Revelation of God in 8 Signs in John's Gospel — William Lavery

I'd like you to turn with me to the Gospel of John and we will read first of all in Chapter 1. My, it's wonderful. See, you didn't realize how many people there are. Makes you a little nervous up here.

Maybe I need a drink of the holy water to get me going. I'm. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. John 17, please, and verse number 4.

I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou givest me to do. And a final verse in Chapter 19. And a well-known verse, number 30. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished.

And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. Now we know that God will bless his word to what we have already heard this morning. These words that we read, the last words, it is finished, have brought a lot of peace and comfort to many souls.

And so they should. And we love to preach these words in the gospel and tell people that the work of Calvary is finished. That there's nothing they need to do for their salvation, but the work is absolutely finished.

And sometimes we explain that there's one word in the original Greek, which means paid in full. So it's a wonderful thing to know that everything has been paid in full. But sad to say, I think there are many believers that don't get past that.

My sins are forgiven. I'm on the way to heaven. And that's wonderful to know that. But that's only the beginning. The finished work of the cross is a beginning for a believer. And I thought when I read that, I go through the gospel of John, and there must be things that God wants us to learn.

Christ’s Finished Work and the Revelation of the Father

And that's why we read those other words. No man has seen God at any time, but his son has declared him. And then we read the words of the Lord that finished the work. In chapter 17, rather, he said, he finished the work that was come to reveal the Father.

So that's what I'm trying to get at. He came to reveal the Father. So those of us who are saved, surely we would like to know something about the Father, and about the God that saved us. And that's why this gospel was written.

And when we read that it is finished, it's not just the work of Calvary that's finished, it's the whole revelation that the Lord Jesus gave of his son. He has revealed his son in so many ways. And then in my little mind, I thought, well, you know, there are eight signs in the gospel of John, eight miracles that are called signs.

And I thought, well, maybe surely God has revealed himself to us in those eight signs. And then the next thing that came to my mind was, I remember hearing ministry and preaching on Psalm 23. And the first time maybe I heard it, maybe it wasn't the first, but anyhow, it was a thing that came to me was there in Psalm 23, there are eight Jehovah titles, the Jehovah Shepherd and so on.

And I tried to link these together. And that's what I'm going to speak on. And you can judge whether I linked them right or not. Even if I didn't, the principles that we're going to speak are correct.

So that's what I have in mind. So you know where we're going. So the first miracle or the first sign, of course, you remember, would be at the wedding ceremony in Cana of Galilee. And this is a wonderful time at a wedding.

The First Sign: Jehovah Shammah and the Wedding at Cana

But the sad thing is, the wine ran out. And of course, the only hope they ever had for success in the wedding reception or whatever it was at that day, was that the Lord was there. And he's the one that was able to fix everything and change the water into wine.

And you remember, there were six water pots, they were for purification. And that was for the Jewish rituals that they would, I don't know why there wasn't water in them at that time. But anyhow, maybe things were gone a little bit, slipped a little bit, but they were told to fill them up with water.

And I thought that that would correspond with what we have, the title of the Lord, Jehovah Shama. And Jehovah Shama simply means the Lord is there. And you know that the law was like those cold stone water pots.

And even though there could be water in them to cleanse and to purify, they could only cleanse on the outside. But a great change had taken place. The Lord is now here. And what does he do? He turns the water into wine.

And what we can learn from that, at least one thing, is that because he was here, the law was coming to an end. And those water pots full of water would be of no good. They could only cleanse on the outside.

That's what people try to do today. As far as Christendom is concerned, that's a continuation in many ways, in many places of Judaism. But you know, that was only outward, but the wine entered into the person.

And you remember the words, or do you misquote them like we do often? That was kept a good wine. What does it say? To the last? No. We say that, but even in our King James version said, that was kept a good wine until now.

And we're glad that the Lord is here. And that there's no joy without him. And there's no end of joy with him. Kept a good wine until now. Are you enjoying the good wine? We can apply that to the word of God and so on.

But whatever way you want to apply it, we know that the Lord was here in all his purity. And he could bring the joy. And those of us who are saved by the grace of God, there's something wrong if we don't have a joy.

And there's joy in the Lord. Not that we don't need to be pure. Because you find as you read down this chapter that the Lord went in and purified the temple. God's people need to be pure. And you might think if I'm pure, then I won't be able to be involved in these things.

And I won't have any joy. But this little story is telling us you can have the joy. And you can have the purity. And the Lord wants his people to be pure. We're living in a world that there's not very much purity in.

And we need to have the assemblies pure too. I'm not just talking about morals, but pure in doctrine and so on. So I can see there, if I'm applying it right, Jehovah Shammah. Now the next sign is a nobleman's son in chapter four.

The Second Sign: Jehovah Rophe and the Healing of the Nobleman’s Son

And he's being healed. And that the Lord is the healer. Jehovah Raufiga. The Lord is the healer. I'm not going to go into the dimensions of these in the Old Testament. That would take far too long. And I'm not going to, maybe I don't know enough about it anyhow.

So I better stick to the simple truth. The Lord is the healer. Not a wonderful thing. And there's many have been healed. And sometimes we talk about diseases that can't be cured. There's no disease that God can't cure.

But even if you look at it in a wider sphere, there's a day coming when there's going to be no sickness. There's going to be no death. How wonderful. There's going to be no tears. Have you ever shed tears?

No cause for tears in eternity because the Lord is going to wipe every tear from their eyes. No cause for tears in eternity. That's something to look forward to. And this is what the Lord is telling us about his Father as we go through these miracles.

He's telling them the Father has a love for those that are laid aside. And even though some might wonder, does anybody ever think about me? We can tell you even if they don't. And I'm sure there are some that think.

But the Lord thinks about you. The Lord has a heart for those. And that's displayed so often in the other gospels as well. The Lord just loved to heal people. He loved to cleanse the leper and give sight to the blind.

What a wonderful thing that would be to be able to give sight to the blind. When I talk about sight to the blind, I always think of a lady I know, blind from birth. And she said something that I couldn't understand.

She said, I'm glad I was born blind. I couldn't think of anything worse. But she said, you know, I was in the workshop for the blind where I met the man that I married. And he's the one that brought the gospel to me.

And if I hadn't been blind, she said, maybe I'd never have heard the gospel. And you know what I thought? The first person she's ever going to see is the Lord. She has children that she's never seen. She has a lovely house that she's never seen.

But the first person she's going to see when her eyes are open, she's going to see the Lord. Now, I'll just continue. The next sign was the man at the side of the pool in chapter 5. Likely he's a sign of Israel as well.

The Third Sign: Jehovah Tsidkenu and the Man at the Pool

I know we could apply these in different ways. But he was at the pool for 38 years. And we're told that there was 38 years between the giving of the law and the lifting up of the brazen serpent. So in a way, it would speak to Israel and their weakness and their need.

That's why they were complaining all the time. So all the flesh. And God was testing them. And they weren't coming through with flying colors. But this man, he needed the Lord. And Israel needed the Lord.

The Lord type was lifted up. The brazen serpent was lifted up. Satan was defeated. And they could look to him. That's a wonderful thing. This man, the Lord. Now you say, how could you apply this to a Jehovah title as well?

Maybe I'm stretching this one a wee bit. Maybe more than a wee bit. But I thought of Jehovah. I said, can you? That's one we're familiar with. We sing that often in our hymns. The Lord, our righteousness.

And I thought of it this way. Here's a man that couldn't walk upright before God. That's the way we all were in our sins. And then we met him. And he gave us the power to walk upright and to learn from him.

What a wonderful experience it was for that man. Immediately he was able to get up. He couldn't get down into the pool to be healed. But what he needed was the Lord. And you and I were just the same. And the Lord Jesus, maybe he's telling us, that's a picture of you.

When we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. And he gave us a chance. I wonder, are we walking uprightly before him? There are many miracles that the Lord did. Remember the man that was let down through the roof?

And he was the same. Paralytic. Couldn't move. But the Lord gave him strength to walk. And it's often been said in Irish theology, if you could call it that, that he went in with his head in the bed. And he went out with a bed on his head.

He carried it away. And it's wonderful to see that God has given you and I the ability to walk uprightly before him. The Lord Jesus has made us the righteousness of God in him because of the place that he took at Calvary.

So I wonder, do we have that desire? That's what these conference meetings would be for, really. In the end result, it would be worked out in our walk. I'd like to know a lot more about the Bible, but really, I don't know anything if I don't put it into practice.

And that's what we want to do. We want to be able to put things into practice and be an example in a world that has no place for God. So Jehovah said, can you? Now we come to the fifth feeding of the 5 ,000 in chapter six.

The Fourth Sign: Jehovah Rohi and the Feeding of the Five Thousand

And I have labeled that Jehovah Rohi. And you likely know that the Lord is my shepherd. That's a wonderful expression, isn't it? A wonderful name of the Lord. The Lord is my shepherd. And you know, the shepherd had a curve for the sheep and all these people had come along feeding the 5 ,000.

And he had no food, send them away. And we can't have enough food to feed them. No, the Lord said, make them and sit down. And this is the one miracle, if you don't include the death of Christ and the resurrection, that's in all the gospels.

And you know, John tells us something about where they were that the other gospels don't say. And he said, there was much grass in the place. And that's what the Lord, our shepherd has brought us into a place of much grass, a place of food.

If we don't eat the food and the grass on the ground, maybe would remind us that we need to be humble to be able to feed on the food that God has provided. And then Mark, he's a servant from the servant gospel.

He says, there was green grass. The other gospels don't say that. And it shows the comfort that the Lord had for his own, as he would get down there and the Lord would feed them. And then if we apply that now to ourselves, the Lord's our shepherds, we have shepherds among us.

And we all should have a shepherd character. And we all should have a curve for the flock. And maybe that's, we enjoy that more when we see each other and we're all gathered together. Great to see each one, isn't it?

I don't know if you think it's great to see me or not, but I think it's great to see you. And it's wonderful that all the Lord's people, we're all sheep of his pasture. We're reminded of that this morning.

We're all unified in the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's lots of food. And then, he gave to the disciples. So there's a responsibility for Brethren, not just what we call full-time Brethren, but for Brethren that feed the flock.

We need to feed them with what God has given us. It's not our own thoughts or our own ideas. You say, how much time do you spend in getting a little message together? Well, it's all your life. It seems, I know you spend a few minutes.

Sometimes you have to spend more than others, but it's all your life. What God has been giving you, what has he given you down through the ages? What can you share with others? You may not be on the platform.

What can you share with someone that's housebound or someone that's not well? Just give them a little word that will encourage them. And you know, not only will you be able to help them and feed them, but you know, you'll have more left for yourself.

I don't know, some apply the 12 baskets that they give the disciples, one each or something. I'm not sure about that. I think maybe it means that even when God feeds his people today, there's enough for Israel in the future.

But be that as it may, it's good. It's enough for you. And no doubt, the disciples enjoyed the loaves and the fishes. I remember in Sunday school, a long time ago, and Sunday school teacher, Mr. Ferguson, he was teaching us about the feeding of the 5 ,000.

And I had a question for him. You know, some of us are kind of, my name's William, but I was a smart aleck at times. And I hope there's no alecks here. But anyhow, I said, how come those baskets left of the fragment of the loaves and there wasn't any fish that was left over?

He says, he was a Scotsman, he said, go and ask your father. I wouldn't dare ask my father, that would have been the end of me. But anyhow, there are other things we don't know. But we know this, we can have that shepherd heart.

He's a great shepherd of the flock. He's a good shepherd, a great shepherd, the chief shepherd. And I thought, you know, in the gifts that God gave in Ephesians 4, you have apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, but it never says the Lord was a great apostle.

He was the apostle. High priest and apostle of our calling. He was a prophet. But we say, he was a great prophet, or the great evangelist. He wasn't an evangelist, or the great teacher, but the great shepherd.

And that shows me, at least in my little mind, that it's so important to be a shepherd, and to have a shepherd's heart. Now, the next one, of course, is the Lord walking in the water. Chapter 6 and verse 17.

The Fifth Sign: Jehovah Nissi and Christ Walking on the Water

And Jehovah-Nissi is the Lord our banner. And you say, well, how could you apply that to walking in the water? Well, walking in the water, the troubled water, is a picture of the world in which we live.

And there's lots of conflict. And that's what the banner was to rally the troops in the conflict. It was so important for them in the battle, to keep the banner flying. And for us, it would be keeping the stars and stripes flying during the battle.

So there's difficulties in the world. There's conflicts in the world. But the Lord was above all those difficulties. I often think of Mr. Maxwell, a man that we many of his older ones revered, and he used to tell a story about a woman in the prayer.

He said, well, Brother Maxwell, how are you? Well, he said, I'm very well under the circumstances. And she said, you shouldn't be under the circumstances. You should be above the circumstances. Maybe that's what we can learn from this.

Rally around the banner. There's lots of enemies. Reminded of the world, the flesh, and the devil. And it's sad. And there's going to be more enemies, it seems, the longer we live in this life. But we can be above the circumstances.

And be with the Lord. The Lord came. One occasion, he came into the boat. Another occasion, he was already in the ship. And we know in a conflict, a ship's not going to go down. And if it's a troubled sea where the Lord is walking in the water, he could call Peter, come out from these circumstances.

And that's what he would do with us. So if we're having difficulties, and we all have them, many of them in our families, in our own life, and so on, maybe in the workshop, workplace, but we can rely on God, and we can get our eye on him.

The one that is above all the circumstances. What about the man that was born blind? That's John chapter 9. Jehovah Megadishkan is the word there. The Lord that does sanctify you. And I thought, well, how does that work?

The Sixth Sign: Jehovah Mekaddishkem and the Man Born Blind

I had to try and work these out myself, you know. I hope the Lord helped me. But anyhow, sanctification, we've already heard a little bit about that today. Separation from what is evil. And this man whose eyes were opened.

The only man, Rudolf, that was born blind, whose eyes were opened, was pretty soon he was separated from the synagogue. He was one of the sheep that were brought out of the fold of Judaism, and brought into the flock that we heard of in other languages this morning, into the body of Christ.

And it's wonderful to belong to him, and to be separated from from all religion. And separated from the world as well, of course. But separated from the religious world. As I said, it's all taken up with Judaism.

With a separate priesthood, with separate garments, and so on. I'm glad that I'm part of the assembly here in Stout. We have a lot to be thankful for, and I'm thankful for what we have. And that we're just simple Christians, and know what it is to be gathered under the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And you know, this man, he didn't have to worry about being separated. They didn't want him. The religious world doesn't want us. I actually have been invited to be an assistant pastor of a church, and a pastor of another church, and I said no.

And they said, why? I said, I'm trying to be a Christian gentleman. That's not easy for some of us, but we try anyhow. And I said, if I went among you, I'd only divide the flock. I'm not here to divide people.

We could never get mixed up with things like that. So anyhow, the Lord has separated us, and separated us from the world. But we don't, we emphasize that, but in a greater way, we emphasize separated under him.

He needed the Lord. This is the one that gave him sight. He's the one that gave us spiritual sight. Should we not then be occupied with him, and not occupied with men that are teaching things that are contrary to what he taught?

So you have then the Lord that doth sanctify you. Come to Lazarus' death. Jehovah shalom. That's one more familiar with shalom, which means peace. And there was great disturbance at that time. He whom thou lovest is dead.

The Seventh Sign: Jehovah Shalom and Lazarus’s Death

I tell you, I like that chapter, and I like those words. Jesus wept. The Lord Jesus had great sympathy for those who had lost a loved one. If you've lost a loved one, you know this, the Lord sympathizes with you.

Wonderful to know that he enters into our difficulties, and you know what does Ecclesiastes say? It's better to go into the house of mourning than the house of feasting. That is the end of all men, and the living will take it to heart.

Sad when someone is taken, and we lose a loved one. Some of us have experienced that. Somebody very dear to us was taken. But you know, isn't it interesting to know that in chapter 11, it's a house of mourning, but in chapter 12, it's a house of feasting.

So we began with the wedding feast, but it's not all wedding feast and all joy. Though in a way we should be able to accept what God brings into our lives, but thank God that as a result of the mourning, we can be brought into the feasting.

And while we may not think as much of a feast after a loved one's taken, we can look a way beyond this life, and we can look to the time when we're right in the presence of the Lord. The Lord is peace, and he can give us peace, and we should have a sympathetic heart for others, and be able to bring a little peace to them.

Sometimes it's hard to know what to say. Well, I'll tell you, when I lost my wife, people came to me, all they needed to do was just put their arms around you. They didn't need to say a thing, and you knew that they were sympathizing with you.

So it's not just even in words, and having the right words, but having the right attitude. And then I must finish, when we come to John 21, you know, it's the disciples going out fishing, and they caught nothing.

The Eighth Sign: Jehovah Jireh and the Lord’s Provision

And the title I put on that is Jehovah Jarrah, the Lord will provide. And he was telling them, you don't need to be worried about providing for yourself. Now, that doesn't mean you give up your job, and sit at home, and twiddle your thumbs, but for the disciples, of course, they were going out to preach the gospel, and make disciples, and so on, and teach them the things.

And the Lord said, I'll provide for you. Some of us have proved that in our own lives, but you can prove it in your life too. And even though you might lose a job, God can give you another job. He can give you a better job.

And I've experienced some things like that in my own life. But the Lord will provide. And when they saw the Lord, the Lord was waiting for them. And he already had food for them, and he had a fire to warm them.

And I hope that this conference, with me, not just me, but all of us, we have a fire to warm us. We need to have our hearts warmed. That's what we talked about, the Spirit of God. We're baptized in the Spirit of God.

But we have the Spirit of God in us. It's what is in us. That warms our hearts. So we need to have our hearts warmed. And there's no better place for you or I to be today, than to be with the Lord's people.

And for us, it's to be here in his presence, and along with those that are like-minded. And we know this. Just as the Lord provided, Jehovah-Jireh takes us back to Genesis 22. The Lord will provide, and he's provided for us.

And sometimes we don't realize the provisions there. They didn't know the lamb was caught in the thicket by its horns, until the Lord showed it to them. It had been caught by any other part of its body.

It wouldn't have been suitable for sacrifice, but it was there all the time. And the provision is there, and hopefully we will avail ourselves of that position. So when you think it is finished, I'm not taking away the joy of your salvation, and I'll preach it in the gospel.

Entering More Fully into the Joy of the Lord

It is finished. The work is finished for your salvation. But here it's a work finished, I believe. It's a revelation of God that he wants his believers to enter into, to know more of a God and appreciate all he has done for us.

I wonder how appreciative we are. I ask the Lord, Lord, make me more thankful. The joy overflows more and more as we go on to try to live for God in this life. More into the joy. So I hope we're enjoying it, and I hope that as a result of the conference, we'll be able to enter more and more into that joy, because the joy of the Lord is our strength.