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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/william-lavery/three-sons/
Now if you have your bible with you tonight i'd like you to turn with me to the book of hebrews and chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. And we're going to read first of all verse number two hebrews 12 and verse number two looking unto jesus the author and finisher of faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of god.
Now verse number eight. But if you be without chastisement we're off all our partakers then are ye the thought is illegitimate and not sons. Now verse number 16. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person as esau who for one morsel of meat or food sold his birthright for you know how that afterward he would have inherited the blessing he was rejected for he found no place of repentance though he sought it carefully with tears diligently anxiously with tears.
Now we know that god will bless the reading of his precious word with what we have already heard in the meeting tonight. What i'm going to do tonight. I'm going to speak about three sons. And the first son that we spoke of was the lord jesus christ.
I'm going to call him the impeccable son now. That might be a word we don't use very much today but it simply means that he was sinless. He could not sin absolutely impossible that he could send. He was perfect in every way.
And then we read of an illegitimate son or i'll call him an imitation son someone that thought he really was a son but he wasn't. And then we read uh thirdly of an indifferent son. Esau didn't really care for the things of god cared just for what he himself wanted.
And he couldn't really wait for god to bless him. He had to get everything right now. But first of all we're glad we can tell you the lord jesus christ was perfect in every way. And he had told these people uh we didn't read the verse one.
But uh he told them basically get your eye on the lord jesus christ. He has finished a race perfectly and and we're all traveling through this life. I'm applying it now. But he said get your eye on him.
That's the important thing. If you're ever going to be saved by the grace of god there's only one way. There's no other way. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
If you're going to be in heaven you must be saved. And you must be saved god's way. For there's no other way. And here we have the lord jesus. And what does it tell us about him. Well he said he's a perfect man of faith.
Everything he did was what the father wanted him to do. And a way back in eternity. Peter tells us he's a lamb foreordained before the foundation of the world before sin ever entered into the world before man's ruin came in.
God had a remedy. And the lord jesus comes into this world a perfect man. Not just to give us a a perfect example. As far as salvation is concerned some people think if we could just be like christ the jesus way or whatever what you want to call it.
But that's not god's way of salvation. It may sound plausible but when it comes to salvation it must be god's way. And god has a savior. And that savior is the only one that god has. And i'll ask you tonight is he your savior.
I'm glad he's my savior. I'm glad that he loved me and gave himself for me. Some of us have heard or maybe known mr harry bell. Harry bell was a tremendous teacher of an englishman and he had some i don't know if you're supposed to say handicaps but he had polio anyhow and he couldn't see very well.
But someone went to visit him when he was on his deathbed and he wasn't thinking about all that he had learned from the scriptures or the theology or anything like that. And they saw his lips moving. And someone went over thought he wanted something.
And he was singing. And you know what that great man was singing right at the end of his life. Jesus loves me. This i know for the bible tells me. So i tell you what else really matters when it comes down to the end but to know that the lord jesus loved you unto death with a love that many waters could not quench so that you could have this great salvation.
There's nothing like it. And the only regret that i have at least the biggest regret that i have in my life is that i didn't go in for it when i was younger. So don't put off the salvation of your soul because you know it's not just a fire escape from hell.
It's not just something for the future. But it's good to have for the future. But it's something to enjoy now. And if you were at the bible reading you know we're all sitting around and we hardly know each other some of us.
And yet we get along so well we're enjoying the things of god. That's why god saved us not just for eternity. My it's wonderful. And what does it tell us here about this wonderful person. He says he had joy in his heart.
What brought joy to the heart of the lord jesus. Well i think it was the joy in fulfilling the father's will. He came into this world to display god to show god. He came. Well he said he finished the work that was given him to do.
I've glorified god in the earth. I've finished the work i've given it to do finish the work was to display god. And he displayed him in his life. And he graced manhood with all the attributes of deity.
All the words that describe god were true of him. But i'll tell you when it comes to calvary that's where he showed out the love of god couldn't be shown out in any other place in such a wonderful way to think that the lord jesus for the joy that was set before him.
Oh there's another joy he had a a bride. Christians were going to be in heaven. And i want to maybe bring in more individual. He had joy in seeing souls saved and being in eternity with him. What a tremendous thing that would be to be really sure of eternity.
Great thing to be saved. It's even greater to be saved and absolutely sure. And the lord jesus he had the joy that was set before him. What did he do. He endured the cross. That's what we have heard. Those are wonderful words that our brother brought before us.
Just to think of the leper. Maybe maybe you could. You could just see the comparison. Wounds bruises putrefying sores. And there's the lord jesus. He had the wounds and the bruises. The stroke of god as we have heard fell on him.
The the chapter one speaking about a leper a sinner just just like the leper. And the lord jesus there was no taint of sin about him. But he took the place of the leper as it were bore the wrath and the judgment of god.
And and it says here he endured the cross. If thou be the christ come down from the cross save thyself and us. There was a man that wanted a temporal deliverance. But the lord jesus endured the cross.
And i tell you what it must have been for him. You know one day the lord jesus said the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have their nests. But the son of man has not where to lay his head. And you know the lord jesus did sleep even in the ship.
He lay his head on the pillow in the ship. So it must mean something a little different. And i believe it means this that every night when he laid down his head he was thinking of calvary. It was getting nearer and nearer.
And on the cross he saw something that no one else saw. He saw those dark clouds coming in closer and closer till he would be all alone bearing the wrath of god for your sins and mine. Does it mean anything to you tonight.
Does it not touch your heart to think that someone would bear all the wrath and the judgment of god consecrated into those hours in the cross so that you could have this great salvation. Have you ever responded to his love.
We love someone because there's something lovable in them. Or because maybe they respond to our love. But he loved us in spite of what we were. And yet he delighted to fulfill the will of god in bearing the wrath of god.
He endured the cross all the suffering and all the shame. They taunted him they made fun of him. And yet he endured it right to the end. You know what that means. That means that there's absolutely nothing that you or i have to do for salvation.
He said it is finished. We dare not try to add anything to it. And we dare not try to take anything from it. It's a complete work. We would say like a masterpiece. Whatever we would do would destroy it.
And yet here you are tonight still in your sins. Heard the gospel often many more times you're going to hear it. Who knows this could be the last time. Boast not thyself of tomorrow. For i know it's not what a day may bring forth.
So be wise tonight. See yourself as god has seized you. That's what we've been encouraged to do. Now when we come to verse number eight i'll call this person an imitation christian. And the reason for that is that he's not in god's family.
If he was really a god's family he would have an inheritance. But he had no claim on the inheritance of god because he's not a legitimate son. And you know in that day when this book was written there were a lot of people that were imitations.
They thought they were okay for heaven. These people were keeping the law. And there are many people today in this world and they claim well we'll keep the law. Just try it and we'll do all the good works we can do.
I know a young man that talked to bill gates and he asked him a question. He said where do you think you'll be when you die. And he said i think i'll be in heaven. And he said what are you basing that on all the money i've given away wouldn't matter.
If he'd give away billions and billions and billions it would be an insult to try and pay the price of salvation when the lord jesus paid it in drops of precious blood there on the cross at calvary. Now you go around the neighborhood today.
I don't know if there's anyone like that in here. You're depending on something other than christ for salvation. That's really why i read this uh verse something else. Is there anything else that i can depend on.
I remember mr edward doherty and i were way up in northern ontario way back in the in the 70s 71 we went to visit a lady who had been coming out to a meeting mrs blanchard. She opened the door and she had a prayer book in her hand.
What are you doing. She said. I'm just reading my prayer book to see what my baptism it was infant baptism really meant. Thank god she found out it didn't mean anything. Doesn't matter what we do how many rights we go through.
That's not salvation. How shall we escape. The writer said if we neglect so great salvation there's no way of escape. It's great because of the greatness of the work that was accomplished because of the greatness of the person that was on the cross at calvary.
And there's no escape if you neglect so great salvation. Maybe you think you haven't rejected it. You haven't really come right out and said i don't want it. But you neglect it. And you could neglect it for the last time now.
That's why i read about esau and i'm not interested in some of the words that are in the verse but just esau himself. You remember there's esau and jacob. And esau was the elder son. And uh he was the one that would be given the birthright and the blessing.
He'd have the best place as a son. But you know he despised it. He thought it's not really important. Do you think the things of god are really important. Is there something more important to you than the salvation of your precious soul.
What should a prophet a man or a person if they gain the whole world and lose their own soul. What will a person give in exchange for their soul. What will you give. I don't know what it is. It's keeping you back from getting god's salvation.
But i know it's not of such value that would cause you to lose the most important thing lose yourself for all eternity. And here jacob he said doesn't mean anything to me. Things of god don't mean anything to me.
Way back in the days of king david when he came back uh from being exiled there was a man stood up. He said we have no part in david. Neither do we have inheritance in the sons of jesse to your tent. So israel doesn't mean anything to me.
What does he mean to you. I often think of that him. It's true to my own life. And as i passed the savior by his love laid hold on me. I tell you it's tremendous. Get things in their proper perspective.
That's what we need to do. Because you know this man uh what did he do afterwards. He found no place of repentance though he sought it earnestly with tears. Now i think it means really that isaac had blessed jacob.
And he wasn't going to try to get that blessing back and bless esau couldn't get him his father to change his mind. And you know when it comes to you if you miss god's salvation god certainly isn't going to change his mind.
You have rejected his son. You counted these things as common as really of no value. And these are the most important things in all the world. And just think of the lord jesus endured the cross despised the shame whereas he now sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
The one who took the lowest place. God has given him the highest. And he's waiting. We don't know how long he's going to wait but he's waiting until his enemies will be the footstool of his feet. Maybe the only verse in the old testament that speaks of this present day.
The lord jesus is waiting. God is long suffering not willing that any should perish. And i'm glad of that because i put my salvation off for many many years. How about it for you tonight. This could be your last opportunity.
We don't know we hear. You know my prayer list doesn't get any shorter. Oh there's some names that you have to take off that have gone out into eternity. But there's always more that are added families who've been bereaved.
Wonder will you be taking off somebody's prayer list. I'm glad for people that prayed for me. I didn't know till after i knew my parents did. But there's other people i didn't know till after god saved me.
Sad to think that someone would be like this. Esau wouldn't take as rightful place as a sinner. Missed it. Are we looking into the face of someone in the meeting tonight that's going to miss god's salvation.
A face that's going to writhe in anguish down in hell. God forbid be wise. Dear friend tonight. Is there really a choice to make. Choice doesn't say. But the choice is to go in for god's salvation. Trust christ as your savior.
Here's the one that sat down. That means the work is finished absolutely paid in full. Nothing that you need to do but come empty-handed. Nothing in my hands. I bring simply to thy cross. I cling. Oh it's a wonderful thing to have an opportunity for salvation.
But if you miss it you'll say what hezekiah said. The lord was ready to save me. But i just wasn't ready. Just put it off. Oh i meant to be saved. I thought there's another day coming the day that god saved me in the city of detroit.
I'll tell you i i thought this is my last chance not putting it off another moment. And some of you know already verses came to my mind and the more came the more muddled i became. I remembered something i read that i'd known for years and years.
The story of peter walking in the water. And he began to sink. And i was just simple enough to say lord i'm like peter. I'm sinking right down to a burning hell. And that's where i deserve to be. Thank god.
I remembered what peter did. He said god saved me. And god stretched out his hand and caught him. What did i see from those scriptures. I saw that i'm the sinner that can do absolutely nothing. But christ is the savior who has done everything.
All finished. Nothing for me to do. May god help you to have your eyes open tonight to see that you can do nothing and that you don't have to do anything but that the lord jesus and love to your soul paid the great debt there on the cross at calvary.
Behold behold the lamb of god on the cross. May god direct your eye to him tonight. Trust him as your own and personal savior. No one has ever regretted it be the greatest day in your life. May god help you to see it for his name's sake.
I shall we pray.