Sermon # 44
Series: Matthew
Title: “Jesus Only”
Text: Matthew 17:8
Subject: “Christ is All”
Readings: Office: Lindsey Campbell – Aud. Buddy
Daugherty
Date: Tuesday Evening – May 16, 1995
Tape: R-36
Introduction:
Peter, James, and John were with the Lord Jesus on the
mount of transfiguration. There
they saw the Savior transfigured before them. We do not know
what that vision was like. But we do know that it was a dazzling display of his
divine glory and majesty (II Pet. 1:16-18; John 1:14; I John 1:2). Suddenly, Moses and Elijah
appeared on the mountain with them and talked to Christ about the death he must
accomplish at Jerusalem (Lk. 9:32). Needless
to say, Peter, James, and John were awestruck! I would be
too. Wouldn’t you? When Peter saw and heard Moses and Elijah, he blurted out,
“Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three
tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!” The Lord Jesus said nothing. But while Peter was yet talking, “A
cloud overshadowed them” God simply snuffed out Moses and Elijah. He took them
out of the picture. “And behold a voice spoke out of the cloud, which said,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”
Moses
and Elijah were removed from the scene for a reason. The
Old covenant was vanishing away. The dawn of a new day and a new covenant had
come. When the Lord God said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased; hear ye him.” He
was saying to Peter, James, and John and to you and me – “Moses and Elijah have
been fulfilled. Moses
and Elijah have nothing more to say or do. All that they said and all that they did was in preparation for
and pointed to the coming of my beloved Son. Here he is. Hear ye him! Moses and
Elijah, the Law and the Prophets have no other function.”
At Sinai the
people were forbidden to make any approach to the presence of God. They were
not allowed to even touch the mountain. In the Tabernacle and in the Temple a
thick, thick veil stood before the most holy place, constantly separating the
people from God. The
law did nothing to bring sinners into God’s presence.
It never could (Rom.
8:34; Heb. 10:1-4). In
fact, it did just the opposite. The
law forbade men from evening trying to approach the holy Lord
God! No one could ever approach the holy, holy, holy God of heaven and earth
until the law was fulfilled, its curse removed, and sin was put away by the
satisfaction of God’s justice. The
Lord Jesus, so to speak, came down the mountain to the people,
tore down the veil, and by the blood of his cross opened to fallen men a way of
access to the Lord God! (Heb.
10:19-23).
When the disciples saw
Christ in his glory and heard God speak from heaven, they fell on their faces. They realized that
they were in the awesome presence of the glory of God and were terrified by it.
That is always what
happens when a sinner realizes who he is before the holy Lord God.
Illus: Job
– Moses – Isaiah – Daniel – Ezekiel – Peter – John
Then, after
they fell before him in utter terror, we read that…
Now,
read verse 8 with
me. “And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus
only.” That is my subject tonight – Jesus Only.
When
the law has been both honored and silenced and you look up
to see the One whose obedience has fully satisfied the law, you will see “Jesus only.” When you are made to
understand that all the prophets have been fulfilled and you
look up to see who fulfilled all those prophetic visions and promises given in
the Old Testament, you will see “no man, save Jesus only.”
I realize that you have all come here from a day of toil
and care. Your bodies are fixed. Perhaps your hearts are heavy. May God the
Holy Spirit graciously enable you to forget all your earthly cares for just a
little while, invigorate your bodies, refresh your minds, and allow you to see “Jesus Only” for
a while. Try to think of nothing, Ask God to allow you to think of nothing
tonight but the facts that you are a great sinner saved by a great Savior – “Jesus Only!”
Proposition:
The
Lord Jesus Christ alone is our salvation, comfort, strength, and hope.
Divisions:
I
am not going to preach tonight. I simply want by the Spirit of God, to lead
your hearts in the worshipful meditation toward our Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ I want us to meditate on these five things:
I. Jesus
Only is Our Savior.
In the matter of salvation Christ stands
entirely alone. We put no trust in the flesh, in ourselves,
or in anything we do or experience. We trust “Jesus only!”
I hope you can honestly
say that.
A. For
Righteousness!
B. For
Redemption!
C. For
Sanctification!
D. For
Preservation!
E. For
Glorification!
Either
Christ Alone is my Savior, or I have no Savior! Either he completely saves, or
he does not save at all. If
so much as the will to be saved depends upon me, I
cannot be saved (John 5:46). If, after having been saved for 50 years, I should
be required to reach back and drag my foot across the threshold of heaven, I
would sink at last into hell.
II. Jesus
only is our Lord and Master.
I
know that the Lord Jesus Christ is the sovereign Monarch of the universe and
the Ruler of all men, the wicked as well as the righteous. But he is the Lord
of his people willingly, by
our voluntary consent.
A. True
faith voluntarily surrenders all things to the rule of Christ.
B. True
faith trusts Christ’s providential rule of all things.
C. True
faith is obedient to Christ as Lord.
The Church of God is a Kingdom under
the rule of Christ by voluntary consent, willingly obedient to
III. Jesus
only is our Rule of Life.
We are not slaves under the dominion
of the law. We are children, walking in the path of our Elder Brother because
we love him and seek the honor of his name.
Our rule of life is not
the ten commandments, but the whole revealed will of God given to us in Holy
Scripture. It is summarized in two commandments, two motivating forces by which
we are governed in all things.
A. Faith in Christ.
B. Love for One Another.
IV. Jesus
Only is Our Hope Before God.
My
hope is built on nothing less
Than
Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I
dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But
wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
When
all around my soul gives way,
He
then is all my hope and stay.
On
Christ the Solid Rock I stand,
All
other ground is sinking sand.
A. My only
assurance and peace is Christ.
Illus: Happy Jack – “I am a poor sinner and nothing at
all; but Jesus Christ is my all in all!”
B. Christ
alone is my plea before God.
C. Christ alone is able to
present me faultless before the presence of God’s glory.
Illus: Rowland Hill’s Dream.
“Bold
shall I stand in that great day,
For
who aught to my charge shall lay,
While
through Christ’s blood absolved I am
From
sins tremendous guilt and blame?”
V. Jesus only is our Reward in Heaven.
In heaven’s eternal glory
I want nothing and hope for nothing but Jesus only. He is the crown I seek and
the beauty I desire.
Here is a sampling of the prospect before us…
A. Soon we
shall be with Christ
(John 14:1-3).
B. Soon we
shall see his face (Rev.
22:4).
C. When we
see him we shall be like
him (I John 3:2).
D. We shall
be fully satisfied with
him (Rev. 21:1-4).
E. And the Son of God shall be fully satisfied
with us! (Isa. 53:11). Imagine That!
Application: