LOOK TO JESUS – NOT SOMEWHERE ELSE! | sermonsfortheworld.com

The purpose of this website is to provide free sermon manuscripts and sermon videos to pastors and missionaries throughout the world, especially the Third World, where there are few if any theological seminaries or Bible schools.

These sermon manuscripts and videos now go out to about 1,500,000 computers in over 221 countries every year at www.sermonsfortheworld.com. Hundreds of others watch the videos on YouTube, but they soon leave YouTube and come to our website. YouTube feeds people to our website. The sermon manuscripts are given in 46 languages to about 120,000 computers each month. The sermon manuscripts are not copyrighted, so preachers can use them without our permission. Please click here to learn how you can make a monthly donation to help us in this great work of preaching the Gospel to the whole world.

Whenever you write to Dr. Hymers always tell him what country you live in, or he cannot answer you. Dr. Hymers’ e-mail is rlhymersjr@sbcglobal.net.

The entire life of a Christian is summed up in these words, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” You begin the Christian life by looking unto Jesus. You finish the Christian life by looking unto Jesus. “Looking unto Jesus” describes faith itself. You are born again by “looking unto Jesus.” You live the Christian life by “looking unto Jesus.” You die as a Christian by “looking unto Jesus.” You are saved from the guilt of sin by “looking unto Jesus.” You overcome the world by “looking unto Jesus.” You get prayers answered by “looking unto Jesus.” You triumph over death by “looking unto Jesus.”

And yet it is impossible for the natural man to do that, even though it seems so simple after you have done it. But to man in his natural state

“He is despised and rejected…and we hid as it were our faces from him” (Isaiah 53:3).

And so it is the preacher’s duty to show natural man the foolishness of not looking to Him. We do this by preaching on the emptiness of life without Jesus. We do this by giving examples of people who threw away their lives because they would not look to Him. We do this also by speaking on Hell and eternal torment. We do this by telling of sin and its consequences. We do this by speaking of sinners in the hands of an angry God. We do this by warning of the unpardonable sin.

All of these great Bible truths are preached to awaken the natural man, and show him the lack of wisdom and the absurdity of not “looking unto Jesus.” And, when God’s grace comes to a man, he will awaken, and say to himself, “What a fool I was not to look unto Jesus.”

In this simple sermon I am going to answer some thoughts you may have had. Those thoughts are answered by our text,

The word “ambivalent,” according to the dictionary, means “Simultaneous attraction toward and repulsion from an object.” “Simultaneous” means “at the same time.” The person who said “I’m ambivalent” knows English very well. This person knows that the word “ambivalent” means he is attracted to Jesus and repelled from Him at the same time. Why does he feel attracted and repelled simultaneously? It is because he halts between two opinions, because he is “double minded” about Jesus (James 1:8). It is because he is sinful. It is because he did not want to stop being sinful. It is because he wanted to practice sin and be saved at the same time!

You are no different. You are also attracted and repelled to Christ at the same time. You also halt between two opinions. Why do you halt between two opinions? You want to continue being sinful and be saved by Christ at the same time. You want to keep your lost friends and be saved at the same time. You want to continue watching pornography and be saved at the same time. You want to play video games for hours a day and be saved at the same time. But you will never be saved this way.

This is the way the rich young ruler was. He wanted Jesus – but at the same time he wanted to live for money. He was ambivalent. He wanted to serve Jesus and serve money at the same time! It cannot be done! You cannot serve your family and Jesus at the same time! Chinese New Year will be next week. If you are of Asian descent, your parents will try to get you to miss church to go celebrate with them. But you cannot serve your family and Jesus at the same time! Sunday is the Lord’s Day. We are to be in church on Sunday!

You must get your family to understand that you cannot be with them on Sunday for Chinese New Year because you have to be in church! Ask them to plan the celebration at another time, when it does not conflict with the church schedule! If they will not do this, then you will have to risk your parents’ anger and be in church on Sunday! If you are not in church this Sunday, you will be like just like the rich young ruler who could not give up his riches to follow Christ! You will not be able to give up your family to follow Christ! You will be ambivalent towards Jesus! This is not at all uncommon in the Bible. Judas was ambivalent toward Jesus. The two men, the rich young ruler and Judas, lost their souls because they went on in ambivalence, simultaneously repelled and attracted by Jesus, until it was too late.

Do not be like the rich young ruler and Judas! Resolve your ambivalence and throw yourself on Jesus by faith,

Ultimately it will be one or the other with you, as it is with all people who are simultaneously attracted and repelled by Jesus. I remember the exact moment I stopped being ambivalent. So can you. Cross over to Jesus no matter what it costs and you will be saved in an instant.

This generation is different than other generations. In generations past, people did things because they “felt like it.” People were in touch with their emotions. Because they were in touch with their feelings, they were also easily confused by them. This generation is different in many ways from past generations. You want to know things. You want to know things for sure. You want to be able to go online and read a step-by-step manual and then practice it. After you have learned something and practiced it – now you know it. You want answers. You want to know things mentally. The Devil uses this tendency to trick you into making you look to the Bible for answers. But the Bible is not the answer to your problem. Jesus is the answer.

You may mentally understand that you are sinful. You can agree using the evidence and the reasons given in the sermons that you need Jesus. But you have not felt your need for Jesus. You have not felt what it is like to be lost. You have not felt what it is like to be afraid, and desperate, and hopeless. Because you do not feel this way, you are searching for some mental experience, not a spiritual one. You want a mental realization of some truth that you can learn from the Bible. But knowing the Bible is not important! The thing that is important is Jesus. You are hiding your face from Jesus by covering it behind theology and doctrine and more learning! In conversion, Jesus is no longer “despised and rejected.” You no longer hide your face “from him” (Isaiah 53:3). Instead, you will say with Thomas,

You can twist around for months, or even years, looking for new information. But you are really trusting in your own mind, instead of looking outwardly to Jesus. If you keep on trusting your mind you will never be converted. You are looking for the mental breakthrough that will save you. The Bible describes you as “Ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (II Timothy 3:7). Stop relying on your mind! You will never learn this! You can never learn enough! Stop examining the Bible! The Bible has no Blood to wash your sins away! Examine Jesus!

You do not do that; you look to the doctrines of the Bible instead of looking to Jesus. But even believing something about Jesus is not looking to Jesus! Even if you believed the entire Bible from cover to cover, that would not save you. The Pharisees believed the Bible, but they did not look to Jesus, instead they hated Him! I believed the Bible! I believed that Jesus died for my sins and rose again the third day. Yet, it meant nothing to me. It meant nothing to me because I was a sinner who did not want Jesus. It meant nothing to me because I did not want Jesus to wash my sins away with His Blood.

I was proud and rebellious. I did not want Jesus to save me. That is why the Holy Spirit of God had to break me down. That is why the Holy Spirit had to show me the awfulness of my sinful condition. That is why the Holy Spirit had to make me need Jesus. When the Holy Spirit convicted me of my sin, I needed a Saviour, not a doctrine! When I felt hopeless and convicted of sin, I looked to Jesus! It was Jesus who I needed! I did not need some doctrinal certainty! Believing some fact is just a mental exercise; it is not salvation! The doctrines of the Bible all point to Jesus! The doctrines of the Bible all direct you to Jesus! Look away from the doctrines, and look to Jesus!

Though you cannot see Jesus with your eyes, you must look to Jesus by faith! Dr. Hymers pointed out that when Moses lifted up the brass serpent to the people of Israel, undoubtedly most of those had been bitten by the poisonous snakes could not see the brass serpent! There were more than a million people in the camp of the people of Israel! Some of them must have been blind! Others would be too sick to move! How could all of them see the brass serpent and be saved? It would be impossible! They would have to look towards the brass serpent! They would have look towards the brass serpent by faith! They were saved even though they could not see the brass serpent! You also must look towards Jesus! Look to Jesus by faith! Though you cannot see Him, Jesus will save you if you look to Him!

If you are resting in information, you are lost! If you are resting in your ability to learn, you are lost! You already know enough! Now you must feel lost! You must have a deeper experience than learning! You must feel like nothing in the world matters because you do not have the forgiveness of sins that Jesus brings. This is a real personal experience. You are trying to believe enough of the Bible in order to be saved. You are trying to force yourself to trust doctrines you cannot prove. You are trying to muster up enough faith to trust in information. All of this is self-salvation. You are not saved by believing the Bible or by believing something about Jesus. No, no! You are looking for salvation in the Bible! The salvation is in Jesus!

When the Philippian Jailor said, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30), Paul did not say, “Learn Jesus and you will be saved.” No! Paul did not say, “Believe something about Jesus and you will be saved.” No! Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). The proof of conversion is not how much we believe about Jesus. No, no! The proof of conversion is

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10).

Stop looking for doctrines or information in the Bible. You will never find enough to save you. Instead, look up, look out of yourself, look away from yourself, away from the doctrines – look to Jesus alone, and He will save you by His Blood and righteousness. Look to Jesus by faith! Look to Jesus without knowing enough! And when doubts arise, examine Jesus again. Keep on examining Him throughout your life – and you will examine Him in the glory of Heaven! You don’t need to know all the details in the Bible to be converted. Stop wondering about it and thinking about it. Stop looking for more information! Look at Jesus! Look to Him beaten and lashed, crucified and bleeding on the Cross. Look to Him resurrected and ascended to Glory at the right hand of God the Father. Look to Him and you are saved!

You will never have enough goodness, or holiness or information to be. But if you look away from yourself, and don’t look back at yourself, but look up from yourself to Jesus – you will be saved by His Blood and righteousness in an instant! Christ is the object of saving faith! Not a feeling, not a doctrine, not an analysis, Jesus Himself saves you! Look away to Jesus! “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Let that be your goal. Let that be your salvation – and nothing else!

Look to the Lamb of God.
Look to the Lamb of God.
For He alone is able to save you,
Look to the Lamb of God.
(“Look to the Lamb of God” by H. G. Jackson, 1838-1914).

Listen to what happened to a young man who was recently converted in our church. He said, “At this point, I was mentally exhausted. I began to see that no matter what I did, I couldn't save myself from my sin, my sin of not trusting in Jesus, my sin of being self-righteous. I was helpless. I was struggling within myself trying to trust Jesus but my pride wouldn't let me. I hid myself away from other people, couldn't smile during the greeting, couldn't pretend that everything was fine. I sat and listened to the sermon being preached but heard nothing. I gave up on all hope. I gave up on myself. I felt my sin pressed on all my thoughts, all my senses. I felt sick of being alive. [But in a] moment, by a miracle, Jesus came to me, and for the first time in my life, I trusted Him with all I had. I was trying to come to Jesus but I couldn't, and Jesus came to me when I thought I would never be saved. When Jesus came to me, it was so simple to trust in Him. By a simple but genuine faith, Jesus accepted me and washed me with His Blood. By a simple faith in Jesus, He saved me from all my sins.”

Trust Jesus! Look to Jesus as this young man did! Do not look to yourself or the Bible or anything else! Look to Jesus, and He will save you! Amen.

WHEN YOU WRITE TO DR. HYMERS YOU MUST TELL HIM WHAT COUNTRY YOU ARE WRITING FROM OR HE CANNOT ANSWER YOUR E-MAIL. If these sermons bless you send an e-mail to Dr. Hymers and tell him, but always include what country you are writing from. Dr. Hymers’ e-mail is at rlhymersjr@sbcglobal.net (click here). You can write to Dr. Hymers in any language, but write in English if you can. If you want to write to Dr. Hymers by postal mail, his address is P.O. Box 15308, Los Angeles, CA 90015. You may telephone him at (818)352-0452.

(END OF SERMON)
You can read Dr. Hymers' sermons each week on the Internet
at www.sermonsfortheworld.com.
Click on “Sermon Manuscripts.”

These sermon manuscripts are not copyrighted. You may use them without Dr. Hymers’
permission. However, all of Dr. Hymers’ video messages, and all other sermons on video
from our church, are copyrighted and can only be used by permission.

Scripture Read Before the Sermon by Mr. Aaron Yancy: Isaiah 53:1-3.
Solo Sung Before the Sermon by Mr. Benjamin Kincaid Griffith:
“Look to the Lamb of God” (by H. G. Jackson, 1838-1914).

LOOK TO JESUS – NOT SOMEWHERE ELSE!

A sermon written by Dr. R. L. Hymers, Jr. and preached by Mr. John Samuel Cagan

A sermon written by Dr. R. L. Hymers, Jr.
and preached by Mr. John Samuel Cagan