John

[0:00] Lord's help I direct your attention to the words resting on my mind which you will find in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John and the last clause of verse 19. John chapter 14 and the last clause of verse 19. Because I live, ye shall live also. Because I live, ye shall live also. The verse reads, yet little while and the world fears me no more. But ye see me. Because I live, ye shall live also. Here is the words of the Lord Jesus Christ expressing the centre and foundation of the hope of every one of his dear children.

[1:05] As Christ is the in right almighty power can do nothing but desire. And this is not just a statement as it were of objective truth. It is something vastly different.

[1:30] It is the expression here in this chapter of a divine union between Christ and his... It is the expression of the work of God in their souls bringing them into a knowledge of himself.

[1:51] The entry of this is in the previous clause, ye see me. There was revelation of himself to them. There was a knowledge of him as the eternal son of God.

[2:10] In that word which precedes this verse, there was the work of the spirit in regeneration. Mighty work of the new birth is changed in that word, new thing.

[2:30] They were born again of the spirit of God. They knew him. They came to him. They approached him. They asked him. They loved him. They obeyed him.

[2:43] In this verse, there is much speaking of obeying his commandments. But I felt when reading it, it's not a legal obedience.

[2:58] It's not a human obedience. It's not a carnal obedience. It is the work of the spirit. It is the work of the new birth.

[3:08] It is the love of God which the child of God has for him in a knowledge of himself. It is that blessed love which leads them into this path of obedience to him.

[3:28] It is the work of the spirit from beginning to end. It is the work of the spirit.

[4:03] The first part of this text refers to his glorious intercession in heaven. He lives. It says to him, my friend, blessed be my God, a God of myself.

[4:18] They shall live. We shall never reach heaven except through the work of this living God, the eternal Son of God.

[4:30] And that is his intercession in heaven now. His intercession at the right hand of his Father. As we come to consider that intercession, the hymn writer says that with authority he asks, enthroned in glory and art.

[4:58] Did you know he asks for its equal authority in the garden of your family? Father, I am here. Those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am.

[5:11] I go, he says, to prepare a place for you. But our eyes are particularly directed in his word for you. To his mighty power and glory now is the great high priest of his church.

[5:29] So when we come to look at this, that is not all that is included in us. We see in this word as he uttered it in his life, prior to the last chapter, prior to his going to the cross, he spoke of his deity.

[5:52] He spoke of his Godhead. He spoke of his incarnation. He, the eternal Son of God, had come here into this earth.

[6:05] The ever-living God was present here as he spoke these, his final references to his disciples. And when he spoke in this way, he spoke of his eternal garden.

[6:23] Oh, how he came here into this world and took upon himself a human nature. Came here and humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

[6:39] Yet, in this pathway, he speaks here because I live. That is eternal. The glory of these words is to be seen in his revelation to John the Divine from which we have preached much lately.

[6:54] I am the Lord of the cross. I am the Lord of the cross. I am the Lord of the cross. I am the Lord of the cross. I am the Lord of the cross. And which day, behold, I'm alive forevermore and have the keys of hell and the death. We're drawn to the glorious nature of this one sacrifice for sin forever in the person of the eternal Son of God in his humanity who came here to lay down his mouth.

[7:39] He came here to counter death. He came here to bear the sin of his dear church in his body upon his face.

[7:52] And he directed his dear disciples to the nature of that truth. I am he that lives and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore.

[8:10] What a glory there is. And he uttered this word here because I live. Because I come here to walk this earth in my humanity.

[8:28] He shall live also. Because I come here to perfect earth, most of this holy obedience in my walk in this world.

[8:38] Obedient unto death. That means totally obedient. To his Father's holy mind and will in every aspect of it, I do always those things that Jesus.

[8:51] Obedient unto death, even the death of a cross. We see in that perfect obedience, the righteousness of the Son.

[9:05] And in his death, in that all sufficient, one totally sufficient sacrifice to sin. In other words, because I live to offer myself a sacrifice to sin.

[9:23] to sin. Dear friends, it's the only hope that we have in this world.

[9:37] That he who walked this earth and set his face as a flint to go to Jerusalem to offer himself a sacrifice to sin.

[9:50] Bear the sins of his dear people in his body upon the tree. Because I live. Because I'm here now, walking this pathway and in the fulfillment of the prophecy, the scripture, the harvest, holy mind and will, Jesus of the Lord.

[10:15] Blessed mercy, when in that context, to come into these words, ye see me. But what a truth it is to see the Lord Jesus Christ as that one who has perfected an all sufficient sacrifice and to be brought to believe in him for salvation.

[10:50] To actually be brought to enter in him and to enter into that living union with him and to know the fountain of his precious blood flowing freely in your heart, removing sin and bringing you into the sweet peace of the peace-speaking blood of Jesus Christ.

[11:13] The union is felt in the application of the blood. It is indeed. The union is felt in his propitiated work when the wrath of the Father is removed and there is peace between our souls and him.

[11:34] John the Divine knew it when he wrote he is the propitiation, that is the wrath removed for our sins and not for our zones but also for the sins of the whole world.

[11:47] That is not the whole of humanity. humanity. That world there refers to one or two things but it doesn't refer to the entire human race from Adam to the end of time.

[12:03] Not for ours only, that is for our generation only but for every generation from Adam to the end of time. It is, the world there is every nation kindred, tribe and tongue but it's not every person in every nation kindred, tribe and tongue.

[12:26] Let us see it clearly. I pray, said Christ, not for the world yet he died for those out of every nation kindred, tribe and tongue in all generations.

[12:41] Let me come to look at this blessed work it encompasses the election of grace. Now I know what you desire and what you I can hear you asking in your heart am I among you?

[13:00] Am I among you? Am I in this word of truth? We said at the beginning it's not an objective view of this truth that you want that you can stand at the distance and view this truth and say yes because Christ lived his election of grace that he's saved.

[13:22] I won't satisfy it. That's an objective view of the truth which is perfectly true but it's not salvation. we read that even the devil's believe and they believe that that the election of grace will be saved they're proving it that they cannot touch the souls of the election of grace.

[13:43] For the child of God longs to know his interest or he must have it sealed in his heart.

[13:56] He must be brought into the center of this precious truth. He must come into it.

[14:08] The Lord speaks of that blessed coming into it. At that day ye shall know that I am in my heart and ye in me and I in you.

[14:22] What a truth is contained in that precious promise. How about God does and time shall be no more.

[14:37] Every believer will be brought to know this precious truth as they have entered and been brought to rest their whole salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[14:54] All then to know that the opening words of this chapter tell them I go to repair a place for you. Where I am there ye may be also.

[15:07] If I go and repair a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself. Everything centers here you know and what it is to believe and what is divine love.

[15:25] What is the love that is spoken of here? We can say this so clearly faith is not natural not human neither is the love that is spoken of here natural if not human.

[15:42] Both are divine gifts. The faith that is spoken of here to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is a divine gift.

[15:55] faith we are told by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians one of the fundamental principles that is laid down there so clearly is the gift of God not inherent in that.

[16:10] We may have faith in all sorts of things in this life. You cross the seven bricks faith in the designer who built it.

[16:26] That it will hold up. But that's not faith. I read some time ago one of the evangelical ministers of this century who said that on one occasion in the dress of Gary that every man has faith.

[16:52] It just depended where we rested it. Some men rest faith in natural things, some in religious things, some in God and some in the things of this world.

[17:03] He said it was all the same. Mr. Popham in one of his writings took this man up and said what a blasphemy and travesty of truth it was.

[17:17] Ye see those and divine mighty work of the spirit to be brought to bow before our God and to see him.

[17:33] We will have this experience. Those who are brought to know him and brought under his hands and brought under the power that will be brought into his commandment to follow him.

[17:50] They will indeed to see this light manifested in their souls as they journey onwards in their needs that they find no other help in this world except in their God.

[18:09] No other comfort in this world except in the Lord Jesus Christ. No other hope in this world except in Jesus. They have no other peace in them.

[18:21] They take everything to Jesus. They have no happiness in this world through happiness except as they come into communion with their beauty.

[18:35] They have chosen. they draw near to him. They wrestle. They plead at the throne of grace using his name. They have no hope of any blessedness that is any removal of their guilt and their sin and their filth.

[18:55] No other hope of heaven. No other preparation for heaven. No other readiness except as they are brought to see him. They see him as their all in all their only hope their only rest their only peace their only comfort their only strength.

[19:18] Thou Christ they are all I want all in all in the eyes of them. One of the workings of the spirit in sanctification is to separate his dear children from the things of this time sense time state and every fourth rest and every crop and every other comfort and bring them to the only true hope and rest and peace and comfort in this world.

[19:51] There is nothing else that word means exactly what it says. There is nothing else this side of the that is going to give us any comfort any solid rest any true hope any blessed peace outside of a union to the Lord Jesus Christ.

[20:18] Oh have we been brought to it now we been brought to it daily Lord and mercy if the way is getting narrower and narrower the hedge of thorns as Rutherford describes it is getting sharper and sharper there will be many wounds and deep sorrows blessed mercy if they are the means of bringing us to a realisation and understanding of the only hope that lies before us and that is the hope set before us in the gospel to anchor and to rest in him who says because I live you shall live also is he a living God in our heart who we know somewhat of his presence and communion with him who we know a little sweet actor you may answer that

[21:37] I know hardly any actor and hardly any living human with him then how valuable one precious rise of life one glimpse one crown of mercy the dear woman who came to him to touch the heavenly garment knew a little of that virtue which flows he knew a little of the peace of God which passed and the sense because he took notice on that and you know the woman who came to whom he replied he did not meet to give the children bread to God came back again with that word even the dogs eat the crumbs for what the blessing she carried a daughter would heal but that wasn't her written much more than that she carried what

[22:41] Jacob and Joseph carried when they met again Jacob knew what Joseph had been shown that his father would bow down to him the boy had been gone there no possibility yet so they could like Mary hid these things in his heart he took note of them there came a day when they stood together to witness the glorious theme of the working of God's divine purposes over a period of twenty years and days and went at a sight and realization because I live he had manifested his mighty power and divine life and the outworking of his sovereign revelation to Joseph that they would come and they would meet again I believe in Jacob's heart that vision laid there that such was the evening of his

[23:42] God that he felt he go to the grave morning and never see him again in other words the sweet promise and that which he poured divine life would almost crush to a flicker as though it had gone out completely and so in Jacob's heart he named Manasseh and he named Manasseh forgetting he thinking he was never to him again yet the truth remains revelation is not the gospel or when we look at these sacred themes in the scriptures as a residing the resurrection power as a shining again well the dear woman who came with her daughter was brought to by Christ to that place where the hope that she had was almost trampled upon I heard a farmer once who put the roller on his broad beams when they came up and crushed them they grew far stronger than they would have done other ones

[24:49] I was quite amazed my her didn't how they all revived and shot up as well the Lord does this the roller of divine sovereignty that were passed over the life of God in the soul of his children and there's a mighty resurrection power in his feelings because I live oh there's death in everything else death upon everything in your heart death upon the hope that is in your soul the blessed promise God has given you it is almost as it were burnt to dust and ashes it's like a light that's gone eight and yet because I live what a blessed promise there is I see in this word here tonight glorious resurrection power I'm here at living and with dead and behold

[25:55] I'm alive forevermore because I live we come now in our consideration to the truth if I had been here I'd rather have not died yet even now he believes that the Lord is able to raise him again it's the same as Abraham came as I get to Mount Ryan raised the knife over here in a canting says the apostle Paul in that very blessed opening up a scripture that God was able to raise him the dead whereof he received him even in a figure in other words he raised the knife in a foolish intention of saying in believing that God is able to raise him from the dead as his life was taken out a view of

[26:56] Christ he had in his resurrection power able to raise from the dead and you see the Lord dear children are brought to this Lazarus we read that the Lord abode still two days in that place didn't know there was a glorious church in the resurrection power of Christ to manifest the glorious the able to rise from the dead and when we look at this we see it in the new world it is resurrection power mighty resurrection power in the new world those children of Jesus in that fall are dead if the axe put to the root of freedom after that they're dead and infected in the dead for them to see him there must be resurrection power there must be glorious life manifested in their heart they must be war it's not a matter of the free world preacher saying all you've got to do is to lose all you've got to do is look for

[28:29] Jesus at all kind it's it's resurrection power it's revelation it's blind eyes open it's deaf ears unstopped it's a new heart a new creature in Christ Jesus it's Jesus it works you must be born again for what a force there is a new word because I live you shall live also the origin of a new birth that is the interception of Christ in heaven in his glorious authority as the Holy Spirit goes forth in accordance with the divine sacrifice of carol we say that you know only for those for whom Jesus died does the

[29:30] Holy Spirit go forth and he goes forth in accordance with the blood that we shed sacred oneness between Father Son and Holy Spirit sacred oneness in electing love redeeming blood and regenerating blood they are united in a glorious heavenly union the manifestation of electing blood is sealed in redeeming blood neither pray I for these alone say Christ but for them that thou have given it their eyes all the blessed truth and the spirit goes forth I will send the confidence to those who prayed in the garden of you see me all as I word is came to you who long to be amongst those who are spoken of you you see me have you known him as your strength have you known him as your interception have you known him as that one who had interceded to you as the great high priest in heaven the father you can come down and say that

[30:59] Christ is God I can obey and for his people care so I have prayed to him and he heard my care that's not so he will save him that's not time that's look to Jesus that's rest in Jesus or when you come here you enter in in the pathway that you have known the Lord that suit down to you in your need and touch your spirit and grant your little life and bless it and peace and sense of his presence like the dear woman did when she felt that virtue goes forth for what a sacred effect it had upon Jesus knew and he knows when he sees people attain access that word is equally applicable to every time a child of

[32:04] God comes to him on their knees feeding his precious love and asking as the dying thief did all remember who virtue goes forth in the case of dying thief he went forth in that lovely word so God shall be with me in paradise for what a divine testimony was in that of love and life and heaven because I live you shall live also and the Lord lives today he is risen consider this and we speak carefully here because I live if he had not risen where should he be if he was all the poor Jehovah witness makes you know today and the poor Mormon but another prophet like

[33:06] Mohammed and all the other mystics of his world if he were what the poor bishop of Durham makes you know today no resurrection no virgin death so would I do my dear friends our hope is that the saviour lives and all today it's our hope when we stand before this open tomb it will be our hope in a dying hour living within our hope will rest here I will come again and see you on the night death the child of God the passage of Jordan is about the valley of the shadow of death in his shadow the which is it is a foreign entrance into eternal death they have no desire for

[34:18] Christ they do not want him they have no hope in him for the religious Pharisee which is full of orthodoxy and religion it is for him a solemn awakening to the fact that the Lord never knew he had about the heart he saw the truth in but he gets his past he didn't know in his sweet power and experimental nature he never drawn near to Christ nor known his love nor his pardoning blood nor his mercy he known all the theology of it all the written of it but he never known one moment of broken hearted confession to enter into the psalmist world the broken and of contrite heart oh God thou not despise now the living child of God is into there he comes broken hearted before his God in all his sins and violence and fear he has seen it he felt it he known it he confessed it he pleaded that precious blood he wrestled with his

[35:30] God he come with Jacob and there he has known the peace whisper of his God in the peace seeking blood you have many times in your life have you had to come before him in all the blackness of your soul his inability which you have been made aware of that you can do nothing acceptable before him and many times have come in all the blackness and darkness laid yourself at his season and said he must afford him Lord help me undertake me leave me not neither will take me you know some of these characters of scripture their prayers were the simplest nothing complicated about them nothing long about them nothing about their prayers of a religious nature they weren't spending their time telling

[36:49] God everything he already knew they came in the substance and the essence of prayer to ask and they ask as we read of Christ speaking of it they ask in importunency they ask he was earnest they asked in sincerity they asked Jesus has said him that cometh unto me I am no voice can't I he has come down and healed in his earth and he has granted the most glorious invitation come unto me all the labor that is under sin under inability under poverty come unto me all you that you labor under realization of your own violence I'll give you rest

[37:50] I'll give you time I'll give you peace I'll give you the rest no more labor take my yoke upon you that see heavenly command of freedom and learn by and meat and lowly in heart you to find rest and your soul do you long this night for that steady rest do you see do you see this way to heaven has it been sent before you past I see do you ye who know the Lord speaks here in this chapter in these words even even the spirit of truth in the world cannot receive because it sees him not neither knows him but you know him what a truth there is in hear him right now in

[39:02] America that's the word you are child of God Jesus do you see Jesus in your pathway tonight as the one thing need for do you see him as your only hope of God do you see him as that one who he knows do you come to him and is the language of your heart remember the most leave me not neither for safety undertake for me do you come like dear Jesus oh do you grow in your heart under that earth oh that they really bless me and do you know what you want do you see have you been shown what you need do you see this blessed world do you come in with words of Christ the way you know do you see the way of salvation a disciple turned round and said to

[40:09] Jesus we know not whether they go how can we know the way Jesus turned and said I am the right do you see Jesus as the only way to help do you see him as your only way to glory I see it in my own heart you know so can oh to have great things to walk that way to see it as a humble way that every other way leads to death oh what a mercy it'll be if God has dealt with it in such a way that we are resting there for time and eternity on him who alone is able to save unto the other as all he has come on the ground out him trust him he will not deceive you though you like the opportunity he will never never leave you nor will let you quite leave home come out