 Matthew 22, we're gonna be looking at verses 41 through 46. So let's begin reading here in Matthew 22, at verse 41. We'll begin at verse 41, we'll move into verse 46, as we look at the question, whose son is he? So beginning here in Matthew 22, verse 41, Matthew writes, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them saying, what do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? They said to him, the son of David. He said to them, how then does David in the spirit call him Lord? Saying, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son? And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question him anymore. And so Jesus has been asked a series of questions. We've been looking at those questions as we've gone through chapter 22. He had been asked a question about paying taxes to Caesar. We had also seen him answer a question concerning the resurrection from the dead. And then finally he responded to a question concerning the greatest commandment. Now in each case, as Jesus was responding to the questions, he amazed those who heard him when he gave his answer. Because when asked a question concerning that poll tax or paying tax to Caesar, it says in verse 22, that after he had answered the question that they marveled. When he spoke concerning the question related to the resurrection in verse 33, it says they were astonished at his teaching. And then after speaking concerning the greatest commandment, Mark tells us in chapter 12 verse 34, from then on, no one dared ask him anymore questions. And so the Lord has been fielding questions and then giving answers for each one. So up to that point, Jesus has been responding to questions but now he goes on the offensive and he asks a question. What he's doing is he's turning the tables on his interrogators. Now it's interesting to me, as I was looking at this and preparing the study, it's interesting to me when you think about how so many times we can feel so entitled, if you will, to ask God questions, to interrogate him really. You see, it's not that it's wrong to ask questions of the Lord. You find people in scripture who ask God questions. We see David the psalmist, for example, who will ask questions of the Lord in his psalms. It's not that it's wrong to ask the Lord a question because obviously God has the ability to answer them. But it's the attitude that so many times people may have as they ask questions. It seems sometimes that they're putting God on trial. It seems sometimes that they are presenting a case against him when they ask these questions. And you know these questions. You've heard these questions in the past where people will say, if God is good then, and then they'll say, why is there evil? Why is there pain? Why did my mom die? You know, they'll ask questions of God so good. I have had people ask questions that were really kind of like just, I'm not quite sure why the question was asked like, if God is almighty, can he create a rock that is too big for himself to pick up? And just because we put the word God in a question, doesn't make the question a smart question. You know, the Lord doesn't ever contradict himself. There's no reason for him to ever do something that goes against his own nature. And so when we ask questions of the Lord, you know, there ought to be questions that are sincere as they're being presented. And not just questions to interrogate him or to put him on the defense. You see sometimes we believe that God himself owes us an explanation. And I think that is more today than it's been in the past. We think that God is to answer to us rather than us answering to him. When you read your Bible, you see that there are questions asked. And one of the men that we are familiar with who asked the question of the Lord is a man by the name of Job. We know the story of Job. We know how that Job went through some afflictions that were more than we could imagine in terms of the pain he was going through. And at a certain point, Job believed that he had a case against God. He even thought that he might be able to defend his position if he had a chance to present this case. It's found in Job chapter 10, verses two through seven, how he said, I will say to God, do not condemn me. Show me why you contend with me. Does it seem good to you that you should oppress, that you should despise the work of your hands and smile on the counsel of the wicked? Do you have eyes of flesh or do you see as man sees are your days like the days of a mortal man? And your years, like the days of a mighty man that you should seek for my iniquity and search out my sin? Although you know that I'm not wicked and there is no one who can deliver from your hand. So this is Job bringing out a complaint, speaking to the Lord. He says, you know I haven't done anything wrong. I wanna know why you're condemning me. You see, he believed that he had a case against the Lord but God responded to his question. It's one thing to ask the Lord a question, it's another thing to be prepared for his answer. And in Job 31, verses one through three, it says, the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, and this is how the Lord answers. Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man, I will question you and you shall answer me. You know it's one thing to ask the Lord a question it's another thing to be ready to receive the reply. I believe it's fine with the Lord. I don't see any indication in scripture that it's not for me to speak to the Lord and say, Lord I'm puzzled about something. Can you give me information about something? Can you help me with something? Do you have an answer about this? I don't see anything wrong with that. I don't know that the scripture teaches that it's wrong to ask the Lord very sincere and very real questions. God is very able to answer any question I might have. But my attitude, the way that I approach him, the arrogance of my heart, where I put him on trial and try to force him to respond, well we get an example in a sense of God saying, listen you're asking a question, I will supply the answer but I need to ask the question, who are you? Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? I wanna ask you some things and let's see if you can answer me. So after the Lord goes through what the Lord would consider to be some very basic questions and all Job responds in chapter 42 verses 4 through 6 and listen to what he says. Job 42, 4 through 6 says, listen please let me speak. You said, I will question you and you shall answer me. Then he goes on to say, I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear but now my eye sees you. Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. I had a faith, I walked by faith and not by sight. I offered sacrifice to you and I believed you and everything because I have trusted you. I heard of you with the hearing of my ear. I've had people who have shared things with me and I've received the traditions all the way back from Adam himself and I just want you to know that after I have actually seen you, I've encountered you, well my true response to something like that is to abhor myself and to repent in dust and ashes. That's the proper way by the way to respond to the Lord when he begins to question us. And here we have it. We have Pharisees who want to question the Lord Jesus Christ and they've done that. We have Sadducees who've wanted to question the Lord Jesus Christ and they've done that but now we have the Lord Jesus Christ questioning them. So in verse 41 once again it says the Pharisees gathered together. When it says they gathered together, the Pharisees, the religious leadership of Israel huddled together off to one side and doubtedly they're considering what to do next. And so Jesus is now approaching them and he asked them a question and that's only fair. They've asked him their questions, now he wants to ask them his. And so the question they'd asked is a very important question. Now again, we'll put that in its context. Remember that Jesus had just answered a question related to the great commandment. What is the great commandment in the law? And he said, love the Lord thy God with everything that is within you and love your neighbor as yourself. So on these two commands he said, hang all the law and the prophets. So you're asking me to summarize the 613 commands that Moses gave to the nation of Israel and I can summarize them by simply saying with one word, you're to love. The application of love is first to God and then to other people. And so he's given them, he's already given them the answer. But now out of love, demonstrating what love is, he begins to ask them a question. You see, he's fulfilling the commandment to love by pointing them to himself. He's fulfilling the commandment to love God and your neighbor by pointing to himself because if they don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, they will not love God in spirit and in truth and they'll never love their neighbor with a sacrificial love. They never will. That's why today you can have people who like to speak concerning love as a philosophy but not as an activity. It's one thing to say I care about the poor. It's another thing to go out and help to feed them, to clothe them or minister to them. It's just that we're very, very big as a society on speaking about the downcast but very, very few people actually go out to do anything about it. So we're very good at speaking about love but love is something that is an activity, not just a philosophy. And so Jesus is speaking concerning that. He's speaking concerning what it means to really love and so he's fulfilling the commandment because listen, if you want to know how to love God with all your heart and you want to know how to apply the love of God to humanity then it's really gonna come through a relationship with Jesus Christ because apart from Jesus, no Pharisee or anybody else can ever have a relationship with God. Apart from Jesus, no Pharisee or anybody else can ever be saved. I heard this said a couple of times this week so I'll just use it as part of my message today. Somebody was saying this and you know what my, I believe they were correct and thus I'll repeat it. People want redemption. They said it like this. They said everybody wants redemption. Everybody wants to be bought out of the quagmire of life that they live in. Everybody wants to have a better life. Everybody needs somebody to help them. Everybody wants redemption. But the Bible also says that there's none who seek after God. No, not one. We want to be redeemed. We want purpose in life. We want values. We want the things I guess that end up helping us to be fully human, fully aware. Everybody wants redemption. Even in the moments when somebody was so hardened and so rejecting of the things of God and the moments when they actually can quote unquote come to themselves and see where they're really at. Even they could possibly say this. There's something more than what I have. But the problem is, is there's no way that people can have this redemption without the gospel message, without Jesus Christ. Jesus was making it clear. He was saying, listen, if you want to know what the summation of the law that Moses gave, those 613 commands, then you need to know that they are all going to rest on one reality and that is loving the Lord. And when God and love for God is true, then it will be evidenced by loving others. Because there are those who claim to love God and will kill others. And they do it in the name of God. But love does no harm to a neighbor, Paul would tell us. Therefore, love is a fulfillment of the law. Because when you love the Lord, because the essence of God is that he is love. I've shared this with you recently how that, that there are three declarative statements concerning God that you find in the writings of John. God is spirit, God is light. And then in 1 John 4.8 he says, God is love. That's what is called a declarative statement concerning God. It gives to us the essence of who he is. He is spirit, he is light, he is love. And the God of love has demonstrated his love towards us. The Bible says by sending Jesus Christ, he took upon himself human flesh, dwelt amongst us, we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of God, full of grace and truth. And so God has revealed himself to man. And so we say we wanna have a relationship with God, but we reject the way that God demands that we have a relationship with him when we turn our backs on Jesus. And question him rather than allowing him to question us. And one of the things about the Bible that I've discovered is the Bible questions me. It's not me questioning the Bible. When I read the Bible, the Bible questions me. The Bible has been called the mirror because I see myself in it. And when it speaks concerning the things that please the Lord, very often I see that I don't. And it's not intended to leave me helpless and hopeless. It's intended to communicate to me that though I am helpless and hopeless and end up my own strength when I receive the one whom God sent, then I can have a relationship with God because it comes through Jesus Christ. And so God would give to us through his word that invitation to hear from him so that we might have a relationship with him. And so Jesus is loving them and he's doing so by telling them the truth. And you need to remember that all true evangelism is always, always driven by love for other people. That's why you share the gospel. You don't go out sharing the gospel with people so you can get what we used to call spiritual scalps and hang them on your belt. Say look at all these people I spoke to for Jesus' sake. You take the gospel out because you want people to know the Lord. You want them to have a relationship with God. You want them to be saved. And you're doing so because that's the highest form of demonstrating that you know the Lord and love him. And it's because Jesus made it very clear to us that he was the one who could satisfy those inner longings of our soul. He said in Matthew 11, 28 through 30, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart. You shall find rest to your souls for my yoke is easy. My burden is light. That's why we read in Acts 4, verse 12 that salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. And so Jesus is confronting them by telling them that they must come to a decision about him. And that is the most important question they or anybody else must ever answer. And so he asked the question, what do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? Now earlier in his ministry, he had asked his men a similar kind of question. We saw it in Matthew 16, 13 where he said, who do men say that I, the son of man, am? So he had asked his men, what's going on? What are they saying about me? Well, this time the question is asked of those who have rejected him as Messiah. And even though they're hardening their hearts, Jesus continues pursuing them because he doesn't desire that any of them should be lost. And we need to remember that that's why he came. Luke 19, 10, Jesus said it like this. He said, the son of man is come to seek and save that which is lost. That's why he came. John 3, 17, God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. When Paul was speaking concerning his own conversion in 1 Timothy 1, 15, he said, this is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Jesus said, I came to seek and save. I don't want to condemn you. Paul said that's how he saved me and I am the chief of sinners. So in his great mercy, he gives him another chance to receive him as Messiah. So again, verse 42, what do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? Now he was aware of the Pharisees teachings and all and he knew that Pharisees believed that Messiah would be from King David's line. You see, God had made a promise 1,000 years earlier to King David concerning the one who had rule and reign, concerning Messiah. In 2 Samuel 7, 12 and 13, when your days are over and you rest with your father's eye will raise up your offspring to succeed you who will come from your own body and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. That is called a messianic promise. In Psalm 89, verses three and four, it reads, you said, I have made a covenant with my chosen one. I have sworn to David, my servant, I will establish your life forever and make your throne firm through all generations. And so, as Jesus is asking this question, Mark 12, 35 adds, how is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? Your own instructors teach you that Messiah is David, David's son. Now, son of David is something that Jesus was openly being called by the people. We saw it as we've gone through Matthew in chapter nine, verse 27, as Jesus went out from there, two blind men followed him calling out, have mercy on us, son of David. In Matthew 15, 22, a Canaanite woman from the vicinity came to him crying out, Lord, son of David, have mercy on me. In Matthew 20, verse 30, two blind men were sitting by the roadside and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, Lord, son of David, have mercy on us. Matthew 21, nine, the crowds went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, Hosanna to the son of David. They had heard this. As a matter of fact, they're already responding to this because in Matthew 21, 15, it says, when the chief priests and teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, Hosanna to the son of David, they were indignant. They got upset. They knew that Jesus was openly being called son of David by the people and he knew, Jesus knew that they stumbled at him and being called by this title and so now he's gonna make them confront the truth. Is he the son of David? Is he Messiah? So in verse 43, he said to them, how then does David in the spirit call him Lord, saying the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool? Now, when Mark gives us his account of this in Mark 12, 36, it says, David himself speaking by the Holy Spirit declared, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. Now, I'll touch something very briefly with you. This may seem to be kind of like an aside but it's really not. It's really essential to understanding what's going on because we see that when Mark says that David himself speaking by the Holy Spirit declared, we see that the Holy Spirit is revealed as the one who inspired David to speak. We see that the Holy Spirit is a person who inspires us. There are those who believe and they will teach this as being taught this Sunday in various places that they will teach you that the Holy Spirit is an energy or a force, is a power but they will also teach you that the Holy Spirit does not have personality, that the Holy Spirit is not a person but the Bible does not teach that the Holy Spirit is just a force, an energy or some form of power. The Holy Spirit is a person, the third person of the Trinity. And so when you read your Bible, you will see that the Holy Spirit is spoken of as one who has a personality. That's the Holy Spirit who speaks and inspires. And so the Holy Spirit is revealed as the one who inspired David to speak and that also gives us the insight into the fact that the Bible is divinely inspired because in Luke 20 verses 42 and 43, it says David himself said in the book of Psalms, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. To be a Christian is to understand that the Holy Spirit is a person, the third person of the Trinity who inspires Scripture and inspired the writers to go out and to write, to pen the things that they were writing under his inspiration, under his direction as they took the truth that he was revealing and wrote it into Scripture for us. And so Jesus is making that very clear. And he says in verse 43, how then does David in the Spirit call him Lord? Now the word Lord is found used in the Scriptures a number of times, 6470 times or so. The word Lord, Adonai or Kuryoth is when in capital letters, referring to God's covenant name, God's covenant name. And so you'll see that in verse 44, I want you to see this with me. Notice how it begins the Lord. You see the capital letters? That's speaking of God's covenant name. The Lord said to my Lord, you see that the Lord case, that refers to not the covenant name of the Lord that speaks of Kuryoth or a Lord. Jehovah said to my Lord would be more literal. So when it's used in capital letters, it refers to what is called the covenant name of God. You see that in Exodus 315? God said to Moses, thus you shall say to the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever. This is my memorial to all generations. So when verse 44, the Lord is speaking of God himself. And he's speaking to Lord case. He's speaking to Messiah. That's the point Jesus is making. So in verse 44, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. So he's saying, God the Father said to God the Son, sit at my right hand. So the question, if Messiah is no more than a man, how does David under the Spirit's direction declare him to be his Lord? And then verse 44, notice he says, sit at my right hand and that speaks of honor, that speaks of rank, that speaks of authority. So Messiah is exalted to highest honor and it is his by divine right. So the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand. Now notice, until I make your enemies your footstool. Here's something for you. I think it's kind of practical. I hope it is. If it's not pretend that it is and make me feel good. What are we here? What are we reading here? Until I make your enemies your footstool. What is he saying? All my enemies will be vanquished. That's what Jesus is saying. All who reject Jesus, ultimately will lie helpless before him. In Acts chapter two, verses 32 through 36, it reads, God has raised this Jesus to life and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven and yet he said, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore, that all Israel be assured of this, God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. What is Jesus saying? Jesus saying I will completely and forever triumph over those who reject me. We're living in a time that people don't understand is a spiritual war. Many people don't see it and I've often been amazed at this fact, though it's a biblical reality and I've seen it to be absolutely true. As a matter of fact, I've seen it to be fulfilled because if you are not born again and I don't want this to sound as, as I know that it can sound, especially to those who have yet to be born again, you probably, well, you will not understand this simply because you can't. The unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God and neither can they know them for they are foolishness to them because these things are spiritually discerned. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come and He would teach you things that will take place in the future. God has given us His Holy Spirit who indwells us. Listen, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, when you were born again, you became the temple of the Spirit of God and God's Spirit dwells within you. That's why when you pick up the Bible and you begin to read it as a Christian, it actually starts to transform you when you put it into practice and obey it. We're not to be conformed to this world but we are rather transformed by the renewing of our minds. And so what happens is when you're born again and the Spirit of God dwells within you, this Christianity that for some may be what is called a theology or some may refer to it as a philosophy, some may simply say it's just a general way of living, whatever the case may be, no longer is simply a theology and it's no longer just a philosophy and it's no longer just a way of living according to the Sermon on the Mount or whatever, it becomes the transforming reality of your life. So when you're reading the Bible, the word of God actually is speaking to you. When I was in the military, we had mail call. And so I would go to this little, there was a little area that was designated the mail room and I would walk up to the clerk and I would say, I give him my name and I'd say, is there anything for me? And then he'd look and then if there was a letter he would give it to me and then I would take it to my room and I would read my letters and on occasion I got letters and it was a lot of fun. But there were friends of mine who would get letters too from home and so what happened is they would get their letter and they'd say, I'll read this, this is so cool. So I'd read it and it would say, Aunt Bessie says hi and while the cow died and there'd be things like that, I was in the South by the way and so you would read things like that and I'd say, well, and Lynn says, she's hoping you're doing well and I'd read other people's mail. Now they asked me to, I'd read it but it meant nothing to me. It was somebody else's letter, it wasn't to me. But when I picked up my letter and it was from my mom and my mom would say, I hate you, I still hate you, it was for me. You know, that was my mail. Because it was my life, it was things that related to me so mom would say, your dad did this or your sisters did that or whatever. That was stuff to me. Now listen carefully, because there's some practical application. A lot of times people who don't know the Lord will pick up a Bible and they wanna dispute it, they wanna argue about it, they wanna find error in it, why? Because the letter's not to them. The letter's not to them. It makes no sense to them. I was on a plane, my son David, little boy, he was probably nine years old or so, I don't remember his age, he had one of his friends, we went to Israel and David was several rows behind me and he came walking up and says to me, dad, we're sharing with the man about Jesus and can you come and help us? And they had been seated next to an Italian businessman, we're coming out of Rome. And I said of course, so I go walk into the back of the plane, there's my son, there's his little friend with him and my son turns and says to me, daddy, he said I asked him if he's a Christian and he's pointing at this guy, the guy's just sitting there looking at me. I asked him if he's a Christian and he said he is, now this is my son, so hold on your hat, don't get all mad at me, this is an exact what happened. He says, and I told him, I said are you a Christian? And he said yes I am and I asked him where do you go to church? Because David always was school to do that. Where do you go to church? Well I go to the Catholic church, so he says that, he says so I said to him, I said are you a Christian? And he said yes I am and he goes where do you go to church? I go to the Catholic church and so David looks up at me and he says so I told him he's going to hell because he worships Mary. I'm standing there looking at the man and then he says that's true, isn't it dad? A mom, a me, a mom, a me, I said listen. So I looked at my son, how would you handle that by the way? I'm not asking for, how would you, is it true? Is it true, let me ask you that, is it true? If a person doesn't worship Jesus, are they going to hell? Is that true? It's true, does the Bible teach that? It does, right? How do you handle that? You want to fight on the plane? Are you some Italian businessman? I don't. So how do you train your children to speak the truth? How do you do that? It's tough, isn't it? You mamas and daddies, you know what I'm saying? If you're trying to train your kids to speak the truth, don't you teach them to speak the truth in love? That's how you do it. So my son put me on the spot, that's a fact. I'm looking and I'm saying, you know. No, I said, I turned to my son and I said, son, if this man does not know Jesus Christ, it's his Lord and Savior, this man's going to hell. That's the Bible. That's the Bible. But I looked at the man and I said, have you, where are you from? And he says, I'm from Rome. I said, you're from Rome? He goes, yes. I said, have you read the letter that God sent to Rome? He said, what are you talking about? I said, the book of Romans. Have you ever read the book of Romans? He goes, the book of Romans? I said, it's in the New Testament. Have you read the book of Romans? No, I haven't. I said, you know, there was a letter written to your beautiful city 2,000 years ago that says there's none righteous, no not one. Did you know that? No. Did you know that the Bible makes it very clear in the book of Romans that the wages of sin is death? But the free gift of life, eternal life, comes through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Did you know that? No, and I started explaining to him the book of Romans and the message that went to those who lived in Rome at that time. So you speak the truth, but you do so in love. You're not belligerent. Listen, some people have thought I'm a belligerent man. I'm really not. As a matter of fact, I try to be as gentle as possible because Jesus taught us that, to love people and tell them the truth and to speak with gentleness of heart. You know, I'm not to quarrel and I'm not to cause problems and I don't think it's glorifying to God to getting shouting matches with people. That is really something, you know, the wrath of man doesn't, in any way, shape or form produce the righteousness of God, James would tell us. So there's no point in arguing and fighting, but at the same time, there's a need for truth. Why? Because the truth sets you free and the gospel is intended to set you free. That's why we do what we do. That's how it works. Amen, amen. And so we're living in a time when people don't understand that we're in the middle of a spiritual war. See, our warfare is not carnal. The weapons of our warfare is not carnal, but it's mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds, Paul would say. Casting down imaginations in every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity or subject to every thought, bringing into captivity every thought to the subjection of Christ. So though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. So God has given to us the sword of the Spirit, he's given to us the girdle of truth. He's given to us a helmet of salvation, a shield of faith. Our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And we take these things out and we present these things to people. And so we're in right now and listen carefully because it may be lost on you. We are in a spiritual war right now. In the United States, the church is in a war and we are like the frog in the kettle. We are asleep to it. We're keeping our eyes closed because we don't want to be offensive. And slowly but surely, the United States is coming under oppression, spiritual oppression. I'm not talking about physical war, I'm talking about spiritual war. There's a movement in the United States that is now entrenched and is continuing to expand. And many of the people who are supposed to speak loudly, which are pastors are being silent on the subject. Not everybody, thank God for those to speak with the loud voice that honors the Lord. There is a movement right now to silence your voices and you're aware of this. I'm sure you are. If you're not, let me help you to see it and perhaps you can take it before the Lord and see whether this is true. There are places here in the United States that you as a Christian, if you go into, you are told you can't talk about Jesus. Now where did that come from? You can't talk about Jesus. You say, I can speak about Jesus wherever I want. Really, is that true? Well, in Dearborn, Michigan, not that long ago, there was a Muslim festival and Christians went in and there was a table there and the table said ask questions and the believers walked up. They wanted to ask questions of the person at the table and because they came in and wanted to ask questions that questioned the Quran and Muhammad and the faith of Islam, they were escorted by the security team there in Dearborn, Michigan, out of a city that is in America and the police escorted them off the grounds because you can't because you're inciting people. Really, we're having a how to witness to Muslims class here. You already know that. The brother who is teaching the class spent 12 years in a Muslim country proclaiming and teaching the word of God. He speaks fluent Arabic. He knows what he's talking about and he was in the park here in the city of Chino a while back now and there were Muslims that were gathering there for one of their festivals or whatever or some kind of gathering and he went in with the team to go and share the gospel. This is in Chino, a park here in our city and the Imam, their preacher approached him and told him to leave the park. Leave the park. Now in submitting to his request, you're submitting to what is called Sharia. You don't have the right to speak. Think about it. Listen, here we do. We're supposed to but try and take your Bible and we're across into Saudi Arabia. Try and share. Try and share about Jesus. You will go to jail and there are places that you will be crucified. There are places you will be cut in half. There are places that your children will be raped and sold into slavery for being Christians. That's happening right now. I was in Kurdistan just last year and that's taking place there right now. It's right outside of Mosul and that's taking place right now. That's taking place right now. And so here in the United States, you are being told to politically be quiet, political correctness. Don't say anything. Don't be offensive. And you even have pastors who are saying to you, oh, don't offend. Listen, I have to tell you the truth. Don't be mean. Don't be rude. Don't be arrogant. But don't be afraid either. Tell them the truth because the truth sets you free. That's how it works. That's how it works. And the Bible says it very clearly. Jesus says that, well, that's what you see here when he says, till I make your enemies your footsail. You can begin to think that we are losers in this cosmic battle. I read the last verses of the last book of the Bible and in Jesus, we win. We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. We win. We are on the truth side. I'm not, and now again, I'm not trying to get you all radicalized and go stand out there and hit people with Bibles. I'm not doing that. Don't misunderstand me. I'm just telling you that the truth wins in the end. I'm telling you that. And you may have millions and millions into the billions right now who are claiming that they have the truth, but Jesus Christ is the truth. He is the way. He is the life. And there is no other name. He is the one who was raised from the dead. He is the Lord. He is the Lord. He is the King of the universe. And it says in Philippians two verses nine through 11, God exalted him to the highest place, gave him the name that is above every name. Then at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So they'll all bow and they'll all confess you are Lord. That includes Buddha. That includes Mao, Lenin, Muhammad, every human being who's ever lived will confess Jesus Christ is Lord. And that's what he's saying. Until I make your enemies your footstool, Jesus Christ is King. And that's who we worship. See, I'm not concerned about a president. I have a King. I have a King. And I worship him. And that's very, very important. You see, Messiah is a descendant of David. Notice how it says if David in verse 45 calls him Lord, how is he his son? Messiah is more than merely a physical descendant of David. He's David's Lord. He is David's Messiah. That's what he's saying. So whoever Jesus is saying, whoever rejects me is rejecting David's Lord. So he corrects their incomplete understanding of Messiah. He's man in that he's a physical descendant of David. He is a Lord because he's the Son of God. He is the one who vanquishes all enemies. And he is saying, whoever rejects me rejects David's Lord. When he said that, notice their response. In verse 46, no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question him anymore. You ask God a question, are you ready for his answer? Are you ready for his answer? You know, I like the way Mark concludes this. His Mark in chapter 12 verse 37 simply says, and the common people heard him gladly. The common people heard him gladly and common people still do. We still hear him gladly because he speaks words of life. Because he speaks to the deep recesses of our souls. I was 17, driving with some friends. I was in the back seat. My two friends seated in the front seat. We were smoking pot and I was 17. It was raining. We were in Uptown Whittier. I still can remember vaguely some of those details. And it was a cloudy day. It was a rainy day. And I was looking out the window and I was high, I'd been smoking pot. And I looked at my friends as they were talking. It got quiet for just a moment in that car. And I said, you know what I was just thinking, guys? What? We're not living, we're dying. What? 17 years old, you're not supposed to talk about that. We're not living, we're dying. I said, have you ever thought that from the time you were born that you've been dying ever since? Have you ever thought about that? No, why would we, man? Don't bum us out. They said, you're a bummer, David. That's a quote. You're a bummer, David. And I said, I don't think so. I said, I'm just thinking, man. I'm just thinking. I'm dying. You're only 17, I'm dying. Listen, 17 year olds die. 17 year olds die. I used to deliver flowers for Whittier florist. That was my job, 18 years old. I used to take the bouquets and deliver them not just for Mother's Day and Valentine's Day, but I also took the wreaths and things and placed them on caskets. And I was 18. And I had a wreath that I had to place on a casket in Rose Hills. And I looked at the card because I had to be in the right place to drop the wreath off, to place it on the casket. And I read the name of somebody that I knew. I thought, I know this guy, this guy's my age. He's actually younger than me. Just two, three weeks before, he and I and some friends had been at his father's Quonset Hut in Whittier smoking and drinking, smoking dope and drinking, partying. We got a monkey drunk. I remember all of that. If he could have gotten out of that cage, he'd have torn us apart. That monkey was a bad monkey. He was mad. True story. And I remembered him. We were just getting high together. And I still remember walking in with that wreath, walking up to a casket. Putting the wreath on the casket and looking into the face of a friend of mine. 17, 18 years old. He was 17, I was 18. Looking into the face of a friend of mine. No, I was thinking about death long before I became Christian. I was thinking about it. I almost died three times. Drug overdoses. I almost died three times. I knew how close, you know, to knock, knock, knock in on Heaven's door. I understand that, because I was there. And I started thinking, because I wasn't one of these drinkers who just drank. I drank till I was crazy drunk. Stupid drunk, overdose drunk. That's how I drank. Some of you guys know what I mean. That's how I drank. And the night started with a half gallon of wine and a quart of beer. That's how it started at the age of 17. I drank a lot. I enjoyed drinking. But I started realizing this crazy life has taken me down a path that I don't think I can come back from. I realized that at 17. So there I am sitting in the car saying to my friends, we're not living, we're dying. Oh, you're a bummer. No, that was the Holy Spirit saying to me, get right with me. Get right with me. And that's why when I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ was said, I will forgive all your sins. I will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. I will make you a new creation. All things will be passed away. But hold all things will become new. That's why I embraced that. Because God changes lives when you give your heart to Jesus Christ. And that's what Jesus is teaching. We're not into philosophy. We're into a life change that comes through faith in Christ. We're not talking about being people who go to church and then we leave the building. We're the same people that we were before we walked in, not walking with God. We're not talking about that. I was raised in a system that provoked me to that. As long as you're inside the building doing the right kind of thing, doing the right kind of thing they teach you, you'll be okay. But you don't necessarily live like that when you're outside of that building. I didn't want that, man. I didn't want it then. I don't want it now. I wanted truth. I wanted life. And that's what Jesus was promising. And the common people heard him gladly. And I was a common person. I still am. Just an ordinary person who needed an extraordinary God. And that's how it works, isn't it? That this extraordinary God saves ordinary people. That's how it works. And the Pharisees, the Pharisees, you don't wanna ask them any more questions. Not because we're interested or even because we lost an argument, but because we're gonna find a way to put this man to death because what he's saying is threatening everything we believe, everything we do, he's got to die. And that's where they're moving right now with Jesus Christ.