What does know well mean? Good
news. Good news. Good news. Glad tidings. I wonder if there's someone here
today downhearted. You've been disappointed. Life's
thrown you a curve ball. You've lost your house. You relapsed. I don't know what your problem
is, but I do know this. I've got some good news for sinners.
And here's the good news. It was given a long time ago
there in the book of Matthew and in the gospel of Luke. His
name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from
their sins. If you feel yourself to be a
sinner today, an unworthy, no good for nothing sinner, I've
got some glad tidings for you. If you're down or depressed,
I've got some good news for you. Christ Jesus did on the tree
of the cross save all of his people over 2000 years ago. He didn't try to save them. He's
not attempting to save them. He did save them. The great transaction
is done. I hear so much bad news today
with regard to God and the gospel, that God's waiting on the sinner,
that God has done all He can, that God is trying to save sinners. You know, I say to you way in
the back there, maybe you used last night or day before or whatever,
to those of you who are here and In your head, you're so messed
up about this matter of sin and a savior that Jesus Christ, over
2,000 years ago on the tree of the cross, paid somebody's sin
debt in full. Say, well, how do I know it's
me? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. If right now, in all of your
misery, sitting right where you are, can with your heart say,
I am a poor sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my
all in all, thou shalt be saved. It's trusting Christ, not yourself. So the good news is this, and
tell everybody, In church today, in most churches today, this
message will not be preached. The message, if you will, God
will, will be preached. If you do, God will do. You take the first step and God
takes the second step. That is a hopeless message. The good news is, way back there,
Many, many years ago, Jesus Christ on the tree of the cross said,
it's finished, it's accomplished, it's done. I have paid the sin
debt. He shall save his people. This
whole matter of salvation of poor sinners is filled with certainty. Absolutely sure salvation. God
saved his people. God, in Christ, paid the debt. We call it God's salvation because
it was God who came to earth. It was God who condescended.
You see, God doesn't ever do anything halfway. Whatever he
sets out to do, he does. He's the God who said of old,
I am God and there is none else. I am God and there is none else.
I am God and there's none like me. I declare the end from the
beginning. And from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done saying, my purpose, my plan, my counsel
shall stand. I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it. I will also do it. Isn't that
great? You purpose and I purpose and
we all together purpose to do a lot of things. We're about
to celebrate the new year. As soon as we get past this one
tomorrow, this celebration, we'll celebrate a new year and we will
make all kinds of New Year's resolution. We will carry none
of them out. Miss Pam and I are already making
plans. We have resolved we're going
to lose pounds and pounds of fat. But we got to get past Christmas
because we'll have great desserts and, you know, a great meal. We resolve to do. God, when He
resolves, He does. And I hope that in the past few
Sundays, you have began to see God coming to earth is a big
deal. He didn't come here to try to
save somebody. So for all of you who have sold
your bodies, You've given yourself to drugs. Your life is in shamble. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. Do you qualify? I got some good
news for you. He can save even you. and did on the tree of the cross
as far as the sin debt is concerned. Matthew 1.22 says this, Now all
this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken
of the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall conceive. Hundreds of years Isaiah said
that. Hundreds of years before this
actually took place. "...shall bring forth a son,
and you shall call his name in the Hebrew Immanuel." God with
us. I just got goosebumps all by
myself up here, just thinking about this. God! The God of creation,
the mighty God, who stepped out of eternity one morning and said,
let there be light! And there was! Can you imagine
that? Being saved by this God. Our God, who is our Savior, is
a God of shalls and wills. With Him, there is no puradventure.
With God, there is no chance. There's not chance. God is not
giving sinners a chance. Dead men don't need a chance,
they need life. And that's what God came to do,
to give us life and give it more abundantly. Some of you are still,
some of you are believers, but you are still living with the
old thoughts. How could God ever love me? You
are still acting like you're dirty. Listen, my friend, if
the son sets you free, you're free indeed. Amen, free indeed. Listen to the shalls and wills
of God. I thought about these last night.
John 6 says, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. You're
back there saying, I haven't come to Christ yet. Well, what's
hindering you? The spirit and the bride say
come, let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will, let
him come. Come to Christ now. There is
no reason for you to sit back there under condemnation right
now. You can come to Christ right now. Wouldn't it be great if
somebody just got up and came forward and said, I trusted Jesus
Christ. I've given it all up. I can't
do it. I can't make it on my own. My
baptism and all of that churchy stuff, I throw it all away. I've
fallen, I've relapsed, I've done this, I've done that. Just as
I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, O
Lamb of God, I come. Come to Christ. Acknowledge Him. I'm just going to stop. This
is not in my notes, but I'm going to stop right now. I wonder if
there's anyone that just wants to stand up right now and say,
I, for the first time in my life, am trusting Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior. Where are you? All right, then
I'll preach more. John 10, 15 through 16 says,
I lay down my life for the sheep, and other sheep I have which
are not of this foal. Them also I must bring, and they
shall hear my voice, and there shall be one foal and one shepherd. Anybody want to stand up and
say, I just heard his voice. I've heard from God today. He's
calling me to faith in Jesus Christ. Anyone? I'm waiting. All right, I'll preach some more.
John 10 28, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my Father's
hands. But pastor, I'm such a mess. Let me read it to you again.
And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Are you getting goosebumps yet?
You ought to be. In the Old Testament, our God
said to Moses, God's always had a plan. Don't you understand?
This coming of God to earth as a Savior, this mystery of godliness
was with God before the world. He's the one that made the plan.
And He came into the world, and here's what He said to Moses,
who was a bit fearful. about leading the children out
of Israel, out of Egyptian bodies. He said, I am the Lord. Well,
that's the first thing you need to find out. Saul of Tarsus on
the Damascus Road said this when he was struck down. That Christ-hater,
that God-rejecter, Lord, Who art thou? And here is the answer. I'm Jesus, I'm the Messiah, I'm
the Savior, I'm the Redeemer, I'm the Atoner, I'm the propitiation
for sin, I'm the Justifier, I'm the Christ of God, I'm God in
human flesh. Moses, I'm the Lord, and I will
bring you out. Some of you in here are like,
it's too late. I've done too much, I've gone
too far. And the Lord is yelling in your
ears through this preacher, though your sins be as scarlet, I will
wash you white as snow. That's the good news, that's
the glad tiding. Though you've wallowed in the
stables of sin, though you are black as all hell, I will wash
you white as snow. That's what this God says. I will bring you out from under
the burdens of the Egyptians and I will rid you out of your
bondage. I've been a heroin addict, I've
been a crack addict, I've been a... I don't care what kind of
addict you are, if the Son sets you free. My chains fell off. Oh, this is amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me. I will take you to me for people. Me! You ever think about it? I'm one of God's kids. I'm a
joint heir with Jesus Christ. It's all mine in Christ Jesus. I'm accepted in the beloved. I will never be taken out of
the will. He's built for me a mansion over
there. I will take you to me for a people
and I will be to you a God. I will be your Lord. I will be
to you a God. And you shall know that I'm the
Lord, your God, which brings you out from under the burdens
of the Egyptians. Oh, it's not hard for a little
child of God, when convinced of the Holy Spirit, to sing,
I'm a child of the King. I'm a child of the King, with
Jesus my Savior. I'm a child of the King. Somebody
out there in here, say hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise God. What are the meanings of these
names given here in Matthew 1? Jesus, Emmanuel being interpreted
God with us. You know, Jesus is a heavenly
name. Heaven brought this name to him. His name shall be called
Jesus. And it was. It's a heavenly name.
A name that casts out fear. Fear not! Oh, when Jesus comes
to you, you need not fear because he has good tidings for you.
He has washed you white as snow. Jesus, the Lord of salvation,
Jehovah's Savior. The Savior is the meaning of
His name. It's the best name. I love to
say it. He's the Savior. Savior. He saved me. Even me. Jesus, Jesus. That's why the songwriter penned
these words. There's just something about
that name. Savior. Jesus, save me. You did not save yourself. He's
Jehoshua. In the Old Testament, Joshua
and Jesus. The Old Testament where Joshua
is Jesus. And what Joshua means is he's
the deliverer. Jesus is the deliverer. Some
of you are waiting around for somebody to invent some other
drug to get you off of the drugs that you've been on for 15 years. There's only one that can do
that, and that's Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen? Deliverer. And he's not only your deliverer,
but he's your preserver. He'll keep on working in you.
You don't know how many times I have quit preaching. I've quit
so many times, and here I am. But there's a fire burning in
my bones, and I could not stay. You see, he works in us both
to will and to do of his good pleasure. Say, well, I was saved
60 years ago in old Beulah Baptist Church. Yeah, and here you are
in grace gospel, and you know why? Because greater is he that's
in you than he that's in the world. This God who saved you,
he who has begun a good work in you, will complete it. I'm
prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, but the Holy Spirit's power
in me will not let me go, and keeps me, and perseveres me. God with us, God our Savior,
able to save to the uttermost. Let me tell you, my friend, to
say that any act that man himself commits is part of him saving
himself as blasphemous. The church ought to go wild when
they have a pastor who says, salvation is of the Lord, from
first to last. He's the Alpha in salvation. He's the Omega in salvation. And he's everything in between.
It's all by grace. It's grace that puts you in the
way. Grace that leads you along the way. And God's amazing grace
that takes you all the way. And the people of God say, Amen. Amen. I'm about to get happy
on Christmas Eve. And who did he come to save?
He's a Savior. There could be no Savior if there
were not people to save. How can you be a Savior without
people to save? Now, my proclamation and the
Bible proclamation is that he came to save them and he did.
Is that good news? That is good news. There could
be no savior if there were no sinners to save. That's what
I'm saying. God came down to save his people
who were sinners. That's amazing. I never get tired
of hearing that because I sin every day. You do too. You may lie and pretend like
you don't, but you do. God came to save his people who
were sinners and could not save themselves. That's just a flat-out
fact. His people. His elect. Yes, I will say it again. According,
he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
God in eternity past chose elected a people to save. How come it's
getting quiet in here? Oh, that's good news. You don't
have to look ugly about that. Now he's going to preach election.
What a glorious thing. I've been chosen of God. Not
because of any good in me, not because of any merit in me, not
because of anything that I would ever do. We call that sovereign
grace. You say, well, what about my
brother? What you ought to do is get down on your knees and
thank God for saving your soul, and thank God for making you
whole, and then say, Lord, if it will please you, save my brother.
God doesn't have to save anybody. God's not obligated to save anybody
other than the obligations he puts himself under. But from
all eternity, God saw you down in the hood. God saw you in the
crack house. God saw you at the mall. God
saw you. God saw you being churchy and
pharisaical as if you could save yourself. God saw everything
you have ever done or said or thought. So there was no merit. So he sovereignly elected. We're
bound to give thanks for you, brethren beloved of the Lord.
Well, who we're going to thank? Man's free will? No, we're going
to thank God. We're bound to give thanks to
God for you brethren beloved of the Lord because God has from
the beginning Chosen you You didn't know it. Did you? little
alley rat Down there smoking pot and weed and you know all
that other stuff There's nobody in here that has not fallen way
short of the glory of God No, nobody in here He shall save
His people. He elected them, He chose them,
and He predestinated them. Therefore, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is Christ who died. God in
human flesh paid our sin debt. I am persuaded that neither life
nor death, nor principalities, nor powers, nor crack, nor heroin,
oh no, he doesn't say that, but it means that. shall separate
me from the love of God. You can't even separate yourself. So he came to save sinners. John 17, which is the true prayer
of the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, I pray not for the
world. but I pray for them which thou hast given me out of the
world. Thine they were, and thou gavest
them me." I know we're dealing with deep truths here, but our
God is a great God, and the truths of Scripture are deep. This amazing
grace is so deep that it's amazing. It's so awesome. In fact, I don't
think I will ever get... I know I will never get over
this. that God, in sovereign grace, chose to save me, the
tumblebug that I was, on the dunghill of sin, looking like
every other tumblebug. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? And what hast thou that thou
hast not received? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou didst not receive it? Oh, let's
make heaven go wild today by praising God for salvation by
grace. How about this one? Before I formed you in your mother's
belly. Oh, that has all kinds of implications. I could say all kinds of things.
Before dad went to bed with mom. Before the sperm hit the egg.
I had loved you. Hey, isn't that great? When you were a fetus, before
that I loved you. When you started to grow those
little toes and fingers, oh, before that I loved you. In fact,
before I stepped out of eternity and flung the Milky Way in the
heavens, before that, I loved you. Before the first dew ever
came down to the earth, before that, I had already loved you.
Wow, loved of God, chosen of God. His name shall be called
Jesus. This is the reason tomorrow,
today, and every day, You ought to go around saying something
like this from your heart. You don't have to be all religious,
but bless his name. Bless his glorious name. Jesus
saved even me. He's my Lord. He's my savior. He's my redeemer. Just think
about this. What is the first link between
Emmanuel and his people? It's not their goodness, but
their badness. The fact of their sinnership,
he came to save sinners. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. Just think about it. The first
link between my soul and the Savior was not my goodness, but
my badness. Not my merit, but my misery.
Not my riches, but my need. Not my standing, but my falling. He came not to admire my beauties,
but to remove my deformities. Oh, those of you who are here
this morning, this Christmas Eve morning, who are self-condemned
sinners. I wonder today if there's a self-condemned
sinner. I wonder if we have a self-condemned
sinner in this place. If I could find a self-condemned
sinner. I know you're all sinners, but
I'm looking for a self-condemned sinner. Nobody has to tell you
you are a sinner. You already know it, and you
are a self-condemned sinner. And if you are feeling something
like this, that you will never get salvation unless He brings
it to you, I would encourage you if you are a self-condemned
sinner, go ahead, you can cry out loud if you want to, something
like this, Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, come for me. I need your salvation. You know, it's worth a try. It's worth a try. I mean, you
are so thirsty and you're sitting here thinking, this preacher's
out of his head, this can't be true, this is too wonderful,
this is too awesome. If I heard him right, he said
Christ was for the harlot, Christ was for the streetwalker, Christ
was for the drug addict, Christ was for the adulterer. Christ
is for those who thank themselves to be righteous when they're
not. Christ came to save religious people who are sinners. And maybe
for the first time, you know, this happened many, many years
ago in Brinesville Baptist Church. One Sunday morning, I got up
and preached, and we had two visitors there, two ladies. Tootsie
was her name. and Ms. Baker. Tootsie and Ms. Baker came to church. And we
lived in a small community there, and those two were the you-know-whats
of the city. They were prostitutes. And I'll
never forget this as long as I live. Tootsie, after the service
was over with tears running down her cheeks at the back door,
she took my hand. She looked right at me and she
said, my God, I think I'm a sinner. I could have exploded with hallelujah. I found one, a real bona fide
certified street walking sinner. And she confessed Jesus Christ
as her Savior a few weeks later. Her husband was saved. All of
her kids came to know Christ. You know, perhaps some of you
are sitting there and you're saying something like this, what
does he mean? He said Christ saved us on the
tree of the cross, and then he keeps talking about getting saved.
Getting saved in experience. I mean, where you come to, you're
reconciled to this truth. There's no doubt in your heart
and in your mind. Though I am the chief of sinners,
I know he came for me. He died for me. He bled for me.
He arose again for me. He ascended back into heaven
for me. And he's coming again for me.
Yeah, that's what we're talking about today. Jesus Christ. Just let your mind wander. Our
churches are way too shallow. I want you to think about the
things that I have said today. Think about them every day. That
preacher said, before the world was, God chose sinners. Christ died on the tree of the
cross and paid the debt 2,000 years ago. It's paid. I don't
have to go around trying to be good enough. The debt is paid. He finished the work which the
father gave him to do. He's in heaven now. They're praising
him up there, getting ready for us. Think about it. Think about the revelation, the
book of the revelation. We're around the throne. They're
singing, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive glory and
honor and praise. Somebody said, well, how are
you going to know the song you haven't practiced? Oh, I practice all
the time. Every Sunday I practice a song. I've practiced for nearly
an hour already this morning. But it'll be better when I get
there. I might even get down a little bit. You know what I
mean? Joy. This is a time of rejoicing. Good news. Good news. Not you have to be good enough.
You have to be bad enough. You have to see yourself in need
of a Savior. Will you confess Him today for
the first time in your life? Has joy flooded your soul about
this? He died for me. He paid the debt. There's no condemnation to those
that are in Christ Jesus. To those of you who are bipolar, I suspect that I may be one of
you. I can be happy one moment, and
the next minute I'm down in the valley. I do know this. This is good news, glad tidings,
whether you're bipolar or you're schizophrenic. Christ Jesus came
into the world to save unworthy folks. Let's stand together and
praise our God.