Thank you for that song. Bless
my heart. It is good to be back with you.
I was thinking this morning, I think the first time I came
here was a conference back in the mid-90s. I enjoyed meeting y'all then, and
it's still a joy. It's amazing as we live in this
world how God allows us to meet other believers and how he unites
our hearts together and allows us, sinners, to come before him
and worship. I pray God enables us this morning,
by his grace, to worship him. If you would open your Bible
to Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11. We're going
to read verses 1 through 15. Matthew chapter 11, verse 1. And it came to pass, when Jesus
had made an end of commanding his 12 disciples, he departed
thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John the Baptist had
heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his
disciples. And he said unto him, art thou
he that should come? Are thou the Christ, or do we
look for another? Jesus answered and said unto
them, you go and show John again those things which you do here
and see. The blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as
those disciples departed, Jesus began to say to the multitude
concerning John, what went you out into the wilderness to see?
A reed shaken with the wind? But what went you out to see?
A man clothed in self-raiment? Behold, they that wear self-raiment
are in kings' houses. But what went you out for to
see? A prophet. Yea, I say unto you, and more
than a prophet. For this is he of whom it was
written, behold, I send my messenger before my face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, among
them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater
than John the Baptist. Notwithstanding, he that is least
in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of
John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence,
and the violent take it by force. And all the prophets in the law,
they prophesied until John. And if you will receive it, this
is Elijah, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Hear John the Baptist. sits in
prison. And you imagine the things that
are going through his mind. You know why he's in prison?
Because he told Herod that it was unlawful for him to have
his brother Philip's wife. Basically, he's waiting to be
executed. And while he's there in prison,
he hears of the works of Christ. He hears the things of Christ. And he asks the question, maybe
in his mind, Is he the Christ? Or do we look for another? As
we've done seen here, our Lord said there's none greater that's
born of woman than John the Baptist. He was filled with the spirit
from his mother's womb. But could it be that this man,
is he still mortal? Oh, yeah. Could it be that he's
still a sinner? Oh, yes. Could it be that he
would doubt? Oh, yes. I've read, you know,
several, but you get, if you read from commentaries, everybody
has their own opinion. You know what? No one knows except
for our Lord and John what he was thinking, but he was concerned. He had two of his disciples.
He said, would you, would you go ask him and inquire of him? Are you the Christ? Or do we
look for another? Our Lord said, and he warned
his disciples before he died, he said, there are going to be
many preaching Christ. And you know what I just wondered
this morning? I just wondered if they were other people, like
they are now, who claim to be Christ. And he said, are you
the Christ? Or do we look for another? As
believers, we can be filled with doubt. We can. He was in a prison. A dungeon,
a damp, dark, depressing place. Probably just in a small, narrow
place, put there. Put there by God's sovereignty.
Put there by God's will. His servant, oh yes, he put him
there. John may have been filled with
doubt. We was talking yesterday, talking
to someone, you remember Elijah? Remember Elijah standing on Mount
Carmel against all those false prophets? One woman named Jezebel
said, by this time tomorrow, I'm going to kill you. And he
gets terrified. And this man, who goes to glory
without dying, is sitting here under a juniper tree, praying
that God would just take him on. This man that went to glory
without dying asked God to just take him. If they can, we can. We're just
dust, we're just dust. David said one time, there is
but one step between me and death. One step. John may have thought or said
in his heart, are you really the one? And this is the one
who said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world. Can a man like John be full of
doubt? Yeah, you can too. We can. I've been right where John is
at. Heart full of unbelief and with unbelief comes fear. Our
love seems so cold. We read and we can't even remember
what we read. How, it's like John Newton, "'Tis
a point I long to know. Often it brings me anxious thought. Am I his or am I not? The same
man who wrote Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me." Are you Christ? And do I really
believe in Christ? Is this really the gospel? Or
is there another? was what our Lord said. He said,
notice the grace. He said, I can see them come.
He said, you go show John again. So he'd showed him before. Go
show him again. No matter how many times you've
heard the gospel, you know what he does? He reminds you again
that he's the Christ. There isn't another. There isn't
another. The Lord gives him assurance,
and he lists three things. He said, the lame walk, when
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. That's him. That's him. These men that he came to see. And when John, he'd give him
these answers and send them away. And now the Lord is gonna tell
these people, these multitude, you imagine these people, they're
standing there and they could probably hear these men ask our
Lord this question. And as they leave, He says, I'm
going to tell you something about John. He said, what did you go
out to see? A lot of these people had probably
went to hear John. You imagine living in such dead,
dark religion, Judaism, and here comes a man out of nowhere preaching
the gospel. Who in the world is this guy? That's what happened. It's like
Elijah, it's just like he just shows up. Here's God's prophet
raised up, come out of the wilderness eating locusts and wild honey.
He said, what did you hope to see? You were curious. What did you expect to see when
you went out there? A reed shaking with the wind?
An old timid man that just moves by every wind of doctrine. Oh,
no, that's not John. John walks in and said, Herod,
you sinned. That's not a reed shaken by the
wind. But he said, is that what you thought you were going to
see? Or did you hope to see? Or what
did you think to see? A man in soft clothes. They live in king's houses. This
man didn't live in a king's house. Now, he worshiped the king. He
was the messenger of the king. But see, that's what men think,
didn't they? They have this idea in their mind that, oh, what's
he going to be like? What's he going to be like? He's
not a man of the world. He's not living to impress men.
He lived a hard life, and he was a man like Elijah. He said, what went you out forth
to hear, a prophet? They hadn't had a prophet in
400 years. Our Lord said, he's much more
than a prophet. He's the last Old Testament prophet
that was prophesied in the book of Malachi. He was sent to point men to Christ. I can see him as he's standing
there in the Jordan River that day. And he said, there he is.
There he is. Behold the Lamb of God that takes
away the sin of the world. And he said, of those that are
born of woman, there's not risen a greater than John the Baptist.
But he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.
That's grace. But you notice he didn't say
these things about John when them servants were there. He
waited till they left. We're still proud. We can't stand
praise. And he waited till they were
gone. But then he said, this is who John was. That man in
the prison, he may doubt. But he was my servant. He was
my prophet that was sent by me and to proclaim and point men
to me. Now look in verse 12. And from the days that John the
Baptist began to preach until now, there's a commotion going
on. John is now in prison and Christ
is exalted. People become the fallen. And
from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven
suffers violence. and the violent take it by force. From the days when John the Baptist
began to preach until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence
and the violent take it by force. That seems strange language,
doesn't it? It seems almost like a bunch of criminals trying to
take over a castle. The kingdom of God suffers violence
and the violent, the violent take it by force. Let me read you this from the
Amplified. I think this is a good definition or interpretation
of this verse. Now listen. From the days of
John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has
endured violent assault and violent men seize it by forth as a precious
prize, the pearl of great price. It's a share in the heavenly
kingdom is sought with ardent zeal and intense exertion. They have to have it. It's like
it's not theirs. It's like they don't have a claim
to it. This is talking about the publicans and the sinners
pressing into it. That's the parallel passage in
Luke chapter 16, verse 16. The law and the prophets were
until John, but since that time, the kingdom of God is preached. What the kingdom of God is preached,
the king is here, and every man presses into it. That word press
means to crowd oneself. Here's another one, Luke chapter
13, verse 22. Now listen. And he went through
the cities and the villages, teaching and journeying toward
Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, are there
few that be saved? And he said unto them, strive
to enter in at the straight gate. For many, I say, will seek, they
will seek to enter in, and they won't be able. What's the word
strive mean? It means to agonize. It means
to labor fervently. It means to fight. You know why? There are so many hindrances
to try to prevent you from entering in. Strive. Listen. We must be concerned
about others. I wish my whole family were striving
to enter into the straight gate. But our responsibility is to
seek the Lord Jesus Christ ourself, whether anyone else does or not. Strive to enter in. As you prayed,
Lindsay, that God would clear our minds of every hindrance.
Well, even when we sit and try to worship, we have to strive
to enter into the straight gate, and that's Christ. He's the gate. Let's look at a few of these.
The scriptures has reference to violent men. You picture these
publicans and sinners. I could see the old Pharisees
and scribes, and you have no right here I could see him saying
that to the old Gentiles, you have no right here, you dog. Most people said, we're the sons
of Abraham. Our Lord said, if you were the
sons of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham. But listen,
when God begins a work in a man's soul, the constant effect of
God's work is to set that person to striving to enter in at the
straight gate. And where God's spirit is really
striving with us, we will begin to strive to enter in. It's his
work. It's his grace. They are desperate. They are violently engaged. I heard Maurice say years ago,
and that stuck with me, Maurice Montgomery. He said, if men really
believed, And they really believed that Christ was the only salvation. They would be a stampede of people
trying to get to him because they're desperate. The violent
take it by force. They have to have him. Nothing
else will do. And nothing will hinder them.
It's like a person, if you were really hungry, I mean, really
hungry. And you knew where food was at.
All you would be interested in was getting to the food. You
didn't care who was in the way. And you wouldn't care if the
food was on a china plate or a paper plate. All you're interested
in is the food. Blessed are those which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness. They're going to be filled. They'll
be filled. These sinners are in need of
mercy. Mercy. One of the first ones I think
about is the woman with the issue of blood. Had the issue 12 years. And under the law, she was unclean.
Under the law, she had no right to be there. See what I'm saying? She knows it's not her. She knows
she's an outcast. She's been looked at, and she's
tried every physician. She's tried every preacher. She's
tried every formula to get better that say, well, just live right.
Just read your Bible more. Just pray more, and you can be
better. She tried all that. She spent her last dime, and
she grew worse. But here she comes. It said she
touched the hem of his garment, so she must have been crawling.
Crawling through a crowd to get to him. You know what that is?
That's the violent taking it by force. She could have said,
I can't get to him. I could see somebody say, why
don't you just get out of the way? No. She knew how she knew. It was just grace. She had to
get to him. You know what? She got to him. And our Lord said, somebody touched
me. And I picture a crowd, I picture our Lord just having to walk
like this, people just pushed up against to Him. And the disciple
says, what are you talking about? Somebody touched you, everybody's
touching you. He said, no, somebody touched
me. You imagine this, touching the
Son of God and never touching Him. A lot of people touch him, they
just believe doctrine and all these things. They can be like
Judas. They can walk up and kiss him and never know him. But she pressed through, crawling
on her knees. Another one, Jacob, Esau's brother. The birthright's not rightfully
Jacob's, it's rightfully Esau's. You see, he's going to take what's
not rightfully his. And when they were born, I don't
know what these children knew, but I know they struggled in
their mother's womb, that Jacob reaches out and grabs hold of
Esau's heel. You know what he's wanting? The birthright. He has to have
it. And you know the story? God takes
him over to Laban's house and he breaks him and he has to come
back. And God brings him to a place called Penteel. And God's gonna
wrestle with him. And God's gonna wrestle with
Jacob, so Jacob will wrestle with him. God wrestling with
us, that's no match. But you think that God wanted
Jacob. And Jacob did wrestle with him.
The angel said, turn me loose, which was Christ. And he said,
I can't turn you loose. I've got to have the blessing.
And he said, what's your name? Jacob. I'm just a... I'm just a worm. He said, I'm changing your name
to Israel. And what he did, he got the blessing. And the Lord will wrestle thee
with you, till you wrestle with him. I can't turn you loose. I can't. This is a matter of
life or death and Jacob never walked the same. Another example, if you turn
to Luke chapter 24, those two men walking on the road to Emmaus. It talks about their hearts being
slow, their hearts being burdened. Luke 24, 25, he said unto them,
O fools and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets
have spoken, ought not Christ to have suffered these things
and entered into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, he expounded unto them and all the scriptures the
things concerning himself. Now, they're just walking down
the road, and they don't realize who he is. And they drove not
to the city where they went. And our Lord made, don't you
see this picture? They're walking up the road and
he's talking to them. Come a fork in the road and they
know this is the way they go. Well, he acts like he's going
on this way. They think he's going on, you
know what they did? It said, but they constrained him. This is what's so strange that
the sovereign son of God would allow some sinful creature to
constrain him. They said, please don't go. Would you come to my house? That's
the kingdom suffering violence and the violent. Take him. Take
him. And what he did, he went to their
house. And he sit with them and broke
bread and said as he broke bread, their eyes were open. And they
said, did not our hearts burn within us as he talked with us
by the way? Now, from where they were at
to Emmaus is seven miles. That's a pretty good stretch.
They've just walked the seven miles. Can you imagine how tired
they are at the end of the day? They didn't lay down and go to
sleep. They said, we've got to tell somebody. What we just heard and who we
just, he's alive. And they run that seven miles
back to Jerusalem. What do you think's on their
mind? One thing. Telling the other disciples,
he's alive. He's alive. Our Lord wanted them
to constrain him and they did. Someone else I thought about.
In the Song of Solomon, listen,
it says in chapter 3, verse 1, by night on my bed I sought him
whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I couldn't
find him. Well, what are you going to do,
just lay there? I will arise and go about the
city in the streets. And in the broadways, I will
seek him whom my soul loveth. And I sought him, but I found
him not." Did she just say, well, I'll
just go back. It's not worth it. Oh, no, I've
got to find him. I know by nature there were none
that seeks after God. But I do know this also, if God
ever puts it in your heart to seek him, you'll seek him. And
you'll seek him till you find him. And you won't be satisfied
till you find him. But watch when it go, but the
city found me and whom I said, have you seen him whom I so loveth? And verse four, it was but just
a little that I passed from them that I found him whom I so loveth. And I held it and wouldn't let him go. That's him. And I brought him
into my mother's house and into the chamber of her that conceived
me. Blind Bartholomew, there's so
many of these. He's not only blind, he's a blind
beggar. He's the son of Timaeus, which means he was the blind
son of a blind father. His father was blind and he was
blind. We inherited it from our father. We're born blind. And
he hears that Jesus is passing by. And it's said, when our Lord
came out of Jericho, Mark chapter 10, verse 46, notice this, when
he went out of Jericho with his disciples, a great number of
people, Well, I'm Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the
highwayside begging. And when he heard it, it was
Jesus of Nazareth. Now, that's what he heard. It
was Jesus of Nazareth. He began to cry out and say,
Jesus. Now, he didn't say Jesus of Nazareth. He said, Jesus, thou son of David. This man knew something about
this person. This is the Messiah, the son
of David. Have mercy on me. And many charged
him that he should hold his peace. You need to calm down. Why are
you so excited? Just calm down. You need to be
quiet. You're disturbing everybody.
You know why they were saying that? Because they wasn't blind.
And many charged him that he should hold his peace, but he
cried the more a great deal. Thou son of David, have mercy
on me. And listen, Herod couldn't stop
him. Nobody could stop our Lord. But
the cry of the sinner, Jesus stood still. He had to have him. He knew,
I think, in his heart, the Lord may never pass that way again.
And he cried out. And he kept crying out. And the
Lord stood still. and showed him mercy. One more. The Canaanite woman. Talking about not being entitled
to it. She was a Gentile dog. When she came, the Lord had just
ignored her. The disciple says, won't you
just send her away? She's bothering us. Then he said, it's not me
to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. How many
people would stand there and be called a dog? But she said, truth Lord, that's
right, I'm a dog, but I'm your dog. And the dogs get to eat
of the crumbs which fall from the master's table. She said,
would you give me a crumb? The kingdom of God suffers violence
and the violent take it. Bible verse. This violence does not end when
Christ makes himself known to us. If he is those that he's
forgiven of much, loveth much. We have, it's like, you know,
I just thought about it now. You think about John. I don't read anywhere that the
Lord visited him in prison. Can you imagine what he thinks?
Well, you know, he had the authority to come visit me. What am I to
do? Well, here's all I can do. I'm
going to send me two disciples. And they come back and they say,
yeah, I think that's him. And the Lord used that to encourage
his heart. The violent man, Spurgeon said,
is always successful because nothing can hinder him. I like the story there when Abraham
sent for a, he sent a servant back in Genesis 24 to get a bride
for Isaac. And the servant goes and finds
Rebekah. They take him back to the house
and he's there on an errand. He's there, he's not there to
socialize. He's there to find a bride for
Isaac. That's his mission. And I said,
come on, we've got a meal fixed. Why don't you come up here and
sit down and eat with us? He said, no, wait a minute. I didn't come
here to eat. He said, don't you hinder me.
I've got a message to tell. And he told his message. He told
them why he came. He told them who sent him. And
he was there for a bride. OK, then they eat. And the next
day, he's going to take the bride, Rebecca, he's going to take her
to meet Isaac. And her mama, Rebecca's mama and brother, Lapin
said, let's see if we can keep her to stay. She don't really
need to go. And said, why don't you let her
stay five or 10 days? He said, I didn't come to stay
five or 10 days. I've come on my mission. I'm
going to take her. And they said, well, let's call
her. She's never seen Abraham. She's never seen Isaac. All she
knows about him is what the servant told her. And they looked at
her and they said, will you go with this man? And she said,
I sure will. The kingdom of God suffers violence. And I can see him come riding
in on them camels. And Isaac says, that's her. And
she says, that's Him. May God give us grace to seek
Him with all of our heart. Amen.