My text this morning will start
out in Hebrews chapter 1, if you want to turn there with me. As I was preparing this message,
I was reminded of a little story I'm sure most of you've heard.
Two men, two women, a woman, a man, however you want to tell
it, it doesn't change the beauty of the story. But upon hearing
someone clearly proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,
one looked at the other and said, what a sermon. And the other
fellow with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face said,
what a savior. Now what made the difference?
I guess the question should be who made the difference? God
made the difference. God made the difference. The
desire of every gospel preacher, I believe I can speak for Darwin
and Gabe and your pastor Mike, is that when sinners hear them
preach, they wouldn't just hear a sermon. But they'd hear the
message of Christ. The message of Christ and Him
crucified. To hear just me or Gabe this
morning won't profit you anything. But to hear of Him, sure will. And it takes a supernatural revelation
from God. The writer of Hebrews seems to
understand that blessed truth very well. This letter to the
Hebrews begins with the most important thing that you, me,
or any sinner could ever hear. The thing that
we need most in this life. We've got to hear God speak. If we never affectually hear
from God, we'll die in our sin. Verse 1 says, God, who at sundry
times and in divers manners spake, God spoke. He spoke in times
past unto the fathers by the prophets. And the writer of Hebrews
begins this epistle with an account of the declaration and revelation
that God had made in former times. And the author of this divine
revelation is God himself. God, who at sundry times, and
in diverse ways, spake. And that's what divine revelation
is. It's just simply means that God,
the divine one, reveals his message to sinners. He reveals this message
to sinners. That's what divine revelation
is. It's God speaking. It's God teaching. Says those
that know God are taught of God. God's the teacher. God the Holy
Spirit. It's God revealing to us the
divine truths concerning himself and us. And we're told that in
times past, speaking of the times from Adam until the times of
our Lord Jesus Christ, God spoke in various times and in different,
that's what divers means, different manners to all our forefathers. So how did God speak? by the
prophets. God raised up prophets. God raised
up men to speak his word. God's prophets were his messengers. And they brought a message to
fallen sinners, and it was a word from God. Sometimes it was a
specific and a personal direction, just like God told Moses and
Aaron in the book of Exodus, chapter five, verse one, he said,
tell Pharaoh, thus saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,
let my people go. God would have Pharaoh to know
that this message wasn't from Moses. This message wasn't from
Aaron, but it was a message from him. A message from God. And that's what we got to have.
We got to have a message from God. Not a message from men,
not a message from preachers, surely not a message from harlings
who care nothing about God's sheep or have any real concern
for them. We need a message from God. It has to come from Him. Now in the very next verse of
Exodus chapter 5, the first thing out of Pharaoh's mouth was, who
is the Lord? Who is the Lord that I should
obey his voice to let Israel go? This message from the Lord
was the most foolish thing that Pharaoh ever heard. And he, he
betrays that with his own world. Who is the Lord? Can I can just
hear him get you? Who is the Lord that I should
obey him? You're going to find out, going
to find out. Wouldn't be long before he found
out who the Lord was. And every single man, woman,
boy and girl who doesn't know God is going to find out real
soon who he is. Pharaoh said, I know not the
Lord and I'm not going to let Israel go. Now, hear me when
I say, you can claim not to know God, you can claim not to believe
God, and you can determine in your heart not to obey God. But you're going to do what God
says you're going to do. Did Pharaoh let God's people
go? He sure did. He didn't at first, but he did
eventually and it was all for the glory of God. The message
to Pharaoh was a message from God. That's what I'm trying to
get across. And you can't ignore him without
consequence. And times passed. Sometimes God
gave his prophets dreams. Sometimes he gave them vision.
Sometimes he just simply divinely influenced the minds of his prophets. But when they came with this
message, they came saying, thus saith the Lord, because it was
his message. Sometimes God spoke to a whole
nation, just like he did Elijah through Elijah that day on Mount
Carmel. He said, how long will you halt
between two opinions? If the Lord be God, worship him.
If Baal be God, worship him. Sometimes he speaks to whole
nations. And other times, God sends his
prophet to one man like he did David. Nathan came to David to
reveal his great sin. But when God's prophets come,
when they came, whether it was to many or whether it was just
to one, they always came saying, thus saith the Lord. Why? Because
they were speaking for God. And that's what I want to do.
I don't want you to hear from me this morning. Gabe doesn't
want you to hear from him. We want you to hear from God. This message is not for me. This
is what God says. Will you hear what God says?
God's going to deliver this message through a man. He always has. It pleases God by the foolishness
of preaching to save those that believe. God in times past spoke
through the prophets. Now look at verse 2. The writer
of Hebrews is still talking about God speaking. But he tells us
that God now only speaks to us one way. You remember what we
talked about Friday night? One way. The singleness, the
oneness of the things of God. How does God speak to us now? We need to know how if we're
ever going to truly hear from Him. hath in these last days
spoken unto us by his Son." God speaks to us now by his Son. If you and I are going to hear
from God, it's going to be by, in, and through his Son. Read on. God hath in these last
days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, and by whom also he hath made the worlds." You
know what the writer's telling us here? This Son is somebody. He's somebody. He's somebody. So much so that God appointed
him to be heir over all things. So much so that God, through
Jesus Christ, made the worlds. He's somebody. Paul wrote in Colossians 1, he
said, for by him were all things created. He created everything
that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible or invisible.
Whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by him and for him. And when we read
and when we study the scriptures, may we always remember what we're
reading is thus sayeth the Lord. This is his word. This is his
book. Did you know that the phrase,
I found this interesting, thus saith the Lord, is used 413 times
in the scripture and all 413 times it's used in the Old Testament. Not one time in the New Testament
does it say, thus saith the Lord. You know why? Because God in
these last days has spoken to us through his son. He's spoken
to us through his son. The beloved John has said, this
then is the message. There's only one. It's the message.
We've heard of him. Speaking of the gospel of God,
which Paul was called, he wrote in Romans chapter one, verse
30, 23, the gospel, which God has promised to for by his prophets
in the holy scriptures concerning his son, Jesus Christ. This book's about Him. From Genesis
to Revelation. It's a book about the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's become a little cliche now.
The first time I heard it, I thought, I like that. But this is a hymn
book. This is a hymn book, H-Y-M-N. This is a hymn book, H-I-M. It's
a hymn book. It's about Him. Revelation, everybody
says, oh, what about Revelation? It's a revelation of Jesus Christ. That's what it says right there
in your Bible. God in these last days in which we live, God in
these last days speaks to us by his son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom he also made the world, verse three,
who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of
his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power."
Now do you hear what the apostle is telling us here? The brightness
of his glory. The express image of his person.
Upholding all things by the word of his power. He's telling us
that Jesus Christ is God. He's God. Jesus Christ is the
brightness of God's glory. He's the express image of God's
person Philip said one day and it's recorded in John 14. He
said show us the father Show us the father and it shall suffice
us will be content if you show us the father and the Lord Jesus
said Philip I've been with you such a long time that thou has
not known me and You see, didn't Philip know the Lord Jesus Christ?
Not as God, he didn't. Not at that point in time. I
remember one time Cody Groover in Mexico told me that a young
girl came to him and asked him to baptize her. And being a little
concerned about her age, he said, honey, why do you want to be
baptized? And she said, because I've seen
that Jesus Christ is God. I say, get her in the water.
She's seen what a lot of people haven't seen. She's seen what
the Pope hasn't seen. Jesus Christ is God. The Lord Jesus said, if you've
seen me, you've seen the Father. I and my Father are one. In other
words, he's God. Read on, verse three, Jesus Christ
being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his
person upholding all things by the word of his power, when he
had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of
the majesty on high. That's the message. That's the
message right there. That's God's message to you,
that's God's message to me, that's God's message to every sinner. If sinners are going to be saved,
it's going to be this way and this way only. Jesus Christ hath
by himself purged his people's sins. And he sat down. He sat down. Because it's finished. The work's done. The sinner's
salvation, the chosen sinner's salvation is accomplished and
that's God's message. That's God's gospel. Jesus Christ,
God in the flesh. You want to see how you want
to know something about how great your sin is? It took God's blood
to cleanse you. God's. This God-man, all God and all
man, not 50-50, all God and all man, the one mediator between
God and man, the man Christ Jesus put away the sins of his people. And when God puts away your sin,
they're put away and they're put away forever. Turn over to
Matthew chapter one with me, Matthew chapter one, very you
know the scripture but let's look at it verse 21 Matthew 121 the angel of the Lord appears
unto Joseph and speaking of Mary he says and she shall bring forth
a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save
his people from their sin. Notice carefully verse 22. Now
all of this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was
spoken of the Lord by the prophet. How does God, how did God speak
in former times by his prophet? Saying behold a virgin shall
be with child and she shall bring forth a son and they shall call
his name Emmanuel Which being interpreted is what God with
us? God with us and that was God's
message by the prophets in the Old Testament, and that's God's
message now He shall save his people from Their sin not he
might Not he wants to, not he's trying to. He shall save his
people from their sin. And that was God's exact message
in the old Testament. And that's God's message now. God, the father in these last
days speaks to us by his son. God speaks to us through his
word. Now, you know, John one, one
in the beginning was the word. and the Word was with God and
the Word was God. Jesus Christ is God and God and
Jesus Christ is the Word. Right? Isn't that what John 1
says? The beginning was the Word, the
Word was with God, the Word was God. Jesus Christ is the Word. God speaks to us through this
Word. Now he speaks to us through this
word. God's servants preach his word. It pleases God by the foolishness
of preaching to save those that believe. That's why we preach. That's how God saves sinners.
Now listen, if you're lost, if you're without God, without hope,
without Christ in this world, the only way God saves sinners
is through the preaching of this Word. Men say, well, you know,
I was out in the woods, or I was out in my boat, and God saved
me. No, He didn't. Unless you had
a preacher in the boat preaching to you, He didn't. Because God
saves sinners by the foolishness of preaching. And why does he
call it foolishness? Well, I used to think it was
because he used fools like me to preach it. But the truth of
the matter is, it's what the world considers foolish. The
world considers these things foolish. Paul tells us in the
same chapter, 1 Corinthians, where he tells us that God saves
us by the foolishness of preaching. He said, for the preaching of
the cross is to them that perish, foolishness. That's why it's
called foolishness. But unto them which are saved
is the power of God. It's the power of God. He said,
but God had chosen the foolish things of this world to confound
the wise. Those of this world who think
they're wise, they consider these things that you hold dear foolish. And God had chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty God's
message to the wise of this world is foolishness and to the mighty
of this world is considered weak But to those who are saved is
God's power It's the power of God. And you tell folks who and
what your only hope of salvation is. You tell somebody, and I
have, I'm telling you, I'm, I've heard this with my own ears.
You said my only hope is Jesus Christ and him crucified. And
I had a man tell me one time, he said, that's weak. It may
be to you, but to me, it's the power of God. It's the very thing
that saved this sinner's soul. And I just wonder if we could
sit down now, Mike, with Pharaoh and ask him, you still consider
that message weak and foolish? Paul said, for the scripture,
the word, God, the son, saith unto Pharaoh, thus saith the
Lord, Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee
up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might
be declared throughout all the earth. Do you think it's foolish
and weak now, Pharaoh? Oh, we live in a religious world,
don't we? People claim to get saved all
kinds of ways. Anymore it seems that people
think that they're saved by an experience instead of by the
power of God. And that being through the preaching
of the gospel. Men and women trust an experience. They're looking for an experience.
Certain man couldn't pay his bills. And somebody comes up
to me and says, God told me to give you this money. And he gets
all emotional and he gets saved. Well, he got emotional, but he
didn't get saved. A woman's in a car accident.
The car's totaled and in all practicality, she should have
been killed, but God spared her and she got saved. Well, he may,
she may have, God may have spared her from the accident, but that
doesn't mean that God spared her from the penalty of her sin.
A drug addict over doses and somebody calls nine one one and
they resuscitate him and he comes to and he tells his family that
he saw Jesus experience. He may have seen something, but
it certainly wasn't Jesus. You don't get saved. God save
center. You don't get saved, God saves
you. You see, there's one thing missing in all this experience
stuff, and you know what it is? Thus saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord. Where is
the message from God? God spoke in times past by his
prophets, but hath in these last days Spoken unto us by son you're
in Matthew chapter 1 turn over to Matthew chapter 5 Matthew chapter 5 look at verse
21 The Lord Jesus here is speaking and
He says you have heard that it was said by them of old time,
that's speaking of the prophets, you've heard that it was said
by them of old, thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill
shall be in danger of the judgment. Look at verse 22, but I say unto
you, I say unto you, God speaks to us now through his son. He
said, I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without
a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment. Look down at verse
27. You have heard that it was said
by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery. Verse 28,
but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her hath committed adultery with her already, where? In his heart. in his heart. The Old Testament
was a covenant of works. It was a covenant of outward
doing. But not anymore. The new covenant
is a heart matter. It's an inward work done by God. Look at verse 31. And it hath
been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her
a writing of divorcement. But I say unto you, that whosoever
shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
causeth her to commit adultery. And whosoever shall marry her
that is divorced, commit adultery. Why? Because marriage before
God is a matter of the heart. Look at verse 33, and again,
ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old, thou shalt
not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.
But I say unto you, swear not at all. Neither by heaven, for
it's God's throne. Why? Because it's not about swearing
and promising to keep this oath and this commandment or that one for that matter.
Do this, don't do that. It's not about that anymore.
This is a covenant of grace and it's a matter of the heart. That's
what I want you to see. It's a matter of the heart. Verse
38, and you've heard that it hath been said, an eye for an
eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you that you resist
not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other also. Why? Because under the Old Testament
law, God was teaching us something about His holy justice. An eye
for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. What you sow is what you reap.
But in the New Testament, this Testament of grace, it's all
about mercy. It's all about forgiveness. Do
you see that? It's all about a work of grace
that God does in sinners' hearts. Verse 43, you've heard that it
hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you and persecute you. Why? Because God looks upon
the heart. It's all about love to the unlovable. It's all about blessing to those
who don't deserve blessings. I don't deserve God's love. And
neither do you. But that's what grace is. It's
unmerited. It's undeserved. It's all about
doing good to them who hate you and praying for those who use
you despitefully and persecute you. It's all about forgiving
others, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. It's all about an inward work
of grace that God has done in sinners' hearts. Lord, teach
me that. Really teach me that. Now, with
all that said, let me give you one last thing. that thus saith
the Lord. Turn over just a few pages to
Matthew chapter 15 and I'll wrap this up. Matthew chapter 15 and while
you're turning there let me read one other passage to you out
of Isaiah 29. In times past God spoke to us
by his prophets. Isaiah was a prophet of God. And he said in Isaiah chapter
29 verse 13, let me read this to you. Wherefore the Lord said,
thus saith the Lord, for as much as this people draw near me with
their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed
their heart far from me. and their fear toward me is taught
by the precept of men." You know, that's what we have today. We've
got men teaching after the precept of men and not after the precept
of God. But in these last days, God has
spoken to us by His Son. Matthew chapter 15, look at verse
7. Ye hypocrites, Well did Isaiah
prophesy of you, saying, this people draweth nigh unto me with
their mouth, and they honoreth me with their lips, but their
heart far from me. But in vain they do worship me. teaching for doctrines, the commandments
of man. The message hadn't changed, has
it, in that respect? That's what's wrong in our day.
People are worshiping God in vain. You read it, the Lord Jesus
said, you know not what you worship. People are worshiping today,
they don't have an idea, they have any clue what they're worshiping.
As you're not worshiping God, Religion is teaching for doctrine
the commandments of man and not the commandments of God. And
look at verse 10. And he called the multitude and
he said unto them, thus saith the Lord. He says, hear and understand. Oh God, help me to hear and understand. He said, not that which goeth
into the mouth, the fall of the man, but that which cometh out
of the mouth, this is the ballot. This is the fall of the man.
What defiles men and women that which comes from the heart. Thus
saith the Lord. God saw the wickedness of man
was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6, 5. And it repented
the Lord. You know, that's just amazing
to me. It repented the Lord that he'd made man on the earth. And
in the scriptures, it grieved him in his heart. God has a heart. He grieved him at his heart.
Men say, give Jesus your heart. Your heart grieves God. Your
heart grieves God's heart. He doesn't want that wicked thing.
Does he? Oh, I sure don't want to offer
him my heart. I'm going to offer him his son.
That's all I have. That's the only thing he accepts.
The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? God knows it,
and he doesn't want it. The heart of which God speaks
is not that organ that pumps blood to the rest of our body. The heart God speaks of is the
center being of a man and a woman, their feelings, their desires,
their passions, their thoughts, their understanding, and their
will. That inward place that God looks upon. And religion
will tell you that you need to get your heart right. The gospel is, you can't. You can't. God's got to give you a new one. And that's what he says. Thus
saith the Lord, a new heart. A new heart will I give you. That's what God said. And a new
spirit will I put within you, and I'll take away that stony,
wicked heart of your flesh, and I'll give you a heart of flesh,
a heart that beats and pants after God. That's what we need. May God give it to you. All right,
brother, thank you again.