TRANSKRIPTIO 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:00.202 --> 00:00:08.198
Now tonight I want to read with you from, I would say, the best known gospel chapter in the Bible.
00:00:08.744 --> 00:00:12.877
And the verse we're going to read is verse 16. And I tell you,
00:00:12.877 --> 00:00:21.737
when we went to the land of Brazil in 1974, it was the first verse that we learned,
00:00:21.737 --> 00:00:23.419
struggling to learn the language.
00:00:24.063 --> 00:00:29.200
But we felt that if we got John 3 and 16 into our hearts and into our heads,
00:00:29.502 --> 00:00:33.415
in Portuguese, it would be just all that we need.
00:00:33.833 --> 00:00:38.285
I remember Brother Wilfred Lane telling me this. He struggled with the language.
00:00:38.646 --> 00:00:42.337
He said, I thought if I could only quote them John 3 and 16.
00:00:42.337 --> 00:00:46.099
It's what we like to say, the gospel in a nutshell.
00:00:46.561 --> 00:00:48.500
It's the whole message of the gospel.
00:00:49.083 --> 00:00:53.657
And we're going to read just verse 16, for you all know the chapter.
00:00:53.988 --> 00:00:59.960
And then we're going to read verse 36, Just two verses, which will be easy to remember.
00:01:00.490 --> 00:01:03.195
Verse 16, For God so loved the world.
00:01:04.428 --> 00:01:09.550
That he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
00:01:09.550 --> 00:01:12.593
perish, but have everlasting life.
00:01:13.115 --> 00:01:17.880
And I would say that just like myself, you could have quoted that verse without
00:01:17.880 --> 00:01:20.990
even looking at your Bible, for it's in your heart.
00:01:22.006 --> 00:01:28.159
I gave a lady a week or two ago one of the little cards that I print, John 3.16.
00:01:28.850 --> 00:01:33.100
She was in a supermarket, the cashier, and I don't know what age she was,
00:01:33.100 --> 00:01:34.469
but she wasn't a teenager.
00:01:35.114 --> 00:01:40.030
And she looked at it and she read it and she said, I learned that verse in Sunday
00:01:40.030 --> 00:01:42.824
school. It's a tremendous verse.
00:01:43.875 --> 00:01:51.433
The second verse we're going to read is verse 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life,
00:01:52.208 --> 00:01:59.470
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him.
00:02:00.184 --> 00:02:03.725
And that's all we're going to read and we're going to speak about this chapter,
00:02:04.293 --> 00:02:09.550
and in particular there are two thoughts that have been on my mind over this
00:02:09.550 --> 00:02:13.026
past week or so we have the whosoever will,
00:02:13.681 --> 00:02:16.790
and we have the whosoever will not simple.
00:02:18.105 --> 00:02:22.976
That divides our meeting. There's those who look back to a moment when they got saved.
00:02:23.578 --> 00:02:30.878
I remember clearly when I got saved, 1952, just short of 15 years of age.
00:02:31.378 --> 00:02:36.167
That's 74 years ago, when I was saved by the grace of God.
00:02:36.770 --> 00:02:41.374
Load full transcript
But the other verse is bringing before us another set of people possibly in this meeting.
00:02:42.221 --> 00:02:45.170
Whosoever will not. Whosoever will.
00:02:46.244 --> 00:02:52.774
Whosoever will not. and you don't need a big education to understand what this verse is saying.
00:02:53.650 --> 00:03:00.364
It's basically telling us that salvation is your responsibility.
00:03:00.968 --> 00:03:04.439
God has moved in grace. Our first hymn was telling us that.
00:03:05.351 --> 00:03:09.732
The Lord Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That meant he had to go
00:03:09.732 --> 00:03:13.298
to Calvary. It meant that he had to be crucified.
00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:20.414
And Peter sums it up in his epistle. he said he bore our sins in his own body on the tree,
00:03:21.084 --> 00:03:26.382
it'll not be imposed on you but God wants your salvation for we read in the
00:03:26.382 --> 00:03:32.602
old testament God said as I live saith the Lord I have no pleasure in the death
00:03:32.602 --> 00:03:35.602
of the wicked but that the wicked turn,
00:03:36.411 --> 00:03:40.016
and that's your responsibility you You don't sit in a meeting,
00:03:40.902 --> 00:03:43.372
hoping salvation will fall upon you.
00:03:44.109 --> 00:03:48.159
You go to an open door and to get through it you walk through, isn't it right?
00:03:49.071 --> 00:03:53.827
The Lord Jesus said, I am the door. No one's pushed to it, no one's carried
00:03:53.827 --> 00:04:00.180
to it, but you can go through it tonight by accepting the message, and whosoever will not.
00:04:00.807 --> 00:04:05.157
Maybe that describes you, maybe without even thinking about it too much tonight,
00:04:05.157 --> 00:04:09.584
but really, if you're not saved, that describes you.
00:04:10.390 --> 00:04:17.347
You've heard the gospel many times. We have spoken to people in Brazil who have never heard the gospel.
00:04:18.017 --> 00:04:22.268
To know what it was you talk to them about being saved and,
00:04:22.929 --> 00:04:27.266
they look at you in amazement they think being saved is you were ill in hospital
00:04:27.585 --> 00:04:32.307
and you survived the doctors helped you and you were saved they don't know they
00:04:32.307 --> 00:04:34.033
have to learn from the beginning,
00:04:34.717 --> 00:04:41.822
but that doesn't describe you but what we've already said describes you you have refused literally,
00:04:42.591 --> 00:04:48.869
you have refused to believe the message If we were to ask you, which we'll not be doing.
00:04:50.547 --> 00:04:51.657
Would you like to be saved?
00:04:51.657 --> 00:04:56.636
You would say in your heart, yes, you want to be saved But in your own time,
00:04:57.118 --> 00:04:58.488
that's when you're making a mistake,
00:04:59.419 --> 00:05:05.288
The Bible says, now is the accepted time Behold, now is the day of salvation,
00:05:06.052 --> 00:05:11.197
Now these verses in this chapter were spoken As a result.
00:05:12.305 --> 00:05:17.759
Of a man called Nicodemus There's
little known about this man in the Bible.
00:05:17.956 --> 00:05:21.468
In fact, it's only in this gospel that you read about him.
00:05:22.318 --> 00:05:28.709
We don't know about his family. We don't know anything about his upbringing, but we know this.
00:05:29.408 --> 00:05:30.935
He was a devout.
00:05:31.953 --> 00:05:38.847
Religious, individual. He took his religion seriously. It was the Jewish religion,
00:05:39.189 --> 00:05:45.883
the religion that God gave to Israel away back in the Mount Sinai with thunderings and lightnings.
00:05:46.185 --> 00:05:53.303
And actually, if you read those chapters, God actually read the law that he
00:05:53.303 --> 00:05:55.258
had given to Moses to give to the people.
00:05:55.885 --> 00:06:00.030
God came down, the people fled, and God spoke to them.
00:06:00.705 --> 00:06:05.478
And the law of God was given. So it was religion from God. And here's a man,
00:06:05.890 --> 00:06:10.471
and from his earliest day, he had believed there's a God.
00:06:11.081 --> 00:06:13.902
You couldn't have convinced Nicodemus there's no God.
00:06:14.796 --> 00:06:20.600
He believed in an afterlife. You couldn't have convinced Nicodemus there's no such a thing.
00:06:21.356 --> 00:06:27.416
He was absolutely aware there was an afterlife and what's more Nicodemus wanted,
00:06:28.071 --> 00:06:32.388
he personally wanted to be in the glories of heaven.
00:06:33.083 --> 00:06:36.413
We're not told what age he is but he wasn't a young man.
00:06:37.347 --> 00:06:42.993
Maybe he's an old man about 90, I don't know. But he was facing reality for
00:06:42.993 --> 00:06:50.413
after all his religious studies and we're not criticising religion but he had a good religion but he,
00:06:51.113 --> 00:06:53.460
treated it with zeal and had,
00:06:54.242 --> 00:06:56.373
reached the stage of being a teacher,
00:06:57.214 --> 00:07:01.781
and yet in his heart right down deep in his soul,
00:07:02.606 --> 00:07:07.483
possibly when he'd go to bed at night he would reflect on his day's work he
00:07:07.483 --> 00:07:11.644
had helped people with the scriptures he had explained scriptures,
00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:17.941
spoken to people about God spoken about the law the ten commandments,
00:07:18.811 --> 00:07:24.544
And yet in his heart, there was lacking the thing called peace.
00:07:25.225 --> 00:07:27.017
The absolute assurance.
00:07:27.743 --> 00:07:34.878
Maybe he could feel age creeping on. He wasn't able to do as much as he used to do.
00:07:35.619 --> 00:07:42.293
His mind maybe wasn't able to study the way he had studied. But there was a void, there was a space.
00:07:43.153 --> 00:07:46.970
Maybe that's like you. But I want you to see something else.
00:07:47.756 --> 00:07:51.750
I suppose in one way we're supposing on that but it looks as if that wasn't
00:07:51.750 --> 00:07:56.310
happening but I'll tell you what we can see he, Nicodemus.
00:07:57.475 --> 00:08:01.076
Had decided that this can't go on,
00:08:01.738 -->
00:08:06.430
and I would say to those in this meeting tonight and we're glad to see you this
00:08:06.430 --> 00:08:14.350
situation as far as you are concerned with no assurance of salvation and before you a burning hell and,
00:08:14.830 --> 00:08:16.790
missing out of the glories of heaven,
00:08:17.534 --> 00:08:25.490
before you is the world without end you read about in Ephesians 3 verse 21 it's called eternity,
00:08:26.237 --> 00:08:30.678
the last breath you take and you're in it and you're not coming back,
00:08:31.478 --> 00:08:36.530
and Nicodemus in his own soul had decided enough's enough,
00:08:37.353 --> 00:08:41.016
it's to be a good meeting if you would get into that category tonight,
00:08:41.803 --> 00:08:45.118
enough's enough the world has nothing to offer hope you see that,
00:08:45.830 --> 00:08:50.440
The world's in an awful condition Those of us who were saved It annoys us to
00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:58.197
read what's happening Everything indicates It will soon all be over This world has nothing to offer you.
00:08:59.033 --> 00:09:05.047
But I tell you, God has something to offer you. And you need to be like this man, Nicodemus.
00:09:05.677 --> 00:09:10.961
It says it was at night when others were settling down for a night's rest.
00:09:11.682 --> 00:09:15.790
It shows you that it had been going over in his mind. And it shows you that
00:09:15.790 --> 00:09:20.434
he had decided that this cannot wait until tomorrow. It would be natural.
00:09:21.077 --> 00:09:25.160
I don't read as I told you anything about his family. But it would be natural
00:09:25.160 --> 00:09:28.119
for his wife to say, Nicodemus, you can't.
00:09:28.380 --> 00:09:34.237
You can't go out a night like that wait, it's tomorrow take a few hours sleep
00:09:34.416 --> 00:09:40.420
and you'll be up tomorrow you can go to see this man Jesus of Nazareth but Nicodemus
00:09:40.420 --> 00:09:42.370
had decided that it's now.
00:09:43.370 --> 00:09:48.500
For this subject was so serious and it is serious,
00:09:49.028 --> 00:09:55.338
Nicodemus was travelling towards eternity so like you and he had no assurance,
00:09:55.814 --> 00:10:00.585
of salvation and the lady just outside ported down a number of years ago,
00:10:01.491 --> 00:10:07.728
serious heart condition and she told us at her doorstep with tears in her eyes she said.
00:10:09.090 --> 00:10:14.323
I could die at any minute and I have no hope for eternity,
00:10:15.008 --> 00:10:20.277
and God she could see him but that's what it's all about dear soul it's eternity,
00:10:20.871 --> 00:10:26.874
it's not being a member of Bolly Clare Gospel Hall we would love to see you in that condition,
00:10:27.512 --> 00:10:32.481
it's not a change of religion you're needing it's Christ,
00:10:33.201 --> 00:10:37.676
and Christ alone because eternity must be faced,
00:10:38.681 --> 00:10:42.855
You have heard and maybe read of men denying many things in the Bible.
00:10:43.690 --> 00:10:48.352
But I tell you
what you've never heard. You've never heard any of these atheists,
00:10:48.805 --> 00:10:53.370
or these philosophers telling you that there's no such a thing as death.
00:10:54.395 --> 00:10:59.480
I tell you, we're living with death day by day. We're marching with death.
00:11:00.025 --> 00:11:04.884
There's but a step between me and death, said one in Old Testament scriptures.
00:11:05.560 --> 00:11:10.107
It's just the breath that you're breathing that's keeping you out of eternity
00:11:10.368 --> 00:11:16.130
and Nicodemus had decided as I said already enough's enough I hope you reach
00:11:16.130 --> 00:11:19.528
that in this meeting close your eyes to the world,
00:11:20.411 --> 00:11:26.218
shut out the voice of the enemy face up to the fact that you as an individual,
00:11:26.893 --> 00:11:33.610
must face eternity and I tell you what was wrong with Nicodemus with no assurance,
00:11:34.487 --> 00:11:39.500
and believing in God and knowing the glories that are provided and what's going
00:11:39.500 --> 00:11:45.778
to be the future in the glories of heaven, he was thinking, am I going to miss it?
00:11:46.812 --> 00:11:51.030
Terrible thing to miss it. Indeed, it would be better if you'd never been born.
00:11:51.568 --> 00:11:55.307
To live and die and wake in hell, not only doomed, but damned.
00:11:56.149 --> 00:12:02.958
But this particular night, he decided, I'm facing it. It took some courage, we have to admit that.
00:12:03.763 --> 00:12:08.041
His old colleagues and friends were opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:12.300
We're not going to that subject, but it's serious the way Israel,
00:12:13.154 --> 00:12:18.384
and they did say at his trial and crucifixion, We have no king but Caesar.
00:12:19.022 --> 00:12:24.920
And Nicodemus was surrounded by those who were opposed to the Lord Jesus, the Son of God.
00:12:25.332 --> 00:12:30.289
But he decided he was going to face the situation.
00:12:31.077 --> 00:12:34.709
Going to take the bull by the horns, is that what we say? That is,
00:12:34.709 --> 00:12:40.336
he was going to face up to the situation because it was concerning himself.
00:12:40.568 --> 00:12:44.119
And after all, when we could just settle down from the preaching here for a
00:12:44.119 --> 00:12:48.500
wee minute and looked down over our audience. Each one of us.
00:12:49.515 --> 00:12:53.636
Each one responsible for their own soul.
00:12:54.362 --> 00:12:59.097
I was typing out some cards last night for my dear sister who wants to send
00:12:59.097 --> 00:13:00.346
them out with calendars.
00:13:01.048 --> 00:13:03.063
The verse still stands in my mind.
00:13:03.997 --> 00:13:15.593
What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
00:13:16.249 --> 00:13:22.577
Tremendous loss to live and die and wake and end not only doomed but Nicodemus
00:13:22.577 --> 00:13:25.314
decided this has to be settled,
00:13:26.135 --> 00:13:30.477
and he came to the Lord Jesus
now you know the chapter and the time's almost
00:13:30.477 --> 00:13:34.406
gone so we're not going to go into all these details and all these verses,
00:13:35.312 --> 00:13:42.700
but in the verse that we read the Lord Jesus talking to a man who was interested
00:13:42.926 --> 00:13:47.482
in reality who wanted the assurance,
00:13:48.057 --> 00:13:52.246
wanted to be sure, the way of salvation is put before him,
00:13:52.864 --> 00:13:55.447
whosoever believeth in him.
00:13:56.257 --> 00:14:01.150
That was run against his colleagues. They weren't wanting to believe in the Lord Jesus.
00:14:01.985 --> 00:14:06.977
But the Lord is saying, there's no other way. Your religion hasn't given you
00:14:06.977 --> 00:14:08.715
assurance and never will.
00:14:09.415 --> 00:14:12.097
He's saying, if you want to be absolutely sure that.
00:14:13.219 --> 00:14:17.955
Whosoever believeth in him, you know, it links me as I have been doing this
00:14:18.274 --> 00:14:19.783
these past number of weeks.
00:14:20.446 --> 00:14:28.009
Matthew 21 is a parable told by a householder who had rejected the owner of
00:14:28.009 --> 00:14:33.869
the vineyard, had treated his servants spitefully, and he said.
00:14:34.767 --> 00:14:38.559
I will send my son, they will reverence my son.
00:14:38.579 --> 00:14:41.953
And here's the very touchstone of salvation.
00:14:42.674 --> 00:14:44.473
It's receiving Christ.
00:14:45.239 --> 00:14:52.906
Godemus had accepted the religion of his fathers, had been a good student, had believed them.
00:14:53.684 --> 00:14:57.989
But now he's being told that salvation is believing in Christ.
00:14:57.989 --> 00:15:03.199
Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
00:15:03.199 --> 00:15:06.109
That's the message of salvation. You say, but that's too simple,
00:15:06.109 --> 00:15:07.218
but there's no other way.
00:15:07.954 --> 00:15:11.954
Aren't we glad that salvation isn't by silver and gold?
00:15:12.620 --> 00:15:19.581
Aren't you glad that salvation is not by your efforts? When would you ever know that you'd done enough?
00:15:20.234 --> 00:15:24.355
But thank God the message of the gospel is that Christ has done it all.
00:15:25.098 --> 00:15:32.381
It is finished, so that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish,
00:15:33.032 --> 00:15:36.027
but have everlasting life.
00:15:36.416 --> 00:15:43.459
The alternative is in the last verse that whosoever will not believe won't take it,
00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:53.430
he that believeth not we're told in the last verse shall not see life that's it full stop no argument.
00:15:54.221 --> 00:16:00.319
No way around it whosoever believeth not shall not see life that indicates that
00:16:00.319 --> 00:16:06.259
if you accept Christ you get life shall not see life But the wrath of God.
00:16:07.576 --> 00:16:08.579
Abideth on him,
00:16:09.700 --> 00:16:10.937
so that the message,
00:16:11.977 --> 00:16:17.787
that was delivered here is either receiving life or
receiving damnation.
00:16:18.588 --> 00:16:23.946
It's either when you close your eyes and leave this world stepping into glory,
00:16:24.848 --> 00:16:29.579
or closing your eyes and stepping into damnation, and it's never going to end.
00:16:30.201 --> 00:16:31.896
Eternal life will never end.
00:16:32.552 --> 00:16:40.730
As I quoted the words from Ephesians 3 already, Paul says, and he speaks about world without end.
00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:45.489
That's what you're going to and are you going to be in the glories of heaven
00:16:45.761 --> 00:16:52.506
the things that was a big subject what God has planned for this world the world's going to be cleansed,
00:16:53.301 --> 00:16:58.377
sin removed completely and it's going to be what God intended to be in Genesis
00:16:58.377 --> 00:17:02.612
chapter 1 just a perfect paradise upon earth,
00:17:03.553 --> 00:17:09.187
this devil tried to corrupt it has succeeded to some degree but the death of
00:17:09.187 --> 00:17:14.477
Christ has opened the door back the way back that whosoever believeth in him.
00:17:15.571 --> 00:17:20.355
Should not perish but have everlasting life and whosoever that believeth not,
00:17:21.044 --> 00:17:26.697
so is either believe or believe not that choice rests with you tonight in this
00:17:26.697 --> 00:17:31.604
meeting and I would urge you no matter what age group you're in young or old,
00:17:32.244 --> 00:17:37.077
if you're not saved your eternity's dreadful to think about it but no matter
00:17:37.077 --> 00:17:41.962
what group you're in tonight the Bible says let it in,
00:17:42.598 --> 00:17:47.637
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
00:17:48.611 --> 00:17:51.837
I'm sure I've told you this before I'm going to tell you it again the night
00:17:51.837 --> 00:17:57.567
I got saved it was to John 19 I just finished the work that Christ had done
00:17:57.567 --> 00:18:00.601
at the cross and when I got home,
00:18:01.437 --> 00:18:03.783
I got another verse of confirmation and.
00:18:04.758 --> 00:18:11.178
It was John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
00:18:11.178 --> 00:18:14.398
son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish.
00:18:15.316 --> 00:18:20.970
You say, but there's another few words, that's right, but that's where I stopped that night.
00:18:21.655 --> 00:18:26.851
And just as a young lad, just almost fifteen, two months short of it,
00:18:27.472 --> 00:18:29.344
I remember to this moment.
00:18:30.315 --> 00:18:37.158
I'm glad my mind's still clear remember distinctly thinking I'm never going
00:18:37.158 --> 00:18:42.155
to be in hell oh I must ask you before we close where are you going to be,
00:18:42.750 --> 00:18:45.351
in God's eternity two options,
00:18:46.002 --> 00:18:47.338
whosoever believeth,
00:18:48.061 --> 00:18:51.719
and whosoever believeth not now shall we pray,
00:18:52.584 --> 00:18:57.658
our Father and our God we come to thee we thank thee for these beautiful words
00:18:57.658 --> 00:18:59.706
that are found in thy word,
00:19:00.287 --> 00:19:05.698
and we thank thee for the truth in the word of salvation that salvation is in
00:19:05.698 --> 00:19:11.908
the person of Christ who died on Calvary, yes, who rose again and is now seated
00:19:11.908 --> 00:19:14.074
at thine own right hand and accepting,
00:19:15.015 --> 00:19:21.348
the work that he did when he put away sin, when he died for our sins and accepting
00:19:21.348 --> 00:19:23.473
it and making your own, you'll have salvation,
00:19:24.326 --> 00:19:29.768
but how sad for those who won't believe it damnation and that for the world
00:19:29.768 --> 00:19:32.728
without end take pity upon us all tonight and bless,
00:19:33.672 --> 00:19:38.418
and those that are not saved that they might trust Christ even for the meeting
00:19:38.418 --> 00:19:43.648
ends we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Amen.