All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter 11. Matthew 11. From the beginning of God's revelation
to man, the Spirit of God has set forth
God's sovereignty. It just holds your place right
there. I'm going to turn and just read a passage of Scripture.
Genesis 2 verse 17. What I'm saying is from the beginning
of the revelation of God to man, God set forth that He rules. Genesis 2 verse 17 says the Lord
speaking to Adam concerning all the trees, He said, But of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat
of it. For in the day that thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die." God rules. God ordains. God declares. But because of
man's rebellion, therefore spiritual death, in the garden. Another
revelation was given by the Lord to man, to mankind in Adam. Man needs redemption. And there's only one who can
redeem. That is God's Lamb. So therefore,
The Lamb must come into this world and accomplish for man
what man could not accomplish, what man failed to do, obey God. He must satisfy Almighty God
with perfect obedience, establishing righteousness, the righteousness
of God. that God accepts. And not only
must he establish righteousness now, remember God's sovereign.
He said, you get all the trees that are discarded except for
one. The day you eat of that one,
you're going to die. But it was not God's will that
mankind should perish, for all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God. God will in no wise clear the
guilty. The soul that sinned is going to die. But God was
pleased that all mankind not perish. Therefore, God's going
to have to do something for man that man can't do. He must come into this world
and establish righteousness that is imputed or charged to the
account of a people of God's affection. But he also must satisfy
God's justice He's going to have to pay the debt. God does not
sweep sin under the rug. Man has broken God's law and
the wages of sin is death. Therefore, the Lord is going
to have to die. He's going to have to die for
His people. God must be honored. Satan must be defeated. And the
Lord proclaimed this truth from the beginning. He said this in
the garden. He declared unto man, God is
going to be victorious. He said in Genesis 3, 14 and
15, I'll read this to you. After man fell in the garden,
after Adam and Eve had put on their fig leaf righteousness,
and God called them, Satan there who deceived them, and this is
what the Lord said. The Lord God said unto the serpent,
because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle,
above every beast of the field, upon the belly shalt thou go,
dust shalt thou eat all the day of thy life. I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed, and it
shall bruise thy head, thou shalt bruise his heel. You're going to bruise his heel,
but he's going to crush you. So God gave his law to his people,
people of his faction, and through the law they beheld, in picture
and type, the penalty for man's rebellion by the animals that
were slain. They saw In these sacrifices,
God's just. These animals were going to be
slain. He's telling them something. There's a penalty for sin. And God set forth that these
animals would be slain. They saw in those animals that
justice must be satisfied, but they also saw another thing.
They saw in those animals a picture of God's mercy. The animal was
going to die, but it was who the animals set forth. The Lamb of God Himself. So they
saw mercy. They saw justice. God's preaching
to them. He's preaching through the law. The law was our schoolmaster.
We're not saved by the works of the law, the deeds of the
law, but what it does is it brings us to Christ. And it shows us
where our hope is, our life is. God sent the law, but He also
sent prophets to proclaim this truth that through the revelation
given by the prophets, we knew that God's Lamb is coming. He's
going to come. But we knew that there was another
thing the Lord was pleased to set forth. He was pleased to
set forth that a forerunner was going to come that would announce
the coming of the Messiah. You know, they were looking for
Him. And the Lord told them something. He said, there's going to be
a forerunner. Hold your place. Turn with me to Isaiah 40. We're
going to look at a few verses here in Isaiah. So, Isaiah chapter
40. Verse 3. There's going to be
a forerunner that's going to come forth before the Messiah. Isaiah 40, verse 3. It says,
the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye
the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a
highway for our God. This is what he's going to do.
There's going to be a declaration from the mouth of a forerunner. And with the declaration of His
coming, also this forerunner is going to set forth the obedient
work that is going to be accomplished still in Isaiah 40, verse 4 and
5. Every valley shall be exalted,
every mountain, hill, shall be made low, and the crooked shall
be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the glory of
the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." And then he set forth
that this forerunner is going to set forth the glory of the
Lord, his work, And concerning the one that is coming, the one
that the forerunner is declaring shall come, he's going to be
victorious. Turn over a couple of pages,
Isaiah 42. Isaiah 42, verses 1 to 4. Behold, my servant whom
I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighted, I put my spirit
upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry. or lift up
or cause his voice to be heard in the street, he's not going
to be confrontational. He said, a bruised reed shall
he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall
bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail or be discouraged
till he has set judgment in the earth and the isles shall wait
for his law. So he's going to come with the
people. He's going to be victorious.
All things are going to be taken. The appeals are going to be based
and the ballots are going to be brought. He's going to make
everything right. He's going to accomplish that
which he was sent to accomplish. He's going to finish the work.
He's going to come in Isaiah 65 verse 1. He's going to come
and He's going to declare, be declared through preachers. He said, Isaiah 65, I am sought
of them that ask not for me. I am found of them that sought
me not. I said, behold me, behold me unto a nation that was not
called by my name. So wonderfully sure. was His coming and His coming
being preceded by God's forerunner that the Spirit of God moved,
turn over to Malachi 3. So sure was He coming. The Lord
moved upon a prophet named Malachi. Malachi to declare before God
would be silent for 400 years. For Malachi, God didn't say anything.
400 years. One of the last things that Malachi
said, Malachi chapter 3 verses 1 to 3. Behold I will send my
messenger and he shall prepare the way before me and the Lord
whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple even the messenger
of the covenant whom ye whom ye delight in. Behold, he shall
come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of
his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he's like
a refiner's fire and like fuller soap. He shall sit as a refiner
and purifier of silver. He shall purify the sons of Levi
and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer unto the
Lord an offering in righteousness. But one of the last things that
God said before he didn't speak, to a prophet 400 years. Last thing he said, he's coming.
And I'm gonna send my forerunner before him. Well, turn over to
Luke chapter one, Luke chapter one, verses five to 13. In the
fullness of time, the forerunner, Luke chapter one, the forerunner
was born. Luke one, verses five to 13 says
this. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain
priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abiah. And his wife
was of the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. And they
were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. They had no child because Elizabeth
was barren. And they both were now well stricken
in years. And it came to pass that while
he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his
course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot
was to burn incense. When he went into the temple
of the Lord, and the whole multitude of the people were praying without
at the time of incense, and there appeared unto him an angel of
the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon
him. But the angel said unto him,
fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayers heard, and thy wife Elizabeth
shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John, verse
17 says, and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of
Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
disobedient to the wisdom of the just, and to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord. And then verses 57-63, same chapter
Luke, verse 57, and Elizabeth's full-time king, She brought that
she should be delivered. She brought forth a son. Her
neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had shown great
mercy unto her. They rejoiced with her. And it
came to pass that on the eighth day, they came to circumcise
the child. And they called him Zacharias, after the name of
his father. And his mother answered and said,
not so, but he should be called John. And they said unto her,
there's none of thy kindred that's called by this name. They made
signs to his father how he should have him called and he asked
for a writing table and wrote saying his name is John. And
they marveled all. Well, turn over now to John,
the Gospel according to John chapter 1. John chapter 1, verses 6 to 8. There was a man, the Son of God,
whose name was John. The same came for witness, to
bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe.
He was not that light, but he was sent to bear witness of that
light. And then when the Jews asked
him about who he was, who are you? John chapter 1, verse 20,
23. He confessed, he denied not,
but he confessed, he said, I'm not the Christ. And he asked
him, he said, what then? Art thou Elias? And he said,
I'm not. Art there thy prophet? He answered,
no. Then said they unto him, who
art thou, that we may give an answer to them which sent us?
What sayest thou thyself? And he said, I'm the voice of
one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord. has said the prophet Isaiah. And at the appointed time, scripture
says in verse 29 of John chapter 1, it says, the next day John
seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, behold the Lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom
I said, after me cometh a man which is preferred before me,
but he was before me. And I knew him not, but that
he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing
with water. And John bare record, saying,
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode
upon him. And I knew him not. But he that
sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same
is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear
record that this is the Son of God." Amazing truth. God, from the
beginning, through the prophets, set forth, said, when he comes,
I'm going to send a forerunner before Him. And I'm going to
teach the forerunner who He is. And the forerunner is going to
say, that's Him. That's Him right there. That's
the way God ordained that He was going to announce. This is
the Messiah. This is the One. Now John was
a bold preacher of the Gospel. So bold that his boldness was
God's means of having him, turn over to Matthew chapter 14 for
a moment. Matthew 14. So bold was his preaching
that God, through his preaching, that was the means by which God
was gonna have him thrown into prison. His ministry lasted about
six months. That was God's length of time
for him. Matthew chapter 14. Verse 3 and
4, Herod had laid hold on John, bound him, and put him in prison
for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife, for John said
unto him, it's not lawful for thee to have her. John was truthful
with him. He said, you're taking another
man's wife. It's not right. We had him thrown
into prison. Well, now turn back. to Matthew
11. Here's where our scripture starts.
Matthew chapter 11, verse 1 and 2. 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. All of that background was to
bring us Where's John? What's he doing? He's in prison
for preaching the truth. And he sent two of his disciples
to the Lord. He set forth that these men need
to hear the gospel. The Lord has been instructing
his disciples and he's left their presence. It says 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. He's
told them, he's commissioned them, now he's going. But as
he was going, two men showed up. Two of John's disciples. And they've got a question. They've got a question for him. Now I'm absolutely convinced
John was taught of God. John knew. He knew the Lord. The Spirit of God has shown Him
upon the one that you see the Spirit of God in the form of
a dove descend. That's the Son of God, right
there. John didn't know Him of himself, but he said, He taught
me. He knew. He knew it. He knew
it. And now he sends his two disciples and they got a question.
He sends them to the Lord to let them ask the Lord a question. Now listen to the question. Verse
3. These two disciples of John and said unto him, art thou he
that should come? Or do we look for another? Now being disciples of John,
these men, without a doubt in my mind, they were taught the
scriptures. And they were taught. They were
familiar. I'm without a doubt. Isaiah 35. Turn back there to Isaiah. We're
just gonna look at a few more scriptures. Isaiah chapter 35.
They knew, they knew. Isaiah 35. Look at verse three
to six. Isaiah 35, three to six. Strengthen
ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them
that are of a fearful heart, be strong. Fear not, behold,
your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense. He
will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then
shall the lame man leap as a heart and the tongue of the dumb sing.
For in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the
desert. They knew what Isaiah 61, turn
to Isaiah 61, 1. Isaiah 61, verse 1. Here's a scripture that they
studied the Old Testament, the only ones they had was the Old
Testament scriptures. Isaiah 61, 1, the spirit of the
Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach
good tidings unto the meek. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. proclaim liberty to the captives
in the opening of the prison to them that are bound. They
knew. They knew these scriptures. But
for the benefit of those two men, John sent them to ask him,
are you the one? Are you the Christ? Or do we
hear from another? The Lord said, my sheep hear
my voice. I know them, and they follow
me. John said, you too go ask him. I want you to hear him. I want
you to hear his voice. I want you to listen. You listen
to what I say. You go ask him. Ask him if he's the one. Back in Matthew 11, listen to
the Lord's response. Are you the one? And here's what the Lord said
unto those two. Verses four to six. Jesus answered
and said unto them, you go and show John again those things
which you do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk. The lepers
are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and 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." Now, here's these two men. Two
men taught. John's disciples. John discipled
them. John taught them. Taught them the scriptures. And
these men who knew these scriptures, they knew the prophecies of these
scriptures. They knew the foretelling of the Savior. Are you the one? Are you Him? Do we look for another? He said, you go tell John this. And here the Messiah expounded
unto them Himself. Setting forth, I am the fulfillment
of everything you read. In those scriptures. Here they
stood before the Messiah. He who is power and mercy, grace. He said, you go tell John that
you see the blind. Those that are spiritually blind
from the fall in Adam. Blind from the garden. You go
tell John, the blind see. The eyes of their understanding
is opened. You go tell John that the eyes,
the new eyes, new eyes of faith, new eyes that see themselves
for what they are, nothing. And new eyes that behold me,
their only hope of glory. You go tell them. that hell-deserving
sinners now possess the eyes of faith. They behold the Lord
Jesus Christ to be God's Savior. You go tell him that. You go
tell him the blind receive their sight. You go tell him that the
lame walk. He healed lame people. A man lying on the bed, they
brought him to the Lord. He told him, he said, rise up,
take up your bed. and walk. Why'd he do that? Because those
miracles and signs and wonders was God's evidence. He was confirmed
by those signs and miracles and wonders. And he said, you tell
John that the lame walked. Men were just healed physically. They could just walk and that's
all there was. No. He said, you tell John. that
those who were crippled in the fall, unable in themselves to
walk before God acceptably, now walk in the person and the power
of the Lord Jesus Christ. You tell him they are like Mephibosheth
that was crippled. It's been fetched. You go tell
them. You go tell them that these vessels
of God's mercy These lepers that are cleansed, that leper that
came to the Lord. He said, Lord if you will, you
can make me clean if you will. He said, I will. What a picture. Leprosy is a picture of sin. You go tell John that these lepers,
they're cleansed. spiritual lepers that are cleansed
from the plague of their sin, the bondage of their sin. You
go tell John that. You'll tell him. Tell him that,
you know. And you tell him also that the
deaf hear. You'll tell him that Those that
couldn't hear the voice of the Lord before, now have been given
new ears. And now when they hear Him preached,
now they say, that's His voice right there. That's Him. That's
the Lord right there. You go tell Him. And now the
deaf, those born deaf, to the hearing and the understanding,
the perception of Christ as he's preached through the gospel.
He said, you go tell them now that they hear. They have new
ears to hear of their need of me. They hear of me, the only
hope of glory. You go tell them that they hear
the voice of the shepherd. My sheep hear. They hear. They hear
my voice. And they follow me. And he said,
you tell them that the dead are raised up. people spiritually
dead in trespasses and sins. You go tell them, you go tell
them, that by my Spirit coming in effectual fetching grace,
that I call them in the day of my power, they come. You go tell
them. You tell them that I am their
life. And the poor, you tell them that
the poor, spiritually poor, Those that recognize their bankruptcy,
spiritual bankruptcy before God. Those poor in spirit, you go
tell them that the gospel is preached to them. Oh, every man
that thirsteth, that's what you read. Come ye to the water. Buy without money, without price. Come by faith. You go tell them. You go tell them that these dead
sinners raised into the newness of life, born again from heaven.
You tell them about these poor, poor sinners, fetched, kept,
robed by the Spirit of God. And you tell him, blessed is
he whosoever shall not be offended in me. You go tell John. You go tell John, happy is he
toward whom I'm not a stumbling block, not offended. You tell him, that's a blessed
man. You can tell him, who's not offended at me who is the
sovereign, ruling, reigning Lord of glory. Blessed is he that's
not offended in my truth, in my doctrine. You tell John, happy. is the man who's been given a
heart to love and follow after me. Are you the one? Are you
the one? Are you the Messiah? You go tell John, the lame walk,
the deaf hear, the blind see, the dead erased, the poor have
the gospel, and blessed are those that aren't offended in me. Oh,
may the Lord bless these words to our heart. May the Lord teach
us of our need of Him afresh, that we might behold Him for
His glory and our good.