Please turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter number 1. John chapter number 1. And our text this morning is found from verses 43 to 51. John chapter number 1. Verse 43 down to the end of verse number 51. Let us hear God's holy word. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite, indeed, in whom is no guile. Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending, upon the Son of Man. Amen. And may the Lord bless the reading of His holy and infallible Word. Our title for this morning's message is this, Jesus is the King of Israel. Jesus is the King of Israel. I'm sure many of you are aware In the news lately, there's been much focus on the Middle East. I suppose there's nothing new in many ways. But much of the world's eyes are focused upon this very sad conflict. We are horrified when we see various images in the media. And we would dearly love for this conflict to end. However, we know as Christians, there's been conflict in this world for thousands of years, since the fall of Adam. Conflict arose between Cain and Abel, with Cain, his own brother, killing Abel because his deeds were righteous. Sin brings suffering in this world. The things that we lament, the things that make us sad, We need the Savior. We need the great King. The media wants us to focus where it wants us to focus, and it will point the camera in the direction they want us to focus on. But where should our focus be as believers in Jesus Christ? Much of the modern world will focus on that land. But 2,000 years ago, something very important happened in that part of the world. What was that? Well, at the time, 2,000 years ago, a part of the world was under the control, or some might say the occupation, of the Roman Empire. They had a hope of sorts. A hope that a king would come of the son of David and he would remove the Romans who were over them and bring back a sense of national pride. Independence once more, not under the control of a Gentile ruler. Perhaps even a return to the power and the glory of the days of Solomon. But is that the right type of hope that many of them have? Do we have the right type of hope today? We may criticize that and say, oh, they should seek something different. But do we seek the right type of hope? Future glory. And the way to future glory is not glory today. It's the way of suffering. It's the way of the cross. With heaven ahead for those who trust in Jesus. Now today, sadly, the nation of the Jews largely reject Jesus. And as they did 2,000 years ago. John 1 verse 9, he came into his own. The place he was king over. The one who gave him that land. And his own received him not. At this part of time in our text, Israel is a shadow of its former self, of former glories. It's kind of broken up into pieces. You have Judah in the south, a little bit further north you have Samaria, which is a mix of all sorts of pagan influences and a bit of true religion as well. And then a little bit further north again, there's a little place called Galilee. Which really is an outpost of a place, not very central to anything. And do we expect a great king to come out of a place like Nazareth or Galilee? Well, the true king did grew up in Nazareth. Who is the king? As Nathanael tells us, the King of Israel. Friends, as we look at this text, I want us to ask this question as well, among other questions. Who or what is the Israel of God today? We pray for many Jews according to the flesh, Israel according to the flesh, that they would seek the Lord Jesus Christ. That they would have safety in their homes this very day, but more than anything else, that they would know Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior. That they would have eternal everlasting security and friends we pray the same for you that you would cry out with Nathanael thou art the Son of God thou art the King of Israel toward Jesus who is the Christ our first point that we're going to look at here this morning is this Jesus speaks with authority. Jesus speaks with authority. Verse number 43. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee and findeth Philip and saith unto him, follow me. Now the day following, this is the third day of three days in a row. You see in verse number 29, it says this, the next day, John seeth Jesus. And in verse 35, and again the next day, Jesus stood. And verse 43, the day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee. John's Gospel has these events very, very close together. It records these events. All the Gospels focus on various different things. And what it does in John's Gospel, it takes you to the very heart of what we are to believe. The beginning of chapter one, eternity passed. And now it brings us to the heart of the witness, the heart of the testimony, the heart of what was to be proclaimed and believed. What do we believe about Jesus? Do we believe that we must obey Jesus? See, many people will think, well, we're saved by grace alone, so Don't really need to follow him at all. But the king, even in his state of humiliation, even when he comes with a mission to suffer and die as the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world, he still commands Philip and saith unto him, follow me. Even at that stage, he comes with authority. He comes with authority. Luke 6 and verse 46. Luke 6 and verse 46. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Verse 47, following, whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and lay the foundation on a rock. And when a flood arose, and the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock. Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Jesus speaks here with authority. Follow me, he says to Philip. Now, yes, we are saved by faith alone, through grace alone. Our obedience is never good enough. But Jesus, when he speaks, he speaks with authority. Romans 4 and verse 4. Romans 4 and verse 4. Now, to him that worketh is the reward, not reckoned of grace, but of debt. Paul, writing to the Romans here, points out that if it's by works, then it's by debt, which means we're owed something. If we do something, we are owed something. And Romans 11 and verse 6, Romans 11 and verse number 6, and if by grace, then it is no more of works. Otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace. Otherwise work is no more work. We may say, well, Why do we have to do anything then? We can't earn our salvation. We're never going to measure up. But if your eyes have been opened to the beauty of Christ, to the goodness of God, why wouldn't you want to obey Him? Why wouldn't you want to follow Him? in this world. God does not owe us anything. He's given us heaven by grace alone. We fail in Adam, but we obey out of thanksgiving. We come here this morning, not because it's going to earn us heaven, it can't. But we come here because we've been changed. That Jesus is our authority. We love to come here. We delight to come into his presence. We love the fragrance of Christ. We love to be around Christ's people. We love to speak about Christ. We love to sing about Christ. We love to hear Him preach. We love to hear the Word of God read, because we then meet with Christ. If you love somebody, you wish to be around them. You wish to be near them. You don't think, well, what am I going to get out of it? You want to be around them. We love Jesus, but Jesus is not, okay, Jesus is our closest friend, yes, but he's not just, sometimes we can present it like this, Jesus is our buddy. And that's the way much of modern evangelicalism treats Jesus today. They treat him as if he is their servant to get them out of trouble when things go wrong. But He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He commands. Even in His state of humiliation, even in His going to go to the cross, He spoke with authority. And though it is not with the same authority and it is under the authority of Christ, preachers are to speak with authority. And that's something that needs to be revived in the church. Much preaching today is not with authority. It's not with commands from Almighty God. But what if you reject Him and say, you know what? Yes, I don't want to go to that place, hell. No, who wants to go there? Maybe if I get a little bit more sanctified, eventually I'll accept him as king. Friends, to reject him as ruler is to reject him as savior. See, what you're saying is to follow Jesus horrifies you. What you're saying in unbelief, to follow Jesus is the worst way. So to embrace Him as Savior is to embrace Him as our King. See, so often what we can say, many people who are Christians, who say they're Christians, professing Christians, what they're really saying in unbelief, blasphemously to God is, follow me. Do we follow the King? When He says to us, Follow me. He's telling us to come a way that is good for us and for our soul. Not a way that's easy. It's not an easy way. It's the way of the lamb. The lamb suffered and died. The lamb was hated. The lamb came into his own and his own received him not. But do we follow the king? Or do we follow our feelings and our impressions? Now, the Spirit of God works in our hearts, as true believers, to convict us of sin, to give us a love for righteousness. But how do we know if we're just following our heart and just sanctifying and say, well, that's what God wants because that's really what we want, or If it is truly God's will, we must test all things by the sure word of prophecy. That is the Word of God. If we turn to 2 Peter, chapter 1. 2 Peter and chapter number 1. from verse number 16 down to verse 21, 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 16, for we have not followed cunningly devised fables. When we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the Holy Mount. Now, before we read the next verse, He's speaking of an audible voice. The audible voice that can be heard of God. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Now, it comes with authority because it's from God. But Peter says this, we, verse 19, have also a more sure word of prophecy. What's he speaking about? Where unto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place. Which do we test? We test the more sure on everything else, don't we? God there spoke to them audibly. But we test everything by Scripture. This is our standard. This is the truth whereby we must test all things. And if it is what you feel in your heart, you may feel drawn in a certain direction. But if it contradicts the Word, the Holy Spirit's not leading you in that direction. You may think it's the Holy Spirit leading in that direction, but we must test things by the Word of God. By the Word of God. This brings us to our second point. Jesus satisfies with authority. Jesus satisfies with authority. So he speaks with authority, he satisfies with authority. Verse 44 to 45. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Jesus comes with authority, speaks with authority, but he doesn't come in a vacuum. He doesn't come, yes he comes with the announcement of John the Baptist, but he comes with the authority of the Law and the Prophets. We know it as the Old Testament. Now, this might help you a little bit, but in the New Testament, they don't call the Old Testament the Old Testament, they call it the Law and the Prophets. So we have the Law, that's the first five books of Moses, that's referred to as the Law, and then the Prophets. It's a way of summarizing the entire Old Testament. If you get a Hebrew Bible, it'll say the Law, and prophets and writings on the cover. He won't say the word Old Testament on it. So, Philip points toward the authority with which Jesus comes. See, many people would like to think that Jesus started a new religion. I don't know if you've ever seen this view around. You know, it's like Jesus was like this revolutionary. He didn't want religion. Came along and started something new. It was all corrupt and got rid of it all beforehand. Friends, not at all. Not at all. The New Testament in which it is new, it's not like brand new cut off from the old. It's newness in terms of A new administration of the covenant. It's not a new religion. It's the same religion as the Old Testament. It's the same truth as the Law and the Prophets. It's the same Gospel. The same Savior. But just with the lights turned up a lot more. There's greater clarity. Of course there is greater clarity in the New Testament. But the same truths are found as well in the Old Testament. Philip was expecting the coming of the Messiah. Why? Why was he expecting that? Because he'd studied in the Bible. People talk about the Bible that came along hundreds of years later. They had a holy book. They didn't have the writings of the New Testament at that point, but they had all the way up, all our Old Testament books. And they studied them, and they learned them. And Philip, as he studies through, and he sees all these types and shadows, and he sees Jesus, that's him. That's Him. We would have studied things like this. Genesis 22. Genesis 22 and verse 18. Genesis 22 and verse number 18. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice. And as you can see in Galatians chapter 3, those who are in Christ are Abraham's seed as well. This is a continuation on of that same seed. In Genesis 49 and verse 10, Genesis 49 and verse number 10, The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and until him shall the gathering of the people be." And here is a prophecy, speaks of a scepter, which is a scepter of power from Judah. He came from Judah, the line of David. He's a lawgiver. And He came to meet with His people. So, yes, there's greater clarity in the New Testament in many ways. And it explains many things in the Old Testament, but the same truth. And it also points toward one who would be born of a virgin in the prophets. Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14. Isaiah chapter 7. And verse number 14, therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. Immanuel, that is God with us. God with us. So Philip had studied this and he had Indications of what and who would be the Messiah. The one Moses wrote of. The one Moses believed in. The one Isaiah believed in. The one Jeremiah preached of. The one the prophets pointed toward. The one who was the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent, back in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. Friends, this is so vital because there's a huge danger that we just kind of come back to the Old Testament and go, that's a nice, interesting history lesson. But we stop thinking about it as being profitable or a doctor for proof, instruction, righteousness. We think, ah, the Old Testament, and we can drift into this, is just for those ethnic Jews, Jews according to the flesh. It is for the people of God who look unto Jesus Christ. It is truth without error. From Genesis to Revelation, all of it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness. And when Paul wrote those words to Timothy, he was largely writing about the Old Testament. It's so important that we receive not just part of the truth, but all of it. There have been many, many movements, even in the early church, that did try to almost unhitch the Old Testament from the Bible. This is nothing new. And almost talk about the Old Testament as if, almost as if it's too Jewish, or too harsh, or speaking about something different. And now we have the resurrection, we don't need that anymore. There's always been that temptation around. It's been around for a very long time. We must not. And that means books like Leviticus are part of the word of God and preach the same gospel and declare the same savior and have benefit for you and for I. Philip findeth Nathanael and saith unto him, we have found him. In the law of whom Moses wrote. Yes, in the book of Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Numbers, all these books, they speak of Christ. All of God's word is important. And what does it point out? It points out that we are lawbreakers under the law of God. And we need someone who would die in the place of sinners. We need someone who would please and satisfy with authority. Isaiah chapter 53, Isaiah 53, Isaiah 53, verse 6, all we like sheep have gone astray and we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. So there's one coming, the suffering servant, who would come and bear the sin of his people. He would bear the iniquity of his people. In verse 10 of the same chapter, Isaiah 53, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, or even to crush him. He hath put him to grief. It pleased the Lord. Justice was satisfied. Now, Philip, he got many things right, and he was excited to see Jesus. This is the Messiah, but he didn't get everything right. He wrote, he said as well, Jesus of Nazareth, and then the last part, the son of Joseph. And say, well, wasn't he the son of Joseph? Friends, Jesus had no earthly father. As G.C. Ryle pointed out, his heart at present, this is Philip, was better than his head. The miraculous conception of Jesus was hidden from him. I guess what we can learn from Philip is this. He made mistakes in his theology. But better to stumble, to stammer, even to mumble the truth with sincerity, with the best of our ability, but pointing unto Jesus. Yes, we've got to be careful. We must speak the truth to tell others about Jesus. But sometimes we almost feel like we have to have perfect information. All our theology, we need a systematic theology of information before we even witness to anyone. No, friends, go with the woman at the well. How much did she know? She pointed to Jesus. Come, see a man. She just pointed towards him. This is the man. Friends, what do you know? What little you know, share it. Share it with those. Point out to others. Philip told Nathanael. Nathanael wasn't convinced at the beginning. He wasn't completely convinced at the beginning. He says in verse 46, and Nathanael said unto him, can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Now, he wasn't just saying, well, King can't come out of a place, Nazareth? No, Nazareth was a an outpost of a town, probably no bigger than 2,000 people, maybe even far smaller than that. And he wasn't just saying, can a king come out of there? Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Do you ever have places you go to visit or you've heard somebody else visit and go, why did you go there? Really? And you don't expect anything great to come out of the place. Well, Nazareth was a very unspectacular place. It wasn't mentioned in the Old Testament. It wasn't written about as some great place of administration or anything. But Jesus came out of there. Now, he wasn't born there, but he grew up there. Brings us to our third point. Jesus sees with authority. Jesus sees with authority. Now, Nathanael was invited to come and see. We know sometimes when we're talking to people and sharing the gospel and we're not even sure what they're convinced of, where they are spiritually, but what do we do? We just give up? No, no, we get them to come and see. Come see, learn of the scriptures. Jesus, verse 47, saw Nathanael coming to him and saith of him, behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. When Nathanael comes to Jesus, what happens to his doubts? What happens to his prejudices? Oh, he's from Nazareth, can't be anything good from there. Son of Joseph, what's so special about that? He comes. And Jesus sees him. He sees his heart. We can't see people's hearts, can we? And it's very dangerous when we try to pretend that we can. We don't know people's motivations. And if you're in doubt, pick the best one because love thinketh no evil. As we see in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, But when Nathanael comes to Jesus, his doubts are removed and he beholds the one with authority. He sees him. He sees him. He beholds him who perfectly beholds him. Now, as we said, Nathanael had a very dim opinion of Nazareth. It's very unimpressive. And he sees very limited, you know, we look and the outward. But is God in any way limited in how he sees us? Not at all. And Jesus saw Nathanael. He sees him and he knows him, that he's an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile. Jesus who was, in many ways, humanly speaking, from an outward appearance looking, there was nothing really outwardly spectacular about his upbringing. Nobody really paid much attention to him. Not even his brothers took much attention to him. But what men see, God sees far more. 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse 7. 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse number 7. 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse number 7. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of a stature, because I refused him. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. The Lord knows our hearts. Now for those who are truly converted, blessed are the poor in heart, pure in spirit, for they shall see God. That's a great comfort. He knows your heart. But if you're an unbeliever, playing with religion, that's a terrifying thing. You cannot fool Jesus. Jesus saw, as he says, an Israelite indeed. Now, what does he say, what does he mean by that, an Israelite? That might not sound very impressive. Weren't they all Israelites? Weren't they all Jews? Weren't they all professing to be followers of Jehovah? They were all professing to be followers of Jehovah, but not all Israel, Romans chapter nine and verse six, are of Israel. Not all Israel, not all of the visible expression of Israel, the visible expression of the church in that day, were of Israel, the invisible church. See, what was he saying to him? an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." Now, this has been said of somebody in the past, Jacob. Jacob, whose name meant supplanter. Someone who was there, who took another's place. And he was given another name later on, Israel. He. went from that to someone who strives with God. Psalm 32 and verse 2. Psalm 32 and verse 2. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. There is no deceit, treachery, fraud, cunning, subtlety. And it's interesting how it points back to Jacob, who would later become Israel, how he was changed from one who was a supplanter, who took it by subtlety, to someone who strives with God. An Israelite. Jesus is saying to Nathanael, you are truly born again. You are truly saved. You are truly looking unto the Messiah. And he knew that, he knew his heart. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. And Nathanael knows this, he hears this. Verse 48, Nathanael saith unto him, whence knowest thou me? How do you know me? And he says further, Jesus answered and said unto him, before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Oh, I can see far more than that. I see your heart and I saw you under the fig tree. Why could he do that? In his divine nature, he could see his heart and he could see him under the fig tree, though not physically there. though not physically there. And then from that point, Nathanael is convinced. He is convinced that this is the Messiah, the son of David. Verse 49, Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, that is as we saw last week, a great teacher, master, Rabbi, thou art the son of God, thou art the king of Israel. That's a big statement. That's a statement that could have, in certain circles, caused trouble. There's zealots and all these other groups who wanted this almost political king and all these, but he sees this one who knows his heart, who's meek and lonely, who is, and he speaks of, well, pointing out the need. for our hearts to be pure, as it says, in whom there is no guile, in verse 47. See, the one we are to behold is the one who sees all. The one we are to embrace is the one who sees our hearts. Jesus sees with authority. And our fourth and final point is this, Jesus serves authority. Jesus serves with authority. So he speaks, satisfies, sees, and serves with authority. Nathanael believes that Jesus is the king of his nation. Now remember at this point, Israel is kind of like broken up into pieces. It's kind of Judah and Samaria and Galilee is a bit of a, kind of a bit of an afterthought in many ways. But here comes this, as he's described in verse 51, upon the Son of Man. He comes humbly, lowly, serving, with authority, satisfying the demands of the law. It says in verse 15 and 51, Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. Now, Nathanael sees, he believes, he trusts in Jesus, and he comforts him. You shall see greater things than these. You shall see greater things than... You're impressed with this? You're going to see far, far greater things than this. That's a great comfort. In verse 51, he says, verily, verily, or amen and amen, which is really emphasizing, it's said a number of times in John's gospel. I say unto you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels ascending and descending. And that reminds us a lot, doesn't it, of Jacob's ladder and Jacob's dream. In Genesis 28, in verse 10, Genesis 28, And verse number 12. Verse number 12 in Genesis 28. This is Jacob, and he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, and this is very similar to our text, and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Heaven was open. There was a ladder that reached unto heaven. Heaven was open. And how, and what was that lad? The Son of Man. He is the truth, the way, and the life. No man can cometh unto the Father but through Him. What will he see that's greater? Now, we could think of maybe the transfiguration or something like that. But we've already seen earlier in verse 33, the Holy Spirit testifying of Jesus. Verse 33, the same which was baptized with the Holy Ghost. And it says in verse 33, upon whom thou shall see the Spirit descending and remaining on him. But there's something greater to be seen here. Sure, there will be great glimpses of His glory. But, as it says in Nathanael, because you believe, because you believe, thou shalt see greater things than these. Now, we have moments of things that encourage us to trust in the Lord. But there's also, we have to remind ourselves, we're going to see greater things than these. The joy of someone coming to know the Lord. The joy of seeing someone grow in holiness. The joy of seeing someone move away from a past sin that was dominating their life. All sorts of things. These things that we find joy and happiness. The things that confirm to us in our lives that Jesus is real and He changes people. Thou shalt see greater things than these. When? When will heaven, in a word, come down? Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, the Lord's Prayer. When will that be seen in its fullness and perfection? At the end of time. At the end of time, heaven is open. How? A way of righteousness. Jesus, the Son of Man, came to serve and to obey, making that ladder, making that way open onto heaven. Why? Because the Son of Man assumed our nature. He's the Son of God. which was testified by Nathanael, but then he says, upon the son of man. This phrase, the son of man comes from Daniel chapter seven. Daniel chapter seven and verse 13. Daniel chapter seven. And verse number 13 and 14, I saw in the night visions and behold one like the son of man who came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him and there was given him dominion and glory and kingdom and all people nations and languages. should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting kingdom, which shall not pass away. And His kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed. This is the Son of Man. The One who serves in our place, making... How is heaven open? How is heaven open to Nathaniel? How is heaven open to Philip? How is heaven open to you? How will you see greater things? Through Jesus, who served, and because of his service, secured the way to heaven. See, friends, this is only an encouragement to those who believe. See, heaven is open to you who believe. Heaven is shut to the unrepentant. Heaven is shut to the person who has not trusted in Jesus Christ. Heaven is shut to those who have not said with Nathanael, Jesus is King. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is only begotten of the Father. And that's a very, very important phrase. Because He is God. He is ruler and He is King. How is the way to heaven open? Because of the purity of the King. Because of the purity of the Son of God. And because of the purity of His service as the Son of Man. Son of Man. What must you do to have heaven open to you? What action must you take? Stop. Surrender. Fall on your knees and give up hope on yourself. Throw yourself upon the mercy of Christ. See, the gospel is really saying, stop in your fight to secure your own kingdom. Stop in your own attempts to clean yourself up. Stop in all these things and lay hold upon Christ and say, thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel. And you, my friends, because of the service of the Son of Man, shall see greater things than these. The King secures our way to heaven. And because the King has secured it, it is sure, it is without doubt. But friends, if you're here this morning and you've rejected them, regardless of your background, Jew, Gentile, have you come in Have you, by faith alone, through grace alone, joined the Israel of God? Have you, will Jesus, when he looks at your heart, say this, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile? And that's only possible through a supernatural work of grace. It's not possible in your own efforts. It's only possible through the grace and the mercy of God, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.