Eternity

Would you read with me, please, in John chapter 3? If I could preach it with freshness and power, as it deserves to be preached, I would love to preach on John 3 16 every time I preach the gospel. I want to read it with you. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

I wish that you and I had the capability of stepping back far enough, somehow from what we see in this world, to realize that we are living in a dash between two eternities, that this lengthy period of time, even if, and I don't believe this for a moment, but even if this world has existed for a hundred million years in which life has been evolving to what we have now, a hundred million years is only a dash between two eternities. And John 3 and verse 16 embraces those two eternities, brings them together. There is an unfathomable past, there is an unparalleled present, just this dash, and I'm just sure what word I want to use, I may just choose this one.

There is an unimaginable permanence in the eternity that's to come, an unfathomable past. I don't care how big your mind is, you cannot wrap your mind around this. There is a God who has always been.

The statement is not explained nor defended by the Lord Jesus, it's merely stated, for God. A God who never had a beginning. He is an infinite God, so that we are used to a world in which everything we know had a beginning, and we think a hundred years is a long time, or a thousand years is a very long period of time.

But if you begin to spin the biggest numbers, don't be distracted at the moment, if you begin to spin the biggest numbers that you can somehow or other talk about, quintillions, and lay all those years going back into the past when God was as young then as he is now, no calculating his beginning, he's a timeless God. You and I are just pieces of cosmic dust when you think of the tremendous, the greatness, the transcendence of God. He is infinite in every way.

There is no limit to his power. There is no limit to his understanding. What he knows, he has always known.

There can be nothing that will ever take place that he did not know. There can be nothing ever discovered that he did not eternally, without a beginning, know. I think that every one of us, starting from here but going right back to the last person, needs to recognize that there's a God who's far bigger than we have any concept, any capability of grasping.

We are dealing tonight with the gospel of that God, the communication of that God. We are listening tonight to the voice of that infinite God who never had a beginning, who is incomprehensible to us. He is not the figment of human imagination.

I think it's worth emphasizing that tonight. If we were talking about a God that men have concocted, then he would have to be a God who has limits. We are talking about a God whose limits we cannot define.

He has no limits. He is, he exists uniquely, solitarily, eternally. He is a God who is not only an infinite God.

I can't tell you what I wanted to tell you about that, but I can tell you he is an infinite God. But he is an intimate God. He eternally existed in a relationship.

When we have read tonight about his only begotten Son, the inference there is not that somehow or other there came a moment in the vastness of eternity when he begat a son. All of you that are sons had a time when your parents begot you, when you were conceived, when you were born. The Lord Jesus was eternal, and yet he is to his father so precious, so central, so important, as though this father in our terms had only one son that would carry on his interests, only one who meant everything to him.

I want you to know tonight that there is a son who has existed in the bosom of the Father eternally. The intimacy, the nearness, the love, the purpose, the centrality of that son never began eternally. The Father loveth the Son.

But if I can just talk to you a little bit more about the unfathomable past, the word that I have chosen is too weak a word, but I'm going to talk to you about an interested God, for God so loved the world. And I would want to tell you tonight that that God is a God who does not love a mass of faces that are blurred. I want you to know tonight that that God is a God that loves individuals, and that God never had a beginning of his love for you.

You don't mind if I just take it all for myself, will you? I can't, I just can't grasp this, that God without a beginning loved David Oliver. And he knew all the failures and foibles and all the rest of that, and he loved me. Not some passive wishy-washy love that's expressed in words but never has feet to walk on.

He loved me so much that this God purposed to give that only begotten Son for David Oliver. But I don't want you to be left out tonight. Listen, there's some of you boys that are listening to the gospel tonight, you've never grasped the fact that God loves you personally infinitely.

That he has a consuming, if I can use that word, a consuming passion for your eternal blessing. Oh, this God, this infinite God of that unfathomable past, is a God who has never ceased to have an infinite interest in every soul that would ever exist in his creation. Don't ask me to explain everything about the infinite love of God, but I can tell you this, with absolute assurance, that God does not love one person above another.

He is love, his love is infinite, his interest in you no matter what the disappointments in life may have been, no matter what the reverses in life may be, no matter the fact that you have an older brother that gets more attention than you do, or you have a younger sister that's cuter than you are, or whatever it may be, there is a God whose love for you is not greater or less than his love for anyone else. Oh, what a tremendous truth. The infinite, the unfathomable past embraced in John 3 and verse 16.

But I want you just to come now to this little dash that exists between these two vast, incomprehensible eternities. And when you look at this little dash, there is a primary truth that must be understood, must be stated in order for men and women to have a right view of this little period of time. Will you understand that there is a problem that exists in this period, this unparalleled period? I would tell you that God didn't have any creations in the past.

I know some people think God must have been doing a lot of things and don't limit what God has done. God has not had any other creation that he has worked on, and he will not be working on any other creation. There is something special about his creation that he has purposed.

And in this creation has come a tremendous problem, and you cannot explain the course of human history if you do not understand this problem. God gave to man the ability to choose, and man chose, and God is not the cause of the choice. God gave to man a choice, and man chose in its head, man chose sin.

And what has caused devastation in this world, and why the history of this world is what my 10th grade world history teacher, Mr. Pure, told us. The story of human history is man's inhumanity to man, is not because of some strange thing that has invaded the world at times, it is because of sin that has come in to reign in this world. And I would want to tell you tonight that there is something of consummate concern as far as God is concerned, and it is the reality that there is sin that has affected all of his creation, and sin that has affected all of society, and sin that has affected every individual person in this creation.

I would want you to understand tonight that as far as God is concerned, there is one focus of his great interest, and the reason for his interest is this. Sin is the blight that has doomed you and barred you from the enjoyment of God's presence. Sin is the blight that has brought all kinds of unspoken, indescribable pain and suffering into this world, and sin is the reason that mankind is perched on the precipice of eternal fire.

And there's a problem tonight, and as long as you want to pass over the idea of this problem, you will miss the reason why he gave his only begotten Son. You will miss the reason why, above everything else, tonight you need to know that Son as your personal Savior. Oh, my soul, in the gathering this evening, face the reality that before this God of infinite quality, this God of infinite holiness, this God who will never compromise his standard of what is right, this God is the God against whom you have sinned.

And who do you think, and who do I think that we are, that we can stand with fists upraised against this God, and choose our sin, and remain in our sin, rather than turning to flee from sin and from the consequences of our sin before that Holy God. My soul, in the gathering tonight, what an amazing thing that that God ever had a plan for this dash. You know what his plan was? All centered in his Son.

In the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son. He made the ages designed around his Son. And all the ages that precede are all leading up.

History is all leading up to one grand moment, when the eternal Son of God became incarnated, when he, the Word became flesh, went into this world. God's only begotten Son came as a man, perfect, holy, fully expressing all that God is. And God gave his only begotten Son, not to a virgin's womb, not to a cradle in Bethlehem, not to despise Nazareth.

God gave his only begotten Son. Let me just quote the words, they overwhelm me. When I think that God, his Son not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can take it in.

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to take away my sin. I want to ask you to sing it with me somehow. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee, how great thou art.

Oh, to think that this one that was eternally beloved of the Father, central to everything the Father had in view, was the one that he had designed and purposed, was the Lamb verily foreordained before the foundation of the world. He was the one that would be the only possible answer to the great problem of human sin, the only possible deliverer for you from your sin. Oh, tonight, my soul, do you understand that as far as God is concerned, the problem of your personal guilt in the sight of God is so great to God that he gave his only begotten Son and there's no other possibility of that problem being resolved.

No other possibility. Your works, your good character, your resolve to change, a thousand things that men have devised can never remove one trace of the stain of sin and guilt before God. Nothing, I'll quote to him, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What can wash away my stain? Nothing but the blood of his own Son. Oh, tonight, what tremendous truth is this, that on a cross outside Jerusalem was none less than the eternal Son of God incarnate, none less than one who was infinitely beloved of the Father, given by the Father to be the sacrifice for sin, given by the Father, that there might be full, full reconciliation available, that every claim of righteousness might be fully answered. And on that cross, I'll tell you where I began, for the kingdom of heaven, the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Do you understand that what took place at Calvary was an act between God and God, and on that cross, the Lord laid upon Jesus Christ, the Son of the eternal God, laid upon him the iniquity of us all. Oh, the tremendous weight of judgment that he felt, the tremendous price that he paid for Satan by God at Calvary, the tremendous price that was there given as his precious blood was shed at Calvary. Thank God for the words we've been reminded of already tonight.

Let them thrill the soul of everyone that knows Christ, and let them bring light and hope to every doomed soul in the gospel meeting tonight. It is finished! It's John's gospel that's the only gospel that records those words, because it's only the Son of God that could have been sufficient as the infinite sacrifice to finish every requirement of God, and to provide the salvation that God offers freely to you tonight. Let me tell you tonight about the possibility in this period, this little dash, the possibility is this, because God is calling men and women.

I love to tell you that tonight. What great truth. God is calling.

Not, I don't know how many people tonight are hearing the call of God. Maybe it's a, maybe it's a billion, I don't know. Maybe it's six billion, I don't know.

But I know every one of them's hearing God's call personally. God is designing his voice just to meet your need, just because he knows where you live, just because he knows what you've been thinking about today. And there is a God who is calling you tonight.

Oh my soul, in this gospel meeting, you do not need to leave this meeting without Christ. There is a God who is calling you. Not calling you to taunt you with an offer that he's not ready to back up.

There's a God who is ready tonight to save you. He is calling you because he longs for you to leave this meeting, save for eternity. Oh, hallelujah.

What a gospel message is this. A God who is calling you. I'm so glad I heard the call of God.

I heard it. I can't tell you how many times I heard it. I know some specific times I can identify.

But one night I heard the call of God and Mr. Wark, he's been getting some press in this conference. So it was Mr. Wark that was preaching. And he said, there might be some boy in this meeting tonight.

I wonder how pointed he was with this. There might be some boy in this meeting tonight and he's thinking about being saved tonight, but the door could be closed tonight and he'd be outside forever. And I thought that because I made a resolution before I got to that meeting, I want to get saved tonight.

And I thought to myself, the possibility is David, you could want to be safe tonight and the Lord could come and you'd be outside forever. And you know what that meant to me? Tonight's the night. I'm not leaving.

I didn't want to talk to preachers. There were strange creatures in those days and I didn't want to talk to the preachers. For the first time in my proud life, I said goodnight to Mr. Wark and I said to Mr. Wark, I'd like to be saved tonight.

And I was a little bit like Elijah sending his servant out to Naaman. He said, hmm. And he took my hand like it was a hot potato and he passed it to Mr. McLeod and he said, here's a boy says he wants to be saved tonight.

I shook Mr. McLeod's hand and I started walking out the door. I thought, they're not even going to help me. Mr. McLeod said, David, would you like a little help? I said, yes, I would.

I'm glad I spoke to them that night because I wasn't going to tell you this, but I'll tell you this anyway. I'm glad I spoke to them that night because Mr. McLeod directed my mind toward the problem that I needed to have resolved between my soul and God. He said to me, David, if your sins were taken care of, would you be all right for eternity? My soul tonight, if you can leave this meeting knowing that your sins are gone, you'll leave this meeting on the way to heaven and you can have all kinds of experience and all kinds of feelings.

But if you have never received from God's word, the assurance that your sins are paid for and you'll never have to answer before God for them, you're not on your way to heaven and you'll never be there until you do. God is calling. I better just stop there because I want to remind you that man is choosing whosoever believe us in him.

Here's the possibility tonight. Salvation is not some complicated scheme. Salvation is not something, you know, like they have these United Way drives and it's like they pump up that red thermometer thing until it gets to the top.

Salvation is not something you get pumped up and eventually if you just get the right intensity or the right feeling or the right, who knows how to define it. If you just get that, then you'll, you can get saved. God says, okay, that's good enough.

I'll save you now. You will never be good enough for God's salvation and you'll never believe enough to please God. But I will tell you this, the moment as a guilty sinner who has absolutely nothing to contribute to God or to his own salvation, the moment you take this great truth that what Christ did is all that God requires and that what Christ did, he did for me, the ungodly sinner.

Ah, my soul in the meeting tonight, it is within the realm of possibility that you could be saved tonight. God is telling you, here is my son. He suffered and died at Calvary and I have attested to his word.

He said it is finished. I raised him from the dead and I want you to know tonight, I require nothing more, nothing more. What Christ has accomplished is enough.

Oh, I have to tell you about Sammy. You know Sammy. Sammy had some brain injury from birth, but it was one blessed night in his experience.

Riding home in the car, Mr. McLeod, the great chauffeur was holding the wheel of his whatever car it was. And our hostess was in the backseat and Sammy was over here. Sammy was always very loud, but he'd been getting quieter.

And after the meetings, you could hardly hear him say anything for a while. But at this point, the whole car filled with his voice. He said, David, did you know what I was thinking in the meeting tonight? No, Sammy, what was it? I was thinking if it's good enough for God, it's good enough for me.

If you knew Sammy, he couldn't have gotten very far with trigonometry, but I tell you what, he got the greatest truth simple and clear. If it's good enough for God, it's good enough for me and my soul tonight. What Christ did at Calvary is good enough for God and it's good enough for you.

Nothing more. Man choosing and the word of God confirming. I want you to know tonight that every person on the way to heaven, you may hear stories and you may hear about the load lifted and the wonderful feeling of joy, and that's great.

But don't be looking for that. What you want to find is what God tells you. You want to have God's word to assure you.

And when you have God's word to assure you, well, maybe you'll feel the load lifted and maybe you'll be overjoyed. And I don't know, maybe the grass will be greener and the sky never bluer. It may be that, but you won't have that until you know from the word of God for God so loved the word world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on to Jesus.

I love the way that that man down in Virginia used to misquote that verse every time I heard him whosoever believeth on to Jesus. He just rests the whole matter of his salvation on Jesus who suffered at Calvary that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. That's the greatest thing that's going on in this little dash.

Here and there, thank God, I'm amazed at the grace that has put me in the number. Here and there, there are people that are trusting Christ. Their only hope, Christ, who suffered and died for sins at Calvary.

But I want you to just glance with me at this unimaginable permanence, because the end of the verse takes us on into eternity. Oh, it's something that is true at the moment, but it will have its full implications eternally. You are at the moment, if you're not saved, you are at the moment, if you are still in your sins, you are at the moment perishing.

It's just the next breath you breathe that's keeping you from perishing eternally. And if those breaths cease, you will perish tonight. And this matter of eternal life is not something you settle at death.

This is something to be settled now, to be absolutely certain for life that you may know that you have eternal life. But you see, perishing will go on out into permanence forever. Everlasting life will go out into permanence forever.

Ah, unimaginable. Great to be saved. Great to be saved.

In life, it's great to be saved. Mrs. Knowles, God bless her. All that matters in life is this, one of these moments, I'm to see the Lord Jesus.

And when I see him, it'll be glory forever. I think, you know what? He'll be glad to see me. I don't understand why, but he will.

And I'll be glad to see him. And I'll see wounds in his hands and his feet. And there will be a permanence to what takes place.

I'm looking forward to the Lord's coming. But I want you to know there's a permanence that's going to take place at the moment that he comes. I will be changed.

And every believer here will be changed. And we'll be finished with sin forever. And there will never be another limitation as far as our praise is concerned.

And forever and forever and forever, we'll never grieve his heart again. And we'll sing his praises and we'll get to know him. Oh, I want to tell you eternity.

I was gonna say it would be too short, but that's not quite right. Eternity will never exhaust the praises and the glories and the worth of the Lord Jesus. My soul in the meeting tonight, wouldn't it be wonderful if you could leave this meeting having eternal life, knowing now for certain that you'll be in heaven, knowing that you'll be with the Lord Jesus, that you have this divine relationship with him, knowing of a future that lies before you unimaginable beyond all.

I have not seen or you heard either entered into the heart of men, the things that God has prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed them to us. I know a little bit now, but I'll tell you what, give me about 20 years and I'll know a whole lot more because I have seen him by that time and been with him and be like him.

Anybody here that doesn't want to join us in heaven? Anybody here that will be content to miss heaven for eternity? How could it be? When are you gonna get down to business about this? Because I want to speak to you just for a moment about the permanence of condemnation. Permanence. If you should make one misstep on your way home tonight, there is the possibility that you could enter a state tonight that will be permanent, forever barred from the presence of God, forever to suffer because of your sins.

In one short step, in one missed breath, in one tragic moment, your soul could awaken in hell. Unimaginable permanence. Come now, my soul, your certain ruined trace.

If you would spurn the Savior's offered grace, infinite years of torment thou must spend, which never, never, never have an end. Oh, tonight to realize that you are living, breathing by the mercy of God, breathing God's good air given to you one breath at a time, and suspended over the judgment your sins deserve, held back from that only by the mercy of God, soul awake! I can't preach it the way it should be. Father, we thank thee tonight that thou art speaking to souls, and we thank thee for the blessed anticipation of the coming of the Lord Jesus.

What we cannot do, we pray that thou wilt by thy Spirit do for the glory of thy Son. Bless thy word, for it is thy gospel, spoken by failing vessels. But our Father, we pray that the word of God and all its native power will reach souls in the meeting this evening.

What a wonder if tonight in rich grace that it's come into this room, in this building, and make it a salvation night for precious souls. We pray thy blessing. We pray for the salvation of souls who cannot conceive, Lord, of what it would be if some among us miss heaven for eternity.

We ask, Lord, in thy rich mercy, hear the cries of thy people, save precious souls, and bring eternal glory to thy Son in his name. Amen.