The collection taken here today
is for the support of the Mombasa mission. Let us commence our
service by singing together hymn number 36. The tune is Mendelssohn,
950. Hark the herald angels sing.
Glory to the newborn king. Peace on earth and mercy mild.
God and sinners reconciled. sons of zion to arise join the
triumph of the skies and with angels loud proclaim christ was
born in bethlehem hymn number 36 tune mendelssohn 950. O'er the land of angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled. Sons of Zion, they arise, ? Join the triumph of the skies
? ? And with angels now proclaim ? ? Christ was born in Bethlehem ? ? Angels sing ? ? Glory to the
newborn King ? ? New in flesh the Godhead sing ? ? Heaven and
earth ? How he makes his glory known, God the King of all creatures. Glory to the newborn King! Let
the children of the day Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled, Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to Luke and chapter
1. Luke's Gospel, chapter 1. We'll commence our reading at
verse 26 and we will read down to verse 56. Verse 26. And in the sixth month the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
to a virgin espoused, to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel
came in unto her and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast
in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel
said unto her, Fear not, Mary, thou hast found favour with God.
And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth
a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall
give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall
be no end.' Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be,
seeing I know not a man? and the angel answered and said
unto her the holy ghost shall come upon thee and the power
of the higher shall overshadow thee therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the son
of god and behold thy cousin elizabeth she hath also conceived
a son in her old age and this is the sixth month with her who
was called barren. For with God nothing shall be
impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid
of the Lord, be unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed
from her. And Mary arose in those days
and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah,
and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when
Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her
womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she
spake out with a loud voice and said, blessed art thou among
women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this
to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For lo, as
soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe
leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed,
for there shall be a performance of those things which were told
her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify
the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, For
he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden. For behold,
from henceforth all nations shall call me blessed. For he that
is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that
fear him from generation to generation. He has showed strength with his
arm, He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them
of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with
good things and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen
his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy. As he spake to
our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever. And Mary abode with her about
three months and returned to her own house. May the Lord bless
the reading of his precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and gracious
God of heaven, to teach us how to pray and to bow before thy
great majesty. We read of thee, O Lord, in thy
holy word. Holy, holy, holy. Lord God almighty, which is an
art, an art to come. And Lord, we are unholy. We are
unrighteous. all together and we desire to
bow in confession of our sin and of our unworthiness and of
our wretchedness of our emptiness and of our poverty and our most
gracious lord we do pray that thou would bless us this day
in the holy child jesus We read in thy word of those wonderful
things that were done in the name of the Holy Child Jesus. And we pray that even today,
as we gather together on this day set apart for thy worship,
for that wonderful glory of the incarnation of the Son of God. May our hearts be expanded, be
enlarged, by the love of Christ. Lord with the hymn writer says
how it was done we can't discuss but this we know it was done
for us but what a profound mystery is the incarnation of the Son
of God but we do thank thee for that mystery and for this so
Lord is all our hope in that little babe that was born at
Bethlehem. The prophet exclaims, O Lord,
in amazement, a woman shall encompass a man. Who hath heard such a
thing? Who hath seen such a thing? And
yet that wonderful glory of a virgin being with child. O most gracious
God, may that wonderful glory be open to us a little here as
we gather around thy word that we may behold thy glory the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. All we do pray, most gracious
God, that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God our Father, and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
may rest and abide upon us. May the word have a living power,
and may it be with us as it was in the Word of God, the eyes
of your understanding being enlightened. And we pray that that may be
so today, that our hearts may be opened, that we might behold
wondrous things in thy Word, that the Word of the Lord may
have free course, and that thy name be honoured and glorified. and that we may truly celebrate
this day as something that is so wonderful and astonishing
that thou hast done, in that the eternal word was made flesh
and dwelt among us. O gracious God, we pray that
thou wouldst bless us as a church and as a congregation, that thou
wouldst work mightily, powerfully and effectually among us, that
we may see signs following the preaching of the word. We pray
for our brethren, the deacons, that needed grace, wisdom, and
help may be given to them in all their responsibilities. And
that may we, pastor and deacons, be as a three-fold cord that
cannot easily be broken. And may we know that wonderful
everlasting love of the Trinity. Again, Lord, threefold cord that
cannot easily be broken. May we feel the drawing power
of our Heavenly Father, drawing us unto Jesus Christ. We do humbly beseech Thee. And
Lord, we pray that Thou wouldst remember those that gather with
us today and bless them indeed, and that may Lord, when we leave
the sanctuary, be able to say it was good for us to be here.
Oh Lord, we do beseech thee to hear us in heaven, thy holy dwelling
place. And when thou hearest, oh Lord,
forgive. Remember, Lord, the little ones
and the children. We lovingly commend them to thee
and to the word of thy grace. May the fear of the Lord, which
is the beginning of wisdom, be given unto them in their young
and tender years. We do humbly beseech thee. Remember,
Lord, parents and give them wisdom and grace to bring up their children
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We do humbly pray
thee. Remember the families as they
gather for divine worship and graciously bless them. for all
things are sanctified by the word of God and prayer. And may we each know that sanctifying
influence in our homes as we read the word and pray together. Lord, we do pray for the young
friends, oh, that thou wouldst bless them indeed, that thou
wouldst bring them to living, vital, saving faith in Jesus
Christ. that they may become true followers
of thee and of those who, through faith and patience, inherit the
promises. Lord, do bless our dear young
friends. Fulfill that wonderful promise.
Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest
make princes in all the earth, that there may be a seed that
shall be raised up to call thee the Redeemer blessed here in
this little sanctuary in the generations to come. And Lord,
we look back over the generations past of over 200 years, and thou
has been gracious to this little cause of truth, and thy work
has appeared, and thy power has been known, and precious souls
have been gathered unto Christ. Oh, gracious God, we do pray
that thou wouldst extend thy lovingkindness and thy mercy
unto us. We look back, O Lord, in this
past year, and we miss our dear aid, Sister Ina. We pray that
thou wouldst gather others also. We pray that prodigals may return,
and thy wonderful grace may be seen in this. We do humbly beseech
of thee for thy great namesake. Lord, grant us that rejoicing,
for there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repented. And
oh Lord, we do pray that thou, at this season of the year when
many millions are remembering the birth of Jesus Christ, that
it may be a special season when the spirit of the Lord may open
eyes and ears and hearts to receive the word of the Lord, that there
may be a turning again unto thee. We see, Lord, in the day in which
we live so much of the powers of antichrist and the powers
of evil. Oh, we pray that we may see the
power of the Holy Ghost, that we may see the pulling down of
the strongholds of Satan, that the glory and light of the gospel
may shine to this village and the surrounding villages and
hamlets, and that thou wouldst bring our sons from far and our
daughters from the ends of the earth. Hear us, O Lord, we pray
thee. Remember all in the midst of
the journey of life. Remember them with the favour
that thou bearest unto thy people and visit them with thy great
salvation. Grant that this coming year may
be a year of jubilee when thine holy arms shall be made bare,
when precious souls shall be gathered unto Christ. Let thy
hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom thou
madest strong for thyself, so will not we go back from thee.
Deliver us from the temptations of Satan. Deliver us from the
power and the dominion of sin. Deliver us from the allurements
of this vain bewitching world. that has the death and thousands
hope. Make us more spiritually minded.
Set our affections on things above. Draw my soul to thee,
my Lord. Let me love thy precious word. Remember those of us, O Lord,
that are in the evening time of life's journey. Prepare us
that great change which must come. Prepare me, gracious God,
to stand before thy face. Hear us, O Lord, we pray. We
thank thee. We thank thee for this day. We
thank thee for the remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ.
We thank thee for the glory and light that is revealed in him. We thank thee for the holy life
he lived as a man here upon earth. and thereby the holy law he has
fulfilled and honoured and magnified and thereby the bringing in of
everlasting righteousness. We thank thee for the cross of
Calvary. We thank thee that sin has been
put away and divine justice has been satisfied and God and sinners
are reconciled. We thank thee that peace is made
between God and man. We thank thee that he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification, and is now bodily
ascended into heaven, a man there is, a real man. O most gracious
Lord, we thank thee for that glorious truth, for such an high
priest have we, who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the
Son of God, tis he, instead of me is seen when I approach to
God. We do bless thee for these fundamental
truths of our most holy faith. Death has been swallowed up in
victory, sin has been put away, divine justice has been satisfied. We thank thee for the word of
God. We thank thee for every mercy of thy kind provident. We pray that we may truly today
enter thy gates with praise and with the voice of thanksgiving
for the abundance of thy mercy. We thank thee that in Jesus Christ
we receive the Holy Ghost, and in Jesus Christ we know the love
of our Heavenly Father. Be with us, Lord, we humbly pray
thee. Remember all thy servants as
they labouring doctrine upon the walls of Zion today, set
them free, set them at liberty, open the word, grant signs to
follow the preaching of the word. Help us, O Lord, to be like thy
servant Abraham, who hoped against hope, who pressed on and pressed
forward. Lord, enable us, grant us that
same spirit of the dear apostle, this one thing I do, Leaving
those things which are behind, I press toward the mark to the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. So Lord, be with us now as we
turn to thy holy word and open thy word to our heart and to
our understanding. We ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 41. The tune is a Desti Fidelis 804. My God, my creator, the heavens
did bow to ransom offenders and stooped very low. The body prepared
by the father assumes and on the kind errant most joyfully
comes. Hymn number 41. tune Adeste Fidelis
804. O God, my Redeemer, O God, my
Redeemer, O God, my Redeemer, O God, my Redeemer, O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs
bursting in air, O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? And angels sing alleluia ? Shepherds, the Jesus is born.
And shepherds, shepherds, the Jesus is born. O past and true, O safe and true,
O ever returning, O past and true, Christ the Lord, praise and glory
be to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the
Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be to
thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be
to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the Lord, praise
and glory be to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the
Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be
to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the
Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory
be to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the
Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the
Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the Lord, praise
and glory be to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the
Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ the Lord, praise and glory be to thee Christ
the ? Christ the Lord is with thee ? ? Salvation returned ?
? Dear Jesus, my Saviour ? ? The light to live forever ? ? And praise the newborns and all
the angels I know ? ? God be with you, God be with
you, God be with you, God be with you, God be with you. ? My God is returnin' to me ? ? O come, let us adore Him ? ?
Christ the Lord! ? ? O come, let us adore Him
? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would again direct your attention to the
Gospel according to Luke chapter 1 and verse 1. Luke's gospel, chapter 1, reading
verse 1. For as much as many have taken
in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things
which are most surely believed among us. And it's really that
statement here, a declaration of those things which are most
surely believed among us. We looked at this word on Lord's
Day in the morning and in the afternoon. In the morning we
spoke of the fall of man and the great need that fallen man
was brought into and the wretched condition that is found in that
he's totally unable to deliver himself from because he is dead
in trespasses and in sins. We are born in sin. We are shapen in iniquity. And then of course, we just pointed
out the glories of Christ who came to redeem his people. In the afternoon we looked more
closely at the sufferings of Christ. We read together Isaiah
chapter 53 and those wonderful truths, the declaration in the
Old Testament of the sufferings of Christ and those immortal
words, he was wounded. The Lord Jesus Christ He said,
before he suffered and bled and died, to this end was I born. And for this cause came I into
the world, a declaration of those things which are most surely
believed among us. But today, I want to look at
this word in what we might say contextually in this first chapter in the
Gospel of Luke. particularly those verses that
we read together from verse 26 to us verse 56 and the wonderful
glory that is revealed there and probably Luke is the most
comprehensive in speaking of the wonderful profound mystery
of God Manifesting the flesh and it is a mystery. It is a
profound mystery Great is the mystery of godliness. God was
manifest in the flesh. Jesus Christ, we come together
today to celebrate the wonderful good news of the incarnation
of the Son of God. And it's something that is so
wonderful that it's actually beyond our comprehension. His
name is called Wonderful. And you look at the incarnation
the Son of God it is something that is so wonderful and beyond
our comprehension that the eternal the Almighty God the infinite
Lord of heaven and earth should become a man should become a man made of a
woman I love that verse I often quote it to you Galatians chapter
4 verse 4 speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ
made of a woman made under the law that he might redeem them
that are under the law and this was the divine way that God chose
to redeem his church and people he came to save his people the
word of God declares that It's a declaration of those things
most surely believed among us, that Jesus, the son of God, came
to save his people. And God so loved the world, he
gave his only begotten son. It's a wonderful gift from God,
our eternal father. that whosoever believeth in him
should be saved. It's a wonderful gift. The Apostle says, doesn't he,
in those lovely words, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift. Why is it unspeakable? Because
the glory is so tremendous that God was manifest in the flesh.
John he puts it in his own inimitable way in the first chapter of John's
gospel and the word and the word that term the word when it relates to Jesus Christ
it is all written with a capital w because it's referring to the
divine nature of the son 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. And the apostle says, doesn't
he, and of his fullness have all we received. Those of us
that are believers, those of us that have been brought to
saving faith in Jesus Christ. of His glory have all we received. Grace for grace. The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, it's always very instructive
to go back to the first mention of something in Holy Scripture.
And the first mention of grace in Holy Scripture is in the book
of Genesis when the Lord was speaking to Noah and when the
Lord said that man was so wicked and so evil and the earth was
so full of violence that it repented in that it made
man upon the earth. But then we have those little
words, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Notice
that. It's only by grace. And Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Everything is of grace. By grace are ye saved that not
of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Grace. The wonderful grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, Hearing that what we read
together the angel Gabriel was sent from God Unto a city of
Galilee named Nazareth To a virgin espoused to a man,
I think is in the prophet Jeremiah and And he says a woman Shall
encompass a man Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such
a thing? You know, the only way, my beloved
friends, that we can interpret that word is the virgin birth
of Jesus Christ. Who has heard such a thing? A
woman shall encompass a man. And here it is revealed to us,
here, it's a declaration of those things most surely believed among
us. To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph at the
house of David, Now it's promised that he would be born of the
house of David, the Messiah. It's promised hundreds of years
before. The Lord, he spoke unto David
himself, didn't he? There shall not fail thee a king
to sit upon thy throne forever. That's Christ. I think it's the
Apostle Paul in the beginning of the epistle to the Romans,
He says, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,
separated unto the gospel of God, which he promised afore
by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his son, Jesus Christ,
our Lord, which was made of the seed of David, according to the
flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according
to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. by whom we have received grace
and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations
for his name. You see the of the seed of David
and in that wonderful prophecy in Isaiah chapter 9
speaking of the glorious names of our Lord Jesus Christ He says
there, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. This is Isaiah chapter 9 verse
6. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder. This is the glorious person of
God manifest in the flesh. His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince. peace the wonderful glories of
Christ of the increase of his government and peace there shall
be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to
order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even forever the zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this will perform this And of course, this is a
continuation of a previous prophecy and we read in Isaiah chapter
7, verse 14, therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign,
behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call
his name Immanuel. Immanuel means God with us. God with us. The EL at the end
of Emmanuel means Jehovah. God with us. So it's a very beautiful
word given to the Lord Jesus Christ. All these names given
to Christ are what we call proper names. They have a meaning. And
the meaning of that beautiful word, it speaks of it in Matthew
chapter one, that his name shall be called Emmanuel, which by
interpretation is God with us. God with us. A declaration of
those things which are most surely believed among us. That the Lord
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son. In the eighth chapter of the
Proverbs, as you know, something that was made exceedingly precious
to me personally, when Saul attempted concerning the eternal sonship
of Jesus Christ, it's in my very early days, and I was up in the
early hours of the morning reading, because I was so troubled, reading
in the book of Proverbs, chapter eight, And those beautiful words,
they were let down into my soul and brought such light and life
into my heart. I was set up from everlasting,
from everlasting, wherever the earth was. And you know, friends,
my eyes were opened. I saw something of the glory
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. I was set up from everlasting,
wherever the earth was. So this is the fulfilling then
of those wonderful promises in the prophecies that have gone
before. To a virgin, espoused to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's
name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her,
and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is
with thee. Blessed art thou among women. Now, I would suspect that Mary
was probably in her teens. And I was thinking, when meditating
here in this chapter, because we've just read together of Elizabeth.
What a contrast. Elizabeth, the mother of John
the Baptist. We read of both of them that they were old
and well stricken in years. So what a contrast. On the one
hand we have a woman most likely in her teens and here we have
a woman who was old and well stricken in years and she conceived
and bear John the Baptist. You see It says here in this
chapter in verse 37, for with God, nothing shall be impossible. Nothing. That's a word, isn't
it? Nothing shall be impossible. You think of what God has done
here. A wonder of wonders so glorious that the Son of God was manifest
in the flesh. then maybe I don't know all your
circumstances and there may be things that look to you to be
completely impossible. You can't possibly see how it
can come to pass but don't forget this word, for with God nothing
shall be impossible, nothing. He is able to do abundantly more
that we can even ask or think. God is. Nothing shall be impossible. You know, with Abraham and Sarah,
it looked impossible, didn't it? That that promise that was
given should ever be fulfilled. And Abraham had been waiting
25 years for the fulfillment of that promise
in thy seed. He tried to fulfill the promise
himself with the instigation of his wife, Sarah. He took her
maid, Hagar, and went in unto her and she had a son, Ishmael. But that was the seed of the
flesh. The apostle goes into that in the Galatians. That was
the seed of the flesh. Ishmael of course is the father
of the Arabs and the Lord Abraham pleaded
before the Lord that Ishmael would be the promised seed and
the Lord no no Abraham my promise is to you and Sarah and the Lord would not accept
those works of the flesh of Abraham. Godly man as he was, the Lord
would not accept him. And he had to wait until that
time appointed when he was a hundred years old. And we read in the
Hebrews that Sarah was past the age of childbearing. It looked
impossible. However could this promise come
to pass? For with God nothing shall be
impossible and at that appointed time as the angel of the lord
said unto abraham at this time sarah shall bring forth seed
and she did on the following year and isaac was born the seed
of promise for with god nothing shall be impossible if you've
got those things that you have treasured up in your heart, perhaps
promises, that you firmly believed the Lord was going to do, you was absolutely sure of it.
But here you are, you've been waiting many years and still
it hasn't been done. And just as it was with Abraham
and Sarah, it now looked beyond any possibility that it could
be accomplished. But at the appointed time, it
was done. And you know, friends, if you
look back through in prophecy, you go right back, we spoke of
it Sunday, of the seed of the woman, the promise of Christ.
It was 4,000 years before that was fulfilled, before that was
accomplished. But God had promised it, so God
would do it at the appointed time. For with God nothing shall
be impossible. A declaration of the things most
surely believed among us. He is God over all and blessed
forevermore. God is. And the angel came in
unto her and said, Hail thou that art highly favoured. The
Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was
troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what man of salutation
this should be. And then these tender words,
and the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast
found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name,
Jesus. What does the name Jesus mean? He shall save his people from
their sins. That's what it means. This Holy
Child. In the Acts of the Apostles on
two very specific occasions, the Apostles speak of the Holy
Child Jesus. And you know, again, this is
a declaration of those things most surely believed among us,
that that human nature that the Son of God assumed was without
sin. It wasn't by natural generation.
It's very clearly laid out in the Word of God, in Matthew chapter
1, that before they came together, she was found with child of the
Holy Ghost. before they came together. It's
a wonderful, profound glory. Behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. I like that, the way it's written
here, capital letters, Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest. That's who he is. He's the son
of the highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David. There shall not fail thee
a man to sit upon thy throne forever. Because this king, the
son of David, is an eternal king. He's an eternal king. We looked at it just recently
in Psalm 110. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right
hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Father said
unto the Son, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool. And he shall reign. Jesus shall
reign where'er the sun does its successive journeys run. And
he shall reign from shore to shore. He will reign forever. his kingdom there shall be no
end. The Apostle speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ and he
says now unto the King Eternal, immortal and invisible, the only
true God be honour and glory everlasting. Amen. The King Eternal. He's speaking
of the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ. I love the
concluding verses of Psalm 72, when David, speaking so beautifully
of our Lord Jesus Christ, he says in verse 17, His name shall
endure forever. The name of Christ. His name
shall endure forever. His name shall be continued as
long as the sun and men shall be blessed in Him. All nations
shall call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the
God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And this is
the wondrous thing that is being prophesied, and this is the wondrous
thing that we're meditating on today. Blessed be his glorious name
forever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen. Amen. His name shall endure forever,
the King eternal, immortal and invisible, the only true God. It says here, then said Mary
unto the angel, and surely we can understand this. How shall
this be? She and I know not a man. How
can ever I conceive and bear a child. She and I know not a
man. It goes against all the laws
of nature. But then that question of Mary
opens to us something of the profound glory and depth of the incarnation. And the angel
answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. of the highest shall overshadow
thee. Therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. That holy thing that shall be
born of thee. It was a divine conception. It was holy. It was pure. It was righteous. You and I We
receive from our parents a fallen nature That's what that's what
the Word of God means when it says we're born in sin We receive
from our parents by natural generation a fallen sinful nature But this man this Holy God man
The Holy Ghost shall come upon them often looked at this and
thought the wonderful glorious and divine person of God the
Holy Ghost how vital the work of God the Holy Ghost we even see in Genesis chapter
1 that the spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters
and brought order out of chaos so we see the wonderful the divine
act of the Holy Ghost in the creation of this world. And you know friends, that same
almighty power of the Holy Ghost that we see in creation was put
forth in the birth, in the incarnation of the Son of God.
It was a divine act. of God the Holy Ghost overshadowed
the womb of the Virgin Mary. And as soon as the Holy Ghost
overshadowed her and took of the seed of the woman, the Son
of God assumed that seed. It never belonged to anyone else.
It was his own personal human nature. And it was holy. It was righteous. Therefore we have that statement,
therefore also that holy thing, that holy thing. This is a declaration
of those things that are most surely believed among us, that
Jesus was holy. He was born holy and he lives
holy. We've already quoted to you from
Galatians chapter 4, made of a woman. made under the law. The law was made for man. And when the Son of God became
a man and assumed human nature, made of all women, made under
the law. So the Son of God lived as a
man under the law. These are the things that are
most surely believed among us. The Son of God being made under
the law, He came to fulfill it. Think of those words of our Lord
Jesus Christ, I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And that's exactly what Jesus
Christ has done. He's fulfilled the holy law of
God. Sin is any transgression of the
law of God. That's a definition given to
us in the first epistle of John. This is a declaration of those
things most surely believed among us. Sin is any transgression
of the law of God. You and I, we were born in sin,
we were shaped in iniquity and we constantly sin. We have a
sinful nature, a corrupt nature, depraved nature? We do. I cannot really overemphasize
the terrible condition that we are found in by nature. We're born that way. We are. But this man, what a contrast,
but this man, therefore also that holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the sun. shall be called the
Son of God. He's the Eternal Son of the Eternal
Father. His blood, the blood of Jesus
Christ is called the blood of God in Acts chapter 20. It's
called the blood of God. It says the Church of God which
He had purchased with His own blood. And you know, friends, all the
infinite worth of the atonement that Jesus offered, which was
his own sacred humanity on the altar of his divinity on the
cross of Calvary. All the worth of that glorious
sacrifice. Number one, it's the Son of God.
Number two, it's holy and pure. And they are vital truths. It's
a declaration of the things most surely believed among us. He
did no sin. Who? Jesus, the Son of God. He
did no sin. Neither was guile found in his
mouth. No. You think how often you and I
may speak, and we speak with guile. You might say, what do
you mean speaking with guile? To deceive. We either omit something
very important that we should have said, or we frame something
in such a way to deceive someone else. That's guile. Jesus, he did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth. Therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the son He is declared to be the Son
of God with power. And that holy life that he lived
as a man here upon earth, it is just as vicarious. Youngsters
you may say, well what do you mean by vicarious? It means somebody
as a substitute standing in the room and the place in the stead
of somebody else. And when Jesus lived that holy
sinless life, it was as a substitute for his people. It was in their
room, in their place and in their stead. That's why he was made
of a woman made under the law that he might live as a man on
the behalf of his church and people. and fulfill the law on
behalf of his church and people. It is a declaration of those
things most surely believed among us. That holy obedience of Jesus
Christ to the law is of infinite worth because the Father receives the
coming sinner in the name of Jesus Christ. Whatsoever ye ask
in my name, I will do it. He receives a sinner in the name
of his son. The name means the person. The
person of the Son of God manifest in the flesh. And a poor sinner
is received. I quoted in prayer those lovely
and well-known words, tis he, that's Christ, instead of me
is seen when I approach to God. You know, friends, we cannot
approach in our own person unto God. You might say, why not? Because you're a sinner. You're
unholy. You're unrighteous. God cannot receive us. We're unholy. But there is one
place where he can receive us. In Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ. in the precious blood and righteousness
of Jesus Christ. That's where he receives a poor
sinner. It's a declaration of those things
most surely believed among us that the law has been fulfilled. Now this perfect obedience of
the Lord Jesus Christ as a man here upon earth is called in
Holy Scripture the righteousness of glorious everlasting righteousness
of Jesus the Son of God. Now that righteousness in Isaiah
chapter 60 it is spoken in 61 that is spoken of as the robe
of his righteousness. The glorious everlasting robe
of the righteousness of Christ. I love the way I know it's poetic
license, but it's very beautiful. Unless the shadow of a spot should
on my soul be found, he took the garment he had wrought and
cast it all around. Covering the poor sinner. Speaks
of it in the book of the revelation of the church. And it speaks
of those that are arrayed in white garments What are those
white garments? It's the garment of the righteousness
of Christ. You and I cannot in our own person
stand in the presence of Almighty God. We're sinners. But in that
glorious sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary, when
he shed his precious blood, that blood of Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, I love the way John emphasizes
that. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
son, cleanseth us from all sin, from all sin. Oh, that precious
blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. And then that
perfect obedience of Christ to the law, fulfilling an honor
and a magnifying God's holy law. You look at the life of Christ, you see how Christ himself really
encapsulates the law of God. He doesn't quote the whole of
the Ten Commandments, but he says, Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and thy neighbour
as thyself. That's the law. And that is exactly
what Jesus He lived a holy life, a sinless life, a spotless life.
He never sinned in thought, word or deed. But it didn't end there,
did it? He loved his neighbour as himself.
He went about doing good. Healing, constantly and continually
healing the sick. The lame he made to walk, the
blind he made to see, the deaf he made to hear, the dumb he
made to speak. Those that were sick of a palsy,
he said, rise, take up thy bed and walk. Constantly and continued
in the life of Jesus Christ, we see the fulfilling of the
law of God. Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. And again and again in Holy Scripture,
we read of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus having compassion. See the fulfilling of the law
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Now not only the
fulfilling of the law but then that the sacred sacrifice of
Calvary. When the father as we spoke of
on Sunday afternoon when the father laid upon him the iniquity
of us all. He took our sin. Who did? Our
gracious, eternal Father. Oh, remember that, friends. The
devil will try to explode up in your mind and magnify that
the Father is holy and pure and righteous. He will not at all
acquit the guilty. He's austere and angry. That's
a totally, completely wrong picture of our heavenly Father. He's
full of love. God so loved the world He gave
His only begotten Son. And it was our gracious, eternal
Father that lifted the sin off of us and laid it on His Son,
Jesus Christ. He laid upon Him the iniquity
of us all. That's how we're justified. because the father has taken
away our sin and laid it on his son Jesus Christ and his son
Jesus Christ God manifest in the flesh he suffered and bled
and died because of our sin he himself did no sin I know I often quote it but it
is such sublime truth that we find in 2 Corinthians chapter
5 and the latter part of that 2 Corinthians 5 at verse 18 and all things are
of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and
hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit that
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them, and having committed unto us the
word of reconciliation. Now we are ambassadors for Christ,
as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's
head, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him, that's
his son Jesus Christ, for he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. A declaration of the things most
surely believed among us. What wonderful things they are,
that glorious sacrifice. that has satisfied all the demands
of divine justice, that has delivered the church from the curse, that has brought life and immortality
to life. In the shedding of his blood,
he died for our sins. He rose again for our justification,
declared that sin had been dealt with, that a new and living way
had been made, death had been swallowed up in victory, and
Jesus then ascended into heaven. and he sits at the right hand
of the Father. We have an intercessor. We have
one that stands between even our Lord Jesus Christ. And we
come, my beloved friends, to celebrate that today. This wonderful, glorious truth
that Jesus loves sinners. He does. He loves his people. loved his only, loved them to
the end. For that wonderful love of our
Lord Jesus Christ, a declaration of those things most surely believed
among us. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 975, The tune is Winchester Old, 270. He comes, the Saviour full of
grace, by ancient prophets sung, the smile of mercy on his face
and truth upon his tongue. Hymn 975, tune Winchester Old,
270. ? Gracious and saving ? ? Lord
of grace ? ? Our nation's progress ? Churching the riches of heaven
on this earth. In him the world no beauty sees,
and form no comeliness. Great heaven and earth despise
this truth, And come to me this way. The lesser people took my place,
to know His love was first. Then the people were crowned in place,
? And show His praises to all ?
? May God give as the Lord of all ? ? Their Savior and their
King ? Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each, both now
and for evermore. Amen.