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♪ Glory, the trumpet blows ♪
♪ The gladly song sounds ♪ ♪ Let all the nations know ♪ ♪ U.S.
Revolt is found ♪ ♪ The year of juvenile has come ♪ ♪ The
year of juvenile has come ♪ The year of June, the year of
June The year of June, the year of June The year of June, the
year of June The year of June, the year of June and senders home. Praise of the Lamb of God, the
sin-atoning Lamb, redemption by His blood, through all the
lands proclaim. The year of Jubilee has come.
The year of Jubilee has come. The year of Jubilee has come. The year of Jubilee has come. What a wonderful blessing. I
tell you, it's just a privilege to have each and every one of
our visitors with us tonight. We've had a wonderful meeting.
It's been a glorious time. Lord's not only blessed Brother
Bradley to preach, but the visiting preachers we had with us this
afternoon as well. It's just been a great day and
a great time in the Lord. It's good to have Elder Ken still
with us tonight, and I'm going to ask him to lead us in a word
of prayer, after which Elder Bradley will come, and we want
him again to just feel at home and just preach what the Lord
has on his heart. If you will, Brother Ken. Let
us pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we want
to call upon your name as humbly as we know how. We want to confess
that we are undone without you this night. Yes. Lord, we need
your very presence. Oh, Father. We pray as we ought.
Yes. Lord, we want to acknowledge
that you're all-powerful and all-knowing, that all honor and
glory is due to your name. And Lord, we pray that we've
all come here tonight No other motive than to hear your name
lifted up high. Yes, Father. Lord, our condition
without you perhaps brought low, but I see you high lifted up.
Lord, we're so thankful for Brother Bradley and his ministry. Yes,
Father. In this land, this world over,
Lord, we know that he is a man, that he just as we all stand
in constant need of your assistance, that we would continue to serve
you as we should. We pray this night that you would
deliver him away, Lord, that even he could be surprised. Lord,
we desire to hear from you this night. Lord, we hunger, we trust,
Lord, for righteousness. We pray that we thirst, Lord,
after the truth. Lord, thank you so much for So
the Greek Church, thankful for the witness that she has in this
community. Lord, we're thankful for her
pastor and her love and dedication to those that he watches over. We pray, Lord, your blessings
upon this place, that it will continue to be a place of refuge
for your people. And Lord, that there might continue
to be an in-gathering Lord, we understand and realize that we
live in a land that has obviously in so many ways walked and turned
a blind eye and walked away from your ways. And Lord, we are in
the midst of that and we trust that you would turn us again
and begin that great mysterious work right here tonight in this
place in the hearts of those that are here. Help us all to
lead with a renewed desire. to serve you with both our heart
and mind and hands and feet, Lord, so that in the end, all
will be lifted to you in honor and praise. Lord, forgive us
for what we failed you. We know our sins were great before
you, and we confess those this night. We pray that you would
cleanse us from those things and help us to tune our minds
upward. Lord, we, from our perspective, these are great, great requests
that we're unable to obtain, Lord, but we know that you're
a great God. We ask these things in the name
of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. It's certainly been good to be
with you here once again, and thank you for your kindness and
hospitality and your words of encouragement. I want to read
from the Gospel of John, chapter 16. John, chapter 16, and the 16th
verse. A little while, and ye shall
not see me. and again, a little while, and
ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." Then said some
of his disciples among themselves, what is that he saith unto us? A little while, and ye shall
not see me, and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, and
because I go to the Father. They said therefore, what is
this that he saith, a little while? we cannot tell what he
saith. Now Jesus knew that they were
desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among
yourselves of what I said? A little while, and ye shall
not see me, and again a little while, and ye shall see me. Verily,
verily, I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament, but the
world shall rejoice And ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow
shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in travail,
hath sorrow, because her hour is come. But as soon as she is
delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish for the joy
that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow.
But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and
your joy no man taketh from you." From sorrow to joy. Jesus is ready to go away. He's looking to the cross. He's
anticipating his sacrificial death. And he speaks of sorrow. The disciples would experience
tremendous sorrow during these dark days and hours. They had enjoyed the years of
his ministry. They had had close and intimate
fellowship with him. And now the thought that he would
depart is bringing them a tremendous amount of sadness. We must remember
that even these disciples who heard the Master's teachings,
who observed his miracles, who were walking with him as they
saw not only the miracles that he performed but heard the powerful
words that he spoke and observed his conduct for those three years. Now the thought of Him being
gone, them being left here, is something that seems more than
they can bear. In the 13th chapter of the Gospel
of John, verse 31, Therefore, when He was gone out, Jesus said,
Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. Verse 33, Little children, yet
a little while I am with you. He shall seek me, and as I said
unto the Jews, whether I go ye cannot come, so now I say to
you." So he's preparing them for the thought that there's
coming a dramatic change. The one who has been their teacher,
the one who has been their friend, is going away. They would be in great sorrow
as they would think back over the pleasant and happy experiences
they had enjoyed with the Savior. I suppose all of us are a little
sentimental at times, maybe some more so than others. But I can
see that I enjoy thinking back over the years, recalling some
wonderful, fruitful seasons in God's house. I can think of some seasons in
the early days of my ministry when it seemed there was a different
atmosphere that prevailed across the land. There was a greater
desire, it seemed, on the part of many to hear the Word of God
preached. I could go into cities, sometimes with a tent, sometimes
in a city auditorium where our broadcast had been heard, have
people come out from various backgrounds and walks of life
that I'd never met before. Usually when I would go for a
30-day meeting, I would be on radio, sometimes television during
that period. And frequently in those small
towns, when I would come out of a radio station studio after
doing a daily broadcast, I'd sometimes have 20, 25 people
waiting outside the station door because they wanted to ask questions
about the Bible. wanted to know more about the
things that we were preaching. It seems that those days are
behind us and that often today we're disappointed to see the
lack of interest as the world has attracted so many. But only
think of fruitful seasons, and all of you here tonight, I'm
sure, can think of special meetings, special days, when you've been
in God's house and felt that the Lord was there, and anointed
His servant to preach in power, and the name of Jesus Christ
was lifted up, and there was a warmth of fellowship, and the
singing lifted your spirits. And you say, I love to recall
those days and think of those happy times. But what must it
have been for these disciples who had been with Jesus, He was
their constant companion. He had been their teacher. What
a teacher he was. Matthew chapter 5 verse 1 says
that when he was sent, he taught his disciples to say, and then
followed the Sermon on the Mount. The Lord has given pastor-teachers
in the church today. And yet all of us who have attempted
to fill that office would concede that there are many questions
unresolved in our own minds. we find it to be a challenge
to effectively teach God's people. But you can rest assured that
every lesson taught by Jesus Christ was taught to perfection. Every word that he selected was
the appropriate word. The tone of his voice, the examples
that he used, the emotion of the hour, was all exactly as
it should have been. What a privilege to sit at the
feet of Jesus and learn from Him. We're blessed that His words
are on record. But by an inspiration, we have
that message that the disciples heard on the Mount. Should we
not take great heed to it? Should we not have tremendous
appreciation for it? Should we not pray that the Lord
give us in-depth understanding of it and be able to appropriately
apply it in our lives? But what must it have been to
have sat at the feet of Jesus and heard Him teach. The miracles must have been a
delightful experience to see the unique ways in which Jesus
manifests His power. Think of one in the book of Mark, chapter 6. This has always been
a favorite of mine. There's just something delightful
about this scene that is painted. Mark chapter 6, verse 31. And He said unto them, Come ye
yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For
there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much
as to eat. And they departed into a desert
place by ship privately. And the people saw them departing,
and many knew him, and ran afoot to fither out of all the cities,
and out went them, and came together unto him. And Jesus, when he
came out, saw much people and was moved with compassion toward
them, because they were a sheep not having a shepherd. And he
began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far
spent, his disciples came unto him and said, This is a desert
place, and now the time is far past. Send them away, that they
may go into the country round about, and into the villages,
and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat. As
an aside here, we would note the fact that the solution the
disciples saw to the problem was to get rid of the people.
When evening time was coming and there was a great multitude
and they saw no reasonable way by which they could be fed, they
said, send them away. Sad to say that sometimes is
the approach taken by churches. When they have people that are
in great need, the best solution is to get rid of them. Turn their
back and forget them. But you see, with Jesus there
was something more in view. Yes, He answers in verse 37,
and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him,
Shall we go and buy two hundred penny worth of bread, and give
them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? Go and
see. And when they knew, they saved
five and two fishes, and he commanded them to make all sit down by
companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks by
hundreds and fifties, all done in a very orderly way. group
of fifty, group of a hundred, group of fifty, group of a hundred,
and here they are sitting down on the green grass. And when
he had taken the five loaves of the two fishes, and looked
up to heaven, and blessed, and break the loaves, and gave them
to his disciples, and sat before them, the two fishes divided
he among them all, and they did all eat and were filled. and they took up twelve baskets
full of the fragments and of the fishes, and they did eat
of the loaves were about five thousand men." Here's a situation
impossible for the disciples to solve themselves. They have
only small provisions. There's no way out in this desert
place to be able to immediately get the food that's needed. But
Jesus says, as he blesses the loaves and the fishes, you begin
to pass them out. And think how exciting it must
have been as they They passed out the fish and the bread, and
they fed this group of 100, and they fed this group of 50, and
they look over here, and the disciples are continuing to go,
and as they go, they're just amazed by what's taking place.
We've still got some. I thought we were going to run
out. We gave out all that we had to those, but we've still
got more. And they finally have fed 5,000, and they have more
when they're finished than they did when they started. I can't
help but believe that they talked about that event for many days
to come. when they would sit around the fire in the evening
or just have opportunity for conversation, say, you know,
I still just have cold chills going down my spine when I think
about it. Well, wasn't that exciting? Wasn't that a tremendous day?
You know, it looked like such a problem day, and it turned
out to be a day of great blessing. When Jesus is there, problems
are solved. He did what we never could have
done. His name was glorified in it. It was a marvelous day.
And so as the disciples would anticipate, that Jesus was going
away. No doubt there would be a deep
emotion felt when they recall such incidents as the feeding
of the 5,000. Or the one that follows. Straightway,
verse 45, straightway He constrained His disciples to get into the
ship and to go on to the other side unto Bethsaida, while He
sent away the people. And when He had sent them away,
He departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come,
the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the
land. And he saw them toiling and rowing,
for the wind was contrary unto them." Now some people have the
idea that if you're facing a storm, it's because you're in the wrong
place at the wrong time. You must be disobedient or you
would never face a storm. These disciples were where Jesus
told them to be. Do you think he was unaware of
the fact there was a storm coming? Obviously not. Our Lord, who
knows all things, knew full well there was a storm coming on the
sea. But it was His design to put them on board the ship and
for them to face the storm. He saw them rowing. He's back
on shore. And only because He's the God-man
could He see through the darkness of the night and through the
storm itself and see them rowing. They're toiling, for the wind
was contrary unto them, and about the fourth watch of the night
he cometh unto them, and walking upon the sea, and would have
passed by them. And when they saw him walking
upon the sea, they supposed it to have been a spirit, and cried
out, for they all saw him and were troubled." You can imagine,
it's already difficult enough. They've been rowing and toiling,
and by this time they should have reached their destination,
but no, they're making no progress at all. Have you ever felt like
that in life? It looks like at the time you're
putting forth the greatest effort. You're trying to do everything
right. You're trying to obey the Lord and do what He said
to do, but you're going nowhere. And the storm continues to rage,
and it tosses you about, and the problems of life seem to
be overwhelming. And then to make matters worse,
they see this unidentified figure coming across the water, and
the human reaction is to be afraid. If you're out on the sea at night,
and in a great storm, there was an unidentified figure moving
toward you, no doubt you too would have cried out. They saw
him, they were troubled. But he said, be of good cheer,
it is I, be not afraid. And he went up unto them into
the ship, And the wind ceased and they were sore amazed in
themselves beyond measure and wondered. Jesus gets on board
the ship and immediately the wind ceases to blow. The storm
subsides. No wonder they were amazed. No
wonder they looked on in wonder. What a remarkable thing. a storm
that seemed to put them in jeopardy, a storm that made it difficult
for them to get to their destination, impossible to this point, a time
when they are filled with apprehension and fear, and then Jesus speaks
the word, it is I, be not afraid. You and I have never experienced
his presence literally as did these disciples. But I feel confident
that many of you here tonight have been on the stormy sea,
full of fear and anxiety, when the Lord has spoken to you through
His precious promises and said, fear not, it is I. Maybe in the darkest time of
your night, when the burdens were so difficult
to bear, And you came across that promise where he says, I
will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So how precious is my Savior. Without him, I couldn't go on.
But with him in the ship, all is well. It's not always his
pleasure when he speaks comforting words to us to bring the storm
to an immediate end. But you know, with Jesus on board,
there is no real danger. We have hope and courage in Him
to sustain us in our most difficult times. No doubt, as they would
recall their experiences with the Savior, they would think
about that experience on the sea in the darkness of the night. And then Peter, James, and John
could recall being with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration
So we'd seen a lot of things, we'd witnessed His miracles,
we'd heard His teaching, but nothing to compare with what
took place on the mountain. As He transfigured Himself, and
we saw something of His glory, and heard that voice from heaven
saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. Oh,
what a time, what an experience it was, something that I'm sure
they could never have adequately expressed, described or explained
other than to recount the fact that the event occurred. And
what will it be someday? When we in our glorified bodies
will see Him in His glory. We couldn't look upon his glory
as we are now in this frame that we presently occupy, but in our
resurrected bodies conformed to his perfect image, we'll be
able to see him as he is and rejoice in his presence forever.
They had the memory of that great event to recall. Not only the
words that he is currently speaking to them about his departure,
but as he first was looking toward the end, he spoke these words
in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John. Let not your heart be
troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in Me." Sometimes
when people will say to you in your day of trouble, now cheer
up, things are going to be better. You realize they mean well, but
they don't understand the situation. As a matter of fact, I'm always
amazed that people will be so bold as to say things are going
to be better, because they might not. They may get worse. Unless
you're a prophet and are able to clearly see what God's going
to do in the future, you don't know that they're going to get
better, as far as the circumstances are concerned. Even though our
circumstances don't change, they can be better from the standpoint
of enjoying the Lord's presence and realizing that by His grace
we're sustained. But when Jesus says, let not
your heart be troubled, you have reason to cast away your fear
and anxiety, because He not only knows the future, He controls
it. Let not your heart be troubled. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive unto myself that where
I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go, ye know, and
the way ye know." Sure do these words would have come back to
their minds even after Jesus was gone. He said that He'd come
back. He said that it's His purpose
to take us to be where He is. Oh, the comfort of Jesus' words. And then the memory of sitting
together at the Lord's table as He took the bread and gave
thanks and broke it and said, this is my body which is broken
for you, this do in remembrance of me. And He took the cup and
blessed it and says, this is my blood of the new covenant.
What a special time it must have been as they sat together at
his table. I'm sometimes amazed today what
a church will assemble to observe the Lord's Supper, and there
are some who will not be present. I think what could possibly be
so important on anyone's schedule that it superseded the privilege
to sit at the Lord's table? As often as you do this, you
do this in remembrance of me. Why would we not want to be present
when that ordinance is observed? To depict our faith in His shed
blood for our salvation. To show forth His death till
He comes. So there was great sorrow. Sorrow
from the standpoint of even being able to recall pleasant things,
but now knowing that this time has come to an end. But then
there's particular sorrow because Jesus says that while you are
rejoicing, While you are in sorrow, rather, the world is rejoicing.
The world is going to delight in the fact that Jesus Christ,
that they have hated, has now been taken prisoner and that
He is going to the cross. Why was Jesus so much hated?
It was not a surprise because by way of prophecy we learned
that He was despised and rejected of man, a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. And Jesus Christ is still hated
today when his claims are pressed. Oh, I know it's sometimes said
we live in a Christian country and many people will identify
themselves as being Christians, but when you begin to press what
Jesus taught, I am the way, the truth, and the life, you find
people ready to say you're bigoted, you're narrow-minded. You surely
don't embrace the concept that there is but one Savior, one
true and living God. If Jesus Christ were here today...
He would be as much despised as He was when He was here the
first time, because in man's depraved, fallen nature, He does
not embrace the Son of God. It's only by divine grace that
one is made to appreciate His beauty, and by faith lay hold
of Him, and delight in Him as being the Son of God and the
Savior of sinners. There are those even who will
say that they believe in Him, and believe He is a good man,
and yet deny His claims that He is the Son of God. I've talked
to a man who holds such a view on several occasions. He says,
oh, we believe that Jesus was a prophet, all right. We believe
that he was sent from God. But he believes that anybody
who holds that Jesus Christ was God is an infidel. How contrary, how foreign to
the message of Jesus Christ himself. If Jesus Christ was not God,
then he really wasn't a good man and you couldn't claim he
was a prophet coming from God because he declared that he had
come down from the Father above and that he and the Father are
one. But the world at the time that
Jesus went to the cross was rejoicing while the disciples were in great
sorrow. And when the time came that he went to Calvary, these
who had been his close and intimate friends and followers saw what
he endured. John chapter 19, verse 25, Now there stood by
the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister Mary,
the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore
saw his mother and the disciples standing by, whom he loved, he
saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith he
to the disciple, Behold thy mother, and from that hour that disciple
took her unto his own home. The point is, these who were
his followers, even his own mother, stood at the cross. And they
saw his suffering. It was a time of sorrow. It was a time of disappointment.
In the 24th chapter of the book of Luke, we find that the disciples,
after the crucifixion, are on the road to Emmaus and they're
sad. They're in conversation, their hearts are heavy, and one
that they could not identify comes and walks with them. asked
why they are of such a sad countenance and they said, have you not heard?
And they talk about this terrible thing that the Lord that they
had confidence in and rejoiced in for these days had been crucified. And of course you know the story.
that their eyes were then opened and they saw that the one to
whom they were speaking was Jesus in his resurrected form. And
as they discussed it, they said, did not our hearts burn within
us as we walked in the way? Was there not something special
about this stranger from the moment he appeared and from the
words that he spoke, they touched our heart and Jesus opened up
the scriptures and revealed to them that what had transpired
was the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament prophecies
concerning his death, his burial and his resurrection. But they
were in a period of disappointment. Now, seeing something of the
sorrow, as he speaks of it in our text, what about the joy? Your sorrow, he says, will be
turned into joy. And he uses as an example, a
woman whose time for delivery has come, and she gives birth
to a child. It's her moment of travail, it's
her moment of pain, it's a stressful moment, it's a time of anguish.
And yet, when the child is born, all of that is quickly forgotten,
and she delights in the Son that now is here. So the same child
that brought about the pain, the difficulty in the delivery,
bringing him into the world, now is the very object of her
joy. And that's the point Jesus is
making. The very thing that caused the pain, the sorrow for these
disciples, that is, His crucifixion, became the source of joy. That which would appear to have
been the most terrible tragedy of all times was in fact the
greatest triumph. And therefore, we can rejoice
as we consider what was accomplished by our Savior Jesus Christ. We
turn to the book of Matthew, chapter 28. And we can say indeed that there
was joy because of the resurrection, that death did not conquer Him,
did not swallow Him up. Chapter 28 and verse 1 says,
in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first
day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the
sepulcher. Verse 5, And the angel answered
and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek
Jesus which was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen. What a powerful statement. All
the other religious leaders of the world have their tombs and
their bodies remain in them. But we look to an empty tomb,
because Jesus Christ is risen. As He said, Come, see the place
where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples
that He is risen from the dead. And behold, He goeth forth before
you into Galilee. There shall ye see Him, lo, I
have told you. And they departed quickly from
the sepulcher with fear and great joy, and did run to bring His
disciples' word. They departed with great joy.
Jesus had said to them, you're going to have sorrow, but your
sorrow shall be turned into joy. They were sorrowful when He said
He was going away. They were filled with great sorrow
when they saw Judas betray Him with a kiss. They were filled
with great sorrow as He stood in the hall, and in the time
of His trial, a man standing nearby struck Him with the palm
of his hand. Don't you know it must have been
hurtful to those that loved Him with all their hearts to see
Him so terribly mistreated? to see Him nailed to the cross,
to see the crown of thorns pressed down upon His brow. He stood
afar off, and as you know, even Peter denied Him. What a dark
time. What a time of sorrow. But oh,
how quickly that sorrow was turned to joy. as these women come on
that morning, looking, wanting to give their respect to the
place where Jesus lay. And the angel said, He's not
here, He's risen. And they, for joy, go to bring
the news. It was a joyful then, a joyful
time, a joyful, happy occasion because of His resurrection.
Sorrow was turned into joy if we understand what was accomplished
by His death. He put sin away. Sin, oh sin,
is a dreadful, dreadful thing. Sin was that which brought about
banishment from the Garden of Eden. Sin is that which has brought
all of us the greatest sorrows of our lives. Living in a world that's under
the curse of sin. Living in a world where sin is rampant. Contending
with the sinfulness of our own fallen nature. brings about a
conflict that often is difficult to bear. A guilty conscience. What a dreadful thing. Many have
been driven to complete despair when they could find no solution
for a guilty conscience. In fact, some will say that the
problem with many preachers is that they tend to give people
a guilty complex. But the problem is not the complex.
The fact is, you're really guilty. You have sinned. You have come
short. But the good news of the gospel
is, there's hope for the guilty. By the blood of Jesus Christ,
guilt and sin can be put away. And that's exactly what happened
by our Savior Jesus Christ. Isaiah chapter 53 verse 8, He
was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare
his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. To know then that there is a
solution for sin, that the dreadful curse that came upon the human
race and that which would ultimately condemn us and for which our
souls would be separated from God forever and suffer eternal
hell, to know that by His sacrifice, but of others, for then must
he have often suffered since the foundation of the world.
But now, once in the end of the world, he hath appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself." He appeared to put
away sin. So the sacrifice was made, the
price was paid, the redemptive work was finished. We can indeed
rejoice in the words that Jesus spoke on the cross. It is finished. The redemptive work was finished.
Now, I've had some people respond to that and say, and that, I
believe, is all of it, nothing else. Friends, there's still
more to come as far as the working of God's grace to apply the benefits
of that to the individual. Somebody went around with me
on that one day and said, I just believe it all happened at the
cross, and if you believe there's anything else to follow that, you don't
believe in salvation by grace. I said, I believe in salvation by grace.
I believe the price was fully paid at the cross, but I believe
there's something else going to happen. Finally, they gave up in the tit-for-tat
and said, well, what on earth are you talking about? I said,
I believe that that individual who was redeemed at the cross
has got to be regenerated. He's got to be born again. And
the same grace of God by which Jesus Christ went to the cross
to pay the sin debt is that which applies it to the individual
as that person who was dead and trespasses in sin is now born
of the Spirit. And as you're born of the Spirit
of God, it's then you become a vital partaker of that which
was accomplished. But indeed, we rejoice to know
that the work was finished at Calvary. Salvation of the elect
was secured, not made possible. Some will say, oh, I believe
that Jesus went to the cross to make salvation a possibility
for everybody. I believe He went there to make
it a reality for those that were given to Him by the Father in
the covenant of grace. 1 Peter chapter 3. Verse 18,
For Christ also hath once suffered four sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God. What's he going to do by this
suffering? Bring us to God. Not attempt to, hope to, try
to. He will bring us to God. Being put to death in the flesh,
but quickened by the Spirit. And so by his sacrificial death,
he secured the salvation of those that were given to him. He prayed
this in John chapter 17. Surely we can rest assured that
as Jesus spoke to his father, he spoke the truth, and that
we can rely upon the things that are here recorded. John 17. Verse 1, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent. This is his purpose, this is
what he prayed for, and we believe his prayer is answered. I have
glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was. I have finished the work thou
gavest me to do." So he secured the salvation of those that were
given to him. Jesus Christ was no failure.
He did not attempt a work that he could not finish. He did not
attempt to save sinners that he could not save. There is no
heart so hard but what he can break it. There is no rebel so
tough but what he can humble him. No proud Pharisee so high
but what he can lay him in the dust. Friends, I'm glad to tell
you about a Savior who saves. One who accomplishes his purpose.
One who moves according to his sovereign grace and brings redemption
to that individual by his own effectual work. The glory of
God was indeed displayed by what the Son of God had accomplished.
And so, there's joy to know of His glorified name. In the Gospel of John chapter
6, we read in the 38th verse, John chapter 6 verse 38, For
I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will
of him that sent me. Not a will that is separate and
apart from that of the Father, not something that I have undertaken
to do on my own, but that for which he sent me. And this is
the Father's will, which hath sent me, that of all which he
hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me,
that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may
have everlasting life, and I will raise him up, at the last day. How wonderful to know then that
God's name is glorified because Jesus Christ fulfilled and accomplished
that which was given him of the Father to do. He said, I delight
to do thy will, O God. It was His pleasure. Not that
He had a will separate and apart from the Father, that He had
to subject to the Father's will. It was His delight, it was His
whole purpose to do the Father's will. He delighted to do it.
And therefore, there is joy knowing that God is glorified. There
is joy in knowing there was victory. Sorrow is turned into joy because
there was victory. What a tragedy to think that
Jesus Christ would have come to do a work that he could not
finish, that death would have swallowed him up. We would have
had no salvation. We would have no hope. There'd
be no purpose for this assembly here tonight. The Apostle tells
us in the 15th chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians that if
the dead rise not, if Christ is not raised, all of our hope
is vain and empty. I've heard some people say, well,
you know, even if there was no resurrection, and even if there
was no eternity, the Christian life is worth it anyway. That's
not the doctrine Paul preached. Paul said we're of all men most
miserable. If what we're believing about
the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of His saints
ultimately is not so, we're in deep trouble. We go through a
lot of struggle and pain and there's no worth to it at all.
But we're confident of that resurrection. In the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians,
he says in the 55th verse, O death, where is thy sting? O grave,
where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin. The
strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, because we
have victory, victory over sin, victory over Satan, victory over
death, he says, Thanks be unto God which giveth us the victory.
Therefore, in view of this, therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast,
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as
much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Oh, what a source of encouragement.
You can begin to wonder sometimes, is this labor in the Lord going
anywhere? Is there ever going to be any
success to it? Ever going to be any response on the part of
those to whom we've preached? I mentioned at the beginning
of this discourse about some of those meetings I conducted
years ago. I remember having a meeting under a big tent back
in the hills of Virginia. A lady that came out to hear
me every night for thirty nights in succession, all while I was
there, seemed to weep in every service, but never brought to
a confession of faith in Christ. Forty years later, my telephone
rang one Sunday morning and somebody said, I want to tell you That
lady that you knew back in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, is going
to be baptized this afternoon." And I said, thank you, Lord,
it takes a long time for some seed to come up, but I'm glad
it finally comes. You see, God is at work, and
we may think sometimes all of our efforts are vain, but He
says, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord. For as much as you know your
labor is not in vain in the Lord. We look at Acts chapter 2. How
wonderful to know that Jesus Christ was indeed victorious. Acts chapter 2, reading verse 32. Peter had already said in this
discourse that Jesus Christ was delivered by the determinate
counsel and full knowledge of God. That's back in the 23rd
verse. Ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.
I don't suppose there's a place in the Bible where God's absolute
divine sovereignty and man's complete accountability is brought
together in a clearer fashion than it is in that verse. Theologians
have fought the battle for years, some putting all the emphasis
upon God's sovereignty and some upon man's accountability, and
the divine writer teaches them both, and you and I ought to
embrace it. It was according to the determinate
counsel and full knowledge of God that Jesus Christ was slain.
It was that which He had purposed from all eternity past. He was
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And what did He
say concerning these who crucified Him? Ye by wicked hands have
crucified and slain Him. You did it out of your own wicked
heart. God didn't force you to do it. You did it because you
wanted to. You're accountable for it and you're going to be
judged as a result of your action. Somebody says that's too hard
for me. I can't put that all together. Neither can anybody
else. You can't fully fathom the greatness and glory and magnificence
of a sovereign God who is working his will and accomplishing his
purposes and holding man accountable for his actions all at the same
time. The problem with a lot of people is they want to get
God into a neat little systemized category where you can just pull
out the drawer and say here's this and here's that and here's
the other. God's too big. You can't put him in a straight
jacket. You can't outline God. You can't get everything in your
nice little scenario that's going to make it easy for human wisdom
to grasp. So he just embraced what he says.
But then he says in verse 32, This Jesus hath God raised up
whereof we are all witnesses, therefore being by the right
hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise
of the Holy Ghost, he hath now shed forth this which he see
and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he saith
himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand
until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom
ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. He speaks of victory. Yes, you crucified Him. Yes,
you hated Him. Yes, you rejected His message,
but He hath raised Him up and made Him both Lord and Christ. Here is victory, you see, not
defeat, but victory, complete victory. And now, where is He? Our Savior that ascended back
to heaven? He is there today interceding on behalf of those
for whom He died. Romans chapter 8 tells us. Verse 34, "...who is he that
condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather than is risen again, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us." The apostle gives four
arguments as to why it's impossible for these under consideration
to be condemned. What is it? He says Christ died,
He is risen, He is at the right hand of God, He makes intercession
for us. If one single soul can perish,
One single soul for whom Christ died, one single soul for whom
He intercedes can perish. Paul had no argument, and we
have no hope. But I'm confident, my friends,
that this doctrine, which was once the clearest in all the
Bible, of teaching a special and particular redemption, confirms
the fact Jesus Christ got what He paid for. And He now intercedes
for us. That's encouraging, isn't it?
When Satan attacks you and temptations come and doubt and fears make
it difficult for you, you look at yourself and you question,
could somebody as wretched as I am actually be a recipient
of the grace of God? Could it be that I've been deceived?
Am I truly one of His? And then you come to the point
to know, I have no other hope but in Jesus Christ. He is my
Savior. He's the friend of sinners. I'm
trusting him. And I believe he's living to
plead my case in heaven. Even as Satan is the accuser
of the brethren and will stir us up at times with terrible
doubts with our Lord interceding, Oh, we have great courage because
there is victory in Him. Yes, your sorrow shall be turned
into joy. Now, this is a principle that's
oft repeated in Scripture. We see it concerning Jesus Himself. Isaiah 53, 3 says he's a man
of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We hear him as he prays
in the Garden of Gethsemane. He agonizes and his sweat becomes
as great drops of blood and prays, Father, let this cup pass from
me, nevertheless not my will but Thine be done. He was a man
of sorrows. He was despised and rejected
of men. But it said, he shall see of the travail of his soul
and shall be satisfied. So even as he endured the sorrow
of those last hours, as he endured the anguish of the cross, he
had great joy to know that he paid the price, but he got what
he paid for, that his work was successful, and he himself rejoiced. Hebrews tells us, chapter 2 and
verse 12, that He endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is set down. He saw that which he would have
to endure, but for joy, for the joy that was ahead, for that
which was to be accomplished, for the victory in the end, he
endured the sufferings of the time. And the Scriptures abound
with other examples. Sometimes in our days of sorrow,
we wonder if there will ever come a day of joy. You remember
when Jacob looked at that bloody coat His sons presented to him. They didn't say Joseph is dead,
but Jacob made the assumption that since it was Joseph's coat
and it was full of blood, Joseph is dead. And Jacob was full of
great sorrow. And even after he had sent his
sons down to Egypt to buy corn in the time of famine, and they
came back and said, that man has accused us of being a spy.
And Simeon is being held as security that we come back and bring Benjamin. And Jacob said, all things are
against me. My life's falling apart, nothing
is right. Joseph is not, Simeon is not.
Everything's going bad. That was sorrowful. But oh, what
joy. What joy, when at a later time
the old patriarch looked out the window and there were wagons
laden with all the delicacies and delicious fruits of the land.
Jacob's spirit fainted within him. It was more than he could
handle. But when he was revived, he got on board and rode down
to Egypt and was given Goshen, the best of the land. His sorrow
was turned into joy. How many times in the moment
of our heartache and our sorrow, we felt like there'll never be
another day of joy. We can have moments of sadness
when it seems to be overwhelming. But oh, when the days of joy
come, how great they are. Joseph himself, what a time of
sorrow it must have been for him as his brothers plotted possibly
putting him to death and ultimately sold him into slavery. And everything
was going wrong. He had a very respectable place
in Potiphar's house, but he's falsely accused and he goes to
prison. He reveals the meaning of the dream to the butler and
the baker and they forget about him and he's there two more years.
Everything's going wrong. Sorrow, one sorrow after another.
But finally he interprets the dream of Pharaoh and goes from
the prison to the palace. And there Joseph is used by divine
providence to gather up the grain during the years of plenty and
when the famine came to open up the storehouses and feed the
very men that had contemplated putting him to death. Oh, they
were full of fear, but Joseph embraced them and said, you made
it for evil, but God made it for good. He saw God's hand in
it all. God's providence. Isn't it wonderful
that even at a moment when we can't figure it out and our question
is, what is God doing? And sometimes the question is,
is God doing anything? That was Habakkuk the prophet's
question. I don't think God's doing anything, and God was doing
a lot. Of course, when Rebekah found out what God was doing,
He didn't care for that either. And sometimes we have the same
problem. We wonder if God's doing something, and then when the
Lord shows us what He's doing, we're not so sure we want Him
to do it that way. But friends, let me tell you
something. God's gonna run His own business, and what God does
is right, and it's for the good and benefit of His people. And
even though we can't understand it, we have to bow, even so,
Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. Aren't you glad
the Lord's in charge? Oh, friends, His great wisdom
is marvelous. Just as it was so for Joseph
and for Jacob and for the Apostle Paul in the times of his great
sufferings. My, you read about the physical
abuse that he took. Read about the hardships and
the sufferings, the shipwreck, all the things that came his
way, and yet he perpetually talked about rejoicing. He not only
told others to rejoice, he said, rejoice in the Lord, and again
I say rejoice, but he was rejoicing in the darkest of times because
he believed God was at work. God wasn't out of business because
Paul was chained to a soldier. God's work was going on. God
was doing it His way. God was going to do it in a way
that His name would be glorified. And so this man had great joy.
And what a way to live. He said, for me to live is prize
to die is gain. So either way, I'm going to win.
Because if I stay here, I'll be able to glorify Him. If I
go to be with Him, that's gain. That's better than staying. So
either way, I find joy. Joy in Him in the midst of all
of my adversities. Joy for us today, even as we
consider the resurrection. Someone has said, a dead Christ
was the church's despair, but a risen Christ is the church's
triumph. And how wonderful His promises
to us, just as we read from John 14, and He said to His disciples,
I will see you again. I'm going away for now, going
to depart, and you can't come at the moment, but I'm going
to prepare a place for you. And where I am, there you will
be also. There are days here on this earth
when life seems to be without meaning. When our plans have
been disrupted, our hearts have been broken. And at a time when
our loved ones have departed, we say, oh Lord, how much can
I bear? But then the thought comes to
us. Jesus himself said, where I am, there you may be also. Weeping may endure for a night,
but joy cometh in the morning. It may be a night season for
you at the moment. You may be passing through some
deep trials. But while it may appear there's
no immediate light down the road, there is an eternal day that
will dawn after a while. And the day will come. as His
child, you'll be with Him where He is, like Him forever. No more separation, no more struggle,
no more conflict, no more difficulties because of sin. That's the most
marvelous thing, to think about the fact that then you will not
have a sinful nature, that you will delight in the presence
of the Son of God forever and ever. Jesus said, you're going
to have sorrow The world's going to be rejoicing, and that will
add to your pain, because they rejoice at my suffering, and
you're going to be in great sorrow, but your sorrow will be turned
into joy. Have you looked upon Jesus Christ,
and been made to grieve because of your sin? Zechariah 12.10
says, They shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn
for him in bitterness. Has that been your experience?
That's an evidence of God's work in a man's heart. If you've been convicted to see,
I'm a sinner, I'm bankrupt, I'm guilty, the Lord doesn't owe
me anything. I see that my sins are against Him, against my Savior. I grieve over it. Is your heart
broken and your spirit contrite? Have you looked to Jesus? in
his triumphant victory over death, to know that your salvation,
the only hope for ruined sinners, is in him. Jesus spoke these
words in John chapter 3, verse 14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal
life. Just as that serpent was lifted
up, and those that looked found healing. So when we have looked
upon Him whom we have pierced, when we have mourned over our
sin, when we've come to the end of ourselves, and when we by
faith have been able to embrace and look unto Jesus Christ as
the only hope, the Savior of sinners, ruined as we are, we
see that He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance, and that's good news, and we rejoice and delight in
Him as the Son of God. We rejoice that He says in Galatians
1, verses 3 and 4, that He came, He gave Himself to redeem us.
and therefore we rest our case in his hands. Some struggle for
a long period of time with a great sense of unworthiness and a deep
sense of their own guilt as they have looked upon Jesus and seen
him as the one against whom they have sinned. But that deep sorrow
is turned into joy. when you see Him as the only
Savior of sinners. What other hope could you possibly
have? Where else could you look? No one. No one but Jesus Christ. He's all of it. May you look
to Him tonight, and in the time of your great anguish and struggle
and sorrow, your sorrow will be turned into joy. As you can
then say with a hymn writer, how sweet the name of Jesus sounds
in a believer's ear. It soothes his sorrows, heals
his wounds, and drives away his fear. Do you believe on Him?
Confess Him, follow Him in baptism, and serve Him to the glory of
His name. Well, that was just a taste of glory. I can't say
how much that God has just blessed my soul, you know. Appraising for his gospel. Appraising
for his glorious sovereign grace. Appraising that he's so good
to sinners like we are. The greatest sinner being myself. I thank God for the wonderful
message. Not only tonight, but the whole time that he's been
here, I praise the Lord for what he sent us. And if you do have
a desire to come and confess Jesus Christ and be baptized,
we're going to give you that opportunity. As we stand and
sing in hymn number 212, we give to Brother Bradley the right
hand of fellowship to tell him how much we love and appreciate
his coming this way. I'm kind of homesick for a country
to which I have No sad goodbyes will ever be
spoken. You know that I'm longing for
you. And someday on the outskirts
where my ♪ Shall be eternal ♪ ♪ U of M ♪ ♪ With U of M ♪ ♪ I'm
looking now ♪ ♪ Looking now across the river ♪ There's just a few, just a few more days to
labor. Then I will take, I will take
my handy fly. You know that I'm longing for
you. And someday on the other side,
there's shall be eternal. U of M, sweet U of M, I see the light, I hear the singing
of every song of joy. my soul rejoices just in knowing
that soon I'll swear You are there, I'm longing for
you. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? Do the rest. We do the rest. Amen.
From Sorrow to Joy
Series Lasserre Bradley Jr. Archive
Preached at Shoal Creek Primitive Baptist Church - Evening Service (Tape Cassette Archive)
| Sermon ID | 122218419463419 |
| Duration | 1:08:00 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | John 16:16-22 |
| Language | English |
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