Christ as Prophet - Individual Implications

Introduction: Christ Born to Bear Witness to the Truth

0:04 When our Lord Jesus Christ stood before Pilate, he said to Pilate in the words of John 18 and verse 37, these very vital words, To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world that I should bear witness

0:34 Unto the truth. In these words, our Lord himself declares that one of the fundamental reasons for his coming in the flesh was to fulfill the office of a prophet. To this end was I born, and for this end am I come into the world to bear witness unto the truth.

1:01 Therefore, it is a kind providence that at a season when to one degree or another people think in one way or another of the coming of Christ, we should be found meditating not so much on the external circumstances and events surrounding His coming, that is, it is a good providence that we are not taken up with shepherds and angels and mangers, but rather we are taken up with the purpose for which there was a message to the shepherds, for which purpose there was an incarnation and a birth in Bethlehem. In seeking to set forth the major elements of the Christian faith in a series of studies entitled Here We Stand, we have presently come to that part of our study,

2:02 when our attention has been focused upon the person of the Redeemer. We are now considering Him in the majesty of His offices as a Redeemer. Having spent many months considering Him in the mystery of His person, we are now concerned with understanding what the Scriptures tell us concerning this great Redeemer as He functions in the work of redemption doing that work of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king. Having spent a disproportionate amount of time, that is, as far as balance, but not as far as Scripture is concerned, in the contemplation of him in his office as a priest, which is his predominant office in salvation, we have been concerned for several Lord's days to contemplate him as he is set before us as God's great

3:00 and final prophet. We have considered together the biblical concept of a prophet, a prophet being one who reveals the mind of God in the words of God with special appointment and power from God. We have considered from the Scriptures the fact that Jesus Christ is a prophet. We have in the third place sought to understand from the Scriptures the manner in which Christ functions as a prophet, and in our last study we gazed upon him in his unique fitness for the prophetic office. He is able to be the prophet he is because he is what he is in his person. And so we looked upon him in the unequal dignity of his person, the unrivaled authority of his position,

3:56 and the unmeasured degree of his power, all of which combine to make him that uniquely fitted one to be God's final prophet. Now today and next Lord's Day morning, we shall consider the practical demands and implications of the prophetic office of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the previous studies concerning the prophetic office of Christ, application has been sort of like the border on the fabric. But this morning and next Lord's Day morning, application will form the very warp and woof of our study together. Now, do you know what the warp and the woof is, kids? We don't live in a day when we have looms, but in the day when they had a loom, when all the clothes you had had to be, first of all, fabricated on a loom, well, the pieces or the strands of

4:55 of whatever you were using, wool or cotton, that would go lengthwise on the loom, that was the warp. And then the things that went crosswise, that was the woof. So when you say the warp and woof, you mean the whole substance. Your garment made on the loom was made up of warp and of woof. So when we say then that something is the warp and the woof, we're saying it's the very essence of it. It's all the way through it. Well, application has been but the border of the fabric,

5:23 over the past Lord's Day mornings, this morning and next Lord's Day morning, God willing, application is the warp and the hoof. What does all of this say to us? If Christ is the prophet we have seen him to be in Scriptures, if he is uniquely fitted to function in that prophetic office, what does that say to us? And what I propose to do

5:48 is to demonstrate from the Scriptures what I've called this morning the individual implications of the prophetic office of Christ, and then, God willing, next week, the corporate implications of the prophetic office of Christ. Or to state it a bit differently, Christ is a prophet, so what? Well, we're going to answer that, so what, in terms of what does it mean to me as an individual? And then next week, God willing, what does it mean to us as a church, a body of individuals assembled together under the headship of this one who is not only our common priest, but who is also our common prophet. This morning, then, my only concern is, in a sense, to shut up each one of you individually, men, women, boys, and girls,

6:45 and to set before you this glorious prophet, and for you to look at him as he is mirrored to us in the Scriptures, and to see what it means that he is such a prophet. What does this say? Not to the person next to you, not to the one behind you or in front of you, but what does it say to you?

Implication One: Personal Safety and Well-Being

7:07 And there are some very basic implications of the prophetic office of Christ to every individual in this place. First of all, there are some profound implications for your own safety and well-being. For your own safety and well-being. Now I want to underscore again.

7:32 what we have said continually in the unfolding of Christ's threefold office as Redeemer, that He is what He is in these offices as Mediator because we are what we are as sinners. We desperately need a priest because we are guilty and we are helpless. We need one to offer an acceptable sacrifice to God that will turn away His wrath.

8:01 We need one to intercede and to succor us that he might bring us safely home to glory. Christ is no luxury priest. He is the priest who alone is suited to our need as sinners. And so it is with his prophetic office. We need a prophet who can instruct us in the mind of God, who can not only bring the light to the mind, but who can also give the mind a capacity to receive the light

8:31 Because as sinners we are both ignorant and darkened in our understanding. And we desperately need such a prophet. To give it even a little Christmassy flavor to make some of you happy. When the angel said unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior. He was born to be a Savior. Well as we behold him in his saving work we see him as a priest. Why? Because without the Savior.

Manton on Three Kinds of Hearing

9:05 See Him as a prophet. Why? Without the priest, the prophetic function, we could not have a Savior. We see Him as King. Why? Because apart from His regal authority, we would not have a Savior. Unto He was born a Savior. And He is prophet, priest, and king in the pursuit of that saving activity on behalf of His people. Therefore, you see, your safety, your sacrifice, your well-being is bound up in Christ being a prophet. Now what does the Father say with respect to that great and final prophet? Well, he says in that well-known language to which we referred on a previous occasion in Matthew 17, there upon the Mount of Transfiguration, here is the prophet of excellence standing with more

10:06 the great prophet of the theocracy, Elijah, the great prophet of another period in Israel's history. The father says, as this prophet, capital P, stands in the presence of these other prophets, lowercase p, this is my beloved son, verse 5, in whom I

10:38 And God says, Hear ye him. Hear this prophet, who alone can rightly interpret the other prophets. Hear this prophet, who is the focal point of all the message of the previous prophets, as we read in Acts 3 and verse 24. Hear him, the Father says. What does it mean to hear him? The best thing I ever found opening up very simply what it means to hear him is, I found several weeks ago in reading Manton's comments on this passage, he said there are three kinds of hearing. There is the hearing common to any creature of God that has the faculty of hearing. If you were to go out in the midst of a zoo and suddenly you begin to read some of the very words of Christ, you would get the attention of a bear, of an antelope. When the very

11:37 that you utter, the sound that you utter comes up over your larynx and sets up vibrations. When it hits the ears of an animal, it will be heard. But you see, there's no comprehension of the words or what they convey, but the animal hears. So there is the hearing of the brute beast, Manson says. Then there is secondly the hearing of all rational creatures, angels, men, and devils, who not only receive the vibrations and it registers that a sound is being made, but But they can give significance to the words and to their meaning. But then there is a third kind of hearing, that is the hearing of disciples. Who not only receive the sounds, who not only make sense of the words, but who receive those words into the heart to be believed and obeyed. Now when the Father says upon the Mount of Transfiguration,

12:44 to a building like this as so many herded beasts and allow your eardrums to pick up the vibrations of His Word? Of course not. Is He merely saying, listen to those words, think about them, put a proper significance upon them, and go away with an understanding of what His Word is? No. When He says, this is my

13:15 not only with the hearing of the brute beasts, not only with the hearing of all rational creatures, but hear with the ear of a disciple, hear with the ear of one who embraces the word that he speaks in the submissiveness of faith and in the practical expression of obedience. And oh, my friend, listen this morning. Oh, listen this morning. Do you know that your very safety and well-being for time and for eternity hinges upon your hearing this great prophet. It is not enough to stand back as I trust you have done in past days and behold him in his appointment as a prophet and to see from the Scriptures that he is that great prophet prophesied by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy, that he is uniquely fitted to be that prophet

14:14 Because though no man has seen God at any time, the only begotten who is in the bosom of the Father has fully declared Him. It is not enough to see Him given all authority in heaven and in earth, and given the Spirit without measure, and having received the promise of the Father, sending Him forth. It is well and good and proper that we should stand back and behold Him in all the glory and grandeur and reality of His prophetic office. But my friend,

Hard Sayings: The Heart, the Flesh, the New Birth

14:44 The Father says, having beheld Him as they did upon that mount, now hear Him. Behold Him, yes, but now hear Him. Hear Him. Well, hear Him in reference to what? Hear Him in reference to all that He says concerning the most elementary issues of your soul's well-being. Hear Him when He says that your heart

15:15 all your sins. Hear this prophet when he says in the language of Mark 7, 19-21, these very humbling words, For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed. Fornications, that is, every single form of sexual impurity,

15:46 every form of marital infidelity, covetings. Oh, listen, children, covetings. No sooner does your brother or sister open his or her Christmas present to what you're dissatisfied with yours. And you can't even go back to your room on Christmas Eve. Happy! Why? You're coveting that your brother or your sister got. Where'd that come from, kids? Right out of your own home.

16:14 No sooner have you danced a little jig because of what mom and dad gave you, but what you see what the neighbors got and your pusses as long as Joshua's extra long day. Where does that come from? From within, out of the heart, covetings, wickedness, deceit. Why is it so easy to lie, kids? How come? Solution!

16:44 in out of the heart, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye railing, abusive speech, pride, foolishness, all these evil things proceed from within. Oh, listen this morning. Have you ever heard this great prophet? Have you ever embraced

17:21 Have you heard him? Have you listened to him? I'm not asking have you listened merely like the brute beast or merely like rational creatures, men and angels and devils, but have you heard in faith so that you've seen your own heart? And you can say, as one servant of God said, not in my presence but upon tape, the ugliest sight I've ever seen is my own heart.

18:10 heard so much about Rex Humbart, and I've heard so much about Bob Schiller, these men whose TV religious programs go all around the world to millions. And with a borrowed television set, I was able to stomach ten minutes of each of them.

18:48 unless grace prevented me. My friend, have you heard the great prophet, the Lord Jesus, saying that the seek of sin is the human heart? Have you heard him when he says that man in that condition is hopeless? John 3 and verse 6, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which has Flesh as its origin can never rise higher than its fountain. Cultivate it, educate it, refine it, make it religious, put a little of the perfume of religiosity upon it, dress it up in some of the finer garbs of respectability and civility, but flesh is flesh. Have you heard it? When the great prophet says, that which is born...

20:01 Said, oh God, it's true. What I am as a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, a flesh, will never rise above flesh. That is, depraved, fallen, perverse human nature. Have you heard him when he says, nothing will do to fit you for the world to come but a new birth? Have you heard him when he says in John 3 and verse 3 and verse 5, he repeats it,

20:32 man be born of the Spirit, he cannot enter, he cannot see the kingdom of God. There's a lot of cheap talk about born-again Christians. And under that canopy goes every form of anything that claims to be religious experience in some way related to Jesus. If you don't believe me, read the lead article this past week in Time magazine.

21:00 But when I use the terms, I mean nothing less than that which Jesus meant in John 3. The sovereign, mighty, transforming work of the Spirit, which will always be found in conjunction with the flesh-withering truth of the cross of Christ. The new birth of John 3, 1-10, is always connected with the uplifted serpent of John 3, 14 and 15. And never forget it. And all this talk about the new birth. Have you noticed how little talk there is? About divine wrath being meted out upon the substitute. Have you seen and noticed

22:00 and the rest, but who died to satisfy the demands of divine justice? Have you heard him? Have you heard this great prophet when he declares not only that your heart is the seed at sin, the hopeless state you are in as a man or woman, boy or girl of flesh, the necessity of the new birth, but all of those other related truths, the necessity of a sound conversion. Have you heard him when he said, enter the narrow gate? And I tell you, it seems that all evangelicalism is committed to stretching that gate to get everyone in, from half-converted professional football players to one-third converted professional entertainers to one-tenth converted

The Narrow Gate and Obedience

22:59 and go tripping through. My friend, Jesus said, Enter the narrow gate. In fact, He said, Agonize to enter. For many shall seek to enter and shall not be able when once the master of the house is risen up. Luke 13, 24. Have you heard Him? Have you heard Him? And have you stood before that gate and been stripped of pride in your love of sin and attachment to the world and to self? Have you been humbled and brought

23:31 my friend, hear him. Hear him when he speaks that obedience is the only indispensable evidence that you're truly his. Matthew 7, 21, Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that is doing the will of my Father which is in heaven. Have you heard him when he makes exclusive claims? I am the way, the truth, the

24:02 He comes to the Father, but by Me. Oh, have you heard Him in His gracious words of promise? Him that comes to Me, I will in no wise cast out. Come, and I will give you rest. Have you heard Him? See, I'm not asking, do you know the words? Do you see what I'm talking about? Have you heard Him? Have these become words from the very lips of Christ, mediated through the written Scriptures?

24:33 God is used, a tract, a preacher, a mother, but you've seen beyond the tract, beyond the mother, beyond the preacher, until from the lips of Christ you've taken the promise. Him that comes, Lord Jesus, I come. My friend, have you heard Him when He speaks of the doom of the impenitent, except ye repent, ye'll perish? Have you heard Him He that believeth not shall be damned. Have you heard Him when He says, These shall go away into everlasting punishment? Well, I don't want to draw it out. But now what does it mean to hear Him? That's what it means, my friend. It means that you take as matters of faith and obedience, and therefore as that which regulates all of life from thought to the outermost

25:32 which come from the lips of the Son of God. Dear man, dear woman, dear boy, dear girl, the Father says, this is my Son. Hear Him. You can't afford the luxury of ignorance with respect to His words, for they are life as well as truth. You can't afford the luxury of indifference to His words, for indifference is the mother of damnation. How shall we escape if we neglect?

John 12 — The Word That Judges in the Last Day

26:06 You can't afford the luxury of unbelief or rebellion. You're made accountable to God. This prophet has come to declare the truth of God. I ask you to consult John 12 as the final passage under this heading before we move on. Listen to the sobering words of this great prophet himself. Listen to his words. John 12 and verse 47.

26:36 If any man hear my sayings and keep them not, I judge him not, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. Our Lord says, Now is the day in which I speak, and some men only hear me as the brute beasts, some men only hear me as do devils and angels. And he says, I do not consign them to the pit now,

27:04 I do not execute the wrath of God upon them now, for my mission now, he says, is primarily one of salvation and not judgment. But, lest any misconstrue his meaning and say, oh well, I can afford them to be indifferent. Look at the next verse. He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my sayings. Do you see the close proximity of the two things?

27:32 He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my sayings. You see, you cannot embrace him without embracing his sayings. For he is our prophet as well as our priest. And God does not set before you a Savior divorced from his prophetic ministry. So he says, He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my sayings hath one that judgeth him the word

28:06 him when, in the last day for, I spake not from myself, I was a true prophet, but the Father that sent me hath given me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak, and I know that his commandment is life eternal, the things there for which I speak, even as the Father hath said unto me, so I speak. Listen, Christ says, because he was a true prophet, who spoke only the words of God by the distinct commission of God, in the peculiar power of God, those very words of God will meet you at the last day. My friend, listen. As I have run by these fundamental words of Christ, telling you that your heart is a sink of iniquity, that your flesh is flesh and can never rise above flesh, that you must be born

29:03 must enter the narrow gate, that you must be obedient, that you must look to Christ and Christ alone as the ground of acceptance and the medium of access to God. My friend, you can be indifferent to those words as I preach them. You can sit there this morning and say, ho-hug, and get up from your pew and start out that aisle and say, no thunderbolts going to hit me, no lightning, no way. He has not come yet to judge, but my

29:39 am I? You're going to stand before God in the last day, friend. Then what will you do? What will you say to this great prophet then? Will you say, I didn't know? You can't say, I didn't know. I didn't hear. The very words you heard this morning will rise up will be witness against you. He said, the word that I've spoken shall judge you in the last day. Don't you fool with Christ as God's final prophet. Thank God for the meekness, the gentleness, the graciousness of His words. Come. But there's a regal authority in those words. And if when He says, come, you say, no, I'm not about to come. When He says, go,

30:36 into everlasting fire you'll go, my friend. You see, there are great individual implications with respect to the prophetic office of Christ. Your own safety, your own well-being depends upon hearing Him. Hearing how? Not as the beasts, not as mere rational creatures, but hearing as disciples from the heart in faith

Implication Two: Assurance and Stability

31:05 and in obedience, receiving His Word. But I hurry on to touch on two other aspects very briefly. The second great implication of Christ's prophetic office with respect to you as an individual has to do with what I have called your assurance and stability. You see, it is one thing to be safe because you are in Christ. It is another thing to have a well-grounded assurance that you are in Christ.

31:35 The former makes you safe, the latter makes you blessed. Now I'm sure many of you have heard the illustration told in one fashion or another, and at wintertime it's a good illustration to use, of the man whose home was on one side of a lake. And the store where he did his shopping in this rural area, a general store, was on the other side of the lake. And during the summertime, of course, he had to circumvent the perimeter of the lake. He had to go around. But in the wintertime, when the lake was frozen solid enough...

32:06 He could walk straight across, save himself time, and get his goods and come back home. Well, there had been several very cold days. There had been some snow. He was kept inside his home, was not able to see from day to day the thickness, the strength of the ice. And the time came when it was clear enough to make a trip to the store, and so he wanted to see if the ice was strong enough for him to cross over instead of going around the perimeter of the lake. So he came down to the edge of the lake, And he first of all gingerly touched with his foot, put a little pressure, a third of his weight, half, two-thirds, and then he stood with all his weight. And then he pushed a little bit and heard no cracks. And so he gingerly took another step and another. And it seemed to behold him, so he was gingerly making his way across when all of a sudden he heard behind him the sound of horses' hoofs. And down the slope, that part of the lake,

33:05 came his neighbor friend with his horse-drawn sled and a flatbed sort of carriage. He was going to get grain for some of his animals and all the rest. And he came barreling right down the edge of the thing and right on to that ice and clear across the other side. Now what happened? Well, was he any safer after his friend had come with his horse and carriage? No, the ice was just as thick under him when he was gingerly making his way, as when he just put his head back and whistled again, he doodled and laid himself across. He was no more safe after he knew the thickness of the ice, but he was sure a lot more happy and relieved. Now you see, the moment a sinner, the moment any sinner, boy, girl, man or woman, goes out of himself and into Christ by faith, the moment any sinner goes,

34:03 throws the weight of his soul upon Christ. Weak faith, strong faith, medium, it makes no difference. He that believeth hath life. But some of God's people, though they are safe because they are in Christ, they are always testing the ice. Well, you see, the most elementary issue in our assurance is to be preoccupied with the worth of Christ.

The Ice on the Lake Illustration

34:32 with the certainty of His promises. And our assurance is fundamentally and essentially to be found in being taken up with Christ. But the Word of God teaches that there is an inferential assurance. Secondary, but not unnecessary. There is an element of assurance that comes to us as we see in us the fruits of God's work and thereby are able to conclude that we are indeed His. Hereby

John 8 and John 17 — Reading Your Election in Your Response

35:02 Do we know that we've passed from death unto life? For example, John says, because... And then he tells us about something that's in us, not in Christ. Because we love the brethren. Well, it's in this precise area of the prophetic office of Christ that some of you who are the children of God, but who have some plaguing doubts and questions, may find more solid assurance and stability...

35:32 In what way? Well, turn please to the John 8 passage to which we've referred in another connection in a previous study. In this passage, the subject of spiritual parentage comes to the fore as our Lord is debating with the spiritual leaders, so-called spiritual leaders, we might call them ecclesiastical leaders of His day,

36:01 And they claim to be the sons of Abraham and the sons of God. Well, Jesus tells them in verse 43 of John 8, Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. Now, you see, they could hear like brute beasts. They could hear the sounds. They could even hear like rational people. They could put...

36:27 specific meanings upon the words that Christ spoke. But he says, you cannot hear them in your present state. You cannot hear as my disciples who see in what I say the very essence of the message of God. You cannot hear my word. Why? Because he says, you've got the wrong father. Ye are of your father the devil. And the lust of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and standeth not in the truth because there's no truth in him.

36:57 When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father thereof. But because I say the truth, ye believe me not. See, they could not receive it in faith. Which of you convictseth me of sin? If I say the truth, why do you not believe me? Now notice, he that is of God, and in the context to be of God means spiritual parentage. Ye are of the devil.

37:22 The devil is your father. You do not hear my word. You do not embrace me as your prophet, receiving my word from the heart and faith and obedience. But he that is of God, he to whom God is Father in grace, he hears the words of God. For this cause you hear them not because you are not of God. The Jews answered and said, Say we not well, thou art a Samaritan and hast a demon.

37:50 Jesus answers that in now verse 51. Verily I say unto you, if a man keep my word, he shall never see death. Do you see the basis of assurance and confidence? Listen, as you sit here this morning, let me press some questions upon your conscience. Do you hear Christ as God's appointed prophet? Do you attend upon His words with eagerness? Do you with sufficient insight so that you see in those words life and light? Do you respond to those words in faith and in obedience? Is this the drift of your life? Then, my friend, don't be out there testing the ice. Jesus said, He that is of God, heareth the words of God. And if you were not of God, that is, if you were not born of God, you would not respond.

38:47 words of God. It is morally impossible for such a man to receive the words of God. And so you have every reason to conclude as inferential, evidential elements in your assurance that if I find when I come to the church, I'm not coming simply to please mom or dad or uncle or aunt or brother or husband or wife. I'm not merely coming to sing some songs and hear some words

39:18 on my conscience that I've done my thing. No, I'm conscious, sitting here even this morning, that my heart is open to the Word of God. I want to know what God has said in His Word. I want to receive that Word. I want to believe it. And though it cuts across the grain of natural inclination and natural appetite in anything else, I want to obey that Word. He that is of God heareth the Word.

39:48 Oh, my friend, if you hear his words, Jesus said it is because you are of God. Ah, but you say, Pastor Mark, if I could only know that I was elect. That's the thing that bothers me. I see that the Bible teaches there is a people whom the Father has given to the Son, and to them the Son gives eternal life, and they shall never perish. My friend, you know the most wonderful place to read your election is in your response to Christ this prophet. Turn to John 17.

40:18 Jesus does not veil the doctrine of election. In His prayer He says in John 17, 2, Even as Thou gavest Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He should give eternal life. Eternal life shall be given to all that the Father has given to the Son. How can I know if I am thus given? Ah, look, verses 6-8, I have manifested Thine name

40:50 Verse 8.

Inferential Assurance Works Both Ways

41:20 There this morning embracing Him is your prophet, loving His words. Doubt not your election, but thank God that you embrace His words because you were given to the Son as a grant of infinite favor flowing out of the sovereign love of the eternal God. So do you see, child of God, how your response the prophetic ministry of Christ is not only in the interest of your safety and your well-being, but in the interest of your assurance and your stability. Are you saying, Pastor, if I'm not receiving His words, if I'm not eager to hear them, if I'm not responding in faith and obedience, you mean there may be some doubt that I'm a true Christian? Exactly, my friend! For inferential assurance works both ways.

42:17 As the presence of those graces is added confirmation that you are His, the absence may be a sure indication that you are not His. And I'm amazed how many people want to keep a bright, glowing assurance while they are indifferent to certain portions of the Word of God. You can't do it. The same Jesus who said, Come and I'll give you rest, said, Take up a cross and follow Me.

42:46 The same Jesus who said him that comes out in no wise cast out said if any man comes and hates not father, mother, brother, sister in his own life also he cannot be my disciple. And you see the happiest the most assured saints are generally unless there is some constitutional or mental problem generally speaking the most assured saints are those that are most simple in their trust of all that Jesus says and most

Implication Three: Personal Direction in Duty

43:16 in their obedience to all that he demands. And then finally, by way of practical and personal implication, and I just must give out the heading, I won't have time to open it up. This matter is not only a matter of personal safety, a matter of personal assurance, but it's a matter of personal direction with respect to our duties. just as surely as the call which issues from His priestly office is to trust Christ and Christ alone for forgiveness, to commit to His priestly work the whole concern of sin's guilt and pardon and cleansing, to commit to His mighty succoring intercession the whole matter of my preservation, just as His priestly office is a call to unqualified, unreserved trust

44:14 in Him as priest. So His prophetic office is a call to unqualified, unquestioned embracing of all that He says. And Manton very wisely out of pastoral experience says on this very point, we must submit absolutely to all that He teaches, though some mysteries be above our reasons. and some precepts against the interest and inclination of the flesh. Some promises seem to be against hope or contrary to natural possibilities. Then quoting the text, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, he says, a disciple is a learner, not a disputer. And some principles are not to be chewed. We have a physician present who will appreciate this. But they are to be swallowed as priests.

45:11 on the credit of the physician when it appears on other grounds that Christ is the great teacher sent from God. When this throat of mine got to the place where everything was swollen, and I won't describe this condition of the infection, it's not pleasant, and the doctor prescribed these purple bombs at $1.20 a shot, I didn't analyze them, I didn't scrutinize them, I just popped them when I was supposed to.

45:39 with the prayer that God might be pleased to use them to my well-being. Now, don't ask me how those dollar and twenty a shot purple bombs went to work on what was there in my throat, but under the blessing of God they did. Now, the point Manton makes is this. As disciples who embrace Christ as our prophet, we do not put all that He says under the microscope of our own scrutiny and say until we know all the constituent elements and how it relates to life and Godliness, we'll not swallow it. No! He said it, we swallow it! And we pray that the Blessed Spirit will make it wholesome to our spiritual lives. And then he goes on to apply that. Christ spoke of hell, of outer darkness, of eternal torment. Christ spoke of the necessity of mortification.

46:34 Of giving him the place of supreme affection. He then elaborates on those things in the words of Christ. That are hard upon the flesh. Hard upon carnal understanding. Child of God. Swallow. Because God has said this is my son. Listen to him. And he didn't put any parentheses and say accept. He says hear him. Hear him.

47:03 That's your duty, Christian. Hear Him! And I tell you, there is no blessing, not no, no blessing, few blessings, akin to the blessing of coming to the Word of God, unafraid as to what you might turn up. What a blessing! To come to your prophet and say, Lord Jesus, speak! And all that you say, by your grace I will believe.

47:33 And I will obey. Blessed, like other kind providence. Our reading this morning ended on that note. Blessed are they who hear the word of God. And who do it. These, my friends, are some of the personal implications of the prophetic office of Christ. He is God's prophet. It is in the interest of your safety that you embrace him.

47:59 when he speaks about the great issues of sin and grace and conversion, oh, my friend, hear him. If you would have a solid, well-grounded assurance, my friend, hear him. And hearing him, you are warranted to conclude that you are of God, no matter what kind of funny negative vibes you get from your own crazy mixed-up psyche. Tune them out!

48:29 Listen to him, he that is of God, heareth the words of God. And what is your duty? What is my duty? This is my Son hearing. Hear Him in all that He says. Though they probably didn't mean it, or if they meant it, they had no understanding of the grace needed to perform it. We can do no better than say with that gathering of the multitudes who came out of Egypt when God spoke and gave His love.

48:56 all that Jehovah set unto us, we will do it. Oh, may God grant that that is the response of our hearts to this great prophet who not only declared our impotence, declared the necessity of grace, but remember, he's a priest prophet. That same prophet went to a cross to ratify in his own doings upon the cross all of the realities of which he spoke

Appeal and Closing Prayer

49:27 Oh, may God grant that you embrace Him this morning. Embrace Him a new Christian. Embrace Him afresh as your only Redeemer. Priest to forgive and intercede. Prophet to teach. King to rule. He doesn't want any sentimental flowers thrown at His feet at Christmas time. In fact, if He could speak and all you do is pray, blaspheme His name by some sentimental Christmas dribble while you stuff your ears to His face and rise up and rebelling to His Word. If He spoke today, He'd speak of His displeasure, my friend. Fall at His feet. Embrace Him. Embrace His Word. Trust Him. Obey Him. May God grant

50:26 That will be the posture of our hearts to Him even this morning. Let us pray. Our Father, how grateful we are for such a Redeemer and a Mediator as is our Lord Jesus Christ. How we bless you that He is that great prophet of whom Moses spoke

50:57 of whom all the prophets spoke. We thank you that because he spoke your words, you can say to us, this is my son, listen to him. And with all our hearts, O God, we would listen to him this morning, speaking to us in the words of the prophets who wrote as his spirit moved them, speaking to us in the words of evangelists and apostles, speaking to us in the words of the gospel records, Oh, we would have a heart to hear him this morning. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for the depth of your love that you not only condescended to come and to exegete the Father, but we thank you that in a very real sense that exegeting of the Father is not only found in your words but supremely in your works. For herein is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us

51:57 and sent his Son. O Lord Jesus, we would, by your grace, love you as never before, and we would obey you. Seal this word to the prophet of every boy, every girl, every man or woman in this place, this hour. Hear our prayer, and answer it for the honor of your own worthy name. Amen.