The sermon 'Everything from Heaven' by Scott Brown focuses on John 3:22-36, where John the Baptist's discourse is examined. Key points include the idea that 'A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven,' highlighting the sovereignty of God. John the Baptist emphasizes his role as the friend of the bridegroom, Jesus, and rejoices in Jesus' increasing prominence, even as his own influence wanes. The sermon discusses the practical applications of this doctrine, encouraging believers to see every trial and reversal as a testimony to God's love and sovereignty. It also explores the nature of true belief in Jesus, which goes beyond intellectual assent to involve heartfelt trust and obedience, conferring eternal life. The sermon underscores the importance of focusing on Christ, minimizing self, and recognizing God's control over all aspects of life.

Our sermon text today is John 3.22-36. After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salem, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized, for John had not yet been thrown into prison. And there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.

And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing, and all are coming to him. John answered and said, a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.

He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all, and what he has seen and heard, that he testifies, and no one receives his testimony. He who has received his testimony has certified that God is true.

For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." O Father in Heaven, Lord, thank you that your wrath no longer abides on us, Lord, who have believed on the Son, who have received him, and whom you have given the power to become the children of God. Lord, I thank you for this reality in our lives. Oh Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him?

You've made him a little lower than angels and said all things under his feet But we do not now see all things under his feet Lord Lord our inheritance It has been has been corrupted because of our sin Oh God But we see Jesus Christ high and exalted Lord that he might taste death for all men. Lord I pray that you would that you would help us to see more of Jesus today Lord that you would help us to to to love him more to believe on him more sincerely and to to trust Him more completely for our salvation from your wrath. In Jesus' name. Amen. I'm grateful it was just prayed that we would see Jesus.

You know, we're finding ourselves in the longest discourse of John the Baptist that you find in Scripture, but wherever you find John the Baptist, you're always finding one who's pointing to Jesus Christ. That's all John does. He only points to Jesus. And so we have that great privilege this morning to encounter this longest-running discourse of John the Baptist where he really utters almost his last words before he's thrown into prison. And we know that John the Baptist, it is said in Matthew 11, 11, that he was among those born of women.

There was no one greater than John the Baptist. And so these words here should help us in so many of our trials and tribulations that we're in the midst of. Now the words that John speaks here are of remarkably high in their theological truth for us, but they are so practical, they are so helpful for this walk that he has put us on. You find these soaring theological truths, they swoop right down and they'll help you every day of your life. And I think you'll see how applicable the doctrine is, how usable the doctrine is that we find here.

And I want to try to highlight as we go through here four remarkable elements of this doctrine that are so helpful. And the first is that a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to Him from heaven. And the second is that He must increase and I must decrease. And the third is that He rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. And then the fourth is that He who believes in the Son has life.

I think you can see how applicable these are right now in your life. I hope so. But if anyone is carrying any burdens, any disappointments, any waiting, any reversals, any losses, any concerns for their own prosperity or their posterity or their reputation or their relationships or their work life or their church life or their future or their marriages, whatever it is, these words of John the Baptist strike right to the heart of our need in every area we find ourselves engaged in. And he really does speak to the most defining areas of your life right here in this passage. I think that, you know, happiness is revealed here.

Contentment is revealed here. And life, death, heaven and hell are revealed here just in these words that we've just read. So they...these remarkable features of this text are very precious. It's been a joy to meditate upon them over the last few weeks in looking forward to this time of speaking about them. Now, you know the context if you've been with us.

We've been preaching through the gospel of John. The Lord Jesus Christ has become His ministry, has begun His ministry. He has gathered His disciples. He's turned water into wine. And He has, He is in Judea.

He's in the land of Judea. And there's a scene that takes place there. So let's look at the scene. The scene sets the stage for everything that he will say as a result of what's happening. And the scene is in verses 22 to 26 where we read, "'After these things, Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea.'" Now by the way, He was already in Judea, But what the writer means is he went into the countryside of Judea.

So he now has left the city of Jerusalem and now he's out into the countryside. And there he remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Annan near Salem because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized, for John had not yet been thrown into prison." So what's happening here, John is still on the loose, but he's losing his following. And his disciples have shifted, they're now following the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and He's losing those who've been listening to Him.

There's a special sting, particularly among ministers, when people no longer want to listen to them. So you can...I can feel the sting and there...it's a sanctifying situation. It's a test...it's a testing situation, but as we'll learn here, it's a testifying situation. Every reversal in life is meant to testify to something, to testify to the love of God that's in Jesus Christ. You know, the trials are simply tools to glorify the love of Jesus Christ.

And that's what we find John doing here. So there are two major things I'd like to point to in this first section in verses 22 to 24. And the first is that it's very easy to become jealous of the successes of others. And this is what was happening to John the Baptist's disciples. They were a little bit protective.

They were a little bit jealous of the following that they used to enjoy because they were following John the Baptist. You know, when you follow someone who's gathering great crowds, you sort of feel the shine, and that's most likely what was happening. And what do you do though when you begin to experience that loss because of some reason. The second thing here is it really speaks to the tragedy when men and women become so immersed in their controversies and caught up in the traditions of men that they just miss the beauty of Jesus. Those are the two things that are here.

Now, let's kind of walk through this. You know, you have the context here. Jesus leaves the city of Jerusalem, which is in Judea. He's going where John is baptizing And he's traveling with his disciples. This is what Jesus always does.

He walks with his disciples He walks with them. He talks with them, you know, he He does what Moses commanded good fathers to do to to teach them when they sit in the house, when they walk by the way, when they lie down and when they rise up. Jesus is doing that exact same thing with His disciples that Moses told the fathers of Israel to do. And it says here in verse 24 that John had not been thrown into prison yet. Now, this is a helpful comment in terms of the four gospels because as you know, as we've spoken before, there are three synoptic Gospels, and then there's the Gospel of John.

The synoptic Gospels are Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and they are very consistent in the things that they report from different angles. But they report many of the same things, And their timelines are fairly similar. When you get to John, he reports things that none of the other gospel writers report. The synoptic gospels are different than the gospel of John. And most people believe, and I do, that John was written last, probably when John was about 80 years old, all the other gospel writers have written.

He has the other gospels in his hands and he's filling in the gaps. And so you find here that John is not in prison yet. If you go to Matthew chapter 4, John has been put into prison after he begins his ministry in Galilee, and Luke tells us how he got into prison in Luke chapter 3 verses 19 and 20. He rebuked Herod the Tetrarch and he lost his head over it. He surfaced the truth that he was committing adultery, and so he was punished for that by Herod.

But here in John 3 22, John has not been put in prison yet. So you can kind of just see how the various gospel writers operate as they report the life and the work of Jesus Christ. Now when this happened, When they left Jerusalem and went out into the country, there was a dispute, and you read about this in verse 25, there was a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to Him and they said, "'Rabbi, He who is with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him.'" So there are two things that are going on. There's this argument about purification, And then the Jews there are wanting to poke into the side of the disciples and saying, hey, guess what, you're losing your following.

How does that feel to you? That's kind of the idea. But they're arguing about purification as well. And what they're arguing about, most likely, we're not told explicitly, but I would think that they are arguing about the added rituals that went beyond the law of God. God gave various laws for purification and the Jews added hundreds of extra laws about purification.

And I likely think this refers either to the water washing rituals for washing of hands and cups and things like that, or it could have to do with The ritual purification of baptism and the waters that are there were not really told. But there were debates about matters of purification. In fact, in Luke chapter 11, a Pharisee kind of gets into an argument with Jesus. A Pharisee invites Jesus to his house to eat with him and he notices that Jesus doesn't wash his hands and he's mad about it. And he's shocked that this thing has happened and he marveled, he marveled that he didn't wash before dinner.

And the Lord Jesus said to him, Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness, foolish ones. Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?" Jesus was identifying this sinful desire of man to just argue and argue and argue about various matters of tradition when in fact what He cares about is the inside and what's going on in your heart toward Him. And so Jesus speaks very clearly to this Pharisee. So Jesus with the Pharisee is disputing the religious program of the Pharisees where they had mounted one law after another that was extra biblical, which is always a real danger in the church when you start adding extra biblical traditions to church life of any kind. And they're dangerous.

You have to be very careful. They're hard to break. They can tend to become the Word of God, but they're not. One of the remarkable things about this scene, there they are. They're arguing about purification, and there is the wisest man who ever walked the face of the earth.

He's healing the sick, he's raising the dead, he's casting out demons, he's healing hurts. Every day it seems like, maybe all day long, and all they care about is this gnat of purification. And they love to debate, and their debate causes them to miss the glory of Jesus Christ. And so it's such a tragic thing that they miss Jesus through their theological arguments and their debates, and they can't see Jesus. That happens a lot with God's people and It happens it happened here.

You know in the news in 2007 there was a really remarkable thing that was reported and happened in Washington, D.C. In the metro. I don't know if you've ever ridden the metro in Washington, D.C. If you have, you know the stop called L'Enfant Plaza, okay? It's one of those prominent stops there.

And there was a man who at that stop, he was wearing a t-shirt, he went over by, stood by a trash can against this old wall, and he opened up his violin case and opened it up so people could walk by and he started playing his violin. And he was playing at rush hour at 751 in the morning. He played for almost 45 minutes. But this man, he wasn't your ordinary street performer. His name was Joshua Bell.

He's one of the best classical violinists in the world. And he was just playing. He played and played and played and almost very few people even recognized him, they just walked right by him and He was actually playing on one of the world's most valuable violins. He was playing on a 1713 Stradivarius that was worth $3.5 million, and all these people were just walking by this guy in a t-shirt by a trash can playing. And only a few stopped, but this is exactly what happens in this world you have the Lord of glory he's playing the flute and nobody nobody wants to dance they want they want to argue their little points and Jesus Christ is there to give life and life everlasting and wisdom beyond any wisdom you've ever been able to think or hear.

This is the tragedy of the world where the gospel is preached but no one hears. They're all wrapped up in their own lives. They're rushing from one place to another trying to get to work, trying to make life happen. And they don't hear Jesus in the midst of it. And I think something like that was happening as they were arguing about purification.

And there is Jesus who's healing the sick and raising the dead. And you know, they couldn't behold His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. That's such a critical thing for a church, That a church has one thing on its mind, to behold the beauty of Jesus Christ, to behold His glory, to inquire in His temple, and to cry out to Him. And I pray somehow God would continue to help us as a church to have our whole hearts toward the Lord of glory, that we would fill up our minds with things above, not on the things that are on the earth, but that we would saturate our minds in the Lord of glory. That's what John did.

And John, you know, in the midst of this, John is losing his following, his disciples are losing their shine, and so this is a very difficult thing. Very difficult thing. And now, John responds to this proposition that he's losing his disciples. And In his response, he declares who he is and he declares who Jesus is. And that's really important.

When you're losing your shine, you need to know those two things. When something has happened, some reversal, some fear, some deprivation, something. You've got to know these two things. You have to know who you are and you have to know who Jesus is. And those really are the two most important things in this life.

And in verses 27 through 40, we see John's response, and it's amazing because what John, the Baptist, says in effect is, what's disturbing you is making my heart jump with joy to see Jesus Christ exalted. That gives me joy. So John responds, you can see it in verses 27 to 30 in the next item in your outline. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him He who has the bride is the bridegroom But the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him Rejoices greatly because of the Bridegroom's voice Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled He must increase But I must decrease You know oh for heart For a church for a family that rejoices because of the bridegroom's voice.

What a marvelous thing. So first, John rejoices in God's sovereign hand over his life. A man can receive nothing unless it's given from heaven. Second, John makes it very clear who he is. He's nothing but a sent one.

We'll develop that in just a minute. Third, he rejoices in Jesus as the bridegroom and his voice. And fourth, he wants to decrease and he wants Jesus to increase. That's what we find in this particular section here. And we know this is very consistent with what the Apostle John is trying to communicate in his gospel and also in his epistle in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John.

In John 15 and 11 he sums it up, these things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. This is the whole purpose of the gospel of John, that you might believe and that you might know the joy of being set free by Jesus Christ. So John is losing his following, you know, was it enough to steal John's joy? What could you do to steal John's joy? Or what about me?

What would it take? I've learned that it doesn't take very much for me. But what would it take for you to lose your joy and your confidence in God. You know, would loss of money be enough to do that? Well, Jesus didn't really seem to have very much money.

Would it be a rebellious child that would absolutely decimate and devastate your joy? Would it be a report from your doctor? Maybe you are as trivial a person that if your favorite team lost their game, it would steal your joy. Or maybe losing an election or losing a potential spouse or your spouse. Would that be enough?

There are lots of things, lots of things in this life that can do that. And John answers and he explains the situation in verse 27. I remember my pastor quoting this over and over again when I was a young man, and I'm so glad that he did. And it's come back to me many, many times. And John answered and said, a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

This is perhaps one of the great summary statements of the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. And it shows how practical this doctrine is that, you know, people think doctrine is so dry and boring. John doesn't think so. It works. It works in the most difficult moments in life as he sees it working here.

You see how applicable this doctrine is. You know, there's a young man close to us in this church that's running for an election. Here's your verse. That's your verse. There's another man who's looking for a job.

That's your verse. You know, every week something happens in a church, you know, one of our mothers lost their baby just a few days ago. Sweetheart, that's your verse. You know, there we have quite a few young adults in this church who are kind of in the age range of getting married right now, and this is your verse. It wasn't very long ago, We just Did a wedding in this church for a single man who had was had never been married and we and he got married at age 37 and we married him we witnessed that that wedding and You know he came to this church when he was in his late 20s, and everybody wondered why he wasn't getting married.

Some people were kind of on his case about it, you know. And maybe, you know, maybe you're 20 right now. Maybe just possible that somebody here is 20. And what would it take for you to wait 17 more years? Or what if you were 30 right now?

You know, what would it take for you to wait joyfully for seven more years? Like our brother did, who waited until he was 37 years old. You know, who knows when a person is supposed to get married? Who knows when a person is supposed to die? Only God knows.

A man can receive nothing unless it is given him from heaven. James, we've been studying it, James says every good gift comes from above, from the Father of lights. We know that God distributes talents according to His own purposes. You know, we become very concerned about what we've lost, but then we read what Job said. He said, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

That's just another way of saying a man can receive nothing unless it's given to him from heaven. In Jeremiah 816 we read that God shapes people's lives like a pot or shapes clay on a wheel. In Deuteronomy 32, we learn that God governs life and death, that He's the one who wounds, that God is the one who heals. In Job chapter 12 verses 9 and 10, we learn that every living thing is in the hand of the Lord. Even every single breath of all mankind is governed by God and by God alone.

Every breath, how many breaths have been breathed here today? God has governed every one of them. God gave you your next breath and your next thousand or ten thousand or billion breaths, however many He's going to allocate to you. But there's going to be a time when He will allocate no more breath because He is the one who allocates even the breath of life. In Job chapter 12, we learn that God not only controls the deceived, But He also controls the deceiver.

How about that? Do you know anyone who's deceived? Do you know anyone who's a deceiver? Job says the deceived and the deceiver are His. We become concerned about our lack of giftedness and then Ephesians 4 tells us that it's God who gives the gifts.

We find ourselves struggling with disappointment. And Paul says to Timothy that godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and with having just food and clothing, we should be content. He said that because a man can receive nothing unless it's given him from heaven. You know, we become concerned with our authorities, and in Romans 13, we're told that God appoints every authority. You have an authority, your boss, your pastors, your husband, your president, guess what?

God put them there. Should respect them. That's the point that Paul makes in Romans chapter 13. And he's really just saying in another way, there's so many ways that you can say, you know, a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. There are hundreds of ways you can say that.

There may be thousands of ways that is said in the Bible as well. We become concerned about the weather and we read God tells us that He causes His rain to fall on the just and on the unjust. In James 5-11 we learn that Job's sufferings and testings were meant by God to accomplish something. His sufferings, when he lost everything, James is telling us that those things were put upon him so that Job and everybody else who looks on afterward would know that God is compassionate and merciful. That's why God brought that into His life.

In 2 Samuel 2 verse 6, we read, the Lord kills and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and brings up. He makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust.

He lifts the beggar from the ash heap." You know, Job was torn up by adversity in every single area of his life, his money, his body, his family, his wife even turned against him and she said to him, why don't you just curse God and die? And you remember what he said to her? This was the glory of God upon a man trying to help his wife understand the trials and temptations of this life. He said, shall we accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity? And with all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

Wouldn't you like to be more like Job and not sin with your lips when things fall apart in your life? Lamenting, complaining, going into a pity party, if anybody had a good reason to fall into a deep pity party and say, well, it was me, I don't need this anymore, it would have been Job. Solomon said that we came into the world naked and we leave the same way, so don't worry about it in Ecclesiastes 5.15. He's just saying that a man can receive nothing unless it's given him from heaven. You know, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, he was thrown into a pit, he was thrown into slavery, sold into slavery and at the very end of his life he says to them, don't be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here for God sent me before you to preserve life, even their lives.

And so we find this all over the Bible when Shimei was cursing and slandering David and throwing stones. He was kicking up dust and David tells his servants to leave him alone and he says, for the Lord has ordered him. Someone's slandering you? The Lord ordered it. God Almighty ordered it for His own glory.

It's just another way of saying a man can receive nothing unless it is given him from heaven. Even the devil knows that God's in control. He said to the Lord, You put a hedge around His house and everything that He has. You put a hedge around everything, all of Him. The devil knows that.

What is that? What's up with us? Why don't we catch up, at least know what the devil knows, that God Himself is the one who protects, He's the one who exposes, He's the one that causes loss because a man can receive nothing unless it is given to him from heaven. Now, all this to say, your times are in His hands. That's why John, the Baptist, when he's losing his following, can say, a man can receive nothing.

There's much to say about the sovereignty of God and I couldn't hardly get my mind away from it this week. Let me just finish this section with this citation from A.W. Pink. No revolving world, no shining star, no storm, no creature moves, no actions of men, no errands of angels, no deeds of the devil, nothing in all the vast universe can come to pass otherwise than God has eternally purposed. Here is the fountain for faith.

Here is the resting place for the intellect. Here is the anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast. It's not blind faith. It's not unbridled evil. It's not man.

It's not the devil, but the Lord, God Almighty, who is ruling the world, ruling it according to His good pleasure and for His own eternal glory. This is the basis for all happiness and confidence, God's people in this world. Somebody said that this world is kind of like a ship, full of people, And that ship is headed to a destination and no one can stop or divert that ship from its destination. And every person on that ship, every synapse of every brain, every word that's spoken, every trial, every trouble on that ship is governed so that as that ship arrives at its intended destination by God, that it will sum up the love of Jesus Christ. So John is explaining this.

He...and then John, he speaks of God first and then he talks about himself. Do you see that? He says in verse 28, you yourselves bear witness that I said I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him." In other words, He's the Christ, He's the Savior. I've just been sent to do a job. And by the way, His candle is going to go out really soon here, You know, in his really early thirties.

And then he says...he changes and he gives another illustration and he says, Jesus is the bridegroom, I'm just the friend of the bridegroom. He says, he who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled." His role in life was different, you know, than Jesus. Jesus was the bridegroom. John is just the friend of the bridegroom.

He has one job, rejoice, to rejoice, to make whatever good arrangements he can for the bridegroom and rejoice. He says, therefore this joy of Mine is fulfilled. In one translation it says complete. The way I understand this Greek word, it means to cram in, to jam in, to have joy fulfilled, just full joy, just jammed with, saturated with joy at His loss. He's saturated with joy in the midst of His loss.

John only cares about how he can celebrate the bridegroom no matter what he experiences and he's just the best man. You know, as...and then he says, he must increase But I must Decrease do you notice how when self increases? Joy decreases Have you ever noticed that? Have you ever noticed when Christ is increased that joy is also increased at the same time? One of the commentators points out that there are three musts in the gospel of John.

The first is in John 3-7. There's the must of the sinner. You must be born again. And then there's the must of the Savior in John 3-14. The Son of Man must be lifted up.

And then there's the must of the servant he must increase but I must decrease You know the true the trials of this life that the the deprivations of this life you know even like the slanders of like shimmy I and the physical calamity and the Difficulty in marriage that Job experienced all those things are just theaters ordained by God to display the joy of Jesus Christ. And they're just tools to exalt God. And You know, what happens to us is when we encounter various trials, we start obsessing about the trials rather than confessing that Jesus is Lord in the midst of that trial. Because the more self increases, the more complaining and disappointment and everything else that you hate increases. And this is the essence of joy.

He must increase and I must decrease The work of the devil in our lives is almost always to inflate our pride to exalt our opinions about things what we want to say what we want to be what we want to do And the devil would have us locked in this trap of dissatisfaction. Even though the devil does believe that God is in control, he hates it. And the question is, do we hate it that he's in control? Do you hate it that God's in control? John is here to help us not hate that he's in control, but to glory in it and to give thanks in it.

And to help us to just examine, is my increase causing His decrease in this world? It's a very convicting thing for a person like me to say because I feel the sting of it myself. It myself. You know, are your trials increasing your joy today? And I think John is just exposing the emptiness and the vanity of self.

And so John, he speaks of God, right? A man can receive nothing unless it's given him from heaven. Then he speaks about himself, I'm not the Christ, I'm just, I'm just the friend of the bridegroom, that's all I am. And then he speaks of Christ in this next section in verses 31 to 35. Look at it with me.

Notice what he says and how he frames his explanation. Remember, he's talking to this Israelite or Pharisee. We're not exactly sure who he's talking to, but it's somebody who knows the religious shtick that's going on and the ebb and flow and who's popular and who's not, right? And notice how John the Baptist explains Jesus Christ in comparison to Himself. He who comes from above is above all.

He who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. Again you see the contrast he's making? The one that comes from heaven, the one that comes from earth. He's making comparisons to him and the Lord Jesus. And then he says, He who comes from heaven is above all.

And verse 32, and what he has seen and heard that he testifies and no one receives his testimony. Now that phrase no one receives his testimony, that's just hyperbole. There are some that received his testimony just making a general statement no one receives his testimony it's not a false statement it's a statement that just says there are a lot of people who don't receive his testimony he who has received his testimony has certified that God is true For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand." And so what you find here in this section is that John, he first of all explains the glory of Jesus Christ and says that He's above all, He comes from heaven, He's true. And then he speaks of himself, And he speaks of God's love for his Son.

Now, consider the things that this says about Jesus, and consider that if you are His friend, then you are an heir of everything that's here. Who wouldn't want to be near Jesus Christ who is loved by His Father? Who wouldn't want to draw nearer to Him whom His Father loves? The Bible makes it really clear that the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves His disciples, and the Father's love is conferred upon the disciples. That's how, that's the scheme of Scripture.

Relationally, who would not want to draw near to Him? You know, you just get up in the morning, think of the opportunity that's there to draw near to the one who loves you, to draw near to the one who has truth for you, For the one who's governing your whole life to draw near to the one who is actually he's numbered your breath He has the hairs of your head Numbered he keeps your tears in a bottle. He knows your thoughts before you have them He knows your footsteps before you take them. This is the one you draw near to. He loves you.

Who would not want to draw near to such a father like that through Jesus Christ the Son? And then John declares the consequences of rejecting Jesus. Verse 36, the final verse. The Apostle John here in this last verse of the chapter, he draws together this whole doctrine of belief and abiding and everlasting life. These are three of the great themes that are in the gospel of John and he takes all of them and he jams them in this one verse, okay?

And John is going to talk about eternal life over and over again. He's going to talk about believing. In fact, he wrote his gospel, so that you might believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that believing you might have life in His name." That's why He wrote this. Why? So that your joy might be made full.

So in this last...just look at this verse. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life. But he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John pulls together several of the doctrinal strands that he works over and over again and puts it in one sentence for us to see. And of course he's saying that, you know, believing in Him with your whole heart, trusting in Him, not just having an intellectual belief, not just believing that the sky is blue, but believing in such a way that you love that sky. Believing in Jesus is more far, far more than intellectual ascent.

It's affection. It's desire for obedience. It's wanting to follow Him. That's what believing is. And He who believes in the Son, the one who has affectionate care for the Son, the one who desires to do the will of the Son, the one who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, holy, harmless, and undefiled, the one who was crucified and laid in a grave and on the third day rose from the dead.

Those are the ones who have eternal life and if you don't believe that or you can't believe that and you or you don't love that then you do not have everlasting life and John ends in some ways both by presenting the positive and the negative, the one who believes has an everlasting life, but he doesn't just want to leave you there. He doesn't want to just leave you dead in your sins, in your hardness, in your just intellectual belief that you're a doctrine wonk, you know, that you know the stuff about God and you can discuss it and you've got your reformed theology quite in order. Thank you. He won't leave you there. He wants to know if you really believe with all of your heart and then he says if you don't, he who does not believe the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abides on Him.

You see life or you don't see life. That's a tremendous point that He's making here. And the wrath of God abides. Now, we see this pattern in the gospel of John and we see it again where John uses the present tense to describe something that really is astonishing. He who believes has everlasting life.

It is something that begins at the moment of salvation and it continues on. When a person turns to Jesus Christ, they have everlasting life. You don't die and then get everlasting life. You get everlasting life immediately. And if you don't believe, you get everlasting death.

That's also in the present tense. You're living under the wrath of God. You're living under the condemnation of God. And He will punish all those who are in rebellion against Him. But the call here is to believe to believe in the Sun Escape from the wrath of God turn from your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved Let God give you everlasting life By believing in his son if you're alive if you are alive today, there's hope for you to turn David turned To God in Psalm 51 have mercy on me.

Oh God According to your loving kindness according to the multitude of your mercies, blot out my transgressions. The thief on the cross found life. He said to Jesus, remember me in your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, truly, I say to you today, you shall be with me in paradise." Martha, the sister of Lazarus, believed. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again.

And Martha said, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. And then Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." And then Jesus turned to this dear friend of His and He said to her, Do you believe this? Do you believe in the resurrection?

And she said to him, Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the world. Praise God. Is that you? Is that you? You need to know whether that's you or not.

Make that determination today. But don't just make the determination. Turn your heart to Jesus Christ and follow Him. Flee to Jesus Christ. So, here we are.

We've just read this remarkably applicable and usable testimony of theological matters that the Bible speaks about. That a man can receive nothing unless it's given to him from heaven. That he must increase but I must decrease. That John was the kind of person who rejoiced greatly because of the bridegroom's voice, and that he who believes in the Son has life." This is the Word of God. Would you pray with me?

Lord, we thank You that You have put us in this world that You've created for Your own glory. I pray that Every trial that every person in this room who knows you and loves you is experiencing will know that these things have fallen from your hand, that every joy or trial falleth from above, traced upon the dial by the Son of love. Lord, we thank You, Father, that You love Your Son and You sent Your Son to save sinners. Oh, Lord, deliver us from our sinful thoughts, and Lord, I pray that you would deliver any here today who do not believe that you, Lord Jesus, are the Son of God and that you will raise them up on the last day. Amen.