Alright, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11. I'd like to read the first six
verses of Matthew 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. And 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,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, 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." The Lord
had commanded His disciples. The Lord commanded, the Scripture
says, His twelve disciples. You know, whenever God calls
a preacher, that preacher is not left to
their own discretion as to what They're going to preach. Every
man called of God has one message. Mark 16, 15, He said unto them,
Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Now you know, one might think, well that is so obvious. But
that's the only evidence of a God-called preacher. He preaches the gospel. The Apostle Paul said in Romans
1 16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it
is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. You know, after the Lord had
finished commanding His twelve apostles, the Scripture says,
He departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now, their cities, it seems to
indicate one of two things. It either indicates that the
Lord sent His disciples to their particular cities where they
were from, or it meant to cities, and I'm going to show you this,
I don't want to make this statement just arbitrarily. Look at Luke
chapter 10 and verse 1. Luke 10 verse 1 says, After these things
the Lord appointed other 70 also and sent them, two and two before
His face into every city and place, whether He Himself would
come. When the Lord is pleased to visit,
let me say it like that, in mercy and grace, He sends a preacher. He sends a preacher. And this
truth is confirmed. Listen to this in Acts 20, 28.
Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church
of God which He hath purchased with His own blood. Now what
a passage of Scripture. God Almighty appoints men to
be overseers. certain flocks, over the flock
to which the Holy Ghost had made you an overseer. My first reaction when Brother
Scott asked me in 2001, he said, would you consider coming here
to pastor this church? Now coming from Brother Scott,
I thought, what a wonderful invitation. And I told him, no sir, I wouldn't.
No sir, I would not. I said, Brother Scott, I pastor
in Tennessee. That's where the Lord has put
me and I have no thoughts whatsoever. At that moment, I didn't. Well,
that was in 2001. Well, two years later, here I
am. Why did I come here? Well, according
to the Scriptures, take heed therefore unto yourselves and
to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you an overseer.
Feed the church of God, listen, which He purchased, the church
of God, which God purchased with His own blood, I mean, for God's elect, for
God's sheep, for those that He's everlastingly loved in Christ,
chosen in Christ, Christ everlastingly stood, the responsibility of
pastoring a church. I know how men think, well, you
know, He couldn't do anything else, so He pastored. But as God said this, if you
can do anything else, do it. Don't pastor. If you can do anything
else, do it. The responsibility to stand before
God's sheep. 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. And the scripture
says in verses 2 and 3, now when John had heard in the prison
the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said
unto him, now this, he, John gave two of his disciples, now
John's in prison. John's ministry, John's ministry
lasted about six months. He's in prison. And very, very
soon he's going to get his head cut off. And he's got two of
his disciples. And he sent these two disciples
to Christ. And he gave them the question. John said, I want you to go ask
him this, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? You know, that question right
there might cause some just to wonder to John's intent. Did John waver? Did John's faith waver? I'm just going to ask a question.
Here's what Luke 115 says about John. He was filled with the
Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. Let me tell you what God had
to say about John. Look at the Gospel of John, chapter
1, verse 29. John 1, 29. John the Baptist now, he's in
prison. This is what Scripture says.
John the Baptist, listen to his testimony of the Lord. John 1.29.
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. How did he know that? Well, 33
and 34 says how he knew it. It says, verse 33, 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. Now John knew. John was taught. by God's Spirit,
who the Lord is. Behold the Lamb of God. But you
know, Scripture bears out that the faith of true believers has
been said to have wavered. After the Lord's crucifixion,
Peter, what did Peter say? John 21.3, I go fishing. They
said to him, we go also with thee. They went forth, entered
into a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing. After his resurrection, the Lord
met with ten of his disciples. Judas is not there, and neither
is Philip. They told Philip, the next day
they saw the Lord. Philip, we saw the Lord. He was
crucified to Philip. We saw the Lord. The Lord met
with us. Here's what Philip said, "'Except
I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger
into the print of the nails, thrust my hand into his side.'" I'm not going to believe you.
I will not believe. Was John doubtful? Or, on the other hand, Did John
send his disciples for their benefit? To hear from the Master's
mouth himself? Now, personally, I think this
is what happened. I think the latter of these two.
I think that what it was, John was getting ready to have his
head cut off. And these disciples of John had
been following John. And John knew the Master. And for their benefit, he sent
these two disciples. And he said, now I want you to
go ask him this question. Are you the one that should come
or do we look for another? Now, whatever was John's intent,
and I think it was the latter, Scripture is silent on that,
and so therefore I'll leave it alone. You know, where you get
in trouble is where you start speculating on Scripture. If
the Scripture is silent, then leave it silent. I might have
a thought on it, but I'll just say this, I'll leave that to
the Lord's teaching to you. But the Lord's answer, that's
the important part. Listen to verses 4 to 6. Jesus
answered and said unto them, Now here's what they said. Are
you the one that should come? They knew that the Messiah was
coming. It's prophesied. God's going to send a Messiah. You call His name Jesus because
He's going to save His people. He's going to save His people
from their sins. But when the Lord was asked the
question by John's disciples, He just gave this answer. He
said, you go and show John again those things which ye do hear
and see. The blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised up, poor have the gospel preached to them,
and blessed is he whosoever is not offended in me. Now the Lord
quoted that. From Isaiah 35. Now let me, let
me, just turn there, Isaiah 35. Isaiah 35 verses 3 to 6. Isaiah 35. Alright now, you remember awhile
ago I told you I said, my thought is that John sent those two disciples
for their benefit, for their benefit, for their benefit. Okay, now I want you to look
at the wisdom that the Spirit of God gave John the Baptist,
who was filled from his mother's womb with the Spirit of God. And look at the wisdom that God
gave this man to send these two disciples of John. John, he's
not going to be here long. He's going to do something for
them. He sends them to the Lord to ask them this question. Now
listen to this. Isaiah 35 verse 3-6, Strengthen
ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees. Now, let me
ask you, what did John do for his two disciples? He's going to strengthen the
weak hands. And He's going to confirm the
feeble knees by sending them to the Lord. He's going to do
something for them that only the Lord can accomplish. He's
going to give these men the hearing from the Master Himself. Strengthen
them. This is the only thing that will
confirm, strengthen, uplift, uphold. hearing the voice of
the Master. And you 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, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall
the lame man leap as a harp, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For in the wilderness shall waters
break out, and streams in the desert." What did the Lord say
when they came? They said, Are you the one that
should come? Or do we look for another? And the Lord quoted
Isaiah 35. The Lord declared of Himself. And we declare what He declared.
This is what we say. When they asked Him, they said,
you know, are you the one? And He said in verse 5, He said,
you go tell John what you've heard. You go tell John what
I say. You go tell him that the blind
receive their sight. Let me ask you this. Who's the
only one that can give? sight to the blind. Oh, I know
that He physically healed blind men, but spiritually He gives
new eyes to the objects of His mercy. The hearing ear and the
seeing eye, the Lord gives both of them. Before God's people
are called out of darkness, before a believer, I mean before an
object of God's mercy, before one of the sheep, It's called
out of spiritual darkness. They're just like everybody else.
They don't see. They don't see. They do not see. But in that
day, in that day, they see. They see how God can be just
and justify a sinner. How can God be just in dealing
with sin and justify a sinner? Well, how is he going to be just?
He's going to have to deal with our sin. And Christ was made
sin. What is it that justifies a man
before God? Righteousness. Righteousness. No charge. No charge. The imputed righteousness of
Christ. How can God be just? He dealt with Christ in our stead.
The stead of His people, His elect. His sheep, His bride,
His beloved. And He justifies them. He imputes
to them the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. I see
that. I understand. I see that by faith.
He said, you go tell John. The blind received their sight.
We're born blind. Remember that blind man? The
Lord came to him and He said, They started asking him, all
those Pharisees, how did you receive the sight? The Lord spit
on the ground. Remember that? He spit on the
ground and he made some spittle, some mud, and he put it on his
eyes and he told them, he said, you go wash in the pool of Siloam.
And he went and washed. And he came seeing. And he asked
him, all of them started asking him, he said, how did you see?
He said, put some spittle mud on my eyes
and I washed and I see. Yeah, but how did you see? He
said, listen, all I know is this. Once I was blind and now I can
see. What does a believer say, Mike? He said, once I was blind,
I didn't see this. I didn't see it. And now by the
grace of God, I know this. He's given me eyes to see. I
see this by faith. I understand. Spiritually. He said, you go tell them that
the blind receive their sight and the lame walk. How does a believer walk? We
walk by faith. I know that the Lord physically
gave Life to legs. Legs that were lame. There were
some men, they were carrying a fellow, their friend on a stretcher,
and he saw their faith and he says, Thy sins be forgiven thee. And they said, who is this? Only
God can forgive sin? And the Lord said, which is easier?
For me to say, Your sins be forgiven you, or rise up and walk? He
said, but that you might believe. He said, you get up. You get
up. And he got up and took up his
bed and he walked away. He said, you go tell John that
the lame walk. He said, you go tell them that
the lepers are cleansed. Leprosy throughout Scripture
is a picture of the defilement, the loathsomeness of our old
carnal heart, the wickedness of sin. But for all that's been
given the Lord in electing grace, for all that He's laid down His
life at Calvary, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, what
does Scripture say? Cleanseth us from all sin. Cleanseth us from all sin. The lepers are cleansed. Look
at Matthew 8. Just turn over back a couple
of pages. Matthew 8, 2 and 3. I love this. I love this. I'll
just read 1, 2, 3. When He was come down from the
mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, there came a
leper. A leper. I mean, you know what the law
was, you can't, you know, unclean, unclean, they put their heads,
don't come near me. There came a leper, that leper, you know this, this
is his only hope, this is it. Leprosy had won in. It's fatal, that's fatal disease.
There came a leper, and he worshipped him. And he said, Lord, if thou
wilt, thou canst make me clean. Now he didn't ask him if he could.
Lord, if you can. He knew he could. Lord, if thou
wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand. Now these guys were untouchables. He put forth his hand and touched
him saying, I will. Be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was
cleansed. I tell you a believer, when God
Almighty gives him a new heart, this is what a believer is going
to say. Lord, save me. Help me." A believer never, never,
never stops crying out for God's mercy. Lord, have mercy on me. You say, well, didn't the Lord
have mercy on you when you were first converted? He that cometh
and cometh and cometh. If you've ever come to Christ,
you're still coming. You're still coming. You're not
looking back to a date. I can tell you this right now.
You're not looking back, well, you know, 41 years ago, 13 years
ago, 4 years ago. Today is the day of salvation.
I'm coming today. How many times have I said this? I breathed yesterday's air. I've
got to have fresh air today. I've got to have air right now.
I've got to have faith to believe Him right now. He that cometh. He that cometh. He that cometh. He said, the lepers are cleansed,
and the deaf hear. At hearing ear, I hear. You know,
the voice of the Master, my sheep hear my voice. I know them, they
follow me. You cannot explain to an unbeliever
what you're talking about. You try to talk to an unbeliever
and tell them, I hear, the voice of the Master. Now here's what,
if I stood up here and I made this statement, and I tell you,
now listen, Christ died for everybody. He loves everybody. He loves
the whole world without distinction. He loves everybody. And He wants
to save everybody. He wants to. And all you have
to do is give Him your heart. He's looking to you. If you'll take that first step
toward the Savior, my friend, you'll find it. You know what
the believer's going to say? That's not the voice of my Master.
My Master didn't say that. Let me tell you what my Master
said. What saith the Scriptures? What
does the Scriptures have to say? A believer hears in their heart
the voice of the Master. They hear His voice and He knows
them. And they follow Him. His voice
is heard in the preaching of the Spirit of God as it is blessed
by the Holy Spirit to their heart. And by faith they hear Him. And
the Lord says, and you tell John that the dead are raised up,
The Lord took Ezekiel out in a valley of dry bones and he
said, Son of man, can these bones live? And Ezekiel wisely said,
Lord God, thou knowest. If there's a person in this congregation
this morning that doesn't know Christ savingly, can they live? Lord, you know. Lord, you're the only one that
knows. He said, you preach to them.
You preach to them. You preach the gospel to them.
And that's what Ezekiel did. And the Scripture says that they
were raised up. And you had the quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins. He said, you go tell John that
the dead are raised up. I'm looking at some people that
God has raised from the dead. raised from the deadness of their
carnal rebellion against Him. And he said, and the poor have
the gospel preached to them, the poor in spirit, weak in self,
impotent to any hope to reconcile themselves to God. And the Lord
sends the gospel to them, gives them faith to believe. They come
to Christ and they cast themselves on Him for mercy. Why? Look at
2 Thessalonians. Why? Why do I preach the gospel
of God's free grace? Why do I preach that message
that gives the Lord all the honor and all the glory and all the
praise and gives us none? Why? Here it is, 2 Thessalonians
2, 13-14. We're bound to give thanks all
the way to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto He called you
by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And the Lord said, verse 6, and
blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me. You know, many were offended
with the Lord when He told them, He said, no man can come. No man can come. Except it were
given unto him of my Father. And you know what? That pretty
well ends a man's ability. No man can. No man can. No man
can. No man can. They said, that's
a hard saying. That's John 6. That's a hard
saying. Who can hear that? What do you
mean I don't have the ability? He said, just exactly what I
just said. No man can come, except it were
given unto you of my Father. And you know what they did? They left. They left. And they walked no more with
him. And the Lord turned to his disciples and he said, will you
go away also? Peter said, Lord, where are we
going to go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we're sure. You're the Christ. You're the
Christ. Are Thou He that should come
or do we look for another? And the Lord told him, He said,
You go tell John the things that you've seen and you've heard.
Our hope is built on nothing less than God Almighty the blood
of Christ. His righteousness imputed onto
us. Lord bless the word to our heart
today for Christ's sake.