Consider Christ Jesus

Our subject is Consider Christ
Jesus. Consider Christ Jesus. And our
text is Hebrews 3, verse 1. Now, there are many verses in
the Bible that I could have selected as a text for this topic. Consider
Christ Jesus. For Jesus Christ, the Son of
God with power, and Jesus Christ, the Son of Man with perfection,
is the theme of the Bible. Moses, he said, wrote of me.
Abraham saw my day. The scripture says in Acts 10.43,
to him give all the prophets witness. And our Lord said to
the religious people of his day, you search the scriptures. And
they did. They were students of the scriptures.
But he said, in the scriptures you think you have life, but
they are they which testify of me. The scriptures testify of
me. So I could have selected any
number of verses from the word of God on this subject, consider
Christ Jesus, but I selected this one. Now you listen to it,
Hebrews 3 verse 1. Wherefore, holy brethren, speaking
to believers, partakers of the holy calling, consider the apostle
and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Brethren, those
who have been called by the Holy Spirit, those who have been redeemed
by the blood of Christ, those who have been brought to his
precious feet as believers, consider Christ Jesus. Consider him. Christ is the theme, Christ is
supreme, sweeter he grows, glory he bestows, bright as the sun
ever he glows, Christ is the theme. Paul said, I preach Christ. I preach Christ. But this is
our text. Now, listen to it again. Consider,
consider the apostle and high priest. You consider him who
is the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Now, usually when you tell a
congregation that you've got an eight-point message, it scares
everybody to death, because they don't know how long they're going
to be there. But you know how long I'm going to be here. At 1130 I go off. So I've got
eight points and I'll get them all in. Now you follow me, we're
going to consider Christ Jesus. Consider Christ Jesus. First
of all, we're going to consider him as the creating Christ. John chapter 1 verse 3 says,
All things were made by him. All things were made by him.
And without him was not anything made that was made. And Paul
in Colossians 1, 16 says, for by him were all things created
that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by him and for him, and he's before
all things, and by him all things consist. And then in the book
of Hebrews, chapter 1, verse 1 and 2, listen to this scripture. God hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, now listen to the next line, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom he also made this world. All things were made by him,
the creating Christ, Our Lord created the angels, all of the
heavenly beings and heavenly messengers. He put the sun in
place. He hung the stars in space. He spread out the valleys. He
lifted up the mountains. He made the rivers and the seas.
He created man in his own image. In Revelation 4, verse 11, the
Scripture says, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honor and power. Why? For thou hast created all
things, and for thy pleasure they were and are created." We
could take this whole program just considering Christ the Creator. Christ the Creator, the creating
Christ, everything that's made, he made. And according to his
own divine wisdom and for his own pleasure, Go out yonder where
this universe ends and come this way, and all of the planets and
stars and sun and moon and earth and nature and trees and men,
animals, fish, flies, God made them in the person of his Son. Consider Christ Jesus. And then
consider this, O miracle of miracles, consider the cradled Christ. In Luke chapter 2 verse 11, unto
you is born a Savior. These angels are speaking to
the shepherds on the Judean hillside, and we bring you good tidings
of great joy, unto you is born a Savior, Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto
you, you shall find that babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger cradle, in a manger cradle. Jesus Christ,
the Ancient of Days, became an Infant of Days. God who created
all things clothed in human flesh. God who is infinite, unlimited,
is now limited in the confines of a fleshly body. He who made
man is now made in the likeness of man. He who created the angels
is now made lower than the angels. He who said, before Abraham was,
I am, was born 2,000 years after Abraham. He who was David's Lord
is now David's son. He who was Abraham's Savior is
now Abraham's seed. He who was rich, infinitely rich,
became infinitely poor. Miracle of miracle. You understand
that? If I don't understand it, I believe
it. I believe it. There's nobody
who can understand that. There's nobody who can explain
that. God Almighty, who was before
all things and by whom all things were made, God Almighty, whom
the universe cannot contain, but rather is contained in God,
The heaven of heaven can't contain him. This flesh contains him. When was Christ made flesh? Look
at Galatians 4 verse 4. When was he made flesh? In the
fullness of time, in God's appointed time, when it pleased the Father. In the fullness of time God sent
forth his Son. How was he made flesh? Read that
same text. Made of a woman. made of a woman. He came forth from the womb of
a woman. Why was he made flesh? Read that
text. Made under the law to redeem
those who were born under the law that we might receive the
adoption of son. Consider the cradle Christ. Simeon saw him and he said, now
I'm ready to die because I've seen God's salvation. the cradle
infinite. The ancient of days becomes the
infinite, infinite of days. Consider Christ Jesus. Consider
Christ Jesus, the healing Christ. Listen to Mark 1, 32, 34. And
at evening, when the sun was setting, they brought unto him
all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils,
and he healed Our Lord Jesus Christ met blind men and gave
them sight. Our Lord Jesus Christ met dumb
men and made them talk. Our Lord Jesus Christ met crippled
men and made them walk. Our Lord Jesus Christ met deaf
men and made them hear. Our Lord met crazy men and made
them sane. Our Lord met lepers and cleansed
them as white as snow. Our Lord met a human need and
he supplied it." And our Lord never faced a storm that he couldn't
calm. Christ the healer. And he's the
same yesterday, today, and forever. Because you don't go forth and
shake people's heads and make merchandise of folks and pass
out wash tubs to get your offering doesn't mean you don't believe
that God heals people. The word of God teaches that
the Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and he's
not only the healer of sin's diseases, but he's the healer
of bodily diseases. Listen to the word of God. James
chapter 5, verse 14. Is any sick among you? You believers,
any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of
the church, and let them pray over him. anointing him with
oil in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the prayer of faith
shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up." Our Lord is the same, considering
Christ the healer. And when John the Baptist needed
some assurance that he was the Christ, that Jesus was the Messiah,
the Christ, Our Lord sent this word to John. He said, you go
back to John. You messengers, you go back to
John and you tell him that the blind see and the lame walk and
the deaf hear and the dead are raised. And you tell him not
to be faithless, but to believe. To believe. Consider Christ Jesus. Yes, he does heal. That's what
scripture says. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that's within me, bless his holy name, who forgiveth all
thine iniquities, who healeth thy diseases." It's not a commercial healing,
and it's not a power given to a man to make him wealthy, and
it's not a power given to a man to make fools out of people,
and it's not a power given to man to go out and to misuse and
to deny means which God uses. God may heal without means, but
God also uses means. Consider Christ the healer. And
then consider the prophet Christ Jesus. You know, people come
to the preacher and they say, Preacher, show us God. I can't
do it. I can't do it. Preacher, put
us in touch with God. I can't do it. Preacher, reveal
unto us God. I can't do it. I can't do it. But Christ can, and Christ did. He is Christ, the communication
of God. That's right. The Scripture says,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. What are words? Words are a form
of communication. I have a thought in my head,
or in my heart. And I want you to know what I'm
thinking. So how do I reveal to you what I'm thinking? I use
words. Vehicles of thought. And that's
why Christ is called the Word of God. If God wants us to know
what he thinks, if God wants us to know who he is, if God
wants us to know how he operates, he's going to do it through the
Word. And the Word is Jesus Christ. consider Christ Jesus. He is
the communication of God. Philip said to the Lord Jesus,
Show us the Father. And our Lord said, He that hath
seen me hath seen the Father. I and my Father one. They asked,
What shall we do that we might work the works of God? He said,
This is the work of God that you believe on me whom God hath
sent. They said, Let us see God. Let us see the work of God. Let us hear the words of God.
And Christ said, The works that I do are the works of him that
sent me. The words that I speak are the
words of him that sent me. And when he went into Gethsemane's
garden, he prayed, I have glorified thee, Father, on this earth.
I have finished the work you gave me to do. consider Christ the criticized
one. He was despised. He was rejected. He was a man of sorrows. He was
acquainted with grief. My friend, I can say this to
you. As a believer, there's no valley through which you can
go where Christ has not already been. There is no trial that
you can endure which Christ has not already endured. There's
no sorrow that you can bear that he has not already born. There's
no experience that you can have that he hasn't already had. He
was tested in all points as we are, yet without sin. That's
the reason he can be a sympathizing high priest. Touched with the
feeling of our infirmities. Listen to it. They called him
a blasphemer. He said, Many good works have
I done among you, for which of these do you stone me? They said,
We're not stoning you for doing good works, we're stoning you
for blasphemy. You say that you're God and you're
nothing but a man. They called him a wine-bibber.
They called him a drunk. They called him a gluttonous
man. They accused him of keeping bad company. They said, Why,
this man receiveth sinners, and eats with them. This man's the
friend of sinners. He keeps bad company. They charged
him with insanity. One of them said why he's beside
himself. They called him a liar. That's
right. They said you bear a record of
yourself and your record's not true. They accused him of being
in league with Satan. Why they said you're casting
out devils by the power of Beelzebub, by the power of the devil. They
assembled false witnesses against him and accused him of treason,
the highest crime they could think of, treason. Man of sorrows,
what a name! For the Son of God who came,
ruined sinners to reclaim, hallelujah, what a Savior! Bearing shame
and scoffing rude in my place, condemned he stood, and sealed
my pardon with his blood." Hallelujah. What a Savior. Consider Christ
Jesus. Criticized, hated, despised,
rejected, mocked, and finally taken outside of the city because
they were too religious to kill him inside the walls of the city.
took him outside the city wall, outside the camp, and nailed
him to a cross. And I want you to consider the
crucified Christ. Luke 23, verse 33, said, And
when they were come to a place which is called Calvary, or Golgotha,
there they crucified him. Now while we consider the crucified
Christ, I want your your undivided attention, just for a moment,
listen to me. Nobody out there listening to
me, and nobody in this studio listening to me, has any idea
or can even imagine what a cross meant 1900 years ago. In no way
you can imagine what it meant to die on a cross. Death by hanging
Death by drowning, death by stoning, death by sword, was an act of
mercy compared to death on a cross. Death by crucifixion didn't begin
on the cross, it began down there in the soldiers' hall, where
a man was lacerated with a cat of nine tails, with leather whips,
thirty-nine lashes, with pieces of metal and pieces of glass
tied in those leather straps. And as they raked that cat of
nine tails across the victim's back, the flesh and the blood
was thrown against the opposite wall. And then he was taken out
to a cross, and there he was nailed or tied to that cross,
and it was a lingering death. It was a death that lasted for
hours and hours, and yea, even days. That's the reason they
came and wanted to take him down from the cross, wanted to make
sure he was dead, because it was approaching their Sabbath
day. And they were too religious to have their victim hanging
out there on a cross over their Sabbath day. That was a holy
day. And we wouldn't want that fellow to be screaming while
we was in church worshiping God, you know. It lasted for hours. And two horrible facts. were
always present in crucifixion. Two. Two supreme facts. One, it was great suffering. Indescribable suffering. The
other, it was great shame. Shame. He endured the cross,
despising the what? Shame. They stripped the victim
naked. and left him to hang up there
and writhe in agony before the staring multitude. That's the
way you see these pictures of Christ on the cross with the
loincloth. Not so. No beautiful scenes,
a horrible scene. It's a scene of suffering and
a scene of shame. But I'll tell you this, when
you go to Calvary, and I've been there, I'm not talking about
going over there to what they call the Holy Land and walking
up on a commercialized hill that they call Calvary. I'm talking
about going to Calvary in your heart by faith. And with eyes
of faith and a heart of faith, see Christ dying for your sins.
I've been to Calvary. I can say I've seen the Lord.
I've been to Calvary, not on a Holy Land tour, but through
the witness of his Word. Each day at Calvary, what a thrill
of love divine, just to think just to feel, just to know, that
that Savior is mine. And there in that horrible, suffering,
shameful, agonizing death, I see four things, vividly. I see,
number one, how God hates sin. Now if you want to see how God
hates sin, you go to Calvary. That's His Son. That's His only
begotten, well-beloved Son. And if God spared not his own
son, because his son was made sin for us, do you think that
he will spare the rebels who reject his son and despise his
son and hate his Lord? God hates sin. God hates sin
worse than he hates hell, because he made hell punish sin. And
another thing I see there, I see the love of God for sinners.
I see both. Somebody says, you can't preach
both. I can, because they're both there. God hates sin. And I see the
love of God for sinners. God so loved the world that he
gave his Son. God commended his love toward
us, and why were we yet sinners? Christ, his Son, died for us. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ. I see something
else there. I see the justice of God satisfied. I see the debt paid. Jesus paid
it all, all the debt I owed, an effectual, particular offering. That's right. I'm not ashamed
to say that. I want you to understand Our Lord didn't go to that shameful,
agonizing place of torture and shame to make an effort to do
anything. He went there to get a job done.
And when he came away, he said, it's finished. It's finished. There the justice of God was
satisfied. There the debt was paid. There
every sin of every believer of every generation was put away. separated from us as far as the
east is from the west, cast behind the back of God into the depths
of the sea to be remembered no more. Annihilated. My own nature is not annihilated,
but my sin is. And then fourthly, I see the
debt of sin fully paid, fully paid. There is no installment
due. You ever had those little books,
those installment books, twelve months, eighteen months, twenty-four
months, thirty-six Isn't it wonderful when you get down to the last
one? You got a 24-month book, and you paid 23 of them, but
there's one left. And you're still in debt. Now,
you can kick up your heels and talk about, I paid 23 of them,
but you've still got one. And it must be paid. It must
be paid, and the debt's not counseled. They won't stamp that thing paid
in full. You bring that last payment.
Our Lord didn't pay most of it. He paid all of it. all the dead
I owe. We've got to hurry. In the seventh
place, consider the risen Christ. The scripture says that when
Joseph died, being 110 years old, they embalmed him and put
him in a coffin in Egypt. Joseph was put in a coffin in
Egypt, and he's still there. That's been a long time ago.
Joseph, lover of God, Joseph, man of God, Joseph, servant of
God, died. And they put him in a coffin
in Egypt, and he's still there. They took our Lord down from
that cross, of whom Joseph was a title. And they put our Lord,
not in a coffin, but in a tomb. He borrowed a tomb. There was
a man who had a tomb in which man had never laid. And they
put him in that tomb, and on that third day, the morning of
the third day, the first day of the week, when the women came
to the tomb to pay their respects, the angels met them and they
asked them a question. Do you know what it was? They
asked them a question. They said, Why do you seek the
living among the dead? We don't worship a dead Christ.
We don't worship a body on a cross. We don't worship a man in a tomb.
We don't worship a dead Christ. Why are you looking for the living
among the dead? He's not here. He's risen. The
risen Christ. Up from the grave he arose with
a mighty triumph over his foes. He arose a victor over the dark
domain, and he lives forever with his saints to reign. If
Christ be not risen, Paul said, you're yet in your sins. If Christ
be not risen, Paul said, there's no resurrection of the dead.
If Christ be not risen, you are a false witness, and so am I.
And if Christ be not risen, we are of all men most miserable."
Thank God he is risen. The victorious, conquering Christ
is risen, and it's evident from the fact of his resurrection
that the Father has accepted his work. If the Father had not
accepted his offering, his sacrifice, he never would have put his seal
of approval upon it by raising him from the grave. And it's
evident from his resurrection that we who trusted in him shall
also rise. For we were chosen in him, redeemed
in him, risen in him, seated in him. He said, because I live,
you shall live. Now in the eighth place and closing,
consider the coming Christ. Those disciples went out there
on the mountain as our Lord arose, ascended back to the Father.
And while they stood there and watched, and the clouds received
him out of their sight, the angels appeared and said, Ye men of
Galilee, this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as you seen it go. The coming
Christ, considered Christ Jesus. These tapes are available on
cassette reels at a small charge, if you'd like to have them write
to us at the address given to you by the announcer. Until next
Lord's Day, I bid you a very pleasant, good day.

Consider Christ Jesus

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Consider Christ Jesus

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