GREAT THINGS
What is the greatest thing you have ever done? I would like to ask you that, dear friend. We live in a world of social media, where it is all about self-promotion and people making known their great accomplishments, and having letters after their name and so on. But there are many in this room who would tell you that the greatest thing they ever did was to put their faith in Jesus. That is the greatest thing that you could ever do in your life: put your faith and trust in Jesus. Today God is giving you the opportunity to do the greatest thing that you could ever do. Men’s accomplishments will come to nothing. What are they, anyway, in the presence of God? Scripture says that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags”, Isaiah 64:6. That is, the best things that could be said about ourselves (if there was anything) as before God in our sins, are as filthy rags. They are worthless.
I read this passage because it speaks about a man, a woman and a child, and the greatest thing that happened to each of them was that they came into the presence of Jesus. It is a very blessed matter to come into the presence of Jesus. Jesus said to the man who had been possessed by demons, “Return to thine house and relate how great things God has done for thee”. I want to speak about four great things that God has done. There are many things that God has done: we could speak of them for days, for weeks. Everything that God does is great. But I want to touch briefly on four great things that God has done that are the foundations of Christianity.
The first thing is that God has come into manhood. Think of that! What an event in this world’s history that God, the Creator, has come into this scene as a babe. We often speak of it, that He touched humanity at its weakest point. The scripture says, “ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and lying in a manger”, Luke 2:12. Think of the feelings of God towards His creature, man. God looked down and saw the ravages of sin on the whole human race. I often think about that. Peter says of Lot that he was “distressed with the abandoned conversation” (or manner of life) “of the godless” in Sodom and Gomorrha (2 Peter 2:7). How far Lot was from God, yet he felt their “lawless works” (v.8). How much more therefore must God have felt it, and feels it, that man was and still is helplessly in sin. He saw His creature away from Him in sin, and God’s feelings go out to His creature.
What was the remedy for man? Could man do anything for himself? Friend, can you do anything before God to justify the position that you are in as a sinner? Not at all. But God is rich, He is rich in mercy (Eph.2:4). God has moved from His own side towards man, and He has done that by coming into manhood. It is a precious matter that the Man that was here, Jesus, is God. That is a blessed, fundamental truth to lay hold of. It could not be otherwise. There were great persons in the history of the Old Testament, but every one of them was a sinner. The work of salvation required that a blessed Man should come in to accomplish it, a Man “who knew not sin”, 2 Cor.5:21. That blessed sinless One came into this world to offer Himself and to die.
The second great thing that God has done is to deliver up that sinless Man as a sacrifice for sin. I wonder if you have ever thought about that. Have you ever taken the position of these persons who stood by the cross? They took account of a blessed Man suspended there, nailed to a cross between two malefactors. Why? Why was He there? I can speak for myself; I cannot speak for you, but I know that He was there for me. On that cross, that blessed sinless One was “made sin for us”, 2 Cor.5:21. Have you ever taken account of that? Have you ever thought about your sins? If you do think about them and they burden you, now is the time to have to do with God about them. These sins of yours, can you remember them? Can you number them? How many there are – every single one of them. Some of us have committed sins that we wish we could forget, but if you put your faith in that blessed One and His shed blood, they are gone forever. Not one of the sins of believers was missed at Calvary, not one was forgotten: Jesus bore every single one of them. They were not borne as a mass, but borne individually by Jesus. In simple terms, He said to God, ‘I am going to take the sins of Trevor Campbell and I am going to bear them for him’. He has done it for me, and if you believe in Him, He has done it for you. What a Saviour He is. He went to the cross and endured sufferings from men, but in these three hours of darkness, He suffered under the hand of God as made sin. None could fathom that suffering.
We sometimes speak about Christ’s atoning work as a transaction. I am not sure if that is a right word. Who could say what was involved when Jesus took upon Himself your sins and my sins, and the whole question of sin? What a profound matter! Not only did Jesus on the cross bear before God the sins of many, but He bore God’s judgment on sin, the root principle of sin in man. Sin in me is what makes me commit sins. Jesus met it all before God. “God, having sent his own Son, in likeness of flesh of sin, and for sin, has condemned sin in the flesh”, Rom.8:3. In these atoning sufferings, He bore the judgement of God for those who believe. You remember in the types that the fire consumed the offering. But at Calvary the Lord Jesus bore the judgement and exhausted the wrath of a holy God against sin. Who can measure it? I am often affected by that hymn that we sometimes sing,
‘None could follow there, blest Saviour,
When Thou didst for sins atone’ Hymn 298
That hymn also speaks of His measuring sin’s distance. Only He knew the depth of what that involved. Have you put your faith in the Man who suffered at Calvary? He died there on that tree, and then in the final act of man’s hatred, a soldier came and pierced His side. John loves to tell us that “there came out blood and water”, John 19:34. John says, as it were, ‘I saw it myself’. He saw that blood shed. John writes in his epistle that “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin”, 1 John 1:7. How blessed is the precious blood of Jesus. Are you sheltering under it? Have you laid claim to that blood and found that it has washed away your sins?
It is interesting to go through the Scriptures and take account of what God has done with the sins of the believer. Isaiah says, “thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back”, Isa.38:17. God in His greatness is able to put the sins of believers behind His back. Then the prophet says, “thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea”, Mic.7:19. They are gone. How many metres deep is the Atlantic Ocean? Who can measure it? All these sins are gone. He also says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us”, Ps.103:12. Who can measure it? The sins are gone if you put your faith in that precious blood.
Another vital part of what God has done is to raise Jesus from among the dead – the resurrection. God took such pleasure in Jesus and what He had done that He raised Him from the dead. The Psalm says, “For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to see corruption”, Ps.16:10. Paul writes, “Christ has been raised up from among the dead by the glory of the Father”, Rom. 6:4. Christ is out of death and God has also highly exalted Him (Phil.2:9). What a blessed matter: no one should be in any doubt that Jesus is out of death. God has seen to that. You look into the New Testament, and you see that at the end of the gospels God ensured that there was ample testimony to the fact that Jesus is no longer in death. Have you laid hold of that in the faith of your heart, that Jesus is living? We spoke of that in the reading, that He is the living One, and He remains that forever. He is available to be your Saviour.
The third great thing that God has done is to send His Holy Spirit. It has been said that the reason the gospel is preached is so that God may give men His Spirit1. Our salvation, the forgiveness of our sins, must come first, but God’s desire is that you and I should receive His Spirit. Why does He want to do that? If I could give you my spirit, you would like the things that I like. My desires would be your desires. If I could give you my spirit that would be the case. God wants to give you the Holy Spirit because He wants you to love Jesus as He does. That is the God that we have to do with in the glad tidings: He wants to give you His Spirit.
The fourth great thing I want to speak about is future: the Lord is going to come for all of His own and we shall meet Him in the air; and then He will return to this world, and we with Him, to take up His rights here. These are great things, four great things that God has done and will do. Have you laid hold of these things in your own heart?
Now I touch briefly on these three persons about whom we have read. They each came into the presence of God, into the presence of Jesus. It was the greatest thing that they ever did. Here was a man that was possessed by many demons. You say, ‘Surely persons are not possessed by demons now’. It has been said that the greatest demon is our own will2. If you follow your own will, you will find yourself in a place without life, and that is what this man found. He did not have a home; he resided in the tombs; he was in a place of death and that is what the world is. Is that what you want? Would you rather have a place in this world, which is going on to judgment, and which is marked by death? This man comes into the presence of Jesus and Jesus heals him. All the evil that was in his heart is removed, and his sins were taken away by Jesus. He did it by a word; how blessed. Then it says that the man was found “sitting, clothed and sensible, at the feet of Jesus”.
Dear friend, if you come to know Jesus, you will begin to see things rightly. If you are a believer, you can ask the Lord Jesus to help you to see things rightly. There was a man who had a touch from the Lord, but he saw men, as trees, walking (Mark 8:24). He needed a second touch. And sometimes, perhaps many times, we need a second touch or even a third touch. Perhaps the Lord would touch your affections so that you are found clothed and sensible at His feet.
We read about the woman whose life was ebbing out of her. She realised that she had a need, and we all have a need. The woman is recorded as saying, “If I touch but his clothes I shall be healed”, Mark 5:28. She wanted to get into the presence of Jesus because she knew she would find help there. She had spent all her living on physicians, spent everything she had to meet her need and find satisfaction, but she was not going to find it down here. I can tell you from a little experience that you will never find satisfaction in the world. You might find temporary pleasure, but no satisfaction. The devil might deceive you into thinking that you will, but only God in Christ is able to satisfy your heart. This woman thought she could get blessing in a hidden kind of way but if you come into the presence of God, you cannot hide things, nor do you want to. You want to be transparent because God knows all about you. The Lord knows all your history. He knew all about this woman who touched the hem of His garment and was healed. The Lord Jesus does not leave the matter there: it is not enough. He wants your company, and He wants you to have a personal transaction with Himself. Be open with Him! He knows your sins, and He knows your need: how blessed it is to confess our inward thoughts to Him, as this woman did.
We have also read of Jairus’ daughter; the passage includes a man, a woman and a child. The Lord Jesus is able for everyone who comes to Him. The hymn says,
‘If it’s the hopeless case Thou lov’st to meet’ (Hymn 423)
Dear friend, He knows your need, and He is available now to meet that need, because He has done everything you needed. His precious blood has been shed for you. This young person was twelve years old, and she was in the presence of Jesus. She would never forget that. Dear young friend, whatever age you are, you are never too young to come to Jesus. He is waiting for you. He said, “Suffer little children to come to me”, Luke 18:16. He is ready, and He is available.
Luke’s gospel, we have been taught, has in mind securing persons for the assembly. In this chapter we have a man, a woman and a child. Have you found your place amongst those who belong to the Lord, where His name is cherished? The Lord has not asked us to do much for Him, but He has asked us to remember Him (Luke 22:19). If you know the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, commit yourself to Him and to His will; own Him as your Lord and remember Him in the breaking of bread. It is a great privilege. Are you a believer, and have received the Spirit, and have still not committed yourself to Him? When the Lord comes for us all, what will you say to Him? Would you say, ‘I was going to do it later’? Why not now? Is He not worthy of it? Is the Lord Jesus not worthy to be remembered in this world where He is forgotten?
The Lord Jesus is a wonderful Saviour. God has done great things for you and for me. This verse has been in my mind – “relate how great things God has done for thee”. Did I merit these great things? Was there anything in me that was worthy of God’s blessing? Not at all. But through grace, through His mercy, I have come to know the blessed Saviour. You may think that brothers who stand behind the preacher’s desk are different. I was young once, and there was a time in my life when I did not know whether I was saved. Every preacher, I am sure, has had that experience. I am no different. There came a time, I remember it well, when I was lying in my bed and I did not know whether I was saved. Have you ever had that thought? The Lord is coming; will I be left behind? Dear friend, you do not need to have these thoughts any longer because God has provided a blessed Saviour for you and He is available to faith. Reach out your hand and He is there, there for you.
You will come to know the blessings of Christianity, the great things that God has done. We sing,
‘Peace, sonship, joy, the Holy Spirit giv’n’ Hymn 123
These are some of the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ. Who could number the blessings that we have in Him! And they are for you. May you come in and prove not only the blessing of the forgiveness of sins, but God’s free gift in the Holy Spirit, and “come to the knowledge of the truth”, 1 Tim.2:4. God’s desire is not only that you should be saved, but that you should “come to the knowledge of the truth”. There is a place for you in the assembly, a place for you in the local company where you are. I beseech you not to put it off, not to delay. Come to the Lord and know what it is to have the certainty of a link with Him, and the assurance of your path down here supported by the gift of the Holy Spirit.
May He bless the word.
Preaching of the gospel at Calgary, Canada
29 June 2025
Trevor Campbell
Edited and published monthly by Alistair Brown and Paul Martin
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