[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. This is the next message in our series on the book of John entitled, Jesus is God.
[0:14] Take your Bibles if you would and turn to John chapter 19. John chapter 19. I'm excited for you to see these three truths and we will finish these three truths tonight, Lord willing.
[0:30] In John chapter 19, instead of reading the whole passage again, you know that the scriptures are going to be fulfilled. And I really was anxious to preach that. I will try that Thursday night.
[0:42] But there's one major truth tonight of the three that I'll show you that I just think you have to take home with you. And you can't, you just can't live without it. You need to know this.
[0:52] But look if you would in John chapter 19 verse 28. The Bible says, After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, said that the scriptures might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
[1:07] Father, would you work in our lives and our hearts today? Would you show your power in a real way? Would you magnify yourself? And God, would you help us to learn and understand some truths that we won't understand, but we'll just believe because you're who you say you are and you're what the Bible says you are, even though I don't grasp it.
[1:26] And I'll give you great honor and glory and praise for what you do in Jesus' precious name. Amen. I want you to take the Bible in John chapter 19 and verse 28. And I want to challenge you to look at the verse with me.
[1:38] And I want you to consider there's a big truth, two big truths going on in the same verse. First thing I want you to put a circle around the word, I thirst. I thirst.
[1:48] There's a big theological argument that's going on for years and years, of course. And maybe you wouldn't be, you'd be on the side of it. You know, of course, the Jehovah's Witnesses, they see God as all God. And Jesus is a lot God, but not all God.
[2:01] And there's different levels of respect for Jesus. Is he a prophet? Is he God? Who is he? And I hope you know that he is God. Can you say amen?
[2:12] God the Father. God the Son. God the Holy Spirit. Could you say that with me? You're ready? God the Father. God the Son. And God the Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost.
[2:22] God the Father. God the Son. God the Holy Spirit. And so Jesus is God. But when he came to earth, he took on humanity. And that's impossible. How do you explain that?
[2:33] In John chapter 1, the Bible says in verse 1, it says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And we jump all the way. In fact, at about verse 3, it says, And everything that was made wasn't made without him.
[2:48] So this Word that was in the beginning, with God, was God, created everything. And so we don't have, we have what you might, maybe you ought to write this down somewhere.
[2:59] We have a pre-existent Christ. Jesus is his earthly name. And that's the name he was given when he came here to earth, his human name. But he is the Christ.
[3:09] He's the Son of God. He is eternal. He was before everything else was. He's God. And in John 1, 14, the Word became flesh.
[3:20] And we beheld his glory as of the only begotten Son of God. All of a sudden, Jesus, God, became man. He put on flesh, and he dwelt among us.
[3:32] But there's an issue. Some people would say, well, Jesus didn't die on the cross for real, because he was God. And as God, he wouldn't have felt everything. As God, he wouldn't have experienced everything. And it wouldn't really be true.
[3:43] But that's not true, because he did feel everything. And he was human. And he limited himself to human being, a human's place. He ate. He slept. He drank. He had all of our bodily functions.
[3:54] He breathed. He was man. And yet, he was God. You say, how did that happen? I have no idea. I just know he was God. And I know since he's God, he can do anything he wants to do.
[4:05] Can you say amen? Some people say, well, Jesus couldn't have been God, because God doesn't limit himself. But God does limit himself, by the way. The Bible says very clearly, he cannot lie.
[4:15] How many of you believe he cannot lie? He said he could not lie. He said he couldn't lie. You know what? You know he could lie if he wouldn't lie, because he's God, and ain't nobody bigger than him. But he doesn't lie, because it's against his morality.
[4:26] It's against his holiness. It's against his righteousness. He has limited him. All of my life as a kid, they used to ask me, can God build a rock so big he can't pick it up? I said, if he wants to, he can. Do anything he wants to.
[4:37] I mean, he's God. Amen? But here on the cross, he says, I thirst. He said, I'm human. I'm really suffering. He felt every bite of the whip.
[4:48] He felt every centimeter, every millimeter of those nails as they drove through his flesh. He felt it as the crown slashed down into his forehead. He felt it as the hot blood dripped across his face from what the beatings he'd received.
[5:03] He felt the holes in his face. He felt it because he was man. He was man. And he was God. And he suffered for us. The second thing I want you to notice and so beautiful to me is in the same verse.
[5:21] He's God and he's man. Says, and after this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished. First off, I don't know. I can only say this.
[5:31] You know, I've only had one major physical, personal tragedy in my life. And that was just a few weeks ago. Would you like to know what I know about what went on? Nothing. People are coming up to me and saying, I said stuff.
[5:43] And I said, that is not true. And they said, yeah, you did. I said, no, I didn't. They said, yeah, you did. I said, okay, whatever you say. My wife, my sister told me the other day. She said, you know, me and Bobby and my son and his girlfriend, we were all at your house.
[5:56] I said, I don't remember that. They said, we sat there about three hours. I said, I don't believe it. And they talked to me long enough that I finally remember my sister was there. But I still don't remember none of the rest of them. Say amen. And Jesus is dying and he's in agony and he's suffering beyond what any human being could suffer.
[6:13] Most men didn't live through the scourging that he had received. And then he had walked carrying a cross. He'd also been beaten and slapped in a crown of thorns placed on his face, on his head.
[6:24] And now he's been carried up and nailed on a cross and hung up in the air. And he's been hanging there for hours. He's going to be there about six hours. And he says, I thirst. But then he says, huh, I know everything's been accomplished because I'm God.
[6:37] And I know exactly what's going on. Can you say amen? God and man. God on the cross. Man on the cross. God dying for us. God taking on man so he could experience everything.
[6:51] So he would know who we are. So he would know what was going on. So he would tell us that. I want you to notice what it says. After this Jesus is doing that all things are now accomplished. Notice this.
[7:02] That the scripture might be fulfilled. Jesus said, I got one more thing I'm supposed to say. We wrote the plan. I am the author and finisher of salvation.
[7:12] Before eternity began. I wrote this plan. And I've got something else I've got to say. And he said, I know we finished everything else. Here it comes. I thirst.
[7:23] First. Because there were Old Testament prophecies. Which we'll try to look at on Thursday night. That you'll see where God was saying that. I just want you to stop and realize. Look at this for a second. You've got to know something.
[7:34] There is only one God in the universe. Almost everybody agrees with that. Everybody would say there's one God. Maybe animus and some others. But if you get to really pushing them.
[7:45] They'd all get to say. Well, we're all worshiping the same God. But you've got to know that we go to God. The only way to get to God. And everybody who doesn't go to God. That way doesn't get to God. The Bible says in John 14.
[7:56] 6. I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. And you have to understand. That the message we preach is Jesus. If anyone attacks. Or in any way lowers him.
[8:08] Denies him his Godhood. Denies him who he was. Denies him suffering. Denies his death on the cross. Anything that's done like that. You are attacking the very salvation.
[8:20] Jesus is our message. Jesus is our mission. Jesus is our salvation. Jesus is everything. Somebody says to me.
[8:31] Don't you believe it? We all believe in God. I say, yeah. But there's only one way to get to him. All roads can lead to Rome. And you can get to every other place in a lot of ways. But there will only be one way you'll get to God.
[8:41] And that will be through the Lord Jesus Christ. And what he did on the cross of Calvary. Now take your Bible if you would. And go with me to John chapter 19 and verse 30. John chapter 19 and verse 30.
[8:55] And I'm going to drive home something. I hope you'll write down and listen to this. Here for a little bit. Don't raise your hand.
[9:07] Well, you can raise your hand if you want to. I don't care. But if it embarrasses you, just fake it. Do you believe you're eternally secure? Do you believe that you can lose your salvation?
[9:18] Do you believe that your salvation is iffy? Shifty? Hope so salvation? Most Christians haven't learned what they ought to learn.
[9:33] Now if you go through foundations, I think you will. If you've been through foundations or you're teaching foundations or somebody's teaching you a discipleship course, you should know this. But I want you to read this next verse and what he said.
[9:45] And I want you to understand what Jesus did. I said it this morning. I hope you write it down somewhere. Salvation is a God thing. Can you say amen right there? Salvation is a God thing.
[9:58] It is all God. Do you know how much of my salvation I did? None. Do you know what I did to get saved? None. By the way, everything Austin Gardner's ever touched all of his life has always been messed up.
[10:12] I don't do anything right or well without any mistakes. And by the way, very few of you do. Those of you that think you do, just ask somebody else. You think you do, but most everybody else figured out already you don't.
[10:27] And so salvation, thank God, has no Gardner touch to it. Because I know I'm saved because of the truths I want to show you. And I want you to mark them in your Bible if you would.
[10:39] And I'm going to show you several verses. Look if you would at John chapter 19 and verse 30. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished.
[10:49] He bowed his head and gave up the ghost. It is finished. Put a circle around those words. It is finished.
[11:00] Now I need to stop a second and figure out what's he talking about. What's finished? Was he talking about his human life? I've died now and it's over, man. They got me.
[11:11] Give it. Give up. It's done. I'm beaten. I'm whipped. That's not what he was talking about. In Hebrews 12, 2, which if you don't have memorized, I hope you do. Mark it down. Write it down right now in your notes.
[11:22] Look at Hebrews 12, 2. Write it beside the verse here. Write Hebrews 12, 2. The Bible says, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
[11:33] The author and the what? Finisher of our faith. My salvation was finished. He wrote the plan and he finished the plan. Can anybody help me?
[11:44] Can anybody help me with the first part of Romans 6, 23? What's the first part of Romans 6, 23 say? For the wages of sin is death. Boy, that's pretty bad.
[11:55] That's my part. That's what I earned. That's where I belong. You can write Austin beside that part. But read the rest of the verse and it says, but the what? But the what?
[12:07] But the what? Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. I'm sure you know that Kroger would like to gift you with three cents if you'll just use your little card at their gas station.
[12:21] And if you'll use your card enough, they'll give you 10 cents. You do know they're not giving you anything. Because here's what they say. You've got to come in our store.
[12:32] You want one of them cards. And if you want 10 cents off, you've got to spend $100. And I don't know if you've ever noticed it, but if you'll spend $100, they'll give you $1.50 off of 15 gallons.
[12:45] And you're going around saying, man, I'm saving a bunch of money on my gas. I saved a dollar. Sometimes my wife said, man, I got 10 cents off on that. I said, whoa, praise the Lord. You saved a whole dollar, but a dollar 50. You saved a whole $17 on that tank.
[12:57] Amen. Now, Brother Joe saves $45 on his because it holds 450 gallons. But you understand that's not a gift because the gift has no price tag.
[13:09] A gift has no price tag. And he said, the wage of sin is death, but the gift of God's eternal life. He finished it. I want you to go with me to the book of Hebrews. I want you to just mark a couple of verses. And I want you to go home tonight knowing you're saved.
[13:23] If you are. If you are. And if you're not saved, you need to get saved. But we need to get settled. I will tell you something. I have had people scare me to death about my salvation.
[13:35] I was at a, I was at a certain big preacher's meeting. I was already pastoring. And the guy got up there and he went on and he started saying, if you didn't this and you didn't that, you didn't this.
[13:46] You're not born again. I was seven years old when I got saved. And to be blunt honest, I don't remember every detail like I probably ought to. And he got to telling all them stories. Then he got to tell about all them pastors that got saved.
[13:57] And all them evangelists that got saved. And then he got to tell about all those pastors' wives that got saved. And he got to telling everything. And so I'm sitting there thinking, Lord, man, do I need to go up there and get saved?
[14:09] I knew I was saved before I got in here. And I think if I could ever get out of here, I'll still know I'm saved. But that guy had me scared. You need something to hold on to. Years ago, a guy came to the mission agency I used to work with.
[14:23] And when he came in, it was time for him to fill out the application. And it has on there, give us a testimony of your salvation. And this guy had on there his testimony of salvation. He'd been saved like seven times.
[14:35] He got saved and then figured out he wasn't. And then he got saved and he figured out he wasn't. And he got saved and he figured out he wasn't. And I'm not teasing and I'm not stretching. I can get witnesses to the fact that what I'm telling you is the truth. It was like seven times.
[14:46] And the last time we're sitting there and everybody's interviewing him. And I know the poor guy's going down in smoke. I mean, he just got shot down. And so I looked at him. I thought, I'm going to help him.
[14:57] I'm going to help him. So I looked at him. I said, do you have a verse that helps you know you're saved? And here's what he said. I prayed with such and such famous preacher. I never felt what I felt that night. I know I'm saved this time.
[15:09] You can't base it on that famous preacher. He might mess up. You can't base it on that famous preacher because he didn't do anything to save you. So look at what the Bible says.
[15:19] If you would, in Hebrews chapter nine and verse 12, Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 12, Hebrews chapter nine and verse 12. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
[15:38] Now let's stop a minute and think blood of bulls and goats all through the old Testament for approximately what 2000 or better years had been offered and sacrificed so that they could remember.
[15:51] Jesus was coming to die for them, but the bulls and goats and the sheep and the lambs, their blood could never cleanse us. But do you know what happened?
[16:02] Jesus by his own blood, Jesus by his own blood entered in. And I want you to put a circle around the first word and notice how many times he entered in. He entered in how many times?
[16:14] I need to hear that word from you. I'm not hearing it. Hey, how many times did he enter in once? Did he enter twice? I mean, is there a backup plan? Is he like, if number one, don't take, I got number two for you.
[16:26] Did he like say, if you mess up three times, I still got one to cover you on number four. He entered in how many times? Once. How many times he die? Once.
[16:36] And he entered in once into the holy place. And then he obtained. Let's talk about that is a deep Greek word. Obtained. It's a very hard to understand English word.
[16:48] Obtained. Isn't it? When you obtain. How many of you understand the word obtain? Hold your hand up. How many of you think that's a deep word? It's pretty. That's not hard. Come on. Come on. You can obtain stuff. You go get it.
[16:59] That's. You know what it means? He got it. He went. He did the job. He got it. He brought it back. See, that's really deep. I mean, if you're Tennessee hillbilly, you can understand that word. He obtained it.
[17:09] He went and got it. He went and got it. And then he brought it back. Now, what did he go get and what did he bring back? He went and he got redemption, which is another big word for. He bought us back from the price of sin.
[17:21] He brought us back from what we ought to have had. It's another word for salvation. He bought us and he saved us. He saved. That's a lot of the songs you sing here. The songs you've been singing lately. He saved us.
[17:32] He redeemed us. He paid the price for our sin. But here's the big word. I really want you to find what kind of redemption did he get me? What kind of redemption did he get me?
[17:44] Could somebody speak out loud and tell me what kind of redemption did he get me? Excuse me. I didn't hear you. What? What's that? Eternal. He didn't get me temporary redemption. You know, used to be on.
[17:57] I was a youth director. I'd take the young people. We'd go to Six Flags. And because a lot of them were bus kids, we'd always go outside the park at lunchtime and suppertime. And the bus would be out there. And we'd have sandwiches and stuff.
[18:08] And they always put a stamp on your arm as you went out the gate so you could go out and eat in the bus. I don't even know if he'd let you do that anymore. But when I went out there, Fred Flintstone was running a couple of the rides. But you'd get this stamp on your arm.
[18:21] And when you came back in, you couldn't really see it. And they had this little thing that could shine on you and see if you had it. But, you know, it didn't take but a day or two for that thing to be going. That wasn't an eternal get-in card. It was a temporary.
[18:32] But notice what he obtained for us. What did he obtain for us? Say it again. He obtained what kind of redemption? Eternal. Now, what does eternal mean? Eternal is another one of them real big words.
[18:44] If you don't go to Bible college, you probably can't understand that one, can you? You know, eternal, really, you don't have to be real smart. It just means forever. So he obtained forever redemption.
[18:55] You see, eternity. You know eternity is, in mathematical terms, it's infinity. Eternity is when you draw that little dot and you draw that line that goes out there.
[19:07] When you put an arrow on it, you can make it that long. And it means forever that-a-way. But Jesus has a... His arrow has no dot in the middle. It's just got arrows going both ways. He has no beginning. And he has no end.
[19:18] He has always been and he always will be. And what he gave me was eternal life. It started here and it never ends. He obtained eternal redemption. Now, you can take my word for that or you can call up a TV preacher and find out if that's true.
[19:33] You can take my word for that or you can check out the word of God for it. If I were you, I'd rather stand on what God's word said. Now, do you need me to help you understand? How many times did he enter in?
[19:46] You need to understand this. Don't say it in Hillbilly. Make sure you got it. How many times did he enter in? And what did he get? Redemption. And how long was redemption good for? Eternal.
[19:57] And what blood did he use? His own blood. Somebody comes along and says, Austin, I'm just not sure we're really saved. I'm going to say, well, I didn't do anything to get saved. But I can tell you this. He got me eternal redemption.
[20:09] I'd like you to look at another verse, if you would. Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 26. Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 26. For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world.
[20:22] But now, now this is hard to understand. I want you to really focus and underline this so you get it. Once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
[20:37] I would like to ask you what he has done with sin. Can you tell me what he has done with sin in your own words from the Bible?
[20:49] Because we use Bible. What's he done with it? Put it away. So, all right. Let's ask Jesus. Let's ask God the Father to pull out Ed DeLorea's sin list.
[21:05] And what would the Father say? It's been put away. Now, he uses other words in other places. But, I mean, they'd be going like, well, where is it?
[21:16] They'd get in the filing cabinet and look around for it. It's gone. It's been put away. It's been put away. By the way, how many times did he come to do that? How many times did he come to do that?
[21:27] Once. And what was the method that got it? Oh, it was my salvation. It was my baptism. It was my faithful church attendance. It was my faith promise given. It was my tithing. It was by getting a church building built.
[21:39] It was by not cussing, not smoking, not drinking, not dancing, and not going with them to do. That's what got it done. Amen. What got it done? Come on, help me. What's the verse say?
[21:49] You got to know what the verse says. What's the verse say? By what? The sacrifice of. And so all those old priests that used to want to get close to God.
[22:01] And if I could take you to Peru, I'd show you pictures. They drew themselves over them, taking rocks and beating their chest and blood running down and then taking whips and beating themselves or, or them walking on their knees to some, some place where they could get some more points with God.
[22:16] Can I just tell you who's sacrifice put away sin? Talk to me. Who's sacrifice put away sin? I can't hear you. Who's sacrifice put away sin? The sacrifice of himself.
[22:28] The sacrifice of Jesus Christ put away sin. This morning you saw it in Isaiah. All of our sins were placed on him. You saw it this morning. He was bruised. And his father was pleased that he was bruised.
[22:40] You saw it this morning. He paid our sin debt. So what? That's why you are here. You're not here to get another brownie point. Some of you might be thinking if we could call off Sunday night services, there'd be one less brownie point, one less box.
[22:53] I'd have to check to make sure I'm saved. Maybe we could go to once a month services like some of them others. Because I know I've got to come to all the services if I really want to get saved. No, you don't. I hate to tell you this, but no, you don't.
[23:03] Salvation is based on one thing. Did you get the gift? Did you receive the free gift given to you by Jesus? Can you say amen right there or not? Let me give you another verse. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 12.
[23:16] Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 12. But this man, let's talk about Jesus. Go read the chapters. After he had offered one, one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God.
[23:37] Now, let's see. There's some deep words here. Here we're going to work on how many sacrifices did he make? When did he make that sacrifice?
[23:48] By the way, if you know your Bible, when did he make it? When did he make it? Come on, talk to me. On the cross. On Calvary. He paid my sin debt. He paid my sin debt.
[24:01] He offered one sacrifice. He offered one sacrifice for sins. Now, how long is that sacrifice good for? It's going to kind of remind you of chapter 9 and verse 12.
[24:12] You might even draw a line between them. How long is that sacrifice good for? The other day, Betty got out some beef jerky I had. And she said, this don't look good. And I said, I have no idea if it's any good or not.
[24:25] And so she went like this and she opened it. She started about gagging and she threw it away. You know why? It didn't have a forever sticker on it. It might last a while, but it don't last forever.
[24:38] Can you say amen? But look what the sticker is on yours in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 12. One sacrifice for sin forever. Forever.
[24:49] Would you underline that? How long is the sacrifice good for? Forever. The sacrifice is good forever. The sacrifice is good forever.
[25:01] Forever. And I want you to focus on this next part. When do you sit down? Please remember there weren't a lot of computer jobs while Jesus was living.
[25:11] And I mean, Matthew might have been a tax collector and got to sit behind a table. The fishermen probably weren't sitting a whole lot, standing up, throwing those nets out.
[25:24] But you see, Jesus offered one sacrifice. You've been watching him in John chapter 19. He has been going through terrible agony. But when he finished, he sat down.
[25:39] The priest didn't sit down. In the Old Testament, there wasn't a chair for him. He didn't sit down. Because his job was never done. It was like a balloon note.
[25:50] Pay some interest and we'll see you next year. But this is not that way. It is finished. I don't know how to get this across.
[26:01] I'm going to show you two more verses, I guess. Three more verses. But I want you to understand something. Go back to John chapter 19. And read what the words that came out of his lips.
[26:13] And please understand that these were on purpose words. These words didn't stumble out of his lips like this. Look at me now. Listen to this part. Listen. They didn't come out like this.
[26:26] That's not what happened. That's not what happened. The father was pleased to bruise him. But the son was pleased to be bruised. The father was letting Jesus pay the price.
[26:39] And Jesus was paying the price. And when Jesus got through, he said, Hey, it's finished. We did it. The job's done. I finished. Salvation is bought and paid for.
[26:51] Anybody who tries to charge you one thing above that is a con man. Most preachers are con men. Because.
[27:04] Now you please listen to what I'm fixing to tell you. Do you have to be baptized to be saved? Talk to me. I can't hear you. Do you have to be baptized to be saved? No. You ought to be because you want to do what the Lord told you to do.
[27:16] And then that's your desire. But you do not have to be. See, here's the whole deal. There's not a thing I have to add to my. There's not a thing I have to add to my salvation to be saved.
[27:27] Because I received it as a gift. Bought and paid for. Now salvation is not cheap. It was extremely expensive. It cost the father his son. It cost the son his life.
[27:38] It cost the Holy Spirit all the time he spent. Following you and convicting you. And showing you of your need to be saved. It is an expensive salvation. But it was free to us. And from the cross, Jesus said.
[27:49] It is finished. I may show you some more. But I don't think so. Just look at Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. Please understand. Anytime we have.
[28:01] Can I just say as a pastor. There are so many things I wish I could get y'all to do. And I wished I had. Some kind of. Heavy, heavy hangs over your head.
[28:11] I could use. It's so good. Preachers love it. Preachers adore having. Heavy, heavy. Come to confession. Or else.
[28:24] Tithe. Or God will break your legs in the parking lot. I mean they want a heavy, heavy. Hangs over your head. But you want to hear the beautiful. Wonderful, fantastic truths.
[28:35] Taught here in the Bible. It's finished. Once and for all. Done forever. Eternal redemption. One sacrifice. Four sins. Forever. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9.
[28:47] The Bible says. For by grace. Are you saved. Through faith. Let's focus on this part. And that. Not of.
[28:58] Who? I can't hear you. That not of. Now who's the yourselves in that verse? It's us. God's talking. Through the apostle Paul.
[29:09] And he said. For by grace. Are all y'all saved. Through faith. And that. Not of yourselves. I just want to stop here. And show you something. They've helped you.
[29:21] Now listen to me. If you haven't. There are ways. Know you're saved. And I'll give you. I'll probably try to name a couple of those. Here in just a minute. You know. How many of you ever took your kid. To play a sport. And he went in.
[29:32] And they said. Well we can't let him play. Unless you bring his birth certificate. Has that ever happened to anybody in this room? Yeah. You know what the first thing I thought was. I don't know why you think he needs a piece of paper. He's standing there. He is alive.
[29:42] He has been born. It took me a long time to figure out. They were trying to make sure. Which group he went in. I really thought. Well they think he wasn't born. What kind of dummies are these people? Of course I had kids when I was 12.
[29:55] So. It was easy for me to be fooled. That was a joke. For you slow people. That not of yourselves. I hope you understand.
[30:05] Somehow. This is what I thought. Well what if I didn't say the right words? What if I didn't say the right words? Kyle and Hannah are about to get married.
[30:21] And we've gone over some of the vows. And we'll get all that finished up. And they're going to get married. And I just want to warn you Hannah. If you don't say it exactly right. If you make a mistake you're not married. It's just that's it. And it's a one time trial.
[30:32] If you make a mistake it's over. It just won't work. Everybody in this room is like. That's ridiculous. Of course that's ridiculous. But somebody has made you think. That maybe. Did you say exactly the right words?
[30:42] Did you pray the right prayer? Did you believe hard enough? Did you pray long enough? Were you under conviction?
[30:54] That's another good one. Were you under conviction? Did you get the Holy Ghost bumps long enough? Let me explain to you. What the Bible calls it. Before I keep reading.
[31:05] Not of yourselves. You see the point is. It's a gift. There are people you give gifts to. I'm not the best. I mean at church I try to fake it.
[31:17] But at home when I get a gift. I'm all like. Well thank you. I appreciate that. That's about it. I just don't get all. I mean. Sorry. I just wasn't blessed with a whole bunch. They could never.
[31:29] If they could never get me on one of them game shows. Where you got to jump up and down. And act really stupid. Because you won $50. Maybe $250 million maybe. But not $50. But you there are.
[31:43] Have you ever seen some people. You give them a gift. And buddy. They really got the gift. They jump up and down. And they yell. And they cry. Betty cries. But after 40 years.
[31:54] I'm beginning to wonder how much that's fake. Amen. I mean. She could cry about anything. You could look at her and say. It's time to cry. And she'd say. Okay. That's a joke too.
[32:05] But you get the point. Your salvation wasn't based on. How much you cried. Your salvation wasn't based on. How much you laughed. Your salvation wasn't.
[32:16] It's not. Not of yourself. Not even the faith of yourself. It's not you. It's him. What Romans 6.23 say. The last part this time. First part said. The wages of sin is death.
[32:27] But the what. Wait a minute. What's a gift cost? You've seen those TV commercials. If you'll call right now.
[32:39] We will give you this free. And then when you call. Here's what they say. We're going to give you that. But for you to really get the free gift. You're going to need this $99 worth of other stuff. That we're going to send with the free gift.
[32:53] Come on. What's free to those guys. Means you pay some way. If you'll buy this order. We're going to give you three more sets free. All that means is. It really wasn't worth.
[33:03] Thought they was charging the first time around. There ain't no free there. That not of yourselves. Would you get that straight? That not of yourselves. I was going to do this.
[33:15] But time won't let me. I was going to ask John Voris to come up here. And then I was going to get. One of his children. Or somebody's small child. And ask him to carry him around. And how much would that. Be the child carrying him around. Guy with big as him.
[33:28] Strong as him. He could walk around this building. Carrying a kid. All night long. That not of yourselves. Look at Ephesians 2. 8. 9. I've got to hurry. Because I'm trying to mess up again.
[33:39] Ephesians 2. 8. 9. For by grace are you saved. Stop. What's grace? Grace is something you don't deserve.
[33:50] The big word they would use in Bible school is it's unmerited favor. It's a give me. It's a you didn't get it.
[34:01] How many of you ever been playing golf? And the ball gets about this close. And they say that's okay. That's a give me. But my philosophy is you should do that before I hit it off the tee.
[34:12] You should just say that's close enough. That's a give me. You got it in in one. Why not? Say amen. That's grace. And here's what grace is. Grace is you don't deserve it.
[34:23] You don't deserve it. For by grace God gives you something that you didn't pay for. And he saves you through faith. And that's not of you. Even that is a what?
[34:35] Even that is a gift of God. In case you still slow and can't figure it out. Verse 9. Not of works. Lest any man should boast.
[34:48] Would you in your Bible underline this? Not of works. Now my dad. Back when I was a little boy. He tried to explain grace to me.
[35:01] And he said you'll notice that most grown-ups they don't want to get saved. It goes against their nature. He said because they come here and they want to know what they got to do to get saved.
[35:12] He said if we'd line up a bunch of tractors out there and tell them they had to jump them. They'd all be trying to get saved. But if you tell them they got to receive a free gift. They don't want to take that. They want something they did.
[35:26] That's why sometimes you like to say. I say you know you're going to go to heaven. Yeah I'm baptized. I got baptized. Well whoop-dee-doo. You know I got ordained. And the guy that ordained me is no longer.
[35:37] The church is dead and closed. And the pastor that ordained me is divorced. Been in jail. And living quite sinfully. And started a new church just recently. What man does for you just don't last that long.
[35:52] So not of works. And why? Lest any man should boast. Let me tell you what's going to happen. We get to heaven. This morning.
[36:06] Excuse me. But Joe was leaving. And Joe said I'll just tell you I'm one of them sinners. Dirty sinners. Saved by grace. Those aren't very good bragging words.
[36:17] But they're good bragging words on Jesus. Jesus. And here's what he doesn't want. Some people think they're going to get to heaven. And they're all going to be walking around saying. How many times did you go to church? Ninety-eight.
[36:29] I was there a hundred and ninety-eight. How many times did you miss? I never missed. How much did you give? I hope. And hear what Jesus said.
[36:42] They're not going to be bragging up there. You all going to come in the door going. Thank you Lord. I don't deserve this. Let me read you the last thing he said. On the cross. If you would.
[36:53] Luke 23, 46. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice. He said. Father into thy hands I commend my spirit. And having said thus. He gave up the ghost. Luke tells us what was going on in the book of John. When he got through saying.
[37:04] I finished. It is finished. You know what he said. He looked up to his father. And said. Okay father. It's finished. Here I am. I'm ready to come home again.
[37:15] I have done what you sent me here to do. So we preach. The most wonderful truth in the world. We are saved.
[37:26] By what he did. Not everybody in this room is saved. Somebody questioned me the other day. And they said. Why did you say everybody in there would go to heaven? I said. That's a mistake. I shouldn't have said that.
[37:37] And when I say. I often think of you as a church. And I think you're saved. But there could be people here that aren't. And just let me tell you. Being a member of vision. Hasn't done a thing for you. According to salvation. Not one merit.
[37:49] Getting baptized. How you prayed. How you felt. Hasn't done anything for you. I will try to remember.
[38:00] To show you some of the fruit of salvation. You see. If you're saved. You don't have to say. Well I think I really meant it back then. So I must be saved. Because there is evidence of salvation.
[38:11] And just to name a few real quickly. God puts a desire in you. To know his word. And be around other people. That know his word. God puts a desire in you. Not to do wrong. And all of a sudden.
[38:22] There's something. I don't know what happens. But something supernatural takes place. And all of a sudden. You feel like. I don't belong here. And this ain't who I am. And this is not what I want to do. The pig doesn't want to go back to his wallet. Because he's no longer a pig.
[38:34] He's been changed to a sheep. Say man. And you had happened to you. If you ever hear brother Frick's testimony. If he'll tell you. And he will. If you'll talk to him. Brother Frick's testimony.
[38:45] The Lord saved him. And immediately. When he tells you his story. Immediately. God changed him. I was. Talking to a man.
[38:56] I guess it was. Friday night. And I was asking his story. And he's. Always asked their story. And this man said. Well. It was two weeks before I got married. I didn't want to have anything to do with it.
[39:08] I went to that little country church. Right over there. He said. Now I got there. He said. I'm just going to tell you. It was like me and him. Me and that preacher. I didn't even know the guy. We was the only ones in the room. But I'm going to tell you something. I don't.
[39:18] They tell me I got to be convicted. And I ain't sure I was convicted. All I knew was. I was a sinner. And I didn't want to stay one. And I wanted to get saved. And he said. That night my life changed. His three sons are pastors.
[39:29] Amen. I think God did something. So I'm going to say to you tonight. He. Finished. The work. Father in heaven. Would you. Help your people.
[39:40] Trust you with salvation. And trust you with what you did on the cross of Calvary. Would you help us to know that you and you alone are the Savior. And it's you and you alone that does the work. Let us give you praise and glory.
[39:53] You have been listening to Austin Gardner. Pastor of Vision Baptist Church. For contact information. Location. Service times. Or more audio and video recordings. Log on to www.visionbaptist.com We'll be right back to you tonight.
[40:07] See you next time. Share this video. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.
[40:18] Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.