All right, let's begin our message
over in the book of Isaiah. We're going to talk about the
forerunner, John the Baptist. We're going to have to go back
here in Isaiah chapter 40 and read Isaiah's prophecy of the
ministry of John the Baptist. Isaiah 40, look at verse 3. The
voice of him that cried in the wilderness. prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall
be exalted, every mountain and hill shall be made low, crooked
shall be made straight, the rough places plain, and the glory of
the Lord shall be revealed. We beheld his glory in the face
of Christ Jesus. God has been pleased to reveal
his glory in the face of Christ Jesus. And all flesh shall see
it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. And
the voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the
glory thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth,
the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon
it. Surely the people is grass. The grass witherth, the flower
fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever." That's
John's ministry, the voice. You know, they came to him and
said, Are you the Christ? He said, No. They said, Are you
that prophet Moses talked about? He said, No. They said, Who are
you? He said, I'm a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare
you the way of the Lord. He talks about John the Baptist
in Malachi, chapter 3, the last book in the Old Testament. You
see, John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets.
John the Baptist wasn't an apostle. He didn't walk with the apostles.
He wasn't in that circle. He was an Old Testament prophet,
the last boss, the peggy the way of the Lord. forerunner,
forerunner of Christ. And this is what it says in chapter
3, verse 1. Behold, God said, I'll send my
messenger. He shall prepare the way before
me. He said, before Christ, before
me, God says. Christ is God. Before me. And the Lord whom you seek shall
certainly come to his temple. He's the messenger of the covenant.
whom he delights in. Behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts. But before he comes, my messenger
is coming, John the Baptist, the forerunner." Now Malachi
chapter 4, this is interesting. Verses 4, 5, and 6 are the last
words in the Old Testament. They are the last words of the
Old Testament. Four hundred years before Christ
came. silence of God from this moment until Christ came, until
the angels came down and said, We bring you good tidings of
great joy. Silence. But here's the last word. Chapter
4 of Malachi, verse 5, Behold, I send you Elijah, the prophet,
before the coming of the great dreadful day of the Lord. And
some of these Jews look for Elijah to come back. God Bring him back
to the earth. You took him to heaven in a chariot,
but bring him back to the earth and let him preach for the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he, this man, in the spirit
of Elijah, not Elijah himself, and we'll show you that in a
minute, but in the spirit of Elijah. And he shall turn the heart of
the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children
to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Now Matthew 11, our text. Our Lord in Matthew 11 talks
about John the Baptist a moment ago. But notice in Matthew 11,
verses 13 and 14, our Lord identifies this Elijah that shall come in
verse 13 and 14. Verse 13, And the law prophesied unto John. That was the last of the prophets.
And if you'll receive it, this is Elias. This is Elijah, which
was to come. He did come. He is come. It's
John the Baptist. He comes in the spirit of Elijah.
He comes to fulfill that prophecy as a forerunner of Christ. This
is, if you'll receive it, Elijah. There's no need for a forerunner
now. Christ is here. All right, let's look at Luke
1. John was miraculously born. Let's read something about him
here. He was miraculously born. In
Luke 1, beginning with verse 5, there was in the days of Herod,
the king of Judah, a certain priest named Zacharias. of the
course of Abba, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron.
Her name was Elizabeth. She was a cousin to Mary, who
gave birth to the Messiah. And they were both righteous
before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of
the Lord, blameless, and they had no child. Because Elizabeth
was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. both
very old people. It came to pass that while he
executed the priest's office before God in the order of his
chorus, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot
was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at
the time of incense, and there appeared unto him, unto Zacharias,
an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar
of incense. When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear
fell upon him. But the angel said to him, Fear
not, Zacharias, thy prayer is heard, thy wife Elizabeth shall
bear thee a son, call his name John. And thou shalt have joy
and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth." This is
that prophet, that prophet foretold in Malachi that would be forerunner
of Christ. Listen, he shall be great in
the sight of the Lord. He shall drink neither wine nor
strong drink, he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from
his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel
shall he turn to the Lord their God, and he shall go before him
in the spirit and power of Elijah." Elijah, Elias, that's what I
said. He's called Elijah because he's
a priest in the spirit of Elijah. to turn the hearts of the fathers
to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to
make ready a people prepared for the Lord Jesus Christ. All
right, turn to John 1. And John was faithful in this
office. He was faithful and he bore witness of Christ. In John
chapter 1 and verse 29. The next day, John seeing Jesus
coming unto him, he said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After
me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he was before
me. And I knew him not, but that
he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing
with water. And John, bear record, saying,
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove in a boat
upon him, and under him not. But he that sent me to baptize
with water, the same said to me, upon whom thou shalt see
the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which
baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw him by This is the
Son of God. This is the Son of God. All right, now my text, Matthew
11. Now John's in prison. The forerunner's work is over,
ministry's finished. He's in prison. He's going to
be executed. They're going to cut his head
off. But no need for John anymore.
His ministry's ended. He's the forerunner of Christ.
Christ is here. No need for a forerunner, now
that the Messiah is here. So in Matthew 11 verse 2, John
had heard in the prison, where he's in prison awaiting death,
the works of Christ. He sent two of his disciples
and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look
for another? Now John's troubled. Where is
the kingdom? Where's the restoration of Israel?
Where's David's throne on which the Messiah shall sit forever?
Where's the Messianic rule and reign? What's taking place? Are you he that should come?
Are you the Messiah? You fellas go and ask Jesus of
Nazareth, are you he that should come? My prophecies, were they
correct? Or do we look for another? How
easy it is to miss the kingdom of God when our thoughts are
governed by the flesh. John wanted to see a restoration
of Israel. He wanted to see a restoration
of David's kingdom. He wanted to see the power and
reign and rule of the Messiah. He wanted to see the foot of
the enemies off the neck of the Jews. And that's what he prophesied. Prepare ye the word of the Lord.
kingdom of God has come among you. But where is he? And here
he is in prison. And you know he's not being treated
kindly. He's in prison. But our Lord gave the answer
to this in John chapter 18. When he stood before Pilate in
John chapter 18, and here John the Baptist is in prison, in
a Roman prison awaiting death. And there's no kingdom, and no
rule and reign, there's no manifestation of God's great power. Here's
Jesus of Nazareth, surrounded by a group of followers and disciples
of no influence or power, and John's wondering, what's going
on? But when you see our Lord in John 18, verse 36, he's standing
here before power. And he says in verse 36, John
18, his hands are tired, he's got a crown of thorns on his
head, he's been spat upon and he's been scurred. He says, my
kingdom is not of this world. It is not of this world. If my
kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight. We'd go
to battle, we'd go to war. We'll destroy the enemy with
means of the flesh, but my kingdom is not of this world. But my
servants would fight, and I would not be delivered to the Jews.
I would not be taken to a cross, I would not be here before you,
but my kingdom is not from hence. It's not of this world. Paul
said that in Romans chapter 14. Turn to Romans 14. Listen to
Paul. Romans 14 verse 17. The kingdom of God is not meat
and drink. The kingdom of God is righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. It's a spiritual kingdom. Now then, let's see what our
Lord says to these disciples who come and ask him this question.
Matthew 11, verse 3. Here's the question. When your
mind is thinking of flesh and materialism And you see that
nothing happened. No manifestation of God's great
power. The Romans are still in power. They're still ruling. The Jews
are still trodden down underfoot. Jesus said in verse 4, listen,
Go, Jesus said unto them, go and show John again. You ever
notice that word in there? Show him again. He needs to be
reminded. Show him again. Show him again. That the blind do receive their
sight. The lame do walk. There is a
manifestation of God's power. There is a kingdom. There is
a deliverance. There is a defeating of the enemy.
There is an overthrow of darkness. There is a kingdom of light.
The blind see, the lame walk, the livers are cleansed, the
deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor, the poverty stricken,
the people have nothing, can't make their way, have good news,
the gospel preached to them. This is the kingdom. This is the fulfillment of the
promise. Show John this again now. He knows this. He knows
this. Turn to Isaiah 35. Don't you
think John knew this scripture here? Don't you think John was
familiar with this scripture? If I am, I know he was. He's
infinitely superior to me, or you. Look at Isaiah 35 verse 4. Say
to them that are of a fearful heart. And that's what John's
exhibiting here, a fearful heart. Be strong. Fear not. Behold, your God will come with
vengeance, even God with a recompense. He shall come and save you. Then
when he comes to save you, the eyes of the blind shall be opened.
John, you read that. The ears of the deaf will be
unstopped. Then shall the lame leap as a
deer, the tolerant of all shall sing the praises of God. In the wilderness shall waters
break out, and streams in the desert, and the parched ground
shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. Christ said, Come to me, out
of your belly shall flow rivers of living water. That old parched,
dead soul of yours will bubble with living water. No, there's
not a bunch of free water flowing through the streets of Jerusalem,
but it's flowing through the hearts of his people. It's his
kingdom. My kingdom is not of this world.
My kingdom is not made in grace. My kingdom is righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Let me go show y'all this again.
Read that scripture to me. should become a pool of the thirsty
land, springs of water in the habitation of dragons, for each
lake shall be grass and reeds and rushes, and a highway shall
be there, a living way. It shall be called the way of
holiness. Men will walk with God. Now the unclean are not
going to be there, they are not going to pass over this highway.
It will be for those, the wayfaring men, though they were fools,
Though they were blind, though they were lame, though they were
rebels, they shall not err therein. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness. He restored my soul. Go show
that to John again. One more time. Don't you think
John was familiar with Isaiah 61? Turn to Isaiah 61. I know
I am. I believe he was. Maybe he got so taken up with
where he was, what they were doing to him, the success of the enemies. David
had this problem. You read Psalm 73 sometimes.
David was going through heavy trials, heavy trials, heavy trials,
and he got upset. And he said, Lord, have I cleansed
my hands in vain? Have I trusted you for naught? Here I am, bowed down and afflicted,
my tears wet my pillow every night, my heart's broken, my
family's scattered, and I look out and see these heathen rebels,
God-haters, Baal-worshippers, and they don't have any problems.
They don't have any sickness. They don't have any death. Their
eyes stand out with fatness, they prosper, they've got everything
their hearts and bodies could want in this world, and I'm hurting
from the sole of my feet to the top of my head. And I don't understand
it. And that's where John the Baptist
was. Where's the kingdom? Where's
the kingdom? And I tell you, if you get too
much taken up with this world, You miss these scriptures and
you miss the true nature of the kingdom. That's right. You get too involved and too
taken up with this world and it's materialism, it's all these
things. You get these doubts and fears.
That's right. My kingdom is out of this world.
Listen to Isaiah 61, you know John knew the scripture, the
Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to
preach good tidings to the meek. Not good tidings to the whole
world, to the meek, to the poor, to the lost. He sent me to heal,
to bind up the broken hearted. He sent me to proclaim liberty
to the captive. opening a sight to the blind.
In Luke 4, a sight to the blind,
opening a prison to them that are bound. That's what he sent
me to do. Now then, our Lord said, you
go and show John again that the kingdom of this world is not
power and might and prosperity and fleshly success. It's righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Ghost. And verse 5, the blind do receive
their sight. There's some folks who were blinded
by sin and darkness, living, walking in darkness. Now they
see the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus. And the lame
walk. They walk like Enoch of old with
God. They leap on the hills like the
young deer. They have spiritual limbs and
legs and they walk with God. And the lepers, there's nothing
more filthy and obnoxious than a leper. And that's us in the
sight of God with our sins. They're cleansed. They're cleansed. What would you rather have? Physical beauty or spiritual
beauty? Physical health or spiritual health? Cleansing of this old
flesh or cleansing of the spirit. The death here. The dead are raised. You have
the quickened who are dead in trespasses and sin. And the poor. What is a man that's poor? Well,
spiritually poor. He is nothing, has nothing, and
can do nothing. But he has the gospel preached
to him. Now go show John that again. Don't you think John knew
this scripture in Psalm 103? David did. David did. Bless the Lord, Psalm 103. O
my soul, all that's within me, bless his holy name. Bless the
Lord, O my soul. Don't forget all his benefits.
What are his benefits? But if we're so materially minded,
we'll miss the kingdom. He forgiveth thine iniquities.
That's his benefit. He healeth our diseases, spiritual
diseases. He redeems our life from Satan's
grasp and the law's curse and destruction. He crowneth us with
loving kindness and tender mercy. He satisfies our mouth with good
things. These things right here. Our
youth is renewed like the eagles. Our flesh is decaying and dying
and growing old, but our hearts are renewed every day. I've stood up here, how many
times do you reckon? How many times? I've preached
this gospel in forty-eight and a half years. How many times?
I'm telling you from my heart. It's brand new this morning.
It's like I was two months old in the gospel. It's like I just
now read it. It's so true, it's so invigorating spiritually,
it's so blessed, so joyful, so satisfying, so comforting. Don't
you find it so? Or are you tired of it? And verse 6, blessed indeed is
he. who shall not be offended in
me." Blessed is that person who has
seen this everlasting covenant, who has seen this kingdom, this
eternal kingdom of life, the kingdom of God's Son. Blessed
is that person whose name is written in heaven, the redeemed
of God, chosen of God, redeemed by the blood of Christ, called
by the Holy Spirit. Blessed is that person, and he
is not offended in Christ. He's not embarrassed, he's not
ashamed of Christ. He doesn't consider this gospel
unworthy of his utmost support and adoration. He's not ashamed
of the person of Christ, who thought it not right to be equal
with God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon himself
the form of a servant, was obedient to death, even the death of a
cross. I'm not ashamed of Christ, the crucified Lord. I'm not ashamed
of his righteousness, in which I stand complete. I'm not ashamed
of his precious blood. It's an effectual atonement.
Our Lord didn't scatter the blood. He applied the blood to the door
where his people live. That's right. And when he sees
the blood, he'll pass over it. I'm not ashamed of that. Not
ashamed of his doctrine, not ashamed of his followers. I'm not ashamed of his followers.
Paul said to Timothy, Paul was sitting down there in prayers
and writing to Timothy in the second book of Timothy. And he
said, now Timothy, don't be ashamed of the gospel. Don't be ashamed
of the testimony of the Lord. Don't be ashamed of the gospel.
Don't be offended. Don't you let this world have such an effect and influence
upon you that you are ashamed of Christ, you are offended.
Don't you do it. And don't be ashamed of me, his
prisoner. Don't be ashamed to be identified
with the people of God. I never will forget a young lady
in this church who was about 12 years old, 12 or 13 years old. Some of her
friends were We used to say hearty-tarty. You know what that means? I don't,
but hearty-tarty. Sounds good, doesn't it? Let
you know what they were. They said, where do you go to
church? She said, 13th Street Baptist.
A frown came over the girl's face. She said, well, who goes
out there? Who goes out there? You know
what this young lady said? She said, me and my pastor, and
he tells me about God. Isn't that wonderful? That's
who goes there, me and my pastor. He tells me about God. You better
come go with us. We'll do you good too. Well, don't be ashamed of me. That leads us to the next verse.
Don't be ashamed of me, Paul said to Timothy. Don't be ashamed
of me. And then as they departed, verse 7, Jesus began to say to
the multitude concerning John, he's still talking about John,
this prophet, this apostle, this prophet, this preacher. And he
asked them three times, he said, what did you go out to see? What
went you out to see in the wilderness? Turn back to Matthew 3. This
is what he's referring to in Matthew 3. Matthew 3. It says here in verse 1, Matthew
3, In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness
of Judea, saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand. But this is he that was spoken of by the prophet
Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight. The same
John had his raiment of Campbell's hair, A leathern girdle about
his loins, his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out
to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the regions round about
Jordan, and were baptized of him in the Jordan, confessing
their sin." These people went out in the wilderness to hear
John. And Christ asked him here three times, what did you go
out to see? What did you go out to see? You
heard there's a puppet out there, what did you expect? They went out to hear, even Herod
the King went out there. And when John saw him, he said,
it's not right for you to have your brother Philip's wife. And
that led to his death. The soldiers went out, they went
out, all Judea and Jerusalem went out in the wilderness. They
heard there was a prophet out there. Christ said, what did
you do in the sea? Three times, verse 7. What went
ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind.
What is a reed? It's a holler. plant, got no
strength. It goes whichever way the wind
goes. A reed, a reed is not like an oak tree, stands firmly. A reed, he says, did you go out
to see a weakling? You think God's prophet, God's
preacher is a compromiser? Do you think he's a man that
leans in whatever direction the wind's blowing? That's what most
preachers are today. Find out what folks want to hear,
and that's what they say. Did you go to hear somebody who
bows and bends to the pressures of the heroes? That's A. What did you go out to see? A
man clothed in soft raiment? Contemporary? We've got to be
contemporary, they tell me. Our music's got to be contemporary.
We're going to have to get with it. Young people are not going
to come and hear this old message. They've got to be entertained.
But it's this old message that will save them. It's that music
that's got them in the mess they're in. We've got to dress like the world.
We don't put on blue jeans and a plaid shirt and a bandana around
his neck and act like he's a teenager. Did you go out to see a man clothed
like the world, acting like the world? Did you go out to see
a man who's influenced by the world, who bows to his peers,
who calls attention to himself by the way he's dressed? Calls
attention to himself. He's with it. A man who's concerned. Did you go to hear a man who's
concerned about the fashions? and the modes and the fads and
the clothes and the dress and the ways and the music of this
world? I tell you, we're going to hear
some good preaching when preachers find them a rocking
chair and get some quiet time, quiet time with God. They're
too busy, they're too occupied, they're too busy, they're too
with it. The two with it. The prophets
of old were men who walked with God in the wilderness, in the
lonesome times. We're not on a social world with
preaching the gospel. We've got to get a message from
the throne. We've got to get a call from the altar with God's
image stamped on it. We can hear sermons and we can
hear accurate sermons and orthodox sermons and scriptural sermons,
but I sure wish we could hear some messages from him. But you don't get those as you
pass by the door. You get those as you wait before
the door. You don't get those while you're running somewhere
else to do something else. You get those when you sit down
and listen and wait. What went you out to see? A man
who's impressed and wants to make an impression? Look at the
man. What did you go out there to see? A prophet? Is that all?
Just a preacher? Just another preacher, another
teacher of religious tradition, another religious promoter. Would
just any preacher do? Well, let me tell you something
Christ said. I say unto you, John is more than a preacher.
He's more than a prophet. How could you be more than a
preacher, more than a prophet? Look at the next verse. This is he of whom it's written.
This is he of whom it's written. Behold, I send my messenger. There's a difference. More than
a preacher, even my preacher. A lady came into a Bible conference
where I was standing one time. She had in tow a young man. And when she walked up to me
she said, I want you to meet my little preacher. Made me mad. He's your little
preacher? This is what made John different.
He wasn't your little preacher. He's God's big preacher. He's
my messenger. I sent him. I sent him. That's who we're going to have
to hear. I said, we're going to have to hear. Somehow we're
going to have to get through all of this out here, out yonder,
and hear. I'm going to sin. How shall they
call on him in whom they've not believed? How shall they believe
in him of whom they've not heard? How shall they hear without a
preacher? A preacher, and how shall they preach except they
be sinned? I sent him. I sent him before
my face. I sent him before thy face, before
Christ, before thy face, to prepare the way for you. That's right. To prepare the way for you. That's
what John the Baptist, he prepares the way. Paul said, God put me
in the ministry. Now watch this. There will be
three things here. The Lord is pleased to speak
to a people. When the Lord is pleased to speak
to a man or woman or people, He's going to speak by His servant.
preacher, his preacher, his messenger, that's right. Paul said this,
he said, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech
you by us, be ye reconciled to God. For he who knew no sin was
made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. That preacher comes before the revelation of Christ
because he brings the revelation of Christ. My preacher comes
before my face, before thy face. He comes before the revelation
because he brings it. Don't you understand what I'm
saying? He brings it. The European Union said, who's
he talking about? Philip brought the revelation
to the world. Secondly, if the preacher has
been given a ministry, he can't fail. If my servant sits before thy
face to prepare the way, he's going to prepare the way. He's
not failing. Thanks be unto God, Paul said, who always causes
us to triumph in Christ. To one we're the saviour of life
unto life, to another we're the saviour of death unto death.
But we always triumph. Always. In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul said,
I'm bound to give thanks to God for you, because from the beginning
he chose you to salvation through the sanctification of the Spirit
and the belief of the truth, and called you by our gospel.
It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. That's how men are saved, hearing the gospel and believing
it. And thirdly, we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
He's still a man. John the Baptist was still a
man, though he was a special chosen sent messenger with a
gospel, with a pearl of great price, with greater riches than
the treasures of Egypt. But it's an earthen vessel that
the power and the excellence of it might be of God and not
of the servant. And then Christ said, verse 11,
that's the reason he said this, but remember I say unto Among
them that are born of women there hasn't risen a greater than John
the Baptist. Notwithstanding, he that is least
in the kingdom of God is greater than he. There are no degrees
of glory, there are no degrees of importance in the kingdom
of Christ or in the church of Christ. God hears John, but John is no
more important than the least in the kingdom of God. Paul said,
I labored more abundantly than all of you. Paul recognized his
mission, his call. He recognized his faithfulness.
He said, I have kept the faith. I have kept the faith. And then
he turned around and said, I labored more abundantly than all of you.
Yet not I, but Christ did labor. And I'm not less than the least,
I'm not less than the greatest apostle though I be nothing. The natural man can't buy that. He just can't see that the father
that's the greatest is really in his own eyes the least. That's what John said, that's
what Paul said. Now watch this and I'll close. I've got to give
you this because this is important. And from the days of John the
Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffered violence,
and the violent take it by force. Now relax and stay with me. For
all the prophets and the law prophesied through John. Now
let's define two words, violent and violence. The kingdom of
heaven suffered violence, the violent take it by force. Those
words, you have the concordance, you look it up. The word violent
means energetic. It's not violence like we use
it today, shooting folks, storming a castle, tearing down the flag. Violence is zealous. A violent person here, he's zealous,
he's energetic, he's fervent. In other words,
this scripture, seek ye first the kingdom of God. Listen to this, you'll seek me
and find me when you search for me with all your heart. That's
violent, that's fervently, that's zealously, that's enthusiastically. That's right. Now what about
John? From the days of John the Baptist
until now, the kingdom of heaven suffered violence and the violence
was taken by force. He's talking about all the prophets.
John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. From the
days of Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and the days winding up with
John the Baptist until now. All the way from Abraham. What did Abraham do? Abraham
Duke, he left his father's house. You talk about enthusiastic,
you talk about zealous, you talk about fervent, he left his father's
house. He looked for a city. He wandered
in the wilderness by faith. Violent. Energetic. What about Moses? He esteemed
the reproach of Christ's greater riches and the treasures of Egypt.
He left a spot in the kingdom of Egypt the second greatest
man on earth, and went to the wilderness. You talk about violence,
that's an upheaval. You talk about energetic, that's
his whole beat. Forty years he was out there. We have the same gospel, that's
what he's saying here. Ours is no new gospel, from the
days of the prophets. John the Baptist was the last
one. From the days of Abraham, Elijah, Isaiah, Moses, all of
them, to now, those people sought the kingdom of God with all their
hearts, with all their energy, with all their time, they sought
the kingdom of God. And ours is no new gospel, we
have a clear light, we have a full revelation, but the preaching
of the law and the prophets, including John, was the same
message of regeneration and redemption through Christ, and they saw
it with zeal and enthusiasm, a total commitment. You know,
here's what Christ is saying, the kingdom of God is not for
the curious, it's not for the casual, it's not for the part-time
laborer. The kingdom of God comes with
power and force upon the heart and results in such a change
of heart, life, purpose, and intent and interest that that
person seeks the kingdom of God with his whole heart. The violent,
the fervent, the energetic, the zealous take it by force. They press into the kingdom of
God. They seize upon it. with joy. Now he closes verse
15 and he says, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Our Lord uses that term 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7 times. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. Everybody doesn't have ears to hear. He said they have
ears but they don't hear. They have eyes but they don't
see.