Well, I'm so glad to be here
with you. It's been such a joy to Claudia and I to be back with
you again after almost 11 years since we were here the last time.
It's been good. Food's been so great. Thank you
for your hospitality. Room is so comfortable. It's
just been a joy to be here to see you again. I enjoy the cool
weather for about an hour. And I went up to Arkansas. Brother James Watson asked me
to come up and preach to them at the church in Taylor, Arkansas
a few years ago. Brother James Watson is Clay's
granddad. He was here Friday night. And
we had a service on Friday night. And I got there, he said, now,
in the morning, he said, we're going We're going to go to another
place. There's a little group there.
And he said, we get together in a building there and have
a service. I said, good, fine. We got up
the next morning. It was about 25 degrees. Beautiful, sunshiny day, but
25 degrees. And so we, after breakfast, we
took off down the road, drove about an hour and got there.
Well, he said we were there. I didn't know. It wasn't what
I had on my mind. It was an old church building
set right on the edge of a cemetery. And this building hadn't been
painted in 150 years. It had no windows, no doors,
wood floors, wood benches. And I'm still wondering where
we're going to meet. Well, that was it. I had no coat
on, just my sport coat, and we started. We had a Bible
study first. I taught a Bible study, and they
wanted me to sing. It was so cold. Well, my throat didn't want to
work real well. I sang. We had a Bible study,
and then to warm up, We went outside and got on the sunshiny
side of the building and stood in the sunshine up against that
building to get out of the wind to try to warm up a little bit.
Then we went back in and had another service. We left there
and James said, were you cold? I said, man, is there a cow in
Texas? He said, well, that's the reason
I wore my long handles. I said, but you didn't tell me.
It was cold. Not that bad in here this morning.
I always tell them at church, don't expect it to be like at
home. We're not in our own homes. I don't know how many are here
this morning, but that's how many different opinions we'd have,
how this building ought to be. And we usually get it like y'all,
just whichever way it comes out today. But I am so grateful. Like I say, I enjoy the cold
weather, usually around the first part of January when we have
wintertime. And then I'm always glad to see the warm weather. Luke Chapter 2. Luke Chapter 2. I want to speak to you for a
few minutes. I told Brother Marvin, I said,
I'm going to be brief. He said, we have a rule around
here, a minimum of 40 minutes. But my desire is to be more brief
than that. But we'll see. Luke Chapter 2. And I want to speak to you this
morning on our consolation, Israel's consolation. It's God's Israel. This is our comfort. Beginning
with verse 21, Luke chapter 2, And when eight days were accomplished
for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Savior. Jesus,
which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the
womb. And when the days of her purification,
Mary's purification according to the law. Now, just notice
the times that that's mentioned here. He fulfilled all things
for us. All things. When the days of
her purification, according to the law of Moses were accomplished,
they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. Then we have a little parenthetical
expression here. As it is written in the law of
the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy
to the Lord. So they brought him to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according
to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves
and two young pigeons. And behold." Oh, I love that. Behold. Lookie here. You know,
there's something important fixing to be said here. If we wanted to bring this word
behold into our language today, it would be like the marquee
lights calling our attention to something.
One time we went to Reno, Nevada. We got there about 8 o'clock
at night. Walter Gruber, Betty, Claudia and I, we drove up there
from Sacramento, California. And I was amazed at the lights. They say Reno is nothing compared
to Las Vegas. But I was amazed everyone vying
for your attention to get you to their place. And they did
it with lights, the marquee lights. Well, that's sort of a picture
of this word, behold. The scripture is calling our
attention to something that's so important. There was a man
in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And the same man, a man, there
was a man. And that same man was just and
devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Ghost
was upon him. And it was revealed unto him
by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen
the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into
the temple. Now you just stop and think about
this. Four hundred years of silence from the end of Malachi until
the first part of Matthew, the coming of John the Baptist, there
was no word from the Lord to that nation of Israel. In our
Bibles, we turn one blank page for the most part. And that one
blank page represents to us 400 years of silence. But here was a man who had been
moved by God's Holy Spirit to wait, to wait. And you know, if you take the
word consolation and hope and wait, they're the same expression. You know, we use the word hope
today In a sense, well, you know, it's
an iffy thing. In the Spanish language, the
word hope and to wait are the same word. You stand out on the
side of the road and you're waiting for the bus. You're hoping for
that bus. It's a sure thing that's going
to come to pass right on time. And you're standing there waiting
on it. This man was waiting for this
consolation of Israel. Verse 27, He came by the Spirit
into the temple. And when the parents brought
in the child Jesus to do for Him after the custom of the law,
then all things were fulfilled. He took him up in his arms and
he blessed God and said, Lord, now let us thou thy servant depart
in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation
which thou hast prepared before the face of the people, a light
to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel."
And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Simeon blessed them and said
unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall
and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be
spoken against, yea, A sword shall pierce through thine own
soul also. And he said, for the fall and
rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be
spoken against, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
Israel's consolation. When God's prophets spoke, when
they desired to comfort Israel, they always showed the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ and his kingdom. We have no other
word of comfort. The prophet, in Isaiah 40, spoken
about 270 years or so before the children of Israel were carried
away into Babylon. He said, you're going to captivity,
but the Lord God of heaven will raise up a deliverer. And he
says in Isaiah 40, get thee up into the high mountain, O Jerusalem,
that bring us good tidings. Lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up. Be not afraid. Say unto the cities of Judah,
Behold, your God. Behold, the Lord God will come
with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his
reward is with him, and his work Before him, he shall, he promised,
his promise, he shall feed his flock like a shepherd and he
shall gather the lambs with his arms and carry them in his bosom
and shall gently lead those that are with Yom. Oh, what a comfort to Israel.
Now Isaiah, as I said, he wrote. telling what would take place
in Babylon after that 70 years of captivity. But he spoke of
the Lord Jesus Christ. It all pictures us. Israel is
us. That one he raised up in the
north, the rise, that's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
then Zechariah who wrote about 200 years later Still, before
Israel was carried into captivity, told us in Zechariah 9, Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto
thee. He's just and having salvation,
lowly and riding upon an ass. And upon a colt, the fowl of
an ass. And then Malachi said, But unto
you that fear my name, that reverence my name, shall the son of righteousness
arise with healing in his wings, and you shall go forth and grow
up As calves in the stall, He's my shepherd, I shall not want. We're not going to have to get
out and search for it for ourselves. He's going to feed us. As calves
in the stall, everything we need will be brought to us. And ye shall tread down the wicked,
for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet. in the
day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts." That's what
the prophet said. We could go on and on and on.
The Old Testament saints, the patriarchs, they did. They comforted
God's people with this promise of the coming of God's Christ,
God's Messiah. our Savior. Abraham rejoiced
to see his day, and he saw it by faith. He believed God's promise. Moses chose rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater
riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto
the recompense of reward. Joseph's comfort was, For I know
that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter
day upon the earth. David said, My heart is indicting
a good matter. You know, I thought about that
word, indicting a good matter. I thought about how we use this
word today. All the evidence is there. It's, and when you think about
an indictment in our courts, all the evidence is there that
it will be proven a sure thing. That's the reason a grand jury
will hand down an indictment. And that's what David said. My
heart has seen all the promises, all the evidence of a sure thing. It's indicting a good matter. I speak of the things which I
have made touching the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready
writer. Thou art fairer than the children
of men. Grace. is poured into thy lips. Therefore God hath blessed thee
forever." And then the angel saying, Fear not, for behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And suddenly the heavens were
filled with a host of the heavenly angels and they sang glory to
God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill from God toward
men. We just went through this time
of the year and everybody says, peace, goodwill. Robberies go
up. Muggings go up. Murders go up. It's not men. It's God's goodwill
to us through Christ. And then the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself acknowledged that He Himself deserved this title. Here in Luke chapter 4, He said,
the Spirit of the Lord, verse 18, is upon me. The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me. Because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor. Brother Henry read this passage
to us the other night. For he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of
sight to the blind, and to set at liberty them that are bruised,
to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." That's why he told
us in Matthew 11, come unto me, come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Brother Donnie
Bell and I were talking about Brother Scott the other day and
talking about things that we've heard him say over the years. And I said my favorite expression
that I use over and over and over again is just, you've got
to fit the character. You've got to fit the character. Are you laboring? Are you weary?
Are you heavy laden? Are you thirsty? Are you hungry? come fit the character. And he said, and I will give
you rest. John 16, he said, these things
I have spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. John 14, you quoted this last night, I
will not leave you comfortless. The comforter has come. He said, I will come to you. And the early church, that was
all that early church had to rejoice in was that Messiah,
that comfort of Israel. That's all. I just talked through
1 and 2 Peter at the church. We just finished it here a while
back. The church was suffering such
great persecution under Nero, emperor of Rome. Terrible persecution. There wasn't a thing in this
world that they could rejoice in. But Peter said when he wrote
to them, both in the first letter and in the second letter, whom
having not seen, you love, in whom though now You see Him not,
yet believing. You rejoice with joy unspeakable
in the midst of this cruel persecution, yet they rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the
salvation of your soul. Paul told the believers in Rome,
he said, we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom
we have now received the atonement. Oh, why would we marvel when
we consider who He is? To know that they all looked
for Him. They all waited for Him. They
all saw Him. They saw His days. You know,
the Word of God reveals the Lord Jesus Christ is our refuge in
a storm. He's called the shadow of a great
rock. He's called a river of water
in a dry land. And you know, you can just let
your imagination work just a little bit. This morning, I didn't want
to stand in the shade. I wanted sunshine. But I tell
you, in this land, there was nothing more comforting than
to get into the shadow of a rock. The coolness of that rock cooled
that shadow. And it sheltered us from that
sun that was beating down. That's what Christ is to us.
Have you ever lived in a dry land where water was so precious? In Chiapas, where we live, we'd
go through eight months of dry season. Oh, everything would
just burn up, get so hot. March, April, and May was our
first summertime, the longest summertime, when the sun would
start heading north. And it hasn't rained in so many
months. It would get so hot. And if it
would just cool down out of the 90s at night, we were so grateful. It was like a norther blew through. But you'd come across those mountains
and you'd look out across the valley and you'd see what looked
like a green snake winding its way through that valley. There
was water. Water. And oh, how the trees
would flourish. on the edge of that water, river
of water in a dry land. He's called the bread of life. He's called the robe of righteousness. He's called the light in a dark
place. And oh, what beautiful pictures
they are to show us the reality of this comfort, this hope, this
consolation we have. That's why Simeon called him
the consolation of Israel. That's our comfort. Now I have
a question for you this morning. Is it your comfort? Is it your
consolation? Are you still looking for comfort
here? These things, they don't last,
do they? This world is so fickle. Is He your hope? If He's not,
if He's not our hope, if He's not our comfort, if He's not
our consolation, we have no hope. What will I do with my guilt
if He's not my hope, my only hope? I'm a sinner. I hear it. Oh, I hear it so many
times. The man told me the other day he's in federal prison charged
with bringing drugs in across Mexico, bring them into the U.S.
Has really a rather light sentence. He only has seven years in that
penitentiary. And he said, I was a drunk. He said, I beat my wife. I beat
my family. He said, I sold drugs. He said, I was a mule bringing
drugs in to the United States, but I'm not a bad guy. I'm not
a bad person. You know, we can always find
somebody worse, can't we? I have no problem preaching to
them because I know that wall doesn't make a bit of difference.
doesn't make a bit of difference. As Brother Henry said, he saved
the worst among us when he saved a wretch like me. The believer
sees himself as the chief of sinners. And you know what the
best evidence? The fact that you see yourself
as the chief of sinners when you esteem others better than
yourself. That's tough to do, isn't it?
But we're always looking for somebody that's worse than us.
Man, I'd never do that. I would. You name it. And if I have not already done
it, I would. I pray I won't. But I would. We esteem others better than
ourselves. This is such a curse upon them.
Guilty. Guilty. There's no mercy for
the good person. Just don't go before the judge
and cry for mercy unless you're willing to plead guilty, guilty,
guilty. As long as we're under the wrath
of God, there is no comfort. There is no hope. Christ and
Christ alone is our comfort. Delivering from going down to
the pit, I found a ransom. What will I do with my depravity,
my nature, who I am, if Christ is not my hope? Not only am I
guilty, my understanding is darkened. My will is in rebellion. My desires
and affections are carnal. My heart is a stranger to the
life of God. My only recourse is that one
whom God has set forth as my propitiation. He made Christ
to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. And this Spirit of the life of
Christ has delivered me from the law of sin and death. What
will I do when I'm in trouble if He is not my hope? I talk to men every week. They
have no hope. No hope. That light's gone out
for them. No hope. That's what the people to whom
Peter wrote, that's how they felt. There's no hope. Peter
said, oh, we do have a hope. It's Christ. He's our comfort.
He's our comfort. He's our hope when the enemy
invades the country. What am I going to do in death
if he's not my hope? He's the only thing that can
sustain me, the only one who can sustain me when all else
fails. That's the reason Simeon said,
Lord, now let us thou thy servant depart in peace according to
thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. See your hope this morning. See
your comfort this morning. You know, He said to us, we're
justified from God's wrath in Christ. That's my hope. In His
righteousness, I stand before the Lord God of heaven. I can
say it. I just can't see it. But He's
my hope. I'm clothed in His righteousness.
In His righteousness, we can stand before God. And He said,
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say,
The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto
me." One more word for us. And this is a warning. Will we
be like those of this nation of Israel? You know, I read Isaiah. I read what he said to the children
of Israel. Jeremiah chapter 6. I read what
Isaiah said. Then I continue reading. And
I read what Jeremiah had to say to them. Even after this is our
hope. Telling them this over and over
and over again. This is our hope. This is our
comfort. This is our consolation. And Jeremiah said in chapter
6, verse 16, Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the way, and see,
and ask for the old paths. The old paths. Some of them didn't
remember these old paths. They stayed in Babylon for 70
years. They couldn't remember these
old paths. Some were born in Babylon. They knew not these
old paths. But Jeremiah says, ask for them.
Ask for them. Ask for the old paths. Where
is the good way? And walk therein and you shall
find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk
therein. That's what they said. We will not walk therein. And
he said also, I set a watchman over you saying. That's the pastor. That's that watchman upon the
wall, warning of danger. And these watchmen said, listen
and hearken to the voice of the trumpet, danger, danger. But they said, we will not hearken. That's not the way we've done
it. That's not the way mama and daddy and grandma and grandpa
taught me. What does that preacher know?
Jeremiah said, the Lord set his watchman on the walls And the
watchman warned them, listen for the sound of the trumpet.
But they said, we will not hearken. And then in chapter 18, verse
14, he said, will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh
from the rock of the field? Or shall the cold flowing waters
that come from another place be forsaken? Those refreshing
waters. But, or he said because. I ask this question because my
people have forgotten me. They burned incense to vanity. And they have caused them to
stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths
in a way not cast up. Then back in Jeremiah chapter
2 verse 31, he said, O generation, O generation, I cry out to you
this morning, O generation, that's us. See the word of the Lord. Have I been in a wilderness unto
Israel, a land of darkness? Wherefore say my people, we are
lords. We will come no more unto thee. Have I been so harsh? Have I been a wilderness? Have
I been a land of darkness? My people, they say, we're lords.
We're lords. We will come no more unto thee.
Can a maid forget her ornaments? Or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten
my days without number." Oh, he reminds us. He reminds us
here when no one had pity on us. No one had pity on us, but he
loved us. He delivered us when there was
none to help us. He found us in the way of destruction,
way to destruction, and he gave us life. He said to us, live,
live. He brought to us balm from Gilead
when all the religious medics of this world had given us up
as hopeless. Don't ever go back to that town
in Texas where I was born and raised. Don't go back to Pearland,
Texas and ask them about me because that's what they would
say of me. They gave up on me. The deputy sheriff told me the
last time that he got me, he said, Milton, he said, I don't
even have to see you anymore. He said, all I need is for someone
to say, get him, and you're gone. Don't ask him. Don't ask him
that. If you went into town and told him that I was You had heard
me stand up in a church and open a Bible and speak to you from
that Bible. They'd say, no way. No way. But that's where he found us. Polluted in our own blood when
none wanted us. Cast aside. cast out in that
field, left to die in that way to destruction and he gave us
life. All these religious medics, they'd
say there's no hope for him. No hope for him. The religion
of this world, they don't want sinners in their midst. A sinner
walks into the average congregation today. and you wouldn't be accepted. You'd be told to clean up your
act first. If I could clean up my act, I'd
have no need for this hope, this comfort, this consolation. But our Lord said to the twelve,
will you also go away? Will you forget God? Will you
turn your back on this only hope, this only comfort? Will you also
go away?" And Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. There's no one but Christ. None can take His place. Now,
you turn away and your heart's going to be filled with your
own ways. Oh, may He give us You know,
if the Lord God of heaven just might give us the desire of our
hearts, it'd be the greatest curse. We don't know good from
bad and bad from good. We confuse the two. We call good
bad and bad good. The Lord might give us the desire
of our heart, but if He does, we'll lose sight of His presence.
We'll lose this joy, this comfort, this hope, this consolation.
the joy of His salvation. Anything in which we can find
rest or strength or comfort or happiness that's not Christ will
fail us. Christ alone is this comfort,
this consolation of Israel. That's the reason Jeremiah said
here Jeremiah 3, verse 21, he said, A voice was heard upon
the high places, weeping and supplications of the children
of Israel. For they have perverted their
way. They have forgotten the Lord
their God. Return, ye backsliding children,
and I'll heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee, for
thou art the Lord our God." Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for
from the hills and from the multitude of mountains. Truly, in the Lord
our God is the salvation of Israel. Simeon said, Now let your servant depart in
peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." He is Israel's
consolation, Israel's comfort, Israel's hope, Israel's salvation. Are you God's Israel? May the
Lord bless these thoughts to our hearts this morning. Thank
you very much.