I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this morning. Let us ask the Lord's
blessing, let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we seek thy blessing upon the worship services this day here,
and that thou hast grant thy Holy Spirit to accompany thy
word with power, and to help us to worship thee in spirit
and in truth. Lord, do bless thy word to our
souls and get to thyself honour and glory in the praise from
our lips. We ask through thy name, Lord
Jesus. Amen. Hymn, 983. Tune, Swabia 71. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, The Gospel according to Matthew chapter 11. If you have one of our free Bibles,
that is page 895. The Gospel according to Matthew
and chapter 11. And it came to pass, when Jesus
had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed
thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John
had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his
disciples and said unto him, Art thou he that should come,
or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto
them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear
and see. The blind receive their sight,
and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear,
the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached
to them, and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as they departed, Jesus began
to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the
wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind. But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment,
Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what
went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more
than a prophet, for this is he of whom it is written, Behold,
I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy
way before thee. Verily I say unto you, among
them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater
than John the Baptist, notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom
of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the
Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence,
and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the
law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this
is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. But whereunto shall I liken this
generation? It is like unto children sitting
in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We
have piped unto you, and ye have not danced. We have mourned unto
you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating
nor drinking, and they say he hath a devil. The son of man
came eating and drinking, and they say, behold, a man gluttonous
and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners, but wisdom
is justified of her children. Then began he to upbraid the
cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they
repented not. Woe unto thee, Corazon! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which
were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would
have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you,
it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of
judgment than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art
exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell. For if
the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in
Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto
you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the
day of judgment than for thee. At that time Jesus answered and
said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has
revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father,
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. Come unto me, all ye that labour,
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and
ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and
my burden is light. The Lord bless to us that reading
of his holy word, and help us as we come before the Lord in
prayer. Let us pray. O Thou merciful and loving Heavenly
Father, we come to Thee through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And Lord, we do thank Thee that
Thou art a God, that art a God of relationship, as a Father
to His children. as the bridegroom to the bride,
as an elder brother to a brother, as a near kinsman to one that
needs to be redeemed. Lord thou art not a God, separate,
distinct, far off. And though thou inhabitest eternity,
and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, yet thou hast seen
fit to dwell with men, and to form man in thy likeness and
in thy image, and to bring him into that covenant relationship
with thee. We do thank thee for who thou
art, and we do say, Lord, as we have read, that we might have
revealed to us thy greatness, thy person, thy work, and that
thou hast helped us to believe on thy name. Lord, we remember. those that are weary, those that
are heavy-laden, those that are burdened and troubled. And do
grant, Lord, that they might be drawn to Thee this morning,
that Thy blessing might be in the souls of those who feel their
doubts, that feel their unbelief, that do want to believe, that
do know the value of their soul, do know the importance of having
a true refuge, a true saviour, the promised saviour, the saviour
with the authority of heaven. O Lord, we do seek thy blessing
upon thy word to people this morning. O Lord,
do visit us through thy word. Be not silent to us. Be like
there was to Samuel, that is, reveal thyself to him through
thy word. And Lord, that is thy chosen
method and way. Lord, do use it this morning
as we gather around thy word and thy word is preached. Lord,
make it the power of God. unto salvation for each soul. We do seek to give thee the praise
and the honour and glory due unto thy name. We read that in
thy temple everyone does speak of thy glory and help us to be
of those who show forth the praises of him who hath called us out
of nature's darkness and into thy marvellous light. Leave us
not to be like the world that only seeks to cast thee down
from thine excellency. Lord, do save us from every false
way. Lord, we are mindful of so many
different thoughts, so many heresies that are in the world. Lord,
do grant us the root of the matter within, Grant us, Lord, the true
knowledge of ourselves by nature, the conviction of our sin, our
need of a saviour, and the saviour revealed in the face of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Bring us, Lord, from condemnation
to no condemnation. Do bring us to know that sacred
and blessed change have been given life, to be given a reprieve,
to be given a hope, to be given that which is beyond this poor
dying world. The Apostle said that we are
all men, most miserable if in this life only we have hope in
Christ. And Lord, we would seek then
that hope of eternal life. Lord, we do confess before Thee
how forlorn we are, how alienated from Thee we are by nature. What hearts of unbelief and doubts,
Lord, we have. And Lord, we cannot keep alive
our own soul. We beg of Thee through Thy Word
today to enliven us, to strengthen us, to encourage us in the Lord
our God. And O Lord we do confess how
easy we are turned aside from Thee to something that is base
and empty and vain. to spend our thoughts, our time,
our energies on those things that pass away. O Lord, do fill
us with Thy Word. Cause us to serve Thee fully,
to follow Thee fully, and that our hearts might not be divided. Lord, save us from trying to
serve God and mammon. Cause us, Lord, to walk in the
Spirit and not fulfil the lusts of the flesh, to be spiritually
minded, which is life and peace, not kindly minded, which is death. And yet, Lord, we feel that death
within us. But, Lord, Thou hast the remedy
without, and Thou art the remedy. O Lord, we come to Thee for life. Do grant us the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that grant us repentance, godly sorrow for
sin, grant us the hatred of evil, a love of holiness. Do bless
us with prayer, abiding spiritual prayer, that we might be men,
women, children of prayer. Lord, do thou help each one that
feels a need in this, feels how often they do not know what to
pray, or when they go to pray their mind is so easy carried
away, to think of other things. Lord, thou knowest the trials
that thy people have, and we do especially pray and make intercession
for those who feel such opposition. Whenever they come to spiritual
things, to worship, to time with thee in thy house, in the word
of God or at prayer, they can spend many times in other worldly
things without anything trying to tug them away. But as soon
as they come, nay, the things of God, then the mind is drawn
aside. On spiritual things, the Hemrider
said, we cannot dwell, the heart is turned aside. And Lord, we
prove it so, and it is too much for us. And so we come to Thee,
that Thou has be pleased to keep us, and that Thou has be pleased
to draw us, Draw us unto Thee, may we feel that power, that
drawing. Do also take away the love of
sinning, the attraction of it, the love of it, and do grant
us holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. O Lord,
do bless us with what is needed to escape the wrath to come and
to be found at Thy right hand at last, where Thou hast begun,
do carry on. forsake not the works of thine
own hands. Where thou hast not begun, do
begin, do begin a work of grace. Lord, where there are those sitting
under the sound of the truth now, and yet know not thy word
for themselves, know not the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, be pleased
to work, pass by them, bid them live, quicken into life, give
them the new birth. Lord, we do pray for this. And
those who have heard thy word when they were children, when
they were young, now they've gone away. Lord, they've gone
into the world. They've forsaken the means of
grace. They're not listening to thy
word. They will not be around thy word today. But Lord, thy
word is not bound. Lord has said to train up a child
in the way that he should go. And when he is old, He will not
depart from it. Hear then prayer put out by parents,
grandparents, that those who have forsaken the way might be
brought back, that thou hast bring thy word to them, quicken
them into life. We thank thee that we know many,
that thou hast worked in this way, that for many years they've
gone their own way. Many years they have turned a
deaf ear, but thou hast turned them back, and we thank thee
for those that are witnesses to us in our day and our generation
that thou hast been able to do this and hast been pleased to
do it. And Lord, we pray for those in
this town who no doubt have been prayed for by parents and grandparents
who've attended this chapel and Providence and others in this
town. Lord, to hear prayer for that
generation that knows thee not now, but bring them, Lord, to
seek thee and to know thee. Lord, our mind goes to many that
are in this situation and in this way, those who have admired,
those who have loved their parents and grandparents and yet have
not seen that they were what they were by the grace of God,
that wanted their relationship and valued what they had with
their parents but did not want their God. O Lord, do grant there
might be a turning and that there might be thy blessing to be yet
seen and known. We do confess before thee our
many sins, many iniquities and unworthiness to receive anything
from thy hand. And O Lord, we do pray to be
delivered from everything that grieves thy spirit and that holds
us back from spiritual blessings and keeps us from being useful
in thy vineyard. O Lord, do we make us profitable
servants and deliver us from all that is not of thee. We do
pray that thou remember this, our guilty land, the land that
thou once favoured with many blessings, answers to prayer,
deliverances in war, and a land that still has the freedom of
worship and many blessings that are inseparable from a Christian
heritage. We do seek, Lord, that thou deliver
us and grant us a true spiritual revival, not just a revival of
nationalism, not just a revival in other ways, but may there
be true faith, may the churches that are empty be filled, may
there be that hunger for thy word. and a desire to do that
which is right in thy sign. Do restrain those that are over
us from making wicked laws. We pray especially that thou
hast overturned the assisted dying bill going through Parliament
at this time. Lord, let it not come into law. O Lord, hear our prayers in this
and overturn this desire to bring about such a burden upon our
old people gain such a reproach upon our nation. Remember us
also in other laws, and do cause that our lawmakers might be directed
by thee, that they might have their ears open to good advice
and shut to bad, and that we might see answers to prayer in
these regards. O Lord, we do. Seek to thank
Thee for every blessing, Lord. We thank Thee for the rain. We
thank Thee for the seasons in their time, for many mercies
and blessings, temporal ones, spiritual ones as well. We do
pray for many that we know at this time that are in affliction. Lord, do grant Thy kind healing
hand. Help them and be with them. through
paths of affliction. Those that are recovering from
operations, bring them safely through and restore them again. Thy servants laid aside recovering,
do restore them again as well. O Lord, we do commit unto thee
all that are laid on a bed of affliction. Lord, as we commence
another week, we thank thee for the first day of the week. We
thank thee for that day. and that is rise from the dead
and appear to thy dear disciples. And we thank thee, Lord, for
that change, that instead of working first and then at rest,
we have a rest and then to work out our salvation. We commit
the week unto thee, the services, the ministries in it, We commit
unto Thee the Creation Ministries international meeting on next
Saturday. We seek, Lord, that many might
be constrained to come and that it might be a successful meeting,
a meeting that is blessed to the strengthening of many, to
be with the speakers in their long journey to us and back. Give them journey mercies, health
and strength, and each one of us health and strength. for that
meeting. We are mindful that we plan,
but we plan if it is thy will, and we do seek then to commit
it unto thee, that if there be any good done, it might be through
thy spirit, thy blessing, and thy work, that thou hast direct
those whom thou hast strengthened and brought to faith to come
and hear thy word. We thank thee that thy creation
Chosen to us and testifies to us that there is a God and He
made us. And we bless Thee where our eyes
are open to seeing and those times that we are filled with
wonder and amazement at what we see. O Lord, leave us not
to take for granted those things that are miracles before our
eyes, day by day and hour by hour. O Lord, bless us now, and
do bless our souls, and make thyself a living reality to us. And O Lord, do bless us, that
we might bring forth fruit to thine honour and glory. Comfort all that are in bereavement,
support them and help them. We ask thee these things through
thy name, Lord Jesus. Amen. The announcements, God willing,
I'm expected to preach here this evening at 6.30pm, on Thursday
evening at 7 o'clock, and next Lord's Day at 11am and 6.30pm. We host the Creation Ministries
International meeting next Saturday, the 15th, at 4 and 6pm. It is in the vestry hall in Cranbrook,
not in the chapel here. There's a public meeting in the
hall that is most suitable for such a meeting. The collections
taken during January, for which we give thanks to God and thank
you for your kindness, were 787 pounds 11 pence, and the Bibles
that were distributed during January, the
Bible boxes, 11 over the two boxes, and the web offer, 73
Bibles sent out, a total of 84 Bibles distributed. May the Lord
be pleased to bless each copy of his holy word. I just mention
regarding stewardship, Much has gone on in the week to resolve
the issue, and what it was was with the routers, Plusnet, BT,
that were blocking their sign in. We've got information on our
site regarding that, and stewardship now have also got directions
how to overcome that. We were not aware that such providers,
broadband providers, actually had software that was, in effect,
parental software, and that stopped with probably an update somewhere,
access to stewardship. Hymn, 957. Tune, Mayford 367.
(Note Tune correction) Let us turn with the Lord's help
to the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 11. We read for our text
from verse 3 through to verse 6. Verse 3, And said unto him, Art
thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto
them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear
and see. The blind received their sight,
and the lame walked, The lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear. The dead are raised up, and the
poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he whomsoever
shall not be offended in me. Matthew 11, chapter 11, and verses
3 through to 6. tell John again. And really, what they were to
tell him were the signs of Jesus being the Christ. In one way, this is an amazing
account that we should ever read of John Baptist asking such a
question as this, and it should be a real help to all of the
Lord's people that are brought to ask the same questions, have
the same doubts, have the same fears, that this case, that one
so eminent, so blessed, should ask this. of the Lord. Before we come to some points,
I want to look at what our Lord said and testified concerning
John. After John had sent to him in
the words of our text, and the Lord then sent the messengers
back, We read in verse 7, Jesus began to sow into the multitudes
concerning John. Now, this is a wonderful thing. Here is the Lord, who has just
been asked this of John, which could have had the effect of
many thinking much less of John. But the Lord takes the occasion
to really show who John was, and to lift him up, not in a
wrong way, but so they had no doubt. Remember, here is John
asking concerning Christ, art thou he that should come and
look we for another? The Lord's answer gives back
to John, who Christ is, and now Christ is saying to the multitude
who John is. They've heard the message that
Christ sends back to John, but now he has a message to those
that are listening to him concerning John, which again is reinforcing
to those round about who our Lord is, because John was the
one that was Elias, the one that was to go before Christ. He says clearly in verse 14,
if he will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. And He asked them these questions
as to what were they expecting to see concerning John. Was he a reed shaken with the
wind? What did you go out to see? A
man clothed in soft raiment. Behold, they that wear soft clothing
own king's houses. So he's prompting them to think
what their thoughts, their expectation was of John. The Lord uses this
method even concerning himself with asking his disciples at
one time, who do men say that I the Son of Man am? And he gets
various answers from the disciples. Then he turns and says, but whom
do ye say that I am? And so here, He prompts them,
what were you expecting? And after they have answered
in their thoughts or considered it in this way, he says, a prophet,
yea, I say unto you, more than a prophet. This is he for whom
it is written, behold, I send my messenger before thy face. So there he is clearly saying,
I am the Christ. He is the messenger. He was sent
before me. What he is saying concerning
John is not only reinforcing concerning John, but also himself. Now he makes his statement that
there is none greater than John. He was the last of the prophets.
He is the one that actually saw the Lord Jesus Christ, that pointed
to him, behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the
world, that baptized the Lord, who was the forerunner to him. All the prophets and the Lord
prophesied until John. But then he says that The least
in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Two ways they are greater. What is meant by those in the
kingdom of heaven? They are they that are to be
in the gospel day that see Christ, see him crucified, risen again,
and the gospel preached. John never lived to see our Lord,
fulfil his work, accomplish and fulfil the scriptures at Calvary. He lived to see Christ, but he
did not and was not in the same position as what we are and those
that clearly saw the full plan of salvation and the Lamb of
God slain and risen again. So there's a great blessing and
we should really realise that in these Gospel days. The Apostle
Paul says, I determined to know nothing among you save Christ
and him crucified. John couldn't preach like that.
The disciples couldn't preach like that until Christ was crucified
and risen again. Yes, our Lord is set forth in
the types and shadows right from the beginning of the world, the
lamb slain from the foundation of the world. But our Lord makes
a distinction of those that were in the days of the prophets or
days of John, and those are in the days of the clear gospel. Another aspect of it is this,
that our Lord was speaking of John in his office, his office
as prophet, his office as Elias, the one going before Christ. But there is a distinction between
office and of being a child of God. Remember when our Lord sent
forth his disciples, the seventy, two and two, and they came back
and they said that even the devils are subject unto us. They were
preachers, they preached, and they were miracles. And they
testified of the effect of those miracles and the devil's subject
to them. But our Lord had this to say
to them. He said, rejoice not that the
devil's a subject unto you, but rather rejoice that your names
are written in heaven. And so really what our Lord is
saying, that greater than any office, whether being a preacher,
a prophet or whatever, The greatest thing is that we are a child
of God. We are born again. We are one
of God's people. And that is to be in distinction
from an office. Most solemnly, there's been many
preachers that have been preachers, but they've never been a child
of God. They've never been partakers
of the secret themselves. So our Lord speaks of John and
testifies truly as who he was and his position as going before
him. But dear John then had this question. He sends to our Lord with this
asking. He sends his own disciples to
ask of the Lord. he had heard in the prison the
works of Christ. And that prompted his question. So I want to look with the Lord's
help, firstly, at John Baptist's question, aren't thou he that
should come? And then secondly, Jesus' kindness
to those with doubts. And thirdly, the signs of Jesus
being the Christ, which were the signs that he sent back to
John Baptist. But firstly, John Baptist's question,
art thou he that should come? Now notice John is not asking
questions like, am I a child of God? Am I saved? Are my sins put away? Have I
a hope in heaven? His question is regarding the
Son of God, regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. One of our hymns
says, what think ye of Christ is the test. And it is a vital
thing that all who have hope of heaven, all who are brought
to trust in Christ, view him in a right way. And this is so
highlighted here. You know, we are told very clearly
that It is only those of God's people
that actually see Christ and know Him as truly He is. The natural man receiveth not
the things of God. Our Lord is to them as a root
out of dry ground, no form nor comeliness that they should desire
Him. When our Lord rose from the dead,
He only appeared to those of His disciples. Our Lord says
in this chapter, later on in the chapter, that He rejoicing
and saying, I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, is
verse 25, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Hidden from some,
revealed to others, then we have In verse 27, all things are delivered
unto me of my Father. No man knoweth the Son, but the
Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father,
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. Our Lord says in John 6 that
no man can come unto me except the Father, which sent me draw
him, and I'll raise him up at the last day. Wherever the Lord Jesus Christ
is revealed to a sinner, wherever he is made precious to a person,
wherever he is shown to be the Christ, the promised one, or
in the words of John Baptist, he that should come, the promised
seed to the woman, the Savior of the world, where that is revealed,
where that is seen, that is a testimony that that soul is a saved soul. They have been given faith, faith
in Christ, faith to see Christ, to know Him, and then to trust
in Him. And we must, John's question,
it really highlights what is vital for us, what John saw is
vital, the one in whom he trusted, the Lamb of God that should take
away the sin of the world was truly who he said he was and
what John had said that he was. Now this is seen with all of
the attacks in the world upon the person of our Lord Jesus
Christ. You think of Satan. Our Lord
was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
of Satan. And he was tempted 40 days and
40 nights. And we read just the end of that,
where Satan comes with his ifs. If thou art the Son of God. Three times. asking him to do
things to prove that he was the Son of God. Our Lord was not
the servant of Satan. He did not just do Satan's bidding,
but sent him back to the Word of God every time. But then we
think of the things that have assailed even our own churches. Back in the 1800s, when our denomination
was formed as a split off from the St. Baptist, it was over
the Eternal Sonship issue. There were those that were gathering
round two magazines, one the Gospel Standard and the other
Earthen Vessel. The Earthen Vessel took the view
that our Lord took his sonship from his being born into this
world. Philpott contended scripturally
for the eternal sonship of our Lord Jesus Christ. Eternally
with the Father, I and the Father are one, our Lord said. He was
Emmanuel, God with us. He is the eternal God. and this
was so vital, Philpott contended for it very strongly, that is
the main distinctive that separates the gospel standard, and yet
today, it is not the distinctive because I do not know of any
Reformed church that does not hold to the eternal sonship of
our Lord. And yet that, in that day, was
assailed. But we have it still assailed
by the likes of Mr Brunker from Clapham, who holds that the soul
in man is not a soul like we have, but the eternal person,
the divine person, is in our Lord's body, in the place of
the soul. And that is a heresy from many
years ago, And it has troubled and plagued our churches and
separated between churches and families. And again, it is attacking,
it is going at the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, what we
believe concerning him. We have the same with Jehovah's
Witnesses and the Christian Delphians, not the same as Mr. Branca's
error, but the error saying that Our Lord was just created. He
is not equal with God. Both Jehovah's Witnesses and
Christadelphians hate the teaching of the Trinity. They ridicule
them as being unscriptural, but the Word of God is full of the
Trinity. We have it at the baptism of
our Lord Jesus Christ. We have Him as the Son being
baptized. We have the Father from heaven,
the voice from heaven, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well
pleased. And the dove alighting upon him,
the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. We have in the creation,
let us make man in our own image. And the whole covenant is a covenant
not made with man, man is the beneficiary of it, but is a covenant
between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It is an eternal covenant. And so we have these attacks
and it's no wonder then that John in his epistles, because
remember in his gospel, John is very clear all the time, I
think there's some 85 times, through the gospel according
to John, it is that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
that in believing ye might have life through his name. The whole
testimony of the gospel according to John is that Jesus of Nazareth
is the Christ, is the Son of God. This was the testimony of
the eunuch with Philip, If thou believest with all thine heart
thou mayest be baptised, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God." That is what is vital. That is why John's question is
on that point. When you look at the second epistle
of John, then John is very clear concerning the doctrine of Christ. So it's not just saying we believe
in Jesus, we believe in Christ, but what do you believe? What
do we believe in Him? Many that allow Him, like the
Muslims, like Islam, allow Him to be in existence and even to
be a prophet, but not the Son of God. How they can reconcile
that our Lord claimed that He was the Son of God, and testified
that he was, we can't tell. But again, it is an attack to
pull him down from his excellency. So in John's second epistle,
we read, whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ, the teaching of Christ, concerning Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any
unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into
your house, neither bid him Godspeed. For he that biddeth him Godspeed
is partaker of his evil deeds." Very, very strong language for
those that depart from the doctrine of Christ. If our Lord was not
who he said he was, if he was not the one that was to come,
then we have no hope, we have no right to trust in him. Or,
like John says, if he is not, do we then look for another?
We need the saviour, we need the promised saviour, we need
the one that was foretold through the scriptures. And so John's
question is, aren't there he that should come, or do we look
for another? May we be clear on our views
of the Lord Jesus Christ, clear also of what it is that God reveals
to his people to show they are his people, and it is concerning
Christ. Remember the two on the way to
Emmaus, We trusted that it should have been He that should have
redeemed Israel. They needed the Lord to show
them that it was He and that what He had done was redeeming,
redeeming His people. They had seen it, but they hadn't
understood it. But their question, their need
was the same as John Baptist. Was Jesus of Nazareth who he
said he was? Could they trust in him, or did
they look for another? And they had their answer, and
John here has his answer. And may we also be clear, and
the Lord deliver us from our doubts concerning our Lord, and
magnify the Lord in our hearts. And may we be clear as well that
this is where Satan will attack. This is where the enemies of
the truth will attack, always. We don't need to know about every
other religion. You bring each one to the test
of what they think, what they teach concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ, and we do not need to go any further from that. There's no point in discussing
any other doctrine or point until we've established concerning
Christ as to what they believe is in accord with the scriptures,
and that we very clearly see he is sent by the Father, he
is the Messiah, he is truly God and truly man, two natures in
one divine person, and he is the only name given among men. whereby we must be saved. Well,
this then is John's question. Aren't thou he that should come,
or look we for another? I want to look secondly at Jesus's
kindness to those that have doubts. There's a great difference between
someone that is seeking to pull down the Lord to undermine the
teaching of the Lord and his servants, and one who wants to
believe, one who knows the need of their soul, that knows the
reality of eternity, that they may feel very much that they
wish they could feel more the things that they do believe,
that we could believe more how valuable our soul was, how long
eternity was, how much we need to be saved. Very often we feel
to but little know what we do know. Our convictions we don't
feel really deep enough, our beliefs are not great enough,
we would say with one of old, Lord I believe, help thou mine
unbelief, that our Lord is very kind to those who genuinely feel
their unbelief, those that really want to believe, those that need
to be strengthened and they feel their need to be strengthened.
So be encouraged this morning. If you if I am in this position,
that we come to the Lord and we're not making out we are what
we are not, we are being honest with our doubts, our uncertainty,
the things that are troubling us, troubling us in our mind.
May John's example encourage us to tell the Lord, to tell
him about these things and to ask him these things and to know
how kind the Lord was to John. He didn't run him down to the
people. He didn't say, look at this man. He baptized me. He pointed to
me as the Lamb of God. And now he can't even believe.
Now he can't even remember what he's done. He doesn't speak in
any derogatory way to him. whatsoever. In fact, the opposite
lifts him up. You think of Thomas. He wasn't
with the disciples on that first day of the week when the Lord
first appeared to them. And they said, we have seen the
Lord. And he said, except I see the print of the nails and put
my finger into the print of the nails and thrust my hand into
his side, I will not believe. And after a week, then Our Lord
appeared to him, said to Thomas, Thrust in thy hand, put thy finger
in the print of the nails. Be not faithless, but believing. But Thomas, he didn't need to
do that. He said, My Lord and my God. The Lord gently reproved him. He said, Thomas, because thou
hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed is he who has not seen
and yet hath believed. The Lord was kind to him. Even the disciples, when he first
appeared to them, he upbraided them for their unbelief, because
they didn't believe those that had seen him when he rose from
the dead, as Mary and others. He upbraided them, yes, but didn't
banish them. And we may be reproved, but the
Lord was kind. The same with Mary and Martha,
the things that they were saying, Lord, if thou hadst been here,
my brother had not died. They both said that. But the
Lord was very kind to them in their unbelief, in their thinking. Well, if the Lord was physically
there present, He could have prevented it, but at a distance
he couldn't have. And the Lord went with them.
The Lord fell for their distress. And like the man whose son was
so afflicted, if thou believest, all things are possible to him
that believeth. You know, what a piercing word
when we have so much at stake. He had his son to be healed. We have our souls, we have everything
hanging upon a believer. He that believeth and is baptised
shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. How much is hanging upon being
a believer? But when we are plagued with
unbelief, what then? That dear man says, Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. A word
that has been so helpful to many of the Lord's dear people. The
hymn writer says, dream not of faith so clear as shuts all doubtings
out. Those are precious times that
we have joy and peace in believing, but there are times that we get
low and times that there seems to be a cloud over all the Lord
has said and done for us. Times that we be in the dark
dungeon, shut up, light on. We're hearing of what the Lord
is doing, but we have these questions. Is it really the Lord? Is my trust really in the right
place? Well, may we know that for those
who have a real concern, genuine need, who really want to believe,
The Lord helps their unbelief, helps them to overcome it. He
gives faith. He encourages them and strengthens
them. And he knows the difference between
those that are just lying at a catch, trying to trip him up,
trying to pull him down, and those that really want to believe
and trust. and love the Lord and don't want
to speak against him, they don't want to disparage him, but they
do want to feel that belief and feel that trust and to see clearly
that the Lord Jesus Christ is he upon whom they may base their
hopes for heaven upon. Want to look then lastly at the
signs of Jesus being the Christ. Now John had heard in the prison
the works of Christ. In another place, in Luke, we
read that he'd actually heard of those miracles that the Lord
was doing. And we might say, well, how could
this have been a help to John if he'd heard these things, and
then what the Lord sends back is exactly the same things again? Well, the difference was that
the Lord in that hour, he performed those miracles as recorded in
Luke, and he sent those of John's disciples back. John's disciples,
he could trust in them. He'd asked, and they were then
bringing back by the Lord's commission, by the Lord's command, what to
say. That makes all the difference.
The Lord speaks through the ministry. And it's a blessed thing if,
as hearers, we hear the word of God, not as the word of man,
But as it is in truth, the Word of God, and we receive it as
from the Lord. This is what John would have
done, not as receiving it just as a rumour, not as receiving
it even from his own disciples, but as a message sent via his
disciples to him from the Lord. My word, says the Lord, shall
not return unto me void. It shall accomplish the thing
whereto I sent it. Our Lord is sending a word to
John. And those things that he sent
are exactly suited to convince John who he was. Now we know
in a literal sense what we read in verse five was true. Literally, the blind were receiving
their sight. Those that were lame, they were
walking. The lepers were cleansed. The
deaf were hearing. The dead were being raised up.
And the poor were having the gospel preached to them. Those things were being done. But there is a spiritual parallel. When the Lord opened the eyes
of the man that had been born blind, you read it in John chapter
9, Then at the end of that portion, the Lord was accosted by the
scribes and the Pharisees, and the Lord said to them, For judgment
I am coming to this world, that they which see not might see,
and that they which see might be made blind. Some of the Pharisees
which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are
we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were
blind, ye should have no sin. But now ye say, We see. Therefore your sin remaineth. There is a spiritual blindness,
there's spiritual deafness, spiritual lameness. These things have a
parallel. So I want to look, there are
seven signs here that the Lord gave them and it goes right back
to that which was prophesied and John would have known of
the prophecies concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah
chapter 42 and verse 7 we read that the mission of our Lord
or what he should do to and even to the Gentiles to open the blind
eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and then that
sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord, that is
my name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise
to graven images." So that sign that there the blind were receiving
their sight, a seal set upon our Lord as fulfilling that in
Isaiah 42. Then we have those that were
lame were walking and we still stay in Isaiah and Isaiah chapter
40 and verse 31. We have that they that wait upon
the Lord shall renew their strength They shall mount up with wings
as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall
walk and not faint. Again, a spiritual parallel and
that which the Lord will do when he should come. And that also
has a parallel in Hosea and Zechariah as well. Then we have those that
were lepers that were cleansed. Now, of course, leprosy is something
that was counted as an uncleanness. The lepers had to cry out, unclean,
unclean. They weren't allowed to go into
the temple. And we read in Ezekiel 36 of
what the Lord will do. And verse 29, for his people,
as many things there that the Lord has said that he would do
for his people. But in verse 29 he says, I will
also save you from all your uncleannesses and I will call for corn and
will increase it and lay no famine upon you. The Lord is the one
that heals and heals as a wise physician all that are in affliction. And so again, it was fulfilling
that which had been foretold. If we go back to Isaiah, and
we go back to Isaiah 50, then we have about the death hearing. And in verse five, we read that
the Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious,
neither turned away back. Now, in a way, it's a prophecy
of the Lord himself. I gave my back to the smiters
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face
from shame and reproach. But all of the people have gone.
And our Lord taught with the parables. He finished every one
of them. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. And we have the letters of the
revelation, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And so that again is one of the
marks of the Lord and of his blessing, of his work, that is
able to give the hearing ear and cause the deaf to hear. Then the Lord speaks of the miracles
of raising up the dead. And again, going back to Isaiah,
in Isaiah 26, you have in verse 19, Thy dead men shall live. Together with my dead bodies
shall they arise. Awake and sing ye that dwell
in dust. For thy dew is as the dew of
herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. The work of our
Lord is to grant spiritual life to those who are spiritually
dead. And the work that our Lord did in raising the dead proved
that he had power over death, that he could raise one that
was truly dead and bring them to spiritual life. We think of
our Lord's entrance into the ministry and how that he chose
to open the book and read from the prophet Isaiah. And we read
of that in Luke chapter 4, but the passage in Isaiah that he
read from is in Isaiah 61 from verse 1. The Spirit of the Lord
God is upon me, Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good
tidings unto the meek, he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison
to them that abound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord
and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn,
to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be
glorified. And this then was what our Lord
chose as he entered upon his ministry. That first verse especially,
The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek. And so when the Lord sends back
to John Baptist and he says that the poor have the gospel preached
unto them, this is going right back to how he began his ministry
and what was prophesied in Isaiah 61. And then there is one last
token really of our Lord being the Christ and we also his people. That which our Lord says in verse
six, and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. Going back to the prophet Isaiah,
and if we were to Go to Isaiah 49. Then we have this in verse
23. And kings shall be thy nursing
fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers. They shall bow
down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up
the dust of thy feet. And thou shalt know that I am
the Lord. for they shall not be ashamed
that wait for May. And the Lord pronouncing our
blessing on those that are not offended in May. The Apostle
Paul writing to the Romans in Romans 10, he says that with
the heart man believeth and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation, for whosoever believeth shall not be ashamed. And this then is the word that
our Lord chose to send back to John, to encourage him in his
darkest moment in prison, and no doubt not long before, his
life was suddenly taken away. What a strange path, in a way,
John. He was raised up in that way,
spent the early part of his life in the wilderness, suddenly comes
upon the scene, points out our Lord, his ministry very soon
done, and then put in prison, and then his head chopped off
at the whim of a wicked woman. And yet this is here, what the
Lord said. that among them that are born
of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.
Sometimes we get an expectation that if we are to be blessed
or made a blessing and greatly used, then all of these things
shall happen. But when we look at John Baptist's
life and raised up for this one word, one purpose, and he fulfilled
it, and then brought safely home, and the Lord's kindness to him.
May we remember that word, seekest thou great things for thyself,
seek them not. But may we be what the Lord would
have us to be, do what the Lord would have us to do, and may
we be firm in our belief and trust in our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ and know of a certainty that truly it was he that should
come. We do not need to look for another. May the Lord bless us with such
faith and make the Lord Jesus precious to us in believing. Hymn, 524. Tune, Seacombe 838. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.