Turn back the text again with
me, please, Matthew chapter twenty one. Matthew, twenty one, I want to
read that one verse with you again, verse ten. Matthew, twenty one, verse ten,
and when. He. was come into Jerusalem. All the city was moved, disturbed,
in a turmoil, troubled, bothered, influenced. All the city was
moved, saying, Who is this? Who is this? Don't let me lose you here at
the start. The world is full of skeptics. Agnostics. Self-righteous intellectuals. People who scoff at, make fun
of, and try to explain away what I am doing this morning. What
we are doing here this morning, what I'm doing is preaching. The world is full of skeptics,
agnostics, intellects who disdain, who scoff at what I am doing
and what I'm about to say this morning. Do I consider myself smarter
than these people? Maybe not worldly speaking. Wiser? Yes. Because I know the wisdom of
the ages. I say that with humility. A natural man may know some things
about the truth. A natural man may know some true
things, but he doesn't know the truth. Natural man may know some true
things, but he doesn't know the truth. Natural man may be smart. But he's not wise unto salvation. Do we really think that? Man
has modern man has progressed. Does anybody at all think that
modern man has progressed? We have more gadgets. We have
more modern conveniences, we have more technology and so forth,
but has man, the man, the personality, the character of man, the planet
we live on, is it a better place to live? Huh? Is crime down? Love up? Well, I'm here to tell you this
morning that unless you know who this is, unless you know
who this is and unless you believe in and follow after him with
all of your heart, you are an ignorant and perishing fool. Is that hard? Maybe. Maybe I said it in a hard way,
Dogmatic is a dogmatic certainly. True you better believe it. Now listen man will believe just
about anything. Rather than what is obvious.
Man will believe just about anything but what should be obvious. Anthropology. And I know the
word anthropology, it means the study of man. Anthropology, the
study of man. Altogether, excludes theology. That means the study of God. Paul said that a long time ago,
didn't he said they do not like to retain God in their knowledge. Psychology. Psychology has precedent
over. Soteriology, I'm not trying to
I'm not trying to impress you this morning, I'm just trying
to use the terms that people use. This word we're living in
a society of skeptics, agnostics and so forth, intellects, it's
where we're headed, education is going to be the education
is going to be the savior of our world, you know, that the
idea is what they say. Psychology, that means the study
of the mind, improvement of the intellect and so forth. Has precedence
over soteriology, you know what soteriology is? That's the study
of man's salvation, his eternal destiny. Life after death. Skepticism. Agnosticism, or that
is people don't believe much about anything, refuse to. Philosophy. Those of these is the religion
of today. This is the religion of today. Now, man is either
religious, this is the way mankind is, I'm going to describe modern
man. Christie, you have to sit through
these nuts in school, why not listen to me to try to explain
it a little bit. Some of you who've been to school,
you have to sit through these idiots, why not listen to me?
get it from a much deeper source. Man is either a religious idiot,
ignorant, a fool, a preaching, dancing, ridiculous fool, or
he's an intellectual fool. One or the other. I have no use
whatsoever for modern science, falsely so-called. I said this
morning, like I said earlier, the word science means The study
of truth. Now, the scripture says Jesus
Christ said, I am the truth. Science has no place whatsoever
for Jesus Christ, do they? So I have no use for science,
modern science. I appreciate some of the things
that science has given us and so forth. It seems that man's
life has been extended, maybe a little bit, because of successes
in the area of medical science and so forth. But what they're
doing is prolonging the inevitable. That's all they're doing. Adding
to man's condemnation, really. I have no use for modern science
in the true sense of the word. I have no use for philosophy.
I have no use for psychology, modern psychology. Why? Because
it starts with man. It starts with man. And it comes
from man. Now, listen. Man is a fickle, finite, fallible,
failing creature. Man is a mutable, that is, changing
and malleable, swayable creature. Man changes almost with the seasons. They do say he changes with the
moon. What man thinks is truth today
will be considered foolish tomorrow. The theories of today will be
obsolete tomorrow, right? Oh, yeah. How can we come to
any definite conclusion here in the classroom this morning,
OK? How can we come to any definite conclusions with regard to man? When our understanding is imperfect.
You follow me? How can we come to any definite
conclusions about man if our understanding is imperfect? Who
can write a textbook on man? Man, that's laughable. Who's the authority on man, man? Psychology looks within for answers,
within. Man, you're looking in a gaping,
dark hole. You're talking about a black spot in the universe,
and this is what we're spending billions to find out. We've got
a black spot. Did you know there are black
holes in the universe? Send in your money and we'll
find out exactly how many. black holes, the secret to life
is in those black holes. Talking about a black hole, you
want to look within for answers? There's a black, gaping hole.
Sociology, that's the study of how to improve man's environment
and how man is brought up and so forth. He's a product of his
environment. Sociology looks at the environment
for answers. When I find answers there, There's only one place you can
find absolute truth. There's only one place you can
find absolute answers, and that is in an absolute God. I mean, in the true sense of
the word, the fullest sense of the word, God. I mean, an absolute
creator. Somebody who's a lot smarter
than I am. Not another man, Henry. Someone who is in sovereign control. That's how we can find out where
our destiny is headed. Ask him. An omniscient, that is, all-knowing
being. Supreme being. God. But the fool has said there is
no such thing. One. Who is the fool? The intellectually wise, smart
diagnostics, the teachers of our day. Right, Ed? Yeah. There's no absolute, supreme,
personal, one, omniscient being. We're all forms of this ethereal
essence, whatever that may be. They say there's no supreme creator,
ruler, and controller. It's just an essence of life
that somehow we evolved from. You know what I wish? I wish. That modern scientists and philosophers
would wake up tomorrow morning. I wish they would wake up tomorrow
morning and take a good long look in the mirror. Just stand there, you ever done
that? I've done that. Have you ever stand there and
stared in your own eyes? Have you? Like you're getting
mystical, mystical on me. Try it. I'm telling you, there's something
in front of you that's absolutely unbelievable, marvelous. What they would see, what you
would see, is not an evolutionary being. What you would see, what they
would see, is not a product of millions of years of progress.
What they would see, what you would see, is the most marvelous
life form on the face of the earth. A magnificent, perfectly formed,
listen to the word, creature. You know what creature means? See,
modern man calls us a being. That means they can't explain
where we came from. Creature, the Bible calls us
a creature, that means somebody created us. You'll see what they'd see if
they took a good, long, honest look into their very own eyes,
they would see a marvelous creature, a being, yeah, a being, he is
in being, made by a creator. The brilliant and eloquent Bethlehem
might want to talk in these terms the brilliant and eloquent man
named David. He said I'm fearfully and wonderfully. Made. Not appear. Made you children listen to me
Stephen. Catherine. Y'all listen to me. You're going
to be studying St. Brandon. You're going to be studying
in your textbooks, Jennifer, Andrew. For the rest of your
days in school, you're going to be studying evolution. It's
considered fact now. The Bible says it's foolishness. Why? Who said that? God said
it. God said he made you, Stephen.
God. He didn't just happen. You didn't come from a monkey.
You're much too brilliant. You're much too beautiful for
that. You're much too marvelous a creature for that. A monkey. You're a being made by an eternal
creator. David said, I'm fearfully and
wonderfully made. He said, when I consider the
heavens, oh, they're marvelous. The stars. You ever go out at
night and look at the stars? Marvelous. Inexplicable. Amazing, aren't they? The stars,
the heavens. He calls it the work of his fingers.
It's like dust, like taking out dust that God did and threw them
out. Can you believe that? When I consider the moons, the
planets, you know this earth, this earth is directly tied to
that little globe that's swinging around it. The little ball of
dirt that's flying around it controls the oceans. That big ball of fire there,
we can't live without it. What's keeping it burning? This, but man, that David said,
but man. Have you ever stopped and considered
yourself? Man, man, this most marvelous creature of all, creation
of all, a complex, you people in medical profession, my soul,
a doctor who doesn't believe in God is the most ridiculous
fool on the planet. He doesn't just see the outward
facade. He goes in and looks at the intricate
workings of this body, this complex, complicated, intricately detailed
and functional creature, this sophisticated, mysterious thing
with all of its elaborate workings of muscles and tissues and sinews
and nerves and blood vessels and skeletal structure and all
that. All of it comes together. All
of it comes together in perfect form and function. A mass of
flesh can break blocks of concrete. A marvelous thing did it just
poof. Don't be ridiculous. A living,
thinking, feeling, marvelous creature called man. Man, product
of evolution. I know I've given you this illustration
before, but perhaps some of you haven't heard it. There was a
believer who was talking to a man who professed to believe in evolution.
And he asked the man, he said, Do you have a watch on you? The
man said, Well, yes, I have one right here. And the believer
said, Can I see it? Sure. So the man took it off.
And gave it to the fellow. So that is a nice watch. That's
a. What's this? High and mighty
watch they make now. No, not Timex, Henry. That's
the highest Franklin County goes. Oh, well, whatever it is. Rolex. Yeah. Oh, I'm glad I came up
with that. Rolex. This is not a Rolex, by
the way. It's a Seiko. And I got it on
sale. He looked at a Rolex. Wow. Perpetual
Oyster Date. He probably snickered at that,
perpetual. He said, boy, that's some watch
you got there. He said to the evolutionist,
the teacher of science, do you believe that the one who made
that, the man who made that knew what he was doing? Do you believe
that that watch had a wise creator? The man said, well, yes, look
at it. Look at the workings of it. It's
complex. It's marvelous, all of the intricate
workings of it. You can see that. You have to
be able to see that. The believer said, I don't believe
that. Not for a minute. I don't believe that. He said,
you know what I think about this watch? And I'll watch it. He
said, I believe one day, thousands of years ago, millions, that
they were floating out in space. mainsprings, and stems, and crystals,
and watch bands, and jewels, gears, minute and second hands. There was an explosion, a big
bang, and you got this watch. The man said, that's foolish,
that's ridiculous. He said, so are you, man, if
you can't look at a human being, or look at anything for that
matter, and not say that an all-wise Creator made this. Doesn't an utter fool say, no
God Creator? Well, now listen. If man is so
wonderfully and mysteriously made, If you accept that fact, man
is wonderfully and mysteriously made. What does that tell you
about the one who made him? What does that tell you about
the one who made him? One may say, well, suppose there
is a God. Just suppose there is a God,
the skeptic may say. How can man understand him and
know him? Well, another wise man, a long
time ago, the oldest book in this, the oldest entry into this
Bible, asked that very same thing. He said, Can man, can thou by
searching find out God under perfection? Can a man, can a
mortal being be more wise than God? Can a mortal man find out
God under perfection? No. Scripture says his ways are pacified. We don't have one. He said, can man find out God
under perfection? Not perfection. Can a mortal
man find out God? His ways are pacified in that.
Can he? The scripture says, God is infinite. God is infinite. Maybe that's
a wake up alarm. Time to get up and arouse ourselves
to the message. God is infinite. We are finite. God's thoughts, God's ways, God's
person is as high above man as the heavens are above the earth.
Well, how then can we find out God? How then can we know God? How then can we understand God? Look up here. Everybody. God wrote a book. God who made you wrote this book. How do I know? Before you ask
me, how do I know and become a skeptic, let me ask you, have
you read it? We see this. This is a modern,
well, it was modern just a few years ago. Psychology book, human
development. This was my wife when she was
in college. Yeah, she went to college, I
didn't. But that makes her smarter than me, right? But this is her
psychology book, her psychology book. There have been countless
of these written. Ever since the course has been
in effect, ever since man has been studying man, they've been
writing these. This edition here is now out
of print. It is now out of date, it is
replaced, it has been replaced by another. And the people who wrote it,
you want to guess who wrote this book, you want to make a wild
guess who the author, there were two authors of this book, both
of them were, I don't want to offend anybody here, but both
of them were women. I'm not making fun of women,
but I just, I guess women are experts on
men, I don't know. But the people who wrote this
book, the people who write these books, themselves have severe
problems. Most of them have been divorced
several times. Are they going to tell me how
to conduct my marriage? Most of them are on drugs. Have
to have a sleeping pill to get to bed at night. Don't tell me
how to do away with my inward fears, my innate problems. I glanced through this a while
ago, got down to the last chapter, chapter on death, and it gives
some suggested reading on the subject of death. Do you think the Bible's in there? God wrote a book. It never changes. It's the same one that's been
around. You don't want that book, do you? It's been the same one
that's been around for a long time. Now listen to me. The first
recorded entry in this book was 3,500 years ago, and you can
read it today. Written by 40 men. Dictated by
40 men. Different men. Spanning a period
of 1,500 years, 40 men. Different men. Men who did not
know each other. They did not collaborate together,
get together. And it's 66 different books. 66 different books, yet they
perfectly joined together in absolute, perfect cohesiveness
to tell one story. 1,500 years being written by 40 different
men, 66 different entries, and it all tells the same thing. Before you try to refute that,
you read it first. The same thing. Written by uneducated
men, too, and has baffled the philosophers of the age. In a
beautiful, profound language, a shepherd boy wrote the most
beautiful prose ever written by man. Powerful men, world leaders,
generations of wars, troubles, turmoils, upheavals, generation
after generation have tried to do away with this and have tried
to destroy it, only to have it multiply in Printed in over 1,000 languages. 1,000 languages. Read by more people than all
other books combined. Enduring the test of time. Only
a few books. There's only a few books still
in existence today that are more than a few hundred years old.
This is 3,500. That is the first century. The
last is 15. No, almost 2,000. Enduring the test of time, it
crosses, now listen to me, it crosses all barriers of custom. Custom. The man in Africa reads
the same book as I do. The man who wears a loincloth
reads the same book as I do. Crosses the barrier of nationalities,
of age, of class, of station. It's read by an Englishman and
there's a Chineseman. This morning we're reading. There's a Frenchman, there's
an African reading it this morning. A Mexican, a Japanese, a German,
a Russian reading the same book. And it meets their needs. Old and young. We got an 84.
Is that right, Virgie? I'm sorry. 82? 82? And we've got some 12-year-olds
in here reading the same book, same book. We've got lawyers and laborers
that read it. We've got a lawyer. We've got
a man who digs a ditch for a living, read this book. Not many lawyers.
We've got doctors and not many doctors and dishwashers read
the same book. It meets the needs of all of
us. It's suitable for every one of them. The same thing. This
is a holy, inerrant, infallible, immutable, unchangeable, all-wise,
all-powerful, eternal, inerrant Word of the living God. Before
anybody dismisses it, you better read it first. God's Word. How do you explain
it? How does anybody explain it? Henry, how do they explain
it? Can't. Most of those who scoff at it
have never read it. It'd be like me saying to a scientist,
I do not believe your so-called theory when I had never read
his book or a lawyer said, I don't believe this law or whatever,
when I'd never had read his book. Now, do you know what this book
says? Do you know what this book says? He wouldn't. Sixty six books. Sixty six entries. Sixty six books. Look in your
index with. All right, shows you the different
books. At the front of your Bible, you know what this book says.
There are thirty nine books in what is called the Old Testament
or old. Old record. Testament. There are 27 entries
into the New, but it all is together. It all is together with a 400-year
separation between them. In Genesis, there's talk about
a woman's seed. Exodus, there's talk about... Deuteronomy talks about a dwelling
place where God lives. Or one. Joshua talks about a
line of escape, your only escape. Judges talks about the angel
of the Lord. Ruth talks about the Redeemer,
a kinsman, a near kinsman. Samuel, first and second Samuel,
talk about the son of David. First and Second Kings talks
about God's King. First and Second Chronicles talk
about the Temple of God. Ezra talks about the Lawgiver. Nehemiah talks about a Restorer. Esther talks about a Provider. Job talks about a Redeemer. Psalms talks about a Shepherd. Proverbs talks about wisdom. Ecclesiastes talks about the
satisfier. Song of Solomon talks about the
bridegroom. Isaiah talks about a substitute. Jeremiah talks about a great
physician. Lamentation talks about a preacher.
What a preacher. Ezekiel talks about the Glorious
One. Daniel talks about the Beloved
One. Hosea talks about the Forgiver. Joel talks about the Giver of
the Spirit. Amos talks about the Judge of all. Obadiah talks
about the Deliverer. Jonah talks about the Sovereign
Savior. Micah talks about an Infinite
Infant. Nahum talks about a Comforter.
Habakkuk talks about the faithful ones. Zephaniah talks about a
universal governor. Haggai talks about the desire
of all nations. Zechariah talks about a foundation,
a headstone. Malachi talks about God's messenger. Thirty-nine books all saying
the same thing, telling us somebody is coming. Somebody's coming. In the very
beginning, God said, Somebody's coming. Who is this? He's coming. Then there's 27
books, you see those 27 books that make up what is called the
New Testament, those first four, those are called the Gospels,
first four. They say, you know what they say? He's here. He's
here. Of all those thirty-nine months
talked about, he's here! They said, four men in their
right minds said, he's here! He made it! He is here. They tell of his arrival. They
tell of his birth. They tell of his life. They tell
of his character. They tell of his speech, his
sayings. They tell of his actions. They tell of his miracle. They
talk about his death. They talk about his resurrection.
They talk about him ascending into heaven. Then there's the
book of Acts. It talks about his posterity,
what happened after he left, what he did. Then there are 21
books of epistles, letters written to the people to tell them all
about him, written to tell others about
him. Then one final book called the Revelation is telling, you
know what it says? He's coming back. This ain't no fabrication of
a man, of a mere mortal man. This wasn't written by two women. This is the Word of God. And
you know what it talks about? The Word of God. The Word made
flesh. Look at John chapter 1 with me.
The Gospel of John chapter 1. John chapter 1. This is talking
about the one around whom time is measured. B.C. A.D. I bet the skeptics would love to
change that, wouldn't they? This is talking about the One
about whom all things give witness. This is talking about the One
by whom are all things, through whom are all things, and for
whom are all things. The purpose, the reason for the
existence of all things. The One. First one. In the beginning
was the word capital W. And the word was with God and
the word was God the same was in the beginning with God all
things were made by who's the word. Him. A person. Who's this word speak
of a person. A person. Verse fourteen, the
word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Who is this? Who is
this? Jesus, the prophet. Jesus, is
that enough to describe him, Terry? Is that enough to believe?
Huh? Jesus, who is this? I just gave
you thirty-nine profound descriptions. Who is this? This is God in human form. This is God in
a body of a man. God! God! His existence in history. Listen
to this. Let's take the man, Christ Jesus. His existence in
history is undeniable. History records it. Men cannot
deny it. It's undeniable. He lived in
this world. Men cannot refute that. No matter how hard they try,
a man named Jesus walked this earth. Born in Bethlehem, raised in
Nazareth, walked through Judea, died on a Roman cross, and in
Jerusalem, hundreds said he rose from the grave without force or bribery. Without
arms or money, without earthly kingdom, or without possessions,
he left a mark on history unlike any man who has ever walked this
planet. Never wrote a book, yet no library
can contain all the books written about him. Never wrote a song, yet he's
the theme of more songs than all songs combined. Thousands of years before he
came, his birth was foretold, the very place, the very hour,
the very circumstances surrounding it. His place of upbringing,
his miracles, the exacting details of his death on the cross, down
to the point of him even saying the very words were written thousands
of years before he came. He was radically different than
any man who ever lived in his birth, his life, his death. And
three times people said, three times it was said audibly from
heaven, this is my son. Three times. Some said it thundered. He was and is. Who is this? He
was, he is, none other than God in the body of a man. God. God
in human flesh. He came to save a people by his
life and by his death. He came, like we said this morning,
as a substitute. To live the life God demands
of us. He came to die the death God
demands of us. He had to be a man because man
must die. He had to be God because God
alone can satisfy God's requirements. So he was the God man. He came
to save a people by virtue of that life he lived. to give them
to impute, to charge to their account all those that believe
him, that trust him, to charge to their account what he himself
did, what they could not do. It's called imputed righteousness,
imputed or charged perfection. And when God sees those people
that believe this man, trust in this man, he sees those people
as perfect. And then he went to a cross,
a Roman tree was just the means of his death. But he went there
and poured out his blood, his soul unto death. Why? Because
God had said a long time ago, the soul that sinneth, it must
surely die. The wages of sin is death. We've
sinned. We deserve to die. The wages
we've earned is death, separation from God. So when he was hanging
on that cross, Richard, when he was hanging on that cross,
he said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He screamed
it. Why did he do that? Because God
must forsake us in our sin. A man is a sinful creature. God is too holy to have anything
to do with it. So God must forsake us as long as we are in our sin.
Christ was a substitute for all those sinners who come unto God
by him. And he took their place and was
separated from God for those people. And that's when he cried
just to let us know God had forsaken him. The Lord God laid on him
the iniquity of us all. Not all people, all believers.
God made him to be sin for us, him who knew no sin, that we
might be made the righteousness, perfection of God in him. He came, this man, this God man,
this glorious being came to reconcile, reconcile a people to God. And over your head here, this
is Bible. Let's read the Bible. He came to reconcile a people
to God. 2 Corinthians 5. He said, I am the way. The way to what? To life eternal. The way to God. He said, I'm
the truth. The truth of what? The truth
of how a man may know God. The truth that's able to make
a man wise unto salvation, eternal life. He said, I am the life,
the life. What are you talking about? Life,
life and life, more abundant spiritual life. So we got a body. This body lives, this flesh lives. But what causes it to live? It's
soul within us. Christ said, I'm the life and
soul. Without me, the soul dies. The soul is condemned. He came
here to reconcile a people back to God. back to God to bring
up people who were enemies of God with God to reconcile those
people back to God. Those rebels. All right that
clear. And then he left here after he
did everything it was necessary he made that payment on the cross.
He left here to complete a transaction in heaven. to complete what is
called an atonement covering for their sins. Read it sometime
Exodus Leviticus and he's coming back again the scripture says
he's coming back again to pick up. His rightful possessions. He's coming back again to pick
up what is rightfully his. To conclude what he started a
long time ago and what was recorded The first recording of it was
recorded thirty five hundred years ago when God said in Genesis
chapter three verse fifteen. The woman's seed. A woman's seed. A man. But more than a man. God in human flesh. And he's
coming back someday to end this whole thing. to wipe it all,
to wind it all up. What was begun more than 3,500
years ago, that is begun to be written, and what was purposed
in the mind and will of God millenniums ago. Now, do you know this man? Do you
know who this is? I'm not talking about just the
facts. I gave you mostly facts this morning. Why? Because I
cannot, I cannot put it in your heart. Only the Holy Spirit can
give it. I gave you facts this morning.
I gave you facts. I talked about it. Only God can
reveal Him in you. Right? I've tried everything
I know. Like Christ said, we've piped,
no dancing, we've mourned, no crying. Screaming loud, talk
soft. I gave you the facts of the gospel
this morning. We went all the way through the Bible. We went
from Genesis to Revelation. If somebody asked you what I
preached this morning, you'd say he preached from Genesis to Revelation. His
text was in 66, he had 66 books. Only God can reveal to you who
this is, what it's all about. Only God can make you wise unto
salvation through the wisdom that's in knowing Christ. Now,
I ask you, I ask those who hear this by tape or whoever, to look
into it. Look into it. Seek the Lord while
he may be found. God said, seek me and you'll
find me, and you search for me with all your heart. psychology. You can have that you can have
that I'm going to keep studying this book it gets it gets it
keeps getting over my head it keeps getting deeper and deeper
the more I study it and we just skim the surface I mean literally
we just we looked at the index. We looked at the index. And I believe God in heaven in
eternity is going to take us Those that are there, he's going
to take us and sit us down in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, and
start preaching to us. And Henry, he'll spend about
100,000 years in chapter 1, verse 1, and then go to verse 2. That's
how much is there. So that's ridiculous. No, it's
not. No, it's not. Read it. Seek it. All right. Stand with me.