I'd like for you to take your
Bibles now and turn with me to Matthew chapter 16. I titled the lesson this morning,
Sign-Seeking Hypocrites. That's what the Lord called these
men who came to Him, hypocrites. Now, let's read these first four
verses of Matthew chapter 16 together. The Pharisees also with the Sadducees
came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign
from heaven. Now here was the controversy. The Jews believed in a coming
Messiah. They believed that God was going
to raise up a man like David and sit upon the throne of Israel.
The Old Testament prophets were clear about that. And they believed
that. They were looking for that. But
they weren't looking for a man like Jesus Christ. They wasn't
looking for someone who was going to come who was gentle. He didn't come in trying to overthrow
the powers that be. He didn't come in talking negative
about the Roman government or any of those things. And the
things that they thought the Messiah should say and do, He
didn't do. He didn't fit their idea of the
coming Messiah. And it become a big controversy
among them and among the people about this man, Jesus of Nazareth. Now, both He and His disciples
declared to Him clearly that He was the Christ. And God gave
signs to that effect, undeniable signs. But they denied those
things, and they just kept like a bunch of dogs nipping at his
heels the whole time he was there. And so they came, and they came
tempting. They wanted to trap him. They
wanted to ensnare him and desired that he'd show them some sign
from heaven. And he answered and said unto
them, When it's evening, you say it will be fair weather because
you see the sky is red. We used to have a saying when
I was in the Navy, red at night, sailors delight. Red in the morning,
sailors take warning. And then he said in the morning
it will be foul weather today for the sky is red and lowering,
that is threatening. Oh, you hypocrites. You can discern
the face of the sky, but can you not discern the signs of
the times? Why is it that you're so clear
when you look at the sky about what it's going to do? When you're
flooded, just flooded, just piled up all around you, prophecies
concerning the Christ and the time when He would appear, And
you're totally ignorant of it. And these were the religious
leaders. These were the rulers and the elders of the people.
Now listen to what he says here in verse 4. A wicked and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it
but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And then he left them and departed. It's my understanding of that
phrase that he was speaking to them very abruptly, very clearly,
and then turned and walked away. Turned his back to them. Walked
off. You and I live in a day of sensationalism, spiritualism,
and ceremonialism. It's everywhere. It's everywhere. It's a day, I believe, of sign
seekers. That's what I see anymore when
I turn on the TV. They're talking about the time,
the signs of the time. It's the last days. Antichrist
is coming, and Antichrist is going to appear, and all these
things, and they start talking about these prophecies of the
Old Testament. And they ask questions. They
ask questions, but they don't ask questions to be edified.
They don't ask them like the Jews asked them. They weren't
asking these questions to Him for answers. They were asking
these questions to tempt Him, to ensnare Him. And our Lord
in no uncertain terms tells us their character and their intents. He said they're an evil and adulterous
generation. Now he's not talking about physical
adultery here. These men, you couldn't accuse
these men of anything. They were as straight-laced and
moral outwardly as anybody who ever walked on the earth. There's
no way these men were guilty of physical adultery with anybody. But he's talking about their
spiritual character and their spiritual attitude. It's an adulterous
generation. You take the things of God and
you adulterate them with idolaters and idolatrous ideas. You mix
these things with religion. If you want to get into their
arguments and prophecies and predictions, you go right ahead. That's exactly what they want
you to do. That's exactly what They throw
it out there and bait you and set the hook and reel you in. And you're just so excited. Boy,
you're so caught up in these things. And there's only one
remedy for them and this vain religion. And our Lord was quick
to give it to them. He said, there shall no sign
be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. What in
the world is he talking about? What is the sign of the prophet
Jonah? I believe it is the appearance
of a resurrected man, sent of God to tell you the truth and
to warn you of the wrath of God to come. He was raised from the
whale's belly. Three days, three nights in the
whale's belly, and God raised raised Him from the dead, and
set Him on that beach, and away He went into Nineveh preaching
the gospel of Christ. You'll hear God's messenger and
repent and believe, or you'll die under the judgment and wrath
of a holy God. That's all you're going to get.
You're going to get the testimony of God through a resurrected
man. Well, who is this resurrected messenger of God? Well, I believe
first and foremost here he is talking about the Lord Jesus
Christ. In these last days, these evil days, these dark and mysterious
days, he opens the book of Hebrews and he speaks to those same Jews
who were so confused and so caught up in these things and he said,
God, in various times and in different manners, He spoke to
our fathers through the prophets. But in these last days, He's
spoken unto us by His Son. Do you know how that's literally
translated? In Son. That is, in the language of His
Son. His Son, whom He hath appointed
heir, He said, of all things. His Son, by whom He made the
world. His Son, who is the first begotten
of every creature. His Son, who is the brightness
of the Father's glory and the express image of His person.
His Son, who by Himself purged our sins and sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high. That's the first meaning
of this resurrected messenger. He is the messenger. He is the
gospel. But there's three senses in which
this is to be understood, and this will be the bulk of our
lesson this morning. And first of all, I want you
to see this, this resurrected man. I want you to see him in
the light of God's eternal purpose and decree. In Colossians chapter
1 and verse 18, it said, he is the head of the body, the church. who is the beginning. He's the
beginning. The firstborn from the dead,
that in all things He might have the preeminence. Now, the Lord
Jesus Christ is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
and apart from this eternal resurrection of man from the dead, everything
else is of no consequence. It's of no consequence. Apart
from this begatting, there would be no reason to create anything,
would there? If there was no eternal begatting
of Christ, if Christ was not appointed by God before the foundation
of the world, then there is not going to be any reason to create
anything because it is all going to be lost in the fall. You see
what I am saying? There would be no reason for
reproduction. Why create a man who can reproduce? when in Adam all die. So apart
from this resurrected one, this one in whom God purposed all
things and who is the beginning of all things, there would be
no reason to make a man and put a seed within him that he could
reproduce, because all he could do is reproduce the same thing
he is. Death would come through the
sin of Adam and be passed upon all his posterity Scripture said,
in Adam all die. And there'd be no reason to build
an altar or offer a slain sacrifice, except as that sacrifice and
altar points to this eternal chosen one of God. Why build
a sacrifice? Why have a sacrifice? Why have
an altar? There'd be no need of an ark to save eight souls,
because every thought of man's imagination was only evil continually. Apart from this promise, what
would be the point of an ark? There'd be no need for the slaying
of Abel or the condemnation of Cain. There'd be no reason for
Abraham to leave his father's house. There'd be no reason to
destroy the nation of Egypt or deliver the nation of Israel.
No reason for God to take the nations in Canaan and give them
to Israel for an inheritance. There'd be no reason for God
to give instructions as to a tabernacle, a priesthood, the sacrifices,
or a mercy seat, there'd be no reason for a forerunner, and
there'd be no reason for the prophecies of a coming Redeemer
except as God eternally purposed Him before the foundation of
the world. Are you with me? You understand what I'm saying?
God resurrected man in the appointment of Jesus Christ who is the resurrection. You remember, was it Martha who
said the Lord was talking to her and she said, oh, I believe
in the resurrection. I believe in the last day God
is going to resurrect my brother. He said, I am the resurrection. Yeah, but he wasn't resurrected
yet, was he? He was in the purpose of God.
God resurrected man when he appointed Christ as the mediator. He is the beginning. That's what
Paul is saying here in Colossians. Apart from Him, there is no beginning. There would be no reason to begin.
There would be no reason to go on. There would be no hope apart
from Him. He is the firstborn from dead
humanity, and He is the head of the church. This is 2 Timothy
1.9. Paul says this, he said, God
hath saved us. When did he do that? When did
he do that? He did that when he chose us
in Christ before the foundation of the world. He hath saved us
and called us with a holy calling. Not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. Now this is the resurrected
man of God. Will you hear Him? This ain't
poor little Jesus, boy. This is that one that God appointed
before the world was. That's His messenger. Will you
hear Him? I think He's worthy to be heard,
don't you? One mediator between God and me and the man, Christ
Jesus. All right, here's the second thing. There was a day
in time when God's eternal appointment of Christ was manifest in the
earth. Back over there in 2 Timothy
1.9, he said, that He hath called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But He
said it's manifest, in the next verse, but now it's manifested. When Christ appeared, it's manifested. It's now manifest by the appearing
of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and has
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
The birth of Jesus Christ was not the reaction of God to the
fall of man or the last, some last desperate act of God who
was taken by surprise and whose plan of redemption was ruined
and set apart by circumstance and chance. I tell you, if you read, just
read the Bible, you'll learn something about this man, Jesus
Christ. Even those who nailed Him to
the tree and set Him in judgment and discussed His future and
His destiny, who talked with Him one-on-one and who got together
and decided His destiny, even those men who took Him out with
evil hands, nailed Him to the cross and raised Him up, it says
in Acts chapter 4 they did exactly what God's counsel and God's
hand determined before to be done. And even in the preaching
of the Gospel, he goes on to say in that, and all those ordained
to eternal life believed. Isn't that how that reads? That's
exactly right. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world exactly as God said He would, exactly where God said
He would, and exactly how God said He would. And He lived on
this earth exactly 33 and a half years, fulfilling all that the
Father sent Him to do. And then He went to the cross,
freely giving Himself as our substitute for sin. Paul preached
that He died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He didn't
just say He died for our sins. He said He died for our sins
according to the Scriptures. And He was buried and raised
from the dead according to the Scriptures. It tells us in Galatians
4.4, He said, when the fullness of the time was come. What time? That time appointed by God before
the world was. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son. He manifested His Son. Made of a woman, made under the
law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive
the adoption of sons. So this One who was appointed
in eternity He came into this world in the fashion of a man
and humbled Himself as a servant and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. And having finished the work
God gave Him to do, He was raised up to sit on the right hand of
God's glory. Will you hear Him? Will you hear
Him who was appointed of God before the world was? And then
in the fullness of the time was manifested in the earth, manifested
before men and witnesses. Will you hear Him? That's God's
resurrected messenger. And then thirdly, by virtue of
His accomplishments, the Holy Spirit poured out upon His church.
What in the world does that mean? The Holy Spirit poured out on
His church. Well, I'll tell you what it don't mean. It don't
mean that we all have power to heal and work miracles and raise
the dead. It don't mean that. And it don't
mean that we all run around speaking in some unknown tongue to verify
our election of God. And it don't mean that we have
the power to live above sin. It don't mean any of those things.
What that means is that all for whom Christ lived and died, He
now intercedes for in glory, and they shall receive the benefits
freely given them by virtue of everything that He accomplished.
That's what that means. That's what the pouring out of
the Holy Spirit on the church is for. What would be the sense
of preaching if God didn't accompany that message with the Holy Spirit?
It'd just be like two people in a pool hall arguing over some
shot they're going to make. That's all it would amount to.
We'd stand and argue, and you'd tell me your opinion, and I'd
give you my opinion, and then you'd give me your opinion back,
and then I'd give you. And nothing would be accomplished.
Nobody would be saved. My words would go out and fall
on the ground. But I'll tell you this. If God
purposed these means, and by virtue of those accomplishments
of Christ, they're guaranteed, and God's poured out His sovereign
Spirit upon His church, that message is going to be heard.
And it's going to be heard affectionately. And when it does, it will turn
you every way but loose. You say, it don't bother me.
Let me tell you what the Lord said. He said, you don't hear
Me because you're not of My sheep. That's what He said. His sheep
hear His voice. And I tell you, when they do,
when they do, they find out who they are and who He is. And it
turns a man ever which way but loose, don't it? It turns him
upside down. It turns his whole world upside
down. It means that the means of salvation
will be given to him and made effectual to the saving of the
soul. that a preacher in God's providence will be directed to
cross His path and bring the good news of salvation in Christ
to His ears, and that the Holy Ghost will take that Word and
create in Him a new creature in Christ. Turn with me to 1
Thessalonians 2. I know you hear these verses
all the time, but sometimes it's good just to read them. It's
good just to read them. 1 Thessalonians 2. Verse 13. After describing the
awful condition of this world as that spirit of antichrist
begins to grow and flourish in the earth, and men are just given
over, they're given over to a reprobate mind. They see those things,
they see those lying wonders of religion, and they're sucked
in by it. They're pulled into it like a
giant black hole, and they buy into it, and they're swallowed
up with it. And it said, and the Lord, because they received
not the love of the truth, the Lord sent them strong delusion
to believe a lie. They wouldn't take the truth.
It was read to them, just like I'm reading it to you this morning.
Had them turn to it. And they turned over and looked
at it with their own eyes. But they received not a love
for the truth. What they really loved was religion.
And they denied the truth. And God said, OK, OK. I'm going
to give you up to strong to lose. I'm going to let you believe
that with all your heart. And He did. He did. But listen to this. He said, for this cause we thank
God without ceasing. Because when you receive the
Word of God which you heard of us, You received it not as the
word of men, but as it is in truth the word of God, which
affectionately worketh also in you that believe." In 1 Corinthians 2, verse 3,
Paul said, I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in
much trembling. And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power. That is, I didn't close the deal. I just gave you the facts. I
just gave you the facts. And I waited on God. And God
the Holy Spirit demonstrated in you exactly what I preached
to you. We preach Christ, and as the
words enter into the minds and hearts of God's elect, the Spirit
of God demonstrates in them the very power and glory of God.
He demonstrates to them how God saves sinners. He takes, John
said, the things of Christ and shows them unto us. You ever
think about that? What in the world is he talking
about? He takes the things of Christ and shows them unto us. Well, he's not talking about
some vague and undiscernible way, but he's searching. That's how he uses it in 1 Corinthians
chapter 2. The spirit searches the deep
things of God, as only God can do, and then he reveals them
unto us in things and ways we can relate to. That's how he
shows it to us. through the types and pictures
of the Old Testament, through the illustrations of nature and
providence, through allegories and stories and relationships
and things that we can understand. He said a sower went forth to
sow. How simple is that? Boy, you
understand exactly what they're talking about, huh? And when
you do, you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about when I'm
talking about preaching the gospel and how that seed falls and where
it falls and if it grows or if it don't and why. You understand? That's how the Spirit of God,
He uses simple things. Simple things, things that we
can relate to. He takes the things of Christ and
He shows them unto us. And I'll tell you this, nothing
in this world will benefit your soul more than gathering in this
place on a regular basis and listening to God the Holy Spirit
speak through His servant and grow us in grace. Nothing will
benefit your soul more than that. Now, if you want to go off in
the woods and live like a monk, that's your business. Go on.
Go on and do it. And I'll tell you this, it won't
benefit your soul. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing. You have to hear it. You have
to hear it. And how shall you hear without
a preacher? I didn't ask that question. The Holy Spirit of
God did. Turn with me to Luke chapter 10, and I'll wind this
thing up. I heard a man talking one time
at a conference I was at, and he was talking to his friend
in the next table over. He was talking about going somewhere
and hearing the gospel, and then later on in time, he said, then
the Lord spoke to me. Well, let me tell you something.
Later on in time, God may give you some understanding. But God
spoke to you when that man stood up and told you the truth. That's
when God spoke. That's when He spoke. You might
not have known it, but the Lord had already spoke. If that man who stands before
you is God's messenger, sin of God, gifted of God, speaks on
God's behalf, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, ambassador of
God. He's of God. And what He says
to you is coming from God. Now, I'm going to give you a
Scripture for that. Listen here in Luke 10, verse 16. He's talking
to His disciples. These were the 70, and the Lord
set them apart, gifted them, instructed them, and He's sending
them out. And here's what He tells them.
He that heareth you, what's that say? Heareth me. Boy, that makes a big difference,
don't it? When that man comes, and you
don't even know who he is, and he stands up here. A lot of you
didn't even know Larry Criss. He stood up here, and he prayed. Oh, I tell you what, if he's
sin of God, Then I'm in expectation. I'm anxious. I'm looking forward
to it because God may speak to me. Huh? That's exactly right. And he said, he that despises
you despises me. And he that despises me despises
God who sent me. It just don't get any clearer
than that, does it? He said, an evil and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign, and no sign shall be given except that
of God's resurrected servant. Christ was the resurrected servant
before the world began. He was manifested in this earth
and lived and died and was resurrected from the dead, showing God's
acceptance of all that he did. And God raised him up and set
him at his right hand. And then God the Holy Spirit
resurrects a man just like He resurrected me, dead in trespasses
and sins, and puts that message in his heart and sends it to
you. Go ye into all the world, that's what the Lord told His
disciples and preached the gospel. He that believeth, believeth
what? Believeth you. And your message
that you bring shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned." All the sign this world will
ever get is the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And
those who will not submit to the ways and means of God and
go about changing things to suit themselves and find things that
appeals to their flesh, he says, they're sign-seeking hypocrites. That's what they are. Preaching
is the means that please the Lord to you. Will you hear Him
whom God appointed from eternity? Will you hear Him who was manifested
beyond all question to this world? Will you hear Him who speaks
through His servant? That's the only way you're going
to hear. That's the only way you're going to hear. He said,
as Jonah preached, And you remember when I talked to the book of
Jonah. Jonah came into that city, whale vomit all over him. Three
day journey, it dried. Oh, he was a sight to see. Boy,
they listened to him. They said, there's something
to this man. And they listened to him. And God saved that whole
outfit. He saved that whole outfit. Maybe
God be pleased in our day to save somebody. I'd like to see
it, wouldn't you? I'd like to see it.