I invite you to turn tonight to the fourth chapter of Matthew. Matthew chapter four and Matthew chapter seven. What I want to consider with you tonight and also probably next Wednesday night because there's so much material on this subject, I want to look at the uniqueness of Christ's oral ministry. The uniqueness of his oral ministry. Matthew chapter four, verse twenty-three. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. Now chapter seven, please. Verse twenty-four. And this is the close now of his great sermon, which he began in Chapter five, which is known as the Sermon on the Mount. And this is the conclusion thereof. He says, Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrines. For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. That last statement in the Sermon on the Mount is unique in itself. Our Lord taught them not as the scribes, but he taught them as one having authority. And we're the Lord bless the reading of his words. As one reads through the Gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John... we must note how immense the oral ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ was. Now the Gospel accounts present to us that which the Holy Spirit desired us to know concerning the ministry that came forth from the lips of our Lord. In the twenty-third verse of Matthew four, We learn that his teaching ministry was great, but also we learn that his miracles of healing brought great multitudes before him, not only for the purpose of healing, but also to be taught by him. Everything our Lord did as trench in his great work on the parables and miracles of our Lord. He says every miracle is a parable and how true it is. For everything he did was teaching. And therefore we want to look at Christ's oral ministry. And first of all, as we examine his oral ministry, we notice, first of all, the uniqueness of his assurance. Assurance. Now when we sing about assurance, we usually sing, Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. But what about the assurance of our Lord? Did he need assurance? No, he didn't need it, but he sure had it. And when you read a verse like we did in Matthew, Matthew seven, that he taught them Not like the scribes, but he taught them as one having authority. Here we have a man ministering with genuine assurance. Now, one must be impressed with the mold of address that the hearers of our Lord received. You see, there is no introductory announcement when our Lord begins his teaching on a certain subject. Now one evening in our young people's meeting, some of those who were going to graduate this year were talking with Neil, who recently graduated from North Carolina State, concerning term papers. And he was telling one or two how many term papers he had to write, sometimes one a week. And I think he said he had to write about one a week in English. And that's quite interesting. Term papers can take a lot of time. And then I mentioned, well, a term paper, it has usually an introduction and also a conclusion. And it has the basic points of what you're writing about. as the meat of the paper. And I said I write a couple of those every week because every message that I prepare, it always has an introduction, it always has a conclusion, and I try to have the meat right there in the middle. While I don't write a term paper because I am an outline man, I just make scant outlines And I think it through and then minister from the outline that I make. But I could write a paper, just sit down and type and just put your thoughts in type and just put it down after you have your basic outline. Now, our Lord never needed to do that. He never needed to introduce his message, his teaching ministry, with an announcement about what he was going to say. You see, an introduction to a sermon, you're telling people what you're going to tell them. And then in your message, you tell them what you're going to tell them. And then in your conclusion, you tell them what you've told them. That's basically what a sermon is. You see, our Lord never needed to do that. You see, he never needed to write an introduction. There was always a complete absence of any such phrase that would indicate an effort to inspire his hearers. He didn't try to attract attention with fancy words, fancy statements, or anything that would be used in our culture today to attract hearers. The veracity of his remarks were such. that people saw in Him what the officers saw when they returned. Never man spake like this man. Now Christ's every utterance revealed a consciousness of its unchallengeable nature. When our Lord said something, it was so definite, it was so precise, it was so to the point it couldn't be challenged. Isn't that amazing? It couldn't be challenged. Now, no matter what subject our Lord handled in his earthly ministry, he ministered with unhesitating assurance and the evidence of absolute knowledge. When asked for a sign from heaven, he could say with assurance, as Jonah was, three days and three nights, In the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. His statement was so unique, it was so direct, it could not be challenged. He spoke with unhesitating assurance. He knew where he spoke. Furthermore, the utterances of our Lord were not merely sentiments or notions or opinions, but they were pronouncements of truth. That's how our Lord taught in his ministry. Now, coupled with the uniqueness of his assurance was the consistency of his life. See, I have difficulty in singing the certain stanzas of certain hymns. See, that one hymn we sang tonight, there was a part of it I couldn't sing. Take my silver and my gold, not a mite, but I withhold. I'm just honest with you, I can't sing that. I wish I were able to. Maybe in my life I would have to put it, take my might, but I will hold to my silver and my gold. I believe that we as believers have something to learn from our Blessed Lord. His words and his life were consistent. There was no inconsistency between them. How free. were his utterances from any lurking suspicion as to the consistency of his doctrines. He didn't speak with a tongue in cheek. He spoke consistently words of truth. How free was the ministry of our Lord from any lack of sympathy with their practical influence or uncertainty as to their success? When our Lord spoke, it was with a certainty. He says, As the lightning shineth from the east unto the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. He didn't say, I hope I'm going to come again. He says, I am coming again in such an hour as you think not the Son of Man cometh. Our Lord spoke with a consistency. And he spoke without ever any thought that what he said would not come to pass. You talk about assurance. Beloved, upon what is the assurance that you and I have based? 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. Our assurance is based upon the Word of God, the unerring Word of God. Now, how free was the teaching of our Lord from any sense of discordance between their claim upon the consciences of his hearers and his own conduct? Our Lord was free. Now when questioned by his antagonists, I want you to turn to the statement of our Lord in John eight and verse twenty five. While the statements of our Lord couldn't be challenged, his antagonists tried. Sinful man will always try to bring reproach upon the word of God. In John eight and verse twenty five, the Savior says to them, Then said they unto him, Who art thou? Who are you? For he had told them in verse twenty four, I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins if ye believe not that I am. If you don't believe that I am the Jehovah of the Old Testament. that I am the one who appeared to Moses at the burning bush and revealed myself to him. If you believe not that I am the one who stood by the wall of Jericho and spoke with Joshua and reminded him that I am the captain of the heavenly host and I am the captain of the earthly host, I am Jehovah. If you believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins. Then they said unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus said unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. You talk about the oral ministry of the Lord. This is not his way of telling them that he had already told them who he was. He had told them who he was. He tells them that he is what he taught. What did he teach? He taught that there is the Jehovah in the Old Testament, the one who claimed to be the I am, ever with his people, ever protecting his people, ever leading his people. And he said, I am. You see, there was realization on his part that he was merely expounding his own life. His own life in their midst proved that he was who he claimed to be. Now, beloved, all that was opposed to his doctrine, no matter how plausible it sounds or how firmly fastened in the popular faith, it was nothing but delusion. You see, the Jewish people of his day didn't believe him. And our Lord could say to them, as he's recorded in Matthew twenty-three, the scribes and the Pharisees said in Moses' seat, Oh, they sit there, they take the authority. They say and do not is what our Lord said about them. And then he begins to unleash against the Pharisees the hypocrisy that reigned in Israel. Now, no matter how plausible their thoughts were, in first century Judaism, our Lord let them know it was nothing but a delusion. Turn to John eighteen and verse thirty-seven. In verse thirty-seven of John eighteen, our Lord is before Pilate. And here we see one of the most sublime activities of the Savior. You talk about the sovereignty of the Savior. Our Lord possesses a calm in the presence of Pilate that Pilate never knew. In verse thirty-five, Pilate answered, He said, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now is my kingdom not from hence. This thirty-seventh verse, Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou our king then? Jesus answered, Thou shalt sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born. And for this cause came I into the world that I should bear witness unto the truth. But here is the part. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice. And beloved, what a delight to listen to the voice of God and to realize that in our hearing the voice of the Son of God, speaking to us through the word of God, we know with assurance that we are of truth. Now, therefore, this is in line with the teaching of the Savior. For our Lord told us to know that whether his doctrine was of God depended upon a willingness to do his will. Look back at chapter seven of John and verse seventeen. John seven and verse seventeen. where we read, if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. Here we have the consistency of his life. The words and the life of the Savior were consistent. In other words, he's saying in John seven, seventeen, if any man will do his will, he shall know. Do you want to know the will of God? Ninety-nine and ninety-nine hundredth percent of knowing the will of God is being willing to do it before you know it. That's the key. A willingness to do his will. Acquiescence in and subjection to his teaching will bring rich blessing. He shall know, the scripture says, but refusing to acquiesce will meet with doom. The person who will not bow the knee to his will will meet with doom. You see, acquiescence to the will of God, it is far more than mere mental acceptance of his statements. There's so much today that passes for genuine faith, and it's nothing more but an acceptance with a mind of the statements of the Lord. But there's more to it than that. It means that there is an intelligent and conscious acceptance of each person, the enthronement of Christ in the will, if any man will do. This is the enthronement of Christ in the will, the will of the believer. You see, the demands of Christ in these oral teachings is a submission conforming the character of the recipient to his own character. He is making us like Christ. So there is not only the uniqueness of his assurance. He had an assurance when he spoke that was unique and a life that was a consistent testimony to what he said. Now that leads us to a second part of the oral ministry of the Lord, and that is the uniqueness of His authority. Not only His assurance, but His authority. Our Lord demands the subjection of the heart of His followers to Himself. John, verse thirteen. Our Lord, in this context, had washed the feet of the disciples. And after he had sat down with them again, in verse thirteen he said to them, Ye call me Master and Lord. And ye say, Well, for so I am. Oh, I like this. You call me Master and Lord? That's a good statement. That's exactly what I am. I am Master and I am Lord. You see, this is what establishes the throne of his authority in the very conscience of the believer. And his authority is over the whole being. You call me Master and Lord. And you say, Well, for so I am. And then he turns and he says to them in the next verse, If I then your Lord and Master... have washed your feet. You ought also to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. It isn't always easy to wash somebody else's feet. It's relatively easy to take a basin of water in a service and wash somebody's feet. That's relatively easy. But when somebody is overtaken in a fault, and you are called to restore that person, and in the restorating process, your own reputation might be at stake. What then? Where do you stand then? We try to hold on. to the reputation of our institution many times rather than to restore a fallen believer in the fact of fellowship. You see, if I, your Lord and Master, are washed your feet, you call me Master and Lord, and you say, well, for so I am. Now, if I, your Lord, and Master, are washed your feet, what was our Lord really doing? He was washing the feet. Peter who was going to deny him in just a few minutes. And Peter told the Lord that he knew a lot more than he did. You ever tell the Lord that? The Lord says, Simon, Simon, son of Jonas, before the cock crows, you're going to deny me three times. Not me, Lord. Lord, you're wrong. That's really what he said. You don't know what I'm going to do, Lord. That's an awful thing to say, isn't it? He told the Lord that he knew more than he did. That's exactly what Peter did. The Lord knew all too well Peter's heart. He washed his feet. And you know what the transaction when he came to Peter? Peter said, Lord, you're never going to wash my feet. The Lord says, well, if I don't wash your feet, you have no part with me. And he said, well, you're going to do it. You might as well give me a whole bath. No, the Lord said, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to deal with a part that's dirty is what the Lord said. And our Lord said to us, if I, your Lord and master, have washed your feet. you ought also to wash one another's feet. You see, this establishes the throne of Christ in the conscience and over the whole being. Now whenever our Lord spoke on a subject, his utterances are characterized by an authority that distinguished him from every other man. His authority attests to the fact that he is indeed the God-man. He is more than a man. He is God-manifested the flesh. This truth made a profound impact on those who heard him. They marveled when he was through with a sermon on the Mount. He taught with authority and not as the scribes. Matthew seven, verse twenty nine. when our word issued an invitation when he says as we read in Matthew eleven twenty eight come unto me all ye that labor and I have your laden and I will give you rest what an invitation that is when he issued an invitation or when he bestowed a promise and he made many promises to his disciples you see the authority with which he spoke was as marked as when he was giving commands to his followers or pronouncing judgment upon his enemies. The invitation of the Lord is just as authoritative. So when a sinner hears that word, come unto me by the Savior, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It is more than an invitation. It is a command. And a refusal to come is a refusal of the lordship of Jesus Christ. the authority of the Savior. Now with incontrovertible authority, our Lord lays claim to the attributes of deity. When He did, it was not any preliminary public announcement. When He made, and when He laid claim to the attributes of deity, He did it without pump or without language. I'm amazed when certain preachers are introduced today on television, on their programs. It's done with a fanfare and with a blaring of trumpets and a roll of the drums. Not our Lord, and he announced that he is Lord of heaven and earth. No pump, no audacity with our blessed Lord. When he speaks, there is a natural mess. about his stupendous claims. He spoke of the greatness of his pre-existence. And he does it in such a unique way. And he spoke and he manifested a personal majesty when he spoke of his pre-existence, as he did in John chapter ten and in other places. Then he spoke about his prospective glory, that glory that was going to be his. in the world to come. And the personal glory of Christ is manifested in his oral ministry by his freedom from ostentation. He was not ostentatious in the way in which he spoke of his pre-existence, of his coming glory, of all that is his. The uniqueness of the personal oral ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the New Testament, we have the Holy Spirit's record of what he wants us to know concerning him. He is indeed the unique Son of God and Son of Man, the Lord of glory. God manifests in the flesh. No wonder Wesley could write those great words, veiled in flesh the Godhead sea. Hail the incarnate deity, pleased as man with men to appear, Jesus, our Emmanuel here. He is God with Don't you want to fall at his feet in worship? I tell you, beloved, he is unique in all his ways. Now, I'd like to talk, but on time is well gone, about the uniqueness of his dignity. And there's much that we need to discuss about that in John chapter five. For the Jews said to the Lord, you've made yourself equal with God. And with what dignity he answers them. And we'll have to leave that for next week. But John chapter five, we have the uniqueness of each dignity. And there's much more to the uniqueness of the oral ministry of our blessed Lord. One thing in closing. He says to us, If I, your Lord and Master, we acknowledge this, salvation begins here. an acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as Lord. We may not know all that it entails, for we don't know everything. God doesn't put his fingers on everything in our lives at once. He leads us gently and he leads us graciously. And therefore, as he brings things to our attention, what do we do? We yield unto him. If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you ought also to wash one another's. A genuine care for others. I was visiting a room the other day, a young man whose brother is in prison. I visited his brother yesterday. and he told me he was baptized on Sunday and I'm waiting to have an opportunity to speak with him about the meaning of baptism for this reason in the judgment in Matthew chapter twenty five it says I was in prison and you visited me not When I visited that man's brother yesterday, he was very depressed. I knew it from his letters. That's why I went to see him. When I left, he wasn't. With the word of God, I was able to restore that man to joy in the Lord. What depressed him? A lot of things. See, Satan, when he does something, he brings it all on at once. You see, people wanted to visit him at Christmas time. They wrote him. And he says, I'd like you not to come. I'm leaving that time open for my family. But no one visited. You know, friends, it's so easy to sing hymns. And I like the singing of hymns. Please don't get that. Don't misunderstand. I love to join in the praises of the Lord. But part of the judgment in that day, it's a list of negatives there. I was in prison and you visited me not. I was hungry and you fed me not. And then he closes inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren. You have done it unto me. Who will be serving, beloved? Who will be serving? Let's pray. Loving Father, we thank you for the consistency of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. We stand amazed at his ministry. He speaks with authority. We look at ourselves and we find so many inconsistencies. We cry out with Paul, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death. And we thank you that we have the answer in thy beloved Son. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. O make us conscious of this. And may the name of our Lord be joyful. And may we submit to him as unto our loving and gracious Lord in every phase of our life. For Jesus' sake, amen.