evening to first Timothy chapter
2 and verse 5 first Timothy chapter 2 and verse
5 for there is one God and one
mediator between God and men the man, Christ Jesus. We looked last Wednesday at the
humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I said in that message that
the Lord Jesus Christ is truly as one with us on the side of
his humanity as he is one with God on the side of his deity. Notice the scripture says, the
man, Christ Jesus. One mediator between God and
men, the man, Christ Jesus. It is a fact that he is both
God and man, and that makes him the perfect, the perfect and
only mediator between God and men. In the Old Testament book
of Job, we've all heard and are familiar with the trouble that
God allowed Satan to bring upon him. But in his trouble, he said
this, neither is there any dazeman betwixt us that might lay his
hand upon us both. In other words, Job longed. He
longed for one that could lay his hand both upon God and upon
himself. He knew that these things that
had come upon him, remember he said, the Lord gave and the Lord
hath taken away. He knew those things did not
happen by accident, that God had purposed the troubles that
he was in. And he said, Neither is there
any daismon betwixt us. There's not a go-between, a mediator,
if you please, between us. One who could lay his hand both
upon God and upon me. One who could do the work of
a mediator. This is the Lord Jesus Christ,
because he is both God and man, and one person is both God and
man in one person, and he is the go-between, the dejman, the
mediator, the only mediator between God and men. In Hebrews, in the letter of
Hebrews, we're told that the Lord Jesus Christ is the mediator
of the new covenant. And we know that is the everlasting
covenant, the covenant of grace. He is the mediator of that covenant. And as a mediator, he has three
offices. He's prophet, priest, and king. And those offices are always
listed in that order. Prophet, priest, and king. And we see, as we look at his
life, he became prophet in preaching, first of all, priest and giving
himself that as that sacrifice and then receiving all authority
and all power ruling both in heaven and in earth as the king,
the king of kings. The fact here in our text that
he is called Christ Jesus, the title Christ That's a New Testament
equivalent of the Old Testament title Messiah. Messiah, Christ,
and literally it means the anointed, the anointed one. In the Old
Testament, we have examples of men who were prophets, who were
priests, and who were kings, and they were anointed to those
offices. Elijah had Elisha anointed. As a prophet, Samuel anointed
David and Saul as a king. And we know that he was also
anointed, that is Aaron, who was typical of our great high
priest. He was anointed by Moses when
the tabernacle was set up. Now, our mediator, who is prophet,
priest, and king, he was not anointed with oil. Oil is a picture
in the Old Testament, of course, of the Holy Spirit, the Holy
Spirit of God. And at His baptism, we know that
God the Holy Spirit came upon Him. And here's the thing, John
tells us in the Gospel of John, it remained upon Him. The Spirit
of God had come upon men in the Old Testament, but never remained
on them like upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He was anointed that
word Christ. He's Christ Jesus. Jesus, of
course, refers to his humanity. The angel told Joseph, Mary's
son shall be called Jesus. That's his name, his humanity. Jesus Christ is anointed his
office. Lord, Lord, Jesus Christ, God. The anointed man. And that's the reason it's so
important when we speak of him, to speak of him as the Lord Jesus
Christ. Many people just refer to him
as Jesus, but there have been, and there are today, many men
in this world and boys who are named Jesus. That's a very common
name among Spanish speaking people. Jesus, I'm sure y'all have known
some, right? That was their name. So we must
identify him as the Lord, the Lord of glory, God almighty,
the anointed one, Jesus, God, man in the flesh. Now tonight,
I want us to think of this one office, that is his office as
prophet. as the prophet, anointed to be
the prophet, as a mediator. And think about this, don't ever
study these things and hear these things proclaimed without remembering
that he became the mediator, that he might save us. If you're
saved tonight, you're saved because he became the mediator. Without his mediation, there
would be no salvation. And to be the mediator, he had
to become incarnate, right? He had to be made flesh and dwell
among us. Well, let's think tonight about
him as a prophet. I have several things I want
to mention, and first of all, what is the work of a prophet?
What is the work of a prophet? I want you to look back with
me into the book of Exodus, chapter seven, and here we have a Bible
definition of what a prophet is. A very simple definition
is a prophet is one who speaks for another. A prophet is one
who speaks for another. I'm sure we're all familiar with
the fact that when God appeared under Moses, in the burning bush
and told him that he was sending him into Egypt to deliver his
people. Moses, of course, did not want
to go, and one of the reasons he said he did not want to go
is he couldn't speak well. He couldn't speak well. He'd
always been slow of speech, I believe is the way he put it. And so
God gave him a prophet. Look here in Exodus 7, verses
1 and 2. And the Lord said unto Moses,
See, I have made thee a God to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother
shall be thy prophet. He shall be thy prophet. In other
words, Aaron, you can't speak, Moses. You say you have trouble
speaking. Aaron will speak for you. You
tell Aaron what to say. You will be a God to him. and
he will speak for you. Notice that in verse two. Thou
shalt speak all that I command thee, and Aaron thy brother shall
speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of
the land. What is a prophet? A prophet
is one who speaks for another. When we think about the Lord
Jesus Christ as a prophet, we realize that he is authorized
to speak for God to men. How many times, especially in
the Gospel of John, does he reveal the truth that he is speaking
the words which were given to him? The words of the Father,
the words I speak unto thee are not mine, but his who sent me. He speaks as a prophet. One of the writers, and I like
this, said, all of God's prophets, all of God's prophets before
Him, before the Lord Jesus Christ, all of His prophets, you read
through the Old Testament, you run into many of them, don't
you? Some were writing prophets, some were not writing prophets.
But this writer said, All of God's prophets before him spoke,
now listen, for God. He spoke as God. Amen? Those prophets spoke for
God. He spoke as God. The God man. Now the second thing,
so what is the work of a prophet? A prophet is one who speaks for
another. Second, he was promised. He was promised to come as a
prophet, and we see that in Deuteronomy chapter 18. Chapter 18 and verse 15. Well, let's read, yeah. The Lord thy
God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy
brethren like unto me, unto him you shall hearken. Those are
the words of Moses. The Lord thy God will raise up
unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren,
like unto me, unto him you shall hearken. According, now let's
look at this, according to all that thou desirest of the Lord
thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly. Say, now what did
they desire? Mount Horeb is basically the
same as Mount Sinai. They're together there, and you
cannot really distinguish one from the other. And so he's speaking
about the time when God gave his law, Exodus chapter 20, when
there was a great sound, remember, the voice of the Lord. There
was fire, there was thunder, And what was it that they desired?
Well, I'm gonna read you this. You keep your place there in
Deuteronomy, if you will. But in chapter 20 of Exodus,
verses 18 and 19, we're told what it is. And all the people
saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of
the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. That's God came down. God came down upon that mountain
to give his law. and the mountain smoking, and
when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off."
In other words, they were afraid, and who wouldn't be afraid? In
Hebrews chapter 12, the apostle tells us that even Moses was
fearful at that particular time. But read on, it says, and they
said unto Moses, now this is what they desired, speak thou
with us. Moses, you talk to us. and we
will hear, but let not God speak with us lest we die. That's what they desired. In
other words, they desired a mediator. They desired Moses to hear from
God and him deliver the message from God to them. They did not.
They were fearful to hear the voice of the Lord. But I wanted
to point this out here in Deuteronomy 18, The Lord thy God will raise up
unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee. In other words,
he's going to be a Jew from the midst of thee, from the midst
of Israel. You remember what our Lord told
that Samaritan woman? He said, you don't know what
you worship. We know for salvation is of the Jews. The Lord Jesus
Christ, was born a Jew. Now, the prophecy was Moses told
them that God will raise up a prophet from among you. In other words,
he's going to be an Israelite. Unto him you shall hearken. You
better listen to him. You better listen to him. To
the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? According to all that thou
desirest of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly,
saying, let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God,
neither let me see this great fire anymore, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, they
have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them
up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee. Like unto Moses, God spoke to
Moses face to face. He spoke to other prophets in
visions and dreams and things like that. This prophet that
Moses tells Israel that God would raise up would be like unto him. And I know that it means more
than the fact that God spoke to Moses face to face Moses was
a mediator. He'll be like you, like Moses. He'll be a mediator. I will raise
them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee,
and notice, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak
unto them all, all. I'm not looking for another message,
are you? No, why? Because the Lord Jesus
Christ, it clearly says, he shall speak unto them all that I shall
command them. And it shall come to pass, now
I said you better listen to him. Well, Moses said this, God said
this. It shall come to pass that whosoever
will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak in my name,
I will require it of him. Men must hear the words of this
promised prophet or perish. There's no ands, ifs, buts about
it. Men must hear Christ or perish
eternally in hell. So first of all, what is the
work of a prophet? A prophet is one who speaks for
another. The Lord Jesus Christ was promised
to come as a prophet. The apostles, the apostles of
the Lord Jesus Christ, they proclaimed him to be this prophet that Moses
wrote about. Look with me in Acts chapter
three. When the delegation of the Pharisees
came from Jerusalem, out into the wilderness asking John the
Baptist, you remember, who are you? And one of the questions
they asked him, are you that prophet? You see, they knew God
had promised a prophet to come, but what they did not know, did
not realize that that prophet would be the Messiah. Because
when they asked John the Baptist, are you that prophet? They also
asked him, are you the Christ? As though there were two different
persons. Here in Acts chapter three, the
apostles, they declared in verse 19, Peter says, repent you therefore
and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times
of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord And
he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you,
whom the heaven must receive unto the times of restitution
of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his
holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto
the fathers, a prophet, that's what we just read, wasn't it?
In Deuteronomy. Moses said unto your fathers,
A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your
brethren like unto me. Him shall you hear in all things
whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass
that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed
from among the people. The apostles declared him to
be that prophet that Moses had prophesied and promised would
come. And also, the people that the
Lord Jesus Christ ministered to, they recognized that he was
that prophet. After he fed 5,000 people, In
John 6, verse 14, we read, Then those men, when they had seen
the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth, that prophet,
that should come into the world. All of God's prophets spoke of
Him. It wasn't just Moses. But those
things which God before has showed by the mouth of all his prophets,
that Christ should suffer, he has so fulfilled. He confessed himself to be a
prophet. Look with me in Luke, Luke chapter
13. He confessed himself to be a
prophet. Luke chapter 13 and verse 31, same day there came certain of
the Pharisees saying unto him, get thee out, speaking to the
Lord Jesus, get thee out. In other words, you better run
for it. You better run for it. Get thee out and depart hence
for Herod will kill thee. And he said unto them, the Lord
Jesus, he said unto them, go you and tell that fox, he wasn't literally a fox, was
he? But he acted like a fox, sly. You go and tell that fox, Behold,
I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third
day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless, I must walk today
and tomorrow and the day following. Now notice, for it cannot be
that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. You see, he's calling
himself a prophet. He had to go to Jerusalem. As he said, that it cannot be
that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. And we know that's
where he was crucified. Well, fourth, he was the last
and great prophet. Hebrews 1, God who at sundry
times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us in his
Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory, the express image
of his person, and 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. God hath in these last
days, after speaking through many prophets over several millenniums,
he hath in these last days spoken unto us in or by his son. I'm going to read a verse, if
you will turn with me to Daniel. You need to see this, Daniel
chapter nine. It's in this prophecy of Daniel
that the time that the Lord Jesus Christ would come into the world
was made known in Daniel chapter 9 verse 24. Seventy weeks are determined
upon thy people. It's actually seven sevens, right? Four hundred and ninety years
are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, Jerusalem. Now notice what he is to do,
to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make
reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness. And notice this, to seal up the
vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. All prophecy is
sealed up in Christ, and all prophecy is sealed up by Christ. In other words, He is the fulfillment
of all the visions and all the prophecies in the Old Testament. They all had their completion
in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He sealed up prophecy
and vision. When the Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world, the first sermon that he preached, when he was
baptized, then he was in the wilderness, tempted by Satan,
tested by Satan for 40 days. You remember he went to the town
where he had lived as a child and a young man, Nazareth, entered
into the synagogue. took the book and found where
it was written. In the volume of the book, it
is written of me." Let me read that to us. It's found in Luke
chapter 4. It's a prophecy in Isaiah chapter
61. Verse 16, we read Luke 4, And
he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as his
custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day
and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto
him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book,
he found the place where it was written, The spirit of the Lord
is upon me. Now notice. because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor. The very first thing he
mentions is he was anointed to preach the gospel. He's a prophet. He's a prophet. Before he came
into this world, he prophesied by his spirit in those prophets
of old. While he was here, he preached. As that psalmist said, in the
great congregation, he preached. And since he's gone back or gone
to heaven by his spirit in his ministers, he continues the ministry
as a prophet. And to hear them is to hear him. To reject them is to reject him. Christ is the last and great
prophet of all. And he has given us a full revelation
of God's will. You know, most all the cults,
I'm talking about these homegrown cults, originated here in the
United States of America. Just about every one of them
come up with a new revelation, don't they? A new book. No. Better hear him. Better hear
Christ. Forget about those other so-called
revelations. Christ reveals to us the will
of God for our salvation. He proclaims to us the gospel. Let me just close with these
few texts. Think not, he said. Think not
that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I'm not
come to destroy, but to fulfill. He fulfilled all the prophecies,
and he fulfilled the law by his obedience. I am the way, the truth, and
the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. This is the work
of God, that you believe on him whom he hath sent. This is the work of God. This
is the message of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and be saved. I pray the Lord will take these
words, and I know we're familiar with these things, but we need
to remember and keep in mind that everything that he did,
he did for you. If you're one of his children
tonight, everything he suffered, he suffered for you, for your
salvation, for my salvation. Aren't you thankful? Aren't you
thankful tonight? Amen. Brother Bill, come