And Paul and Barnabas, John Mark
was with them, but he left them. Back there in verse 13, John
Mark departed and returned to Jerusalem. So Paul and Barnabas
went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. It was a day of
worship, the Sabbath day. And the people were gathered,
as always, and they went in and sat down. And verse 15, after
the reading of the law and the prophets, now this is very significant
here. I want you to look at verse 27. You see verse 27, Acts 13, for
they that dwell at Jerusalem and their rulers, because they
knew him not, they knew not the Redeemer, the Messiah, nor yet
the voices of the which are read every Sabbath day. They have
fulfilled these prophecies in condemning Christ. Now this is
an example back in verse 15. Paul and Barnabas came into this
city, went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down
and the order of service was the reading of the law and the
reading of the prophet. every Sabbath day. Reading of
the Lord, the reading of the prophets, and prayers were offered.
So then, verse 15, the rulers of the synagogues sent unto them,
saying, Barnabas and Saul were sitting there, and evidently
the rulers, the elders, every synagogue had one chief ruler,
but had several rulers and elders. And so they sent someone over
there to where Barnabas and Saul were sitting, this was the word
sent to them. Ye men and brethren, if you have
any word of exhortation for the people, speak. I looked at that,
and I thought, now, the rulers of the synagogue didn't call
on strangers to address their congregations. I wouldn't do
that here. Somebody told a stranger to come in, I wouldn't ask him
to have anything to say, and they certainly were not being
Jews. So, evidently, they knew this Saul of Tyre. This is the
only way I can explain this, is they knew who he was. He was
quite famous. He was a member of the Sanhedrin
before God revealed Christ to him. And he was the star pupil
of one of the greatest teachers of that day by the name of Gamaliel.
So, they must have known him. And they want to hear what he
has to say. They've heard about him from
several areas and places and people. So they said, Do you
have any word of exhortation? If you do, say, O. So Paul stood
up, and beckoning with his hand, he said, Men of Israel. Now this
is a Jewish synagogue, and these people are all men of Israel.
Men of Israel, ye that fear God. These people, Paul said in Romans
10, they ever zeal for God, not according to knowledge going
about to establish their own righteousness and have not submitted
to the righteousness of Christ. But these people search the scriptures.
They just got to reading the scriptures. Every Sabbath day
they read the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures. Now
he said, ye that fear God, give all to Him. The God of this people,
of Israel, chose our apostles. and exalted the people when they
dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt." They were down in
Egypt. Jacob went down there with his
sons and about 70 of them. They stayed there 400 years in
slavery and bondage. And God, with a high hand, a
high arm, brought them out of Egypt. Now, what is this high
hand, this high arm? Let's turn to Exodus 13. See
what Paul is saying here. Exodus chapter 13. We'll just
study a little bit tonight. I think this is going to be a
blessing to you. In Exodus 13, here is the explanation for that
high arm and high hand. God delivered him with a high
hand. Verse 14, Exodus 13. And it shall be when thy son
asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? That thou
shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out
of Egypt, from the house of bondage. It came to pass when Pharaoh
would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn
of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the
Lord all that open the matrix, being male, that all the firstborn
of my children I redeem. And it shall be for a token upon
thine head, and for frontlets between thine eyes. For by strength
of hand, by high arms, power of hand, the Lord brought us
forth out of Egypt." Paul's laying a foundation for what he's going
to say later. These people know what he says, and they know he
believes what he says. The Lord with a high arm brought
us out of it. Verse 18, in spite of their rebellion,
God preserved them in the wilderness. Verse 18, about the time of 40
years, suffered he their manners, their rebellion, their obstinacy
in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven
nations in the land of Canaan, He divided their land to them
by lot. The Lord destroyed these nations
and gave the land to Israel. And after that, he gave unto
them judges about the space of 450 years, until Samuel the prophet. When Israel went into the land
of Egypt, God had Joshua divide up the land, and they settled
For 450 years, they were ruled by judges. A man named Othniel
was the first one. Let's read about that over in
Judges 3. For 450 years, they didn't have a... God was their
king. And they didn't have a king, they had judges. And in Judges
chapter 3, look at this. The first one was Othniel. in
Judges 3, beginning with verse 7. Judges 3, 7. And the children of Israel did
evil in the sight of the Lord, that down there in Canaan they
divided up the hand, and forget the Lord thy God, and serve Balaam,
false god, in the grove. Therefore the anger of the Lord
was hot against Israel, and he sold him into the hand of Shushan
Thayim, Chushan Rishi Thayim, king of Mesopotamia. And the
children of Israel served this Chushan Rishi Thayim eight years. And when the children of Israel
cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the
children of Israel, who delivered them. His name was Othniel, the
son of Kenaz. He was Caleb's younger brother.
Joshua and Caleb went down in the land of Canaan. This was
Caleb's younger brother, and he became the first judge of
Ishmael. Now, I'm not going to go through
all the judges, but this is interesting. They had, I believe, something
like 11 judges in all. Something, I believe, that's
right. Among them, you recognize Gideon, Jephthah, you remember
Jephthah? He's mentioned in Hebrew. Samson
was a judge. Eli, Samuel's teacher. And Samuel, according to our
text here, was the last. Go back to my text now, Acts
13, verse 20. After that, he gave them judges
about the space of 450 years. I'm not sure about the number
of judges, but I think something like 11. The last one was Samuel. And that's when, verse 21, afterward
they desired a king. They said, give us a king like
the nations around us. And I want you to read about
that, 1 Samuel, chapter 8. Israel wanted a king in 1 Samuel,
chapter 8, like the other nations. So the Lord let them have a king. He let them have a king in 1
Samuel, chapter 8, verse 6. It displeased Samuel, the thing
displeased Samuel. It was evil in the eyes of Samuel.
When they said, give us a king to judge us, they said like the
other nations. And Samuel prayed to the Lord,
and listen, the Lord said, Samuel, hearken to the voice of the people.
Go ahead and listen to them. And all that they say to thee,
for they have not rejected you, they have rejected me, that I
should not reign over them. According to all the works which
they have done since the day that I brought them up out of
Egypt, even to this day, wherewith they forsaken me, they served
other gods, so do they also unto you." Now, therefore, hearken
to their voice. See, that God's permissive will,
well, he lets us have our way sometimes. And it's to our regret
and to our sorrow, but it teaches us, it fulfills his purpose.
Meantime, he teaches us, so he let them have their way, let
them have their way, and I listen to hearken to them, howbeit yet
protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king
that will reign over them. And if you'll read later, you
read that, you mark that chapter and go back there, 1 Samuel 8,
and read what Samuel said kings will do to you. There's several
verses there, he tells them what all the king will, how he'll
mistreat So let's go back to our text. I want to move into
this, cover this. That's my problem. I'll get sidetracked,
you know. You ought to do that. And I want
to stay with this, Acts 13. So Saul, verse 21, afterward
they desired a king, and God gave unto them Saul, the son
of Seth, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty
years. And when he removed him, He raised
up his king. He gave them a king of their
choice, and they chose Saul. But then he raised up David to
be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I've
found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which
shall fulfill my will. The Lord established the throne
of David. And of this man's seed, now watch
this, here we're going to go back to where we've been for
several services now. Of this man's seed hath God according
to his promise. Here's the promise. We've been
talking about that for two Sundays and a Wednesday night. The promise,
according to his promise, raised up unto Israel a Savior, Jesus. This promise made to Abraham
way back there in Genesis. Let's turn to Hebrews 11. And
look at a moment at this promise. You see, these people, Hebrews
chapter 11, I read this this morning, Hebrews 11, 13. These men, these old testament
prophets, God gave them the promise, but they never saw the fulfillment
of it. The promise has to do with Christ,
the Messiah, the Redeemer, His person, His work, His glorious
redemption. That's the promise. In verse
13 of Hebrews 11, it says, These all died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were
persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Now, back to Hebrews
6. Hebrews 6, verse 13. In Hebrews 6, verse 13, when
God made promise to Abraham, he said, your seed, and Galatians
said, that seed's Christ. Here's the promise he made to
Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself,
saying, surely, surely, blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying
I will multiply thee. So after he had patiently endured,
he obtained the promise. I want to show you something
else. Now turn to Romans chapter 4. And this word, promise, this
was the basis of Abraham's faith. What God had promised, he believed
God was able to fulfill. And in Romans 4, I want you to
see how many times Paul mentions that promise. Romans 4, 13. Romans
4, 13. For the promise that he should
be heir of the world was not to Abraham and his seed, through
the law. but through the righteousness
of faith. Verse 14, For if they which are of the law be heirs,
faith is made void, and the promise made of no effect. Verse 16,
Therefore it is by faith, it is of faith that it might be
by grace, to the end that the promise might be sure to all
to see. Not to that only which is of
the law, not to the Jews only, but also those that are of the
faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. Abraham staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief, but strong in faith,
giving glory to God. That's our faith. We believe
God. We believe his word. We don't
demand signs and miracles and wonders and all these things. We believe the promise. Turn
to Galatians a moment. I'm still on that word promise
for a few more minutes. Galatians 3. Now listen to this,
the promise. In Galatians 3, let's start with
verse 14. Verse 13, let's start at verse
13, Galatians 3. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written,
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree, that the blessing
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Verse 16, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.
He said, Not to seed as of many, but as of one, to thy seed, which
is Christ. The promise is in Christ. And
this I say, verse 17, that the covenant that was confirmed before
of God in Christ and the law, which was 430 years afterwards,
can't disannul, that it should make the promise of non-effect. For the inheritance of the law,
if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more promise. God
gave it to Abraham by promise. See how many times that word
is used. Look at the next verse. Wherefore the inservice of the
law is added because of transgression, so the seed should come to whom
the promise was made. Verse 22, "...the scripture hath
concluded all unto sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus
Christ might be given to them that believe." Verse 29, "...and
if ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according
to the promise." That word is, back to my text, Acts 13. of this man's seed, David, hath
God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And he gave witnesses, John the
Baptist, John the Baptizer, first preached before his coming, the
baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as
John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am?
I'm not he. I'm not the promise. I'm not
the Christ. I'm not the Messiah. But behold,
there cometh one after me, he's the Messiah, he's the light,
whose shoes of his feet I'm not worthy to lose. Now men and brethren,
listen to me. Children of the stock of Abraham,
and whosoever among you fears God, to you is this word sent,
this word of salvation. It's sent to you, to the Jew
first, also to the Greek. Now what's this? For they that
dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers. And this is true of the
synagogue where he was standing, in the midst of all those Jews.
They just read these Old Testament prophecies. He said those that
dwelt at Jerusalem, their rulers, because they didn't know him
and they didn't know the voices of the prophets that read to
them every Sabbath day, they fulfilled all these prophecies
in condemning Christ, crucifying Christ. Now, I don't know whether you
can go as quickly as I'll have to go, but I want to show you
some of these scriptures that they read in the synagogue every
Sabbath day, and show you the fulfillment of them in the New
Testament. Just show you a few of them that are so plain and
clear, especially when you've got eyes to see. But turn to
Psalm 2. I'm going to read it, and then
I'll go read you the New Testament scripture, and you don't keep
going back and forth, it will weary you. But Psalm 2, verse 1. Why do the heathen rage,
and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth
set themselves, and the rulers take counsel to gather against
the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands
of thunder, and cast their cords from us. Now listen to the fulfillment over in Acts chapter 4. And when
they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one
accord and said, Lord, thy God, which hath made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that in them is, who by the mouth of the servant
David said, Why do the heathen rage? Why do the people imagine
vain things? The kings of the earth stood
up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and
against his anointed. of a truth against thy holy child
Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, Pontius Pilate, with
the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were all gathered
together." They read these scriptures. Look down at verse 7 in Psalm
2, "...I will declare the decree, Thou art my Son, this day have
I begotten thee." Over there in Acts 13, Paul quotes that That same verse there, Thou art
my son, this day, verse 33 of Acts 13. God hath fulfilled the
same unto us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus again,
as is written in the 2nd Psalm. Thou art my son, this day have
I begotten thee. Turn to Psalm 8. Let's just go
through the Psalms a little bit. Psalm 8, verse 4. What is man,
that thou art mindful of him? and the Son of Man, that thou
hast visited him. For thou hast made him a little
lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou hast made him to have dominion
over the works of thy hands, and thou hast put all things
under his feet." Now, that was read in the synagogue. Now, here
Paul is giving the fulfillment in Hebrews 2.9. But we see Jesus,
who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering
of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace
of God, should taste death for every man." Did you see that? They didn't see it. Turn to Psalm
16, Psalm 16, verse 8-11. In Psalm 16, verse 8, I have
set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right I shall
not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad. My
glory rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, nor wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption."
They read that in the synagogue. Don't you wonder that they didn't
think, well, now, who is this, and how does this, what's he
doing in the grave? The word hell, that's grave.
Most of the time, hell is grave. And I shall not leave my body
in the grave, nor will you suffer your Holy One to seek corruption.
Now, Peter gives the fulfillment in Acts 2. Listen. He said, David
spoke concerning the Messiah. I foresaw the Lord always before
my face. He's on my right hand, that I
should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice.
And my tongue was glad, moreover my flesh had rest in hope, because
thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, my body in the grave, neither
wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption." Now, men
and brethren, David wasn't speaking of himself. He's dead and buried,
and his sepulchre is with us this day. But he's speaking of
Christ. They read that. Look at Psalm
22. You reckon when our Lord died
on the cross and uttered these words that these men didn't think
about this scripture read in the synagogue? Psalm 22, verse
1. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Why hast thou forsaken me so
far from helping me and from the words of my royal? Look at
verse 16. Dogs have compassed me, the assembly
of the wicked have enclosed me, they pierced my hands and my
feet." That's crucifixion. They pierced my hands and my
feet. They parted my garment, verse 18, among them and cast
lots for my robe, my vesture. You know that's fulfilled in
Matthew. All right, look at Psalm 69. Now these men, you stop and think
a moment. Paul said to them over there,
they knew him not, and yet the voices of the prophets are read
every Sabbath day, and it fulfilled them in condemning him. Look
at Psalm 69, verse 20. Reproach has broken my heart. I'm full of heaviness. I looked
for some to take pity. There was none. For comforters,
I found none. They gave me also gall for my
meat in my thirst. They gave me vinegar to drink."
You remember that? Let me just turn over there and
read it in Matthew 27. Listen to this. Matthew 27, verse
35. And when he would come to a place
called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of the skull, they gave
him vinegar to drink mingled with gall. When he tasted thereof,
he would not drink. All right, let's look at Psalm
110. I'm reading tonight what they read in the synagogue, posted
every Saturday. And yet these brilliant minds,
these These scholars, these rulers of the synagogue, these theologians,
when Christ came, they didn't recognize him. He was about to Messiah. Psalm
110, listen. The Lord said to my Lord, sit
thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion, rule
thou in the midst of thine Thy people shall be willing in the
day of thy power, and the beauty of holiness from the womb of
the morning thou hast to do of thy youth. The Lord hath sworn,
will not repent. Thou art a priest after the order
of Melchizedek." You've seen that all the way through the
book of Hebrews, a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Turn
to Psalm 118. Psalm 118, verse 21. I will praise thee, for thou
hast heard me become my salvation." These men read this on the Sabbath
day. It talks about salvation. The
stone which the builders refused is become the head of the stone
of the corner. This is the Lord's doings. It's
marvelous in our eyes. Isaiah 7, 14, turn over that. They read this in the synagogue.
Isaiah 7, 14. Therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign. Isaiah 7, 14. Behold, a virgin
shall conceive and bear a son, and thou shalt call his name
Immanuel. God with us. Is a son going to
be born? And all the way through these
Old Testament scriptures of the tribe of Judah the Ruth of Jesse,
of the house of David. In fact, our Lord asked the Pharisees
one time when they were gathered before him. He said, what do
you think of the Messiah? What do you think of the Christ?
Whose son is he? They said, he's the son of David.
Christ went over there to that psalm that I read a while ago.
He said, well, why did David call him Lord? David said, the
Lord said to my Lord. Except I own my right hand, and
I'll make thine enemies thy foes too." And you know what those
men did? They never said a word. Except from that time on, they
never, ever asked him another question. It looks like they'd
say, hey, open that up! But they read all of these scriptures.
Look at Isaiah 9, verse 6. Now here, this was read in the
synagogue. Unto us a child is born. A son is given. The government
shall be on his shoulders. He's a king. His name shall be
called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. And then Micah. Turn to this
Micah. Well, you know, Isaiah talked
about He's wounded by transgressions, bruised by iniquities, the chastisement
of our peace was upon him, by his stripes we're healed. Now
Jesus, Mary's son, was born in Bethlehem. They knew. Now look at Micah chapter 5.
This was read in the synagogue. Micah 5 verse 2. But by Bethlehem,
that city of David, Ephrathah, Though you be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth, that's
to be ruler of Israel, whose going forth hath been from of
old, from everlasting, a child born, son given." And when the
Herod was looking for this king born there in Luke chapters 1
and 2, he said, where, he sent for these Jewish theologians
and said, where is this king to be born? How about Zechariah? Turn to Zechariah a moment, chapter
9. Zechariah 9, verse 9. Now listen
to this. Zechariah 9. Zechariah 9, verse 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, our King cometh unto thee. He's just, and he has salvation. Lowly, riding upon an ass, upon
the coat, the foal of an ass." Now let me read you the full
telling of that in Matthew 21, verse 1. And our Lord said to his disciples,
go to the village, verse 2, Matthew 21, and you'll find an ass tied
and a coat with her. Loose them, bring them to me. And if any man say unto you anything
about you getting this coat and the knife, you shall say the
Lord hath need of them, and he'll send them. Now all this is done
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
Tell ye the daughter of Jerusalem, Behold, our king cometh unto
thee, meek, sitting upon a knife, the coat, the pole of a knife. The disciples did it. and brought
the Irish by seven in a coat, and put their clothes on him,
and set Jesus thereon. And a great multitude in Jerusalem
spread their garments in the way. Others cut down branches
from the trees, and strode them in the way. And the multitude
went before them." Here he is. This was read in the synagogue
then. And all these people began to cry, Hosanna to the Son of
David! Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest." And when they
came into Jerusalem, all the city was moved and said, who
is this? Looks like somebody said, I believe
he's this one they're talking about in Zechariah. But nobody,
they say Jesus of Nazareth. Well, I could just keep reading
those prophecies, but go back to our text. The Old Testament prophesies
of Christ who will come and gives all of these signs and evidences
and characteristics in verse 27, Acts 13, my text. But those
that dwell at Jerusalem and their rulers, because they knew him
not, nor yet the voice of the prophets which are read every
Sabbath night, they fulfilled all of their That's what scares
me about our generation. We've got the Bible. We've got
all the promises and prophecies and the pictures of Christ and
the types of Christ throughout the Old Testament, all of these
words. God used 40 million over a period of 1,500 years, moved,
elevated, taught by the Holy Spirit to write all of these
words. Yet we won't study them. Just play in church instead of
finding out what God says. And verse 28, Acts 13, And they
that found no cause of death in him, Pilate said, I find no
fault in him. Yet they desired Pilate that
he should be crucified. And listen to this. And when
they had fulfilled all that was written of him, he said, I thirst. They gave him the vinegar that
the scripture might be fulfilled. garments that the scripture might
be fulfilled. He went down into Egypt that the scripture might
be fulfilled. All these things are the fulfilling of the Old
Testament scriptures. And when they fulfilled everything that
was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid
him in a grave. One of the old writers said,
well, they fulfilled all that was written of him in the scriptures.
He died five times according to the scriptures. He was buried
and rose again according to the scriptures. And he fulfilled
all that was written of him concerning God's will. He said, in the volume
of the book is written of me. I come to do thy will. And he fulfilled every jot and
tittle of it. He said, I didn't come to destroy
this law. I came to fulfill it. I didn't
come to destroy anything God has written, decreed, designed. I came to fulfill it. And he
said it's finished. He fulfilled it. But thirdly,
he fulfilled and fully satisfied all that was written against
us in God's law, in God's statute, in God's judgment. So you say
it to Jerusalem, you comfort them and say, their iniquities
pardoned, their sins forgiven, they have received of the Lord's
hand double for all their iniquities. All right, let's read on quickly.
Verse 30, God raised him from the dead. God raised him from
the dead. Verse 31, he was seen many days
of them which came up with him from Jerusalem, from Galilee
to Jerusalem, who were his witnesses. He was seen of the disciples
and 500 brethren at once. And we declare unto you, glad
tidings, that the promise, here it is, the promise which was
made to the fathers, the promise God has fulfilled the same unto
us, their children, in that he raised up our Lord, he sent our
Lord, he smote him on the tree, he poured out his wrath upon
him, he laid our sins upon him, he was buried, he raised him
from the dead. As it's written in the second
psalm, thou art my son this day. I have forgotten this." And what's
this? And as concerning that he raised
him from the dead, now no more to return to corruption? He said
on this wise, I'll give you the sheer mercies of David. I'll
give them to you, and you'll give them to my people. They're
given to Christ and to us in Christ. See, we're blessed with
all spiritual blessings in Christ. We're blessed with all the sheer
mercies of David in Christ. They're not given to the whole
world. They're given to those who are in Christ. Wherefore
he saith also in another sound, I shall not suffer thy holy one
to seek corruption. But David, after he had served
his own generation by the will of God, he fell asleep and was
laid under his fathers, and he saw corruption. But he whom God
raised from the dead saw no corruption, and he summed it up. Here is
the conclusion of Paul's message, verse 38. So be it known unto
you therefore, men and brethren, there is one message in all of
scripture. Paul said there's just one gospel.
If any man preach any other gospel, let him be accursed, be it known
unto you. That's through this man, this
man. Those two words are key words
in the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews is a book
that unites the Old and New Testament beautifully. And these words,
this man, I want you to turn just a moment to the book of
Hebrews with me. Book of Hebrews, just a few moments. That's such an important two
words. Hebrews chapter 3, verse 3. Talked about Moses in verse 2,
said he was faithful to God who appointed him as Moses. Christ
was faithful to God who appointed him as Moses was faithful in
his house. But this man is counted worthy
of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who built the house has
more honor than the house. Look at chapter 7. of Hebrews,
verse 24. Verse 23 says, And truly there
are many priests, because they were not suffered to continue
by reason of death. But this man, this man, this
God-man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. This is the key to Hebrews. Listen
to chapter 8, verse 3. Chapter 8, verse 3. Every high priest is ordained
to offer gifts and sacrifices. They have to have a sacrifice,
not without blood. Therefore, it's necessary that
this man have somewhat to offer. What's his offering? It's his
own blood, his own blood with which we are redeemed. All right,
chapter 10, verse 11 and 12. Hebrews 2 and verse 11, and every
priest standeth daily, ministering, offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sin. But this man, after
he'd offered one sacrifice for sin forever, one ever, sat down
on the right hand of God. Men and brethren, Be it known
unto you that through this man, and only through this man, is
preached unto you." There's a lot of people, and I don't blame
them, this preaching today stinks. That's just the way it is. This
television, where they rant and rave, and these women are carrying
on all this philosophy and everything, you know, and trying to straighten
out everybody's homes. But preaching, the kind of preaching
Paul is doing here, and that I'm doing, I'm just preaching
what Paul preached to those people. I'm preaching to you what he
preached to them. God, he pleased God by the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe. Christ said to his disciples,
you go into all the world and preach the gospel. He that believeth
will be saved. He that believeth not be damned.
Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But
how are they going to call on him? in whom they've not believed. And how are they going to believe
in him of whom they've not heard? And how are they going to hear without
a preacher? Tell me. So don't discount preaching.
Go ahead and make fun of what's going on today. Laugh at them.
That's the comedy channel you have on your television. That's
what that is. But this preaching will save
your soul. That's right. It says, be it
known unto you through this man if preached to you, and that's
the only way it's going to come to you. That's right, the forgiveness
of sins. And by Him, and by Him, there's
no other way, it's by Him. Old John Flavor said, everything
God has for you is in Christ. Everything God has for you in
Christ is yours by union with Christ. You're going to have
to be one with the vine, the vine and the branch, the head
and the body. If you become one with Him by
faith, And that faith comes through the Word. These men believed
the promise. Christ is the promise. And that's
the way you're going to be saved, and I'm going to be saved, believing
the promise. They believed that he would come. We believe he
has come. By him, all who believe are justified
from everything, all past sins, present sins, and future sins,
all condemnation and charges and curses. all laws and judgments,
who shall owe anything to the charge of God's elect? God justifies
it. Who can condemn us? Christ dies. So you're just by Him, through
Him, you're justified from all things for which you just cannot
be justified by the law of Moses. They can go ahead and set up
their days and their rituals and their There's ceremonies
and there's all these things, but you're not going to be justified.
And then he gives us a warning. He gave them a warning. Now he
said, Beware now, lest there come upon you what you've spoken
of. Here's another prophecy that's read every day in your synagogue,
over there in the book of Habakkuk. Behold, you despisers and wandering
parish. I work a work in your days, a
work which you will not believe, though a man declare it to you."
Folks, boy, aren't you glad you believe? I'm so glad I believe. I'm so glad God gave me eyes
to see and ear to hear and a heart to believe. The Word and everything is established
by the Word of God. And we've done that tonight.
Without a measure of doubt, this is the God. All right, let's
sing a hymn.