Turn with me, if you would, now
to Matthew chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9, and let's
read the first eight verses together. And he entered into a ship, our
Lord entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his
own city. And behold, they brought to him
a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their
faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer,
thy sins be forgiven thee. And behold, certain of the scribes
said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus, knowing
their thoughts, said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
For whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or
to say, Arise and walk? But that you may know that the
Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, then saith he
to the sick of the palsy, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto
thine house. And he arose and departed to
his house. But when the multitude saw it,
they marveled and glorified God, which had given such power unto
men. I have something that I feel
very deeply burdened to point out to us from this account. Very deeply burdened. I was so
burdened about this whenever I was writing it. And I've been
begging the Lord to open our eyes to something today, whether
we have seen it before or never seen it before. And I want to
encourage you to ask the Lord to open your eyes to this. All
right. Ask the Lord, would you open
my eyes to your word today? We have looked at this story.
This is a beautiful story. It's such a wonderful story.
It's glorious. We have looked at this story
many times together, and our emphasis has always been
on this sick man and his need. and the faith of his friends
who brought him. They ripped tiles off a roof, lowered him down in front of
the Lord. The other accounts tell us that. And the Lord's
just miraculous dealings with this man, what he said to him.
That's what the story's about. That's what the story is all
about. But when I read it this time, a few things very clearly
stood out to me and I could not get away from them. And they
had to do with everybody else in this story beside this sick
man and his friends. The Lord let me enter into everybody
else in this story. Verse eight says there was a
multitude of people there. And it tells us something very
sad about those people. And I'll tell you what it is
here in just a second. Verse three says there were a
bunch of religious leaders there, scribes, And it tells us something very
sad concerning them. And it's obvious what it is.
They said, behold, this man blasphemeth. This man's a blasphemer. Somebody may say, you know, as
we get into this and look at this, somebody may say, why would
you want to focus on the sad parts here? You got all this
good stuff right here. Why would you want to focus on
them? Why would you want to dwell on the sad things? This is the
reason why, all right? This is the reason why. We need
the truth. I don't want to play religion
today. I'm not interested in playing religion. I'm really
not. If that's all we're doing, I
have better things to do. We need the truth. If we are
going to go meet God, and we are. It's all fun and games until
we stand before God. If we are going to go meet God,
then we need the truth. And there is a truth revealed
to us through the rest of the people in this story. We need
to know it. God's people need to know the
truth. And I tell you this, God's people
want to know the truth. They do. Many people don't. They say, don't tell me the truth. If I had a life-threatening illness
and I went to a doctor for it, I would want him to tell me the
truth. Wouldn't you? Tell me the truth. Tell me the
truth. All right. Well, here's the truth
of this story. One man was saved. One man was healed. And multitudes
were not multitudes were not. And again, somebody is going
to hear this and say, I don't want to think about the people
who weren't saved. I don't want to. Maybe we ought to. Because I don't want to be one
of them. I really don't. I don't want to be one of them.
And I don't want you to be one of the people who are not saved.
I don't want to go stand before God and find out I was not one
of the people that he chose from the foundation of the world to
save. Don't turn back, but we saw in
Matthew seven, that many are going to go to him in that day. And they're going to say, Lord, and he's going to say to them,
depart from me. I never knew you. Wouldn't you rather confront
this truth now while there is still time to seek the Lord for
mercy. Then to be confronted with this
truth on the day of judgment, when it's too late, I would,
I would, there are two things. And there may come a point where
we come back and look at the story again, but for today, for
today's message, there are two things that I want us to clearly
understand come the end of this message. And I pray the Lord
would give us, I don't want it to just be, um, you know, some
kind of a dissertation, like a college. I pray the Lord might
really open our hearts to understand this and let us enter into this.
But these are the two things. All right. Number one, I want
us to know who Jesus Christ really is. And what I mean by that is
who Jesus Christ actually is. And number two, I want us to
know and understand who Jesus Christ actually saves. All right. Who he actually is
and who he actually saves. And if God will open our eyes
to this, God's elect will hear it and they will believe it. God will open our ears to this.
His people will hear this. His people will believe this. Just like our brother just told
us a minute ago, this is the means that he uses to quicken
his people. That word is life, quickening
life. Our Lord said, you shall know
the truth and the truth shall make you free. And I pray he'll
do that. I pray he'll make us free. Now
here is the sad truth concerning these multitudes and concerning
these scribes. They had no idea who Jesus Christ
was. That is the evidence of condemnation. That is the
evidence of damnation. That is the evidence of a soul
that is not saved. John 17 verse 3 says, this is
life eternal. That they might know the, the
only true God in Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent eternal life
is evidenced by knowing who God is. Eternal life was purchased. Eternal life was secured by the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We just so adequately heard that
declared to us. It is the blood that remits our
sin. It is the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is the work on the cross that
he accomplished alone for us that put away our sin. And the evidence of that for
God's people is they know who God is. And they know who Jesus Christ
is. I told you before about the man
that I heard speaking and he ended his speech with a prayer
and he ended his prayer by praying to God. He said, whoever he or
she may be. Well, that's a bad sign. That's a bad sign. That's a very, very bad sign.
Eternal life is evidenced by knowing who God is. who Jesus Christ is, seeing Him
as He is, believing on Him for who He is. And this is the absolute truth
right here. And I want to declare this in
love. I'm not trying to get hard. Multitudes of people have no
idea who He is. And I'm talking about people
who are known to be religious. No idea who Jesus Christ is. They have no idea who God is.
They have no idea who Jesus Christ is. They may know that he exists, but they have no idea who he
is. That is most men and women today. I say this in sorrow. That's most men and women today.
It's sad. It's scary. It's not a good sign. Now, I want to be very clear
about this right here, okay? Ask people, ask somebody, who
is Jesus Christ? Just out of the blue, just go
up to somebody and ask them, who is Jesus Christ? Most of them will say, well,
that's God's son. No, he is not. We need to learn what this means.
I say this in fear. I say this in lowliness. He is
not God's son. He is the son of God. We just
have that declared to us. I enjoyed what I just heard. All right, this is so important.
We need to learn this. We need to understand this. He
is not God's son. He is the son of God. What does that mean? Somebody
say, all right, tell me, I need to learn this. We need to learn
this. Just tell me, what do you mean? This is what it means.
He's God. He's God. He's not God's lower. He's not God's son. He's the highest God. He is the highest God. Some might
say, well, is there a father? Yes. He said, when you pray,
you say our father. He constantly said my father.
Okay, is there a son? Yes. The father's constantly saying,
my son, is there a spirit? Yes. Yes, there is. The scripture speaks of the three
of them continuously, but here's the thing we need to understand.
These three equal persons. Philippians tells us that the
Lord Jesus Christ thought it not robbery, not robbery to be
equal with God. These three equal persons are
one God. There's only one God. You say, well, I'm having trouble
understanding that. Yeah, me too. But that's what
He said. And He's higher than us. And
His ways are higher than us. And His thoughts are higher than
us. And whether I understand all of it is irrelevant. These
three equal persons are one God. These three persons make up the
Godhead. Father, son, spirit, the Godhead. And all the fullness of the Godhead
dwells in one body. And Jesus Christ is him. All right, now hold your place
right here and turn with me to where our brother just read,
Mark chapter two. And I guess maybe the reason
I feel burdened about this is because Christmas is coming and
everybody's going to be happy about the little baby and putting
on the plays with the little baby. And, you know, we just
love the little baby. We need to know who Jesus Christ
is. Mark chapter two, verse one says, and again, he entered into
Capernaum after some days and it was noise that he was in the
house and straightway many were gathered together in so much
that there was no room to receive them. No, not so much as about
the door. And he preached the word unto
them. And they come unto him and bring
one sick of the palsy, which was born of four. So this is
telling us a little bit more about the same account we're
in and Matthew four men brought him. And when they could not
come not unto him for the press, there was so many people in the
house. They uncovered the roof where he was. And when they had
broken it up, they let down the bed where in the sick of the
palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he
said unto the sick of the palsy, son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the
scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, silently in
their own hearts, looking at him with a smirk on their face.
And this is what they were saying inside themselves. Verse seven,
why does this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive
sins but God only? You know what they were saying
in saying that? You're not God. You're not God. Who can forgive sins but God
only? You're not God, you're just a
man. Now, this is why I pray the Lord
will let us enter into this. That's what most people think
about Him today. Men and women still think that
in their hearts to this very day. Yeah, He's a good man. He's
a perfect man. He's a mighty man. But no, He's
not God. That's what this multitude said
back in Matthew. Go with me back to Matthew nine,
verse three. And behold, certain of the scribes
said within themselves, this man blasphemous and Jesus, knowing
their thoughts said, wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
They said, what you're thinking is evil. It was blasphemy. Verse
five, for weather is easier to say thy sins be forgiven thee
or to say arise and walk. But that you may know that the
son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, then saith he
to the sick of the palsy, arise, take up thy bed and go unto thine
house. And he arose and departed to
his house. Now watch verse eight. But when
the multitude saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, which had
given such power unto men." You see that? They glorified
God. They didn't glorify God for His great power. They glorified
God because He gave it to a man. They meant well, they really
did mean well, but they missed it. Like Romans 10 says, they
had a zeal of God, but they missed him. They missed him. They said that we like this man. He's a well-favored man, but
he's a man. He's just a man. Now, is Jesus Christ a man? We were just told the answer
to that question. 100%, yay and amen. That's a glorious thought
to me. Is Jesus Christ a man? Yes, but here's what we must
understand. That man is the almighty, eternal
God. He's not the one who can get
us to God, like all the signs around town say. He's not the one who can get
us to God. He is not God's middleman. God Himself manifests in the
flesh. Now I've been telling you all
this, and it's time that I prove it to you. Anytime you hear a
man say radical statements, and these are not radical statements
because they're right here. I'm just repeating the word of God. But
anytime you hear this, have the man prove it to you, have him
prove it to you. So let's prove it with some scripture. Go with me to John six. May the Lord cause us to understand
this verse like we've never understood it before. John 6, verse 40. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth
on Him, may have everlasting life and I will raise him up
at the last day. What does that mean? Seeth the
son and believeth on him. That means whoever sees him as
he is and believes on him for who he
is. who He truly is. That's the evidence
of eternal life. Now, verse 44 and verse 45 right
here tell us that if we do come to Christ, seeing Him for who
He truly is, that's the work of the Father drawing us to Christ. And the only way that a sinner
can have this knowledge of Christ is if the sinner is taught directly
of God. Verse 44 says, No man can come
to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I
will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. The
Lord asked Peter one time, he said, who do you say that I am? Peter said, thou art the Christ. That means what we're looking
at. And the Lord said to him, Peter, flesh and blood didn't
reveal that to you. My father in heaven did. That
was revealed to you. So this is God's doing. God gets
the credit for it, the glory for it. But if he does cause
us to truly see the son, this is what we'll see. All right,
here we go. Turn with me to Isaiah nine.
Isaiah chapter 9. This is what we will see. If
God causes us to see the Son, this is what we will see. Isaiah chapter 9. The heading at the top of my
page here says, the church's joy in Christ's birth and kingdom. This is about the birth of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 9, verse 6, it says, for
unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder. We read that and we understand
that and think, yeah, okay. And his name shall be called
wonderful. We read that and we say, yes,
yes, I agree with that. Okay. His name shall be called
counselor. Yes. Yes. That's who came. His name shall be called. The
Mighty God. Okay, well, maybe I can go along
with that one, but what about the next one? His name shall
be called the Everlasting Father. His name shall be called the
Prince of Peace. Now, wait a minute. Honestly,
wait a minute. Who is this that came? Who is
this that came? You know, Matthew one says, call
his name, Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins by his blood with his stripes. through His faithful suffering
on the cross of Calvary. Call His name Jesus because He's
the Savior. But then Matthew 1 goes on to
say, call His name Emmanuel because God is with us. This is God with us. God came
down. John 1 says, in the beginning
was the Word, Christ. The Word was with God, the Word
was God, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. God was made flesh and dwelt
among us. The fullness of God. Just think
about this. The Prince of Peace is the Son. The Everlasting Father is the
Father. The counselor is the Spirit. All three of them. The mighty
God. That's wonderful. That is wonderful. Call Him wonderful. The fullness
of the whole Godhead was born in the promised Son. Turn with me
to John 14. John 14, verse one. John 14 says, our Lord said,
let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. You believe in God, believe in
me. Verse two, in my father's house are many mansions. If it
were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go, you know,
and the way you know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord,
we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. Now watch verse
six, the end of it. No man cometh unto the father,
but by me. There's only one way to come
to the father. You have to come to me. Verse
seven, if you had known me, you should have known my father also.
And from henceforth, you know him and have seen him. Philip
saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth
us. Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you,
and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? Is that not amazing? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And how sayest thou then, show
us the Father? Believest thou not that I am
in the father and the father in me, the words that I speak
unto you, I speak not of myself, but the father that dwelleth
in me." Where does the father dwell? The Father that dwelleth in me,
he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father
and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works
sake." He said, if you've seen me, you have seen the Father. Here's my question to myself
and to all of us. Do we see Him? Do we see God in this man? In John 10, he said, I and my
father are one. Second Corinthians 5 says, God
was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. All the fullness
of the Godhead was in Christ while he hung on the cross of
Calvary, reconciling all of his chosen people to himself. In Revelation 1, he said, I am
Alpha and Omega. the first and the last. He said,
I am he that died and rose again to live forevermore. I'm the one who holds the keys
of hell and death. I want us to walk out of this
building. We're about to walk out. I'm almost done. And I really
want us to walk out understanding who Jesus Christ truly is. worshiping Him for who He truly
is. Because John 5, 23 says, all
men should honor the Son as they honor the Father. He that honoreth
not the Son, honoreth not the Father that sent Him. What is
it to truly honor the Son? It's to say what the Father said
in Hebrews 1, verse 8. To the Son, He said, Thy throne,
O God. is forever and ever. A scepter
of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. So that's, I'm
going to say in closing, that's the first thing I want us to
understand. I told you I had two things and I didn't accidentally
go long. I knew the first one was going
to take the whole message. I'm closing with the second. I want
us to understand who God truly is. Okay. The second thing, just
so briefly, I want us to understand this. Christ came into this world
to save those who cannot save themselves. That's the only people
Christ came to save. Just go back with me to Matthew
9. This man with the palsy could
not walk. In and of his own ability, he
could not come to the Lord Jesus Christ. There was only one man
there. This is the point I want to make,
all right? Come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Come to the Lord Jesus
Christ. There was only one man in that
whole story who couldn't come. That makes sense. In the whole story. Only one man couldn't come. In
and of his own ability. Somewhere along the way, somehow
along the way, the phrase got started in religion that God
helps those who help themselves. That is not in the Bible and
it's not true. You can't find that in the Bible.
Get a concordance and do a word search. It's not there. This man could not help himself. Somehow the phrase got started
that if you take the first step, God will take the second step.
That is not in the Bible and it's not true. This man could
not take a step at all. This man could not do anything.
God has to start the work. God has to finish the work. God
has to take the first step. God has to take the last step. And this man is our evidence
of that. I'm done. Look at verse two. Behold, they
brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed, and
Jesus seeing their faith. Where did they get that faith?
That was not of themselves. That was the gift of God to them.
Not of their own works, lest they would have anything to boast
in. God did that. God started that. That was his
good pleasure, bringing them to himself. It says in verse 2, Behold, they
brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed, and
Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, and
I love this, this is so precious, he said, Son, don't you love
that? I'm so glad he didn't say, Man. The Father spoke to him, Son. You are loved with an everlasting
love. I chose you. You were paid for. You've been redeemed. I prepared
a place for you. Son, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you. I wish I had time to go into
the importance of spiritual soul healing. Most people come to
church because they want a physical healing. You get cancer, so what
do you do? Go to church. You get this illness, that illness,
what do you do? Well, I need to get back in church.
And all I'm looking for is a physical healing. If you'll just heal
me of my cancer or heal me of my whatever the disease is, then
I'll be good and I'll go back to my life. There is only one
healing that we need. The Lord gave him the only healing
that's needful. The only reason he told that
man to rise up and walk was to prove to everybody, I have done
what I said I would do. But in love, he said, son, arise,
take up thy bed and walk. And that man got up. He came
to know the truth and the truth set him free. He got up and he
went about his way. And let me just leave you with
this. God saves those who are helpless
sinners before Him, totally crippled before Him. Let's beg God to
let us be that before Him. Lord, I can't do anything. I
can't come to You. I have nothing to offer You. You're gonna have to bring me. You're gonna have to heal me. Come that way. and our Lord will
speak to our hearts. Your sins are forgiven you. Come
that way, if he will reveal that to us and cause us to cry that,
that will be our evidence. Our sin is forgiven us. Lord,
reveal Christ to us. Please reveal Christ to us. May
that be the case for all of us. All right, Brother Eddie.