I will begin with John chapter
5, that all men should honor the
Son even as they honor the Father. If any man thinks little of Jesus
Christ, he is unlike God. The less you think of Christ,
the less like God you are. Some people may think it's sufficient
to give Jesus Christ a little honor, a little esteem, a little
respect, a little reverence, but the Scripture tells us in
all the eternal counsels of God, in all of creation, in all of
redemption, in all of restitution, in all of judgment, that Christ
is all. And it's not written in vain,
he that honoreth the son honoreth the father, and he that honoreth
not the son honoreth not the father that sent him. As you
take your Bibles this morning, I want you to notice the first
thing, that in all the books which make up the Bible, in all
66 books which make up Old and New Testament, Jesus Christ is
all. Now, in the first part of the
Bible, he is distinctly, or dimly and indistinctly revealed. You
go through the books of Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus and
Numbers and Deuteronomy and Joshua and Judges, Christ is there,
but it's dimly revealed, his person, his sacrifice, his glory,
indistinctly. He's there, but it's dimly. These
prophets saw through a glass dimly and darkly. And then, in
the middle parts of the Bible, or in the minor prophets who
pass the book of Psalms, you'll find Christ more clearly and
more plainly revealed. And then, in the end, from Matthew
to Revelation, especially in the epistles, you will find Christ
fully and completely revealed, but in all of the Word of God,
Christ has to preeminent. At the first part, dimly and
indistinctly, in the middle, more clearly and more plainly
revealed, and at the end, fully and completely. Now, there's
a key to the Bible, and it takes some of us a long time to learn
it. Some of you can learn it more quickly, I hope. There's
a key to the Bible, And it is. Some people say, well, I just
don't understand the Bible. It's because they don't use the
key. And somebody's always coming
along saying, now, the key to that is this, but I'm serious
about this. This is the key to the Bible.
It's the twofold crown of Christ. That's the key to the Word of
God, any of it and all of it. What do you mean by the twofold
crown of Christ? His crown over the church? and
his crown over his kingdom, his future glory. Now, his sacrifice
and his death for sinners, that's his crown over the church. He bought the church, he redeemed
the church, he loved the church, he sacrificed himself for the
church, he loved it and gave himself for it. That's his crown
over the church. and Christ's crown over the whole
universe, and Christ's glory which all shall ascribe to him
in heaven, earth, and in hell." Here's his crown, the second
crown, or the second full crown. Now, people who want to understand
the Word of God are going to have to take this roadmap as
they go through the Bible. Christ, King of the Church, and
Christ King of the universe, and Christ's kingship over the
church purchased with his sacrifice and his blood, and his kingship
over the world given him by the Father. Now, turn to Hebrews
11, verse 4. Let's go through this, if you
will, with me. First of all, it was Christ to
whom Abel looked when he brought a better sacrifice than King.
Hebrews 11 4 says, By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was
righteous, God testifying of his guilt, and by it he being
dead yet sacred. Abel looked to Christ when he
offered that sacrifice, and not only was his sacrifice better
than his brother's, but his heart was better. because in his sacrifice
he showed a knowledge of vicarious suffering. In his sacrifice he
showed a knowledge of faith in the atonement. By faith he offered
unto God a more excellent sacrifice. Turn to Jude, if you will, verse
14, the book of Jude. It was Christ of whom Enoch testified
in the days of wickedness before the flood." In Jude, verse 14,
listen to this, "...and Enos also, the seventh from Adam."
We go all the way back to Abel's sacrifice. As I said in the beginning
of the Bible, Christ is dimly and indistinctly revealed, but
revealed, and it was to the atonement that Abel looked. It was to the
vicarious sacrifice that Abel looked. Now, come to Enos, only
the seventh from Adam. But Enoch, the seventh from Adam,
prophesied of these things, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with
ten thousand of his saints." Now, what's Abel talking about
in his sacrifice? The blood. He's talking about
the crown of Christ over the church, Christ purchasing the
church with his blood. Now, what's Enoch talking about?
Enoch's talking about the reign of Christ, the victory of Christ. the glory of Christ over the
world, the judgment of Christ. Listen, he's coming with 10,000
saints. He didn't come to redeem the
lost of 10,000 saints, he came alone. He walked the winepress
of God's wrath alone. He bore the wrath of God alone. He drank the bitter dregs from
the cup of God's wrath alone. He died on the cross alone, but
when he comes in glory, he's coming with 10,000 of his saints
to execute judgment. upon all, and to convince all
that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which
they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches
which ungodly sinners have spoken against them." If you're looking
into Abel's sacrifice, you're looking at the crown of Christ
over the church. His redemption If you look at
the prophecy of Enoch, you're looking at the judgment of Christ,
the kingship of Christ, the glory of Christ over this whole universe. Now, turn to John 8, in the eighth
chapter of John, verse 56. It was Christ to whom Abraham
looked when he dwelt in the land of promise. He believed that
one born of his seed would bless all nations. It was to Christ
that Abraham looked when he took his son on top of Mount Moriah
to offer him as a sacrifice to God. In John 8, 56, our Lord
said, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and
was glad. Turn to Genesis 49. In Genesis
49, 10. Now, what was Abraham talking
about here? He's talking about the blood
of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ. Actually, many reliable Bible
scholars tell us that when Abraham took that boy on top of Mount
Moriah, and put him on the altar, and raised the knife to slay
him as a penalty, and God revealed the ram caught by his horns in
the city, and said, take your son off the altar and put the
ram in his place. that that's what christ is talking
about when he said abraham saw my day he saw the day of redemption
he saw the day of substitution he saw the day of christ dying
in the stead of sin that god's son being offered in the stead
of his son and that it was on this very mountain that christ
died mount calvary and mount moriah is about the same place
and the same mountain that's what they're telling so he's
talking about the crown of Christ over the church, the crown of
redemption. Now, Genesis 49. Let's look over here. Now, we'll
learn something here if we'll put a little effort into this.
In Genesis 49, verse 10, now Jacob was dying, and he called
his son to speak to him and to leave some instructions for him.
And as he lay dying, he marked out the from which Christ would
be born. He says in Genesis 49, verse
10, that is, the power, the authority, the rod of sovereignty and rule,
shall not depart from Judah, the tribe of Judah, nor a lawgiver
from between his people, until Shiloh come." That's Christ,
that's the Prince of Peace. Watch it. and unto him shall
the gathering of the people be." Now, here is the king. Before
Jacob died, he gathered his twelve sons, and he said, a king is
coming, a king to reign, and of his throne and of his reign
there'll be no end, and he shall come through the tribe of Judah,
and he shall reign, he shall be the prince of peace, and unto
him shall the gathering of the people be. That's Christ. Now
turn to Hebrews 10, and every time that an animal was sacrificed
in the Old Testament, every time that they brought a turtledove,
or a lamb, or a ram, or a bullock, and sacrificed it and shed its
blood on the altar there in the courtyard of the tabernacle,
or took its blood into the holy place and sprinkled it on the
mercy seat, Every one of those Old Testament sacrifices was
a confession that a savior would come and take away men's sins. In Hebrews 10 verse 1, look at
it, the law, that is the ceremonial law, the law of sacrifices, the
law type, having a shadow or a picture of good things to come,
and not the very image of these things. In other words, these
sacrifices are a shadow of Christ. who is to come, a picture of
Christ who is to come, a type of Christ who is to come. It
is not the image of Christ, it is the shadow of Christ, can
never, with those sacrifices which are offered year by year
continually, make the comers their own true presence. Look
at verse four, it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats
should take away sin. Then why offer the blood of bulls
and goats? Why all this sacrifice down through
these centuries, down through the years? Why all these Jewish
sacrifices? Why all this bloodshed? Because
it is a picture, a type, a shadow, an example of Christ who is to
come. The daily miracles in the wilderness.
You say, well, what about when Israel was traveling from Egypt
to the Promised Land, and the serpent was lifted up on the
pole? That's Christ. That's Christ. Our Lord said,
as Moses lifted up the serpent, even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up. What about when Moses struck the rock, and out of the
rock came water to satisfy the thirst of these thirsty, dying
people? That's Christ. Turn to 1 Corinthians
10. Let me show you that. That very
rock is Christ, is a picture of Christ. Listen to it. And
they did all 1 Corinthians 10 forward. and they did all drink
the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual
rock that followed them. That rock was Christ. Couldn't
be any plainer. When the manna fell from heaven,
and they went out and gathered it and ate it, Christ said, I
am the bread from heaven, I am the true bread. The Israelites
ate of that bread that God gave them from heaven, and it was
only a temporary satisfaction, and they later died. But he that
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood shall never die." When
Moses walked up to that rock, God said, Moses, smite the rock
and it'll bring forth water, and he smoked the rock. He said,
are these things really important? Well, let me show you how important.
These types are so important that God killed Moses for messing
one up. Moses came to that rock. God
said, Moses, smite the rock, and water will come out of it.
So, Moses smote the rock, and water came out of the rock. The
people drank, and they were satisfied. So, the people were thirsty again,
and they came to Moses and asked for water, and God said, speak
to the rock, Moses, you'll get water out of it. Just speak to
the rock. and Moses was standing by the rock, and he got so aggravated
with the people, so aggravated with everything, the burdens
that were upon him, he said to them, must I bring water out
of the rock again? And he threw back his rod and
hit that rock again. Well, water came out of it, but
God called Moses aside and said, Moses, you shouldn't have done
that. I didn't tell you to smite that rock, I told you to speak
to it. Now, you smoked the rock before, was smitten, and the
rock gave forth water. You don't have to smite it again.
It doesn't have to be hit again. All you do is speak to the rock.
That rock is Christ, and he's smitten of God and afflicted
once. He died on that cross once. He
doesn't have to be smitten again. He doesn't have to be crucified
again. he doesn't have to be nailed to a tree again. All you
do is call on the name of the Lord, and the life-refreshing
living water comes to you, but you don't take him out and lay
him to the cross again, so for that you're not going to enter
the promised land. Joshua takes the people in, and
I'll take you up on a mountain and bury you, Moses. You just
can't do that and get away with it. the miracles in the wilderness,
all of them, all of them, the pillar of cloud, and the pillar
of fire, and the water from the rock, and the bread from heaven,
and the brazen serpent. These are not just things to
astound the people, they're all pictures. They're all types of
Christ. It was Christ of whom all the
judges were types. Joshua was a type of Christ,
Gideon was a type of Christ, Samson was a type of Christ,
Solomon was a type of Christ, David was a type of Christ. Weak
and unstable they were. but they were types of a strong
deliverer, and it was Christ of whom all the prophets from
Isaiah to Malachi wrote. Sometimes they wrote of his sufferings.
He was wounded by our transgressions. Sometimes they wrote of his kingship,
his crown, his rule. Turn to 1 Peter 1. Listen to
this. 1 Peter chapter 1, beginning with verse 10. Listen carefully. Of which salvation 1 Peter chapter
1 verse 10, of which salvation the prophet had inquired and
searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come
to you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of
Christ which was in them did signify, when he testified beforehand
two things, the suffering of Christ and the glory that should
follow." These prophets, Peter said, they
searched diligently into this salvation, they inquired into
this salvation, they prophesied of this salvation, they wrote
as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance and gave them ability
of two things, the sufferings of Christ and the glory that
should follow. The New Testament is Christ,
the Gospels Christ living and dying, the Book of Acts Christ
preached and proclaimed, the Epistles Christ written, lived,
and exalted, the Revelation Christ the King and Christ the Judge. Now then, secondly, this message
is a three-part message. So, first of all, we look at
this. Christ is all as far as the Bible can tell. It's Christ
from cover to cover. Secondly, Christ is all the faith. of a true Christian. Now, I don't
want to be misunderstood here. I hold the election of God the
Father. God the Father chose us, God
the Father purposed our redemption, God the Father decreed that we
should be His children. I hold the satisfaction of God
the Son. God the Son came here to this
earth, was made in the likeness of flesh, obeyed the law, went
to the cross, and died for us. I hold the sanctification of
God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes in times
and quickens and regenerates and calls us and reveals Christ
to us and grants repentance and faith. There is perfect harmony
in the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Spirit. God taught it, the
Lord Jesus Christ bought it, somebody said, and the Holy Spirit
brought it. But the Godhead said this. Let
us create and let us redeem, and all who reach heaven will
ascribe all glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let us
make man. Let us redeem Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit." Christ said, when you're baptized, baptize in the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But, at the same
time, I see throughout Redemption that Christ is exalted. the matter
of saving souls. He is the word by whom God is
redeemed. He is the door by which the sinner
enters in. He is the cornerstone on which
the living temple is built. He is divine in which we are
grasped. He is the meeting place between
God and men. He is the Christ to whom God
has given a people. It is in Christ that all fullness
dwells, and the scripture says, He of God is made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. And the scripture
says over here in Philippians, turn over there with me just
a moment, in the book of Philippians. In the book of Philippians, verse
9, it talks about the crucifixion of Christ in verse 7 and 8, but
in verse 9 it says, him." We're not discounting the
part of the Father in rediction or the Spirit, but it says here,
God has exalted him and given him a name which is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven
and in earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord. the glory of God the Father. He is our justification. The
garment of Christ's righteousness is the only robe that can cover
our nakedness. The name of Christ is the only
name by which we can enter glory. The blood of Christ is the only
mark that will save us from destruction. He is our sanctification. He
said, without me you can do nothing. I pity those who try to be holy
without Christ. going to find that their righteousnesses
are filthy rags. He is our comfort. The believer
has many sorrows. He has a body like other men,
it's weak in prayer. He has a heart like other men,
oftentimes more sensitive. He has trials and losses like
other men, oftentimes greater. He has death, disappointments,
and crosses to bear. He has a world to oppose, and
Paul cried, who is sufficient for these things? Hebrews 13.5. I want you to read this verse
of Scripture. Hebrews 13.5. Proves sufficient for these things. We have no sufficiency unless
we have Christ. He says in Hebrews 13.5, Let
your conversation be without covetousness, and be content
with such things as you have, whether it be joy or sadness,
whether it be success or failure. For he has said, I'll never leave
thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, The Lord is
my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." Christ
is not only our comfort, he's our hope of eternal life. Now,
I want to read you something. I want you to listen to it. Bishop
J.C. Ryle made this statement, "'There
are very few men and women who do not believe that it will be
well with their souls. But the hope of most of them
is nothing but vain fancy. Why? Because their hope has no
foundation, and no hope is reasonable. No hope of eternal well-being,
no hope of eternal glory, no hope of eternal is reasonable
that is not scriptural." I feel that a lot of times. There
are a few men and women who do not believe that finally it's
going to be all right, it's going to be okay, but their hope is
nothing but vain fantasy because it has no foundation, and no
hope is reasonable no hope of eternal life is reasonable, no
hope of glory is reasonable, that is not scriptural. Now,
what is the scriptural hope? Turn to Titus 2. In Titus, the
second chapter, the scripture says this, Titus 2, 13, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearance of
the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. He is our hope,
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity
and purify under himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.
He is the hope. Our hope is a person who gave
himself for us. And in 1 John chapter 3, now
that's a scriptural That is a hope that has foundation, that's a
hope that has a reason. We look for that blessed hope,
our Lord and Savior who gave himself for us. In 1 John 3,
verse 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God. It does not
yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall
appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that has what? this hope, there it is, that
he's going to see Christ, that Christ wasn't smitten for him. He's going to be like Christ.
He's going to have this hope. There's a spiritual hope, there's
a hope that has a foundation. So, in the Bible, Christ is everything. His two-fold crown over the church,
over the universe, his redemption and his future glory, and have
reigned. That's the key. In the faith
of God's elect, Christ is everything. He's our justification, He's
our sanctification, He's our comfort, He's our hope, He's
our righteousness, He's our redemption, everything. He's the vine, we're
the branches. He's the head, we're the body.
He's the foundation, we're the building. Now, the third thing. Now, stay with me. Christ is
one to be all in heaven. I can't say a whole lot about
heaven because I cannot describe the unseen, I cannot describe
the unknown, but I can promise you this, that those who reach
heaven will find that Christ is all of heaven. He said, I
go to prepare a place for you if I go and prepare a place for
you, I'll come again and receive you unto myself that where I
am, there you may be." Paul, in describing heaven, says, I
have a desire to depart and be with Christ. And then I want
you to take your Bibles and turn to the book of Revelation. Now,
here are three things I want you to think about this day in
reference to heaven. First of all, the praise of the
Lord Jesus Christ will be the song of heaven. In Revelation 5 verse 9 it says,
watch it, they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take
the book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain,
and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred,
tongue, people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings
and priests, and we shall reign on earth and I beheld and I heard
the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts
and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times
ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud
voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and
riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing,
and every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under
the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in
them, heard I sing, blessing and honor, blessing and honor,
and glory and pardon under him that sits on the throne under
the Lamb forever and ever." That's Christ, and that's the song of
heaven. I'm going to say something real
important in a minute, but don't forget that statement. He is
the Song of Heaven. Secondly, the service of Jesus
Christ. Now, I don't know what word to
use, but the word service. The service of the Lord Jesus
Christ will be the eternal occupation of those in heaven. Now, look
at Revelation 7, verse 15. and they serve him day and night
in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, thirst
no more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed
them, and lead them unto the living fountains of water, and
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. But they are
before his throne and serve him. Now, the third thing, the presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ will be one everlasting enjoyment
of those in heaven. They're going to see his face
and hear his voice, and that's going to be their eternal joy
and their eternal pleasure. Turn to Revelation 22, Revelation
22, verse 3-5. Now, listen to it, "...and there
shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb
shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face,
and his name shall be in their foreheads." and there shall be
no night there, and they don't need any candle or light of the
sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign
forever and ever. They shall see his face." Now,
how foolish, how utterly foolish it is for a man to talk about
going to heaven who has no interest in Christ. He's the song of heaven,
He's the glory of heaven. His service is the employment
of heaven. His presence is the enjoyment
of heaven. And a man talks about going to
heaven who doesn't love Christ, who doesn't know Christ. What
would you do in heaven? What could you do in heaven? Heaven's happiness would make
you miserable. Heaven's service would make you
uncomfortable. Heaven's song would be a burden
to you, because you can't praise him here. Heaven's employment
would be a great misery. He's the song of heaven. He's
the joy of heaven. His service is the employment
of heaven, and it pays the enjoyment of heaven." Now, let me give
you an illustration. The President of the United States
came to this city last Thursday night. Representing the highest office
in the world, to my thinking. Representing at least the highest
office in this nation, the most authoritative. Representing freedom. Representing the Constitution.
Representing the independence of the American people. Representing
all that we hold dear and hold precious. When we came into the
auditorium over at the high school, I wasn't here, I was down in
Salem, but someone told me, when he walked into the auditorium
they were so thrilled and so overcome at the presence of the
President of the United States that they covered their face
and felt almost like weeping or like fainting when he walked
in. Then I heard someone else say
when he walked by me I wanted to spit Now then, you see, in the presence
of the chief executive, one person was just thrilled beyond expression. One person was happy, gloriously
happy, so content that everything else was forgotten at being in
the presence of the chief executive. Another person was so disgusted
several reasons. I don't know the reason, but
just filled with such hate that they found no joy. Now then,
the Lord Jesus Christ is the chief executive of glory, and
those who love him and those who adore him are going to almost
faint at his presence. They're going to be so overcome
and so flooded with the glory of his presence that heaven is
going to be heaven because he's there. Now, the man who doesn't
love him, the man who spat when he walked by, you think that
that man would be happy in heaven? He wouldn't be happy in heaven.
He wouldn't be happy in heaven. So, that's what the scripture
teaches us. Christ is everything. Don't talk about going to heaven
if you don't love Christ. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not the Father. He that cannot find joy in the
hymns which talk about Christ, and the sermons that talk about
Christ, and the scriptures that reveal Christ, if he can't find
any exhilaration and pleasure and enjoyment, heaven would be
hell for him. It'd be hell for that man to
sentence him to sit across the table from Mr. Nixon. who hates
him, it would be heaven for that girl or man who loves him. It all depends on your regard
for the person, and that's the way it is in glory. It depends
on your regard for Christ. These people came to him and
said, Are we going to be married in glory, in resurrection? Somebody
else said they came to him wanting to argue about the law, and somebody
else wanted to argue about giving tribute, and when he answered
all their questions and they couldn't ask him any more, he
said, What think ye of Christ?" And on that question, and your
answer hinges, eternal pleasure or eternal damnation. What do
you think of Christ? That's the whole thing. And I'm
not here to improve doctrine to anybody or try to make anybody
a Baptist or anybody a doctrinalist. I want people to love Christ
because I know if they ever fall in love with him here, they're
going to enjoy him forever. And if they come to know him,
their doctrinal problems will all be solved. their love problems,
their mercy problems, their hate problems, their bigotry, and
all of these things are just going to slowly ebb out, because
he's going to have to be in there. He's going to sit on the throne
in their heart, and these other things will just all work out
fine if they know him. Don, you've got a strong cause.
You come and lead us.