Just Say Yes

Transcript

Alright, thank you very much. And hello again radio friends, how in the world are you? Yes, this is your good friend Bob Cook, and I’m glad to be back with you to look again at the Word of God and try as the Holy Spirit enables us to put a handle on it so that you can get hold of it for yourself. God’s Word, the Bible, is forever true whether or not anyone reads or believes it, but it becomes of value, eternal value to you and to me when we apply it effectively to our lives. “Be ye doers of the word,” says James, “and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” If you just talk the Bible and don’t live it, you’re kidding yourself but nobody else.

So my job these days is to make plain and applicable the Word of God. I pray everyday that that may be so, and I’ve just finished praying that God may put His love and blessing and truth and encouragement into my voice and into the words that are said, so that it will be especially suited for your need.

We’re in John, chapter seven. All of this that’s recorded in chapter seven happened at a time of the year that was called the Feast of Tabernacles. This is the time when people traditionally lived for a few days in booths or tents. Two things; one, they celebrated the harvest, and the other was they commemorated the days when they were as a nation in the wilderness on the way from Egypt to Canaan. Feast of Tabernacles, remembering what God did for them in those days when they lived in tents and thanking God for His bountiful harvest. That, I’m told, was the dual occasion called the Feast of Tabernacles. And so our Lord Jesus has been talking to people and He said, “If you want to do God’s will, you’ll know.” Believe and I’ll show you is God’s way; not show me and I’ll believe, which is our way. And so He said, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.”

The last time we got together we looked briefly at a couple of verses, one was John 7:18, “He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory.” And we dwelt for a little while on the need for honoring the Lord Jesus Christ and giving God all the glory, not pointing to ourselves. And then we talked about the ultimate indictment where our Lord Jesus said, “You don’t even keep the rules that you yourselves venerate. Moses gave you the law, but you’re not keeping the law that you refer to.” We talked about that for awhile, how important it is to live up to the standards that you hold dear; to live by the power and enablement of the Holy Spirit. See the Holy Spirit is the one who will enable you to live up to God’s standards. “The law of the spirit of life in Christ,” says Paul in Romans 8, “hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

Well, our Lord Jesus was talking pretty plainly, He said, “You don’t believe in me, and your time is always ready, my time has not yet come.” So along with all of this, it says they sent officers to arrest our Lord Jesus. You’ll find that in verse 32. Meanwhile, our Savior is giving a tremendous pronouncement; we’ll talk about it at some length in a moment. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” And the crowd said, “Well this certainly must be the Christ.” Others said, “Well, look he lives in Galilee, and the prophets have not told that there be anybody coming from Galilee. The scripture says, ‘Christ will be of the seed of David and will come from Bethlehem.'” They didn’t know that the Lord Jesus had been born in Bethlehem in direct fulfillment of that prophecy, but they were talking about it in that vein. The officers see, now they’re on their way to arrest Jesus. And verse 45, “Then came the officers to the Chief Priests and Pharisees, and they said to the officers, ‘Why have you not brought him?’ And the officers said, ‘Never man spake like this man.'”

“So the Pharisees said, ‘Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed on Him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.'” There are two things that stand out there, one is, you’re always wrong when you ask whether everybody in high places has agreed on something. “Have any of the rulers believed on him?” No, they hadn’t. And that was evidence not that they were right, but that they were terribly mistaken. You and I looking at this from the vantage point of 2000 years of history, can see so clearly how they missed it. It’s like the college professor that missed the college revival, while everybody around was getting right with God and someone asking, “Well have you been blessed in the revival?” He said, “What revival?” He didn’t even know it was going on. Have any of the rulers believed on Him? No, they haven’t. What does that prove? It proves that they’ve missed it.

Don’t make your spiritual decisions based on what other people are doing. The typical reason for getting permission to do something is, “Everybody’s doing it.” The wise parent has learned to ask, “Who is everybody?” It turns out to be Susie, down the block. Everybody’s doing… The crowd, beloved, is always wrong, isn’t it true? Nicodemus, he’s the one that came to Jesus by night. He said, “Does our law judge any man before it hears him and know what he does?” And they said, “Well, you search and look. Are you also from Galilee? Out of Galilee there’s no prophet coming.” And every man went to his own house. “Mexican stand off,” as we say. Nothing happened at that time.

Now, before I go back to John 7:37-38 where He said, “Come unto me and drink.” Just a couple of thoughts here. One is, the decision not to trust Christ will always result in activity against Him. David Morkan first pointed this out to me years ago. He said, “The unbelieving heart cannot rest until it is organized in opposition to God.” “The unbelieving heart cannot rest until it is organized in opposition to God.” Chapter 7 verse 1. “They sought to kill him.” And that was in a religious festival, now when they were supposed to be worshipping and praising God. And later on it said, “They were planning to kill him, and the people knew about it.” Verse 25, “Is not this whom they seek to kill?”

Verse 30, “Then they sought to take Him, but no man laid hands on Him because His hour is not yet come.” “Then they sent officers to take Him,” Verse 32. We talked about that a moment ago. But they had to come back empty handed. Verse 44, “Some of them would have taken Him, but no man laid hands on Him.” Opposition, decision to reject the Lord Jesus results in active opposition of God and Christ. Some of the most surprising developments have come, and in my experience, in observing people who were avid opposers of the Gospel. A teacher in high school, or a college, or university would be a good illustration of this, who constantly seeks to tear down the faith of students, and who mocks at Christian beliefs.

And who derides the idea that there is a God who is absolute in His being, and in His attributes. And that therefore, His will, and His commandments, and His law are absolutes. And this professor will deride, and laugh, and mock, and scorn, and seek to embarrass anybody in the class who holds that view. You dig in on this, I have, you dig into the background of such a person who is actively and often times bitterly opposing the Gospel. And you’ll find someone who in years past had decided to say no to Jesus Christ. It’s sad, but that’s how it is. The rejecting heart always develops active opposition to God.

Which is why, beloved, I want to warn you, say yes to God. “Yield yourselves to God,” says Paul in Romans 6. Yield yourselves to God. Turn yourself over to God. You don’t have to fix yourself up, God does the fixing up, and you do the surrendering. Have you learned that yet? You don’t have to fix yourself up to try to measure up to divine standards. Give yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ as you are. “Just as I am,” says the song writer, “without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me. And that thou bid’st me come to thee. Oh, Lamb of God I come. Here I am Lord just as I am.”

Yield to God so that your heart will have a chance to be operated on by the blessed Spirit of God. And instead of opposing God, ultimately you’ll be found serving Him. Well, I wanted you to see that because it is so terribly important.

Now, let’s go back then to this great statement that our Lord made. We won’t finish thinking about it in this broadcast, we will take it up the next time as well, God willing. Jesus, on that last day, the great day of the feast, the Holy Spirit doesn’t waste any words. “In the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried.” It is as though our Savior was saying, “This is the important event in this important day.”

The whole thrust of scripture is that the will of God and the revelation of God’s way of salvation is the most important concept in all of your life. “Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Today, if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts. Boast not thyself of tomorrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” God says, “Now, this is it. The time is fulfilled; repent ye and believe the gospel,” was the essence of Christ’s first sermon. “This is it, destiny is here. This is your day of destiny; the last day, the great day of the feast.” And so I want to tell you, my dear friend, what you’re listening to today may be God’s special call to you. You could be dead tomorrow, you know that. You don’t know how it will be with you in 24 hours, the great day of the feast. This is God’s day for somebody; open your heart to Jesus Christ and trust Him as Savior, would you? Do it now.

Father God today, oh may we be aware of Thy great opportunities of grace. May our hearts be open to Thee. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!