Bro Gary Sunday Morning 4/1/12

Bro Gary Sunday Morning 4/1/12

Joh 12:23  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Joh 12:26  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Joh 12:27  Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

Joh 12:28  Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

Joh 12:29  The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

Joh 12:30  Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

Joh 12:31  Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Joh 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Joh 12:33  This he said, signifying what death he should die.

I want to deal with the position that Jesus put Himself in.  This time of year we think on what we have been taught: how that Jesus could have called 10,000 angels and never gone to the cross. 

The hour had come, the time for which Jesus specifically came into the world for.  The purpose was that He would be lifted up upon a cross and take the position that God designed the son to have: that He would draw all men to Him.

Most of us in this audience are not literal Jews.  The Jews were the children of God, yet Jesus paid the price that He could draw all men to Himself.  It is wonderful that when I was in my sin, Jesus drew upon me.  Since I’ve gotten saved, it is a wonderful experience when Jesus draws upon my heart.  Many have had Jesus draw over and over again.  It is a wonderful thing.

Gen 49:10  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

There is one thing that everyone has in common that hungers for God and for His Son.  This is that we would be gathered to Jesus Christ.  Mankind has made the great mistake of following self or other men.  When we do this we set our self up to be disillusioned and disappointed. 

Jesus was scourged, mocked, ridiculed, and carried a heavy cross.  Even though He hung upon a cross He never lost the focus of why he came unto the World. 

He is alive; he is not a dead Jew.  He is alive and is still drawing men and women unto Him.

Hag 2:7  And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

Men and women that don’t know what truth is and don’t know the way still recognize that there is something lacking in their life.  Sin leaves us all embarrassed.  Jesus came to take that embarrassment and to give us that satisfaction in our soul.  What we are created for and what our soul hungers for is found in Jesus Christ through the Word of God.

2Ti 2:13  If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Sometimes people take the attitude of “I’m an atheist” as if that would keep God from being God.  You may position yourself to not believe in God and put a smoke screen up to keep God from saying anything to you.   

Yet this God and His son are faithful.  Because they are faithful, they will never deny themselves.  This is a wonderful thing.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

God and Jesus are in perfect harmony.  The father draws upon souls.  I’m glad that there is hope for young people, individuals that are in the prime of life, and the aged.  This drawing of the Father and of the Son is not just limited to those that find themselves in a certain situation. 

It is wonderful to have the Father, the Spirit and the Son of God draw us to the Word of God.  It is wonderful that Bro Davis is hungering for heaven.  He’s thinking of the loved ones that he has over there.  Old quartet members are there to meet him. 

Joh 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Jesus said, “If I be lifted up.”  Jesus was lifted up by choice.  He said, “Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me.”  But it was not possible for it to pass and Him be the savior.  So He said, “Nevertheless Not my will but Thine be done.” 

However far removed from God someone that you can think of is: those that have mocked the virgin birth, mocked that he was stolen from the tomb.  The very one that was suspended between heaven and earth said, “I’m going to position myself so that I can draw them from that life that sin has positioned them in.”

We are blessed to have a heavenly Father and His Son that can visit men and women whose hearts are so burdened.  Take your Bible, read it and pray until you get an answer from God.  It is wonderful to have this privilege.

Isa 53:1  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

Jesus is the arm of the Lord.  I think of the tenderness of the Arm of the Lord coming to us in our hour of need.  Every once in a while it is our lot to deal with those that are distraught.  This happens.  It will happen to you and to me if we travel the road of life. 

When Jesus comes it is just as it was when Jesus visited the eleven after He arose.  He said, “Peace to you.”  It is wonderful that when the events of life position us so that our heart is broken we can go to the Word of God and have that Arm of the Lord revealed to us.

Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

The attraction to Jesus is not the outward; it is that on the inside.  Beauty is fading on the outward, but you can be more beautiful on the inside as the days go by.

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Whatever grief you have had in life, it could even be grief because of your past sin.  I don’t have time to preach all about the past this morning but if you find one that is living in the past, remember that Jesus always goes forth out of the past.  It doesn’t matter what the heartache, grief, or wound has been and don’t misunderstand me they are real. 

Jesus was wounded and bruised; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.  We must let him that was lifted up fulfill that mission in us or we cannot be healed.

We all have injustices in the past, but if you live in the past only one thing will happen and that is that it will make you bitter.  He went to the cross and was lifted up to identify with you and with me.  We don’t have to live in the past or relive our past failures or other’s failures.  We don’t have to relive the injustices of life that were handed to us. 

Jesus was scourged so that we could be healed mentally and emotionally.  We are emotional people.  We have emotions, we cry, we have feelings, and we are excited because of that pie that is over at the house.  There are things that move upon us, someone shows us a kindness and we feel gratitude.  They show us an injustice and we feel sympathy that they are so mean.  He went through the suffering so that He could heal us, He wants us totally healed.

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He paid the price for our sin.  He was oppressed.  We see the love of Christ to pay the price to draw all men unto Himself.  This isn’t just when we are in sin.  God draws us over and over again.  God the Father and Jesus the Son draw us on a daily bases.  There are times when He comes to us and we make that choice, “Shall I let my mind go there or it seems that I feel the Father drawing me.”  The hymn story, “Come closer my Child to me.” 

Everyone in this audience that is saved has the spiritual desire of wanting more of God.  I don’t want to be just in Zion or just around Zion; I want to be in the top of the mountain.  He says, “Come up higher son; draw from God.” 

The arm of the Lord positioned Himself so that He could draw all men to make a decision to obey the Word of God.  You become a Christian by confessing and repenting of sin but you have to decide to do it.

There is not the thought of being in indecision, you are either deciding to follow Him or you are walking away from Him.

1Pe 2:7  Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

Christ is exhaustless.  His name, Jesus, means He would save His people from their sin.

He is precious in His character.  There are a lot of things that are awesome about Jesus.

Heb 7:26  For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

This one that is precious is holy.  He looks upon everyone with the very utmost of holiness in his character.  He wants to do what is wholly right for this aged brother and that boy that is three and has his whole life ahead of him.  This priest is unchangeable and continues forever and ever looks with holiness on children.   Parents you are blessed to be able to pray for your children as they go to school.

He is harmless; that is his character.  He will do you no harm, my friend, serve Him.  He went to the cross so that He could draw you to Himself who is holy and harmless. 

You’ve had people tell a one sided story on you.  Jesus never tells a one-sided story.  He doesn’t want you to tell him things about everything else.  What He wants to hear from you is how much you need Him and can do nothing without Him.  He wants to hear that you love Him more.  He asked Peter that question three times because He was getting more serious every time. 

If you will serve God you will be blessed with what money cannot buy.  Money cannot buy peace, contentment, or your name written on the Lambs Book of Life. 

He is undefiled and separate from sinners.  He never goes along with sin, yet He says, “I want you to be saved.  That burden that you are carrying I want you to bring to me and I will cast it into the depths of the sea never to be remembered against you again.” 

To think that He chooses to humble himself and commune with man that will go back to dust! 

Jesus went about doing good.  We have nothing to fault find Jesus about.  He did that for life but He is still doing that.  He’ll visit our families for good.  This is wonderful.  He’ll go here and there to the hospital and elsewhere for good.

Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

You don’t have to be lost.  The enemy will tell you that there is no way that you can make it.  There is one that went to the cross so that He could save mankind.  If the devil comes to tell you that you are going to hell, tell him, “You don’t have the keys.” 

1Pe 2:8  And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

Jesus is a stumbling stone and a stone of offense to those that are disobedient.  To reject Jesus Christ brings one to the place of being disobedient.  In a world where nothing is stable, real-estate people will tell you that real-estate isn’t stable.  Interest is changing.  Cars that you could have bought in 1920 for $500 are $20,000 today.  Yet you and I have the wonderful opportunity of Jesus Christ being the solid rock.  We have the wonderful opportunity to have Jesus as the chief cornerstone of the building of our life. 

If you are saved, draw near to God.  If you are not, then this is the day to get saved. 

Be true to God for you can never pay for your sin.  He was lifted up to pay for our sin.