There is joy in our hearts. Is there not? Every time we come
together, every time we pick up His Word and read about Jesus
Christ and Him crucified, what better news could there be for
a sinner? What better news? There's no
better gospel. That's what the word gospel means.
Good news that God provided salvation for sinners. And that's what
this child is all about that we're coming to celebrate. It's
not just the child. The world sees the child today
in the manger. Everywhere you go, there's a
nativity scene where there's where the baby in the manger
is, where all the little animals are. You can drive through some
of the churches. There's one down in Carmichael. You can drive
through it. and see all the nativity scenes
and all the scenes that they think they can put together of
the Bible. Folks, our Lord tells us not to make things that are seen
in heaven, not to recreate things that are seen in heaven. I just
want you to warn you of that. It's a really cool thing for
us to take our little ones out and show them all these neat
things, isn't it? But it gives them a false sense
of what it's all about. It was important for the Lord
to become flesh and become a child, absolutely. But the importance
was that, was so that he could lay down his life for you and
I. Because if he didn't do that,
we would all perish in our sins, wouldn't we? We would all perish in our sins. Turn to the book of Matthew,
chapter 1, if you would. Matthew, chapter 1. We've been
looking at the book of Matthew, and I kind of glazed over this
a little bit when we were in our Bible studies on Friday night.
We're down around, I think, chapter 2, verse 4, something like that
right now. I'll look at that for next Friday's
study. But I was listening to a message
from Brother David Edmondson out of Madisonville, Kentucky.
Oh, and he brought an excellent message on the word Emmanuel.
Do you know what the word Emmanuel means? God with us, absolutely. That's
right. In the Old Testament, where that is referring to, they
knew exactly what it meant. God was with the people of Israel.
He was with them all the time, but He wasn't there physically
where they could see Him and reach out and touch Him and walk
with Him. They knew that that word Emmanuel
means God with us. That means God in the flesh,
in the presence, with us. And that's what the Lord Jesus
is all about. God with us, God in the flesh.
In verse, now David, he focuses his message mostly there where
Emmanuel in verse 23. But this phrase, this word in
verse 22 jumped out at me. Look at verse 22 and 23 of Matthew
chapter one. Now all this was done, What? All what was done, all what was
done. Well, if we go back to verse 20, while he, speaking
of Joseph, thought on these things. Now remember, Joseph had been
espoused to Mary, Mary. They were engaged. And in those
days, engagement meant that you were married. Today's world,
you know, engagement, oh, well, I can go out and do whatever
I want until that day I stand before. That's not the way it
was back then. Engagement, you, you, you, You
promised yourself to this person. You were going to give yourself
to this person in marriage. That's what the Lord Jesus did
to you and I. He promised himself to us before
the world ever was. This is what it means. I'm starting to get ahead of
myself a little bit there. What was it that was all that? So
Joseph was ready to put away Mary. The angel came to Joseph
and he told Joseph to go ahead, it would be okay for him to go
ahead and marry his wife, for that which he carried within
her, that which she conceived, there in verse 20, in her, is
of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people. Now, verse 22, now, after all
that, after reading the, after all the, genealogy that's given
in 1 through 18, and what just went with Joseph there, we see
in verse 20, now all this was done. Everything that's spoken
of by Matthew there before that was done for a reason. Look at
the reason here, that it might be fulfilled. What? This was all foretold of in the
past long ago? That's exactly what that means.
It was all foretold, foretold before that it might be fulfilled. Everything that was foretold
before, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophets, all of
that, that it might be fulfilled. Verse 23, behold, a virgin shall
be with child and bring forth a son and they shall call his
name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. The word I want
to talk to you about this morning is fulfilled. The words of the
Old Testament prophets declaring what will come to pass. Listen
to Hebrews chapter 1-1. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners, He at different times, spreads throughout all
the time between creation and the time right there. All of
that time before, before the Lord came to this world, the
Lord would come to his people in different times and in different
ways, whether it be speaking to them audibly. You know the
Lord can make a donkey speak, right? He can speak to you in
any way he wants to. He can come to you and speak
to you in your mind. Today, He speaks to us through
His Word, the Son of God, because that's what this Bible is. It's
the Word. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
the Word. But it says in Hebrews 1, God
who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times past unto
the fathers, unto all of those before us, by the prophets. That's what this is speaking
of here. Now, all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which
was spoken of, the Lord by the prophets. And the prophet spoke
of him, this child, who would save his people, as we read back
there in verse 21. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. All the Old Testament writers.
And at this time, The New Testament had not been completely written
yet. It had not been completely brought together as the Bible
as we see it now. So when it's speaking about all
of the prophets of old, it's speaking about all of the Old
Testament writers. What did they write of? They
wrote of Christ. They wrote of Christ. They spoke of the Lord
Jesus. It says, and all the prophets
spoke of him This child who would save his people, as it is written
in Luke 24, 27, at the beginning of Moses and all the prophets,
that means all of the Old Testament books, he, the Lord Jesus, expounded
or taught, as it says, unto them in all the scriptures. He was
speaking on the road to Emmaus, the two disciples. He expounded
unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. So that's what all the Old Testament
prophets all spoke of. That's what all the New Testament
prophets, the New Testament preachers, that's what they all speak of.
Paul says this, I wish you know nothing of you say Christ and
him crucified. Why? Because that's the message.
That's the gospel. Oh, but John, there's so many
more things in scripture we can talk about. We can talk about
the The way we should walk when we're dealing with people. I'm
going to tell you something right now. Every one of you folks,
including these little children right here, know what's right
and what's wrong. You know what's right. I don't
have to tell you how to live. You know what's right and what's
wrong. When you have taken something like something out of a cookie
jar and you weren't supposed to, did somebody tell you, oh,
that's wrong, you told a lie about it? No, you just did it,
didn't you? And you knew you were wrong. You knew the guilt of
what you did was wrong. Our Lord, folks, is the fulfillment. This little child that the world
is speaking about today and tomorrow is all about the fulfillment
of the Old Testament. He's the fulfillment of the one
who created all the heavens and the earth. Listen to John. Actually,
turn over there. Let's read that together. John
chapter one. Turn over to John chapter one
for just a moment. We'll read it together. Familiar
words. Some of you can quote it without
even looking at scripture, but it says in John chapter one,
verse one, in the beginning was the word and the word was with
God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God all things were made by Him. Jesus Christ is the Creator,
is the fulfillment of our Creator. And I know this because we go
on, it says, the same as in the beginning with God, all things
were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that
was made, and the Word was made flesh. So we see the fulfillment
of God's word just as the creator in the Lord Jesus Christ, this
child. Being born of a virgin is the fulfillment of scripture.
Listen to Colossians chapter one, verse 16, for by him were
all things created that are in heaven and that are in the earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by him
and for him. So we see him as the fulfillment
of the Old Testament. Listen to Genesis chapter 22,
verse 8. Another familiar set of verses
that we may know by heart. And Abraham said, speaking to
his son after they had taken the wood and gone up to the mountain
where God had sent them to sacrifice his son Isaac, he said unto his
son, my son, God will provide himself a lamb. That's this child. God will provide himself a lamb. Christ Jesus, the lamb slain
before the foundation of the world. This child is the fulfillment
of all the Old Testament, including what Abraham said to his son. This child would grow into a
man though, won't he? He came here for a purpose, folks.
He come here to lay in the manger and be sought after by the world
as something so special and so loving, although he is. There's no better sacrifice ever
given for the sins of man than the sacrifice of the Son of God,
the Lord Jesus Christ. No other sacrifice ever paid
for any sins of man, yet the Lord's blood paid it all. Amen. There's only one gospel, folks.
There's only one message of good news that sinners come out of
the world to hear, one message that brings peace to a to a sinner,
and that is Christ and His crucifixion. Salvation is of the Lord. As
a sinner, what I need to hear is this, John 10, verses 27 through
30, my sheep hear my voice. As a sinner, I need to hear that
my sheep hear my voice, meaning I hear the Word of God. You know,
I was talking with Kathy, and we were struggling with our own
sins that are within us, and everybody has their own. We like
to think of Pastor Gene and Judy as something special and not
sinful people, don't we? They're just like you and I.
Moses was just like you and I. Noah was just like you and I.
Mary, oh, the world puts Mary up on a pedestal, don't they?
She was, and this will anger Catholics, but oh well, she was
just like you and I. Sinners. Saved by grace. We need to hear. We need to hear
the word of God when he tells us, my sheep will hear my voice.
Kathy and I were talking about that. And after going through
the different things that we see in the mirror and saying
to ourselves, you know, how can I be saved? How could God love
a person like me? We come to realize, and Kathy
pointed this out, she goes, you know what, though? I believe
what he says, and I hear his word. Yeah, that mirror shows an awful
lot of ugliness, but Christ says this, my sheep hear. We hear. We hear his word, and
we believe. And I know them, he says, and
they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life. These are words that his sheep
need to hear. This is the one who fulfilled
all of the Old Testament, who is fulfilling all of his word,
even today, right now, drawing his people out of the darkness
that we once walked in. There may be one here this morning,
there may be one online today who's never heard this with the
ears of the heart. And for the first time, they
may be sitting there like John Reeves was, and sitting there
and all of a sudden, whoa! That made more sense than anything
I've ever heard in my whole life. God is truly God. He's got the power of God. He's
not waiting for man to make some decision. He does what he wants. What he has purposed, he will
also do it. Isn't that what scripture says?
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that scripture. He had purposed
himself to come to this world and lay down his life for you
and I. And he did it. Not waiting for
you and I to make decisions. Not waiting for you and I to
do something that'll let him in our hearts. If he kept waiting
for that, my heart, my old stony, broken, cold, rock-hard heart
would have kept saying, no, you're not coming in. Yet in the day
of His power, in the day of His love. Oh, He comes to us in His love
and makes us willing in the day of His power. It goes on to say there in John
27, they shall never perish. That's good news to a sinner.
That's good news to one who knows what they've done was wrong.
who knows what kind of a sinner we truly are in unbelief. We shall never perish, neither
shall any man. Actually, you know what that
says? Man is not actually in the original language. That's
something we men have added to it later. But it says, neither
shall any pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave me,
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." Is
that not good news to a sinner? Does that not bring some peace
to your heart, knowing that this child that the world is worshiping
and holding up before themselves in this day was the one who made
all that possible? It's not something you had done,
but something he had done. Salvation is of the Lord. From beginning to end, as a sinner,
I need to hear him, not just with these ears on my head, but
with the ears of the heart. I need to hear with an understanding
of his grace. Grace is experienced. We experience
his grace knowing that he died for our sins. By his grace, we
are saved through faith, through believing, through hearing the
word of God. He died for me personally. Sin had left a crimson stain.
He washed it white as snow. Look over to Acts chapter two,
if you would. Turn over to Acts chapter two. Just a couple of
pages to the right there. In the second chapter of Acts,
we begin at verse 22, we read these words. I hope I'm in the
wrong. Ye men of Israel, hear these
words. Folks, there were a lot of people
who heard these words, even when Christ himself walked this earth
and told them plainly who he was. He says, I told you plainly
who I was. The works that I did, they prove
who I am. Yet you do not believe because
you're not my sheep. This is the grace of God that
he has some sheep. Aren't you thankful God has some
sheep out here? Aren't you thankful? My prayer
for all of you and for my children is that you're one of God's sheep.
You may not know it right now. You may be going through life
going, oh, I've heard this, I've been there, I've done that, yeah. What I used to say to my mom
was, I got my own thing going on with God. Don't worry, Mom,
I'll take care of it. It'll be fine. I had no idea. I had no idea. That old cold, dark heart was,
I'll do it my way is what I was saying. That's an easy thing
for us to do. I'll do it my way. Here in Acts
chapter 2 verse 22, you men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus
of Nazareth, this is the baby that was born in the manger.
This is the one we're talking about today. A man approved of
God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God
did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. They
saw it plainly. They saw it plainly, yet they
said to the Lord, how long do you make us to doubt? Verse 23, him, speaking of this
Lord Jesus of Nazareth, him being delivered by the determinate
counsel. Did you catch that? Are you catching
this? It wasn't an accident that Jesus
came here to major folks. It was purposed by God. It was
purposed for you and I. By the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain. Our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus
coming into this world was not a willy-nilly event. It was purposed
before a star ever twinkled in the sky. Look over at Acts chapter
13. Turn to the right there, a couple
pages to Acts chapter 13. Look at verse 25 with me, Acts
13, verse 25, and as John fulfilled this, speaking of John the Baptist,
fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am
not he, but behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of
his feet I am not worthy to lose. Men and brethren, children of
the stock of Abraham and whosoever among you feareth God, To you
is the word of this salvation sent. Now listen to this, this
word, the word of God, the salvation of God's people, God's elect,
this is sent to you. Because listen, verse 27, for
they that dwell at Jerusalem, did you notice the difference
there? He's speaking to the children and the stock of Abraham in verse
27. He's speaking to those who feareth
God. And in the very next verse, he
addresses those who don't. For they that dwell in Jerusalem
and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices
of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath day, they have
fulfilled. What did they fulfill? Them. They fulfilled everything
the prophets said about them. This is the fulfillment of God's
word, that Jesus Christ came to the earth to save sinners.
All the prophets of old spoke of one who would come, and we'll
look at that in a moment in the book of Isaiah, but these ones
who did not believe fulfilled them the word, the word of God,
the prophets, in condemning the Lord Jesus. And they found no
cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be
slain. Verse 29, and when they had fulfilled all that was written
of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulcher. Scripture has never been hiding
the fact that Christ would be coming to this world. Look over
at Hebrews chapter 10. Turn to the right over to Hebrews
chapter 10. Throughout the Old Testament, even all the way back to the
days when Ab and Eve walked this earth, we see the blood being
shed for sins. What was the first thing that
Ab and Eve tried to do? They tried to cover their own
nakedness with their own hands, with their own works. They sewed
fig leaves or some kind of a leaf together and made garments because
they had noticed that they were naked. Their sin had been exposed. They saw their sin for the first
time. It was within them in their own
hearts, and they tried to hide it. And God came, and in that
day, when he saw them dressed in their own works, what did
he do? He killed an animal and dressed
them in the skins of that animal. Blood was shed. The picture of what it would cost Not the
picture of what it costs, but what it would cost. This is the
prophesying of the Old Testament. Moses prophesied that we had
to be dressed in a righteousness, and that righteousness must be
the righteousness of Christ. And the only way to get it is
through the blood of God, through the blood of that little one
who lays in the manger. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 4.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should
take away sin. Those Old Testament sacrifices
never took an ounce of sin away from anybody. But they pointed
to the perfect blood of Christ that would. Verse 5, wherefore
when he cometh into the world, speaking of the Lord Jesus, speaking
of this child, this little one, who would fulfill all scriptures.
Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he sayeth, Sacrifice
and offering thou wouldst not, but a body thou hast prepared. A body that thou hast prepared. This is that little child that
came into this world, born of a virgin, born without the nature
of sin of man, born of the Spirit, who would lay down his life.
He cometh into the world, he said, a body that was prepared
in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin now has had no pleasure.
Then said I, lo, I come in the volume of the book. It is written
of me to do thy will, O God. How many of you know what the
will of God is? We think, you know, we sit around in today's
world Lord, what's your will for me today? I don't know. I
can tell you this, the will of God is this, anything that just
happened and has now gone by is the will of God. Everything.
He's sovereign ruler over all that is, is it not? Is he not?
So as sovereign ruler of everything, his will is everything that has
happened. As far as the future is concerned,
here's what the Lord Jesus says over John 639, and this is the
Father's will. Now we know the Father's will
here, it tells us very plainly of the future of God's will.
This is the Father's will, which hath sent me, that all which
he hath given me. All that he hath given me. I should lose nothing, but raise
it up again at the last day. That's the Father's will. That's
what it's speaking of there in Hebrews 10 verse 7. Then said
I, lo, then said I, lo, I come in the volume of the book it
is written of me to do thy will, O God. Verse 8, above when he
said sacrifice and offerings and burnt offerings and an offering
for sin, thou wouldst not, neither hast thou Pleasure, which are
offered, neither has pleasure, which are offered by the law.
Then said he, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away
the first, and he may establish the second. By the which will
we are sanctified, that means made holy, set apart, through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once and for all. So
we see a body was prepared, don't we? And we see that body was
prepared to do what? To be a sacrifice. A sacrifice
that would satisfy God's justice. Folks, you know why we are the
mark of the beast? You know, we're the mark of the
beast. People say, well, what's the mark of the beast? The mark
of the beast is man. 666. It's as simple as that. We come
short of perfection. You can't be perfect. There's
only one who ever walked this earth that was perfect, and that's
the Lord Jesus himself, and God requires perfection. That's why
the blood of Christ is important. That's why this child, it was
so important for this child to come to the world, because that's
the blood of God. That's the blood of God for you
and I. If His blood was shed for you,
it was perfect in every way. We are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. Listen
to Revelation 5, verse 6. And lo, in the midst of the throne
of the four beasts and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb
as it had been slain." That's our Savior. He's not in a manger
anymore. If you can teach your children
anything, even your grooms, if I could teach my children who
are in their forties anything, It would be this, that God is
not in a manger. He's on His throne. Right now. It's important that He came to
this world and became flesh. Absolutely. No doubt about that. That's important. But where He
is now is not in that manger. He's not on that cross. He's
not buried in that tomb. He's sitting on His throne. He
accomplished what He came here to do. He saved His people. This is what a bonafide sinner,
and that means a true-blooded sinner, sees. We see our salvation. We don't just see a child in
a manger. We see our salvation, and we see the fulfillment of
His Word. Listen to these words here. 1
Timothy 3.16, and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. We see the fulfillment of righteousness
as we read in Psalm 71.2, deliver me in thy righteousness and cause
me to escape. In Psalm 143.11, quicken me,
make alive, quicken me, O Lord, For thy name's sake, for thy
righteousness' sake, bring my soul out of trouble. This child
is the fulfillment of God's righteousness on this earth. It says, thy righteousness. Listen to Isaiah 9.6. For unto
us a child is born, unto us a son is given. In 1 Corinthians 1.30,
we read these words. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. In Romans 3, verse 24, we read
these words, being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus. You see? You see, folks? This child is the fulfillment
of what God has promised throughout all of His Word, a Savior for
His people. His name shall be called Jesus,
for He shall save His people. How? 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. How can I? How can I be saved,
John, if I can't do anything perfect? What righteousness do I have?
The righteousness of Christ, if you're in Him. We'll get to
that in just a second here. One more thing I want to bring
out about that. It says, because this child was made sin for us,
because He was made a curse for us, we read in Romans 8-1, There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. There's no condemnation for you.
If Christ Jesus has gone to the cross for you, all of your sins
have been paid in full. Everyone that you've committed
up to now and everyone that you will commit to the day the Lord
takes you out of this world has been paid. Isaiah 9-2, the people
that walked in darkness, have seen a great light. They that
dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the
light shined." We don't just see a child in a manger anymore. We see the grace of God in sending
a Savior for our sin, my sin. Turn over to Isaiah 53. We're
almost done. Isaiah 53. Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? Isaiah 53, verse 2, For he shall
grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry
ground. He hath no form nor comeliness,
and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him." When you read those words, does it have a hold of your mind,
this picture that the world would like us to think of the Lord
Jesus, this long-haired guy, beautifully painted, such a nice
picture? When we see Him, there is no
beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised, verse 3,
and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from Him. He was despised, and we esteemed
Him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. We're talking about the Old Testament
prophets, the word of God being fulfilled in this child. This
is that child right here. Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes,
we are healed. This child is the great shepherd,
the shepherd of his sheep. How shall he let anything come
between him and those whom he has loved before the world was?
The Old Testament's full of death and judgment. This child is to
be the fulfillment of our death, our judgment. He is to stand
as our substitute, to hang on that cross where you and I should
hang, and hang for our sins. He is our scapegoat. As we just
read, by his stripes we will be healed. Listen to Hebrews 10 verse 12,
but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down on the right hand of God. From henceforth expecting
till his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Them who
are made holy by his words. When one is brought to see this
one who came to save sinners, as the Lord of all, you cannot
help but bow in admiration and humility What a God that would
consider a wretched sinner such as me. Turn over to the 54th
chapter of Isaiah, just one page to the right, and look with me,
if you would, at verses four and five. Fear not, for thou
shalt not be ashamed, neither be thou confounded, for thou
shalt not be put to shame, for thou shalt forget the shame of
thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood
anymore, for thy maker is thine husband, and the Lord of hosts
is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God
of the whole earth, shall he be called. One more, if you would
turn back, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 40. Just a couple of
pages back to the 40th chapter of Isaiah. Verse 10, behold, the Lord God
will come with a strong hand. This child, folks, is the fulfillment
of this scripture. Behold, the Lord God will come
with a strong hand, and his arms shall rule for him. Where's the
Lord Jesus sitting right now? On his throne, ruling all things
after the counsel of his own will. Behold, his reward is with
him. All of his people will be with
him. Not one shall be lost. And his work before him, he shall
feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those
that are with young. I think it was last week I said
these words. I said, you know, I remember
a story Don Fortner told us about his daughter, Faith. A cute little
blind girl running down the road the driveway towards the road. What did he do? He ran out after
her. Could you imagine a God who would
just stand back and say, oh, they don't want me, unless they
want me. If they'll just let me save them,
I will. That's what the world is preaching.
That's what the world's telling everybody, that this little Jesus
loves you if you'll just let him. What does it say here? He shall
feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arms, carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that
are with young. Who hath measured? This one that
the scripture is telling us about here. Who hath measured the waters
in the hollow of his hand and melted out heaven with the span
and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure? and weighed
in the mountains, and scales, and the hills, and the balance.
Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counselor,
hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and
who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment,
and taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?
Folks, who are you to say what God can and what He cannot do? All that we have just read, is
the fulfillment of that child who grew to be a man and laid
down his life for his people. All that we have just read is
the fulfillment of scriptures in the Son of the Living God,
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Is He your Lord? If He has made
Himself, He is your Lord, whether you know it or not, but if He
has made Himself Lord in your heart, You know this to be true. If God before us, who or what
can be against us? Nothing. He's God. Who can stay
His hand? Isn't His love amazing? Though
we shook our fist at His face, that we told Him, we will not
have you rule over us. In His love, He comes to us and
says, Live. Live. Live for the Lord Jesus,
my friends. As you go about through this
world, remember this. Those who have sinned against
you, you've sinned against God way worse. And He's forgiving
you. So let us forgive each other.
Amen?