Matthew chapter 4. The title
of the message, Jesus Christ, the Preacher. The Preacher. The King of Glory is the Preacher
here. In verse 17. The Lord Jesus Christ
is called the Preacher. From that time, Jesus began to
preach. He began to preach and to say,
repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. I thought as I was
sitting here and I made this statement this morning in the
Bible class concerning the fall in the Garden of Eden, Adam and
Eve and the temptation. I said, I wasn't there, so I
don't know every detail that went on. He was. He was there. I just it just dawned on me when
I was sitting here and I was looking at that verse and I thought,
this is the one preacher who has perfect knowledge of what
he's saying. He was there in every event. When you read the Old Testament.
Everything that happened in the Old Testament. The son of God,
who is Jesus Christ, was there. when he was there. He has perfect
understanding. You reckon we ought to pay attention?
We ought to pay attention to somebody who knows what he's
talking about. Somebody that was there. But he's a preacher. Look over in Isaiah 61. In Isaiah 61, this Scripture
is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He quotes this
Scripture in the temple. He reads this Scripture and He
says, this day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. And He
says here in Isaiah 61, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Now this is referring to the
Lord Jesus Christ. This is a prophecy of Him, and
this is Him speaking. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of
God, is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me. He's anointed
me, He's appointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted. This is what I came for. You know, one time the disciples
said, they said that, Lord, you want us to call fire down out
of heaven and burn these guys up? Those Pharisees, let's just
burn them up. And he said, I came not into
the world to destroy, but to save, to heal. That's what I
came for. I didn't come, we're already
destroyed. We were destroyed in Adam, weren't
we? We fell in Adam. We died in Adam. We're already messed up. He said, I didn't come for that
purpose. I came to save. I came to heal. I came to heal
the broken hearted. That is the broken hearted over
sin. If God breaks your heart over sin, I assure you he'll
heal it. And you and I better hope he
breaks our heart over sin in this time, in this life. He came
to bind up the brokenhearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives. Those who are held captive by
sin. We are slaves, but listen, by nature we are slaves to sin. We are slaves to it. You think you overcome something,
then it whistles. There you come right back to it. We're slaves
to it. It's like a master. Sin is like a master over us.
It brings us under bondage. And he said, I came to proclaim
liberty to the captives. Freedom from sin, from Satan,
as we saw this morning. You're not his captives no more.
Not if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, you're
free from that. You're free from death. I don't have to fear dying. We're free from it. Free from
that. Death has no more dominion over us. Sin has no more dominion
over us. Not if you're in Christ. It has
no more dominion. Christ has set the captive free. Whom the
Son sets free, He's free indeed. Free to worship God. Free to
serve God. An opening of the prison to them
that are bound. I tell you, this life and sin,
it's like being in prison. He said, I came to set them free.
And someday you and I are going to die. We're going to be buried. And this body is going to be
in that grave. But someday, it's coming out. That body's coming
out. I'm not gonna be a captive. My body's not gonna be a captive
to the grave. My spirit's not gonna be a captive to it. I'm
not gonna be a captive to it. He said, I came to set him free.
And I came to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Today is a
day of salvation. Now, he says, it's the accepted
time. But, he says, also the day of
vengeance of our God. Those who believe not on the
Lord Jesus Christ will have to face God who is a consuming fire. There's no escaping that. Now, you're either going to deal
with God and grace in Christ, or you and I are going to deal
with God who's a consuming fire and who will by no means clear
the guilty. Not apart from Christ. And to comfort all that mourn. You better hope God makes you
and me. We better hope God makes us to mourn over our sins, to
really see something now, not that we can never see the fullness
of it, but to see something of the vileness of sin as God sees
it. as God sees it. And to appoint
unto them that morn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. This is
his ministry. This is his ministry. No greater
honor was ever put upon preaching. And when our Lord began to preach,
when the God of glory began to preach, it was not beneath Him
to preach to sinners. It was not beneath Him to preach
to sinners. The highest calling, and I want to say that I realize
this, but I know I don't realize this, as I ought to realize this,
that the highest calling on this earth is to be called to preach
the gospel. I know that. That's the highest
calling, but it's also one of the greatest responsibilities
any man can have, is to be called to preach the gospel. Paul said, who is sufficient
for these things? Who is sufficient to handle matters
of life and death and eternity and God's glory? Who's sufficient? That's what I'm handling this
morning. You're not just here listening to a message. I didn't just scratch this out
and come here this morning just to give it to you. I'm having
God's glory. I'm speaking to you about the
Lord Jesus Christ. You have in your laps the Word
of God opened up, the Word of God. We have to be careful, and we
have to be careful after saying that, after saying that's the
highest calling, we have to be careful not to elevate men who
are called to preach above what's right. You know, give honor,
Scripture says honor, to give honor to whom honor is due. We
are told to hold the elders or pastors and preachers in high
esteem. But remember this, let's never forget this. They're still
just men. They're still just men. And we
see that in the disciples. You know, as we go through the
gospel, you see the disciples. I mean, I'm glad the Lord allowed
them to say so many stupid things. Plus, I don't have to. I'm thinking,
well, that question got answered without me asking it. But we have to be careful not
to elevate men too highly. Because a preacher is a sinner
saved by grace, just as everyone out here is a sinner saved by
grace. That's all they are. Just that God put me here. He's
put you in the body where he put you in the body, put me in
the body where he put me. We all have our place. And thank
God if you know your place. Thank God if you know your place.
And preaching here now, preaching is essential to the saving of
sinners. Not singing. Singing is not essential
to anybody's salvation in any way, shape or form. It's not
essential. Preaching is. It is pleased God, the scripture
says over in 1 Corinthians, It is pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. If God's gonna save
a sinner, He's going to send them a preacher. Turn over to
Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10. Let's start in verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call
on Him in whom they've not believed? You cannot believe someone. It
is an impossibility. This is an impossibility. You
cannot believe someone or believe on someone you've never heard
of. As I heard Henry say one time,
it's like you can't come back from someplace you've never been. You can't do that. And you cannot
believe on someone you've not heard. So in order for me or
for you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we have to hear
of Him. And how shall they believe in
Him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? There's nothing more important
going on right now than what I'm doing. Preaching. And how
shall they preach? Except they be sent. Not just
anyone can do this. Not just anyone. You know, someone
may be graduating from high school and they're trying to decide
a career path. You know what? I think I'd like
to be in a ministry. No. No. God calls preachers. Preachers are of God. And God
sends the preacher. How shall they preach except
they be sent? Wait. How many times? I can show you letters. How many
times? Henry wrote to me, wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Don't run without being sent.
Because if you do, you have nothing to say. You have nothing to say. It's a bunch of chatter. And
God will not honor the message that He hasn't sent. How shall they preach except
they be sent as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings
of good things. God's gonna send a preacher if
He's gonna save a person or a people. He's gonna send a preacher. And
that preacher's gonna be given a message. He's gonna be sent
of God, and he's gonna deliver that message. Now I confess, I have to confess,
that what passes for preaching and preachers today, I'm embarrassed
to be associated with. I am. But God has called some
men, still, in this day. I'd love to see the Lord raise
up some young men now. I don't see many. But God still
is raising up some men to preach the gospel of glad tidings. That's what the gospel is. The
gospel, in its essence, is not a gloom and doom message. It's
a message of God's grace. It's a message of salvation.
It's a message of pardon, a message of forgiveness. It's how God
can be a just God and save me. That's what the gospel is in
its essence. It's good news. Good news. But now Christ here exceeds, he exceeds
his herald John. Remember John put in prison.
Christ exceeds John. You see, Christ exceeds John
because Christ is the message that John was preaching. He's
the message. Christ is our message. My message
is not how you should live. But my message is the one who
lives. And in Him we have life. Apart from Christ, we don't have
life. Because He is life. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. Life is a person. It's a person. And our Lord exceeds His herald.
But listen, the message stays the same. I mean, when Christ spoke, every
word was perfect. Every word was true. He knew
perfectly what He was saying. And when he begins to preach,
he preaches the same thing John preached, repent. He doesn't
change the message. Repent for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. You know, you know that a man
is of God when the king of glory endorses his message. He just picked up, John gets
put into prison. The Lord Jesus Christ picks up
where John leaves off. And what does he do? He picks
up with the same message. Repent. Repent. You'll make no progress in salvation
until this first happens. Repent. Repent. Christ, like his messenger, kept
the message simple. He kept it simple. Repent. We're
not going to go any further until this happens. Repent. Repent. Here is one who could astound
us with his knowledge, his wisdom. You know, we read some of these
old philosophers and people get astounded with their knowledge
and wisdom and they don't know a hill of beans. But here's one. Here is one who could astound
us with his knowledge and his wisdom, what mysteries he could
open up to us, but instead he says, repent. Repent. You know what repent is? You
know what it really is? It's to change your mind, your thoughts. This is what true
repentance is. We do mourn over our sins in
repentance. But we don't mourn over our sins
until we see Him whom we've pierced. Right? Christ said you'll mourn. Well, Scripture says you'll mourn
when you look upon Him whom you've pierced. Well, here's what real
repentance is. It's to change your mind, your
thoughts completely about who God is. who Jesus Christ is,
and who and what you are. That's true repentance. That's
true repentance. God is not who you think He is. Jesus Christ is more than you
think He is. And you and I are less than we
think we are. That's repentance, brother. That's
repentance. God's not who you think he is. He said in Psalm 50, you thought
I was altogether like yourselves. Boy, you missed it, didn't you? God is not who you think he is. Jesus Christ is more than you
think he is. And you are a lot less than you
think you are. That's repentance. That's the essence of it. And
it says here, repent and for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. You know that the kingdom of
heaven is among you when you have the gospel. When the Jews thought of the
kingdom of heaven, they thought of a physical kingdom made up
of people and God was their God. But the Lord said, it's a spiritual
kingdom. If the gospel's among you, Christ
is among you, the kingdom of heaven is among you. It's written
over in Luke chapter 17. I think this is where it is. In Luke 17. Luke 17. Let me read verse 20. And when he was demanded of the
Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered
them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation. It's not like an army of people
come marching down the road. And you say, well, there's the
kingdom of God. In another place, he said, the
kingdom of God is within you. And within you. He told Nicodemus that unless
he was born again, he could not see the kingdom of God. He could
not understand. He couldn't understand it. Couldn't understand the kingdom
of God. It's spiritual, it's a spiritual kingdom. It doesn't
come with observation. It's a spiritual kingdom. And you, who believe the gospel,
you make up the kingdom of God right now. And you know what
that means? That means the kingdom of God's
among us. If the king of glory's here this
morning, He said, where two or three are gathered together in
my name, there am I in the midst, the kingdom of God's with you. Now this kingdom that he's speaking
of, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, it's very real. It's a very real kingdom, though
I can't, may not be able to see it. It comes not with observation,
it's spiritual. Yes, very real. And it's established
in righteousness. In righteousness. The kingdom
of men is established in sin. Look how they get it. Lie, cheat,
steal, kill. That's how it's established.
But the kingdom of God is established in righteousness. There's no
injustice in the kingdom of God. Look over in Hebrews chapter
1. Hebrews chapter 1. In Hebrews chapter 1 and verse
8. But unto the Son he saith, Thy
throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of thy kingdom. The rule of thy kingdom is righteousness. It's righteousness and it's established
in righteousness. And it's a kingdom that cannot
be destroyed. This kingdom cannot be destroyed. All other kingdoms will be. Every
kingdom on this earth sooner or later will be destroyed. Just
look at history. But the kingdom of God will not
be destroyed. It's an everlasting kingdom.
Everlasting. And the kingdom has one sovereign. The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom
of God has one sovereign. And listen, He is the sovereign. We did not elect Jesus Christ
to be over the kingdom of God. He is the sovereign God of heaven
and earth. That's who Jesus Christ is, and
he is the sovereign over God's kingdom. And he is the one. He's the one who says he who's
in his kingdom. He's the One. Jesus Christ. He's the One. He's the Sovereign
of Heaven and Earth. And He rules in righteousness,
and He rules in grace and mercy. Scripture says He delights to
show mercy. This King delights to show mercy
to the worst of sinners, to the worst of men and women. He delights
to show mercy. You know, one of the charges
that they leveled against him was really a compliment. The
Pharisees leveled this charge, which really is a compliment.
This man receives sinners and he eats with them. Can you believe
that? They meant it as a slam, but it's really a compliment. This man receives sinners Like you and me. That ought to
astound us. I pray that you and I never get
over amazing grace. Someone said one time, and it
just stuck with me. When grace is no more amazing,
it's no more grace. It's no more grace. God's grace should always, always
be so amazing to us that He would choose me, that He would call
me, that He would sit down and fellowship with me. That should
be so amazing that I never get over it, that I never get over
it. That, my friend, is amazing grace. And everyone there, everyone
there, let me close. I think I've said enough. I think
I've got about six more pages to go, but I think, you know,
wisdom is knowing when to shut up, as much as knowing when to
say something. It is, isn't it? Knowing when
that's enough, you've said enough. But everyone there in God's kingdom,
everyone here this morning in God's kingdom, you are there
by the grace of God. If I'm in His kingdom, I'm telling
you, I'm in His kingdom by His grace. It's not that He saw in
me something better than He saw in somebody else. You know what
God saw in me? The same thing in Genesis 1-1,
when God came to create the heaven and the earth, it was darkness
and void. Darkness and nothing there. Empty.
Empty. Empty of spiritual life. Empty
of righteousness. I am empty of everything that
God requires. In Christ, I am complete and
have everything God requires. And one day when I lay this body
down and I wake up in glory, I'm there by the grace of God. Okay. 359. Please stand. Thy faith looks up to Thee, Thou
Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine. Now hear me when I pray Take
all my sin away O let me from this day be wholly Thine May
Thy rich grace impart String to my fainting heart I still
aspire As Thou hast died for me Oh, may my love to Thee Come
warm and changeless be A living fire While my sorrow makes a
tread And griefs around me spread, Be Thou my guide. Darkness turn to day, wipe sorrow's
tears away, Lord, let the ever-straying from Thee aside. When is life's transient dream? When death's cold, swollen stream
shall you reach?