Notice in verse 16, and there
came a fear on all, and they glorified God saying, and here's
what they said, that a great prophet is risen up among us. A great prophet is risen up among
us. So our subject is Christ, the
greatest of all. Christ the greatest of all. For
a long time now, especially in recent years, we can remember
very well, it's been going on a long time, but our country
has been invaded by many false religions, some who would acknowledge
a God without a son. a deity without a son, a higher
power without a son, a God that was not made flesh and
dwelt among us. But I say any idea of a deity,
a God, who has not manifested himself in the person of his
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is no God at all. Men of this world do not so much
hate for us to use the name of God, because they can make Him
out to be whatever they imagine. I mean, some people think God
is anything and everything. But they do hate the name of
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first few chapters of
the book of Acts, if you go and read when they would arrest the
apostles and put them in prison and beat them up, they told them
this. They said, you can go, you can
do as you please, you can talk about God, but do not speak anymore
in that name of Jesus Christ. They hated that name, the Lord
Jesus Christ, God's Son. Well, the truth is this morning,
we must preach him. We can never overemphasize the
person of Christ. He's the greatest of all. Oh,
yes. He's in a class. As Brother Tom
used to say, Brother Hayes used to say, he's in a class all by
himself. And that's true. That's true. Forty-something years ago, before
many of you were born, one of those Beatles made the statement,
they were more popular than Jesus Christ. Well, see, I hadn't heard
much about them lately, but I'm still hearing about Jesus Christ.
Huh? Elvis, they said, was the king. He died and His flesh and bones
rotted like everybody else. But the King of Kings, the Lord
Jesus Christ, He died and didn't rot. He rose again. He's the only one who ever took
on that enemy we call death and conquered it. And He's alive
forevermore. He's the King. So we dare not
preach another. We dare not promote a program
or a preacher or a denomination. We dare not, as Paul the Apostle
said, we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. He
is the greatest of all, I'm telling you. I don't want to hear about
Muhammad. I don't want to hear about Buddha. I don't want to hear about Joseph
Smith. I don't want to hear about none of that garbage. I want
to hear about God's Son, Christ, the greatest of all. There's
never been another like Him. Never shall be. When He calmed the raging sea, remember
what they said over there in the Gospels, the Bible says the
men marveled, saying What manner of man is this? What kind of fellow is this that
even the wind and the sea obey him? Well, I'd
like to kind of have a little control over the wind last night
myself. But I couldn't do it. But he does. It blows when he
says blow. And it quits when he says quit.
That's wonderful. Wonderful. Christ, the greatest
of all. We know a little of the glory
of Solomon. But Matthew 12, 42 tells us,
Behold, a greater than Solomon is here. We know a little of the boldness
of Jonah and the preaching of Jonah as he marched into that
wicked city Nineveh. and the power of his message.
And yet Luke 11.32 says, Behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The Samaritan woman asked him
in John 4.12, Art thou greater than our father Jacob? He's the
one who gave us the whale. Are you greater than him? Yes,
he's greater. John 8, 53, the Jews ask our
Lord, art thou greater than our father Abraham? Oh yeah, he's
greater than Abraham. Christ is the greatest of all. A lot of thoughts we could deal
with this morning and talk about this, but I wish to just refer
to three great men who have lived in this world, three of the greatest
men in all the Bible. that we're going to talk about
for a few minutes. First, Abraham was great. Genesis 12, 2, and
I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make
thy name great. Abraham was great. God made him
great. He became a great man in the
earth. Second, Moses. Exodus 11, 3. Moreover, the man
Moses was very great in the land of Egypt. God made him great. And the third man is David. 2
Samuel 5 verse 10, And David went on and grew great, and the
Lord God of hosts was with him. That's the three great men, Abraham,
Moses, and David. Now, I find in the Scriptures
that God made a statement about each of these three men that
He never said about anybody else in history. So I wanted to show you these
three statements He made to them, God made to them, and see that
Christ our Lord is still the greatest of all. Number one is
Abraham. You've studied about Abraham
in the book of Genesis. He's called the father of the
faithful. He's called the friend of God. He's a great man, called of God
out of a pagan society, believed God, obeyed God. And here's the statement that
God the Holy Spirit is pleased to record for us concerning him. that he never said about anybody
else. Romans 4.30, he staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief. Have you seen anybody walking
around here that's never staggered at the promise of God? What greater thing could be said
about a man, he staggered not at the promise of God. And the
verse continues by saying, but he was strong in faith, giving
glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what he had promised
he was able also to perform. Abraham staggered not at the
promise of God. Now don't misread it, that's
Romans 4.20, It's not promises, plural, but
promise, singular. There is a specific singular
promise at which Abraham never staggered. He staggered at other things.
He wasn't a perfect man. He wasn't a sinless man. But
yet he staggered not at the promise, singular, of God. What was the
promise referred to? Well, it was the promise of a
Redeemer. A promise of the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham never rejoiced over being
rich, but God made him rich. He never rejoiced over being
the father of many nations, but God made him the father of many
nations. He never rejoiced over being given the land of Canaan,
but he was given the land of Canaan. But Christ said in John 8, 56,
Abraham did rejoice about this. He rejoiced to see my day and
he saw it and was glad. What a great man he was. What
could be greater than to not stagger, not flinch, not question,
not hesitate for one moment. not even staggered at the promise
of God concerning his son, concerning his redemption. Wow. Well, there
is one greater. There is one greater. Abraham
staggered not at the promise of God. The man Christ Jesus
was the promise of God. That makes him greater. He was
God. If he fails, God fails. Abraham believed that God would
do what he said he would do, but Christ is the God who must
do it. Abraham, by faith, saw the redemption
God would perform, but Christ Jesus is the God-man who performed
it. He's greater. Christ Jesus our
Lord. is greater than Abraham. He is
the greatest of all. The second man we mentioned is
Moses. Moses. You know his story. He was born in a time of Israel's
oppression in Egypt. He was hidden by his parents
for three months. He was then placed in a little
basket called an ark in the edge of the River Nile among the rush,
the bull rushes we'd call it. and was found by Pharaoh's daughter,
adopted by her, grew up to full manhood in the palace of Pharaoh,
40 years old, and the Bible says he refused to be called the son
of Pharaoh's daughter. Why? Wasn't she good to him?
I bet she was. Didn't he have everything a child
could possibly need and had the very best? But there was something
in here. something God had put in here,
he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ,
that is, accounting the reproach of being identified with Christ,
he counted that as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.
Now I just wonder what would happen if everybody in America
this morning that's sitting on a church pew were offered ten
million dollars never to set foot in a church house again. I'd say we'd be giving out a
lot of ten million dollars, wouldn't you? But Moses esteemed the reproach
of Christ. Being able to identify with the
people of God, he counted that as greater riches, as greater
wealth, than all the treasures of Egypt. He fell out with the
Egyptians. He fled for his life. He spent
another 40 years on the backside of the desert, middle of nowhere,
as a shepherd, until one day He sees a bush burning and the
bush don't burn up. The bush is not consumed. Now
somebody said, and I don't question this, it may be true. They said
in that hot eastern country with all the rocks there and some
of them shining, glistening, the sun could reflect just like
a glass onto a bush and catch it on fire. They said it was
a normal thing to just out in the middle of the desert to see
a bush burn up sometimes. Well, that's okay with me. But
here's the miracle. The bush Moses saw burned, but
it was not consumed. It never did burn up. So he turned
aside to check it out. And it was then that the Lord
spoke to him. And he calls him to go back down
to Egypt to confront Pharaoh and to lead the Israelites out
of Egypt. What a calling. And here's the
statement God made about Moses that he never said about anybody
else. Numbers chapter 12 and verse 3. Now the man Moses was
very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.
He is the meekest man on earth. And by the way, meekness is not
weakness. Meekness is strength under control. The meekest man upon the face
of the earth. The Hebrew word for meek there
means that Moses was entirely dependent on God and he knew
it. He knew it. He's called to go
back down to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage. What a task. We've often said
you can't help somebody who won't let you help them. You can't
help somebody that don't want help. When people won't face and endure
the pain of being delivered, there's no deliverance. We could illustrate that many
ways in life. We know we need something, we
need help, but we don't want to endure what it takes to get
the help. I remember when I was a little boy, I didn't want my
mama doctoring cuts and scrapes and stuff, because I knew it
was going to burn, that stuff she had. I didn't want it. I didn't tell her if I had a
splinter in my hand or foot until it got so miserable I couldn't
stand it anymore. Then I'd tell her. And she'd
say, well, it's got to come out. It's got to come out of there.
I knew it was going to hurt. So I didn't tell. Well, Moses
was called to deliver a people that would buck and balk and
even try to stone him to death on occasion. They're called a
rebellious and stiff-necked people. The Lord even said to Moses on
one occasion, I'll just kill him and we'll just start all
over with you. And Moses interceded for the
people. Through it all, Moses endured as seeing Him who is
invisible. He was entirely dependent on
God. He knew it. He was dependent on God when
the people needed water. God said to smite the rock. Moses
did, and the water came. Sometime later, they needed water
again. Instead of believing in Moses
and believing in God, they was ready to stone him. They was
pitching a fit. They said more than once, would
to God we hadn't left Egypt and followed you out here in this
wilderness. They treated him like a dog.
He was called of God to help them. What meekness that required. But one day, when they needed
water again, Moses lost it. His patience ran out. His meekness failed him. It wasn't
enough. He called them a bunch of rebels. This time the Lord told him how
to handle it. He said, you speak to the rock. Moses was not to smite the rock
like he did the first time. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10,
that rock was Christ. And that one smiting of the rock
spoke of the crucifixion. The one time of God smiting His
Son Moses disobeyed God, and instead
of speaking to the rock, he smote it as he had done the first time. Not just once, but he smote it
twice. And it cost him. It cost him
getting to Passover and to Canaan. It cost him in that he had to
die on the wilderness side of Jordan. Moses was a great man. but he died in Deuteronomy 34
in the mountains of Moab on the wilderness side of Jordan and
God buried him. Moses was such a great man. His meekness was his greatness. His dependence on God, his obedience
to God was his greatness. What man could be greater? Well,
Christ is greater. Moses was once told to smite
the rock. Christ was the rock once smitten. Isaiah 53, 4, Surely he hath
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem
him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. It pleased the
Lord to bruise him. Moses was to speak to the rock
the second time they needed water. Christ is that rock spoken to
and in perfect obedience to his father has given forth the water
of life to his people through the generations. John 4.14 he
said, whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give shall
never thirst. But it shall be in him a well
of water springing up into everlasting life. The meekest man on earth,
Moses, labored to deliver a people that would have stoned him on
occasion. But Christ our Lord delivered a people who not only
would but did crucify him. It was our sin that nailed him
to the tree. The meek man Moses was great,
but Christ is greater. He's the greatest of all. And
then the third man I think of is David. David. Oh, who don't
love David? The shepherd boy, king. He slew
Goliath. He won the hearts of the people
of Israel. What did God say about him that
he never said about any other man? He said this, Acts 13, 22. He called David, the son of Jesse,
a man after my own heart. What greater thing could be said
of any man than for God Himself to say, this is a man after my
own heart. Again, David was not perfect.
He committed some serious sins, but they were fleshly sins. David
is never once charged with leading the people into idolatry. And
in spite of his personal sins and failures, he always exhorted
the people to worship God and God only. It was in his heart. He was a man after God's own
heart. He wasn't a perfect man. He wasn't a sinless man. But
he had a heart for God, always. It was in his heart to build
a temple, a place to honor God. What a man he was. He refused
to do harm to his enemy Saul, Because he said, God forbid that
I should touch the Lord's anointed. Saul was a low-down scoundrel,
hated David, wanted to kill him. But David recognized him as God's
anointed and wouldn't lay a hand on him. Oh, David had his faults. But he said this in Psalm 63,
Oh God, thou art my God. Early will I seek Thee, my soul
thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee, in a dry and
thirsty land where no water is. Psalm 42, he said, As the heart
panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee,
O God. He was a man after God's own
heart. What could be greater? What could
be greater? Well, the man Christ Jesus is
greater. David was a man after God's own
heart. Christ Jesus was God's own heart. Christ Jesus was the very heart
of God, coming down, laying down his life, giving himself for
his people. won the people's hearts when
he slew Goliath. And they started singing a new
song. They said, Saul hath slain his thousands, but David his
tens of thousands. David wasn't ruling on any earthly
throne. He was a warrior. David's throne
was in the hearts of the people. That's where he reigned. That's
where He ruled. And that's where Christ reigns
this morning, is in the hearts of His people. You needn't look for no rebuilt
temple over yonder in Jerusalem, where that bunch of heathens
is fighting. You needn't look for no throne
set up over there. No. Christ rules in the hearts of
His people. That's where He reigns. And that's
exactly what is meant by Luke 1.32. He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall
give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign
over the house of Jacob, the house of repentant sinners. Anybody
like Jacob, which takes us all in. He shall reign over the house
of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom There shall be no end. What could be greater than being
called a man after God's own heart? It's the man who was God's
own heart, the man Christ Jesus. Christ is greater than David.
He's the greatest of all. Abraham staggered not at the
promise. Christ is the promise not to be staggered at. Moses
was the meekest man on earth, totally dependent on God. Well,
Christ is the God we're totally dependent on. David was a man after God's own
heart. The man Christ Jesus is God's
own heart. He's greater than Jacob, greater
than Solomon, greater than Jonah. He's greater than Abraham. He's
greater than Moses. He's greater than David. Christ,
our Lord, is the greatest of all. There is no other theme. There is no other hero. He's
in a class all by himself. And He said it to Peter, James,
and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. You remember that story. It's recorded in Matthew 17.
Mark 9 and Luke 9. He took with him Peter, James,
and John up into a high mountain and was transfigured before them.
His face did shine. His clothing glistened. It was
literally His glory bleeding through. It was deity bleeding
through humanity. Deity bleeding through His flesh.
They couldn't look on Him. Simon Peter had a wonderful idea,
he thought. There appeared with the Lord
Moses and Elijah. Don't ask me how Peter recognized
Moses and Elijah, but he did. And his idea was, let us build three
tabernacles, let us build three tents, let us build three honor
houses here. One for Christ, one for Moses,
and one for Elijah. Well, that sounded pretty good,
but it didn't sit well with heaven. The Bible says that there came a cloud and a
voice spake out of heaven and said, this is my beloved son. Hear ye him. Moses and Elijah
We're not on a level with the Lord Jesus. There's nobody in
this world that's on the level with the Lord Jesus. I'm telling
you, we worship the One. We sing about the One. We preach
about the One who is the greatest of all. We may not have the biggest
crowd. We may not have the most fleshly
excitement. We may not have this, and we
may not have that, but I will tell you one thing. We talk about
the one who is greatest of all. We sing about the one who is
greatest of all. We preach about the one who is
greatest of all. Christ is the greatest of all. Bless his holy name. Amen. Stand
with me. All right. Thank you for your
attention. We thank you for being here today.