Greater

Q: What does the Bible say about the nature of man?

The Bible teaches that all men are inherently evil and sinful, and incapable of doing good without God's grace. According to Scripture, specifically in Romans 3:10-12, there is none righteous, no, not one. This emphasizes that all mankind is corrupted by sin from birth, and apart from God's intervention, we can do nothing but sin. In Matthew 12:33-35, our Lord teaches that the heart determines the goodness or evil of one's actions. If a tree is evil, it can only yield evil fruit, reflecting the inherent sinful nature of mankind. This truth is further substantiated by God's observation in Genesis 6:5, where He noted that the thoughts of man's heart were only evil continually. Therefore, the Bible makes it clear that the fundamental condition of man is one of sinfulness, requiring a miraculous work of grace for any true goodness to arise.

Q: How do we know that salvation comes only through Jesus?

Salvation is only through Jesus Christ, as He is the only mediator through whom we can be justified before God. The New Testament is clear in asserting that salvation is found exclusively in Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 declares, 'Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.' This underscores that Jesus is the sole source of redemption. Additionally, in John 14:6, Jesus Himself proclaims, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' His substitutionary sacrifice and resurrection provide the assurance of salvation for those who believe. Thus, our justification before God is grounded in faith in Christ, as articulated in Romans 5:1, where it states that by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We can trust in this truth with certainty.

Q: Why is the concept of total depravity important for Christians?

Total depravity emphasizes the need for God's grace, as all humans are incapable of saving themselves. The doctrine of total depravity, which is a cornerstone of Reformed theology, asserts that every aspect of human nature has been corrupted by sin. This means that without divine intervention, individuals are utterly powerless to seek God or do good. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus addresses the Pharisees as a generation of vipers, highlighting their inherent evil nature and inability to produce good apart from Him. This concept is crucial as it forms the basis for understanding the gospel: that we are in desperate need of a Savior who can redeem us from our sins. Ephesians 2:1-5 further elaborates on this by stating that we were dead in trespasses and sin until God, in His mercy, made us alive in Christ. Recognizing our total depravity allows Christians to comprehend the depth of God's grace, leading to genuine gratitude and reliance on Christ for salvation.

Q: How does the story of Jonah relate to the gospel?

The story of Jonah illustrates God's mercy and foreshadows Christ's resurrection as the ultimate sign. The account of Jonah serves as a profound prophetic foreshadowing of the gospel, particularly in how Jesus references Jonah's time in the belly of the great fish as a sign of His own death and resurrection. In Matthew 12:40, Jesus explains that just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so must the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth. This typifies the death and resurrection of Christ, heralding the ultimate act of salvation. Furthermore, Jonah's reluctant mission to Nineveh demonstrates God's compassion towards sinners and the call to repentance, which is central to the gospel message. The Gentiles of Nineveh responded to Jonah's preaching, highlighting the inclusivity of God's grace and foreshadowing the mission of Jesus who comes to save all who believe, regardless of their background. Therefore, the narrative of Jonah draws a direct line to the redemptive work of Christ.

Matthew 12 and verse 33 this
morning. Either make the tree good and
his fruit good or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt. For the tree is known by his
fruit. O generation of vipers, how can
ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh, A good man out of the good treasure
of the heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil man out of
the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you
that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account
thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be
justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Our Lord
has responded to the Pharisees' vile and ridiculous accusation
that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, was acting on behalf of Satan
when He cast the devil out of that man in verse 22. He's showed
that accusation to be illogical. Why would Satan cast out Satan? On the very surface of it, it's
ridiculous and blasphemous and gives them a warning, a very
solemn warning. And then he taught them what
really took place when he cast the devil out of that man. He
taught them that it was the almighty Christ overpowering Satan and
taking away from Satan what belonged to the Lord Jesus Christ. And
I like that message because that's what he did for me. We're all
captive by nature to Satan. We are captive by him at his
will, the Lord said. But the Lord Jesus Christ comes
and claims us and takes us away from our captor. And now here
our Lord has one more thing to say about the Pharisees' idiotic
and profane charge against him here. He said, either make the
tree and its fruit both good or both evil. the fruit and the
tree are going to be the same. And by make, when he says make
them that way, he means consider that to be the case and present
the matter that way. Make that to be the case because
it is the case. The tree and the fruit are both
the same. And the reason, of course, he
said that is in their accusation against the Lord, they have an
evil tree with good fruit. And so he shows again how what
they said is foolish, wrong, and sinful, and blasphemous.
They couldn't deny that for a devil to be cast out of a man is a
good thing. How are you going to deny that?
That's good fruit, right? How are you going to say, oh
boy, I think the devil should go back in him. Really? No, that's
undeniable, isn't it? But they call the tree that that
fruit came from evil. And so they contradict in themselves. That's what someone who's just
religious and doesn't know the Lord Jesus Christ, they're constantly
contradicting themselves. It doesn't work that way. You
can't have an evil tree and good fruit. Both have got to be one
or the other. And this not only thoroughly
refutes what these Pharisees have said, but it clears up another
lie also. This principle, it clears up
something else. That's a prominent lie in religion. Listen to verse 35 again. A good
man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good
things. It doesn't say that he ought
to, that he's capable of bringing forth. If you're good, you're
going to do good. That's what it means to be good.
An evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. Well
that's just one plus one equals two. Yeah but almost nobody in
this world understands this. Almost nobody. This is the application
of the illustration of the two types of trees. He said here
we're talking about men. We're not talking about agriculture,
we're talking about men. Good men and evil men. This is
the application of the illustration. He's talking about men, good
and bad, and their respective fruits. If a man is good, and
there's no relatively good. We have to talk that way sometimes
because we don't know anything. We're sinful. We don't understand
really what's good and what's not good. To us, there are things
that are relatively good and relatively evil. But to God,
there's good and there's evil. That's the truth of it now. If
somebody is good, truly, perfectly good, the only way to be good,
then everything that he does is good. If a man is evil, then
everything that he does is evil. Now you look at verse 35 and
think about that and you tell me if there's any other way to
understand that verse. And yet religion denies this
every time they open their mouth. Which are you? Do you know? Well, we're all born into this
world evil, only evil, all evil, and nothing but evil. Very few
people understand and believe that. That's offensive, but it's
just basic gospel truth. Even those who would confess
that men are sinners, oh, I believe man's a sinner, but there's a
spark of goodness. We're able to do good things.
You just contradicted yourself again, Pharisee. And if not for
God's grace, I would too. If you're a sinner, what you
do is sin. That's all you do is sin. That's
what it means to be a sinner. Because you're a sinner, you
sin. But even those that would confess that men are sinners,
they maintain that there's some good in us, even if but a spark
that needs to be fanned into a flame. Have you ever heard
that foolish illustration? This is contrary to scripture.
The Lord said, if you're an evil tree, you're going to bring forth
evil fruit. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. It can't be anything but flesh
and never will be. I know that you here are not
unfamiliar with scripture teaching on this, but it behooves us to
be reminded now and then, doesn't it? What God saw when he looked
down on it. Now this is condescending language.
This is an anthropomorphism. Picturing God as a man that has
to look and seek that he just knows everything He didn't have
eyes like we have but it said God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth and that every imagination every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually
every only and continually evil. Is God exaggerating when he says
that? Have things gotten better since then? The key words in
that verse are God saw. We would see somebody helping
a little old lady fix her flat tire and we'd say that's good,
but we don't see like God sees. He sees on the inside. He sees
the motives, he sees the pride that we feel when we do something
that we think is good. And he knows it for what it is. Even our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags in the sight of God. Isaiah 1.5, God said, why
should you be stricken anymore? Why should I beat you anymore?
You'll just revolt more and more. The whole head is sick. Your
mind, your thoughts, your understanding is sick. The whole heart, your
emotions, your desires, your affections are corrupt. From the sole of the foot, even
unto the head, there is no soundness in it. But wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores, in other words, you're a spiritual leper. vile and corrupt and rotting
from the inside out and there's no cure for it. It takes a miracle
of God's grace to heal a leper. And they have not been closed,
neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Turn to Romans
3. I want you to look at some of this with your own eyes. Romans chapter 3, verse 10. I know, again, that you're not
unfamiliar with this truth or these scriptures, but I don't
know about you, but I start to think in good thoughts about
myself if God doesn't remind me what I am. As it is written,
there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that
doeth good. No, not one. Their throat is
an open sepulcher. That's a grave with a dead body
in it. With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison
of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways and the way
of peace. Have they not known? There is no fear of God before
their eyes. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty
before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by
the law is the knowledge of sin. What the law does is show you
that every one of your obediences to the law are sinful. guilty. My mouth is shut and my heart
condemns me and I cry for mercy. But someone might say, okay,
the text in Matthew 12, 35, it says an evil man brings forth
nothing but evil fruit, but it also talks about a good man.
I know some good men. No, you don't. You may know a
good man, but you don't know some good men because there ain't
but one. You remember what our Lord said
to the rich young ruler when he came to the Lord Jesus and
said, good master, what good thing shall I do? I want to do
something good, good enough that I may have eternal life. Our
Lord said to him in Matthew 19, 17, why callest thou me good?
There's none good but one, and that's God. The Lord said to
that man in these words of that text, if I'm good, then I'm God. And if you're not God, then you're
not good. And you're not gonna do a good
thing, much less one that would inherit eternal life for you.
And you see his teaching there? There's one good, and that's
God. And there's one good man, and
that's the God-man. One good. Do we understand that
now? Look how our Lord applied this
principle to the Pharisees themselves in verse 34. O generation of
vipers, how can you, being evil, say anything good? You're an
evil tree, and whatever fruit comes off of you is gonna be
evil. What you say is evil, what you
think is evil, what you do is evil. How can you say anything
good, being evil? For out of the abundance of the
heart, the mouth speaketh. No wonder you're speaking blasphemy.
That's what blasphemers do. We do according to what we are.
Sinners sin. They cannot do anything else.
How can ye being evil speak good things? It's not possible. What
you say may sound good to another evil person, but it's not good.
It's just not. And this helps us understand
the next two verses. Look at verse 36. I say unto
you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give
account thereof in the day of judgment for by thy words thou
shalt be justified and for by thy words thou shalt be condemned. We are condemned or justified
by our words because our words reveal what is in our heart.
He said out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. He's not saying that our words
are the things that God considers in either justifying or condemning
us. If that were the case, we're all condemned by nature, got
no hope. What he is saying is this, that
our words will reveal which we are, because they are an expression
of what is in our heart. Romans 10 9 that if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and when you do that as
you're doing that you're believing in your heart that God raised
him from the dead you're believing that he's who he said he is that
he's the Lord Jesus the Lord Jesus you'll be saved you'll
be justified what you said shows that you're justified because
you're believing in your heart when you say it. You'll be justified
before God, not because the words of your mouth have merited it,
nor because your heart is essentially and meritoriously good, but because
the God-given faith in your heart that is expressed by your mouth
is clear evidence that God's grace is upon you, if you do
believe. Now, I won't know one way or
the other. You may just be spouting off as far as I know. But before
God, he knows. And if you're saying it by faith,
you're justified. Not because of that. You're saying
it because you are justified. We are justified by faith, Paul
said, without the deeds of the law, without any goodness of
our own. And that faith is confessed in
words. The unbeliever, on the other
hand, everything he says reveals him to be the godless fool that
he is. Everything that he said. You
just listen to him for a while. I may say something that sounds
good for, you know, every now and then. It's not good, but
it may sound good to you. But listen for a while. Now look
at verses 38 through 42. Back to Matthew 12. Verse 38. Then certain of the scribes and
of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from
thee. But he answered and said unto
them, an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign,
and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet
Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and
three nights in the whale's belly, So shall the son of man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of
Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall
condemn it because they repented at the preaching, the preaching,
what the Lord's doing right now. What he did that they called
blasphemy, they called him a blasphemer when they themselves were the
blasphemers, when he preached the gospel. But these men of
Nineveh, They repented at the preaching of Jonas, and behold,
there's a greater than Jonas here with you. The Queen of the
South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall
condemn it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon
is here. The Pharisees addressed the Lord
as master here. That might impress some, and
endear some religious leaders who love to be flattered. People
love to be flattered, don't they? Master. They obtain degrees and
become doctors of theology and masters of divinity because they
like to be called master. They can't just study and learn
without, you know, being called something. It's important that
everybody know I'm a master. I got a piece of paper that proves
it. When they called our Lord Master, he said, you're wicked
and adulterous. It didn't flatter him. It didn't
endear him to them. These Pharisees were doctors
of theology. And our Lord passed them by and
chose fishermen and tax collectors and a bunch of nobodies to preach
his gospel. And he still does. You mark it
down. The Lord called his generation
wicked and adulterous for seeking a sign. And my generation is
no different. They rejoice in spectacle and
entertainment of the flesh and reject gospel truth. They want
to see a cloud that looks like their idea of what the Lord Jesus
looked like. I saw the picture there just
recently. Somebody, you know, put it up
and said, look, oh my, look at this. That cloud looks just like
Jesus. Really? How do you know? And
if it did, what difference does it make? What do they get out
of that? Oh, well, that just means that
he's with us. What about his eternal word in which he said,
Lo, I am with you always, even unto the ends of the world. That
didn't mean anything to you, but a cloud impresses you. I
tell you this, if you believe his word, you won't look into
the clouds for things like that. You've already seen it in his
word, and that'll take you home right there. That's where I find comfort.
Paul said, comfort one another with these words. Not look every
time somebody drops a popsicle on the sidewalk and see if it
melts into the shape of a cross. Comfort one another with the
word of God. That's what Paul said. But we
want to see a sign. The flesh wants to see some kind
of a sign. And the Lord said, the people
of Nineveh are going to rise up in judgment against you, and
you're not going to get a sign. The only sign you're going to
get is what Jonah preached, the word of God. You need anything
else? They didn't need a sign. They
believed God's prophet. Do you? What did Jonah say? What do you reckon Jonah said?
Well, we have some of his words, but I know everything that he
said. Don't you? I know what it had to do with. I know the theme of everything
that he said. In Acts chapter 10, the Apostle Peter preached
a message to a crowd of folks who had assembled at Cornelius's
house. And he concluded that message
with these words in Acts 10, 43, to him, to the Lord Jesus
Christ, give all the prophets witness. That's what Jonah preached. He preached the Lord Jesus Christ.
that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive
remission of sin. That's why they preached it because
that's how God saves a sinner. That's why. And that's why they
still preach it. The people of Nineveh believed
Jonah and the Pharisees neither believed his prophecy nor the
one of whom he prophesied. And so the Lord said, you're
wicked and adulterous. And he said to them also, the
queen of the south shall rise up in judgment against thee.
Why? Well, he referred them to what happened in the scriptures
with which they were so familiar. They knew who the queen of the
south was. He referred them to first Kings chapter 10. Turn
over there with me, please. And let's look at what he's referring
to this morning. First Kings chapter 10, verses one through nine. And
we'll just camp out right here for a little while. First Kings
chapter 10. And when the queen of Sheba heard
of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, now she
came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with
a very great train with camels that bear spices and very much
gold and precious stones. And when she was come to Solomon,
she communed with him of all that was in her heart And Solomon
told her all her questions. There was not anything hid from
the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had
seen all Solomon's wisdom and the house that he had built and
the meat of his table and the sitting of his servants and the
attendance of his ministers and their apparel and his cupbearers
and his assent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord,
there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, it
was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts
and of thy wisdom. Howbeit, I believed not the words
until I came, and mine eyes had seen it, and behold, the half
was not told me. They told me enough to get me
to come all this way, but now that I've seen you, I realize
they didn't know the half of it. Happier thy men, happier these
thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy
wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God. Not, oh wonderful Solomon,
how wonderful and glorious. Blessed be the Lord thy God,
which delighted in thee to set thee on the throne of Israel.
Not, look how powerful Solomon is. Blessed be God that set you
on the throne. He could have set somebody else
there, and he may take you down tomorrow. But blessed be the
God of Solomon. Because the Lord loved Israel
forever, therefore made he the king to do judgment and justice. Solomon was a great man because
the Lord had blessed him. In 1 Kings chapter 3, turn back
over there, Just a few pages, verses 5 through 13, we see why
Solomon was the man that he was. In 1 Kings 3, verse 5, In Gibeon
the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God
said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shown
unto thy servant David, my father, great mercy. according as he
walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in
uprightness of heart with thee. And thou hast kept for him this
great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his
throne as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou
hast made thy servant king instead of David my father, and I'm but
a little child. I know not how to go out or come
in, and thy servant is in the midst of thy people. which thou
hast chosen a great people that cannot be numbered nor counted
for multitude." Boy, that's me. If the Lord gives us anything,
any authority, we have to confess to Him that we're nothing. And
look what you've given me to be involved in things that I
don't even know anything about and can do nothing about. Have
mercy on me. Have mercy on me. Give, therefore,
thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that
I may discern between good and bad, for who is able to judge
this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord
that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because
thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long
life, neither hast thou asked riches for thyself, nor hast
thou asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked..." Boy,
that's some stuff that we'd probably ask for, don't you imagine? If
the Lord said, well, name it, I'll give it to you. Well, I've
got some enemies I'd like to see dead, don't you? or I want
to live for a long time or make me rich. But has to ask for that
self-understanding to discern judgment so he can rule over
God's people in a way that would honor the Lord. Where'd that
come from? You reckon the Lord put that
in his heart and then blessed it? Behold, I have done according
to thy words. God said, I've made you wise.
You reckon he noticed a change right away? You ever think about
things like that? The Lord, he said, I'm just a
child. I don't even know how to go out or come in. And the
Lord said, you're the wisest man in the world. Just like that. Lo, I have given thee a wise
and an understanding heart, so that there was none like before
thee, like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any
arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that
which thou hast not asked. Has the Lord ever done that for
you? Not only things that we wouldn't Ask the Lord just because
we don't need him. You know, he gives you things
that you don't even need just to bless you, just to make you
happy. But not only that, how many times
have I just been too stupid to ask for the right thing and the
Lord give it to me anyway? I gave you that that you didn't
even ask for. Oh, he does that every day, every
day. Both riches and honor so that
there shall not be any among the kings like under thee. all
thy days." Solomon was a great man because
God made him a great man. And so the Queen of Sheba heard
of Solomon's wisdom and traveled very far to see, but not just
to satisfy her curiosity about the spectacle of Solomon. Did
you notice it there in the text? She didn't just say, I just wanted
to see, you know, if you were really as rich as people say
you are. No, she wanted to learn something. She came to ask questions
and to get them answered. Concerning what? Verse one again,
when the queen of Sheba heard of the famous Solomon concerning
the name of the Lord, she heard that Solomon knew God and she
wanted to know something about God. And the Lord Jesus said,
she'll rise up and witness against you, you Pharisees in judgment. Not only was Solomon the preacher
now. You remember when Solomon said,
the preacher was king over Israel. You might think it'd be the other
way around, but what's important being a king over a great nation,
God's people. You'd think he might say the
king was a preacher. No, the preacher was king. He was God's preacher first and
foremost. And she came to find out something
from him. She came to prove Him with hard questions. But not only that now, but our
Lord, when He spoke to these Pharisees in Matthew 12, He compares
Himself with Solomon, with one qualification. He compares Himself
to Solomon with the qualification of one word, greater. Greater. And so we see in Solomon
a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is greater, who is like him
in these ways pictured, but greater. Solomon as a type is spoken of
to draw our minds and our hearts higher, to consider that one
who is greater than all the great. As in the book of Hebrews, we
see that that one word concerning our Lord Jesus as he's compared
to all the angels and all the prophets and all of God's Creation,
one word keeps reminding us of who it is we're considering all
through the book of Hebrews. Better, better, better. And our Lord Jesus Christ is
like Solomon in some ways, but greater, greater. And so we look
at Solomon. Remember this word greater, greater. The Lord told these Pharisees
a greater than Solomon is right here in front of you. How much
greater? How much greater? Paul wrote
in Hebrews that Christ is greater than Moses in as much as the
man who built a house is worthy of more honor than the house.
You think about that one for a while. If you see a beautiful
house that was built by somebody, you're going to brag on the house.
You're going to talk about how wonderful the house. Oh, you
know, talk to the house and say, you're a beautiful house. No,
You're going to think about who in the world built this. Look
what he did. That's how much greater. And
that's what the Queen of Sheba said, blessed be the Lord God,
not blessed be Solomon. He just the house. Blessed be
the God that put you on the throne and made you what you are. Oh,
God, give us grace to honor him as he deserves. How much honor is the house worthy
of? None. How much honor is Solomon
worthy of? None. And us? None. We see in Solomon the glory
of the one who made Solomon who he was. That's the only thing
that makes Solomon worth talking about. Now the Queen of the South
is going to rise up in judgment against many because she came
not to see Solomon's great wealth or to learn what he knew about
the sciences, and he knew a lot about the arts, and he was apparently
a genius architect. Look at all the things that he
built. But she came because of the fame of Solomon concerning
the name of the Lord, and we come to Christ. Why? Because every question, every
hard question, every question worth asking, He not only has
the answer to it, He is the answer to it. That's why we come to
Him. Even the philosophical questions
asked by men, we know Christ is the answer. What's the origin
of man? Christ. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. What's the purpose of man? Christ
of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. For thou
hast created, you're worthy to receive glory and honor, Lord.
For thou hast created all things and for thy honor and pleasure
they are and were created. Here's a real question. How can
God be just and declare a guilty vile sinner to be just? Christ,
the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin. And so God says,
you're just. I find no iniquity in you. What must I do to be saved? Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. These are hard questions. Many
wise and prudent have wanted to know the answers to these
questions and have never known them. but the Lord has revealed
them to babes. And the answer is always the
same. It's Christ. The Pharisees asked questions
to accuse the Lord. The queen of the South asked
questions to find out about Solomon's God. That's why she'll rise up
against them. Verse two in first Kings 10,
and she came to Jerusalem with a very great train. with camels
that bear spices and very much gold and precious stones. And
when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all
that was in her heart." Oh, she communed. When you come to the
Lord Jesus Christ, bear your heart before Him. Open up your
heart. Have you ever communed with the
Lord Jesus Christ of all that was in your heart? Confessing
your sin before Him, confessing your need of his mercy. Come
to him like this queen came to Solomon. And she came also with
great gifts, not because Solomon needed them. He was richer than
she was. She knew that. And not because
he charged her anything for the answers to her questions. He
didn't say, I'll answer your questions, but it's going to
cost you. But she brought all of this out of respect unto a
great king. And we'll come to the Lord Jesus
Christ that way, or we won't come. We come unto the king when
we come to him. A greater than Solomon is our
king, and we're to bow before the king of kings and open our
hearts to him. What a blessed thought that is.
He already knows what's in your heart. Don't hide from God. Adam hid behind a tree from God,
but the Lord knew where he was. And he knows what's in your heart.
That he would have you come and bear it before him. She didn't
tell Solomon what was in her head, but in her heart. Nicodemus came saying, I know.
First thing out of Nicodemus' mouth. And then the Lord showed
him that he didn't know anything, not even the basic truth of the
gospel. But the queen of the south, she
didn't come telling Solomon what was in her head, but what was
in her heart. Verse three, and Solomon told
her all her questions. There was not anything hid from
the king. He's the omniscient God. And
he didn't hide anything from her that she asked. He revealed
to her the truth. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
seek and you'll find, ask and I'll give it to you. And then
verses four through seven, look at verse four. And when the queen
of Sheba had seen all of Solomon's wisdom and the house that he'd
built, the meat of his table, the sitting of his servants,
all of these things, she said, it was a true report that I heard.
But I didn't believe it till I came and saw it for myself. Isn't that the truth? You're
not gonna believe the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ until you
see him for yourself. Job said, I've heard of you by
the hearing of the ear, but now, but now, mine eye seeth thee,
and I hate myself, and I repent. I've heard of the Lord Jesus
Christ since I was a boy. I've heard many, many sermons
preached in my lifetime, many truthful ones, many gospel, faithful
gospel messages. But the half has never yet been
told me. By faith, we see. By faith, we
see the Son of God in all of his glory. We see through a glass
darkly, but we see And it has the same effect upon us that
it had upon this queen. She said there in verse five,
there was no more spirit in her. You know what that word is? Breath.
She said, I see the glory and it takes my breath away. Blessed
be the Lord thy God. Verse eight, happier thy men,
happier these thy servants, which stand continually before thee
and that hear thy wisdom. Are we? blessed, doubly blessed
are we who stand continually before the Lord, that are graced
with the privilege of serving Him and hearing His wisdom. That's what we're doing this
morning. We're hearing the wisdom of Christ, the one greater than
Solomon. Why has He made this arrangement?
Because He loved you forever. I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. And he gave us a king. He said,
I've set my king upon my holy hills, Zion. And because he loved
us, he set the Lord Jesus Christ over us as the king of his kingdom
to rule over us, to reign over us, to watch over us, to bless
us, to keep us, to bring us. The king Because God loved you,
he sent you over his people. What a picture Solomon is of
the Lord Jesus Christ, our great King. But a greater than Solomon,
the Lord said, is here, is here. And we can say that this morning
because he said where two or three are gathered in my name. Anybody? Anybody here for his
sake, in the name of Christ, knowing that we're not even worthy
to say the name of God, much less come into his presence,
except for the sake of and by the grace and mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ. By virtue of the fact that we
have a mediator, a representative, one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus, we come in his name, knowing that
all of God's blessings are given to us and we enjoy all the blessings
of the covenant in him. And for his sake, he said, where
two or three are gathered like that in my name, there I am. There's a one greater than Solomon
right here. And if we ever get a glimpse
of his glory, it'll take our breath away. You can try to tell
your children and others, and we should. We're his witnesses
after all, aren't we? You can't tell the half of it.
The only way their breath is going to be taken away is if
God reveals himself to them by faith and they see for themselves. You're not going to believe until
he's revealed to you. May God be pleased to reveal
his king to you, the one greater than Solomon. Let's bow in prayer.

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Greater

What does the Bible say about the nature of man?

How do we know that salvation comes only through Jesus?

Why is the concept of total depravity important for Christians?

How does the story of Jonah relate to the gospel?

Sermon Transcript

About Chris Cunningham

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