Open your Bibles to Matthew Chapter 12. Matthew Chapter 12. At this, at that time, at that time, isn't that one of those times? Making a note of times. At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn, through the standing grain field. Probably barley, maybe wheat. That was his two primary grains that they harvested in that day, in that part of the land. And as his disciples were hungry, they were hungry. You know, folks get hungry on Sunday, don't they? Just like they do on Monday. And so they were walking through this grain field and they started plucking heads of grain off the standing grain. You're familiar with wheat and barley and oat and this type of grain. It grows up, you know, and first there's the blade, the stalk, and there's the ear. Just like, you know, a lot of times you read in the New Testament, they talk about corn, you know, and it's not corn. We're talking about standing grain. And the way they do, especially back in those days when it was fresh, and just really filling up the ear with the grain. And this was law, this was lawful for him to do this. You go back in the Old Testament under the law and man couldn't deny someone who was hungry his crop out there. As long as he wasn't destroying the crop, just taking what he needed to satisfy his hunger, he was by law allowed to do that. And so what they did, they just stripped off the grain. And it was at that stage probably where they could rub it together in their hands and blow. And they separated the grain from the husk and blow the husk out. And they'd throw a handful in their mouth and eat it. And that would satisfy their hunger, like eating bread, you know. And this is what they were doing. And somebody found fault with it. There's always somebody looking to find fault. And you use it in the religious circle. And notice it says in verse 2, but when the Pharisees saw it, they saw them doing that, they said, Behold now, wait a minute, Your disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. What they were doing there was perverting the law, distorting the law and perverting the law. And what they did here in essence is accuse these disciples of working, laboring, harvesting grain on the Sabbath day. Well, that was wrong to do that if you went out there and had a good field of standing wheat or standing barley, and it was harvest time. He said, well, I don't think I'll wait until Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday to harvest this. It needs to be harvested then. I get a little head start, so I'll forget the commandment of the Lord to put that aside and dishonor the Lord's day and said, well, let's go out there and start harvesting this. And that's what they're in essence accusing these fellas of, harvesting grain. And I like the way the Lord responds to these religious hypocrites. He always does them this way. Have you not read your Bible? Have you not read your Bible? You fellas think you know so much, have not you read? what David did when he was in hunger, and they that were with him, his men, how he entered into the house of God, the tabernacle, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat. It was there for the priest. Places there is a token to God's harvest blessings upon them, upon the nation, but after the day was done, the evening came, those priests could take that showbread off the showbread table and eat it themselves. It was for them. Here's somebody from on the outside, David, and his men who were hungry, and they didn't eat the showbread. which were not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priest. Or have you not read in the law how that on the Sabbath days the priest in the temple profaned the Sabbath and are blameless?" I mean, they're laboring. It's their job. It's their appointment. God has appointed them to minister. This is my work day. Preaching the gospel. Now, if we were strict Sabbatarians, what would we do? Just sit and twiddle our thumbs, look at one another? Preacher couldn't work, couldn't labor? You've got to have a proper interpretation to the Word of God, haven't you? But I say to you that in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this means, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." I mean, you'd have had mercy on these guys, these fellows, and say, look, they're hungry just like we're hungry. And they've given themselves to follow after me, you know, Travel with me and minister as I minister to the needs of the people. They don't have a home to go to like you do, and a dinner table to sit down like you do. So if there was any mercy in your heart, you'd have said, well, let them have the feel from that grain out there. And then he said this, for the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day. Now look at this, and when he was departed this, he went into their synagogue. He didn't skip church. They were traveling across this grain field. They were eating, filling their hungry bellies, but he was on his way to church. The synagogue. This was his custom. Wasn't that what it said in Luke 4? As it was his custom, he entered into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. They had a worship service there. And, oh, it said, Behold. Now, what's he beholds when you run up on him in Scripture? He's beholds like we'd say, Look! Look there, or look yonder. Something notable is before us. Maybe a man of fame, a person of wealth, some notoriety. We say, look, look, look, look. And so something notable has come up here. And the Holy Ghost put a behold in here. Behold! Behold! What are we going to behold? It was a man. which had his hand with it. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful? Oh, I'm going to try to catch him here. Is it lawful to heal the guy? He got them back up here. Now they're going to try to get him. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? Why'd they say that? Why'd they ask that question? The Holy Ghost tells you. that they might accuse him. He's always a step ahead of many. And he said unto them, what man shall there be among you? Now he's looking them square in the eyes. He said, what man is there among you? That's hard to do sometimes. That's hard to do. We say to an enemy just to look him in the eye. What man of you? What man of you, he says, that shall have a sheep, one sheep, just one now, out of the flock, and if it falls into a pit. In other cases, he said, if you have an ox, don't you go get him out of the ditch if he falls in the ditch. If he falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, Will he not lay hold of it? Labor a little bit. You'd have to labor a little bit to pull a sheep out of a pit, wouldn't you? You'd have to exert yourself, strain a little bit. Notice how he carefully words this and lifts it out. So let me ask you a question. How much then is a man better than a sheep? How much more worth He's a human being, not an animal. Wherefore, it is lawful. He didn't ask him a question. He said, wherefore, this is with authority, it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days. Acts of mercy, self-sustaining, like eating. They'd do those things on the Sabbath day. Then he said to the man, he just turned from them, he said to the fellow that had the withered hand, he said to it, stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it, stretched it forth, and it was restored. Oh, like as the other. Then the Pharisees went out. They went home. And they got together. Had a deacon's meeting. Had a deacon's meeting. Said, what are we going to do with this fellow? Huh? How are we going to destroy this guy? We got to get him out of the way. He catches us in all of our conspiracies. We can't trick him. He's always got a word to come back with. He's always right. He's just messing our religious playhouse up. What are we going to do with him? Mrs. Pershing said this incident was noteworthy. He said, and therefore it is mentioned with this, behold. It was remarkable, he said, that so very soon a case occurred to bring up again the matter in dispute, and that's the law, you know, working on a Saturday. So remarkable, he said. He said, Spurgeon asked Pershing, did the Pharisees bring this fellow there? Did they bring this guy there with a withered hand into the synagogue so as to raise the question in a practical form? In other words, they're the ones that raised the question. Here's the man with a withered hand. I don't know. I got no answer to that. Did they bring him there for the sole purpose Behold, look at this, but is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Gotta watch these, these hypocrites. They're always trying to trick you. Find some way they can catch you. Stare ahead of them. Do right. Best way to stare ahead of a hypocrite is do right. Do that which God teaches you in His Word. Be consistent. Do right, and you'll keep their mouths shut. He said, of course, that they went to the synagogue to indulge their bigotry, and not to worship. What do you give them for? You come to worship God? I hope you did. That's what it's all about, isn't it? Listen, we're discussing the marvelous works of our glorious King, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what I'm discussing with you this morning. There's so much here. I know I've already preached twice. It's going to be difficult to kind of keep this from down a little bit, you know, where I can get you out of here. in time for lunch. But there's so much in this thing. So much here. He said they went to the synagogue to indulge their bigotry not to worship. He said, Spurgeon said, it's to be feared that many in these days imitate them. Mr. Spurgeon, I know you can't hear me, but you're all living these days. He said, before our Lord made any motion towards the miracle, they were at Him with what they hoped would prove an entangling question. Is it lawful, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? He goes on and says, he had claimed to be the Lord of the Sabbath, and now they, with much show of fairness, submit a difficulty to him. But it was with a base purpose. He said, in the moral character of questioning, everything depends upon the motive They did not ask that they might learn from him, but that they might accuse him. You ever have that happen to you? I tell you what, I get some calls every now and then. You know, respond to that old newspaper article. Every now and then I get one. And I'm waiting on one. that somebody calls and wants to know a little bit more, has an interest in learning a little bit. I haven't had one yet. I haven't had one yet. It's usually to accuse me. I try to study the way the Lord responds to people and not let them tangle me up. I'm a human being. I'm all human. And it's hard for me to keep my cool sometimes. And some of these fellas there called to get me tangled up. I'm not careful, Tommy. Get me all tangled up in there wrangling. Trying to learn how to respond like a lord. Then just before they get to it, just ask them a question. If I can ask them enough questions, after a while they'll hang up. That's what these fellas did. After a while they just went home, didn't they? Spurgeon said they were on the catch. These Pharisees, they were on the catch. Yet they took nothing. By their malicious craft. They didn't take a thing home. But this behold here. It's like this. Look at that. Look down there. We see some notable person. Wealth or fame or dignity. We'll take note of it. But you know that wasn't the case with our Lord. That wasn't. I mean, those people of fame and dignity, or so-called dignity in those days, didn't interest Him. It was always some poor fellow that was in dire need. Here's a poor old boy that has his hands with it. His hands with it. You know what he's talking about? It's dead. There's no life in it. It's useless. No service in it. He can't use his hands. You got one good hand, one bad hand. I knew a fellow one time. I'm always reminded of that fellow when I read this portion of scripture. He worked in a textile mill, cotton mill, when he was younger. And he got his hand caught in an old cotton mill machine, a loom. And he just crushed it all the way up. His hand was crushed all the way up to his elbow. Reminds me of that time when Mother first got the first Electric washing machine. I don't know how many kids, you know, back in those days tried those ringers out. You know what I'm talking about? Those old ringer-type washers. How many of you folks ever saw a ringer-type washing machine? I can't believe that many have. Kids, the ringer was up at the top of the washing machine when you washed your clothes. You take your clothes down and stick them up in that ring and it was going. The electric ones. They had the old manual ones, you know, prior to that, didn't they? Hey, I got an old antique one on the shelf up at the house. I guess we still got that. Just remind me that I'm not that old. But those old ringers, you take your clothes out of there, and that thing be going, and you have your tub sitting over here on the other side, and you just run your clothes through there, and you can wring the water out of it. And do the same when you rinse water. And I, you know, just a little boy, and that's the first time I'd ever seen one of those things, you know. And I was interested and curious about how that thing worked, and I reached up there, and it just started to fill up, and whoosh! I'm about to cut this thing off! My arm caught in it. Well, thank the Lord it wasn't as desperate and dangerous as that old run we caught this fella. But this fella had no more use for that hand. He just withered. And that's the case we got here. We got a fella here, somewhere or another he had his hand crushed. and broken up, and everything just died in him. And the Lord was interested in him. This fellow needed some help. He needed some help. I don't know how old he was. He may have been a young fellow. He may have been a middle-aged fellow. But he had life everywhere but that hand. And hands are important if you're going to work, aren't they? They're vital if you're going to serve. If you're serving something, going to do some type of work, hands are vital. Two good ones are a blessing. One good one is a blessing, but two? That's a double blessing from God, isn't it? To have two good hands. It's like two good eyes. It's just a wonderful thing. Stop and think about how you're blessed, you know. You've got all your limbs. So here he is. Now listen to this miracle here, Dan. We talked about the miracle of the candle last week. The wedding where he turned the water into wine. Talk about this fellow with a withered hand. Here it is, he says, he said, he looks at him, just looks at him. He puts the Pharisees to silence. And he turns this fellow, he said, stretch forth your hand. Stretch forth your hand. He didn't care what they thought. He was interested in helping this fellow that had a handicap. He said, stretch forth your hand. Hey, that was a command. He didn't tell him, hey, try to stretch your hand out. If you'll try to stretch your hand out, I'll help you. If you can show me that you can move one finger, I'll help you. that you have an interest in having that hand restored. Just wiggle one little thing, just maybe. Make a little motion. No, sir, that's first step. If you'll just take the first step, that sounds like preaching to you. Come on, sinner, if you'll just step out in that aisle and take the first step, God will You'll do the rest. Well, the problem with sinners is they can't take the first step. If they know what it is to be a sinner, they can't take the first step to death. If I know what the Scripture says and I believe I do, they're dead. They're dead. Stretch out your hand. Think about this fellow to whom the command was given. To a poor, helpless, and incapable of obeying. The command was given to a fellow that was incapable of obeying. I don't know whether you folks have had it happen or not. I was out there kind of pushing a couple of blown bubs, taillight bubs, stop bubs in my van yesterday and had the assembly out and was putting the bub in there and the car pulled up in the driveway, two young fellas. One got out and run up to me and said, I wonder if you'd like to donate to our ministry. Hey, well, John, sorry, this Baptist church way down where you used to live, way up here. And that sort of struck me. Anyway, he said, you're a nice young fella. Very polite. I don't know if you want to donate to the ministry. What kind of ministry are you doing? He said, we'll give you one of these Ten Commandment posters. I'm thinking now, how am I going to respond to this fella? I said, why, I wouldn't mind donating to a ministry, young man. I said, but I wasn't going to take posters. I said, I'm not going to put it in my yard. I said, I know that don't sound exactly right to you, does it? I said, that's a little strange. I said, I see these things all over the county. And I said, I know some of the folks that got them in their yard. I said, and some of them I know. I know them pretty well. I said, they wouldn't know God for many of them out there in the room. I said, Marley, that might be all right. I said, but my object is to telling them why it's impossible to be saved by trying to do what those commandments say. I said, you understand this? Now, let me tell you. Do you understand that God sent his son into the world to do that which you, nor I, nor anyone else can do? I said, and if you could, you still couldn't be saved by that. I said, you understand that? He said, yes, sir. I don't think he did, but I want him to think about it. I mean, Red, I couldn't let that slip by. I couldn't say, well, here, let me give you a dollar or two. Let me have you put that thing out in the barn somewhere and go on like this so nothing ever came back. I couldn't do that. Somebody said, weren't you afraid you might offend the young fellow? It wasn't a matter of offending. It was a matter of trying to be truthful and honest with a man. I mean, wonder how many folks got those things in the yard, think that's going to give them some kind of merit with God? Huh? Did you wonder about that? I mean, I got absolutely nothing against somebody doing right. And I mean, if they're not going to come to Christ and obey the gospel, you know, Do what you can to make the society more moral than what it is. Right? That'd be good, wouldn't it? But I don't care. You put it in every yard and everybody looks at it every day and recites them every day until they bow to Christ. And I told this boy, I said, look son, I said, Christ is our substitute for that. You can't do it, I can't do it, but he did do it. And I said, that's the gospel, that's what I'm preaching, that's what I'm trusting. This fellow couldn't stretch out his hand. He was commanded, but he couldn't stretch out his hand. Well, no way was he. He's paralyzed. But I tell you what, we learn this in this little story here about this miracle. Never despair of the helpless, dear ones. There is hope for such that cannot do for themselves what God commands. And this gives us a wonderful picture of that. Hey, despair of the capable. That's where we despair. Those that are capable, that is, they think within themselves they're capable of getting the job done. If a man could have stretched out his hand of himself, He would have had no need of Christ being there. And those who feel in the least that they can make it on their own will never find help in Christ. Because He came to help the helpless. To reach the needy. to help those who have no helper. Isn't that what the psalm says? So those who are feeling the least, if they can get the job done, might as well forget Christ. Might as well just let it go on over the board. You don't need a Savior. You don't need a Savior. But on the other hand, those who cry, I can't do it. I can't do it. Have mercy, have mercy upon me, the helpless one, because I can't do it. If you don't come, I'll perish in my way. Then the command was to a man that was with him. Huh? All right, now stay with me. Right here, I'm going to work right here a little bit. The command was to a man that was willing. In John 5, 39 and 40, our Lord again is addressing these Pharisees, these Jews. He said to them, He said, you search the Scriptures because you think in them you have I'm quoting from Young's literal translation of that text over there. You search the Scriptures. Now, a lot of folks will read that over there in the authorized version, and you think he's telling them to go search the Scriptures. But no, he's telling them, you search the Scriptures. Well, they read the Bible, they read the Old Testament Scriptures, and that's what he's saying. You search the Scriptures. And in them you think you have life. Young translates that as, in them you think you have to have life or life age enduring. He says, and these are they, that is the scriptures, and these are they that are testifying concerning me. And then he said this, and you, do not will to come to me." That's literally how it reads. You do not will to come to me that you might have life. In other words, they set themselves against coming to Christ. They were satisfied that they had life in what they thought they understood in Scripture by doing a few things, though perverted, which the law was instructing them. But no, that's not where life is. And that's what he's telling them over there. Pink has a note on there, he says it was not lack of evidence, but perversity of will which kept these Jews from coming to Christ. He said it is so still. It is so today. He said the Lord Jesus stands ready to receive all who will come to Him. Do you believe that? He does. He said, but by nature men are unwilling, unwilling to come to him that they might have life. But why is this, Pink raises the question. He said, it's because they've failed to realize their awful peril. Did they know that they are standing on the brink of the pit, hell? They would flee from the wrath to come. All right, here's another thing right quick. The one who issued the command, the one who issued the command, was Christ Jesus, the Son of God. He who has all knowledge. He commanded the fellow to do what he couldn't do. Did not Christ know that the man could not stretch forth his hand? Sure he did. He knew this man's need and knew this man's inability, and yet he commands him. Just as he knew mine when he commanded me as a sinner, repent and believe the gospel. Repent. and believe the gospel. By nature, I can't do that. Those are spiritual acts, and by nature, it's just not in me. I'm dead in trespasses and sins, spiritually dead. Well, does that alleviate the command? Does that alter the command? No, men still everywhere, men everywhere are commanded to repent and believe the gospel. You say, well, preacher, if I can't do those things, why command me? Because you're under God, God's over you, and God has the right as a sovereign to command His creatures. And He commands all men everywhere. to repent and believe the gospel. But you see something, just as he knew my plight and my predicament when he commanded me, when he commanded me, just as we sit in this miracle here, just as we sit here with this man with a withered hand, when he commanded me, with a command came the power. When he commanded this man with a withered hand, he stretched forth his hand. Why? Because power was issued forth with the command. You remember we've been talking about Cain and Abel last 24 Sunday nights. And I believe now the sin, when it says, It lies at the door. Sin lies at the door. I believe, I went back and looked at it again, I still believe that he's talking about the sin offering. The sin offering. You know, Abel brought an acceptable offering unto the Lord. Cain brought an unacceptable offering unto the Lord. And the Lord continued to deal with Cain and said, if you'll do the right thing, if you'll offer the right sacrifice, you'll be accepted. It lays at the door, Cain, offering, and he refused. Now let me give you something here, kind of a riddle. Cain could have, if he would have. But he wouldn't because he couldn't. Is that a riddle? You say, don't make a lick of sense, Pritchard. It does if you have sense enough to know what he's saying. Here's the answer to the riddle. You find it in 1 John 3, verse 11-12. For this is the message that he heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain, Who was of, who was of, are you listening, who was of that wicked one? Huh? That's the answer. That's the answer. He could have if he would have, but he wouldn't because he couldn't. He was of that wicked one. You see, there's two seeds. We go back to Genesis 3. There's two seeds that run down through the corridors of time. There's the seed of the serpent. Jane was of that wicked one, the serpent. And there's the seed of the woman, which is Christ and all those who are in Christ. Now, what he's saying, preacher, I'm telling you, when God comes to his elect sinner, his chosen one, wherever he finds him or her out here in this world, whatever period of time down through history he finds them, when he calls them, they come. Why? Because with the call comes the power. You heard the gospel. And you believe the gospel. Why? Because God in his sovereign power made it effectual to your heart. That's the case with all God's religion. And this old fellow with the withered hand here, he's a picture of a chosen child of God, who within himself cannot stretch out his hand, But when the command came, came the power with the command, and the man stretched out his hand. You cannot repent, you cannot believe, but when God commands you, directly you, personally you. See, I give a general call and general command every time I preach. And I know some are going to believe. Not all, but some. Some are going to respond. Not all, but some. God, I know the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen, I know the Lord Jesus Christ is going to act in His sovereign pleasure and make the gospel effectual to some. You believe that? If I learn anything in this miracle year, I learn that. I learn that. The Apostle Paul applies this doctrine. He uses a reference out of Isaiah 26, verse 19. He says to the Ephesians in Ephesians 4.14, making reference to Isaiah 26, he says, Wherefore, he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead. and Christ shall give thee light. Awake thou that sleep," he's talking about the sleep of death, "...arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." He gets that from Isaiah. Let me give you two from Isaiah. Isaiah said this in Isaiah 26 and 19, "...the dead shall live, or thy dead shall live." Thy dead shall live. The translators inserted thy dead men. You know that's in the Tannics. But it reads clearer to me just to say, thy dead shall live. Together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust. For thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out Why don't you bring that on down, and our Lord has this in mind. In John chapter 5, in verse 24 through 26, He says, "...verily, I say to you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." And then He says this, "...verily, I say to you." The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." Now, he's not talking about the resurrection of the body out there. Here, he's talking about the resurrection of the soul. He goes on now, in verse 29, and talks about the resurrection of the body. But here he makes it clear he's talking about regeneration. He's talking about the quickening power of the Spirit. Those who hear his word, the Spirit joins with the Word of God, the Gospel, quickens the heart, the soul, brings it to life, and it rises from the dead. And he concluded, he said, "...they that hear shall live, for as the Father given life or had life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." It appears to work like this. He commands. Then he helps the heart to turn the command into prayer. Does this make any sense? He commands you to repent and believe the gospel. I can't do it. You're unwilling to do it. Or maybe you say, I'd love to do it, but I can't do it. I can't break from my old sinful way. I just can't do it. If He directly commands you, you can do it. Because when He commands, He gives the power. And He turns the command. If he helps the heart into prayer and you cry out, God help me. God help me. I want to be saved. God help me and deliver me from this plight, this bondage. And I tell you, be honest with you, I think when it's turned into prayer and you start praying, it's already there. I say this, a man never wants to be saved until he's saved. Does that make any sense? I believe that. And then he answers the prayer. It's termed something like that, and I'm going to close here. I know I'm running. I'm not running over time. I didn't get started too late. But I know I'm running over your time. You're ready to get out of here by now. But think about this, Jeremiah. Think about this language here in regard to what I've been preaching here on this last point. Jeremiah 31, 18-20 says, I have heard, God said this, I have heard Ephraim. That's his people. That's a term that's used in reference to his elect. I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus. Here's old Ephraim. Ephraim said, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised as a bullock, unaccustomed to the yoke. Yes. Tell me, old Ephraim. Thou hast chastised me, Lord, and I'm like a bullock, unaccustomed to the yoke. I want the yoke off! But I can't seem to ditch the yoke. He says, turn thou me. Turn thou me and I shall be turned. For thou art the Lord my God. And then you have a Conclusion of that, he says, surely after that I was turned, I repented. And after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh. I said, oh, oh me, I'm ashamed. I was ashamed. Yeah, even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth. And then God said this, after he's converted, now he's turned. And who turned him? God turned him. And God said this, and He says this about you that's been turned, whom He has converted. Is he from my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For since I I do earnestly remember him still, therefore my affections are troubled for him. I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." Isn't that wonderful? He did what you felt in your heart that you wanted to do, but couldn't do, but did do. That's another riddle. I'll have to figure that out. Do you understand what I'm talking about, though? Father, again, we're deeply grateful for your mercies. We've been blessed, Father, through another week. We live and move about. We breathe. We have our being and well-being only because of God. We're able to be here today to hear the gospel. To see the works of our Lord Jesus Christ displayed before us, the Spirit of the Lord inspiring the Word and preserving the Word has given us this marvelous opportunity that will count for eternity of looking into the Gospel one more time. We pray you'll bless it to the heart of your people that they might be edified and strengthened in their inner being. We ask thy blessings and mercies upon us through the day. Stir our hearts up and bring us back again for another look into the blessed Old Book as we come together this evening. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.