You can turn back to Matthew
chapter 5. I'm only going to use the first
two verses, as I said, as a springboard into this message. And seeing
the multitudes, many people, he went up into a mountain, and
when he was sent, his disciples came unto him. And he opened
his mouth. Here's the Creator. Here is God
manifest in the flesh. He opened his mouth and he taught
them. There used to be a commercial
that said, when E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen. And that depends if E.F. Hutton
has your money. They're the ones that listen. When our president
speaks, when he speaks, people listen. I was going past the
television a couple days ago, and he was speaking on this jobs
program. And I stopped, and I listened. Our president is speaking. He
has something to say. And we ought to listen, see what
he has to say. When any important person speaks,
people listen. How much more when the Lord of
heaven and earth, when our Creator speaks, ought we to listen? We ought to be up on the edge
of our seats and catch every word that falls from His lips,
to hear what He has to say. God's speaking. Do you really
want God to speak this morning? Lord, speak. I don't want me
to just speak. I'm not an important person,
but the one I represent, the one I am an ambassador for, he's
important. He's important. And it's through
men, it's through sinners like me, that he is pleased to speak
to his So we ought to listen. When he opens his mouth, he opened
his mouth and taught. And there was a multitude there.
I bet it was this quiet too. I bet you could hear a pin drop.
You know, one time he's taught on the shore. It says he got
in the boat and rode out a little bit because the multitude was
so great. I want you to, now, to get this. He gets in a boat
and he rows out away from the shore because the multitude is
so great. And he speaks to the multitude
without a PA system. And I assure you, the ones in
the very back heard him just as well as the ones up front. He doesn't need this system.
I do. Not that I need it in this room,
but when he speaks, he's to be heard. Christ said, if you receive
the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. And we know
this. Christ is the witness of God. He declared, I came from above. You are from beneath, I am from
above. He came from the very presence
of Almighty God. He who is God came from the presence
of God. What a mystery. What a mystery. That being so, we ought to be
quick to hear. Lord, make us quick to hear Your
voice in the message. Our Lord had many things to say,
and if all that He said and all that He did were written in a
book, the Scripture says the world could not contain it. If all that was said, all that
was done, if all that was written, it says the world could not contain
the books that ought to have been written. Couldn't do it.
Often he spoke of God calling Him, My Father. He spoke of His
Father's will. He came to do the will of Him
that sent Him. He did not come to do His own
will, not that it was different. But he came to do the will of
his Father. Look over in John chapter 6.
John chapter 6. He says in verse 37, All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out, for I came down from heaven.
That's where I came from. And not to do mine own will,
but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's
will which hath sent me." Here's his will. Here's his purpose
in sending me to you into this world, being made flesh. It was not to attempt to save
anybody. It was to save. And this is the Father's will
which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, every
one of them which he hath given me, I should lose Nothing. He said, not a hair of your head
will perish, but you'll raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on
Him may have everlasting life. And I will raise Him up at the
last day. He spoke of His Father. He spoke
of God as being His Father. He spoke of His Father's will.
He spoke of fearing His Father. Don't fear them that can kill
the body. Fear Him. I'll tell you who to fear. Fear
Him who can cast both body and soul into hell. He said that's
the one you fear. That's the one you stand in awe
of. That's the one you have great respect for. That one who has
the power to make life or to kill, to wound or to heal. That's the one you fear. He spoke
of his father's love. He said God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
on him may have everlasting life." And he spoke of man. In one place
he said he would not commit himself to men because he knew what was
in them. He knew what was in man. He knows the corruption
and the vileness, the hypocrisy of human nature. And he exposed
it. He said to those Pharisees, You
are full of dead men's bones." He said, you are nothing but
whited sepulchers. Called that woman a dog. He spoke
of man. Man who was made in the image
of God after the likeness of God is now fallen. Fallen and
corrupt. You love darkness. He spoke of
what man loved. You love darkness rather than
light. Christ said, I am the light.
But you love the darkness. rather than lies. That's what
we love by nature. Then he spoke of sin. He denounced sin. He
exposed sin for what it really is. Evil. Evil. I don't know. It's hard for us
to even put into words the wretchedness, the sinfulness, the evilness
of sin. And our Lord exposed it. He spoke
of heaven. He said, in my Father's house
are many mansions. Many dwelling places. Plenty
of rooms. He said to that thief on the
cross, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Our idea of paradise is going
to Hawaii or something. Paradise is where God is. Paradise
is where no sin is, no evil, no darkness. Paradise is God. Whoever he is, that's paradise. Perfection. He spoke of hell.
He spoke of its torments. He said, where there were, dieth
not. He spoke of it as a place where
weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth goes on continually,
unmitigated hatred. He spoke of it. Actually, if
you go through the Gospels, he spoke of it more than he did
heaven. But the one thing I want us to hear him speak of this
morning is himself. Our Lord spoke of himself as
the Savior of sinners. as that promised seed, as the
Messiah that was to come into this world and redeem. Look over
in John chapter 4. He's speaking here to this woman,
and we know her as the woman at the well. And he's speaking
to her. He's saving her is what's going
on. What's going on is he's speaking to this woman. He's exposing
her sins. He's exposing her to her. He's
exposing herself to her. And then he reveals himself.
He says in verse, let's go to verse 24, God is spirit. They
that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. And
the woman said unto him, I know that Messiah's cometh. I know
that there is a Messiah coming since Genesis chapter three.
We have God's word on it. that a Messiah is coming to deliver
us. I know this. I believe this. I believe it, which is called
Christ. When He has come, He will tell
us all things. He will teach us, instruct us. He opened His mouth and says
there, Matthew 5, and taught them. When He's come, He will
reveal all things to us. And Jesus said to her, I that
speak unto thee am He." I'm that One. I'm the Messiah you're looking
for to come. I'm the Redeemer. I'm the Savior. I'm Him. I'm It. He spoke of
Himself as the Savior. Look over in Mark 14. We have
His Word on it that He's the Savior. Mark 14. It says in verse 61, let's go
to verse 60. And the high priest stood up
in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, answerest thou nothing?
What is it which thee witness against thee? You see, he was
not answering them. He didn't owe them an answer. God gives, the Scripture says,
no account of any of his matters. He's not on trial. He doesn't
have to answer us. Why are you doing this? Why did
you let sin come into the world? Why? Why? He doesn't answer us.
He gives no account of any of his matters. Not to us. But he held his peace and answered
nothing. Again, the high priest asked
him and said unto him. Now listen, he'll answer this
one. He will answer this question. Are thou the Messiah, the Son
of the Blessed, the Son of God? Are you the One?" And Jesus said,
I am. You got that right. You got that
right. I am and you shall see the Son
of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds
of heaven. Are you the Christ? Are you the
son of the blessed one? I am. I'm the one. Throughout the Old
Testament, starting from Genesis chapter 3, we read where the
Messiah is coming. God promised there in the fall. He promised the seed of the woman
would bruise the serpent's head. And throughout that Old Testament
time, all those prophets said, someone's coming. A Messiah is coming to redeem
and to save Israel from his sins. He said, Moses wrote of me. David, throughout the Psalms,
wrote of Christ. He said, Abraham saw my day and
was glad. He saw my day and was glad at
me. Isaiah 7 says, Behold, a virgin
shall conceive their son. The Jews looked for this anointed
one to come. They looked for this Messiah
that would come and free them from bondage, from slavery. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
I am the one. I'm the one. I'm the Messiah. I'm the promised city. I'm the
ark. I'm the Passover lamb. I'm the
high priest. I'm the one. The demons recognized
him as being that one. Look over in Luke chapter 4. In Luke chapter 4, look in verse 33. And in the
synagogue there was a man which had a spirit of an unclean devil,
and cried out with a loud voice, saying, What have we to do with
thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?
I know thee, I know who you are." Oh, my. I know who you are. The Holy One of God. The demons recognized it. Turn
on over to verse, look in verse 41. Look in verse 40. Now, when the sun was setting,
All they that had any sick with diverse diseases brought them
unto him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed
them. And devils also came out of many crying
out and saying, Thou art the Christ, the Son of God." They
recognized him, didn't they? They came into His presence and
said, We know who you are. Have you come to torment us before
our time? And He rebuked them and suffered
them not to speak for they knew. They knew that He was Christ,
the Messiah, the Son of God. Old Brian Bartimaeus recognized
Him, and he was blind. tells you that these eyes mean
nothing when it comes to spiritual sight. Blind Bartimaeus couldn't
see anything, but he recognized the Lord. He recognized Him when
he passed by. He cried, Have mercy on me!" Old Blind
Bartimaeus, sitting there by the wayside begging, recognized
the Son of God as he passed by. He recognized Him. If he'd have
recognized Him, the Lord would have asked His disciples a question. Who do men say that I am? Some
say you're John the Baptist, and some say you're a prophet,
and this and that. But whom do you say that I am?
And Peter said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. We have all these witnesses.
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. John the Baptist
recognized him. He said, Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world. And when he stood
before Pilate, He declared again, I am. I'm the Messiah. I'm the one. Jesus Christ is God manifest
in the flesh who is the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer. That's
who he is. Then Christ spoke of himself
as the substitute. Look over Matthew 20. Matthew 20. He spoke of himself
as the Messiah. He spoke of himself as the substitute,
Matthew chapter 20. Matthew chapter 20, look in verse
28. as a son of man, came not to
be ministered unto, but to minister. And here is why he came, to give
his life a ransom for many. He came to die. He came here
in this world on purpose. He came to redeem sinners. He came to die for sinners from the time he was born. From
the time he was born, he headed toward Calvary. As I said earlier, we do everything
not to die. He was coming to die. He didn't
come here to live. He came here to die. For this
hour came I into this world. That's where he came. There was an appointed
purpose of God, an appointed time. How many times did he say,
my hour has not yet come? And then he said, my hour has
come. Father, glorify thy son, that thy son may also glorify
thee. The hour has come. An appointed time. An appointed
place. Calvary. That little place called
Calvary was created, it was made for him to die. A place to die. A place where
criminals were put to death. That's what it was. It was appointed purpose, appointed
time, appointed place, and appointed death. He could not just die
in what we call, well, we call natural causes. He couldn't die
of that. He was perfect. He was perfect. He hadn't been appointed to death.
He had to die the death of a criminal. Because everyone whom he represented
were criminals. Lawbreakers. Lawbreakers. They were called ungodly. They're
called sinners. Christ died for the ungodly.
I've never been ungodly, but Christ didn't die for you. He
died for the ungodly, unlike God. By nature, we are as unlike God,
and His night is unlike day. And He died for an appointed
people. He did not die just to make it
possible. He died to make it happen. He died to save. You know, a
substitute, when you think of a substitute, a substitute takes
the place of a certain person that he's substituting for. And that's what he did. He's
a substitute for a multitude of sinners of no man can number.
And he died in their stead under the wrath of God. appointed purpose, appointed
time, appointed place, appointed death, and appointed people.
That's why he came. Then he spoke of himself as the
Sovereign. He's the Sovereign. You shall see the Son of Man
sitting on the right hand of God. Go with John 17. He's the sovereign of the universe. John 17, verse 1, These words
spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father,
the hour is come. Glorify thy Son, that thy Son
also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over all
flesh. Why? Why did he give him power
over all flesh? He's the sovereign. He's the
sovereign over all flesh. That he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him. Now, if he did not have
the sovereign right over all flesh, he would not be able to
execute his purpose, would he? But he has the sovereign power
and right over everything that exists for this purpose, that
he may give eternal life to as many as the Father gave to him. He's the sovereign. Look over
in John chapter 5. 20 For the Father loveth the Son,
and showeth him all things that himself doeth, and he will show
him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. 21 For as
the Father raises up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so
the Son quickeneth whom he will. He's saying right here in this
verse, the Son has the sovereign right to quicken, to save whom
He will. He has the sovereign right to
say, live or pass me by. That royal prerogative is His. It's His. And the next time we see Him,
when we do see Him with these eyes, it won't be these particular
eyes, but when we see Him with those new eyes, that new body,
we will see the Lamb of God hanging on a cross. We will see
the Lion of the tribe of Judah ruling and reigning over everything. We will see him coming, it says,
in great power. Great power. When he died, he
died on a cross, his body mutilated, beaten, and they thought they got him.
They thought they got him. But the next time he's seen,
he's coming with great power and authority. He's the one that
says, depart from me, I never knew you, or enter in to the
kingdom. He's the one that will do Satan. And then last of all, he spoke
of himself He spoke of himself as the Son of God, the Savior,
the Messiah, the Redeemer. He spoke of himself as the Sovereign, spoke of himself as a substitute,
and he speaks of himself as the Judge. Verse 22, For the Father judges no man,
but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. All judgment has been placed
into the hands of that man from Nazareth. That demon said, We
know you, Jesus of Nazareth. All judgments have been placed
in His hands. He's the judge of the quick and
the dead. He's the judge. It says, The Father judges no
man, but He has committed all judgment unto the Son, that all,
that means in italics, that all should honor the Son even as
they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors
not the Father which hath sent him. If you and I do not find in Christ all we
need, if we do not find Him to be the Messiah, the Redeemer,
we will find Him to be the judge. We will find Him to be the judge. When our Lord went up to that
mountain, He sat down and He taught them. I pray He teaches us this morning.
Lord, teach us. Teach us. When He speaks, when
He speaks, listen. Listen. Lord, give us a hearing
ear. Make us quick to hear Thy voice. The message. Give me a hearing ear and a receptive
heart.