And Now a Word for All Men

the fact that things didn't move
along as quickly as they thought they should. Verse 4, And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those
things which you do here and see. The blind received their
sight, and the lame walked, the lepers a flame, and the deaf
and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached
to them, and blessed and happy. Fortunate to be in them is he,
whosoever shall not be offended in me." And as these two memons
left the Lord, departed to go back and tell John what the Master
had Our Lord turned to the multitude, and he met their eyes. He's had a word for these two
disciples that take to John. This is a word to the believer,
this is a word to the sheep, after he's blessed it is he that
shall attend it. And now, a word for all men. And he began to say to the multitude
concerning John, this preacher, the one sent, he said, what went
ye out into the wilderness to see? He asked that three times. What did you go out there to
see? What did you go out, what were
you expecting? Here's a man who's a preacher,
prophet of God. What did you expect to see and
what did you expect to hear from a man who was sent of God? What
did you expect? What do what people expect? I
guess everybody has a different idea about what preachers ought
to be like, what they ought to do, what they ought to say. But
what? You just look those people in
the eye and say, what do you expect? The first question, did you expect
to read Shaken with the Wind? what you expected? Did you expect
to go out there, here's God's preacher, here's one God sent
to declare his word, did you expect to go out there and find
the weak, compromiser? Is that what you expect? The
reed shaking with the wind, driven back and forth for the wind.
Whichever way the wind blows, that's the way the reed leaves,
isn't it? wind blows this way, it leans this way, wind blows
that way, leans that way. Is that what you expect from
what most preachers are like? And that's what people expect
most of the time. Preachers are offended, maybe.
Well, what were you looking for? Were you looking for one to tickle
your ears and tell you what you wanted to hear? Do you want the
preacher to tell you what God said or what you want to hear?
Do you want one at least swayed by every wind of opinion? that's
afraid to be bold and courageous and truthful. A preacher said
to me one time, if I preach what you did, it'd split my church.
Well, that's a reed, you say, shaking with the wind. I couldn't
preach like that, or folks would quit. You see, our Lord called
Peter a what? A stone. He said, Whom do you
say that I am? And Peter said, You're the Christ,
the Son of the living God. And our Lord said, Peter, start
a stone. The wind won't move a rock, and
if it's big enough and strong enough, the waves won't move
it. It won't be right there. And that's what God's true, if
man is God's preacher. He does not have his antennae
tuned to opinions of men. Or does he have his antenna up
to find out which way folks are going at that time? He finds
out where the glory of Christ is being challenged in his day,
and that's where he shoots. Exactly where he shoots. Well,
what'd you go out there to see? All right, 2nd verse 8. What
went ye out to see? A fellow clothed in soft raiment? A fancy fellow with a perm? That's what I see on television,
with all their gaudy decorations and hairdos. Can't tell which one's the wife
and which one's the husband, except one wears a tie, you know. Soft clothing, soft raiment,
the soft clothing of popularity and prosperity. A preacher conformed
to riches and affluence. true creatures are simple men,
plain, plain, plain men, and they're not covetous, and they're not greatly concerned
about how they're going to be taken care of tomorrow, because
the one that called them and sent them will take care of them
tomorrow, too. Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings'
houses, and that's where most of these paid for by social security checks
from poor widows. Horrible. Con men, professing
to be... Is that what you went out to
say, John? Is that what you went out to say? But I'll tell you
what they found. They found a fella in a leather
coat, living off wild honey and the fruit of the locust tree,
preaching the kingdom of God and telling men the truth. Why
don't you go out there to see? And then thirdly, he asked him
again, what'd you go out to say? What'd you go out to say, a prophet?
A fellow who claimed to have a new revelation? Oh yeah, I
say unto you, you heard a prophet, all right. You heard a prophet. You heard more than a prophet.
For this is he of whom it's written. You heard one God sent. This is he of whom it's written,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee." Yeah, you heard a prophet, you heard God's
man, you were privileged. I'll tell you the greatest, and
I know in every generation, in every generation, there's a lot
of religion. This is a religious world. In
every generation there's a lot of religion, and there's a lot
of preachers, and a lot of churches, and a lot of people claim to
speak for God. But our Lord has not left himself
without a witness to every generation. And somebody, somewhere, is preaching
God's message. That's right. People may not
recognize it, they may not know it. I want you to turn with me
to Ezekiel. I want to show you something
here. Ezekiel chapter, I believe it's chapter 33. Ezekiel 33.
Let's see if this is it. Yes. Ezekiel 33. You know, we, Doris and I, left
the church this morning. These things enter my mind. I
deal with these things considerably. But everybody was leaving. We
went out and got in our car. Now this was, this was, this
was last night or this afternoon, we were driving, pulled out of
the parking lot here, looked around at the houses, all around
this neighborhood, and she made the comment, she said, you know,
you stand there in the pulpit and preach the word of God. Now
already tonight, back there in the study, we read 2 Corinthians
5. Out here, it's half-read, Isaiah 53. Then Mike Sands, Psalm
121. And now I'm dealing with Matthew
11. That's four chapters in God's
precious book that we're going to deal with right here just
tonight. The average church today didn't deal with one verse, let
alone four chapters. And we dealt with a chapter in
the Sunday school class this morning. That's five today. And
that's every day for thirty-some-odd years in this place. We've gone
clear through this book. And she said, how many people
in these houses around this neighborhood are going to die and stand before
God and realize that right across the street from them, God had
a preacher preaching His word. Right across the street, folks.
They lived all their thirty-some-odd years right across the street
from the gospel of the Son of God. And you think about that,
and you hear the Scripture. Ezekiel 33, verse 30. Also, thou
son of man, the children of thy people still are talking about
thee. The word there is against, but
it's of thee. You know how sometimes the King
James, back in other days, used different words. They're talking
about you. I had a man walk up to me today
at noon. I've known him nearly 40 years.
I've known him since I've been in this town. He's never been
inside this building. Never. He walked up to me and
he said, Reverend, we're praying. He said, I listen to you almost
every Sunday on television. And Reverend, he said, you're
the best preacher there is on television. I said, well, thank
you, I'm trying to tell the truth, but I thought in here, I didn't
want to make an enemy, but I thought, well, why don't you come in with
me? Why don't you, if you're so fond
of, you believe I'm telling God's truth, why don't you come in
with me? No, he goes to another church, and he complained again. I had one man say this, a member
of the First Christian Church downtown. He got up in front
of the men's Bible class at the First Christian Church. Ed, I
called his name, you know, teacher of the men's Bible at First Christian
Church. He told his class one morning, this was when we were
on the radio every morning at 8.30, he told the class, he said,
you men want to hear the gospel, you'll have to tune in to WCMI
every morning at 8.30, because that's the only place you're
going to hear it. They're talking about you. Well,
you don't. They're talking about you by
the walls, in the doors of the houses, they speak one to another,
and every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and
hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. And they
come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before you,
or before the television set, or the radio, as my people, they
claim to be my people, and they hear your word But they won't
do them. With their mouth they show much
love and much regard and much appreciation, but not their hearts
go after covetousness. They're interested in this world.
They're not interested in what God's saying, they're interested
in this world. And lo, you are unto them a very loveless song.
one that has a pleasant voice. You do a good job, like I said,
you do better than most of them. You play well on the instrument,
and they hear your word, but they're not going to do them. And when this comes to pass,
and lo, it'll come, it always comes to pass. Yep, it comes
to pass. The part of them that wants to
die, and it'll come to pass. After that, the judgment, and
it'll come to pass. Every man shall give an account
of himself to God, and it'll come to pass. And it'll come
to pass sooner than you think, and lo, it will. Now, read on.
Then shall they know that a prophet is among them. Right next door. Right next door. That's something, isn't it? And that's what our Lord said
to these people. He said, You went out to hear What did you
go out to hear? What did you go out there to
hear? A preacher? Well, lo and behold, you heard
more than a preacher. You heard God's preacher. You
heard God's preacher. You heard God's message. He knows. A man that has God's message
knows he's got God's message, and a man playing the game knows
he's playing the game, so he won't tell you that he knows
it. But, verse 11, watch this, "...verily
I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there is not
risen a greater than John the Baptist, notwithstanding he that
is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." And John
knows that too. You see, there are no, listen
to me, there are no degrees of glory. There's nobody in heaven that
lives in a bigger mansion than somebody else. Mansions are dwelling
places, not palaces. There's nobody in heaven with
a greater crown than another. Grace is a leveler. There are
no degrees of glory. That's what he said here. Even
though John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost from his
mother's womb, he was supernaturally born when his daddy, Zachariah,
and his mother, Elizabeth, were old people. He was the forerunner
of Christ, and yet our Lord said, in glory and the kingdom of heaven,
he that believeth is greater than John the Baptist. They're
the same. They're the same. Now, you're going to see in a
moment there are degrees of condemnation, but not of glory. Hell's going
to be greater punishment for some than others. Try it. You'll
see that in a few moments, but not in glory. And watch this
now. Verse 12, and from the days of
John the Baptist, now this needs to be, you say, well, people
go to church. Yes, it's that, I know what it
is. I did it. Many of you did. It's that cold, indifferent,
duty, serving God, giving God a little of your time and tithe
and talents, and so forth. But now you watch this verse,
and from the days of John the Baptist, when he pointed out
the Lamb of God, behold the Lamb of God, from that time until
now, until this present time, the kingdom of heaven, better
watch it now right here, the kingdom of heaven suffered violence,
and the violent take it by force. What's that saying, preacher?
I'll tell you. From the days of John, from the time he said,
there's the Passover lamb, there's that rock, there's that brazen
serpent lifted up, there's that lamb of God. From that time,
when he was identified as having come in the flesh to the fulfillment
of all scripture, until this present time, the kingdom of
heaven has endured violent assault, not cold, indifferent, token
allegiance, not mere well wishes, but determined men, sees it as
a precious prize, not to be denied, a part in the kingdom of heaven
they must have. Paul said, above all things,
that I might attain to the resurrection of the dead. That's my prize,
that's my object, that's my goal, and by God's grace I'm going
to take part in the kingdom of heaven
is sought for with great zeal and intense determination and
interest. I will not be denied." Jacob
said, I won't let you go until you bless me. That's what that
thought meant. That's not our generation for
our Lord to fail us. One of the old writers said this
business of salvation and the kingdom of heaven is serious
with those who enter. It comes with force, it comes
with power upon the souls of men, quickening the dead, making
the blind to see, causing the lame to walk, and the deaf to
hear. And it makes committed friends
and determined enemies. It turns men from the power of
Satan to the power of God. from the kingdom of darkness
to the kingdom of his Son, suddenly, swiftly, secretly, powerfully,
effectually, the kingdom of God comes to change men. And men who understand it, the
glory of it, the beauty of it, the importance of it, the value
of it, they seize it when they recognize it. And they seize
it with all their might. as a precious prize to be had
at all costs, the kingdom of God becomes their chief concern. Been there? That's what the Lord said. From
that time when he was identified by John the Baptist, the kingdom
of heaven had suffered and those whose chief concern
it is to enter, they take it with force. I must have it. That's the way John Knox prayed,
God give me Scotland or I'll die. All right, for he said in verse
13, for all the prophets, and the law prophesied, pictured,
patterned, until John They all held up a pattern, but John didn't
hold up a pattern or picture. John pointed to the Lamb of God.
That's the full picture. See that? And if you will receive
it, our Lord said, this is the Master speaking here, and he's
talking to the multitude. If you will receive it, you can. John the Baptist is Elijah, which
was to come, which was for to come. He said, where is that
Malachi? You want to look back and see
it. Malachi, the last chapter in the Old Testament, the last,
last chapter before the announcement of Joshua, call his name Jesus,
400 years before Christ came. Malachi 4 verse 5 says, Behold,
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord. And the Lord Jesus said, and
if you'll have it, if you'll receive it, this is the fulfillment. He came to announce my coming.
And then verse 15. You know, we have school for
preachers, school for preachers. We're always instructing people
how to preach. But our Lord instructed people
how to hear. He said, he that hath ears to
hear, let him hear. We want our preachers to tell
the truth. and they ought to, and they will, that God's preaching.
But if I tell the truth, shouldn't you hear it? Woe is unto me if I preach not
the gospel, but now, woe is unto you if I preach it and you don't
hear it. But, watch this now, this is
interesting here, but the Master said, he's still talking to the
multitude now, I've told you so many times, find out who's
to whom he's speaking, and he's subject, and he's talking to
the multitude about the ministry, about the preachers, about the
preaching of the gospel, about the Word of God. That's what
he's talking about, isn't he? He's been on John, all about John's
ministry. You got ears to, you got a prophet,
you went out there, go out there and see. Well, God's preacher
was out there, and he's telling the truth. Now, if you have ears
to hear, hear. But, what's this? Where unto shall I liken this
generation? What am I going to compare them
to? Well, they're like children sitting
in the market, calling to their fellows, and they say, we've
piped unto you, you have not danced, we've mourned unto you,
you have not lamented, we can't please you. He said, it's like children in
the marketplace, their parents over here running their stands,
you know, and selling their wares, and the children over here playing,
and some of the children say, y'all won't do anything, we play
happy songs, and you won't dance, we play sad songs and you won't
cry, we can't please you. They're stubborn. They're satisfied with nothing.
They found fault with everything. And he says that's the way, that's
the way people are. He said in verse 18, John the
Baptist came, neither eating nor drinking, and you say he
hath a devil. John the Baptist came, he's out
there in the wilderness clothed in a leather girdle and and living
off the fruit of the land, you know, and whatever he could get,
and he stayed out there and preached, and he was separated and not
connected with the world in any way, rarely ever came into the
city, wasn't a socializer at all, and they said, well, he
has a devil. But he said, the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ,
came eating and drinking. He came visiting your homes and
on the streets and sitting around talking to people and going to
the weddings and Cana of Galilee and so forth. He came, you know,
eating and drinking, and you're not happy with him either. You
say, well, he's a winebibber. He's a gluttonous man. He's a
friend of sinners. The heart is hard, and it will
not be taught. It's so today. The problem's
not the messenger. That's what everybody says. Well,
I don't like John. I didn't like Christ either. like this preacher. The problem is not the messenger,
it's the message. The problem is not outwardly,
for he says nothing pleases him. The problem is inwardly, it's
heart rebellion against the message is what it is. stubborn and unbelieving. They're
satisfied with no man's ministry. They find fault with all they
hear. They're a law unto themselves. This is the way I see it. Isn't
that right? If a man preaches justification
by faith alone, he's an antinomian. If he preaches commitment and
godliness, he's a legalist. If he condemns their indifference,
he's too demanding. If he sympathizes with their
failings, he's too easy on sentiment. Is he cheerful? He's accused
of levity. Is he solemn and serious? He's
too gloomy. Does he eat, drink, and socialize
with them? He's too worldly. Does he stay
at home and study all day? He's too intellectual. If he's an ordinary fellow, too light-hearted. If he's a separationist, too
puritanical. What's this all about? This is
what the Lord Jesus Christ is saying. He said, John came neither
eating nor drinking, neither socializing with anybody, making
no contact with anybody, just declared the kingdom of God as
it is. He declared the truth. But they
said, he's got a devil, he's strange, he's way out, he's in
left field. The Lord Jesus came walking the
streets with them, talking with them, socializing with them,
sitting down with sinners, talking to them. They said, he's a wine-dipper,
he's a gluttonous man. Now look at the next line, verse
19, but wisdom is justified over children. What's that mean, Pastor? true wisdom, true wisdom is shown. A man that has true wisdom, a
man that's a child of wisdom, a man who's been given wisdom,
his wisdom is shown. Wisdom is vindicated by those
who are children of wisdom, for the wise man hears the word of
God as the word of God and not as the word of men. The vessel is unimportant, it's
the food in the vessel. That's a smart man. That's an
intelligent man. His faith and confidence does
not stand in the messenger, but in the message. His faith and
confidence does not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God, and he knows it when he hears it, Jim Eccles.
He knows it when he hears it. friend of mine, years and years
and years ago, was holding a meeting, preaching out in the Midwest
for a church, and they were having meals in the homes. They'd have
preaching every night, and he and the pastor would eat with
somebody during the day. There was one of the ladies of
the church that invited them to eat with her, and they were
on their way to her house, and the pastor said to my friend,
the evangelist, that now her husband doesn't come to church
ever, ever, ever. And he said, I hate to take you
there to eat because he owns and operates a tavern, and he'll
probably be there. He's a nice man. The pastor said,
he's a nice man. He won't give you any problems.
She's a lovely woman. She loves the gospel. She's heard
the gospel and believes the gospel, but he doesn't. He has no use
for preachers. You blame him? But anyway, he
said, we'll go. Pat Vanderson said, suits me.
You know, they're going to have something to eat. We'll go eat.
So they were sitting at the table, just preachers. They were sitting
at the table. father, the head of the house,
he came home from the lounge, and he was there for the meal,
the two preachers and the wife and the husband. They were eating,
and the head of the house, the man, spoke up and said, Preacher!
He said, I guess you know that I hadn't, you've noticed I hadn't
been in church. And he said, Yes, I've noticed
that. The wife's been there, We're glad to have her and we're
glad to be in your home. Appreciate your invitation. He said, I want
to tell you why I don't come. He said, we always have the preacher
over for a meal. But he said, I'll tell you why
I don't come. Every preacher I've ever met and ever preached
in that church told me in order to be saved I had to sell my
tavern. And I ain't selling my tavern.
And my friend looked at him and said, You don't have to sell
your tavern to be saved." He said, what? He said, I said,
you don't have to sell your tavern to be saved. The man said, well, I think I'll
come here and you preach. This is a wise man. Now, this
is not a fool, this is a wise man talking, this preacher. Selling
a tavern never has saved anybody. Do you think it will? You think I'd help him to sell
his tongue? Would that make God love him? Christ came to save
sinners, not folks who clean up their lives. So he came to
hear him. Bless your heart. That old boy came ever service
while that preacher was there. Ever service. And he told me
he heard the gospel. He hadn't been able to hear the
gospel because preachers wouldn't let him. They had a tavern up
here. They didn't have Christ up here.
They had a tavern. The man was wrestling over a
tavern. He wasn't wrestling over Christ and the gospel and the
kingdom of God. He was wrestling over his livelihood,
over his tavern, over his money, over his future, over his house
payment. And he couldn't win. But my friend shoved Christ out
there and moved the tavern, and God saved him. You know what
he did? He sold his tavern. I don't know what's wrong I do
too. Preachers don't know the gospel.
They'll get up and lamb-bast the masonic lodge. It ain't going
to do you any good to quit the lodge. I'll tell you this, if you come
to love Christ, I don't think you're going to hang around with
people who don't love Christ. But we'll see who comes first.
See, this is what preachers do. They're not preaching the gospel.
They're not preaching Christ. They're preaching everything
in this world but Christ. And it will hold Christ. Men
and women, boys and girls, come to know the King. The King's
able to straighten out his subjects. The Son of God's able to direct
the lives of his children. And he will. But that's all right. That's all right. Our Lord sounds
a warning now, verse 20, and I'll hurry and quit. But then
he began to upbraid these places where he preached the gospel,
the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because
they didn't repent. And he said, I'll tell you this,
here's degrees of punishment, I told you. Woe unto thee, Chorazin,
woe unto thee, Bethsaida, if the mighty works which were done
in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented
long ago and sackclothed the nation. And I say unto you, it'll
be easier, more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of
judgment than for you, when sinners are judged. It's going to be
easier for people who lived in those wicked, idolatrous places
than for people that lived right where the gospels put them. It's
a whole lot easier. J.C. Ryle said, among all the
saints, there is none more wicked than the frequent hearing of
love's unspeakable gift and despising it. Stand against law, and God will
judge you. Stand against love, and the punishment
will be infinitely greater. Isn't that right? I'm telling
you the truth. You talk funny. It sounds funny
to people who don't know God, but it sounds true to people
who know Him. Stand against law, and God will
deal with you. If you stand against love, It's better not to hear the gospel
than to hear it and not believe it. That's right. And you, Capernaum,
listen to me. This is the Master talking now.
You, Capernaum, you've been exalted to heaven. You know who came
and ministered to you? The Son of God did. And you'll
be brought down to hell, for the mighty works which are done
in you had been done in Sodom. And there's an awful practice
named for that town, Sodom. But it's going to be, listen,
in verse 24, I say unto you, it'll be more tolerable for Sodom
than for you. John, that's what he said. But that's all right. Here's
the closing. And at that time, my Lord Jesus answered and said,
I thank you, Father. He turns now from the multitude
and lifts his eyes to heaven, and he said, It's all right,
it's all right. I thank you, Father, Lord, Sovereign
Ruler of heaven and earth, because you hid these things from the
wise and prudent, and you revealed them unto them. For even so,
Father, for so it seemed good in your sight. It's all right,
my friend. your unbelief will not make void the purpose of
God. You go your way, but you're not
going to change his divine purpose. Heaven will be populated, yet
will. The halls of glory will echo
with multitudes singing his praise, here they wish. The wedding party
will be complete. yet will, and the Son shall have
a people." Our Lord said that. I thank you, Father. I thank
you. Because, verse 27, all things
are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but
the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son,
and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. So, he gives
some direction. What'll I do, preacher? Come
unto me. come unto me, all ye that labor
in sin and guilt and heavy laden, I'll give you rest. It's mine
to give. It's in me. It's of me. It's
from me. It's through me. You come to
me. Don't come down here. Come to him. And I'll give you
rest. You take my yoke upon What is
a yoke? Well, you know what a yoke is.
They put it on oxen, team them together, and they climb. It
holds them in line. It's ownership. It's ownership. Take my ownership, my lordship,
upon you, and learn of me. I'm meek, and I'm lowly in heart,
and you'll find rest to your soul, for my yoke It's not hard. His commandments are pretty good.
Not easy. And my burden is life. Sin is
hard. The world is hard. Tradition
and false religion is hard. Working your way to heaven is
pretty hard too. But His yoke is easy and His
burden is light. All right, Mike, that's saying
a closing here. It's been a good day. It's been
a good day. God's been good to us. That's
a good chapter, isn't it? Matthew 11.

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