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“MARY’S GOOD ADVICE”

“Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it”.

 

READ IN THE BIBLE (John 2:5; 12:44-50)

 

 

Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, is well known in Christendom.  Some, through religious superstition, have elevated her to a place she does not deserve, even to a place of deity.  There are, however, some good attributes recorded of Mary which we find in the Word of God.  For example, there is;

 

·         HER GOOD LIFE - (Matthew 1:23) “Behold a virgin shall be with child”.  (Luke 1:27) “The virgins name was Mary”.  We are reminded that Mary was “pure”, she was a moral woman.

·         HER GOOD FORTUNE – (Luke 1:28) the angel said to her, “Thou  art highly favored”.  “The Lord is with thee”.  God was for her and favored her.  God’s presence was with her. 

·         HER GOOD SONG OF PRAISE – (Luke 1:47, 48) Mary said, “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior”.  “All generations shall call me blessed”. 

 

Most people, however, do not think about “MARY’S GOOD ADVICE”.  We read about Mary’s good advice in (John 2:5) where she said in speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ, “WHATSOEVER HE SAITH UNTO YOU, DO IT”.  To do what the Lord Jesus says is the most important thing you can do in life.  Your eternal destiny depends on it.

 

God has given man a free will.  Some will listen to what God says in His Word, the Bible, and they will do it.  They will be obedient and as a result they will have their sin’s forgiven.  They will be saved from hell and

Heaven will be their eternal home.  Others will refuse the Lord’s words and reject His person.  They will live in their sins and die in their sins.  They will be doomed to hell and banishment to the “Lake of Fire” and eternal separation from God.  (Read, Revelation 20:11-15 and 21:8).  DEAR READER, WHICH CATEGORY ARE YOU IN?

 

In the gospel of John, chapter 12, verses 44-50, we want to consider the following outline;

 

THE PERSON OF CHRIST – His humanity and His Deity

(Verse 44) “Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me”.

(Verse 45) “And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me”.

THE PURPOSE OF CHRIST- To be a light for this dark world.

(Verse 46) “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness”.

THE POSTPONMENT OF CHRIST- Judgment postponed.

(Verse 47) “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

THE PROMISE OF CHRIST – Judgment promised

(Verse 48) “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day”.

THE PROFOUND WORDS OF CHRIST- He has the words of eternal life.

(Verse 49) “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak”.

(Verse 50) “And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak”.

 

In these verses we have some very important words of the Son of God.  The last words of a person are important and in these verses we have the conclusion of the Lord’s presentation of Himself to the world.  Here we have the Lord’s final teaching to the people.  No further public ministry is given in John’s gospel.  This is because;

·         In Chapters 13-16 we have the Lord’s “Upper Room” ministry. He was speaking to His own disciples, not to a public audience.

·         In Chapter 17 we see the “Son in the Sanctuary” in His intimate communion with the Father. 

·         In Chapters 18-19 we have the final events just before and during Calvary and the cross and the Lord’s crucifixion.

·         In Chapters 20-21 we have events that deal with the Lord’s resurrection and some appearances of the Lord to His own after His resurrection.

 

Since (John 12:44-50) are the last words of public teaching of the Lord Jesus what would He say to the people.  What does He say to YOU today from this portion of scripture? When we look at these scriptures closely we can discern the following:

 

1.    The Person of Christ (Verse 44 &45)

Notice what the Lord Jesus says.  “To believe on the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ is to believe on God the Father.  To see the Son of God (by reading the scriptures) is to see God the Father”. It seems from these words, His purpose was to turn mans attention away from His humanity and towards His deity.  He wanted His hearers (and readers) to understand that He was “God manifested in the flesh”.  He was making known His deity.  He was “true man” but He was more than man.  The prophecy of His birth and coming into the world says in, (Isaiah 9:6) “Unto us a child is born (His humanity) unto us a Son is given” (His deity).  It says in, (Matthew 1:21-23) “Thou shalt call His name Jesus” (His humanity).  “They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us” (His deity).  It says in, (1 Timothy 3:16) “Great is the mystery of godliness, God (His deity) was manifested in the flesh” (His humanity).   Also, the Lord said in, (John 10:30) “I and my Father are one”.  God the Father said of His Son in, (Psalm 45:6) “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever”.  God the Father called His Son “God”.  DEAR READER, DO YOU BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD?  DO YOU BELIEVE HE IS LORD?  Your salvation is dependent on your acknowledgement of the deity of Christ.  It says in, (Romans 10:9, 10) “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus (confess that Jesus is Lord), and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved”.  “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”.   “WHATSOEVER HE SAITH UNTO YOU, DO IT”.

 

2.    The Purpose of Christ (Verse 46)

The Lord Jesus said He came to be a light for this world darkened by sin and rebellion.  This world is a dark place because the Bible says, “Satan is the god of this world”.  The natural man (as he is born into this world) is in darkness because of sin and unbelief.  God says in His Word, (Romans 3:12, 23) “There is none that doeth good no not one”.  “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God”.  In (Romans 1:21) we read of man who has rejected God and it says, “Their foolish heart was darkened”.  Their heart was without understanding.  When God called the apostle Paul and commissioned him to minister to the Gentiles, God said his particular work was, “To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God; that they might receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me”.   Man in the darkness of his sins is in darkness (without understanding) regarding the sinfulness of his sins and the holiness of God.  He is in darkness regarding the Savior and His work on the cross.  He is in darkness regarding God’s impending judgment.  The Lord Jesus said in, (John 8:12) “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life”.  To “follow” the Lord Jesus is to believe in Him and receive Him as your personal Savior.  That person will be delivered from darkness and have “the light of life”.  “WHATSOEVER HE SAITH UNTO YOU, DO IT”.  What if a person refuses and will not do what He says?  It says in, (John 3:19) “This is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil”.  Many are refusing to hear and obey the words of Christ.  Dear reader, does this include YOU?   The sin of unbelief is man’s greatest sin.  It is the sin of rejecting the revelation of the Savior and the salvation that God has provided.  

 

3.    The Postponement of Christ (Verse 47)

The Lord Jesus said, “And if any man hears my words, and believes not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.  Why did the Lord Jesus Christ come into the world?  He did not come to judge the world but He came instead to provide salvation for sinful men.  (1 Timothy 1:15) “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”.  It says in, (John 3:17) “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved”.  For 2000 years, God in marvelous grace has postponed His judgment upon mankind.  This time in which we live is called the “dispensation of God’s grace” giving man every opportunity to be saved from the judgment to come.   We read in, (2 Corinthians 6:2) “Behold now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation”.  YOU can be saved but you must be saved in God’s way and in God’s time.  To be saved in GOD’S WAY you must believe in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  To be saved in GOD’S TIME you must be get the matter resolved NOW.  We read in, (Acts 15:14) “God is visiting the gentiles to take out of them a people for his name”.  He is calling sinners for salvation in this dispensation of grace through the preaching of the gospel message.  There is danger if you refuse to hear, if you procrastinate and put off getting saved to “some other time”.  It says in, (Ecclesiastes 8:11) “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil”.  Those who reject God’s offer of salvation will continue on in their sin.

 

4.    The Promise of Christ (Verse 48)

The Lord Jesus said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day”.  Judgment may be delayed but judgment is coming.  Oh’ how important is “Mary’s good advice”.  “Whatsoever He saith unto you DO IT”.  From (John 12:48) we learn the basis of God’s impending judgment.  It is the words spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ.  God’s judgment is coming and man is accountable to God.  Speaking of Christ it says in (John 7:46) “Never man spake like this man”.  Also, it says in, (John 3:34) “For he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God”.  He speaks the words of God, therefore, man will be judged by those words.  Dear reader, have YOU rejected Christ by refusing to believe and obey the words that He has spoken?  It is a serious mistake because your eternal destiny hangs in the balance.  It says in, (Acts 3:23) “It shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet (the Lord Jesus Christ), shall be destroyed from among the people”.  In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verses (21-29), the Lord Jesus warned the people to hear and do what He said for their eternal well being.  When he had finished speaking it says in verses 28 and 29, “The people were astonished at his doctrine for he taught them as one having authority”.   Are YOU astonished as you read these profound words of Christ or do they have no effect on you?  Do you realize that the Lord’s words are authoritative and that they must be obeyed?  Have YOU obeyed?

 

5.    The Profound Words of Christ (Verse’s 49, 50)

The Lord Jesus said, “I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak”.  When Christ spoke, he spoke the words of the Father.  This is why YOU should listen to “Mary’s Good Advice”.  “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it”.  Why should a person hear, believe, and do what the Lord Jesus says?  It is because the Father’s words spoken through His Son are, “Life everlasting” (verse 50).  Peter said to the Lord Jesus in, (John 6:68) “Lord …thou hast the words of eternal life”.  Many people think that God is dead or that God has no interest in the affairs of mankind.  But, God lives and God is speaking.  We read in, (Hebrews 1:2) “God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son”.  Will YOU hear?  Will YOU listen?  Scripture says in a number of places, “He that hath an ear let him hear”.  

 

In closing, I urge YOU to take advantage of this present time while you can and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as YOUR own personal Savior.    YOU are traveling the “highway of life”, passing through time on the way to eternity.  There are only two destinations before you.  It will either be eternal joy in heaven or eternal sorrow in hell.  Now that you have read this message you have come to a “crossroads” on your life’s journey.  Which way will you go?  In Noah’s day, all who were in the ark were safe from God’s coming judgment.  In this present day, you must be “in Christ” to be safe from the judgment to come.  We read in, (Romans 8:1) “There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION TO THEM WHICH ARE IN CHRIST JESUS”.  If you continue to reject the Savior you will remain on the “Broadway” to eternal destruction, trading a few short years of pleasure and possibly some popularity, and power for eternal torment in the “Lake of Fire”.  If you accept God’s invitation to COME to the Savior, heaven will be your eternal home.  The “Father’s House” will be your eternal dwelling place.  (Acts 16:31) “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved”.  Will YOU believe in Him and by a definite act of faith, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior.  Please give this matter your most serious attention.  Your eternal destiny depends on your decision.

 

Christian Messenger