God Judged His Son for you

For God, God so loved the world. God so loved the world that he gave, he gave, his only begotten son, that whosoever, whosoever believeth, whosoever believeth in him should not perish, should not perish, but have everlasting life, but have everlasting life. John 3.16, my elder brother, Dudley, through whose life I sought God to save me, 53 years ago, my elder brother was led by God to go to a theological seminary or Bible school in our country, in Cape Town, the AEB, but he was married just before and ended his honeymoon, and the first day after his honeymoon was at this Bible school for theological training, to be a preacher. Well, during his time at Glenvar Bible School in Cape Town, his wife had a little baby, a little Clinton was his name, and I was there at the time also. He then went out into the work of the AEB, and they sent him and his wife and little boy up to Rhodesia, those days, today it's called Zimbabwe, and he went onto the field as a missionary. He was sent out to various parts of all over Zimbabwe to preach the gospel, and on one occasion when he came home, back to Salisbury, those days, the headquarters of our mission was there, and the next day they were invited to go to a friend's, very close friend's of our mission, for a luncheon, and they sat on the lawn in the back garden where there was a swimming pool, and there they had some form of picnic on the grass, all sitting, and there was talking, a lot of talking as Christians do about the mission, about the work, about the field, about what they've done. As they were talking intensely, all together, he just glanced over at the swimming pool, and he saw something tragic, he saw the body of his little boy, his only son. He saw the body of his child, sinking, submerging under the water. Somehow that little toddler had managed to walk, or crawl even, and fell into the pool unnoticed as they were all talking together. He said he didn't register for a moment, somehow he didn't register what he had actually seen, and he carried on speaking for a few moments, when suddenly it registered in his heart, and the horror and the fear that gripped him as he jumped up, screamed, and in fear dived into the pool to retrieve the little body of his boy that had gone down under the water now, and of course they were all crying out to God for mercy as they put his little body lifeless on the side of the pool, and everyone weeping and crying, and him crying out to God for mercy as they did everything to try and resuscitate this little child, who was now filled with water, and had been down into his lungs, and well, somehow as he was crying out to God, and all of them crying out to God to spare them, crying out to God to save this boy, to not let him die, and they were all weeping, crying out, and he was crying out as they were trying everything, calling on God, and suddenly, by the grace and mercy of God, this little boy suddenly coughed, and regained a breath, and water came out of him pouring as he coughed up and coughed, and they managed to bring life back into this lifeless body. Well, everyone was just praising God, weeping, filled with gratitude to God for mercy, and he held his little boy, his only son, he held him close, weeping, and began to say, thank you God, oh, thank you God, thank you God, and he was weeping, and as he held his child in gratitude, crying out thank you to God, a verse came into his mind, a verse that had been very meaningful, but suddenly, this verse took on a new meaning, a greater depth, an emotion, sunk into his heart as he thought of these words, holding to his little boy, for God, God so loved, the world, that he gave, his only, his only begotten son, he looked, and watched, in I believe great, great, great grief, at what was, and what had to happen, and he turned his face away, as he saw, and watched his son dying, as he watched his son dying, for mankind's sins, his grief was so great, I believe the world was covered in darkness, the whole land was covered in dark, dark clouds, darkness fell upon the earth at that time, I believe it's the grief that God, the father felt, well, he turned his face away and let Jesus die, he watched his son dying, and turned his face and let him, he let him die, he so loved the world, I remember reading an article in a newspaper a number of years ago, in Cape Town, and the front page of this newspaper was a headline that shook me, of a father, who had ventured out onto the rocks, at the Cape point of Southern Africa, of Africa, the tip of Africa, where the two oceans, the great Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean emergence meet, and because of these two oceans, the weather is incredibly different from most places, and the sea is very, very, very dangerous at times, you see there's rock formations in all these coves, these beach coves, where rocks go out like little mountains, out onto the sea, and little bays, where many whales come and spawn, and you can watch them, look down at them, and they look up at you, oh, it goes on and on, these rock formations in the sea, and he had not seen, the sign boards all over, warning people of the danger of the rising tide, that doesn't come little step by step, you know, just going more and more gaining in ground, but there's a swell that comes, and as the tide rises, especially spring tide, the whole rocks, though high in the air, can be covered in moments without any warning, as he ventured onto these rocks as a little boy, and as he went out further and further, excitedly, enjoying every moment, suddenly he saw this swell, this incredible swell, rising up, and he was far from the beach, from where he could escape, he was on the rocks, the swell suddenly caught up, and took them and smashed them against the rocks, and their bodies just smashing against the rocks, as the swell was so great, he held onto his child, who was screaming, he held onto the rocks, and he thought, well, the swell would submerge, but instead, it came greater and greater, and the swell was so great, and such force, as he was holding on with one hand onto rocks, and the other hand onto his son, who was screaming, help, save me daddy, oh, the horror in that child's face, well, the swell was so great, that it came so much more, that his son was torn, ripped, by the severity of the swell of the sea, it was ripped from his hands, and all he saw in his horror, as he watched this child's eyes being swept into the ocean, and as he watched in horror the child screaming in horror, just shank, and disappeared, he disappeared, he disappeared, the tragedy shook me so much, and I sat there reading this newspaper, and I wept for the tragic, tragic occurrence that had happened to this man, and to his son, but listen to me carefully now, oh, show, listen to me careful, very, very carefully now, as the great swell of all humanity's sin, as the great swell of all humanity's sin rose up in terrifying judgement against Jesus, it was so great, it was so great, that God forsook his son, God forsook his son, causing him to cry out in his humanity, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me, why has thou forsaken me, why, why, in this holy book, in this holy book God answers us, he gave, he gave his only begotten son, John 3 verse 16, that he, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man, Hebrews 2 verse 9, the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all, Isaiah 53 verse 6 says, that he, that he might be just, and the justifier, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus, Romans 3 verse 26, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3 verse 21 tells us, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8 verse 1, whose own self bear our sins in his body on the tree, 1 Peter 2 verse 24, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, Romans 3 verse 25, for the blood, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin, the blood of Jesus Christ God's son cleanseth us, cleanseth us from all sins, John 1 verse 7 tells us, who will have all men to be saved, God will have all men to be saved, God will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 Timothy 2 verse 4, who gave himself for ransom for all, who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, who gave himself, who gave himself for ransom for all, God tells us, he hath made him to be sin for us, that is staggering, that's beyond comprehension, God looked upon him and judged, the judgment came upon him, he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 5 verse 19, not having mine own righteousness, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted to him for righteousness, his faith is counted to him for righteousness, for by grace are ye saved through faith, not of works, it's the gift of God, not of works, it's the gift of God, Oh friend, in history, in history many great injustices, many great injustices have happened in this world, when judgment was proclaimed against men who faced the death sentence, but tragically after they had faced the death sentence for that crime they were judged for, it was found as further evidence came that they had not committed that crime, this has occurred many, many times, this has occurred when it was proven later that they had not committed that crime that they were judged for, it's a tragic thing, Oh, what horror it must be, what horror it must be for a man to be treated like a murderer and face the death sentence for a crime he had not committed, but listen carefully, listen carefully to me friend, I know of a man, I know of a man who was judged for many things he did not do, he was punished and suffered the judgment of other people's crimes, he faced the death penalty, he faced the death penalty for murders that he had not committed, for rapes he had not performed, for thefts he had not committed, for lies he had not told, for many great evils he had not done, he died, the Bible says, the just for the unjust, he died the just for the unjust, 1 Peter 3 verse 18 cries out to us, but he was wounded for our transgressions as Isaiah tells us, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed, all we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all, and thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, and thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, verse 10 says, he shall see his seed, verse 11, he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied, oh nothing will satisfy God that you give, nothing, no sacrifice apart from Christ, nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling, until that prayer, until that is grasped and brought to God, until you come with nothing but the blood of Jesus, nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling, that's the first moment God can ever look at you to be able to save you, anything else is a rebuke to God that you think would save you, anything else is a rebuke to God, you see the wages of sin is death, God says, but the gift of God, you cannot work for a gift, the moment you try with anything but faith in Jesus Christ death, it is obnoxious, it's blasphemous, it's sacraments, there's no good works, not of works, not of works, it's by grace through faith in his blood and his death, oh God judge his son for you, God judge his son for you, but you must accept that gift of eternal life, you must accept that gift of eternal life by faith, for by grace are you saved through faith, not of works, in 1830 in the United States of America, a man named George Wilson, a man named George Wilson was sentenced to be hung for robbery and murder, in 1830 in the United States of America a man named George Wilson was sentenced to be hung for robbery and murder, but then Andrew Jackson, the president of America, he granted him a pardon, a presidential pardon has been granted that overrules the high court judge, as they considered his background and the circumstances of the whole thing, he was granted a pardon by the president of America, but then he shook the nation, he shook the entire nation and refused to accept it, he insisted that unless he accepted it, unless he accepted it he cannot be pardoned, no matter who offered the pardon, the attorney general eventually said the law is silent on this matter, and so he referred it to the Supreme Court of America, Chief Justice Marshall, the highest judge in the land gave the following decision, a pardon he said is only a piece of paper, the value of which depends fully on its acceptance by the person implicated, a pardon beloved is only a piece of paper, the value of which depends fully on its acceptance by the person implicated, it is hardly to be supposed, it is hardly to be supposed that one under sentence of death would refuse to accept such an offer, Chief Justice Marshall said, but if it is refused, if it is refused it is no longer a pardon of any worth or value, no matter who gave it, George Wilson must therefore be hung and face death for the crimes he has committed, justice demands it, justice demands it, even though he was offered complete pardon, he refused, he refused that offer, why was my saviour on Calvary's tree laid, why, tell me why was he there, Jesus the debt of my sin fully paid, why, tell me why, tell me why, all my affliction upon him laid, he nailed it on to the tree, Jesus the debt of my sin fully paid, he paid the ransom for me, no one ever cared for me like Jesus, there's no other friend so kind as he, no one else could take the sin and darkness from me, oh how much he cared for me. Father, thank you for thy love to this world and to me, revealed in Jesus Christ, no matter what men in darkness accuse thee of and all the wrongs of this world, there's only one thing that can wipe out every argument, it's just the cross, look at the cross, God is love, God is love through Jesus, every argument falls, though we have no answers, the only answer that matters, that God gave us, that none of us can doubt, if we're true in our hearts and consciences, is Jesus Christ, thank you from my heart for Jesus, for what it cost thee to save men from eternal hell, from eternal damnation, and even the warnings of God of eternal hell are love, perfect love, longing that men will of their own free will, for thou would never force a man to love thee, thou does not press buttons that just make men love thee, no, no servation at all together of thee, there is the free will of man, that can reject, can close his heart, can say no, like George Wilson tragically did, we can say no, the Bible is clear of that, he will return in flame and fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, O thy word is clear, as 2 Thessalonians 1 verse 8 cries out of thy judgment upon such people, it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, if we have not prepared ourselves to meet with God, God's way before death, there's one thing that stands before us for eternity, God's judgment, God's judgment, O help everyone listening to this message to not reject the offer of pardon by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, O help everyone in this world that might hear this message eventually to not close their hearts to forgiveness as George Wilson did on a human level, and face judgment for his crimes and sins, O give us grace that we will not be so foolish to take one step further in life, rejecting God for saying no is not words, it's just not accepting, please God have mercy and help everyone that's not saved to seek thee while thou mightest be found, to call upon thee while thou art near, let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto God, and he will abundantly pardon, he will abundantly pardon, there's nothing more you can do God, apart from force a man to be saved, and that you will not do, there's nothing more you can say or do, you've done everything that is needed, required, all man has to do is come with Jesus, come with the blood of Jesus Christ, by grace through faith in his blood, O God help man to not face eternal torment, for the smoke of that torment ascended up forever and ever, there is no peace day or night, there's a poor man, the rich man, Lazarus, he died also the rich man, he lifted up his eyes being in hell, and cried, I am tormented in this flame, God that's what we would say the moment we die, without Christ, O God have mercy that no one listening to this message will hear thee saying, depart from me, depart from me, I never knew you, help us God, and those of us who are saved, accept our worship, accept our praise and forgive us for the tragic sin, as Christians of not worshipping thee, I would say daily, the Isaiah 53 opened before us, to weep over, for that chapter is the center of the entire Bible theology, it's the action upon which the whole Bible revolves, take it out of the Bible Lord, we're in trouble, but we bless thee for giving Isaiah the revelation, that it was God manifest in the flesh, it was God with us, we thank thee for the gospel according to Isaiah, not just Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, his whole ministry, and his death, and his appeal after his death, the next chapter, and his coming judgment upon every man, who refuse us to accept this gift, and the only reason a man will refuse, is because he refuses to give up his sin, that's why he'll be judged, even if he faces damnation for eternity, his sin means more to him, than choosing eternal life, help us God, we thank thee for Jesus, we thank thee O Father for thy heart of love, we thank thee for the word of God, for the promises of God, that cannot be denied in thy holy obligation to those that obey thee, and come, and come by faith, determined for God not only to wipe away the sin, but to set them free, for if the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free from enslavement to sin indeed, this is what John tells us in chapter 8 verse 14 and fear is in every heart, help people to find this message, and eternal life through it, in Jesus Christ's name, and for his sake and glory, only, we ask these things of thee, Amen.