3/15/26 - THE PREACHING CHICKEN / Matthew 23:37-39

Ode to Israel.

God calling to your heart. But then you thought that by going your own way. You'd find a peace that would not part. But the Lord's goodness still followed you because you were his chosen. A nation called and gi his presence always with you.

Like a mother, he lifted his wings, seeking for your protection. And in times of your sorrow and your pain, his tears were mingled with your own. But you hardened your heart in the face of his love. Had no comfort. What you receive. Though he lifted his wings so that you might come, but your hardened heart would not believe.

And so your house is left to your home without the Almighty's protection. And your children shall pay a great price. You knew not his visitation. But there is hope, a promise left to you. Just call on the name of Jesus. Bless that name above all other names and receive him as Messiah Savior. Receive him as Messiah Savior.

Like a mother, he's lifting his wing, seeking for your protection. And in times of your sorrow and your pain, his tears are mingled with your own. Don't harden your heart in the face of his love and his salvation. Receive. His wing is still lifted so that you might come. Just open your heart and believe.

like a mother h he's lifting his wings seeking for your protection. And in times of your sorrow and your pain, his tears are mingle with your own. His tears are mingle with your own. Amen.

Let's go ahead and ask God for his help and blessing. Shall we pray?

Our God, our father, once again, it is a privilege and honor to open the word of God. Thank you for each one of these men. Thank you for the how you love them and the perfect plan you have for each one of our lives. Hallelujah. Help us now as we open the word. Guide us, we pray. Give us something that will be meaningful for our lives in Jesus' name. Amen.

So, we're going to look in Matthew chap 23 beginning in verse 37. I'm only going to read three verses. So, Matthew 23:33 through 39. And the Lord Jesus is speaking, "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that klest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gatherth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Verse 39. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Well, this is a very very interesting scripture. uh we have been looking at parables and analogies that the Lord uses uh in his teachings and he uses things that are very common place because God wants us to understand his word. He wants us to know him. And so just like here, you know, something as common as a mother hen, the Lord uses as an example, as an analogy, so we can understand spiritual truth.

But let's just look at this. He's talking to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the capital of that nation, Israel. Still is today. And it's the place where the temple was. Here is the the the religious center of the Jewish people. Now, God chose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and his sons, the nation Israel, to be his people in this world to represent him. That's why in Isaiah, I think 43, they're called the witnesses of Jehovah. The Jewish people were to witness to the unbelieving Gentile nations. In other words, Gentiles or anyone that's not a Jew. Uh, and the Gentiles were all living uh in idolatry. So, God chose this nation to represent him, the one and only true God. Uh, his presence was in the temple in the tabernacle before that when they went through the wilderness. uh and uh uh he wanted his people to be the mouth his mouthpiece so that others would know about him.

Well, just like the church today has failed because the church today is uh God's representative and the church has failed terribly. Uh and it's going to get worse. As a matter of fact, you can read in the book of Revelation the third chapter, it gets so bad that at the church of Leodysia, the Lord Jesus is standing outside. They've got the door closed to him. They're having church without Jesus. That's how bad it was. And in this day, it's the same thing. The temple during the time of the Lord was empty. Uh God's presence had left the temple. It was only when Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus, went into the temple that uh uh the presence of God was once again there. And you remember what he did. He he turned over the money changer tables and and uh uh accused those people of being nothing but thieves. Not religious at all, but just using uh religion for power and for money.

So this is Jerusalem. But the Lord Jesus, he's the Messiah of Israel. Do you remember when the at Christmas time usually is when we hear it in Matthew chapter 2, the magi came from the east and they said, "Where is he that is born king of the Jews?" So the Lord Jesus is the king of the Jews. He's Messiah. The Messiah means anointed one. It's the word for Christ in the Greek. Same word, same name. And so it means that he's king, he's prophet, and he's priest. He's God's king, God's prophet, and God's priest. Priest representing God to man.

So here uh the the Lord Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, comes to Jerusalem. They're rejecting him. In John 1, it says he came to his own and his own received him not. The Jews had the Bible that they should have received him, but they wouldn't. they wouldn't believe in him. And in fact, he says in the the gospel of John the f 5 f 5 f 5 f 5 f 5 f 5 f 5 f 5 f 5 f 5 fth chapter he says I come in my father's name and you won't receive me another will come in his own name and him you shall receive. The Lord was talking about the antichrist that's going to come in a future day and you can read about him in revelation chapter uh 13 and 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

So here is the Lord. He's brokenhearted. This is what we want to get to. Uh just like in uh Luke 19, he wept over this city because God loves everyone and a special love for Israel. He has a special love for you tonight. And when you refuse the love of God, the grace of God, the salvation of God, this is heartbreaking to God, because the Bible says in second Peter 3 that God wishes that none should perish, none, but that all should come to repentance. Men only go to hell because they reject God's salvation. Matthew 25 says, "The Lord Jesus said that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels." God never intended for one man or one woman to be in hell. That's why Christ died on the cross. He can be a savior for all men if they'll simply turn to him and trust in him. If you'll turn to him tonight, you can be saved. But without Christ, you're on a road to hell, and you can be sure of it forever and ever. God wants to save you tonight. He loves you.

And so we can see that with Jerusalem, just as he loved them, he loves you. And so he's weeping over Jerusalem. And look what he says about them. They had killed the prophets and stoned them which were sent unto them. So if you read in the Old Testament, you'll find that over and over the uh Jehovah God sent his prophets to Israel. uh over and over. In fact, uh I'm going to read in uh 2 Chronicles 36. This is what God said. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers again and again again and again because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God. They despised his words, misused his prophets until the the wrath of the Lord arose against his people. Listen to this. Until there was no remedy. No remedy. In other words, God says in ma uh Isaiah 5, "What more could I have done to my vineyard?" Israel was the vineyard of the Lord. "What more could I have done than I've already done? What more could God have done in your life? What more could he have done in your life than he's already done to bring you to Christ? He's He's witnessed to you. You've had opportunity to read the Bible, to hear the gospel. No, God's not responsible for men being damned. The wages of sin, as we said earlier, is death. Wages. It's what men earned by living without God.

And so here uh it's important as I said, it's Jehovah God that sent the prophets to Israel. Whenever you read uh uh in the Old Testament say thus sayeth the Lord, it'll be usually in all caps, Lord. That's Jehovah. So it's Jehovah that sent the prophets. He sent them in order that they might return to him. I'll read in Jeremiah chapter 2 verse 13. This is the sin of Israel. For my people, and this applies to us, for my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. That's one sin. They forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. And two, they have heed or dug outistns, broken sistns that can hold no water. So instead of coming to God whose offers living water for the souls of men, this whole people they turned to their own way of religion. Uh they turned to idols. They turned away from God. They dug their own well and tried to find satisfaction in their own way. You and I have tried that too. And your soul without Christ tonight, I want to tell you this. I don't even have to know know you personally, but your soul if you're without Christ is thirsty. You're like in a desert place. You've got no satisfaction for your soul and you never will without Christ. You can try all You can experiment with everything in life that you want. You can go ahead and experiment with money. You can experiment with women. You can experiment with any kind of thing that you want. You can experiment with a good job with a family. Anything you want. You will never never never never find satisfaction of soul except through Jesus Christ because he offers living water. And you can read about that in John chapter 4.

So here the Lord had sent these prophets. Jeremiah 2:9 it says, "Wherefore I will plead with you, sayaeth the Lord, saith Jehovah, and your children's children will I plead." Plead. GOD IS PLEADING WITH you tonight. HE'S PLEADING WITH YOU TONIGHT. WHY WILL YOU PERISH, oh house of Israel? That's what God says. Why will you and I perish when there's a savior waiting to save us? Oh my friend, turn to Christ tonight, even in this moment.

Now, I want to show you something about the Lord Jesus that's in this scripture that's easy to miss. You see, as I said, the Old Testament prophets were sent by Jehovah God to Israel. Look what the Lord Jesus says. He says in verse 37 that they had killed the prophets that were sent unto them and stoned them. And listen what he says. How often would I have gathered your children together even as a hen gatherth their chickens under her wings and ye would not. You know what he just said? He just said first off that the prophets were sent by Jehovah God. And then he said, "I sent the prophets." He said, "How often would I would I have gathered your children together?" Every time the prophet of God spoke, every time he spoke in the name of Jehovah, GOD, IT WAS JESUS THAT SPOKE. He is God in the flesh. Make no question about it. He says so right here in the most simple of language. He says, "I sent the prophets. How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings and ye would not?

Now, I just want to say something else about the fact that he's God. He's God the creator. You see, he made the chicken. He made the mother hen. How come a mother hen raises her wings? I'm sure we've all seen it. And and her chicks inviting her chicks to come under her wing for shelter and protection. Whoever taught a mother hen to do that and and they do it wherever you are in the world. You can travel the other side of the world and you'll have a mother mother hen and she'll always act the same way because God the creator of the Lord Jesus instill that within the mother hen to raise her wing inviting her chicks to come to give them protection warmth and help. And you know what? He didn't do this. I I I want to make this point. The Lord Jesus didn't look at creation. He didn't look at a mother hen when he was walking around and see her raise her wing and and then her chicks come under a wing. The Lord Jesus didn't see that and then go, "Oh, that's a great idea. I'll use that as an analogy, as an example of my love for people." No. When he created the mother hen, he always had in mind that he would picture his love, his love for Israel, his love for you and I in that mother hen. And every time Jesus Christ invites someone to come, every time you hear the gospel message of Christ died for our sins, he was buried, rose again the third day, that there's forgiveness of sins in his name. Every time you hear that message, Jesus Christ is lifting his wing like a mother hen and inviting you to come to a place of protection to save you from eternal judgment in hell and a place of shelter so that you can be protected in this world where you live today with the enemy always against you. He says, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden. I'll give you rest." He will protect you. He says, "Cast your cares upon me, for I care for you." See, when you come to Christ, you come and find salvation in him, the forgiveness of your sins, and eternal life. But then you have also a God that will watch over you and keep you from danger. Hallelujah. This is so wonderful. This is incredible.

So God placed in the chicken, in the mother hen, a message. The mother hen is a preacher for God. BETTER PREACHER THAN I'D EVER BE. THAT MOTHER HEN IS PREACHING ALL OVER THE WORLD TODAY. Every time her wing is lifted, she's preaching a message of forgiveness, of salvation, of protection for the people of God if they come to Christ. Hallelujah. How wonderful.

But Israel wouldn't come. That's what he says here at the end of verse 37. He says, uh, even as a hen gatherth her chick chickens under her wings and ye would not. They wouldn't come. They would not come to him. You haven't come to him perhaps tonight. I don't know. But if you Jesus Christ is not your Lord and Savior, if you don't know for sure that you're going to heaven and your sins are forgiven, it's because you don't know Christ. And so you have said to him, "No, no, no, no." Who knows how many times? You can't count them because you can't remember how many opportunities you've had to receive Christ, to trust in him, to turn away from this pathway of sin and turn to the righteous way of God. Only God knows. But he's given you opportunity. And this is another one tonight because he loves you.

And I want to tell you tonight, just as you envision in your mind that mother hen lifting her wings wings and that little those little chicks coming under her wing, I want you to see that Jesus Christ is inviting you to come tonight. You see, those little chicks are in danger away from their mother. And you're in grave danger. Grave danger. More danger than you could ever imagine. A little chick doesn't understand the danger around them. That's why the mother who does understand invites them to COME TO PROTECTION. YOU have no idea the the danger that your soul is in. And that's why you're here tonight. You're not here tonight because we have a scheduled time to be together. YOU'RE HERE TONIGHT BECAUSE GOD BROUGHT YOU INTO THIS PLACE AT THIS MOMENT, AT THIS time so that he might give you the good news and invite you to come that you might see in that mother hen. A God that loves you. loves you and gave his son for you. And this is Jesus Christ, God the Savior that speaks.

And then he says in verse 38, and I want you to see this, behold, your house is left unto you desolate. He's talking about Israel and the house of God. The temple house is is desolate, empty. It's going to be destroyed. AD.70 the Roman general Titus will level level Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed too. But let's make an application. Your house, your family, your home, maybe you have a wife, maybe you have children, maybe you will in the future. But you can know one thing. If you refuse Jesus Christ, your house will be desolate. It will come under destruction. There'll be nothing good for you. You know, so many I I was at a funeral recently and uh people like to talk about being a good father or a good mother. My friend, if if if you don't teach your children about Jesus Christ and salvation, then how good of a father are you if you care for their bodies but not for their souls? How good of a mother is she if she cares for her children's body but not their souls? No, those are not good fathers and good mother or good mothers. So don't tell anyone tonight if you have children that you love them. If you're not going to give your life to Christ and then take your children about salvation and how they can be forgiven and how they can be in heaven, show real concern and love for your family. Give your life to Christ tonight. The Lord Jesus says, "Behold, your house is left to you desolate." You see, families came from God. Just like that mother hen came from uh God the creator. It was God's idea that we should have marriage. We should have families. And without him, families will never be right. Marriages will never be right.

Verse 39, ye for I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Now, just a day earlier, we find in this same chapter that uh I'm sorry, it's chapter 21, a day or two earlier, that the Lord Jesus had come into Jerusalem and there was a great parade and it says in chapter 21 and verse 9, the multitudes that went before and they followed and cried saying, "Hosana to the son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosana in the highest. Verse 10. Now listen to this. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?" You see, they had the right words, but they didn't have a knowledge of who he was. And I want to tell you, there's so many people that will use the name of God, use the name of Jesus Christ, maybe even say praises to him, and even pray to him, but they don't know who he is. Here are all these people, a great parade, praising God, but they don't know God who is in their midst. They don't know the Messiah, and he's come to them.

And the Lord Jesus says, "Behold, your house is left you desolate." But you know, there's coming a day. Hallelujah. When the stone which the builders rejected shall become the head of the corner. In other words, the Lord Jesus was rejected, but now he's ascended into the glory. He's the man in the glory and he's going to come again. And when he comes again, Israel is going to be saved. They're going to go through a terrible tribulation and the whole world will. But the Lord Jesus Christ is going to redeem his people. Not the whole nation, but there'll always be a remnant that will believe in him. And you can read about that in Isaiah 53. It's the prayer of confession of those that will believe in the Lord Jesus as their Messiah in the tribulation period at the end of the tribulation when the Lord comes again as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, as the King of Israel. Yes, but even greater, the King of all the world.

Now listen my friends, this is a very simple message. There's nothing complicated about it. The Lord spoke about something that is so simple, so simple, a mother hen, so that you and I could understand his love for us. Read in Luke 19, he looked over Jerusalem, this same city, and he wept. He wept. Why did he weep? Because he foresaw, and he talks about it there. He foresaw uh this is Luke 19:41 that the Romans were to going to come and hundreds of thousands of Jews will be killed in in just 35 years from then or or thereabouts. And so the Lord wept because he loves mankind. He does he wants the very best for you, my friend. The very best. The devil wants to rip you off because he's a father of lies. Don't believe the devil. Believe the word of God. Get the word of God. Open it. Read it. Trust in Christ tonight. Believe in him. Just from what we've looked at tonight, you've got enough information to turn your heart to the blessed Lord Jesus. And you can know that he loves you and that he gave himself on the cross, took your sins there that you might know him, that you might be forgiven. That all the sins you've ever committed can be gone. Gone. Gone. That's what forgiveness means. Your sins are gone because the precious blood of Jesus has washed your guilt away. Hallelujah.

Let's pray tonight.

Blessed Lord, thank you so for this opportunity to look at such a wonderful scripture so straightforward, so real that you are Jehovah God. You are the creator and you have spoken through the prophets calling calling Israel to repentance and they wouldn't repent. Just like the world we live in today and maybe some men women listening tonight won't believe, won't repent. My friend, turn to Christ. Repent in this moment. Tell him you're sorry for your sins. Trust him as your savior and your lord. He is God. He's the savior and he's God. Jehovah God. He's the creator. He made you and he loves you. He loves you. He has a plan, a perfect plan for your life. Oh, trust him tonight in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.