John 3: 14-15; 6: 53; 4: 7-30
I want to preach tonight about divine necessities. I have to tell you, dear friend, that in the preaching we have not come to offer you a decision. We have come to tell you that you must bow the knee and confess Jesus as Lord. There is no alternative. It is a divine necessity that is placed upon man. Sooner or later each one of us, whether we accept Christ or reject Him, will have to bow the knee and confess He is Lord. Perhaps you are not as bad as some people are. Perhaps if you were to bring all of Linlithgow together, and weigh all their good deeds and bad deeds, you would be somewhere up at the top of the list. However, I have to tell you that while your good deeds might pass muster with men, they will not pass muster with God. It does not matter how distinguished you have been, how good a life you have lived, how many meetings you have attended or how much you know about the Bible, your good works will never justify you before a holy and righteous God. There are divine necessities. There is a certain way that God comes out in blessing to the sinner. There is only one way that He could come out in blessing to the sinner, and there is only one way that you can come before a holy and a righteous God. The only way to God is through His Son. We long that you may come to that for yourself.
In John 3, we learn that the Son of man must be lifted up upon the cross. What a thing that was. The scripture says that the Lord Jesus “emptied himself, taking a bondman’s form”, Phil 2: 7. It is not merely that He became a Man, but He became a Bondman. He came here to serve men; He came here to help men; He came here to bless men; He came here to heal men. This is the one who can truly bring in healing - the blessed Son of man. When you think of Him, you think of One who was and is perfect. When you look back at your own life, all you can see, if you are convicted by the Holy Spirit, is that you have not been what you ought to have been towards God. How wonderful to think of God looking down and seeing the Son of man, and seeing absolute perfection. He saw a Man who thought differently, and lived differently. The scripture says, the Lord Jesus lived “on account of the Father”, John 6: 57. In our lives as away from God, we live on account of ourselves. You look back on your life and you say, ’I did that because it suited me’, but the Lord Jesus did all things for the Father’s pleasure.
Think of the Son of man growing up “as a tender sapling”, Isa 53:2. He was capable of being affected by every condition of man. We become hardened to sin, but the Lord Jesus did not. He felt it. He was affected by it. I tell you, dear friend, He was affected by the suffering that He saw. When He saw a blind man, He felt it; when He saw a lame man, He felt it; when He saw the havoc that death had caused, He felt it keenly. As Son of man He was capable of being affected by these things. He came into this world on man’s behalf, to serve man, to help man, and He felt for man. He feels for you. He is the same Jesus.
I will speak about His death, burial, resurrection and glorification in a moment, but I want to tell you now that He is the same Jesus. If He had compassion upon men in their sins and infirmities when He was here, do you think He is going pass you by? Do you think He is not interested in you? Do you think He does not know your frame? Oh, dear friend, He knows you better than you know yourself. He is seeking you, for He is the One who “has come to seek and to save that which is lost”, Luke 19: 10. What a wonderful thing that is. Before I looked for Him, He was seeking me. Before I was interested in Him, He had a heart for me. He came into my life and He rescued me. He can do it for you, and if He does, you will never forget it. For the rest of your life you may have your ups and downs, but you could go back to that point when the Lord came into your life and rescued you. How could He rescue you? How could He save you? How could He bless you? How could He forgive you? He could only do so, by being lifted up upon the cross. It was not only that He must die, but He must die upon the cross. Do you ever think about the cross? Have you ever contemplated what it meant for the Son of man to be lifted up upon the cross?
It did not matter if you were a Jew or a Roman, the Son of man would have blessed you just the same, and yet both of them had their own part in the crucifixion of Christ. The Romans crucified Him, but the Jews wanted God’s Son to die such a death. Think of the Son of man here in His three and a half years of service to men. He would have done anything He possibly could for men in the way of blessing. You remember the parable of the good Samaritan that the Lord Jesus tells us Himself, Luke 10: 30-35. That is just an epitome of His whole life. That was what He was prepared to do for men. Others walked by on the other side, but the Son of man had the desire and the means to bring in healing. He would not only see that the wounds were bound up, but He would not leave that person by the side of the road. He would ensure that he was carried and cared for. The Lord finds sinners on their own without hope and without God in this world and bound for judgment. He saves them where they are, but He does not leave them there. He puts them in a place where they can enjoy life and happiness, and can be looked after. That is a full gospel but let us remember that it was a divine necessity for the Son of man to be lifted up. There was no other way to uphold the rights of God or bring in blessing for the sinner than for the Son of man to die that awful death upon the cross at Calvary.
When you think of all the Son of man’s sufferings, it puts things into perspective. Think of what He suffered at the hands of men. There is much suffering in this world. I am quite sure you have known that in your own life or family, but I want to tell you no one has suffered like Jesus. Men are prepared to do the most awful things to other men and it is dreadful to contemplate it, but think of what they did to the Son of man. His “visage was so marred more than any man”, Isa 52: 14. Think of the cruelty men inflicted on God’s beloved Son. The scripture says, “The ploughers ploughed upon my back; they made long their furrows”, Ps 129: 3. It was not just that they scourged Him, but they left His back like a ploughed field. See Him bearing His cross and then being crucified. There is no preacher who can state fully all He went through but I can tell you it was real for the Son of man. He felt it, not only in His body, but in His spirit. He saw His creature man treat Him in such a way as they sought to drive God out of this world. Oh, how the Son of man suffered. Think of the way He was mocked. To be sneered at is a terrible thing, but how awful for the Son of man to be sneered at. Then God must, as it were, throw a veil over the scene for three hours of suffering for His beloved Son that are beyond the comprehension of any mere man. The Lord Jesus had been betrayed by Judas, and denied by Peter. He had been sneered at, but now He looks to God only to find that He had forsaken Him. The Lord Jesus was left alone. I do not know if you have ever felt alone, but I can tell you that no-one has been alone like Jesus. He was alone without one ray of light. He went into the distance, as the only One who could measure and remove it. He suffered at the hands of a holy and righteous God vicariously for sin. He asked the question, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”, Matt 27: 46. Who could answer that? The answer is found in the heart of every repenting sinner. The repenting sinner knows why the Son of man bore the judgment and wrath of God. Dear friend, the punishment that was due to me, was borne by Him. Believers in the Lord Jesus can say, that He “bore our sins in his body on the tree”, 1 Pet 2: 24.
Once you are convicted about your sins, if you do not accept the Saviour and find mercy, you are tortured about the things that you have done. There is no release for you in your own strength. The only way out for guilty man is Christ. The only way out for you is Christ. I do not know what you have done. I do not know where you are coming from or going to, but I can tell you that the only person who can help you, bless you and save you is Christ. It must be Christ. There is no church that can save you. There is no creed that can save you. It is only Christ, and Christ alone. He is the One who came into the world to save sinners, and if you have not got Christ you have got nothing, absolutely nothing.
The Son of man was forsaken of God as lifted up. He laid down His life in death. When dead upon the cross, the soldier pierced His side, and there came forth blood and water. He was truly dead. To him death was death. If you want to be forgiven tonight and cleansed from your sins, you must confess your sins, because it is only the blood of Jesus Christ that can cleanse you from your sins. If you have never confessed your sins and repented from them, your sins have never been forgiven. Perhaps you have been baptised, or are even breaking bread, but if you have never confessed your sins, and repented from them, as far as God is concerned, you are still dead in your sins.
My dear friend, the Son of man was prepared to go into the grave. What could I say about Him lying three days and three nights in the heart of the earth? Thank God, He did not stay there. He rose from amongst the dead and now is in heaven. He is an exalted and glorified Saviour with the glory of God shining in His face. I can tell you for a fact that God is towards you, and the One who gave His Son longs that you might have the greatest of blessing. He wants to save you. He wants to ensure that you do not go to hell, but He wants more than that. He wants you to enjoy eternal life. He wants to satisfy your heart. I raise the question with you - are you happy? Are you really satisfied? The only One who can satisfy your heart, is Christ, and Christ alone.
I have really covered chapter 6, but I will just refer to it briefly, because there is another divine necessity mentioned there. You will notice where we read in chapter 6 verse 53, the flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus is mentioned. You must eat His flesh and drink His blood, and if you do not, you have no life in yourselves. I just want to underline that again before we move on. This is an initial matter. This is conversion, involving repentance and faith in Christ and His work. If you do not have that, dear friend, you have nothing as far as God is concerned. Your good works will not pass muster with God. As far as He is concerned, they are only filthy rags, Isa 64: 6. If you have not trusted the Saviour and repented of your sins, you are still dead in your sins. We do not want anyone to leave this room thinking that they are all right when they are not all right. It does not matter how religious you are, or whether you go to church, chapel or meeting room: it does not matter. Please accept that word. It does not matter with God; He is no respecter of persons. All men are on the same level. The whole world is guilty before God. All have sinned. Dear friend, do not go into eternity with the only thing you have to trust in being that you went to a certain meeting. That will not do for God. The only thing that will do for God is Christ and His work. May that be the only thing that will do for you.
I will finish now by referring to John 4. This is a very testing word, not only for poor sinners, but also for professing believers. I love to think of the Lord Jesus as the One who “must needs pass through Samaria”, v 4. He did not only need to go that way geographically. He went through Samaria to bless a sinner. He went that way for blessing and He would come this way tonight. We read in Ephesians that He comes preaching peace, Eph 2: 17. It is not only what He did in the past; it is what He is doing right now, and He Himself would appeal to you to surrender to Him. Would you surrender to Him? The Son of man who has been lifted up; would you listen to Him? Oh, my dear friend, He has come this way for blessing. The Samaritan woman may have been an unlikely candidate but God can bless such. God loves to save unlikely persons. He loves to break them down. He loves to change their minds. He can do it. He does do it. He did it for me and He can do it for you. The Lord Jesus came this way, for blessing. He says to the woman “give me to drink”, v 7. He engages her in a conversation about living water. What is that? It is the gift of the Holy Spirit. What is it all leading up to? It is leading up to the worship of God. Here is a divine necessity. Those who worship God “must worship Him in spirit and in truth”, v 24.
Sometimes the difference between one believer and another is the reception of the Holy Spirit. It is possible to be a believer and not have received the Holy Spirit (see Acts 19) and it is possible to be a believer and grieve and quench the Holy Spirit. If that is the case, God will not receive His due portion and you will still be thirsting for something else. What are you looking for in life? I ask you that tenderly. What is your object in life? If you get living water you will never thirst forever. That is an absolute divine promise. Are you conscious of having the Holy Spirit and being able to worship God in spirit and in truth? The Father seeketh worshippers. He is not looking for one worshipper only. He is seeking worshippers in the plural. While there are occasions when we may possibly worship individually, normally we would worship with other believers. The Father seeketh worshippers. Receiving the Holy Spirit and making room for Him will make a tremendous difference in your life. If you are facing failure after failure, we are sympathetic with you as having known that in our own lives. How wonderful it is to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and become an overcomer and a worshipper.
Dear friend, do not turn your back on God. We beseech you to get right with Him now.
May He bless the word.
Linlithgow
27th September 2009