Sermon #1526 Miscellaneous Sermons
Title: How Do You Know That Jesus Is The Christ?
Text: Psalm
40:6-8
Subject: Biblical
Evidences that Jesus is the Messiah
Date: Sunday
Evening—
Introduction:
All around the world this week men and
women and boys and girls are celebrating the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was
born into this world two thousand years ago. Everywhere people are talking and
singing about the birth of the Christ child. It is most fitting that the world
should pause once a year to remember the birth of One upon whom so many build
their hopes.
All believers rest the hopes of their
immortal souls upon him. He is the Foundation upon which we have built our
hopes of eternal life. We believe that Jesus of
Peter's confession, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of
the living God" (Matt.
1.
He is
not the Son of God.
2.
His
obedience to God is of no benefit to us.
3.
His
birth is of no greater importance than the birth of any other great and noble
man.
4.
His
death upon the cross has no saving virtue.
5.
And
we are yet in our sins.
Our faith says, "We believe and are sure that
thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (John 6:69). But
are you really sure? There have been many others who have claimed to be
Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Perhaps it would
be good for us at this season of the year to ask of Jesus what John the Baptist
asked of him - "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?"
(Matt. 11:3) This is the question I want to address in this message—HOW
DO YOU KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST?
Suppose you were witnessing to a Jew and
he said to you, "Show me from the Old Testament Scriptures that the Jesus
you worship is the Messiah." Could you do it? That is exactly what I want
to do in this message. I want to show you from the Scriptures of Old Testament
that...
Proposition: Jesus of
My text is Psalm 40:6-8.
"Sacrifice and offering thou didst
not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast
thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is
written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my
heart.”
It would be impossible to honestly apply
these words to anyone but the Messiah. Indeed, the Jewish commentators from ancient times have said
that this Psalm is a messianic prophecy. And, of course, the Apostle declares
in the Book of Hebrews that this prophecy is fulfilled in the Person and work
of Jesus of Nazareth.
"Wherefore when he cometh into the
world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou
prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no
pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of
me,) to do thy will,O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt
offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure
therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will,
O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which
will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all." --Heb 10:5-10
Divisions: In those three verses of Psalm 40, the
Prophet David tells us four things which will identify the true
Messiah of Israel. And these four things find their fulfilment only in Jesus
Christ our Lord. Here David tells us that when the Christ, the Messiah comes...
1.
The
Sacrifices and Ceremonies of Legal Worship Will Cease.
2.
He
Will Be Jehovah's Voluntary Servant.
3.
The
Body of Scripture Prophecy Will Be Fulfilled.
4.
He Will
Perfectly Accomplish The Will Of God.
I want you to follow me carefully through
the Scriptures as I show you that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. The types,
promises, and prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures weave a garment that
is tailor made to fit only one man. That man is the Messiah, the Christ, the
Son of God. And that man is our Savior, Jesus.
I.
First, David tells us that WHEN THE
MESSIAH HAS COME ALL THE SACRIFICES AND CEREMONIES OF LEGAL WORSHIP WOULD CEASE.—"Sacrifice
and offering thou didst not desire."
The sacrifices, ceremonies and laws of the
Mosaic economy were never intended to be a means of salvation. God never had
pleasure and satisfaction in them. They could not remove sin, satisfy justice,
or make men righteous before God.
"For the law having a shadow of good
things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those
sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers
thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because
that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away
sins." -- Heb 10:1-4
The sacrifices and ceremonies of the law
were only useful as types and shadows of Christ, to show the nature and
necessity of his redemptive work. Once they were fulfilled they must cease to
be, because they have no other service.
The law given by Moses was designed by God
to identify and expose sin, to deter men from deeds of iniquity, and to show
the necessity of a Substitute. Once the law has served its purpose and been
fulfilled by Christ, it has no other use, and ceases to have power over men.
"For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth." -- Rom 10:4
A.
THE
OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES CONSTANTLY REMINDED THE JEWS THAT GOD HAD NO REGARD
FOR THEIR SACRIFICES AND CEREMONIES, EXCEPT AS THEY TYPIFIED CHRIST AND WERE
OBSERVED BY FAITH IN HIM.
"And Samuel said, [Hath the LORD as
great delight] in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of
the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat
of rams." -- 1 Sam 15:22
"Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. I will not
reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been
continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats
out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a
thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of
the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is
mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the
blood of goats?" -- Ps 50:7-13
"For thou desirest not sacrifice;
else would I give it: thou delight- est not in burnt offering. The sacrifices
of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise." -- Ps 51:16-17
"To what purpose is the multitude of
your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of
rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or
of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required
this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is
an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies,
I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and
your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to
bear them." -- Isa 1:11-14
"And he shall confirm the covenant
with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice
and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall
make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be
poured upon the desolate." -- Dan 9:27
These five passages from the Old
Testament, read without comment demonstrate clearly that the sacrifices and
ceremonies of legal worship were never intended to be perpetual. They were only
temporary pictures of Christ.
B.
EVEN
THE MOSAIC COVENANT, AS SET FORTH IN WHAT WE COMMONLY CALL THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS, WAS ONLY DESIGNED TO BE A TEMPORARY COVENANT (Jer. 31:31-34; cf. Heb. 8:7-13).
"Behold, the days come, saith the
LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the
house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in
the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt;
which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the
LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel;
After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and
write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of
them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." -- Jer 31:31-34
"For if that first covenant had been
faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding
fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took
them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued
not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the
Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I
will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not
teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be
merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I
remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old.
Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." -- Heb
8:7-13
The law of God, as a covenant, a rule of
life, and the revelation of God's righteous requirements from men was designed
to lead us to Christ, by whom it is fulfilled (Gal. 3:24-25).
"Wherefore the law was our
schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But
after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." -- Gal
3:24-25
C. AND WHEN CHRIST CAME, THE
SACRIFICES AND CEREMONIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT DID CEASE TO BE OBSERVED.
David, at least a thousand years before
Christ came, intimated that when he came he would accomplish that which no
sacrifice, ceremony, or law could accomplish (redemption - justification -
righteousness - and forgiveness). The laws, sacrifices, and ceremonies of Israel
were only scaffolding, temporarily necessary for the building of his kingdom,
but now removed.
1.
All
the Jewish sacrifices and ceremonies ceased to have virtue when Christ died.
2.
And
all ceased to exist when God destroyed both Jerusalem and Judaism in 70 A.D.
The
Priesthood Ceased! The Temple
Ceased!
The
Sacrifices Ceased! The Nation
Ceased!
The Rent Veil
Here is the first evidence that Jesus of
Nazareth is the Christ, the Messiah. When he finished his work the sacrifices
and ceremonies of legal worship ceased. To demonstrate it, the veil of the
temple was ripped apart (Matt. 27:51).
"And, behold, the veil of the temple
was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the
rocks rent." -- Mat 27:51
NOTE: Though the Jews look for a future
Messiah and deny that Jesus is the Christ, their hopes are as foolish as they
are vain - How could this prophecy be fulfilled again?
II.
Secondly, David shows us that THE MESSIAH,
THE CHRIST, MUST BE A MAN WHO IS JEHOVAH'S VOLUNTARY SERVANT.—"Mine
ears hast thou opened."
"Now these are the judgments which
thou shalt set before them. If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall
serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by
himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go
out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons
or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go
out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my
wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him
unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post;
and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him
for ever." -- Exo 21:1-6
The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world
and performed his work as the voluntary Servant of his Father (Isa. 42:1-4;
50:5-7; Heb. 10:5-7; John 10:16-18; Luke 12:50). I must be brief here. But this
is so important. Be sure you get it.
A.
HE
WHO IS JEHOVAH'S VOLUNTARY SERVANT IS JEHOVAH'S EQUAL!
All angels, men, creatures, devils, and
events must serve God, because he is the Creator of all things. All rational
beings are morally obligated to serve God, because we live upon his bounty. But
Christ came to serve the Father voluntarily. He owed nothing and had nothing to
gain, for he is himself Jehovah. That Man who is the Christ is himself God (Ps.
45:6-7).
"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and
ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness,
and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil
of gladness above thy fellows." -- Ps 45:6-7
B.
JEHOVAH'S
SERVANT CAME INTO THE WORLD WITH A SPECIFIC MISSION TO ACCOMPLISH (Matt. 1:21).
"And she shall bring forth a son, and
thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their
sins." -- Mat 1:21
Throughout the Old Testament Scriptures,
Messiah was promised, looked for, and trusted as that One who would come to
restore his fallen people to the everlasting favor of God, by putting away
their sins (Isa. 61:1-3; Lk. 4:18).
"The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon
me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he
hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the
acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort
all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of
the LORD, that he might be glorified." -- Isa 61:1-3
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me
to heal the broken- hearted,to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised," -- Luke 4:18
C.
EITHER
JESUS OF NAZARETH HAS EFFECTUALLY REDEEMED AND SAVED GOD'S ELECT, OR HE IS NOT
THE CHRIST.
The Christ of Arminian, freewill religion
is a false Christ. We know he is because, Messiah's eternal glory and
exaltation is dependent and conditioned upon the success of his redemptive,
saving work (Ps. 2:7-8; 65:4; 110:3).
"I will declare the decree: the LORD
hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me,
and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost
parts of the earth for thy possession." -- Ps 2:7-8
"Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts:
we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy
temple." -- Ps 65:4
"Thy people shall be willing in the
day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning:
thou hast the dew of thy youth." -- Ps 110:3
"He shall not fail!" -- Isa
42:4
"All that the Father giveth me shall
come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came
down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath
given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son,
and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the
last day." -- John 6:37-40
"And other sheep I have, which are
not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and
there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." -- John 10:16
"By the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." -- Heb
10:10
Here is the second proof of our Savior's
Messiahship: He is...
1.
Jehovah's
Voluntary Servant!
2.
Our
Vicarious Substitute!
3.
And
the Victorious Savior!
III. Thirdly, the Prophet David assured us that WHEN THE CHRIST, THE
MESSIAH, HAS COME THE VOLUME OF SCRIPTURE PROPHECY WOULD BE FULFILLED.—"Then
said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me."
"The volume of the book"
may refer to the book of God's secret, eternal decrees (Rev. 5:1; 10:2). But it
certainly refers to the written revelation of God contained in the Old
Testament Scriptures.
The writings of the Old Testament prophets
abound in predictions of the Messiah, the Christ. God promised Abraham,
"In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." When
Jacob blessed the tribe of Judah, he spoke of Shiloh to whom the gathering of
the people would be. Moses spoke of that Prophet whom the Lord God would raise
up, whom the people of God would hear. In the Psalms and the prophets Messiah
is given a variety of titles:
·
The
Anointed of the Lord
·
The
King
·
David's
Lord
·
The
Child Born
·
The
Son Given
·
The
Mighty God
·
The
Everlasting Father
·
The
Prince of Peace
·
God's
Servant Whom he Upholds
·
Messiah
The Prince
·
God's
Elect in Whom He Delights
·
The
Branch
·
The
Lord Our Righteousness
·
The
Messenger of the Covenant
All these names and titles belong to the
Messiah. But are they all fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth? If they are, then he
is the Christ. If they are not, we must look for another. The prophecies of the
Old Testament give us eight specific things which must characterize the
Messiah. By these eight things, the Christ is identified. And these eight
things can be, with honesty, applied to no man in history, past or future,
except Jesus of Nazareth, who is indeed the Christ, the Son of the living God.
A.
THE
TIME OF MESSIAH'S COMING WAS CLEARLY MARKED OUT IN PROPHECY.
God told no one the day and hour when
Christ would come. But he did identify the time in history. Those looking
forward to the coming of Christ could not predict it. But those looking back
cannot mistake it. Christ has come!
THE COMING OF MESSIAH MUST FIT INTO THIS
TIME FRAME:
1.
Before
the destruction of civil government in Judah.
"The sceptre shall not depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him
shall the gathering of the people be." -- Gen 49:10
2.
While
the temple was still standing in Jerusalem.
"For thus saith the LORD of hosts;
Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth,
and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all
nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of
hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The
glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD
of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts."
-- Hag 2:6-9
3.
About
the middle of Daniel's 70th week, which would be 453-457 years
after the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem began - 33 A.D. The year that
Christ died (Dan. 9:24-27). 37 years later, 70 A.D. Jerusalem was destroyed.
"Seventy weeks are determined upon
thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an
end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to
anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth
of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be
built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and
two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the
prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end
thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are
determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in
the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,
and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until
the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
-- Dan 9:24-27
The Messiah had to come into the world
during the time that Jesus of Nazareth lived upon the earth. He could not have
come at any other time.
B.
THE
PLACE WHERE MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN WAS PLAINLY FORETOLD.
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though
thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come
forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from
of old, from everlasting." -- Micah 5:2
C.
THE
FAMILY FROM WHICH MESSIAH MUST COME WAS THE HOUSE OF DAVID.
"The LORD hath sworn in truth unto
David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy
throne." - Ps 132:11
"And there shall come forth a rod out
of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:" -- Isa
11:1
The Jews debated about many things. But
they never questioned the genealogy of the Lord Jesus.
D.
THE
MIRACLES PERFORMED BY THE LORD JESUS DECLARE HIM TO BE THE MESSIAH, THE CHRIST,
THE SON OF DAVID
(Isa. 29:18; 35:5-6; 42:6-7).
"And in that day shall the deaf hear
the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity,
and out of darkness." -- Isa 29:18
"Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man
leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall
waters break out, and streams in the desert." -- Isa 35:5-6
"I the LORD have called thee in
righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for
a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes,
to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of
the prison house. -- Isa 42:6-7
Illustration:
John the Baptist (Matt. 11:2-4).
"Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy
on us!"
E.
THE
MESSIAH MUST BE ONE WHO COMES AS A KING DISTINGUISHED BY HIS HUMILIATION,
MEEKNESS, AND LOWLINESS
(Zech. 9:9; Matt. 21:1-9).
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just,
and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal
of an ass." -- Zec 9:9
"And when they drew nigh unto
Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent
Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you,
and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and
bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord
hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the
daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an
ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus
commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their
clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments
in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strowed them in the
way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying,
Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest." -- Mat 21:1-9
F.
IT
WAS PROPHESIED THAT THE MESSIAH MUST SUFFER AND DIE BY THE HANDS OF WICKED MEN.—"Messiah shall be cut off, but
not for himself" (Dan. 9:26; Isa. 53:1-12).
"And after threescore and two weeks
shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince
that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof
shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are
determined." -- Dan 9:26
NOTE: Our Lord's tormenters used the very words
and performed the very deeds he had predicted by his prophets - (See Ps. 22).
NOTE: Those words which describe the betrayal,
shame, crucifixion, and death of Christ could find fulfilment only in the death
of Jesus of Nazareth.
G.
THE
SCRIPTURES DECLARED PLAINLY THAT MESSIAH WOULD RISE FROM THE DEAD BEFORE HIS
BODY HAD BEGUN TO DECAY.
"Therefore my heart is glad, and my
glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou
wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right
hand there are pleasures for evermore." -- Ps 16:9-11
"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise
him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for
sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the
LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and
shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with
the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath
poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and
he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." -- Isa
53:10-12
H.
AND
THE PROPHETS PLAINLY ASSERTED THAT MESSIAH, THE CHRIST, WOULD SET UP HIS
KINGDOM AMONG THE GENTILES BY THE OUTPOURING OF HIS SPIRIT UPON THEM (Isa. 49:5-6; Joel 2:28-32; Gal.
3:13-14).
"And now, saith the LORD that formed
me from the womb to be his ser- vant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though
Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my
God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest
be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of
Israel:I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles,that thou mayest be my
salvation unto the end of the earth." -- Isa 49:5-6
"And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams,your young men shall see
visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I
pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth,
blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before the great and the ter- rible day of the LORD
come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the
LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be
deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall
call." -- Joel 2:28-32
"Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every
one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the
Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit
through faith." -- Gal 3:13-14
Here are the evidences by which we know
and are sure that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God:
1.
He
put an end to the sacrifices and ceremonies of legal worship by fulfilling
them.
2.
He
came into the world as Jehovah's voluntary Servant.
3.
He
fulfilled the volume of Old Testament prophecy to the letter.
But I have saved the best until the last.
Here is the greatest, most blessed assurance we have. By this, above all else,
we know that Jesus our Savior is the Christ.
IV.David tells us that THE CHRIST, THE MESSIAH, WHOEVER HE IS,
WILL PERFECTLY ACCOMPLISH THE WILL OF GOD.–"I delight to do thy
will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."
When the Lord Jesus came into this world
he came with delight to do his Father's will. He delighted in that of which God
approves. He delighted in that which God had appointed. And the law of God was
in his heart, so that both inwardly and outwardly, he was perfectly holy,
harmless, undefiled, and separate from sin - He knew no sin!
We know that Jesus is Christ, the Son of
the living God, because...
A.
He
Perfectly Performed All the Precepts of God's Revealed Will In The Law -
Brought in an everlasting righteousness.
B.
He
Freely Yielded Himself To All The Performances Of God's Providential Will -
"Not my will, thy will be done!"
C.
He
Made Complete Satisfaction and Propitiation To God's Justice, Satisfying The
Penalty Of The Law.
D.
And
In Doing These Things He Accomplished The Complete Salvation Of God's Elect
(Heb. 10:5-14).
"And every priest standeth daily
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever,
sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies
be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that
are sanctified." -- Heb 10:11-14
Christ came to do the Father's will. He
came to save his people. And he has done it. We know that Jesus is the Christ,
because God accepted his work (Rom. 8:32-34).
"He that spared not his own Son, but
delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us." -- Rom 8:32-34
Application: Lam. 1:12 - It is Everything To Me!
How do you know that Jesus is the Christ?
I answer, I know that Jesus is the Christ because...
1.
He
has fulfilled all that God said the Messiah would do:
(a.)
Put
and end to legal sacrifices and ceremonies.
(b.)
Came
as a voluntary Savior.
(c.)
Accomplished
all the prophecies.
(d.)
Performed
the will of God.
2.
He
has been revealed in me by the power of His Spirit in saving grace.
3.
His
blood, applied to my heart, has purged my conscience of guilt.
4.
I
prove his Divinity, Messiahship, and Saving Power by faith - I trust him (John
6:69).
"And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." -- John 6:69