blessed daughter ? And sanctified salvation wrought ? ? Thy blood
hath pardoned for me ? ? And glorified I too shall be ? I like that old hymn. That's
a good one. Mark chapter 10. Gospel according
to Mark chapter 10. after scripture in parable we'll
see number 287 like a river glorious mark chapter 10 I'll read verses
28 through 34 and when he was coming to the
house that is Jesus came into the house his disciples ask him
privately why could we not cast him out And he said, and this
kind come forth by nothing but prayer and fasting. And they
departed thence and passed through Galilee. He would not that any
man should know, for he thought the disciples. That's Mark, not
chapter nine, excuse me. Thought that didn't sound familiar.
Let's go over to Mark chapter 10. That's the first mistake I ever made. Yeah, that's right. Verse 28,
Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and
have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said,
Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house,
or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children,
or lands for my sake in the gospels. But he shall receive an hundredfold
now in this time houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers,
and children, and lands with persecutions, and in the world
to come eternal life. but many that are first shall
be last. And they were in the way going
up to Jerusalem. Jesus went before them, and they
were amazed. And as they followed, they were
afraid. And he took the twelve and began to tell them what things
should happen, saying, Behold, we go to Jerusalem, and the Son
of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and to the
scribes. And they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver
him to the Gentiles. And they shall mock him, and
shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill
him. And the third day he shall rise
again. Let us pray. Now Father, we bless you and
thank you for your word. Thank you for the clarity of
it. Thank you that you've given it to your children and given
them an understanding and an unction where they understand
all things. We know, Father, it is in this book we have great
peace as we read your words for we have been given faith to believe,
and what a gift that is. Father, help us as we go through
this day to worship you in spirit and in truth. We ask, Lord, your
help for those who are sick and going through trials and troubles.
We ask, Lord, your help for them, for those who are shut-ins, be
a comfort to them and a strength to them. Help us now as we gather
here to worship you in song and preaching of the gospel at the
time around the fellowship at the table this afternoon. Help
us, Lord. We know we need your help. We
worship you in spirit and in truth, saying, Lord, help us. We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen. Hymn number 287, Like a River
Glorious. Like a river glorious is God's
perfect peace. over all victorious in its bright
increase. Perfect yet it floweth, fuller
every day. Perfect yet it groweth, ? And upon Jehovah hearts are fully
blessed ? ? Finding as He promised perfect peace and rest ? ? Hidden
in the hollow of His blessed hand ? Never foe can follow, never traitor
stand. Not a surge of worry, not a shade
of care, not a blast of hurry. Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are
fully blessed, Finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest. on our dial by the son of love. We may trust him fully, all for
us to do. ? Faith upon Jehovah, hearts are
fully blessed ? Finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest. I'm gonna ask Dan and Steve to
steal y'all this morning, please. Let us pray. Father, again, we
approach in the name of Christ, and we have set about to worship
you in this manner which you've ordained for the preaching of
the gospel here and in other places. We ask your blessing
upon those who stand to proclaim the glory of your grace today.
We pray you'd be with them, strengthen them, uphold them, lift up their
arms, fill their mouth, the right things concerning thee. And as
we worship you in this manner, to return unto you what you've
given us, Let us do so with joy, we pray in Christ's name, amen. Mm. you Before we go back to Mark 10,
I want to read the accounts that Matthew gives of this in Matthew
chapter 19, verse 27. It says, Then said Peter unto
him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and have followed thee. What
shall we have therefore? Jesus said unto him, Verily I
say unto you, that ye which have followed me in the regeneration
When the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of glory, ye also
shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren,
or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,
for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit
eternal life. But many that are first shall
be last, and the last shall be first." What our Lord teaches concerning
His grace and His salvation and His law and justice satisfying
sacrifice are the things this world needs to consider, should
consider, and are the things that are worth considering in
this world, because they're the only things that have to do with
eternity. In this passage of Scripture, such things that ought
to occupy our minds are clearly declared. The things that are
declared in this passage are amazing to consider. The first
thing that grabs our attention is our Savior's response to Peter's
statement in question. The text only presents the statement.
The question that follows the statement is found in Matthew's
account when he said, we've given up everything for you and followed
you. What's in it for us? That's basically
what he said. What shall we get? Now what prompted
that passage or that question? I believe was what occurred prior
to this when a rich young ruler came to the Lord and said, good
master, what shall I do that I might inherit eternal life? And the Lord first said, what
do you call me? Good. There's none good but God.
He was saying, I'm God. You can call me good. You're
going to call me God. He said, what shall I do to inherit
eternal life? He says, well, keep the commandments
do the will of the commandments the work of the commandments
he said well I've done these since my youth I've kept all
those I think this rich young ruler because in one passage
of scripture said the Lord loved him might have been solid Tarsus
might have been solid Tarsus that rich young ruler who would
later become the chief apostle But he went away sad. But the
Lord had said to him, sell everything you've got and give it to the
poor. And I think that's what prompted
Peter's question. Well, we've sold everything we
had. We've given up everything, mother and father, house and
home and lands to follow you. What are we going to get? Are
we going to get eternal life from that? That was the question
that was prompted, but instead of a rebuke, which I think would
be our righteously indignant response, our Lord instead answers
Simon Peter with an encouraging word of promise. Consider Simon's
statement. We may feel that he is to be
blamed for some ulterior motive behind the question. We may be
a bit offended that Peter seems to be saying that what he has
done was worthy of reward, that what he has done ought to account
for something. They ever read me an article by a famous preacher,
R.C. Sproul, who's preached some grace
in his life, but missed it a whole lot, too. He was talking about
his life being counting for something. Let me tell you, be as clear
as I can, what you do in this world matters. It matters, but
it does not count. it never will count in the matter
of your being accepted by God and given eternal life. Forgetting
for a moment Peter's question, What shall we have therefore? The words of Simon Peter are
a genuine appraisal of the cost of believing Christ. To a great
degree this is true of everyone to whom God has given faith. God-given faith forsakes all
and follows Christ. The gift of faith, born of the
gospel, is the unqualified surrender of self, of life, to the sovereign
rule of Jesus Christ. It's to bow down and say, Lord,
do with me what you will, what you will. In the paragraph that
precedes this, we see, as I said, the story of the rich young ruler.
That story is a prerequisite to the words of Peter. and he
sheds a lot of light on them. Salvation cannot be gained simply
by believing the right things. Saul of Tarsus, if that was who
this rich young man was, he believed right as far as the Old Testament
went. He made that statement in Philippians chapter three
that he kept it all. He says, as to the law, I was
blameless. I was a Pharisee. As to what
was in the law, I never broke it. And he said that in the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit. He wasn't lying. But he says,
all that's nothing but manure, dung, and I give it all up that
I may win Christ. Salvation cannot be gained by
doing right things. Salvation cannot be gained that
way or else the rich young lord would not have gone away sorrowful.
He would have went away happy because he did those things.
Salvation involves leaving all for Christ's sake and the gospel.
I think it's in Nehemiah or Ezra 1 with the rebuilding of the
temple. The first thing they did after they started rebuilding
the temple was go to the trash heap. They took everything out
from the trash heap and threw it away. One man said the first place
you go after you meet Jesus Christ is the graveyard. Bury everything
and everybody you know. And that's the truth. That's the truth. Though the
believer does not serve the Lord and for gain and reward, our
Lord assures us that those who follow Him have indeed gained
more than they ever have given up. That is what He said. You
give up your house and your home and your lands, and He said,
I am going to give you a hundredfold of all of that while you are
here, and also I am going to give you eternal life. This is
an amazing promise, especially in light of Peter's question.
These blessed words just about cover all of it. If your heart
is troubled and weighed down with the cares of this world,
as most of us You feel as if you've given more than you can
bear, even if in a moment of weakness you toy with the idea
that you deserve better, because we do. You hear the words of Christ, imbibe
them in your mind when He said this, But he shall receive an hundredfold,
now and this time, houses brethren and sisters and mothers and children
and lands with persecutions and in the world to come eternal
life. We have brothers and sisters all over this world. I get calls
from them. Hey, Brother James, how are you
doing? A fellow called the other day I hadn't seen in 30 years.
He wanted to know how I was doing. He's my brother. He's up in Virginia
somewhere, down at Grace Church. I'm thankful for that. We have
mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters all over this world. We need to visit that fountain
of truth often and drink deep for therein is the encouragement
of plenty for every child of God. Whatever it costs you to
follow Christ is not going to be compared to what you have
already gained by following Christ for the Lord said all things
are yours. All things belong to the believer
all things are yours and your Christ and Christ is God's. Reminded
of the old washer woman's walking down the street in Alabama, toes
sticking out of her shoes, heels worn down, she's carrying a bag
of laundry on her shoulder. Some guy pulls up in a Cadillac,
said, hey woman, what you singing about? She is singing. She says, well, this world is
mine. I'm a child of the King. And
what you got, you just paying taxes on it. I'm a child of the
King. That's what it is to be a child
of God. In Christ, the believer has the promise of forgiveness,
which is unbelievable, which is a wondrous thing. Peace in
a world of turmoil, redemption and reconciliation through His
blood. We have the abundance of His grace shed abroad in our
hearts. Mercy is new every morning. He
yet promised us that we shall have, while we are here, comforts
and joys more than sufficient to make up for that which we've
left behind. The fact is, when the believer is asked, he rarely
ever speaks in terms of loss. You'll not find that kind of
language in Scripture. Paul said, this little bit of
trouble I'm having now ain't even to be compared to what's
waiting for me. Not even to be compared. His promise does not
end here. Our Lord promises eternal life
in the world to come. Eternal life. Upon consideration,
the value of that cannot be estimated. We will live forever with our
dear Savior in a world where sin and sorrow and sickness and
death and Satan and temptations, parting and weeping shall be
no more. Think about that. Weeping may
endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. The scripture
says, next our Lord says, what he addresses is found in verse
31, he says, but many that shall be first shall be last. The first
shall be last, the last shall be first. It's quite a thing. Quite a thing. These are words
of warning against self-deceit and conceit. These same disciples
in Matthew chapter 18 before Peter spoke in chapter 19 were
bickering about who's going to sit at the right hand of Christ
in glory. They were fussing about who's
going to be the best. Our Lord said something about conceit
and self-deceit. This is a warning to Peter, James,
and John. Now you think about this. That's the inner circle
with Christ. If the inner circle is thus warned,
we best pay close attention to what our Lord says. There is
no doubt that this warning is for the disciples that walked
with our Lord. Among them, at this time, there stood a most
trusted individual. He carried the purse. He was the church's first treasurer, and he will soon betray the Lord
with a kiss. Soon he will take up his residence
to abide forever as a denizen of the damned. His name is Judas. There's also one who's not now
among them who would assume the mantle of Judas. He was waiting
for his moment to strike against Christ and his church. You'll
receive letters from the priests and elders, his pockets filled
with no-knock warrants to kill and maim these followers of the
man from Nazareth. Soon everyone in the circle that's
there for this Word of our Lord will consider this man to be
the last man on earth to be trusted. The last one. God's ways are higher than our
ways. He doesn't think like we do and don't think that he does.
As soon as this student of Gamaliel, this lawyer, will be elevated
to the chiefest among the apostles, the one who went out to kill
everybody who's standing in this circle right now, We said, they
said of him, we don't trust him. We don't want to hear this solitary.
Even when he began to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the
Christians said, I don't know. We've heard about him. We've
heard what kind of man he is. I don't know whether I want to
hear him preach or not. Everyone said he was last, but he was
first. Judas was the first treasurer, and he was the last. They seemed
destined for great things. We know people like that. How
many of us have seen men and women who did run well for a
while, seemed destined for great things, they had zeal and showed
great commitment and understanding, they seemed first, but now where
are they to be found? Missing in action, they are last. My prayer since I began to preach
the gospel is Lord, keep me by your grace. That I might run the race to
the end to begin with Christ, to stay with Christ, and end
with Christ. Henry Mahan told me many years
ago, he said, it's not how you start that thing out, it's how
you end up. Many started out well and ended up bad. Lord,
help my end. Finally, we see the words of
our Lord and the assurance that we need never doubt the promise
in verse 32. he says and they were in the way going to jerusalem
and jesus went before them and they were amazed they were astonished
they'd been astonished at what he said to this rich young ruler
because after the guy walked away he said you know it'd be
easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a
rich man to get into heaven and they were astonished here was
a good man who had done all his life had done right and he walked
away sorrowful the lord said It's impossible with men. They
asked, who can be saved? If this guy walks away sorrowful,
who then can be saved? He said, with men it's impossible. But with God, all things are
possible. But he says this, they were amazed. They were amazed at what he said.
They were amazed at what he was about to say. They were afraid
because he began to talk to them. If you read beginning of John
13 all the way through John 16 and 17, or actually through 16
is the preparation our Lord made telling these disciples over
and over again, I'm going to be killed. I'm going to give
my life. I'm going to be maltreated. Now
they had followed him for three years and they loved him a whole
lot. They listened to him teach for three years, and he meant
something to them. And he's starting to tell them, I'm going up to
Jerusalem, and when we get there, there ain't gonna be a party.
Peter will look at him when he sits around the table at the
last supper. And Peter said, well, I'll never
deny you. Others may quit on you, but I ain't gonna quit on
you. You can count on that. And the Lord said, well, before the
cock crows this morning, before daybreak, you're gonna deny me
three times. And he did. They were amazed when he talked
about dying. He talked about dying. You're the son of God. Peter
actually said that one time when he said he was going to Jerusalem
to die. Peter said, not so. Not so with you, Lord. Not with
you. He said, get thee behind me,
Satan. You desire the things of the world, not the things
of the spirit. Going to Jerusalem to die. That
was always the situation. Our Lord tells His disciples
they go to Jerusalem and they will suffer and die for them
as their surety and their substitute. And several things are true about
that. When Jesus Christ went to Jerusalem, it wasn't a haphazard,
it wasn't a mistake. I remember that clown that runs
that Christian radio, Christian broadcasting system, whatever
it was, Pat, somebody, ran for president one time. And when they had a reporter
ask him, how come you run for president? He said, God told
me to. God told me to. Well, he lost. And they said, well, God told
you to run for president and you lost? He said, well, his
son failed when he came to earth, too. That's what he said. What a jerk. I don't know God
from a goose, and he runs a Christian broadcasting network. Don't know
God from a goose. The Lord tells His disciples,
I'm going to Jerusalem. And what does that mean? Well,
first of all, it was a voluntary trip. Read Isaiah chapter 50.
He went there voluntarily. He said, I gave my back to the
smiters. I gave my face to them that pull
off their hair. I gave my face to spitting and
shame. I gave that. How do we know that's true? Because
when they came to arrest Him, And they didn't come unarmed.
They came with torches and with weapons and a whole group of
men and soldiers and priests and scribes, the whole outfit,
religion and politics were all gathered together against Jesus
Christ. They came to arrest him. And
he says, who you fellas looking for? And they said, we're looking
for Jesus of Nathrezim. He said, eggo, I may. I am. That's
the same one that spoke out of the burning bush. Moses said, who shall I say sent
me? He says, you tell them I am, that I am has sent thee. And our Lord said, I am. And
here these strong men with torches and swords and weapons stood
there and fell down. Words knocked them down. As they
scrambled to get back to their feet, our Lord says, whom you
fell to say you're seeking? I bet there was some temerity
about repeating who they came for. they said well we were seeking
Jesus he said okay you can take me I don't want you to know it's
my voluntary I just knocked you down with my words if you take
me it's because I give it to you but wait a minute he said
now here's the thing if you take me if you take me these my disciples
they go free that's substitution right down and he said that and
he said this is what he said that the scriptures might be
fulfilled that all you've given me I should lose nothing but
raise it up again at the last day and that's it if the law
gets Jesus Christ it cannot get those for whom Christ died it
cannot because the law has been satisfied. This was a voluntary
act when our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth. It was our Lord's
destiny. Scripture says He set His face
like a flint toward Jerusalem. He said that in the Old Testament. He set His face like a flint
toward Jerusalem. He went to Jerusalem on the purpose
on purpose according to God's predestinating purpose. He was
DELIVERED, the scripture says, by the DETERMINANT COUNSEL and
FOR KNOWLEDGE of God. And when that happened two thousand
years ago, when Israel and the Gentiles and Herod and Pontius
Pilate, who were enemies up to that point but became friends
because they both hated Christ, it says of them that Herod and
Pontius Pilate and the Jews and the Gentiles gathered together
against Jesus Christ. against the Lord's anointed.
Why did they do that? It's going to kill him, it's
going to put him out of business, he's not going to reign over us. It said,
For to do whatsoever the Lord had ordained to be done. First time the word proerizo,
predestination, is used in Scripture. First time. When is it? In the
predestinated dying of our Lord Jesus Christ. That was no haphazard. No mistake. No screw up. Not another way of trying for
God. This is all of it. Jesus Christ was the lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. This world was made under that
veil. Under that umbrella. The slain
lamb. It's our Lord's destiny. In Jerusalem
on that tree, our Lord did some things. He didn't try to save
somebody or make salvation possible. He offered Himself to God, not
to men. And men who offer Jesus to men
don't know what they're talking about. He offered Himself to
God the Father for the payment that was due His people. His payment that what they owed
God was a death for sin. and their death would not satisfy
it because their death without Christ would simply put them
in an eternal damnation state where they would pay forever
a debt that they could never pay. They'd be like in debtor's
prison and they'd never make enough money to pay off their
debt. No matter how many license plates they made, they'd never
pay off their debt. Jesus Christ offered Himself
to the Father and in doing so, He paid the debt that they owed
with his death when he gave up the ghost and he did that voluntarily.
The mob didn't kill him. The Jews didn't kill him. Herod
Pontius Pilate didn't kill him. The Gentiles didn't kill him.
God didn't kill him. God poured out His wrath on him
in three hours of darkness but Jesus Christ came out on the
other side of that having suffered all the hell that was due His
people. and said, Eloi, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, my God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Then, with a loud voice,
this one who's hanging in agonies and blood, dripping in gore,
looking like a slaughtered beast, not like they see in these pictures
you buy at Walmart with a little cat and tea towel wrapped around
him. He was buck naked, nails driven through his hands and
his feet. He was ripped to shreds by over over uh... uh... forty lashes from the Romans
nine uh... Romans catanin tales crown of
thorns pressed down on his head bleeding from the wounds from
that he looked like a beast it says in Isaiah that his visage
was so marred more than any man and he cried not in a weak and
puny groany voice he cried with a loud voice it is finished And
then he gave up the ghost. He died of his own power and
his own will because he said the Father has given me the power
to die and the power to raise myself up again. He died, and what happened when
he died? The law was satisfied. Completely, absolutely satisfied. That means if you're a child
of God today, if you're trusting in Jesus Christ, if you're one
for whom he died, then the law can never touch you. The holy,
righteous, immaculate, exacting law of God can search you from
the top of your head to the sole of your foot and cannot find
one thing to accuse you for. You say, but I'm a sinner. Not
in God's sight. You're righteous and holy because
of what Christ did. Behold, I'm going to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and to
the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, shall deliver him
to the Gentiles, and they shall mock him, shall scourge him,
and shall spit on him, and shall kill him, and the third day he
shall rise again. The third day he shall rise again. This is what our Lord did. on
that tree he satisfied justice for his elect saved them by blood
and death there he put away their sins by the sacrifice of himself
three days after his death he rose for their justification
he has saved his people he has redeemed his people he's done
it we don't serve a Jesus who's trying to get something done
who wants something for you but can't quite accomplish it because
it's up to you to help him out that's not the Christ of the
Bible The Christ in the Bible said, It's finished, and the
word He used is perfect, it's perfect. He hath perfected forever
them that are sanctified. These are what the disciples
learned this day when Peter asked the question, What will I have? Having followed you, what will
I have? And Jesus says, You'll have it
all, and you'll have eternal life. Father, bless us to understand
and pray in Christ's name, amen.