Good to see you this morning. The Lord has been gracious to
this assembly. He has given us another year, and as we begin a new year by
the grace of God. We pray that He might be pleased
to maintain this assembly here. Every time we meet and the Lord
allows us to be together, it is by the grace of God. I pray that the Lord might be
pleased to bless this service today. Let's take our Bibles and turn
to Revelation 22. I'm going to begin. I'm going
to read one verse of Scripture, verse 13, but before we read,
let's have a word of prayer. Our Father, so good to be able to call upon your name, to have
a heart that truly desires, that will long after and hunger
after you who are the only true God. We pray that this day that You
would cause us to be drawn to worship. Take away, we pray, those thoughts
of distractions. Help us. Bless, we pray, Your Word to
our understanding. Cause us to hear. for Christ's
sake. Amen. John was told by the Lord Himself to not seal the sayings of the
prophecy of this book. If it pleases the
Lord to speak, He will. To those that He is pleased to
be silent, He is silent. If He pleases to preach through an earthen vessel today,
He will. I pray He does. Five glorious truths were set forth after the Lord told
John to not seal the sayings of this prophecy. We've looked at two of them.
One of them was this, verse 11, He that is unjust, let him be
unjust still. He which is filthy, let him be
filthy still. He that is righteous, let him
be righteous still. He that is holy, let him Be holy
still. that's not sealed to the church. And only the church, only the
regenerated believer knows this truth. All men may hear it. Anyone that's got an ear can
hear it. But only a believer believes it. And here it is. I am Alpha and Omega. the beginning
and the end, the first and the last. Here is the truth set forth.
The Lord Jesus Christ is God Almighty made flesh. When He walked on this earth, when He dealt with His apostles,
when He spoke to them, saw Him feed 5,000 men plus the women
and children. That was God Almighty. Understand
what He is saying when He says, I am the Alpha and the Omega. There is in human flesh all of the Godhead bodily. The Scripture clearly bears this
out. In the beginning was the Word,
the divine expression, the only way that Almighty God ever speaks. And the Word was with God in
the state of active communion. And the word was God. Continual
existence. Father, Son, Spirit. The Father. Totally God. Totally God. The Son. Totally God. The Spirit. Totally God. Not one-third each. The Lord Jesus Christ. The fullness
of the Godhead bodily. God Almighty, the Father, who spoke to the Lord Jesus Christ as God. You know, when we begin to deal
with these things and to think upon them and muse
upon them, By faith we believe them, and we do well to not try
to explain them, but bow. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. And we're allowed this morning
to have the privilege to assemble ourselves together
in His presence where two or three are gathered together.
I'm in the midst of you. Now, this truth is blessed by the Holy Spirit
in the humbling of God's elect. Here's the ground of worship.
I want you to turn with me to John 20. Take your Bibles and
turn to John 20. John 20, verse 26. After eight days again his disciples
were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors
being shut, and stood in the midst and said, Peace be unto
you. Then said he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and
behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into
my side." Now here's an amazing statement. This is the Lord Jesus
Christ speaking to Thomas who Thomas had made this statement
prior to this. He said, unless I see the holes
in his hand, unless I see the scars, unless I see the side
that was opened up, I won't believe. I think to myself, What an arrogant statement. Just reading that, I think, that's
me by nature. What an arrogant statement. I've got to see something. the Lord God of all mercy who
could have left this man to himself. We by nature are so disrespectful. And here the Lord who could have
left this man to do just exactly what he said, if I don't see
it, I'm not believing it. And the Lord said to him, And
be not faithless, but believing." Now that wasn't
just a suggestion. That was a command that came
with power. If you believe this morning,
it's because He said unto you by the Spirit of God, Be not
faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, and this is the only place in all of Scriptures where
it is recorded that he was actually spoken to in belief, in faith,
as being God by someone else. This is it. The only place I
know of. Thomas said, My Lord and my God. And Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they
that have not seen and yet have believed." If you believe this
morning that He is the Alpha and the Omega, if God has given
you a heart to believe that, you're a blessed man or a woman. Thomas knew that Emmanuel stood
before Him and He worshipped Him. If the Lord would give us a heart
this morning, if He does give us a heart to realize that Emmanuel
is in our presence. Someone called me the other day
here at the church. Didn't tell me who she was. Thursday. This was the question. Are you having services tonight?
Thursday was Christmas Eve. I've been all confused this week. Are you having services tonight?
I said no, we had services last night. Do you know of any place
where there's going to be any services anywhere? It's just
a tradition. She said that I like to go to
church on Christmas Eve. I said no. I don't know of any place. I
don't know of any place, especially in this area, where there will be any preaching
tonight that I know of. If you truly believe that Almighty
God is in our presence, Emmanuel. We are a blessed people. John 10, 30-33, I and my Father
are one. Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, Many good
works have I showed you from my Father. For which of these
works do you stone Me? The Jews answered Him, saying,
For a good work we stone thee not but for blasphemy, because
that thou being a man makest thyself God." Now listen, that's
the heart of every man, every woman born in Adam. They consider the deity of the
Lord Jesus Christ to be blasphemy. because they see themselves as
truly God by their free will. They're the one. Oh, you say,
oh, I don't really believe that. If you believe that you are the
last word in salvation, you see yourself as the deity. When the Spirit of God reveals
in quickening grace the light of the knowledge of the glory
of Almighty God in the face of Jesus Christ, then a man bows. Then he receives Christ. Boy, men have abused that term,
but it's scriptural. Colossians 2.6, As ye have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. Have you been
instructed by the Spirit of God concerning the Lord Jesus that
He is God? As you've been caused to see yourself
as a poor, spiritually poor, ruined by the fall in Adam, poor,
as you come to Him, as a servant, as a beggar, knowing
that you have nothing in yourself. I like what you said, Brother
Scott, when a man can come to God with an empty hand. There is nothing that is more
beautiful than somebody that just I don't have anything to give. As you've come knowing that in
Him alone is full salvation, as you've received Him as God,
God Almighty in flesh, human flesh, God anointed, God sent,
God chosen, as you've received Him, so walk ye in Him. Act according to faith. We're going to walk by faith.
God's people are going to walk by faith. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the first and the last. Now let me ask you this. Where is there any room for you? The evidence that He's not Alpha
and Omega is that you'll elevate yourself. Push yourself to the
front. Where is any praise for you?
Where is any worthiness for you? Listen to Habakkuk 2.20. But
the Lord is in His holy temple, that all the earth keep silence
before Him. There is a blessedness in silent
adoration. Just a quiet resting. There is something that is solemn
about a hushed waiting. Just be quiet. Just be quiet. Here's the one that said to Moses,
I am that I am. And he told Moses, when Moses
said, well, who shall I say sent me? He said, you tell them that
I am that sent you. Every preacher that God calls, can truthfully say this, not
saying that there is anything worthy. We are dust. And the sooner that God reveals
that to us, the better off we are. Every true preacher of the Gospel says this. The I Am has sent
me. I will give you pastors according
to My heart." He who is the first letter of
all things and the final letter of fulfillment. He who is the
commencement of all order, of all time and places and rank. He is the conclusion of all things. This is the God that we worship.
When He says, I am Alpha and Omega, let me tell you what He is saying. That means that we don't worship
a God that begins something or makes something possible if man
will take it up and finish it or complete it or perfect it. I am Alpha and Omega. The first
and the last, the beginning, the end. The God that is the little g God of man's
imagination is the God that men have built up in their mind.
And they're obedient to that God because He's not God. The God that men worship, that
needs man to help him out, is an idol. He is nothing. He is nobody. The God that we
worship, first and last, start to finish, no shared glory, no
need of help, He has a right to do as He will. He's got a
right to call a man out of darkness. He's got a right to leave a man
alone. Alpha and Omega. He who has set
forth the prophecy concerning Himself, all Scripture is given
by inspiration of God. God set forth the prophecy and
God Almighty fulfilled it, finished it. Isaiah 41, 4. wrought and
done it, calling the generations from the beginning, I the Lord,
the first and with the last, I am He." He's the substance of all the
Scriptures. He's the beginning and end of
justification before Almighty God for all that God has everlastingly
loved. all of His people's sanctification. They're setting apart their holiness,
their adoption, and their final and eternal glorification. It's
Him. I'm Alfred Omega, first and beginning
man. Let me ask you this. What can
be added to Him who is all and in all? We're here this morning
by the grace of God to hear what Almighty God has
to say concerning Himself. And if He's given us a heart, to be quiet. Be quiet. He speaks. My sheep hear My voice. And they
follow Me. Let all the earth keep silence
before Him. For Christ's sake, Amen.