The narrative that we have before
us in Luke chapter 19 is undoubtedly one that will be known to most
of you. It's a favorite story in Sunday
schools and in children's classes. And wherever children are taught
the scriptures, the account of the little man who came to Jesus
will be well known. I want this morning, as the Lord
enables, to turn with you to this account of the salvation
of Zacchaeus, and, as the Lord will, to bring a few lessons
to you from this account. My text is found in Luke 19,
verse 9. Jesus said unto him, This day
is salvation. Come to this house, for so much
as he also is a son of Abraham. The title of the sermon is Salvation
is Come. Salvation is Come. This is the
only time that the Lord uses this word salvation. The whole
of his ministry, as it's recounted by the gospel writers, this was
the only time that the Lord used the word salvation. But he used
it with respect to the deliverance of this man from out under the
guilt of sin. His deliverance into a new relationship
with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. And it does us well to
reflect upon that great work that was accomplished the day
that salvation came to Zacchaeus. The Lord Jesus Christ says, this
day is salvation come. Before we begin to consider some
of the aspects and circumstances of the situation, I want just
to pause for a moment or two and ask you to reflect with me
upon the audacity of such a statement as that. Who ever amongst the
sons of men could ever make such a statement as that? This day
salvation is come to this house. Who has authority with God like
that? And it is appropriate that we
remind ourselves that it is the God-man of whom we speak here
today. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is he who came in order to
bring salvation to men. It is he who came, as we read
in verse 10, to seek and to save that which was lost. It is he
who came to save to seek out from amongst the sons and daughters
of men to come into this world in order to recover that which
was lost. Of course, that loss speaks to
us of the fall of all mankind in Adam, speaks to us of the
way in which the elect of God, those who were chosen before
the foundation of the world to be predestinated, to be conformed
to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be united together
with him for all eternity, fell in Adam. We're lost in that federal
headship, that relationship that we have with Adam, our great,
great, great forefather, because of our flesh, because of our
union with him in our humanity. But the Lord had a people. The Lord God loved a people. He loved them with an everlasting
love. He foreknew that people in eternal
union with him. And he sent the Lord Jesus Christ,
the God-man into this world with this express command that he
should seek and save. that which was lost. This wasn't merely some idea,
some conjecture, some thought that was brought to bear upon
humanity. This was an express task laid
upon Christ to go and seek and save that which was lost. That
tells me that Zacchaeus was one of those lost sheep. That tells
me that if salvation was come to the house of Zacchaeus there
in Jericho that day, that he was one of the lost for whom
Christ came and for whom Christ died. Excuse me. Turn with me a few pages back
to Luke chapter 5 and verse 20. There is an account in this chapter
of men who took their friend into the presence of the Lord
Jesus that he might heal them. Listen to what transpired in
verse 20 of Luke chapter 5. And when he saw their faith,
that is the faith of the men who brought this man that could
not walk, this man who was sick of the palsy, to the Lord Jesus
Christ, they opened up the roof of the house because they could
not gain access because of the throng. into the presence of
the Lord when he saw their faith at opening up the roof tiles
and lowering this man down into the midst of this busy room to
the very feet of Christ. This is what the Lord said, Man,
thy sins are forgiven thee. Thy sins are forgiven. Who had such authority to forgive
sins? Who had such an interest with
God that He could declare sins forgiven? I know that I am a
sinner. And I suspect that you know that
you are a sinner too. If we would have our sins dealt
with, there is but one man. with authority who can deal with
the problem of your sin and mine. And if we go anywhere else, we
will be failing to properly approach Christ Jesus, who has authority
with God in such matters. Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. The scribes and the Pharisees
began to reason, saying, who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
alone? These Pharisees were not stupid. They knew that it can only be
the one offended by our sin that can forgive our sin. It is only
the holy God with whom we have to do and before whom we will
all stand in that day of judgment and accountability. They knew
that it was God's holy law that was offended. that it was God's
law that had been transgressed by man's wickedness. So therefore
their plea, their claim, their reasoning was appropriate. Who can forgive sins but God? But when Jesus perceived their
thoughts, remember we spoke the other night about some of the
gifts that had been given to the man Christ Jesus, and one
of them was to be able to understand the hearts of men? When Jesus
perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, what
reason ye in your hearts? Whether it is easier to say,
thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, rise up and walk. The
Lord says, do you think I don't have power to forgive sins? Do
you think I don't have power over human flesh? I'll show you. I will demonstrate the power
that I have, and you will see here a testimony to the fact
that I am God. That was the whole purpose of
the miracles. not to give benefits and blessings
to individuals, though many were blessed and benefited by the
miracles that the Lord performed. but to testify to his authority,
to reveal the one that had an interest with God and who could,
therefore, forgive sins by his intercession and his mediation. Whether it is easier to say,
thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, rise up and walk, you
would think, as far as man was concerned, both things were just
as easy to say. But the Lord God proved. The Lord Jesus Christ proved
that he had a power beyond man's understanding. But that ye may
know that the Son of Man hath power enough to forgive sins,
he said unto the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, arise
and take thy couch and go to thy house. And immediately he
rose up before them and took up that whereon he lay and departed
to his own house, glorifying God. Here, the Lord Jesus Christ
proves himself to have power with God, and therefore, as we
come and reflect upon the account that we see here with Zacchaeus,
such a one can make the statement, this day salvation is come to
this house. And oh, it would be such a joy
Such a joy to be able to see salvation being bestowed, salvation
being demonstrated in the hearts and lives of men and women today. We long to see more Zacchaeuses. We long to have that testimony
granted to us again that salvation has come to this house. And whether
we think of this house as being this building, this house as
being our own homes, this house as being the body that we have,
it is to the hearts and to the lives of men that salvation must
be applied. And it is the Lord Jesus Christ
who has accomplished that deliverance, and it is the Holy Spirit who
lays his grace upon the hearts of men. The Apostle Paul writing
in Romans chapter 8 says, Who shall lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? If salvation has been brought
to this house, if salvation has been given, who can prevent it?
The Lord Jesus Christ said, I have good reason to believe that salvation
has come to this house. No, the Lord didn't say, I hope
salvation has come to this house. He said salvation is come because
he knew that this man was one of his, one of the lost. that he had come to seek and
to save. Why was the Lord Jesus Christ
in Jericho that day? Why was the Lord Jesus Christ
passing through the city? Why was he there that day? Because
one of the lost sheep needed to find salvation that very moment. And so the apostle, again writing
in Romans 8, says, Who shall lay anything? If it is Christ
who has justified, if it is Christ who has said, Salvation is come
today, then we have no doubt that that is a true saying. Who's going to prevent it? Who's
going to stop it? Who is going to stand before
and against the One unto whom all power was delivered? Who
would accuse us? Who would accuse us? Would Satan? Yes, he accuses the brethren. He goes around accusing and saying
he's not worthy to be saved. He's too much of a sinner. Look
at the color of his heart. Look at the nature of that man. Look at the practices, look at
the thoughts, look at the wickedness that pervades that man. He's
not worthy to be saved. He's not worthy to be brought
out of this condemnation and bondage of sin. The Lord says,
I have come to seek and to save that which was lost. This day,
salvation has come and Satan must recoil. That great serpent
must slither back again underneath the stone of his impending judgment,
because the Lord Jesus Christ said, salvation is come. What about the world? The world
looks on and it says, you're no better than us. You're just
the same as the rest of us. You have the same thoughts, the
same sins, the same practices. You're no different from anyone
else. And the world accuses us. Have you not felt that guilt,
that conscience, because you know the sins that you've committed? I sometimes wonder how We manage
to get through our days sometimes when we see the people that we
have offended in the street, or we are reminded about the
sins that we have committed in our earlier days, or we have
occasion to have our minds taken back to some of the wickednesses
that we have committed. We know that we are not a fit
people to inhabit the eternal glory. The world accuses us,
and it brings all manner of temptation against us, and it has a legitimate
accusation to make. but Christ has redeemed his people. A payment has been made, a debt
has been cancelled, and by his grace he is pleased to bestow
that peace of conscience to the hearts of those who have found
him to be their substitute. What about the flesh? The flesh
accuses us, does it not? Our own hearts accuse us. We don't need to think about
the world and the devil as far as accusations are concerned,
for we know in our own hearts, we know in our own consciences
the trouble that we have gotten into. But here we see that the
Lord himself has declared that having come to seek and to save
the lost, this day salvation is come to this house. What a
condition to be in. What a declaration to be made. What a wonderful thing for Zacchaeus
to hear. Your sins are dealt with. You
have peace with God. Your eternal security is ascertained. You have salvation because the
Son of Man has declared it to be so. I trust that each of us
this day have that assurance of a standing before God upon
the merits of the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ and to know that
that salvation is ours for the Son of Man has declared it so
to be. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
salvation is come. He was, I think, referring to
a salvation that was bestowed in several different ways. And I want just to take three
or four ways of looking at this phrase this morning and to think
about some of its lessons for us. Salvation comes when the
gospel comes with power. Salvation comes when the gospel
comes with power. And we see that this is the work
of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of the blind, to come mysteriously,
to come powerfully, to come effectually, as is His work and His want upon
those that are the eternally chosen of God. And in time and
in space, in this world, to give to them that spiritual quickening,
that life which He alone can bestow. There are many people
go to priests and popes. There are many people go to intercessors
of all kind and variety. But there is but one who opens
the eyes of the blind, spiritually speaking. There is but one who
is able to give life-giving power. And when that salvation is come,
when the gospel comes preached to those whose eyes are opened,
when that quickening power is revealed and demonstrated in
the hearts and the experiences of men and women by the preaching
of the gospel, well might we say Salvation is come. This is the great work of God
the Holy Spirit. When that power is manifested,
when that great gospel power is revealed, then we discover
that a great salvation has been bestowed. In Hebrews chapter
2 verse 3, the writer there directs our thoughts to reflect upon
the greatness of that salvation. And he says, how shall we escape
if we neglect it? How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation? And that salvation that comes
through the preaching of the gospel, how is it to be received
if we do not come under the sound of the Word of God? That is why
the preaching of the gospel is so important. That is why it
is so urgent that men and women come to church, come under the
sound of gospel preachers. It is the gospel preacher who
brings the gospel. Again, in the book of Romans,
the apostle tells us how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet
of those who bring good news. It's not that I've got beautiful
feet. It is that the work that I do
is beautiful. Not through any skill that I
have. but because it is a wondrous gospel that is declared by God's
appointed preachers. And so to come under the sound
of the gospel, faithfully declared, the true gospel, we've been reflecting
again on previous occasions what that gospel is. There are many
people who say they preach the gospel, but they do not preach
good news. They preach a message which requires
men to do things in order to fit themselves for that which
supposedly they will secure by their labors and efforts. The
work of Christ is a completed work. The gospel is a completed
work. Therefore it is good news. If
I ask you to do anything, in order to secure or to obtain
salvation, then let me tell you, from my experience and the experience
of all other men, you will not be able to do that which is required,
for you are but a sinner, and there is nothing sinful that
is acceptable to God. You might say, you know, I've
got good works, you might say I've got good reason to hope
that these things will be acceptable to God. Your works could be the
purest motivated that you like. But if I brought down here a
dirty old pipe and said I'm about to pour pure water through this
pipe, have a drink at the end, you wouldn't put your lips to
it. This very frame that we have is filthy with sin, and even
the best thoughts that we might have, the best labors that we
might bring are all soiled and dirty with the sin of our flesh. It is by faith alone that our
labors are acceptable to the Lord. And so it is that we must
come to faith through the preaching of the Word, trusting in the
completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ministers of the Gospel
are sent to bring salvation to men, to direct them and to encourage
them to go to Christ for that salvation which He alone brings. And here in this account, in
Luke chapter 19, we find that the Lord Jesus Christ himself,
the greatest preacher who ever lived, is here declaring the
good news of the gospel in the home of Zacchaeus. to Jericho
to preach a message. He came to Jericho to call a
man, and that call goes out yet in the gospel. As the Lord Jesus
Christ declared His purpose in coming to seek and to save the
lost, so we preach Jesus Christ crucified, by whom the lost are
sought and saved. If that gospel comes with power
from heaven, there is salvation. In John 6, verse 63, it is the
spirit that quickeneth. Ephesians 2, verse 1, ye hath
he quickened who were dead. trespasses and in sins Zacchaeus
was a dead man spiritually speaking but this day salvation is come
so salvation comes when the gospel comes with power salvation comes
when Christ the Savior is revealed and here in verse 10 This reference
to the seeking and the saving shows that it is the Son of Man,
it is the Lord Jesus Christ who had come to this home. He came to the home of Zacchaeus. Here's something that is worth
noticing. When Zacchaeus was in that tree,
having climbed up there, in order to find out what was happening. When Zacchaeus was there observing
what was going on in the street below, the Lord Jesus Christ
did not wait to be invited to Zacchaeus' house. The Lord Jesus
Christ invited himself. And I would like to pour as much
cold water as I could on the invitation systems of men in
their churches today. The Lord Jesus Christ doesn't
wait to be invited into the hearts of men and women. He doesn't
wait to be invited into our souls. He comes with power. He comes
in the gospel, and hearts are opened. There is new life bestowed. It has to be an external work. There is nothing internal to
the life, the heart, the soul of a sinner that in any way is
going to facilitate that salvation. Indeed, if it were not for the
life-giving work of the Spirit, all would be dead and never would
there be anyone. Supposing a million people openly
gave their hearts to the Lord and fulfilled the invitation
systems of the preachers of free will. Suppose they all came There
would be not one saved except the Holy Spirit open the heart
first. That is what it is to have Christ
come. We do not invite Him, He invites
us. He says, come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Come unto
me, all ye that I've come to seek for. Come unto me, all ye
that I have come to find. Come unto me, all ye for whom
this salvation has been accomplished. It is Christ's work, and the
Savior, Christ, is come to Zacchaeus' house. That was the very title
that was given to the Lord Jesus when he was born. Call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And we've
said it so often, haven't we? the point that I'm about to make.
He shall save his people. There was no question or doubt.
This was the name that he was given. The names in scripture
have meaning. This name was given to him because
he would accomplish the purpose whereunto he was sent. He came with this message. He
came to save his people. He came to seek them because
they were lost. In Acts chapter 2 and verse 23,
we read of the determinate counsel of God. This was the eternal
purpose. This was that which God had declared
would happen. And it's the gospel in a nutshell. Christ is come to seek and to
save the lost. Salvation is come. Salvation
is come when grace is bestowed. There are means used In Scripture,
we discover that for this work of salvation to be manifested,
this work of salvation to be experienced, means are used by
God, the Holy Spirit, in order to accomplish His end. And the means that we see in
this account are very interesting also. For example, it appears
that Zacchaeus was a curious man. He was a little man. He was a wealthy man. He was
a curious man. And his curiosity made him wonder
what all this hubbub was about. I'm sure that he had heard about
Jesus before. I'm sure that the buzz was on
the street, as it were, that someone was passing. And he was
anxious to know what this was all about. Christ's passing. When the Lord Jesus Christ passed
by, Zacchaeus could have been doing many things. He might have
been out doing his business. He might have been up to his
arms in his labors. He might have been enjoying the
benefits of his wealth. But something pricked his curiosity. Something was afoot here, and
he wanted to know what it was. That, of course, in itself, is
a measure of the way in which God prepares the hearts of men
to receive that gospel seed. That God himself was engaged
with this man. through the mediation of the
Spirit, preparing his heart that he might encounter Christ in
this way. And that preparation we see all
around us. In this situation, what is it
we discover? That Zacchaeus was a man of little
stature. He wasn't very big, therefore
he had a problem. How was he going to see over
the crowd? How was he going to be able to
get access to this man, Christ? We saw how those three friends
had imaginatively gone to the roof of the house, taken off
the tiles, broken through the ceiling, and laid their friend
at Jesus' feet. Here was a man who also had a
hurdle to overcome. He had to find a way of seeing
Jesus. We need to always be ready, always
aware with a word in season. Who knows? What work the Lord
Jesus has been doing in the hearts of men and women. Who knows what
work the Lord Jesus has been doing in the hearts of our friends
and family, maybe of our children. Who knows but that there is a
curiosity there triggered. And as we seek to live our lives
before God as a pattern of the Lord Jesus Christ, let it be
that we seek to emulate the Savior, to live according to His will
and ways, that we might in our own lives be a testimony to the
grace of God, to those with whom we work, to those amongst whom
we live, and those who may be influenced by our witness. We
don't serve God out of a fear or a dread, but out of a love
to him. And the Lord is pleased to use
the witness of his people, is pleased to use the testimony
of their lives to demonstrate his goodness and his salvation. And here was a man who was hindered
because he didn't know how he was going to be able to see Jesus. But you know what the Lord does?
He plants a tree. He plants a tree that this man,
Zacchaeus, might be able to climb up it and see the Lord. Isn't that amazing? He planted
a tree. Now this tree didn't grow overnight.
This tree took a long time to grow. I don't know how old that
tree was. Maybe it was a hundred years old. Maybe a hundred years
before Zacchaeus came to live in that house, the Lord planted
a tree so that at that very moment when Jesus Christ passed through
Jericho, when Zacchaeus was looking around and wondering how he was
ever going to see Jesus, the tree was there in order for him
to climb it. You see, the Lord prepares His
people. The Lord prepares. He comes to
seek and to save. And we might think that we've
been looking for years, but the Lord has got everything in hand. He has prepared the very means
by which the Lord's people will come to Him and find that salvation
that their hearts desire. He placed a sense of need, a
sense of curiosity, perhaps in the first instance, in this man's
heart, and he provided the means by which that glimpse of Christ
might be obtained. I'm delighted that this little
congregation is forming here in Kingsport because it is a
means of the men and women of Kingsport having access to the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You may be that tree upon which
a sinner will climb someday to seek a glimpse of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I don't suppose you'll be here
for a hundred years, or at least will not try to plan for a hundred
years at this stage. But the Lord puts His people
on the ground in order to be a witness to the things that
He is accomplishing in their hearts. And so grace was bestowed. We call it sometimes provenient
grace. It's a grace that is given to
lead us to the Lord. It is an irresistible grace because
it is not possible for man to withstand the power of God the
Holy Spirit. It is a power which enters and
it accomplishes the end whereunto it was sent. And it is a grace
that opens the heart. gives a desire, places in it
a willingness, and bestows those things which are needful for
the accomplishment of salvation. Salvation is come when the new
life is experienced, when that new life comes into the heart
of a believer. When we encounter the man Nicodemus,
we hear the Lord saying to him, he must be born again. And here we find, in Zacchaeus'
experience, that same new life in Christ being brought to fruition. Here, sovereign election is displayed. There were crowds in the street,
and there were many more who would have, in very many ways,
been more eligible for the gifts of God's blessings. than this
man Zacchaeus. The people said of him, he's
a sinner. They regarded him as a tax collector,
that he was of the lowest of the low in their society. They
had no desire for Zacchaeus. That may well have been another
reason why he climbed the tree, because he thought to himself,
if I try to squeeze through between these people, I'll end up getting
clobbered in the head. But you see, when we look at
Zacchaeus, we don't see anything in himself to make him attractive
and desirable, but we see that the grace of God nevertheless
was restored upon him. And that is something upon which
we all have a hope. I don't know your life. but I
do know my own heart. And I know the wickedness of
my own heart. I know my own doubts. I know
my own fears. I know my own concerns. But the
Lord is pleased to come to such a one as Zacchaeus, such a one
as me, such a one as you. He regularly went and spent his
time amongst the publicans and the sinners. Why? Because he
was calling those who were the offscouring of the earth. He
was calling those who disgusted their friends and their neighbours,
those who felt the weight of their own sin, and he was bringing
life to them. The Lord Jesus Christ says of
this man, he also is a son of Abraham. What is the reference
here? The reference is this, that he
was one of the chosen in Christ. He was one of the elect of God. Yes, he was a child of Abraham. Physically speaking, insofar
as he was a Jew. But that statement in itself
is meaningless in the context of where we are and to whom the
Lord was speaking. This man, Zacchaeus, wasn't just
a Jew by birth. He was a son of Abraham because
he was a child of faith. because he was numbered with
faithful Abraham. He was one of those for whom
salvation was always assured. He was ignorant of it. He did
not know it. He went through his life up until
this point, satisfying his own lusts, going after his own ends,
pleasing himself until the Lord said enough. Today, salvation
has come to this house. Here we see God's grace manifested
in the new birth coming to life, the new birth coming to fruition,
being evident in the experience of this man. He must come to
Christ this day. This was the appointed time. This was the day and it had arrived. Zacchaeus got up in the morning
and went about his business as usual. He ended the day a saved
sinner because salvation had come to his house. And in the
manifestation of that new birth we see this, salvation comes
in the conversion of a soul. We speak about conversion, oh
what it is to be converted. But that conversion, if we think
about the word, means a change. It's a change, a change of heart,
a change of will, a change of life principle, a change of conduct,
an alteration has been effected. This doesn't come from the outside
in, it comes from the inside out. That new life principle
having been placed in our heart by the Holy Spirit, that drawing
forth of that new life through the preaching of the gospel manifests
itself in changed attitudes and a changed walk of life. People will try and try and try
again to turn over a new leaf. They will endeavor to live good,
to be a people who in some way are able to recommend themselves
to their friends or their neighbors or their family or their pastor
or their priest, hoping that they, by doing good and living
properly, might in some way be able to gain and glean assurance
from their conduct. We are not so foolish, but we
realize that that change of heart, nevertheless, is a very real
and tangible thing. There is an alteration must take
place in the life of an individual when the Holy Ghost brings them
to conversion and brings them to an experience of grace and
life through the gospel. A change of mind. He was of a
different disposition. Once he had been an oppressor
of the poor. Once, because of his own covetousness,
he had sought to gain all that he could of the wealth and the
money of his neighbors. Now a change has been made. Our works do not save us, but
salvation brings a desire for us to walk in the pattern of
the Lord Jesus Christ. This man's mind was altered. He had once been a tax collector
who took advantage of the poor. Now he was liberal-minded. Now he wanted to repay and return
that which he had previously taken. Now there was a tenderness
about him. There was a kindness in his attitude. There was a liberality in his
giving. This was not the law that made
him do this. This was not someone coming along
and saying, if you want to be a member of our church, here
are the things that you've got to do. This is how you've got
to live. This is the kind of person that
you've got to be. This was an internal change that
manifested itself in a desire to do good to those around about
him. It was prompted by love and gratitude
towards God and a desire to honour the Lord Jesus Christ. A changed
principle occurs when salvation is come to this house. And finally,
the point might be made that salvation is come when we experience
eternal life. Salvation is come when salvation
comes and it doesn't go away. It comes and it is experienced
in time and for all eternity. We believe in. Once saved, always
saved. We believe that when a man is
brought to grace, that principle of grace implanted in his heart
will never be taken away. We believe that though we are
troubled, in our Christian walk by sin and by temptation and
by weakness in our flesh, yet we are His workmanship and He
is accomplishing in our lives all that is required to take
us into His presence. We believe that once that grace
has been bestowed, He will bring us to the end. That eternal life,
which is the hope of the Church of Christ, is received and experienced
when salvation comes to us. The Son of Man is come, Christ's
purpose, to seek and to save that which was lost. He might
seek us in time, that he saves us for eternity. It's his job. It's what he came to do. And
having accomplished that great work, he has sat down at the
right hand of God on high, and he will deliver his people for
whom he now intercedes. John chapter 10, verse 28, we
read this. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. Lost in Adam's fall. sought by Christ in the covenant
of grace, brought by Him through that office of Savior and Redeemer
to a knowledge of God, we find redemption in Him. Our sins are
cleansed, our life is wrought together with Him, and we have
that promise of eternal life with Him. Zacchaeus was a son
of Abraham in a spiritual sense. He is now a believer in Christ,
and he desires to walk in the steps of the faith of Abraham. That was the evidence of his
interest in the sacrifice of the Lord. A son of Abraham means
a child of promise. And by the grace of God, as the
gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit works. And as He works,
so He brings to life those who are the eternal people of God. He fits us for that place in
glory, having accomplished all that was necessary to redeem
us from our fallen state. Here was a son of Abraham. Here
was a believer in Christ. Let us endeavor to emulate this
man. Let us seek to honor the Lord
in our walk and in our witness. And let us lay up that assurance
that he has promised, that he has come to seek and to save
the lost. And as we see ourselves as lost,
as we understand ourselves by that opening of spiritual eyes
to be the needy, Before a holy God, may he give us that grace
to lay hold upon the salvation that is to be found in Christ
alone. And may we be able to testify
to one another and confess before God that this day salvation is
come to this house. May it be so for his name's sake.
Amen.