Your Invitation, Part 3

This morning, like every Sunday, I want you to come and behold your God. I want you to come and see the true and living God. John's gospel is all about a phrase from Isaiah 35, verse number 4. Behold your God.

He will come and he will save you. And John says, he has come, and he has come to save. He begins by saying, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, the Word was with God, the same was in the beginning with God, and all things came into being through him.

And that Word became flesh, and that Word dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, we beheld his majesty, his splendor, his beauty. It was full of grace and full of truth. John is saying, the prophecy of Isaiah 35, verse number 4, has been fulfilled.

Behold, your God has come, and he will save you. I mean, that's the whole theme of the Bible, the coming redeemer who redeems his people. Before that, in Isaiah 25, is another prophecy, another prophecy that John will expand upon.

In fact, John is a master of connecting Old Testament dots, so that the Jewish people will understand who the Messiah is, that the Messiah is God the flesh who came to save them. So John, like Matthew and Mark and Luke, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, masterfully connect the dots for the Jewish people to understand who the Messiah is. So just for a brief moment, by way of introduction, I think it'll be a brief moment.

It probably won't be. But if you turn with me to Isaiah chapter 25 for a moment, to begin our time. Isaiah 24 is all about how the king is going to come and punish the enemies of Israel.

Isaiah 25 is about how the king is going to come, and he's going to protect his people, Israel, and they will praise him. I just want to take a few verses from Isaiah 25, because it's a prophecy of the coming Messiah. And John will help you connect the dots.

It says in Isaiah 25, verse number 6, the Lord of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain. That one phrase is enormous. For the question comes, who is the Lord of Hosts? The Lord of Armies, Yahweh Sabaoth.

Who is that? Well, the Lord of Armies is the Redeemer of Israel, Isaiah 44, verse number 6. He is the King of Israel. He is the Redeemer of Israel. And he says that, I am the first and I am the last.

That's the same phrase that Jesus used in Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 21. I am the first and I am the last. In other words, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, our Lord, is the Lord of Hosts of the Old Testament.

A phrase used 254 times in the Old Testament. 202 of those times, it's used in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zachariah, and Malachi, speaking of the return of the King, who was the Lord of Armies. And Isaiah tells us that this Lord of Armies is going to prepare a lavish banquet for all the people on this mountain.

Which mountain is that? Well, you got to go back to chapter 24 and look at verse 23, where it says, for the Lord of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Mount Zion is Mount Moriah in the city of Jerusalem. Mount Zion is a topic in the Old Testament.

Zion is mentioned 152 times in the Old Testament. And we as Christians are commonly called Zionists, because we believe in a future kingdom for Israel, and a king who will come and fulfill Abrahamic and Davidic covenant. So we are called Zionists, because we believe in the future of Israel.

Zion means sunny. Excuse me, Psalm 50 and Psalm 84 define Zion for us. It means sunny.

Malachi 4 tells us that the sun, S-U-N, of righteousness, which is the Messiah, will reign on Mount Zion, a place called sunny, because of its brightness of his glory. So in the end, when the King returns, the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of Armies, you can read about that in Revelation chapter 19, he's going to prepare a banquet on this mountain called Mount Zion. Now remember, Isaiah 2, verse number 2, says that there's going to be this great splitting earthquake.

Zechariah 14 tells us that when the Lord returns, he will step on Mount Zion, or excuse me, on the Mount of Olives, and it will split in two. At that time, Isaiah 2 tells us that Mount Zion will rise above all the other mountains in Jerusalem. And that's quite interesting, because if you've been to Jerusalem in that city on Mount Zion, it's surrounded by mountains.

That's why David says in Psalm 125 that as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people. He said that while standing on Mount Zion, or Mount Moriah. So as he says that, he's realizing that God is the protector of his people.

When you come to Isaiah 25, it's about a celebration of how God's protected his people. So in Isaiah chapter 2, it says that that mountain will rise above all the other mountains, and this is the mountain, the holy mountain of God, the city of truth in which the Lord will prepare a banquet, a lavish banquet, for all the people. You with me so far? Stick with me.

And if you can't stick with me, it's okay. You can listen to the podcast, and because of AI, it's all recorded for you. All you got to do is go back and read the transcript.

It's all right there. It's very important to realize that as you read on, it says this, a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined aged wine. And on this mountain, Mount Zion, he will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations.

That's just a great phrase. Because what is the covering, what is the shroud that is over all people? What is the veil that is covering their face? This is very, very important, because there's something that is over all people, and that which is over all people is death. This is artistic language.

You can read Matthew 27 and John 20 and realize that there was a covering, there was a shroud that covered our Lord. John 20 tells us that there was a veil that covered his face. At the resurrection of the Messiah, those grave clothes, that shroud was undisturbed.

And that veil was folded and placed in another place. And that's how when those who came to the tomb realized that the Lord was not there. Isaiah is telling us that there is a coming Messiah.

And on this mountain, there's going to be a banquet, a lavish banquet, because there is something that has covered man from the very beginning. The wages of sin is death. So he tells us, he, the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies, the one on the mountain, the King of glory, the Redeemer, he will swallow up death for all time.

That's how you know the artistic language of the previous verse about the covering of the veil refers to death. For he is known as the swallower of death. If you've read our book on Christmas, and you read about the different prophecies and promises of the coming Messiah, one of them is that he is the swallower of death.

When the Messiah comes, this is his purpose to defeat death. When he defeats sin, he defeats death. He defeats Satan.

He is the victorious warrior. He is the Lord of armies. He always wins.

So the Bible says, he will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, because there will be no more death. He will remove the reproach of his people from all the earth. For the Lord has spoken.

The Lord is the swallower of death. How did he do that? By dying and rising again. Hebrews 2 gives us the fulfillment of this when he says, very simply, verse 9, but we do see him who has made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, so that he, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

Then verse 14, therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. In other words, at the resurrection of Christ, he took away the fear of death. And John in his gospel wants us to behold his God, because he came to save.

And because he came to save, he had to swallow up death forever. So, in John chapter 2, he wants to make sure that you understand that he predicted his resurrection. When he said, if you destroy this body in three days, I will raise it up again.

When you come to John chapter 5, he predicted or pronounced his resurrection, that there would be a resurrection of all men. Some to life and some to death. In John 11, he said, I end the resurrection and the life at the resurrection of Lazarus.

He performed a resurrection. He predicted a resurrection. He pronounced a resurrection, because he's a swallower of death.

He vanquishes that which man fears their whole life. What is death? Separation from God. He swallows that up.

He destroys it, so man doesn't have to be separated from God, but that man can get to God, because no one comes to the Father but by me, Christ said, John chapter 14. So, in John 11, he performed a resurrection. In John 14, he promised a resurrection.

He says, because I live, you too will live. He promised life to those who come to him by faith. Life forevermore, because he is a swallower of death.

And then, of course, in John 20, he personified the resurrection by raising himself from the dead. No one takes my life from me, John 10. I lay it down by my own initiative.

And if I lay it down on my own initiative, I will take it up again. And so, in John 20, he personified resurrection, has a swallower of death. And then in John 20, verse number 30, 31, he provided life.

He provided a resurrection for those who believe in him, that they might have life forevermore. John will take a phrase from the Old Testament and expand it in such a degree that we begin to understand it. Isaiah the prophet says, look, there is coming this Lord of hosts, this Lord of armies, this Redeemer of Israel, this King of glory who is the Messiah.

He's going to come and provide this lavish banquet. He's gonna be able to do that because that which man feared the most, that which covers man, the shroud of death, the covering of the veil that man fears the most, he will swallow it up, he will destroy it so man can live forevermore.

And that's where you're supposed to insert amen. Just in case you didn't know that. Or at least a holy grunt. A holy grunt is good.

And then he says this. It gets even better. He says, and it will be said in that day, what? Behold, your God.

Behold, this is your God. Behold, Isaiah 35, your God will come and he will save you. How can he do that? Because he's the swallower of death.

And then he says, on that day you will say, behold, this is our God for whom we have waited. What? That he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited.

Let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation. Wow. It's coming today where Israel will say, behold, this is our God.

He has come to save us. And we will rejoice. And they will spend all of eternity rejoicing in him.

And John says, as he writes his gospel, behold, your God. We beheld his glory. The glory is that the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth.

And he has come to swallow of death by the resurrection that he will provide for all men because he is a savior of men. That's our God. So he comes and he gives an invitation.

The first of many which he will give. This is your invitation. And we won't finish your invitation this week.

And we won't finish it next week either. Because I want you to understand it. I want you to get it.

I want you to behold your God. He has come to save you. And John says, this is the revelation as he begins in verse number 9, when he says these words, there was a true light which coming into the world enlightens every man.

That's the revelation of God. He's enlightened every man without exception that they might see and behold the beauty and glory and splendor of God. And we've talked about that and how God does this through creation and through conscience and how God has made himself known to man very clearly.

But with that revelation came a rejection. He was in the world and the world was made through him and the world didn't know him. They didn't want to know him.

They suppressed the truth in unrighteousness. John three says they love their sin. They hate the light.

They don't want to know him. But the tragedy is he came to his own and those who were his own do not receive him. That's the rejection.

In spite of the splendor of the revelation, there was a significant rejection. Not just by the world but by his own people, Israel. Wow.

But there's hope because verse 12 gives us the reception. The revelation is the invitation but there was a rejection to that revelation. But there is a reception of that revelation when it says, but as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God even to those who believe in his name. That's just great.

Receive, lambano, which means to grasp, to seize, to adhere, to attach yourself. To as many as received him, to as many as grasped him.

It's a synonym for believe. To as many as received him, to them who believed in his name, he gave them the honor, the right to be called the children of God. The question is, have you received him? The question is, do you believe in him? That's the whole point, right? That's the whole purpose of John's gospel.

That's why in John chapter 6, it says this in verse number 29, this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent. This is the work of God. That's not a work of man.

This is the work of God that you believe in him in whom he has sent. In other words, to believe in God is a work of God in your life. In John chapter nine, after the blind man was healed, the man blind from birth was healed.

Jesus heard verse 35 that they had put him out and finding him, he said to him, do you believe in the son of man? That's the title that Christ would take for himself. He would take that title because Daniel 7, verses 13 and 14 is a prophecy about the coming son of man who will come in great glory and splendor on the clouds of glory.

And the son of man is the son of God. The son of God is the son of righteousness. He's all one in the same. Do you believe in the son of man? In other words, do you believe that the son of man has come? Do you believe in the prophecy of Daniel 7:13 and 14? Again, connecting the dots from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

He answered, who is he Lord that I may believe in him? And Jesus said to him, you have both seen him and he is the one who was talking with you. Behold your God. And he said, Lord, I believe and he worshiped him.

How do you know you believe in God? When you believe in God, you bow before your God. That's why John says, behold your God. Have you seen him? Because if you behold him, you'll believe in him.

If you believe in him, you'll bow before him. And if you bow before him, you will behave according to all that he has said. That's what it means to be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But instead of Israel beholding their God, and believing in their God, and truly bowing before him, because there were many, as we saw earlier in the last couple of weeks, who believed in him. John too. Many believed in him, but Christ did not give himself to them because he knew what was in their hearts.

We saw it in John chapter 8, many who believed him, others who believed in him, and there were many of them, but they were of their father, the devil. They loved their sin rather than the light. And they hated him and wanted to kill him, but it says they believed in him.

But they would not bow before him, and they would not behave according to all that he said, but they believed him. The question is, do you believe in him? Do you understand who he is? Have you bowed before him in humble submission to his lordship, to his kingship, to his saviorship?

But instead of beholding him, Israel belittled him. Instead of believing truly and genuinely in him, they blasphemed him. Instead of bowing before him, they backed away from him. Why? Because in all of his holiness, in all of his glory, it would expose all of their sinfulness, and so they would back away instead of bow before him. They would blaspheme him instead of believe in him, and they would belittle him instead of behold his glory. They rejected him.

But he says to as many as received him, to them he gave the right, to them he gave the power to become the children of God, even to those who believe in his name. I ask you today, do you truly believe in his name? Do you understand what it means to believe in him? Not do you understand some facts about Jesus, and you know where Bible verses are, and all that kind of stuff.

That's all good, but that's not what it means to believe in him. The call is not to believe in a gospel message. The call is to believe in him, in Christ, in the person and work of the Messiah himself.

Do you believe in him? That's the question. That's the question we need to answer, because Israel's response was insulting. Insulting.

Israel's response was indifference. Israel's response was out of ignorance. Israel's response was inexcusable, and therefore their judgment would be inescapable, simply because they would not bow before the one that they would behold.

And truly believe in him. In Mark chapter one, verse 15, Jesus said, repent and believe the gospel. Acts 16:31, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:9-10, if you confess with your mouth, Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the mouth man confesses unto salvation, and with the heart man believes unto righteousness. What does it mean to behold your God? It means that you believe in your God.

So much so you bow before your God, and you behave accordingly to all your God has said. In Acts chapter 11, verse number 21, it tells us that a large number believed and turned to the Lord. See, belief involves a turning.

It involves, number one, a trusting, and number two, a turning. That is, when you trust in the one you say you believe in, because that's what it means to believe in him, you're going to trust in him. When you trust him, then you turn from all other things.

First Thessalonians 1:10, those in Thessalonica, they turned to God from idols, because they believed in the true and living God. You see, when you trust the Lord, when you believe in the Lord, there is an actual turning from all the things you trusted in before, because you now trust in the Lord God himself. You trust in him.

And all the other things you held dear, all the other things you held on to, all the other things you trusted in, you turn away from and deny yourself and take up your cross and follow the Christ. That's what salvation is. That's what happens to those who behold him, because he has come to save you.

And those who behold him truly believe in him. And how do you know you believe in him? You bow before him in worship, in reverence. And how do you know you have bowed before him? You've bowed the knee to Christ.

For one day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. How do you know you've bowed the knee to him? Because you behave according to all that he says in his word. All that is inescapable when it comes to salvation and believing in all that Jesus said.

So let you know that believing in the Lord is not easy. Just in case you wanted to know that. You've heard people say in the gospel, it's just so easy.

Just say a prayer. You can do it right now. It's the easiest thing you'll ever do.

Believing in God is not easy. And believing in God is not even hard. Believing in God is absolutely impossible.

It's impossible. So Jesus said, Matthew chapter 19, after the rich young ruler turned and walked away and Christ felt love for him according to Mark's account, Jesus said to his disciples, surely I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Now you can understand that artistic language. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Why? Because a rich man is trusting in his riches.

When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, then who can be saved? In other words, who can believe? Who can bow before you? Who can truly behold you and behave accordingly to all that you said? Who can actually be saved? And looking at them, Jesus said to them, with people, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. You see, believing in God is impossible without God making it possible.

You can't do it on your own. You can't. In fact, listen to what the Bible says in John 6, verse 65, for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the Father.

Nobody can, unless it's been granted to him by the Father. In Acts chapter 13, verse number 48, says these words, and the Gentiles, when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing. Why? Because the gospel had now come to the Gentiles.

The same gospel that was presented to the Jews, to those who did not receive him, to his own, the gospel then went to the Gentiles. The Gentile nation. And here's Paul preaching to Gentiles, trying to prove to the Jewish nation that this same gospel, this Messiah, is not just your Messiah, he's God's Messiah.

And because he's God's Messiah, he's the Messiah of the Gentiles as well as the Messiah of the Jews. They had a hard time believing that. But when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as had been, what? Appointed to eternal life believed.

Unless you've been appointed to eternal life, you will never believe. Because with man it is impossible, but with God it is possible. And the Gentiles rejoiced because they recognized that they had been appointed to eternal life, and they believed and they rejoiced in the God who appointed them to eternal life, because with man it is impossible, but with God it is possible to believe in him.

In Acts 16, first convert in Europe was Lydia. She was from the city of Thyatira, verse 14, a seller of purple fabrics. A worshiper of God was listening.

Was listening to what? The gospel. And the Lord opened her heart. If you believe today, it's because the Lord opened your heart.

Your heart is calloused and set against God. It's full of wickedness, but if God opened your heart, you'll believe in him. The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

What a beautiful testimony to that which is impossible for man is possible for God. But to as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe in His name. To receive Him is to believe in Him.

To grasp him is to glorify him. To be enamored with him is to be transformed by him because you believe in him. Acts 18, verse number 27, talks about Apollos.

And when he went across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. And when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace. For by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

He encouraged those who had believed through grace. How is one saying with man it is impossible, but with God it is possible. And so let me illustrate it this way.

To as many as have been appointed to eternal life, they believe in God, right? Yeah. God had opened their heart, Lydia's heart, that she might believe in him. And now Apostle comes and encourages those who had received, who had believed, because of grace.

Grace is God's unmerited favor. We deserve hell, but God bestows grace on us, saving grace. There is a common grace that's given to all men.

There's a saving grace to those who open their hearts. And those who open their hearts are opened only by God who appointed them to eternal life. You follow with me so far? Let me illustrate it this way.

Book of Genesis, 6th chapter, 5th verse. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry they had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart.

And the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds in the sky, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah, the greatest but-ology of scripture, but Noah found favor. But Noah was graced in the eyes of the Lord.

God decided to grace only one man and his family and no one else. This was God's choice. He could have chosen someone else.

He could have chosen a myriad of people. But no, I'm gonna destroy everybody else. And by my grace, by my unmerited favor, I'm gonna choose one man, his family, start all over again.

But no, and this is the first time grace is used in the Bible. So firsts are important. And so therefore you understand that God decides in his own mind from eternity past, those whom he will grace with salvation, and they will receive and believe, and they will follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

God only graced one man, Noah, that's it. He graced him and his family. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

And the next verse says this. And these are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time.

And Noah walked with God. They say, well, that's why he got grace. No, grace is not a work.

He wasn't blameless before he received grace. He was blameless after he was graced by God. He walked with God after he was graced by God.

He was a righteous man because he had been graced by God. Because every intention of every man in his heart was only evil continually. That includes Noah.

They were all sinners. But God decided to only grace one man, but Noah. And he was graced because that was God's divine appointment.

And so when it says that Apollos went over to Achaia and encouraged those who had believed through grace, it was God's unmerited favor. Let me illustrate to you this way. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 26.

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong and the base things of the world and despised. God has chosen the things that are not so that he may nullify the things that are. So that no man may boast before God, but by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus.

God chose you because without him choosing you, you would never choose him. But God chose you so that you would no longer boast.

Because you see, if you chose God without him choosing you, you would boast in your salvation. That would be prideful. But to prove that it was God who did the work, God chose you, you didn't choose him.

That's why it says in John 15, I chose you, you didn't choose me. He wanted the disciples to understand it very clear. It was me who chose you.

So don't boast in yourselves that you are saved because you chose me. You only chose me because I chose you. How do I know that? Verse 13 of John 1, to as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. To those who were born not of the will of the flesh, not by human descent, or not by one's own will but by the will of God.

You received him, you believed him, not because of human descent, not because of human design, not because of human decency. You believed in him by the will of God because he chose you from eternity past.

He appointed you from eternity past. He's the one who called you into his kingdom. So you would never boast about what you have done because it was all a work of God.

That's what 1 Corinthians 1 says. But by his doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. So that just as it is written, let him who boasts boast in the Lord. Let him who glories glory and only in the Lord for it's the work of the living God.

Let me say it to you another way because I got two minutes and I'll probably take 20. No, that's not true.

He who comes to God, Hebrews 11, verse number 6, must believe that he is. He who comes to God must believe that he is. He is what? He is everything he says he is.

He who comes to God must believe that he is, that he is the great I am. For Christ says in John 8, unless you believe that I am, verse 24, you will die in your sins. Unless you believe that I am, I am who? I am the God who spoke to Moses from the burning bush.

That's my name, I am. That's my redemptive name. That's my memorial name.

Unless you believe in my memorial name, unless you believe in my delivery name, unless you believe in my saving name, unless you believe in my redeeming name, I am, you will die in your sins. So what does John do? John says, let me tell you who the I am. He says, I am in John 6, the bread of life.

He says in John 8, I am the light of the world. He says in John 10, I am the door, I am the good shepherd. He says in John 11, I am the resurrection and the life.

In John 14, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father but by me. He says before Abraham was, I am.

He is the great I am, unless you believe in who he is. He who comes to God must believe that he is. He is everything the Bible says he is.

For unto you this day in the city of David has been born a Savior who is Christ, the Messiah, the Lord. You must believe he is the Savior of the world. You must believe he is the Messiah of God.

And you must believe he is the Lord of the universe. That's the good news that brings great joy, right? That's what the angel said, I've got good news. And the good news is so good, it brings great joy.

What's the great joy? A Savior's been born. The Messiah has been born. The Lord has become man and dwelt among us.

That's the good news that brings great joy. He who comes to God must believe that he is. But then stop there.

And that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Those who trust in him because they believe in him are those who turn away from everything else and follow after him. They believe in him because they have beheld him and now, they bow before him and they seek after him.

It's what Christ said, if any man come unto me, let him follow me. Let him follow me. Let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

Why? Because you're seeking after him. You're searching after him. You want him more than anything else.

It's the Old Testament equivalent to what the Bible says in Isaiah 55, verse number six. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near.

Jeremiah 29:13. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Amos 5:4. Seek me that you may live.

Christ, Matthew 6:33: seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you.

Behold your God. It goes beyond an observation to an affirmation to trust him and to believe in him. He who comes to God must believe that he is and that he's a reward of those who diligently seek him. But that is not easy and that's not hard it is absolutely impossible without God.

He's the one who opens the heart. He is the one who grants grace. He is the one who gives you the gift to believe because belief is a gift.

He's the one who gives you the gift of faith because faith is a gift. He is the one who gives you the gift to repent. 2 Timothy 2:24 and 25 because repentance is also a gift.

Repentance is a turning around. It's a turning from sin to God. It's a gift from God.

When God calls you, he gives you the giftedness to accomplish all that he's called you to do because it's his work. Salvation is his work. Believing in him is his work.

This is the work of God that you believe in him. So I ask you again have you beheld your God? The one who is the swallower of death. The one who swallowed up separation from God.

So you didn't have to be separated from him but that you might come to him by faith. So the question comes do you believe in him? If you believe in him you have bowed before him. If you bowed before him, you will behave according to all that he says.

1 John chapter 3, verse 23 This is the commandment that we believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another just as he commanded. See that? There is a belief there's a bowing and there's a behaving. 1 John 5: these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

Do you know that you have eternal life? John said it this way, 1 John 3, verse number 1: what manner of love is this that the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God? What manner of this what manner what other worldly love is this? It's a phrase potapen which means another dimension. It's out of this world. What kind of love is this that that's out of this world that goes beyond a human dimension that the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God? It's the marvelous love that John's proclaimed when he said in 1 John chapter 1, verse number 12, but to as many as received him to them gave he a right the honor to be called the children of God, even to those who believe in his name.

Have you received him? Do you believe in him? Do you understand what that means? I've tried to explain it to you in the simplest terms possible but John says I want you to behold your God because he has come to save you. Have you been saved by the true and living God? I can't answer that question for you. And my prayer is that you would understand what it truly means to believe in Jesus Christ our Lord.

For he says to as many as believe in his name. What is his name? What is he saying? Believing in his name. That's next week. Let's pray.

Father God, we thank you for today. You are a great God.

You alone are worthy of praise. We thank you for this time that we have had. My prayer Father is that your word would touch the hearts of all who are here.

They would be softened to the truth and realize the impossibility of believing without the possibility of God intervening, directing, calling, choosing. How do they know they've been called and chosen? Well, have they bowed before you? Do they truly believe in all that you are? He who comes to God must believe that he is. And do they behave accordingly to all that you have said? Only they can answer that Lord but only you know their hearts.

If there's someone here who doesn't know you may today be the day of their salvation. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.