Your Invitation

Today we find ourselves back in the first chapter of John's Gospel. This is the 16th week in John chapter 1. We will probably be here for 20 weeks, just in the first chapter. And I promise you that we will not be 20 weeks in every chapter of John's Gospel.

If that was the case, we will not be done until at least 8 years from now. But no, we will make sure that we do all we can to explain to you the truth, explore the truth, and extract all that we can from the pages of Scripture. We have seen the word of truth in John chapter 1. We have heard the witness to the truth that's John the Baptist.

And today it's time for you and me to welcome that truth into our lives. John is going to give us by way of an invitation to come and respond to the one that you have recognized. You see, once you recognize who Christ is, you must respond.

And you will either receive Him or you will reject Him. Those are the only two options. And the question is, have you received Him or are you still rejecting Him? And John, by way of invitation, invites you to come.

In fact, all throughout John's Gospel, there are a various number of invitations. For instance, as the Lamb of God, Christ invites you to come and be cleansed. That's in John chapter 1. In John chapter 6, Christ, the bread of life, invites you to come and eat.

In John chapter 8, Christ is the light of life. He invites you to come and see. In John chapter 10, Christ is the door to life. He invites you to come and enter. Also in John 10, He is the good shepherd of life. He invites you to come and be protected and be cared for.

In John chapter 11, it is the resurrection and the life that invites you. He invites you to come and live so you will never die. In John chapter 15, He is the true vine that says, come.

Come and grow. Come and be fruitful. But you must come.

In John chapter 7, He is the water of life. And as the water of life, He says, come and drink. The Bible is replete with invitations.

In fact, probably the greatest of all the invitations is recorded in the last chapter of the last book of your Bible, and that is in the book of Revelation. So I'm going to invite you to turn there with me this morning by way of introduction to our study of John chapter 1, verses 9 to 13. The book of Revelation is the unveiling of the Christ.

That's what revelation means, the apocalypsis. It is the unmasking, the unveiling, the complete revealing of Jesus Christ our Lord. And there is no book that does that better than the book of Revelation.

And so John is going to tell you about the end of the beginning, or if you like, the beginning of the end. Either title works for the book of Revelation. What began in Genesis chapter 1 ends in Revelation chapter 22.

And Solomon made it very clear in Ecclesiastes 7:8 that the end of a matter is better than its beginning. So at the end of Revelation 22, it's a lot better than it was in Genesis chapter 1, verse number 1, because the end of the matter is better than its beginning. So whatever the plan of God is, the end is going to be better than the beginning.

And at the very end of John's gospel, after He has unveiled to us the Lamb of God, after He's unveiled to us the Pantocrator, the Almighty One, as He describes Him, as He unveils to us the beauty of the Christ in all of His glory and all of His splendor, He ends with an invitation. And that invitation is a response to who you've recognized. And is it just like our Lord to make sure that you understand that you're invited to come? The invitation is recorded in verse number 17 of Revelation 22.

And then surrounding verse number 17, that invitation are several incentives that move you to respond to the invitation. Here is the invitation.

The Spirit and the bride say, come. And let the one who hears say, come. And let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

John is concluding this incredible unveiling of the Messiah with an invitation, with a plea for the Spirit of God and the bride to say, come. I believe that's really asking and praying for the Lord to come quickly. But the invitation to the sinner is said this way, let the one who is thirsty come.

Let those who are dry and barren come. This is the prerequisite to repentance. The person who recognizes the dryness and barrenness of the soul.

It's like what Christ said in Matthew 5, verse number 6, when He said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. And John comes back and picks up on that and says, listen, if you are thirsty, come. Whoever wishes, come.

And the reason you're wishing and wanting to come is because you've recognized the thirst that you have based on the identity of the Christ, the Messiah. And so the Bible says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So if you're thirsty because you're barren and dry, if you want to come, come, because this is the time.

The time is now to come to the Lord. That's the invitation. Christ would say it this way in Matthew 11.

He would say, come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Again, for those who are weary, come. For those who are thirsty, come.

For those who are hungry, come. For those who want assurance of their destiny, come. Whoever wishes to take the water of life, come.

What's the water of life? Well, Christ defined that in John chapter 4 when He spoke to the Samaritan woman, when He said, the water that I give springs up into eternal life. The water of life is eternal life. Whoever recognizes that only Christ can give it, come, for the invitation is yours.

See, the gift of God is not achieved, it's received. You can't achieve eternal life. It's the gift of God.

And so the gift of God is received, not achieved. So at the very end of the book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, He offers His invitation, and then He gives all the incentives surrounding the invitation. I'm going to give you number five first, then number four, number three, number two, and then number one, because number one leads us back to John chapter 1.

Number five is this, because of the availability of His grace.

That's how the book of Revelation ends. Isn't it interesting that the book of Revelation, all about judgment, all about tribulation, all about turmoil, all about wars and rumors of wars, all about earthquakes, all about pestilence, all about famine, He offers grace. So it says in verse number 21, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.

Amen. You come to Him because of the availability of His grace. Salvation is by grace through faith.

Salvation is not earned, it's given by God to those who are undeserving. So you respond to the invitation because of the availability of grace.

Number two, you respond to the invitation because of the certainty of His coming. That's the next verse up, verse number 20. He who testifies to these things says, yes, I am coming quickly. Amen. Come Lord Jesus.

The certainty of His coming, that's what the book of Revelation is all about. The second coming of the Messiah, because He's going to come, you need to respond because you don't know when He's going to come, but you got to be ready for Him to arrive.

So because of the availability of His grace, because of the certainty of His coming, and number three, because of the finality and veracity of the scriptures, that's the next two verses up, where He says, I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life, from the holy city, which are written in this book.

The finality of scripture. There's nothing to add to it. There's nothing that it doesn't cover.

It's completely sufficient. It's completely adequate. Everything that pertains to life and godliness is in this book, all 66 chapters, excuse me, 66 books, and all the chapters that entail those books.

He says, come because of the finality and the veracity of scripture, the certainty of His coming, the availability of His grace. And then you need to come because of the exclusivity of heaven, because heaven isn't for everyone. So He says this, way up in verse 14, blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city.

Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the immoral persons, the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. This is not an inclusive list. It's a list that's representative of people who are sinners.

Earlier in Revelation, we have another list. Book of Ephesians, we have a list. Book of Galatians, we have a list.

Book of 1 Corinthians 6, we have a list. They are not inclusive lists, but they are representatives of people who habitually rebel against God. So He says you need to come because of the exclusivity of heaven.

It only comes to those whose robes have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. It only comes to those who have been set free from their sin and understand the forgiveness of sins, because those who don't repent and those who don't come to Him by faith are excluded from heaven. So you come to Him because of the availability of His grace, the certainty of His coming, the finality and veracity of Scripture, and the exclusivity of heaven.

But here's the key one. You come to Him because of the identity of Christ. You come to Him because of who He is.

That's why you respond to the invitation. You receive invitations in the mail, invitations to weddings, invitations to parties, invitations to baby showers, invitations to anniversaries. One of the main reasons you go is based on who's doing the inviting.

Because if somebody you don't like is inviting you, you're not going. If somebody you admire invites you, you're probably going to go. But the key to the invitation is who's doing the inviting.

Well, the one who gives the invitation is the Messiah Himself, the Christ. And so the identity of the Christ is the main reason you respond to the invitation. Yes, His grace is available.

Yes, He's coming again. Yes, Scripture is final and true. And yes, heaven is exclusive.

But the one who offers the invitation, this is why you come. And that's in verse number 13 and verse number 16, where He says, I am. I am.

That unique phrase, ego eimi, that's used all throughout John's gospel to describe the four Hebrew consonants that make it the name of God all the way back in Exodus chapter 3, the memorial name of God. I am that I am. When Moses asked, who do I say sent me? You tell him, I am sent you.

This is the deliverer, the redeemer. This is the one who gives the invitation. I am.

And I am is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Just three different ways to describe the infinity, the eternality, the immensity of the I am. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

In other words, He is before everything, He's after everything, and He's the center of everything in between. He is the everything. The reason you come and respond to the invitation is because He is the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

This is who He is. He exists outside the realm of time. He's the creator of time.

Therefore, it's imperative that you come. And then down in verse 16, it says, I, Jesus. That's the name that God the Father gave to His Son.

You should call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from His sin. Well, why give Him the name Jesus? Because Jesus is the I am, and I am is a redeemer and a deliverer. So you will call His name Jesus.

And then He says, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to these things for the churches. I am the root and descendant of David. I am the source of David's life and line, and I am the son of David's life and line.

I am the root, and I am the descendant of David, speaking to His deity and His humanity. I am behind all that David is, and I've come from the line of David, because I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. I am the great I am.

And then He says this, the bright morning star. I am the fulfillment of Numbers 24:17. The star shall rise out of Jacob with a scepter in His hand.

He says, that's me. I am that star. I am Malachi 4, verse number 2. I am the sun of righteousness, S-U-N, who will rise with healing in His wings.

And because I am the sun that rises with healing in His wings, you need to come, because I am the bright morning star. He says in the book of Luke, or Zacharias says of the Messiah, He says, the sunrise from on high will visit us to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. Zacharias writes that to his son John, who became John the Baptist, because he needed to know that the light of the world had come.

And then, of course, Peter says in 2 Peter 1:19, the day star, when He rises in your hearts, that's when you are saved. Why do you respond to the invitation? Because of the identity of the one who gave the invitation. Which leads us back to John's gospel, John chapter 1, that Christ is the light of life.

And John says that He was not the light, but He came to testify about the light, the bright morning star, the day star, the sunrise from on high, the fulfillment of the prophecy of Numbers 24:17, this is He. And so what you have in John's gospel is the unveiling of the deity of Christ. Remember we told you weeks ago, weeks ago, probably 16 weeks ago by now, that every gospel is an embellishment of one phrase in the Old Testament.

John's gospel is the embellishment of the phrase recorded in Isaiah 35, 4, which says, behold your God. And John is fulfilling that by saying, behold your God, this is who He is. Matthew is the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, behold your King.

Because Matthew is all about the royalty of the Messiah. Luke's the fulfillment of Zechariah 6, verse number 12, which says, behold a man. Because Luke is all about the humanity of Christ.

And Mark is the fulfillment of Isaiah 42:1, behold my servant, because Mark's all about the humility of the Christ. And here John says, behold your God. I'm going to show you the word of truth.

I'm going to give you the witness to that truth, because I need you to welcome that truth into your life. This is your invitation. This is what John says in verse number 9 of chapter 1. There was the true light which coming into the world enlightens every man.

He was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him. He came to his own and those who were his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.

John says this is your invitation. You come. Why? Because of his revelation.

He is the true light, alēthinos, used 28 times in the New Testament and 23 of those times it is used in John's gospel. For instance, in our text he is the true light, John 1:9. In John 6 he's called the true bread.

In John 15 he's called the true vine. In John 8 he is called the truth that will set you free. In John 14 he says I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life.

Seven times Jesus says in John's gospel his words are true. Christ says in John 17-17 as he prays to his father in heaven, sanctify them in truth for your word is true. There is so much about truth.

At the end in John 18, Pilate asks that great question, what is truth? Wrong question. It's who is truth? See, God is the embodiment of truth. Therefore, everything that the embodiment of truth says is true.

So, whatever Christ says is true. So, Pilate got it all wrong. What is truth? Christ is truth.

He is the alēthinos. He is the true light. Notice what it says, that enlightens every man in the world.

Now, think about that. How does the true light enlighten every man in the world? Do you mean that everybody who has ever existed understands the true light? Yes, to some degree, in one of two ways, or one of both ways, through creation and through conscience. Romans chapter 1, you know these verses.

Romans chapter 1, verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. So, the wrath of God is revealed to those who push down the truth, who suppress the truth, who don't want to be held accountable to the truth, who don't want to see the truth for what it is, because truth is light and light exposes sin. Because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them.

You see that? He is the true light that enlightens every man, because God made it evident to every man who lives. Why? Because eternity has been set in the heart of man. That's what Solomon tells us.

In other words, man knows there is an eternity. Man knows there is something after death. He might not know what it is, but he knows there's something beyond the grave, because eternity has been set in the heart of man.

He goes on to say this in verse number 20, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power, and divine nature have been what? Vaguely seen. That's not what it says. Clearly seen.

Clearly seen, why? Because he is the true light that enlightens every man who comes into the world. So, his attributes, his eternal power have been clearly seen. If there is a design, there's a designer.

If there's a creation, there's a creator. That's clearly obvious. So, he says, it all being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse.

No excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened, professing to be wise, they became fools. He would later say in verse number 25, they exchanged the truth of God.

What's that? The trueness of who God is. The truth of God for a lie, and worship and serve the creature, rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen.

You see, creation has enlightened every man that comes into the world, and God is the creator of all things, and therefore, He has made man without any excuse. In fact, it says in verse number 32, although they know the ordinances of God. Hmm.

Even though those who commit these sins know the ordinances of God, they know the law of God, they know the statutes of God, they know them. And those who practice such things are worthy of death. They know God's law so clearly that if they break God's law, they know they're worthy of death.

But it says they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. Isn't that interesting? He is the true light that enlightens every man that has come into the world. Number one, by creation, but number two, by conscience.

Romans 2:14 says these words, "'For when Gentiles who do not have the law do instinctively the things of the law, these not having the law are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them on the day when, according to my gospel, God would judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.'"

So when John says this is the true light that enlightens every man that comes into the world, he does that through his creation and in their conscience. Yes, everybody knows there is a God. Everybody believes there is a God.

There is no such thing as an atheist nor an agnostic. No matter what they claim, they do not exist on this planet. Why? Because the true light has enlightened every man that comes into the world.

And therefore, man knows that. So what does he do? He just pushes down the truth. He pushes it away.

Why? Why would he do that? Well, John explained that to us in John 3. This is the judgment, verse 19, that the light is coming to the world, and men love the darkness rather than the light, for the deeds are evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. See that? They hate the light because they love the darkness.

They love their sin. They love their rebellion. They love their immorality.

They love their fornication. They love their homosexuality. They love their rejection.

They love everything that's the antithesis of God. They love that because they hate the light. Because when the light's turned on, what does it do? It exposes what? Sin.

And they don't want their sin to be exposed. So they suppress the truth because they love the darkness. How sad is that? But no, John says he enlightens every man that comes into the world.

He says he was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. It doesn't mean they didn't know he existed because they do. It doesn't mean they don't know that he lived and died and even rose again.

They do. They know that, but they don't know him. They don't know the true God.

They know him intellectually because they understand that there is a God. They know him informationally because they can collect information about him, but they do not know him influentially, nor do they know him intimately because they will not allow that God to rub off on them and alter their life and change everything about their life. They will not do that because that would require a repentance, a turning from that which they love so dearly, their sin.

So he says he came into his own. Who's that? That's Israel. And his own did not receive him.

Wow. He came into his own, and his own did not receive him. He came to his own people, the nation.

Listen to what J.C. Ryle says about this. He says, Christ is to the souls of men what the sun is to the world. He is the center and source of all spiritual light, warmth, life, health, growth, beauty, and fertility.

Like the sun, he shines for the common benefit of all mankind, for high and for low, for rich and for poor, for Jew and for Greek. Like the sun, he is free to all. All may look at him and drink health out of his light.

If millions of mankind were mad enough to dwell in caves underground or to bandage their eyes, their darkness would be their own fault and not the fault of the sun. So likewise, if millions of men and women love spiritual darkness rather than light, the blame must be laid on their blind hearts and not on Christ. We see in these verses the desperate wickedness of man's natural heart.

We have in the words of Christ, Christ was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came into his own, and his own received him not. He came to the very people whom he had brought out from Egypt and purchased for his own.

He came to the Jews whom he had separated from other nations and to whom he had revealed himself by the prophets. He came to those very Jews who had read of him in the Old Testament scriptures, seen him under types and figures in their temple services, and professed to be waiting for his coming. And yet when he came, those very Jews received him not.

They even rejected him, despised him, and slew him. Well, may the natural heart be called desperately wicked.

He preached the gospel message. He performed great miracles. He presented himself as God, the Messiah, and they rejected him. They watched, they saw, they heard, and they rejected.

How wicked, how depraved is the heart of man. John says he enlightened every man that comes into the world, but they did not know him. How sad is that? And I wonder, I wonder today if you know him for who he really is, for who he truly is.

Paul would say that everything I have accomplished, everything I have done in life is nothing but human excrement, dung, compared to the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. That's how you know you know Christ. Everything else you do is dung, human excrement.

It means nothing compared to the value of knowing Christ. That's why Paul would say, that was in verse 8 of Philippians 3, verse 10, he would say, oh that I may know him in the power of his resurrection, in the fellowship of his sufferings. There was never enough hours in a day to get to know his God.

Intimately his cry was to know the true God, the true light that enlightens every man. God through the prophet Isaiah said that my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. In other words, they don't know me.

He says these words in Isaiah 6:6, for I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifices, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. You know some things about Israel never changed. Jeremiah says it this way, Jeremiah chapter 9, verse number 1, Jeremiah is prophesying right before Israel goes into their 70-year captivity.

Isaiah has already prophesied, Jeremiah is honing in on that time which they're going into captivity. And listen to what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 9, verse number 1, oh that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain daughter of my people. Oh that I had in the desert a wayfarer's lodging place, that I might leave my people and go away from them.

Here is Jeremiah the prophet who proclaimed the truth of God and nobody listened, nobody responded. The invitation would be given over and over and over again, and there was rejection after rejection after rejection. There was no one who would receive that invitation.

And Jeremiah comes to the place in life where he says, oh you know, if I had a lodging place in Palm Springs, that I would go there and leave my people. If I had a condo in Maui, I would go there and leave my people just to get away from them, to be in a place of relaxation because they have rejected the Messiah over and over and over again. Then he says this, for all of them are adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

It calls out their sin. I live among a people who are adulterers. They've committed spiritual adultery, they've committed physical adultery, they have turned their back on their God.

This is who they are. They are treacherous men. They bend their tongues like their bow.

Lies and not truth prevail in the land. They're all liars. They're all treacherous.

They're all adulterers. Calls them out all by name because that's what they are. He describes them because you see all true prophets call out sin. That's what they do.

Jeremiah did it.

Isaiah did it. Malachi did it. Hosea did it.

Jonah did it. You name it. John the Baptist did it.

Jesus did it. Paul did it. Peter did it.

John did it. And the list just goes on and on. All true prophets call out sin.

That's what we do. Why? Because we don't want you to live in sin. We want you to be redeemed from your sin.

So here is Jeremiah calling out his people, you are adulterers, you are liars, you are treacherous men. And they proceed from evil to evil. These get worse, not getting any better.

In spite of all my preaching, not getting any better. Why? Here's the answer. They do not know me, declares the Lord.

That's why. They just don't know who I am.

Wait a minute. They know God. He redeemed them from Egypt. He took them to the wilderness. He guided them day by day. He did many miraculous works among them. How do they not know him?

Oh, they know of him. They know about him. And they've seen all of his miracles. They've seen all that he's done.

But they didn't know him intimately. They didn't know him influentially. They didn't know him to the fact that he rubbed off so that they would say what he says. They would walk the way he walked. They would live the way he lived. But note they wouldn't do that.

Why? Because they loved the darkness rather than the light, for the deeds were evil. That's why. That's why David says to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28, verse number 9, "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father. Serve him with a whole heart, a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will let you find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever."

Know your God. That's the invitation. Do you know him? Have you come to him? Do you recognize who he is? That you will come to him and bow the knee before him and turn from your sin and embrace him as your Lord and Savior. This is your invitation.

In John's gospel, as he begins, having already given you the identity of the Word in verses 1 to 5, and then given you the ministry of the man who gave witness to that Word, now he says you need to respond. You need to receive him. "'For as many as received him, to them gave you power to become the children of God.'" Are you a child of God this morning? You understand what that means?

Oh, my friends, don't let another day go by without embracing the Christ as Messiah, as Lord, as King of your life. Respond to the invitation by receiving him, not rejecting him. Let me pray with you.

Thank you, Lord, for today and the opportunity we have to look at your Word so much yet to uncover, so little time it seems to do so.

But may we take what we've learned today, apply it to our lives, that we might live for the glory of the King until you come again, as you most surely will. In Jesus' name, amen.