Welcome you to the service this
morning. Good to see visitors here today. Hymn number 619,
A Shelter in the Time of Storm. Let's stand as we sing. I think you may be seated. As
we turn the hymn once again to 279. 279 once for all. ? His remission ? ? Which one of
all the wonders I have known ? ? Which has redeemed us once
for all ? ? Once for all those ever receiving ? ? Once for all,
I believe ? ? Once for all ? ? Holy, holy Lord
God of all creation ? ? Jesus, Lord God of all salvation ? ?
Come unto me, O merciful Lord ? ? Let me sing once, once for
all ? Once for God, once he received her, Once for God, once God believed
her, Into the cross the burden he brought, For he redeemed our
hopes once for all. He goes on calling, as He collected
by day His call. Blessing salvation once for all. Once for all, O Savior, we sing
Him, once for all. We welcome each and every one
of you this morning and we cannot help but praise the Lord for
his goodness and mercy that brings us to this place this morning.
We pray that he would enable us to worship him in spirit and
in truth. Be turning in your Bibles, if
you would, for our reading this morning to the little book of
Micah in the Old Testament, the book of Micah. We are I want to pray for those
that are sick and have problems of life and lift
them up before the Lord this morning and certainly ascribe as we read
and as we sing all glory to Him. The book of Micah. I'll actually
begin reading in chapter 4 at verse 11. Now also many nations are gathered
against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look
upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts
of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel. For he shall
gather them as the sheaves into the floor. Arise and thresh,
O daughter of Zion, for I will make thine horn iron, and I will
make thy hooves brass, and thou shalt beat in pieces many people,
and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance
unto the Lord of the whole earth. Now gather thyself in troops,
O daughter of troops. He that hath laid siege against
us, they shall smite the judge of Israel, with a rod upon his
cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathim,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel,
whose going forth have been from old, from everlasting. Therefore will I give them up
until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth. Then the remnant of his brethren
shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand
and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name
of the Lord his God, and they shall abide For now shall he
be great unto the ends of the earth. For this man shall be
the peace when the Assyrians shall come into our land. And when he shall tread in our
palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds and
eight principal men. And they shall waste the land
of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod and the entrances
thereof. Thus shall he deliver us from
the Assyrian when he cometh into our land and when he treadeth
within our borders. And the remnant of Jacob shall
be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord. And as the showers upon the grass,
that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall
be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many people, as a lion
among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks
of sheep, who, if he go through, both tread it down and teareth
in peoples out of the midst of thee, so will I destroy thy cities. And I will execute vengeance
in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. May the Lord bless these words
to our understanding this morning. Our Father, we praise thy great
name, that name that is above every name. We praise thy name
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is truly the only
mediator between God and men, the only savior The only hope
of eternal life. The only one in whom are all
spiritual blessings. And we give honor and praise
to his name this morning. As the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. Who rules over all? And does
all his will. in the armies of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay his hand or
say unto him, what doest thou? Father, we pray this morning
that you would bless our assembly. We pray that it is you that has
assembled us that we might hear the gospel. that good news that
is in Christ Jesus. We pray for clarity and for understanding. We pray for freeness of thought,
that we might speak the things concerning him, that you might
be glorified and exalted in all of those that are being saved
and all of those that are lost. We pray this morning that you
would hear us for Christ's sake, that you would bless us and help
us for his sake, that you would speak to us for his name's sake. And to all, Lord, we pray for
your glory. Help these that we've mentioned,
the sick and troubled of heart and those who have cares of life
and fret We ask your grace and mercy upon them. We know that
you're able to do above that which we're even able to think
or ask, and especially that you're able to save to the uttermost
them that come to you in Christ Jesus the Lord. We thank you
this morning as we are coming to the end of the year. We thank
you for all blessings that have been ours by your mercy and grace
and the freeness of your gifts to your people. We pray that
in all things we might do thy will, that we might ascribe to
you glory alone, and that you would receive our prayer and
our thanks in the name of Christ Jesus. Amen. And your hymnals once again,
312. 312. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. And then, Brother Tim,
if you'll wait on the congregation. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave of his glory and praise. Then, after that everlasting,
he passed and he followed her there. Oh, it's time to go forth
from here in love, my Lord, O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's His words are wisdom to tell. We're made in the ways of God
to live in His wonderful way. Heavenly King, Lord of all strange
people, the God in the visible world, Yeah. so so so so You. If you'd like to sing along with
me this morning, I'd invite you to. This song, I was gonna play
it on guitar this morning, and I said the words, even last night
as I was singing over them again, it just rang out. We have been
so blessed to have the foundation declared in this place. God has
allowed us and brought it to our hearts, that firm foundation. in Christ our Lord, and we need
to look no further. So that's number 610 in your
hymnal. If you'd like to help me sing
it this morning, I'll sing it from the heart. How firm a foundation,
you saints of the Lord. And I invite you, if you'd like
to, to stand up and sing, and let's declare it together. I affirm a foundation, ye saints
of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word. What more can He say than to
you He hath said? To you who for refuge to Jesus
have pled, In every condition, in sickness, in health, In poverty's
vale, or abounding in wealth, At home or abroad, on the land,
on the sea, As days may demand, shall thy strength ever be. Fear not, I am with thee, O be
not dismayed, For I am thy God, I will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee,
and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my great, When through the
deep waters I call thee to go, the rivers of song rose shall
not overflow. For I will be with thee, thy
trials to bless, and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. When through fiery trials thy
pathway shall lie, Grace of sufficient shall be thy supply. The flame shall not hurt thee,
I only design thy drops to consume and thy gold to refine. The soul that on Jesus Thus hath
lain for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes. That's although all hell should
endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake. And the believers said Amen. Turn back this morning to the
book of Micah. The little book of Micah. There are some words that are found in Luke's gospel,
the second chapter, that will be read many times
today, many times. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And
this shall be a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising
God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth,
peace, goodwill toward men. And on earth, peace. But surely you must know that
he's not talking about world peace. If you look at this world today,
he could not have been talking about world peace because there
is no world peace and hasn't been since Adam fell in the garden. Nor is he talking about in these
glad tidings, peace between men. Because our Lord said in Matthew
chapter 10, Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword. For I am come to set a man at
variance against his father, and the daughter against her
mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they
of his own household. He that loveth father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh
not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall
lose it, but he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He said, I'm not come to send peace between men, but rather a sword,
a division. And the only peace that there
is on this earth, God declares in the gospel of peace. That's what the gospel is called,
the gospel of peace. And the reason it divides men
and women, families, friends, is because it speaks of a peace
already made. It speaks of a peace with God. It speaks of a peace that glorifies
God. That's what the angel said. This
is the glory of God in the highest. This peace that will be is the
glory of God in the highest. In other words, it glorifies
God in every way. And these words that we have
read in Micah chapter five, They were given of God through the
prophet Micah concerning Israel and concerning a coming judgment
upon Israel. A judgment which God would bring
at the hands of the Babylonians and the Assyrians and the Romans. He talks about a coming judgment. But it is also a gospel prophecy. As a matter of fact, Christ said,
that which is written in the prophets is written concerning
me, concerning something about me, concerning something about
the gospel. It's a gospel prophecy. concerning
Christ and God's spiritual Zion, God's true people that he loved
and chose in Christ before the foundation of the world. And you see this peace that is
spoken of here, since it's spoken of by God, it must honor God
and glorify God as he is, and it must recognize the fact of
sinners such as we are. Because God being a just God,
who the Bible says will by no means clear the guilty, and who
must punish sin, must bring this judgment upon this sinful nation. the nation that is mentioned
in our text. And likewise, he must punish
our sin. He will by no means clear the
guilty. And he must bring judgment against
us. He must even judge the sins of
that people that he loved and chose in Christ. He can't gloss
over their sins. He must deal with them in a way
that is just and that magnifies him. And it says here that the
enemy shall be numerous and strong and shall waste the land. Boy, that seems like a fit description
all around us. But in the midst of this, God
declares what he will do, even though that's the way it is. What he will do all in the midst
of this, while all of this is going on, while all these are
this way naturally, while there's no peace in any way on any hand,
he speaks this hidden message of hope, this good news, a prophecy
concerning the Messiah, the Messiah, who shall at the first himself
appear defeated. When he comes, when he comes,
said of God, when he comes in human flesh, he will at first
appear to be defeated by these forces contrary. And in verse
one of chapter five, it says, they shall smite the judge of
Israel with a rod upon his cheek. Who is the judge of Israel? That's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's this Messiah that would
come into this world. They'll smite him on his cheek. And all throughout the New Testament,
We read this, it says in Matthew 26, it says, then did they spit
in his face and buffeted him, and others smote him with the
palms of their hands, saying, prophesy unto us thou Christ,
who is he that smote thee? They hit him on the face. And they said in John 19, hail
him king of the Jews, and they smote him with their hands. Matthew
records it in this way. Then said Jesus unto them, all
ye shall be offended because of me this night, for it is written,
I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall
be scattered abroad. You see, At the center of the
gospel is this truth, that Christ was not only smitten by man physically,
but he was smitten of God. That's what's taking place on
the cross. He was that one stricken, smitten,
and afflicted. The Lord Jesus Christ there dying,
and that is surely Christ as is seen in verse 2 of chapter
5, where the place is spoken of from which he shall come,
but thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands
of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is
to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from old,
from everlasting. They said, thinking that Christ
was simply born in Nazareth, they said, can any good thing
come out of Nazareth? Surely not. But he didn't come
out of Nazareth. He was born in Bethlehem. And he comes, God says, to me. That's who Christ came to in
this coming. He was coming to God. He came from God, but he's going
to God. He's going to deal in a matter,
and the matter that has to be decided must be decided before
the courts of God's law and God's justice, the court of heaven,
not the court of the earth. They took him in a mock court. They condemned him in a mock
way. But that settled nothing, because
he was come to come to God to settle a matter before God and
men, to settle a matter between God and his people, a matter
that involved their sin. He's come from Bethlehem, and
he's come as the ruler of Israel. He appeared as meek and lowly. He appeared as poor and weak. But make no mistake about it.
He at all times is the ruler of Israel, the King of kings. And he came to rule and to reign,
to majesty on high. And it says, whose goings forth,
his doings, everything that is done in him, his goings forth
have been from old, from everlasting? You see, this man Christ Jesus
is not really a historical figure or a great leader or a martyr. He's the eternal Son of God. John writes, in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Was God. The same was in the
beginning with God. You say, I don't understand that.
I don't either. But if I could understand all
that is said about and known about the true and living God
in Christ Jesus, we'd understand it. He's Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday and today and forever. any mistake about who this is. This is the only one, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And verse four says, he was spittin',
but he shall stand. He was spittin', and Christ stood
up in the resurrection from the dead. And Paul said he was delivered
for our offenses, but he was raised for our justification. But not only that, he shall stand
in the sense that he shall stand before God as the one who represents
God's elect. They'll be all represented by
him. He shall stand. He shall be their
representative. He shall feed his sheep. He shall
care for them. He shall keep them like a shepherd. Matthew 2, it says, and thou
Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes
of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule
my people Israel. And he'll come in the majesty
of the name of the Lord, that is, as the God-man. And he comes
to satisfy God because only God can satisfy God. He comes to
satisfy God because he is God in human flesh. Only such an
infinite sacrifice could have infinite value so that his blood
atones for the sins of many. He had to be a man to die. And he had to die a death for
sin, because that's what sin requires. But he had to be God
in human flesh to give that sacrifice, to give that life the infinite
value so as to redeem not every person, the Bible says, but so
that he could ransom the church with his blood. He comes in the majesty of the
name of God. And because of his obedience
unto death, The Bible says that because of his obedience unto
death, the death of the cross, he is therefore given a name
that is above every name. Hebrews records who being the
brightness of his glory, God's glory, and the express image
of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power, when he hath by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the majesty on high. And God says of this people, and they shall abide. They're
going to live. They're going to endure. They're
going to be saved. They're going to be prolonged. They're going to have eternal
life. His sheep, they shall live. They shall be preserved. They
shall dwell with God in Him. They shall continue in His care. They're going to be saved. Every
one of them. You and I don't know who will
go to heaven, but God does. He speaks of that number that
is a numberless number, which no man can number, but God can,
and He has. And all those references that
we see, like in the book of Revelation, of 140,000, 12 tribes, all those are definite
numbers to represent and speak of God's people, His church,
as a definite number. The Lord knows them that are
His. But then it says this. He shall be great unto the ends
of the earth. He shall be great. As a matter of fact, the psalmist
said it in this way. His glory is great in thy salvation. You see, if you claim to have
a salvation in which God's glory is not great, you're saved because of something
you did, your will, your decision, your experience, this, that,
or whatever it might be. That's not true salvation. Because
God's glory is great in true salvation. Honor and majesty
thou has laid upon him. And look at verse five, what
it says. And this man, that's who he's been talking
about. not all men, but this one that would come. This man
shall be the peace. This man. The first thing that I'd have
you notice in that is the singularity of it. This man shall be the
peace. There is no other. There is no
more. And this means peace with God. People grow up being told on
every hand that they need in some way to make peace with God. But there's just one piece. This
man shall be the peace. And the second thing I'd have
you notice in that is the sureness of it. This man shall be, not
might be, could be, possibly be. This man shall be the peace. Why? Because God says so. Because
God has determined it. Because God will bring it to
pass and make it to be so. Because God will shut up his
people to know this, that there is no peace with God outside
of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no peace with God apart
from his cross work. It doesn't say here for us to
make peace with God. Nor does it say here or anywhere
that other has made or can make peace with God. Christ is the
peace of God because God says that he is Christ, this man,
he is the peace. So why do we run to experience? Why do we look somewhere else? It's like there's one road to
heaven. Here are all these signs in the
Bible saying this is the way, this is the true, There's no
other way to be there. There's no other way to be forgiven
of your sins. There's no other way of salvation.
There's no other way of hope. This way, John said, behold the
Lamb. Amen. I tell you, if you have to look
back even one day of experience, You can't have
peace because peace is in this man. Peace is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. The one that Abraham has called
and met that was called the King of Salem. What does that mean,
King of Peace? The one who is called the Prince
of Peace. He did not come to establish
world peace, but said, I've come not to bring peace, but a sword.
He came to be the peace with God on the behalf of a multitude
of rebel sinners who in their minds were at war with God. Enemies in their minds. And true peace is not accomplished
by any of our doings because it's only in this man. Because he's the only man. You
know what that word mediator means? It means a go-between. Here we have two seemingly totally
opposite ways, two totally opposite beings to, by man, irreconcilable
positions. Here's the mediator. He's God. He's man. He's perfect. We're sinless. We're sinful. He's that one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And the scripture
says like this, for by one man's disobedience were many made sinners. Who was that? Adams. He's called
the first Adam. But then it says this, by one
man's obedience, so by one, the obedience of one man, many shall
be made righteous. Who's that? That's this man. And only one in our nature could
redeem, redemption being necessary for peace, and only Christ, as
the sinless Son of God, had the right and the ability and the
will to redeem. And he's the long, long-promised
peace, the announced on earth peace and God's good will to
men. In Genesis chapter 49 we read
this verse. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
comes. What does Shabbat mean? Peace. And unto Him shall the gathering
of the people be. God's people will gather to Him. Will gather to this unique person. Will gather to His finished work. Will have no hope. They'll gather
to Him. Why? Because He's their peace. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Zachariah records. And I will cut off the chariot
from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem. And the battle bow
shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace unto the heathen. And his dominion shall be from
sea even to sea, and from the river even unto the ends of the
earth. This man shall be the king. but not in some mystical way.
Well, I'm going to believe on Jesus, so I've got peace with
God. If I had one thing to say this morning to have you to remember,
to have you to take home with you, to have you to ponder on
and think about is this, turn over to Colossians. Colossians chapter one. Look in verse 19, Colossians
one. Mark it in your Bibles. Write
the text down, whatever, but listen to this. For it pleased
the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. He's not talking about anybody
but the Lord Jesus Christ. All the fullness. That means
all the fullness of peace. And having made peace. That's past tense, isn't it? and having made peace through the blood of his cross. By him to reconcile all things
unto himself, by him I say whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven. and having made peace one way,
a way that was already done, is already done, a work that
is already finished, and having made peace by the blood of his
cross. Not simply by his teaching or
his example or his sinless life, but his death on the cross. Having
made peace by the blood of His cross, to reconcile. You know what reconcile means?
Those that act as enemies or are enemies to one another. But
God has never been the enemy of His people. He's never done
anything amiss to His people. Because he's always loved them
in Christ, and he's always purposed this salvation in Christ. He's
always purposed to reconcile them unto himself. He doesn't
have to be reconciled to them. He's unchanging. So he reconciled his people. I sure want to be one of those
reconciled. I never could, never can, never
will, in myself as a sinner, find any way to make peace with
God. But he says this man's the peace. He says that he had already made
peace. He says he's already reconciled
these people unto God. God was in Christ reconciling
us unto himself. Paul says in Ephesians, for he
is our peace. That is this man by virtue of
who he is and what he did when he came into this world, when
he suffered the death of the cross and brought in everlasting
righteousness, God imputing that righteousness to us that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. Let me read you another very
important verse. Isaiah chapter 32. This is the way it is and there's no
other way. Isaiah talking about the same
one, the same work, and everything that Micah was talking about,
that Amos talked about, that all the prophets. Verse 17, Isaiah 32, and the
work of righteousness shall be peace. and the effect of righteousness. Quietness and assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in
a peaceable habitation and in sure dwellings and in quiet,
rested places. That's the promise of God. in Christ. The work of righteousness,
I've never done more than the work of righteousness in my life. You haven't. But He has. That dying on the
cross was a work of righteousness. And so, the work of righteousness
being peace, those who have that righteousness and are made righteous
in Him, that righteousness which is by faith, received by faith,
quietness and assurance forever. Oh, that doesn't mean that we
don't have trials and troubles and sickness and all kinds of
things. But that didn't affect that peace.
It was made outside of us. It was made for us. It was made
by one that cannot fail and who will not change. He warned that the false prophets
would say, peace, peace, when there is no peace. that the true gospel preacher
declares a peace already made, a work of righteousness that
is brought about that peace, and the assurance of quietness
forever. According to Micah, this man,
he'll be the peace when the Assyrians shall come in direly, all the
enemies of our soul, He'll be the peace and is known only through
the gospel of peace and only the Spirit of God can with this
gospel speak peace to a sinner's heart. The kingdom of God is not meat
or drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. He's the peace and the only peace
when the enemies of our soul within us invade. The wiles of the wicked one. We rest not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities and powers and against the rulers
of darkness of this world, against spiritual weakness in high places. But the God of peace shall brew
Satan under your feet shortly. And the grace of God, the grace
of our Lord Jesus be with you all. He's the peace when our consciences
accuse us. God was in Christ reconciling.
He's the peace when all our circumstances All our trials, all our temptations,
rage like a roaring enemy all around us and in us. He's the
peace that passeth understanding. The apostle says, now the God
of peace that brought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus Christ, great shepherd of the sheep, through
the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in
every good work to do his will, working in you that which is
well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen. And so he sent out his apostles
preaching. the gospel of peace, peace in
Christ, peace made by Christ, the work of righteousness. And
he said, and into whatsoever house you enter, first say, peace be to this house. Peace in Christ. And if the Son of Peace be there, one of God's elect, one of God's
chosen, redeemed sinners, they be there, your peace shall rest upon it. And if not, be on your way. You got one message, it's of
a finished work, It's of a made accomplished peace. It's in one
man, it's by his grace, and it's all for his glory. My sheep are
gonna hear my voice. Speak that peace to them. And if the son of peace be there,
abide with him. That's a wonderful thought. that no matter our sins, no matter the depth to which
we've fallen, no matter what, if Christ is our peace. And you know, that's the one
worthy of worship. One who has already made peace
with God. If he left any part of it to me, it'd be pitiful. Our Father, we thank you for
this man who is the peace. and made peace
by the blood of his cross, and reconciled his people unto you. Take your word, we pray, that
today in this place you have brought one of these sons or
daughters of peace. You made them to rejoice. and the Prince of Peace. We pray
in his name. Amen. Amen.