I think about on Mother Day, we spoke about a woman, Salome, the mother of John, who writes the remarkable gospel. So I thought, well, why not talk about the Father? And Zebedee is his name. I don't suppose we have a father here by the name of Zebedee. But here you have these two men, the mother and the father, Zebedee the father, and Salome the mother. Well, we still have some Zebedees and Salome's alive today. Now, they wanted their two sons, James and John, to sit one on the right hand and the other on the left, the Lord Jesus, in the kingdom. Now, they wanted their sons to be elevated. Think about the other ten disciples. Just as long as James and John are on the one on the right hand, the other on the left. As I say, all the Zebedees and the Salome's are not dead. We have mothers and fathers today that want their sons and daughters way up here. Well, I suppose it's a good desire. But this couple were a godly couple. And the Lord didn't grant their request. But he did use these two young men. And that's the wonderful thing about these two young men and the parents who brought them into the world. De Zebedee evidently was a very wealthy fisherman. And his two sons worked with their father mending nets, you read in the Bible, and he also had hired servants, showing that Zebedee was evidently a wealthy fisherman. These two boys are called the Sons of Thunder, James and Hawk. Now, I don't know which parent they took after. Sons of thunder. Thunder makes a lot of noise. But it's the lightning that kills. You haven't heard of one yet get killed by thunder. It's the lightning that kills. Yet these two go together. Now I don't know which one of the parents was thunder and which one was lightning. But one of them made an awful lot of noise. But the other one was a little more effective. Anyway, we find these two boys, and they're called the sons of thunder. John gives us this wonderful gospel, and that is a wonderful message. He speaks about love, love, love, love, love. But when you get to Revelation, you get the thunder. For in Revelation, you hear the thunder and the lightning flash. What a difference in the writings of John's Gospel and the Three Vistals and the Book of Revelation. And so they're called sons of thunder. You know, the Lord saw these two young men, like these very healthy, robust, energetic young men working with their father that night. And he called them to follow him. They dropped their nets. Goodbye, Dad. They followed Jesus. and Zebedee didn't object. That's remarkable. How willing Zebedee was to make a sacrifice, and we know that the mother Salome also was ready to make that sacrifice. I was struck in reading about Zebedee ten times you'll find them in the four Gospels. Nine times Matthew, Mark, and Luke. mention this man, this father, godly father, Zebedee, nine times. John, his own son, only mentions him once, and that's in the very last chapter of John's Gospel. Nevertheless, you have these lovely parents, these lovely parents, Zebedee and Salome, and they're two wonderful sons, John and James. All I can say is what I have this morning will be beneficial to both husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. I would, to God, you have a son or son or a daughter to bring as much joy into your life as James and John did to the hearts of Jebedee and Salome. Maybe it depends on the parents. James and John had a lot going for them when they had us a godly mother and such a godly father. Now into our text on John chapter twelve. In this chapter you find the Lord Jesus being honored in seven ways he was honored. Mary honored him, as we notice at the opening of the chapter. She honored him when she break her alabaster box and point forward upon his feet. How she honored the Lord Jesus. Then the common people honored him when they acclaimed him, when he was coming into Jerusalem, riding upon Cope. They acclaimed Hosanna to the King of Jesus, the King of David, that comes in the name of the Lord. Then the Greeks, we pointed out, how the Greeks They wanted to see Jesus. Here they were of another nationality, and they came and said, We will see Jesus. What an honor they placed upon the Son of God. And then you have God the Father honoring him. He says, I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again. Here is God glorifying his Son and heaping honor upon him because he deserved it. Then the Old Testament prophets in this passage are referred to Isaiah. They honor Jesus Christ in their prophecies. The chief rulers, they honored him. Many of the chief rulers believed on Jesus. Shame on them. They didn't publicly confess them. But they did honor them to the extent that they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he honored himself. How did he honor himself? He honored himself by asserting the divine mission he came into the world to perform. He came, sent of God. And that's the honor he claimed. I was sent of God. I've got a work to do. And he did it. And so this one chapter... The chapter of Twelve of John is an amazing chapter, giving us all these points about how the Lord Jesus Christ was honored. But I want you to know the two amazing verses. Verses forty, six and forty seven. I am come alike into the world that whosoever believeth on me shall not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my word and believe not, I judge him not. But I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. How remarkable. The Lord Jesus, in these two verses, summarizes what you have in John chapter eight when we took that chapter. He's the light of the world. Here you have a great announcement. The light is with you, he says. The light is with you. It's right in your midst. The light of the world. That dazzling, brilliant one, that radiant, he's with you. He's right in your midst to stay, to guide the health, and to keep you. What a remarkable announcement. A great announcement. The light is with you. Don't have him here today. He's in heaven. He's only here through his spirit and through his word. He hasn't lost his ancient power. He's just as powerful now as when he was here on earth. In hymns, well, upon the fullness of the Godhead blood. Then you have a growing awareness in this verse, yet a little while I'm with you, he said. In other words, you better take advantage of his being here. He said that to them then. A little while I'm with you. And today it can be used that same language a little while. Only a little while, and He that shall come will come and will not tally. But the coming of the Lord is not far off. World events point very clearly and definitely, prophetically, to the near return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, there's a glad assertion here. that she may become the children of God. He says the light with you. I came here just for a little hut that she may become the children of God. That's what he wants you to become. But there's a grim alternative here. Less darkness come upon me. The alternative to light is darkness. That's a very grim alternative. He wants you to receive the light If not, the alternative, if darkness. And you have a grievous absence. He hid himself from them. That's sad, isn't it? The light's gone. He was in their midst, and then all of a sudden he was gone. He hid himself from them. Strange language, isn't it? He came to seek and to save that which was lost. But the time comes when he hides himself, and they're seeking him, but they can't find him. And when the Lord hides himself, you can't find him. He's seeking you now. He came into this world, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. He's seeking you now. One of these days, You'll seek him, and you'll not find him. He'll hide himself. The light's gone, and you missed it. And this is at the end of chapter twelve, and the gospel of John is divided into sections. The first twelve chapters he's dealing with the world. And here he's closing that section. They saw him do many mighty work, and They saw the miracles he performed, and then he hid. He's gone. No more miracles. Chapter thirteen, as we'll look, he's in the upper room. Chapter thirteen, fifteen, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen are in the upper room. Not the world. Not the world. The world had a chance. And so at the close of this chapter, he hides himself. world see him no more he's heading himself that was true after the son of god the crucified no unconverted eye saw him when he rose from the dead only his own only those who were his followers saw him in resurrection glory the last time the world saw him he hung on the cross the next time this world sees him is when he comes in judgment. They saw him in grace, dying. If I be lifted up from the earth, I'll draw men unto me. There it is, and sovereign grace, drawing sinners to himself. In the coming day, he'll come secretly for a secretly for his church. Then when he comes with his church, it will be in judgment. They saw him on a cold here. When he comes in judgment, he'll come upon his white porch, the white steed, leading his army at the battle of the Armageddon, for the men and women would take advantage of his grace and not wait until an awful day and time of judgment. Now in connection with Isaiah, what we have in verse thirty-eight, And that's very interesting reading, verse thirty-eight. It says, And the saying of Israel, or Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled which he spake, Lord, who believed our report, and with whom of the arm of the Lord be revealed. Here is grace. You're hearing the report. And you know what Isaiah fifty-three is. He, he, And then God wants you to see Isaiah fifty-three, who has believed this report? Unto whom is the arm of the Lord revealed in salvation? But Sam, the next verse is sublime. Notice verse thirty-nine. Therefore they could not believe, because that Isaiah said again, He had blinded their eyes and hardened their heart that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted at eyes of evil. Now he's hid. They do not. Now he says they cannot. They would not come. They had the chance. Isaiah fifty-three is preached. The report was out. But now they refuse every month. And now he says they cannot come. I have judicially blinded them, lest they should be blessed. They had their chance and missed it. That's a sad thing. What do we say about Jerusalem? How often would I have gathered thee together as a hen to gather her brood under her wings, but ye would not. Now your house is left unto you desolate. He said, I would. In a certain time, I would. But now I count the door is shut. You've missed it. That's a sad thing what he's talking about here, quoting from Isaiah. And that happens in grace. This day of grace, I believe there are plenty of people alive today who cannot be saved. You have a chance. God says my sins shall not always try with man. There are those who heard so much truth, and now they're going to believe the lie. They've had so much light. They rejected it, and now it's the darkness. Sent in the... That's what's in your Bible. And I want now to notice in verse forty-one, he says, These things said Isaiah when he saw his glory and spake of him. Do you want the story about this incident when Isaiah saw the ghost of whom? The glory of Christ as who is speaking of. Did he see the Lord then? Read chapter six. He says, In the year the King Uzziah died, I saw Lord high and lifted up, and his train filled him full. And above him stood the chariot, and each one had six rings. With train they covered their feet. With two they covered their feet. And with two they did fly. What a wonderful scene. And these creatures cried, Holy, Holy, Holy, as Lord God of earth. The whole earth is full of his glory. The whole earth is full of the glory. That's the day to come. But here's the Lord Jesus. And Isaiah saw him in. In Old Testament Paul, he saw him. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a triune God. Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit of heaven in the Bible. Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord. In that chapter six, you can read it yourself. What did he see? He saw the Lord high and lifted up and his train from the temple. And he noticed three things about these glorious cherubim. They had six wings. With twain they covered their face. With two of the wings they covered their face. With two, they covered their feet with two-headed flies. That's easy to remember. Face, feet, fly, to the end. They covered their face. The glory of the Lord was so bright, so brilliant, so dazzling that they couldn't look at. They veiled their faces. Here you have their humility. And with twain they covered their feet. Yes, here you have their reverence. Their reverence, first of all, when they covered their face. They reverenced it. Here you have their humility. They're covering their feet. In other words, through that they have to go over. Then with true, they do fly. Here, their service. Their reverence, their humility, and their service. That's what these angelic beings are doing. in the immediate presence of God. God says, No man shall see my face and live. And so brilliant is the glory of the Lord that the very cherubim they were faces. The Lord let a little of his glory flash when they came to arrest him, to crucify him. He said, whom should ye, they said, Jesus of Nazareth, he said, I am he, and they went back and fell to the ground. His glory flashed. And then he withheld it. He said, Who was he? They said, Jesus matters. They came and took him. He permitted them to do that. But all were those occasions when he let his glory flash. The Apostle Paul saw him and blind. I saw him aware light. I saw all the way of great light. I saw all light above the brightness of the sun. You can't look at the sun. straight at the sun for a few minutes should go blind. And here's a light greater than the sun. It's the glory of the person of Christ. And that glory was veiled in a human body, now and again a little less. Isaiah said, I saw. And when he saw the reverence of those angelic hosts, and he saw their humility, they're veiling their feet, And as he saw their service, carrying out messengers, messages from the road, what happened to him? He says, Woe is me. I'm a man of uncleanness, for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. Woe is me. This is Isaiah. Woe is me. In chapter five, Isaiah, you have five woes. the woe of the drunkards, the woe of the covengers, the woe of the idolaters, and so on. Yes, they're saying, woe, woe, woe, they're ungodly people. But here's Isaiah the prophet, and he says, Woe is me, for I'm a man of untrained lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of untrained lips. When I've seen the king, the Lord of hosts, when he made that confession, there you have his confession. Woe, is me. Right then, then, that little word then, when he made that honest confession, then flew one of the cherubims and took a live coal from off the altar and came and touched Isaiah's lips and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, this hath taken away thine iniquity. The live coal in the altar, an altar was there, And the cold was hot, and it was alive. What's this? Cal raised the real order. And a live cold, a verse of this blessed book, and the word burdens. And it shows you what lies, and the word illuminates. And when Isaiah saw this, woe is me, I'm a man on clean lips, I drown in the midst of a people of unclean, for my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. That was the signal he took his true place. Then the angel, the cherubim, took that cold and touched his lips, and iniquity is taken away. The sin is purged. When you take your place as a lost sinner in the presence of a holy God, and acknowledge your loss, You're undone, you can't help yourself. Then the Spirit of God will take one of these coals. One of these burning words, promises, from the book of God and apply it to you. Yes, him that comes unto me, I will in no wise cast out. He bore our sins and is only on the tree. unto him who loved us and loosed us from our shame in his own blood. That if Jesus could have, and if he abide by the Spirit of God, and if you get in touch with the cross this morning, like Isaiah got in touch with that altar, if you get in touch with the Christ of the cross, why, if I be lifted up, we read, the cloth on the earth will draw all men unto me. Oh, that one verse of this Bible would burn its way into your heart. And that you this morning would set the table. He that just one suffered for you the unjust that you might be brought to God. Would that God that that would burn into your heart? Christ also has once suffered for him. He that just one for you, the unjust. that you might be brought to God. And he was wounded for your transgressions. He was bruised for your iniquities. The chastisal with you toward you. The chastisal with a view to your own peace was laid upon him with his strength. You may be healed, saved right now. I would to God that that burned into your heart. Now what to revive? You have his confession, Lord, with me. His cleansing, I am among them. And then, when he was cleansed, consecration. God says, who will go for me? He says, here I am. He was consecrated to the Lord after his conversion. Then you have his commission. God says, go and tell this people. those four seeds. His conviction, conversion, confession is cleansing, consecration, and commission. There is six, if you want, six words beginning with C. This is a wonderful picture of the glory of the Lord in the Old Testament. John is linking it up from John chapter twelve with Isaiah chapter six. He said, I saw glory of the Lord. This is wonderful. You know, hearing our call from heaven, who will go for me? But you have our call from earth in Acts sixteen. It is our call from earth. Come over into Macedonia and help us. There's a need in Macedonia. Will they come and help us? But there's a call from hell. You know who that is? He says the rich man send someone to my father's house, lest they come to this place of torment, and that's in Luke. Here's a call out of hell. The call here in Isaiah, the call from heaven, what answer? The call from Macedonia was answered. A call from hell wasn't answered. Send loud. You may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. But I'm tormented in this age. That wasn't answered. He was lost. He'd seen the light once too often. And he was lost. The Lord hid himself from him and is hid today and will be hidden forever. These are solemn things. I trust you'll take in the heart because these things are in the Bible. They're not just what I'm saying. They're what God said. The Lord Jesus Christ is saying. And I want to conclude with that verse. Because it's the most important one. I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. Verse thirty-two. Here's the magnetic person of Christ. If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me. He doesn't draw you down. Sin will draw you down. Satan will draw you down. The world will draw you down. But he says, I'll draw you up. He's lifted up. That he might draw all men unto you. He'll lift you up from sin, from Satan, your set, the world, and lift you so you won't go to heaven. You'll go to heaven. What a magnet, what a drawing power of the Lord Jesus Christ is. I, if I lift it up from the earth, I'll draw all men unto me. If you leave him on earth, you do not have a Savior. He wasn't left, or some people are trying to keep him on, or those who preach Christ as a pattern as an example, if you follow Jesus, you live in heaven. No, you won't. He has to be lived up, to leave him on earth without the cross. There is absolutely no salvation. And there's no power in any preaching that leaves Christ on earth as a pattern or as an example. The only preaching that's powered is that which exalts Christ on the cross. as the only savior of sinners, the one who paid the debt, the satisfied God, in that sacrifice he'll satisfy you. To leave the cross out of preaching today is to leave the magnet or take the magnet, the power out of the magnet. And if you take all the power, the drawing power out of the magnet, all you've got is a piece of scrap iron. I have a magnet in my study. It's been there ever since I've been in Albany, twenty-four years, and I can still pick it up and draw needles and even a knife to it. Watch in there, I can't blame. But there it is. There's power in it. If I should somehow be able to demagnetize that magnet, I could hold it over any metal. It wouldn't respond. Lean across, out of crepeche. and have got just a piece of iron, something that won't save. But the cross has a power. And Jesus Christ is the cross. His crucifixion is the very heart of the gospel. And the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Not the life of Christ is the power of God unto salvation, but the cross of Christ. Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. He says, I will draw all men unto me. What is that magnet saying? A boy, come unto me, all ye that labor on our head laden, and I will give you rest. He doesn't say I'll drag you. You ought to come voluntarily. He could drag you. But he's not doing it in the age of grace. You've got to come voluntarily. Some would try and tell us he dragged some people and he drives another. No, he doesn't. He said, I'll draw all men unto me, and I'll save them if they'll come, but they've got to come. The decision is there. All men. unto me. There's the whosoever of the gospel. No one turned down him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. In the future he's not going to draw. When Jesus Christ comes, his drawing days are done as to saving sinners. That's when he's going to drag and drive, not draw. He drove Adam and Eve out of the garden because they did. He drove came out of his presence during Genesis. And Christ drove those hypocrites out of the people. He can drive. But today he's drawing. Drawing. But if you miss this magnet, if you miss this magnetic personality who's seeking to draw you to himself, The day will come when he'll drag you. He'll drag you before that great white rule and pass your sentence and drive you out of its presence forever. This is the secret the Bible presents. I wonder if you'll accept him this morning. His drawing souls to himself now and the day will come when he'll draw a body. The bodies of the believer. The Bible tells you that in First Thessalonians chapter four, the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up. Take the Lord in the air, and so shall we be forever with the Lord. Drawing souls now will power. But when he comes, he's going to draw bodies of the redeemed. out of every place where there are ashes remaining, he'll draw up to be with himself. Just like if you have some steel piling in some sawdust, you take a magnet and pass that magnet over that sawdust, you'll see the little steel piling leading to the magnet. No sawdust. There's no relation, there's no compatibility between the sawdust and the magnet. The steel magnet, yes. The steel goes up and the sawdust remains. Only born-again ones are going up when Jesus comes. There's compatibility there. There's relationship. There's something in the Christian heart that responds when Jesus comes. And the body too. But you who are unsaid, if Christ had come today, you'd be left here. Just like wood, the sawdust is left for the burning. I hope you'll think of these things. And the latter part of that chapter, we hardly have time to go into that. From verses forty through forty-four to forty-six, he speaks of his person, and he speaks of his words. Me and my word. He says, Me and my word. There are two attitudes in this latter part of the chapter. Verse thirty-seven. They believed not on him. But notice verse forty-two. The chief priest believed on him. So you have the truth. The summary of the holiness. There were those who believed on him. There were those who did not. And that's the summary. of our meeting and message this morning. Those who believe on him and those who don't. It's just that simple. I want to say this. We form judgments. We form opinions. But you've got a new verdict. A jury may sit for hours and days and they're seeking the deliberating. deliberated, passing judgments. But they've got to make a verdict. The future of that criminal depends on a verdict, not their opinion, not their judgments as they sit there, the jury in the jury room. But when a verdict is passed, yay or nay, effect, and the future of the convict depends on. You today have opinion. Men have opinion. Ideas. They deliberate. They deliberate. They discuss. They discuss. Friend, you've got to make a verdict. And the verdict is either salvation or condemnation. If after the evidence is produced and you have had your own opinion, and judgment, that you've decided to give up your own opinions and accept the word of God. And you come to this point where you see that Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ only can save you, and you make the verdict, I want Christ. Then your future is sure. Your future is to be with Christ. and Christ forever. Oh, how many will we keep deliberating, deliberating, deliberating, deliberating, and the spay that come and make the verdict? I will, or I won't? What is your verdict, this morning? We are faced with the choice, as we face death, and what's after death. Either to accept the multitude of opinions and ideas of men, or the opinion, the teaching of this blessed book. You can't have both. They are diametrically opposed all the thoughts and reasoning of men and this blessed book. God says my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your thoughts are not mine. And if you're good at men and women who are to realize that, If we accept the opinions of men, then we quietly close the Bible and set it aside. If we are wise and believe in one God, who has one Son, and that one Son came into the world to fulfill a teaching to this one book, then, friend, you will accept. And make your verdict in favor not of what men have thought and men have thought. But your verdict will be based upon what God has said and what God has thought and what Christ has done. And will you accept that message? And I want to say this. God didn't write up a bill of rights. Wrong and right. Bill of rights or a bill of wrong. He doesn't send a message into this world for man to amend or to collect. That has not been argued. God has sent a message into this world that man has got to believe with blind faith. It may be contrary to some of this tradition and this idea. God pays no attention to that, except God's thoughts instead of your own. When you do that, except God's words, accepted by blind faith, then you'll be saved. And our chapter says at the end, the Lord says, my word, what I've been saying to you will judge you in the last days. That's it. What you hear out of this book of what you hear from this platform is going to judge you in the latter. And when you're faced with what you've heard, God will ask you, did you hear that? Yes. Many times? Yes. What did you do with it? I didn't believe it. Cast a motive into utter darkness. There's weeping and waving and gnashing of teeth. You've got to believe this message about this person who died on the cross. Make your verdict. In favor of Christ, and if I be lifted up from you, I'll draw all men. You included unto me. God help you to make that decision, and make it now, shall we pray. Our Father in heaven, in the name of our Lord Jesus, Christ, we come into thy presence. We ask thy blessing on thy word. May someone here this morning open his or her heart. and come to this Savior, who is seeking to draw them. Undoubtedly thou has been tugging at heart. O me thee, respond to the pull of the gospel, and come to the Savior, and be saved this morning. We ask it in his worthy name. Amen. Shall we sing a verse or two of that favorite hymn? Three hundred and seventy-three. Just as I am without one plea, let thy blood be shed for me. that thou bid'st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, and will you come, as we stand and sing this beautiful old-fashioned hymn. Will you obey it, and come to Christ? Oh, now. What does it mean to come to Christ? Just walking down the aisle is not going to do it. plain physical act, but that indicates a decision in your heart that you're going to have or you're not going to have Jesus Christ. Well, that's simple. Do you want Christ as your Savior? You're going to trust him and him only to save you, to take you to heaven? He's going to say, yes, I will. You haven't yet, but either say, I will, then prove it. by coming and saying, I've accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I'm going to do it now. Let me sing verse two.