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TRU-22
As we start back at our look at the Gospel presentations of Jesus, recorded in the Gospels, start with me in Revelation 14:6. From cover to cover in the Bible, our Great God has revealed Himself as God the Savior.
God the Savior is Not Willing That Any Should Perish
God is not willing that any should perish in a Christ-less and Eternal Hell.
God wants everyone to hear His truth, receive His Gospel, and repent unto life eternal.
This desire is seen starting in the Garden of Eden when God Himself comes looking for His rebellious, fallen creations: Adam and Eve.
God’s desire continues all the way to the climactic ending of Earth’s end of days.
The Evangelistic Angel
This evangelistic angel is “preaching the good news concerning everlasting life and entrance into the kingdom of God, and is urging the people of the world to change their allegiance from the beast to the Lamb”.
This message that God sends via the angel evangelist is called by other six other terms throughout the New Testament: the gospel of God, the gospel of grace, the gospel of Christ, the gospel of peace, the glorious gospel, and the gospel of the kingdom.
It is good news that God saves by the forgiveness of sin and opens His kingdom to all who will repent and believe. The whole world will hear this preaching by the angel as God graciously calls all to salvation.
Note what God the Savior does, as Earth convulses in the Tribulation, and people are dying like flies, as we stand for the reading of God’s Word:
Revelation 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, [to every] tribe, [to every] language and [to every] people.
God’s Eternal Gospel
God’s Gospel is Eternal and He has always sought to make it known. From the pagan butchers of Ninevah to whom the Lord sent His unwilling evangelist Jonah, to the end of time when the Earth lies in ruins, while the Universe is experiencing a Cosmic Quake, when demons are howling through the skies, God again sends an evangelist in the form of an angel to proclaim the everlasting Gospel which offers everlasting life.
But great as all the past and future offers of salvation were and will be, the greatest of all was when God the Savior came Himself to live on Earth, and to walk back and forth seeking out and preaching the Gospel to save the lost people of First Century Israel.
Christ: the Greatest Display of God’s Love
The Gospel by John captures Jesus on earth, as the greatest display of the love of God the Savior. The Fourth, and final Gospel captures Jesus who came perfectly, lived perfectly, proclaimed the way to God perfectly, and died to save all who come to Him perfectly and eternally.
John captures this very same Gospel of Jesus Christ that was sweeping the Roman Empire, when the Holy Spirit of God moved upon John the Apostle to write what is for us God describing the Master’s Message.
Christ’s Salvation Invitations
Jesus who paid the price for sin on the Cross, presented the way that anyone who wanted to be saved, could be saved. Jesus shared the Good News.
But as we look through the two-dozen or so different times that Jesus shared the Gospel we see that He almost never repeated Himself. It is almost like each time is unique; yet each time was the same pathway God. That is the wonder of salvation.
Notice the Content of Christ’s Gospel Messages
What was the message Jesus gave to those who heard Him preach? In the Gospel by John we can find what is perhaps the most exciting, extraordinary, and profound of all the Gospel presentations.
This morning how many of us know and understand every detail of the trillions of code switches twisted into our DNA? Very few. But if those DNA-engineered system-switches are not there (endocrine, neural, respiratory, circulatory, etc.), operating behind the scenes, within us, without us even being conscious of most of them: we are not human.
How many believers know every detail of the doctrine of salvation captured in God’s Word? Very few. Most of us know some, others know more, theologians know much, probably no one completely knows all the details. But if the countless DNA “switches” of salvation are not present in our lives (justification, sanctification, redemption, etc.), if they are not operating, responding to the Holy Spirit, fed by God’s Word: we are not saved.
John captures Jesus 24x describing those who believe Christ’s message of salvation, and will become the multitude of believers who will surround the Throne, as those who:
1. A believer is someone who possesses Christ, and becomes God’s Child by a Supernatural event.
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
John 1:13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
2. A believer is someone who understands that salvation is only by trusting in One who took my place.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
3. A believer is someone who is overwhelmed by the Spirit of God.
John 1:33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
God’s Holy Spirit comes and invades every part of our being, washing away of our sins, supernaturally implantation of a new heart, and beginning of God’s work in our lives. It is instantaneous and supernatural
4. In John 2: A believer is someone who is saved only by hanging onto Christ alone.
John 2:11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
Salvation is a person, and He is our substitute, and we cling to Him!
5. In John 3: A believer is someone who gets to start life over again, seeing Christ as their only hope to live the truth and love the light, and have God’s wrath removed forever.
Now mark these with me in your Bibles:
A BELIEVER GETS TO START LIFE OVER AGAIN. John 3:3, 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
A BELIEVER SEES CHRIST AS THEIR ONLY HOPE. John 3:15-16, 18 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
A BELIEVER LIVES THE TRUTH AND A BELIEVER LOVES THE LIGHT. John 3:20-21 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
A BELIEVER HAS GOD’S WRATH PULLED OFF OF THEIR LIFE BY ACCEPTING THE SON. John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Jesus Ties Worship & Salvation Into One Amazing Package
6. In John 4: A believer is someone who drinks Christ as the water of life, and finds Him the spring that never runs dry; and begins a life of worshipping Christ as our only hope.
A BELIEVER DRINKS CHRIST’S WATER OF LIFE. John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
A BELIEVER HAS A SUPERNATURAL SOURCE OF LIVING WATER JOHN 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
DRINKERS ARE WORSHIPERS. John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
A BELIEVER IS CONVINCED CHRIST IS THEIR ONLY HOPE. John 4:39, 41-42 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 41 And many more believed because of His own word. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
Lessons on Worship & Worshippers From John 4
Jesus first detaches worship from a specific location, atmosphere, or physical setting. The location of worship is no longer the main concern, He told the woman. The issue is not where you worship, but rather whom you worship and how you worship. God is an immortal, invisible, and omnipresent spirit. He cannot be seen or touched, and He cannot be represented by an idol or any kind of likeness.
Jesus also reminds us of His favorite designation for God. God as Father was Jesus’ favorite title for the Lord God Almighty. The gospels record about seventy times when Jesus spoke to God, and every time He called Him Father, except when He was on the cross, bearing the judgment for man’s sin. Then He said, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).
Finally, Jesus explains that the way to worship is two-fold. Spirit-prompted, or energized, worship was the first pre-requisite. Truth as the basis, the substance, and the content of worship was the second.
Blended together, the structure, content, and form of worship, was flowing from the Spirit of God, and based upon the Word of God. Worship was to be gauged, tested, and measured by the Spirit indwelt worship that flows from God’s Word.
So, when the woman at the well was seeking for the proper method of worship, she was missing the third dimension. She only was aware of two options—the Samaritan method and the Jewish method. These two methods can be contrasted with what the Scriptures would call: true, spiritual worship here n John 4.
Contrasts Christ Brings out to the Bad Samaritan (The Woman at the Well)
Here are three descriptions of worship, only one is what God wants:
Samaritan Worship: Jewish Worship: True Worship:
Self-styled Carefully regulated Flows from God’s Spirit within us.
Limited knowledge, because they only accepted the Pentateuch
Complete knowledge of all the Old Testament When God’s Word and Spirit are obeyed, God is pleased with the worship.
Warm heresy is enthusiastic worship without proper information Cold orthodoxy is dead worship with the right information. Eager, excited, enthusiastic heartfelt devotion to the Truth of God is Worship that flows from the inside out.
They worshiped in spirit, but not in truth. That is why Jesus said, “You worship that which you do not know” (v. 22). They worshiped in truth but lacked the spirit. God seeks those who will worship in Spirit and in Truth.
Enthusiastic heresy is heat without light. Barren orthodoxy is light without heat. Worship is not an external activity for which an environment must be created.
Sincerity, enthusiasm, and aggressiveness are important, but they must be based on truth Truth is foundational, but if it doesn’t result in an eager, excited, enthusiastic heart, it is deficient It takes place on the inside, in the spirit. Psalm 45:1 is the expression of David’s worshiping heart: “My heart overflows with a good theme.”
Worship that occurred on Mount Gerazim was enthusiastic heresy Worship offered at Jerusalem was barren, lifeless orthodoxy The same two extremes are still with us today.
Gerazim had the spirit but not the truth Jerusalem had the truth but not the spirit Jesus rebuked both styles of worship when He said, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (v. 24).
So this morning, there are spiritual switches, built into our spiritual DNA, that only God’s Spirit can switch on as we invite Him into our lives.
7. A believer is someone who takes Christ at His Word.
John 4:50, 53 Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.
8. In John 5: A believer is someone who hears, believes, crosses over, and does good.
John 5:21, 24, 28-29 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth— those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
9. In John 6: A believer is someone who is securely drawn to Christ, partakes of Him, and stays in Him, because salvation equals abiding in Christ. John 6:27,29,35,37,39-40,44,47,51,54,56.
A BELIEVER IS ONE WHO SECURELY COMES TO JESUS. John 6:27,29,35,37, 39 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
A BELIEVER IS ONE WHO IS LOOKING TO JESUS AND BELIEVING. John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
A BELIEVER IS ONE WHO IS DRAWN TO JESUS John 6:44,47 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
A BELIEVER IS ONE WHO PARTAKES OF JESUS (eats his Words); DRINKS JESUS (is washed by his blood); STAYS IN JESUS (salvation equals abiding in Christ). John 6:51,54,56
I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
10. A believer is someone who has genuine spiritual life, because they are enabled by God.
John 6:63,65,66 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” 66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
11. A believer is someone who chooses to do the will of God.
John 7:17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.
12. A believer is someone whose life is overflowing with the Spirit of God.
John 7:30,37-39 Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. 37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
13. In John 8 we find what may be the high-point of Christ’s explanation of the “switches” God turns on inside true believers, the instant He saves them: A believer is someone who leaves their life of sin, believes in Jesus, dies sinless, holding Christ’s teachings, really following Christ, knowing truth, set free by truth, belonging to God, and hearing His voice. (John 8:11,24,30,31,32,44,47):
LEAVES THEIR LIFE OF SIN, v. 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
BELIEVES IN JESUS, v. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
DIES SINLESS, v. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
PUTS THEIR FAITH IN JESUS, v. 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
HOLD HIS TEACHING, v. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
REALLY ARE CHRIST’S DISCIPLES, v. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
KNOW THE TRUTH, v. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
HAVE BEEN SET FREE, v. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
BELONG TO GOD, AND HEARS GOD v. 44,47 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
14. In John 9: A believer is someone who worships Christ as their sight-giver.
John 9:35,38-39,41 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” 38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him. 39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
15. In John 10: A believer is someone who hears and obeys Christ’s voice, and enters into an abundantly satisfied life of personally experiencing Christ (John 10:1,3,10,11,14).
A BELIEVER ENTERS THROUGH JESUS. John 10:1 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
A BELIEVER HEARS CHRIST’S VOICE. John 10:3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
A BELIEVER HAS BEEN SAVED BY JESUS AND FINDS PASTURE. John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
A BELIEVER HAS AN ABUNDANT LIFE. John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
A BELIEVER TRUSTS IN CHRIST’S LIFE LAID DOWN FOR THEIR SINS. John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
A BELIEVER IS KNOWN BY JESUS AND PERSONALLY KNOWS JESUS. John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
16. In John 11: A believer is someone who lives and believes in Jesus.
John 11:25-26,45 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.
17. A believer is someone who hates the world, serves God, and is a son of the light.
John 12:25-26,36 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
Ephesians 5; I John 5
18. A believer is someone who a believer believes in God the Father and God the Son.
John 12:41,43-44 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. 44 Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.
19. A believer is someone who knows Christ has bathed them completely.
John 13:8,10 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”
20. A believer is someone who has supernatural love for others.
John 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
21. In John 14: A believer is someone who comes, drawn to Christ, obeys, loves, and is the very habitation of God.
John 14:1-2,6,10,12,20,23 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 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. 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the
Father who dwells in Me does the works. 12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
22. In John 15: A believer is someone who bears fruit, gets pruned, and bears more fruit.
John 15:2-4,6,8,16 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
If the vine speaks of all of life as one growing season, then we should get more fruit filled the older we get (as in Psalm 92), if it is many seasons then life is a succession of growing/pruning/bearing/resting and then growing/pruning…
23. In John 17: A believer is someone who knows God intimately.
John 17:2-3,6,9,20,26 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
24. In John 18: A believer is someone who responds to God’s Voice from His Word.
John18:37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
