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PREACHER'S NOTEBOOK ‑‑‑‑‑
Ecclesiastes 12:10
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John 17:2. - “Thou hast given him power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him.”
I. THE
POWER OF THE SAVIOUR OVER ALL
John 17:2.
“Thou hast given him power over all flesh, …
Every age and dispensation
Every rank and station
Every temperament and disposition
HE HAS POWER OVER ALL FLESH
ILL. – FEEL YOUR ARM – pinch yourself; flesh?
The Arrogant Skeptic May say,
“He has no power over me.”
Only the power of life and death.
Acts
For in him we live, and move, and have our being;
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Rev. 4:11 - Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
The mocking sinner says, “He has no power over me.
I am free of His power.”
You are as free as the condemned man on death row.
He may rise from his bed, and go to his window;
he may read, or eat, or sleep,
but soon enough he will die.
Lost friend, you are held by bars of bone;
you cannot even escape your own body;
and you are under house arrest
on this small planet earth,
and the angels will come for you soon enough.
They know right where you are.
You are not free. You are being held for judgement.
II.
THIS WORLD IS GOING ON
FOR THE SAKE OF
THE ELECT,
SO THAT THOSE WHO WILL RECEIVE HIM
ARE GIVEN TIME TO RECEIVE HIM.
John 17:2.
“Thou hast given him power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him.”
John 5:40
… ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
III.
THIS IS THE PLEASURE OF THE SAVIOR
Heb 12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
John 17:2.
“Thou hast given him power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him.”
The Bible is a book
about Him …
His Diety
His Dominance
His Deliverance
His Design
IV.
HE HAS A PLAN TO SAVE HIS PEOPLE
AND
HE HAS THE POWER TO CARRY IT OUT.
John 17:2.
“Thou hast given him power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him.”
God is letting it all go on
so He can accomplish His purpose
in saving those who will believe.
Jesus even prayed for those who had not yet believed.
Joh
also which shall believe on me through their word
This is why He didn’t stop it when Cain killed Abel,
so that those not yet born could be born and believe.
There were descendents of the first family
who would yet be saved,
including some of us here today.
The wicked and
the just live side by side
in the same
world,
but it is for the purpose of the saved
even though the unsaved do very wickedly.
the same wind that carried the merchant’s ship
bearing goods to improve the lives of all …
… that same wind propelled the pirates
in their evil deeds.
When God sends the rain
intending to bless the field, the flowers, & the fruit,
the thorns and the thistles drink deeply as well,
not knowing that their time is only temporary.
Matt
This works consistently,
both positively and negatively.
GOD MAY TOSS EVERY SHIP IN THE SEA
WHEN HE HAS SINGULARLY SELECTED
JONAH AS THE OBJECT OF HIS ENDEAVORS.
Jonah 1:12, 13
“Jonah said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea;
so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this
great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to
bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and
was tempestuous against them.”
Every pregnant woman in the land
had to journey to be registered
at the time of the birth of our Lord
when the object of it all
was singularly the birth of our Savior.
You see,
It seems almost impossible in this world
for one to be burdened
without others around being affected also.
Although it is technically true that it could be so,
It seems almost impossible in this world
for one to be blessed
without others all around being blessed also.
When Jesus said to the sea,
“Peace, be still,”
He did for His disciples
on board a particular ship,
but, no doubt, down the way,
some wicked man breathed a sigh of relief
when the storm ceased.
A rising tide floats all ships.
Only the small and the envious
cannot rejoice
when others are blessed,
and thus they miss the blessing themselves.
I BELIEVE THE FOLLOWING:
There is not a single citizen
of this great land of ours
who is not indebted to our God
for blessings that He has intended
for those who are His children.
Would not all of
to the ten righteous, if there had been ten,
and if
An unsaved person may not have been aborted,
and is alive today,
because of the influence of the gospel.
I can guarantee you
that there are such people
alive in our world today.
There are many byproducts of the gospel,
but it is about getting people saved.
John 17:2.
“Thou hast given him power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him.”
GOD CANNOT BE
DEFEATED.
EVEN IN THE
REALM OF THE NATURAL.
The Breeder who has had a
thousand failures
yet counts himself a success
when that one horse is born
that is a true champion.
Think of the horticulturist
who grows plant after plant
after plant,
many of which are of no value
and end up in the fire,
yet He counts himself a success
as he harvests those plants
that he deems lovely in his own eyes.
The Farmer who has known crop failure,
and seen his labor rot in the field
is yet a success in another
year, at another time
as he feeds on the sweet
harvest of his labor.
THE GOSPEL
PREACHER
WHO STARES
REJECTION IN THE FACE
WILL YET PREVAIL
AS ANOTHER, AND YET ANOTHER
COMES TO CHRIST,
and receives eternal salvation.
MAN CAN REFUSE
AND REJECT, … AND
GOD WILL YET
ACCOMPLISH HIS PURPOSE
His banquet hall will be
filled.
Someone says:
How do you
reconcile Divine Sovereignty
and Human
Responsibility?
Well, you don’t have to
reconcile friends,
and those are two that have
never had one disagreement.
I HAVE COME HERE TODAY
TO PRAISE HIM YET ONCE AGAIN.
John 17:2. - “Thou hast given him power over all flesh,
that he
should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him.”
PRAISE BE TO GOD,
THERE ARE THOSE
WHO WILL CONTINUE TO BE FAITHFUL
TO THE GOSPEL GATHERING
BECAUSE THEY
KNOW
THAT THIS IS
REALLY
THE ONLY REASON
LIFE EVEN GOES ON.
HERE, WE GIVE THE GOSPEL,
and we long to see souls saved,
and
MAY I SAY THAT IF
THERE WERE NEVER
A SINGLE SOUL SAVED,
IT WOULD STILL BE A SWEET SAVOR
TO GOD IN HEAVEN
as we extol the Majesty of His Son.
BUT,
WE GIVE
THE GOSPEL WITH CONFIDENCE
THAT IN
THE PLAN AND
AND IN THE PASSING OF TIME,
THERE WILL BE SOULS SAVED.
It is a wonderful thing to see
the gospel bear fruit.
May it be so here today.
John 17:2. - “Thou hast given him power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him.”
Will someone come and receive Jesus as
Savior even now?
The preceding is a sermon written by Ben Shepherd.
Copyright November, 2004 Ben Shepherd
Permission is freely granted to those who minister
to use in public proclamation without stating
attribution. All other rights reserved.
Written and edited after reading & rereading from the
sermon(s) or writings cited below by C.H. Spurgeon.
Some of the thoughts and ideas were inspired by Spurgeon's sermons,
which are in the public domain.
GENERAL AND YET PARTICULAR.
Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volume 10, No. 566
DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING,
BY THE REV. C, H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,
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