You turn with me to the book
of Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2. Has anyone heard
anything about Bob and Margaret? Yes. Yes. He had a good night. I forgot that. He had a good
night last night. Terrible night, night before
last, but a good night last night. He's at home, though. Uh-huh.
He's still in the hospital. Well, I didn't know. Well, we'll want to remember
and pray for Bob. Bob has been a faithful soldier
of the cross. I'll read a couple of verses
here in the book of Luke, chapter 2, verse 25. It says, And behold, there was
a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon. And the 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, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to
do for him after the custom of the law, then took He hemmed
up in his arms, and he blessed God and said, Lord, now lettest
thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. which thou hast prepared before
the face of all the people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and
the glory of thy people Israel. In that 28th verse, it says,
He took him up in His arms and He blessed God and said, Lord,
now let us, Thy servant, depart in peace according to Thy word,
for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. Well, the most important thing
in our lives is the salvation of God. There's nothing that
I know of or that I can think of that will compare to the importance
of the salvation of a man's soul. Everything else must be put in
the background. Salvation is forever. When we, who are the children of God, draw our last breath, we enter in to a real world,
the world of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ rules
and reigns. He's the Son of God, and He's
the Son of Man. And He is as much God as if He was
never man. and as much man as if it was
never God. None like Him. There's only one, Lord Jesus
Christ, who always was, always will be. He never changes. I remember something I read years ago of a fella in England who attended
Mr. Spurgeon's Metropolitan Baptist
Church, and they kind of made light of him because He wasn't all there headwise. And he used to go around singing,
I'm only a sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my
all in all. One thing he knew above everything
else, and knew for sure, that Jesus Christ was his all in all. I'm only a sinner and nothing
at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. Well, I hope that my soul has the same aspirations
of that poor fellow there in England. I'm only a sinner and
nothing at all. But Jesus Christ is my Lord and
all." Well, I said all that to say this. And I know that I've said it
before. And Marvin has constantly said it, and used it for various
subjects. Who is Jesus Christ? A man must know Him if he has
any hope of the world to come. A man, you've got to know Him.
Not necessarily know about him, but to know him who is life eternal. That's how important he is. He's the most important figure
of a man that ever lived upon the face of the earth and that
will ever live upon the face of the earth. is the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's all man. He's a real man. And He's God in Christ. This old boy that I read from
here in Luke chapter 2, he said, mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Let me talk to you just a little
bit about who is Jesus Christ. The first thing I want to say
is this. He was born in poverty and reared
in obscurity, the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the son of an
unmarried young woman. His foster father was a carpenter,
inconspicuous and uninfluential. He had no formal training or
education. I'm talking about, who is this
man called Jesus? No formal training, or education,
he never traveled more than 90 miles from his hometown. His friends were poor and unknown. He never owned a house or a piece
of ground. He never held public office in
any city. And his only possession that
he had was his, all his, was the robe on his back. At the age of 33 years, he was
accused by the religious Pharisees of his day of preaching heresy. And upon the testimony of false
witnesses, he was sentenced to be hanged on a tree, the Lord Jesus Christ. He only had about 12 or 13 followers. came into this world, the king
of kings and the king of glory, who had a crown and the only
crown, sentenced to be hanged on a tree. Judas denied Him. The Bible says that God the Father, when He was hanging
on the tree, hanging on the cross, that the Lord said to His Father, Why doest thou this to me?" Crucified on a tree, this man
called Jesus. Nailed on a cross between two thieves, and during his dying hour, according
to the testimony of his heavenly Father, his heavenly Father turned
away from him, and he said, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? I'm trying to give you a picture
of him whom to know is life eternal. A picture of him who is the greatest
man that ever lived in creation. God's turned away from him. He said, why have you turned
away from me? He's taken down from the cross and buried in a buried tomb. He never wrote a book or a magazine, yet all the libraries
in the world could not contain the books written and printed
about him. He never wrote a song that's
in a hymn book. He never founded any schools. or colleges, yet all the colleges
put together cannot boast of as many students as those who
have studied his life. He never studied medicine, yet
he healed more broken bodies and hearts than all the doctors
that ever lived from the first day unto the last. He's the Lord Jesus Christ I'm
talking about. Who is He? Who is He? You've got to know Him. You've
got to know Him. It's not to know about Him. It's
to know Him. And as Marvin says over and over,
that God's got to give you a heart to love Him. Not just going through
the motion, but an actuality that your heart is joined with
His heart, that you love Him. And you're going to do your best
to honor and to glorify Him. You live for him and die for
him, the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan could not seduce him, and the
religious leaders of the day questioned him but never got
an answer. Lawyers could not entangle him. Pilate could find no fault in
him. Death could not destroy him,
and bless God, the grave could not hold him. I'm talking about
him whom to know is life eternal. the Lord Jesus Christ. To know
Him is heaven-bound, to know Him. Well, you say, what did
He do that was so great? Well, the
Lord Jesus Christ As I've said, there's all man
and all God in one person, and as much God as if He was
never man, and as much man as if He was never God. Unique in
that respect. But He was a real man, and He
came into this world to save the people that God ordained
to be saved. Now, He didn't come to save the
whole world. I know that the majority of religious
people believe today that Christ died for everybody, and it makes
no difference what the situation is or how good they are, how
bad they are. They always fall back on Christ
came to save sinners. We're all sinners, so He's going
to save us all. No, He came to save a people. A people that He chose unto Himself
before time ever was. Let me read something here in
light of that. In the book of Ephesians, I'll find it here in a minute. In the book of Ephesians here
it says, Now, listen to this. Now, He
didn't come to save everybody. He came to save His people. He
has a people and He's going to save them. Come hell or high
water, He's going to save His people, every one of them. Not
one of His people will ever be lost. He's going to save them. It says this now, Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us. with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ," now listen here, "...according
as He hath chosen us," according as He, God, hath chosen
us in Him, in Christ, "...before the foundation of the world."
Now, these that he chose are those that Christ came to die
for and make atonement for and save their souls. According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love. predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good
pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace,
wherein He hath made us accepted in Him in the Beloved. My soul. Turn with me to the
book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse
26. Listen to this now. Verse 26, For ye see your calling, brethren, those that he chose he called. For ye see your calling, brethren,
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are
despised, God hath chosen, yea, and things which are not, to
bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in
his presence, but of him, but of God, Are ye in Christ Jesus,
who has made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption, that according as it is written, He that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord." Glory in Him. He's done it all. Turn with me then again to the
book of John, the Gospel of John, chapter 1. Chapter 1, verse 12 and 13. Listen to this. Verse 10, He
was in the world, and the world was made by Him. That's the Lord
Jesus, as much God as if He was never man, as much man as if
He was never God, and He made the world. Everything that was created was
created by Him. He was in the world, and the
world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto
His own, and His own received Him not, but as many as received
Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name." Now listen to this, "...which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
the will of man, but of God, born of God. And the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth." One more verse of Scripture here
in the book of Acts. Chapter 11, verse 48. I thought it was. Chapter 13,
verse 48. Anyhow, Acts 13 and 48. I'll find it here. It says in verse 48, And when
the Gentiles heard this, They were glad and glorified
the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal life,
believed. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? He is the only Savior of sinners. to anticipate somebody else coming. But He's come, and He's gone,
and He's coming again. And He's the only Savior of sinners. I know that the majority of common
people believe strongly that if they
are good enough, they'll be accepted by God and go to heaven when
they die. It makes no difference how good
a man is. He's not good enough. To be good
enough, you've got to be perfect. You've got to have a righteousness
without spot or wrinkle. And our Lord said, Blessed is
the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. He won't charge sin to that man
because he charged sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. And all that
sin, all the sin of every man and every woman and every girl
who have been ordained unto salvation before the world was, men and women, boys and girls,
that God put in Christ before the world was. He put them there. Now listen to me. He put them
in Christ before the world was. And where He put them, He kept them. Where did he put
them? He put them in Christ, and he
kept them in Christ. He told Nicodemus, he said, Nicodemus,
except a man be born again, he cannot enter into heaven, except
he be born again, except God calls him. And God's going to
call everyone in whom he has foreordained and predestinated
unto salvation, and they're going to know him. Just like that fellow in England said, I'm only
a sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in
all. The Lord bless us, and the Lord
bless this church.