Let me read the verse again.
Behold, I and the children which thou hast given me are for signs
and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts which dwelleth
in Mount Zion. All of us will agree our Lord
Jesus was a sign and He was a wonder. Oh, the wonder of His birth!
A miraculous birth! Behold, a virgin shall conceive."
This is something new. This is something out of the
ordinary. This is very extraordinary. This hasn't happened before and
it'll never happen again. As in Genesis 3 and verse 15,
the Lord Himself announced, the seed of the woman is coming.
This is a great wonder. This is a miracle of the awesomeness
of the power of God. This is a testimony to His greatness. It's a beautiful thing. It's
a glorious thing. But the Savior says, I and the
children are for signs and wonders. He's not only the sign and the
wonder, but we're for signs and wonders. It's a marvelous thing
that we should be selected by God in old eternity unto salvation. We're a wonder of His grace.
Are you not a wonder to yourself? You think about where you've
come from, where you were when God found you? Had no interest? Had no desire for the things
of the Lord? And now here you sit. And every
time you come, you're interested to hear the gospel of grace.
You want to hear more about Christ Jesus. You're for a sign and
a wonder. A sign and a wonder. Just like
our Lord Jesus was, and here He associates Himself with His
people. Watch it again. Behold, I am
the children the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders. Not only am I for a sign and
a wonder, but my people are signs and wonders. Evidences of the
might of God's grace. Evidences of His great salvation. Which leads me to ask this. What does it take to save sinners
like you and me? See, if we can clear our minds
of the distraction and of the disturbance, that's past. Let's
get back on track here. What does it take to save sinners?
Can I give you five things? Five things. What does it take
to save sinners? Number one, it takes the very
purpose of God. I'm not going to be in salvation
unless God purposed it. You see, this book says everything
that will ever happen, God purposed it from old eternity. God is
making no new decrees. He's doing nothing new. Why,
what we call time is just God carrying out what He purposed
to do before time ever began. This is the purpose of God. It
took the very eternal purpose of God. I worked for a fellow years ago
in sales. And I sold vacuum cleaners. I
was pastoring and we didn't have enough money and I had to sell
vacuum cleaners. By the way, those of you who
are watching, that's not a vacuum cleaner handle beside my wife
there. Some people see that and say,
she has an upright vacuum cleaner beside her. No, she doesn't have
an upright vacuum cleaner. But I used to sell vacuum cleaners.
And my boss was very religious. He was a super soul winner. And
we was talking about it one day, and of course I was pastoring,
preaching the gospel of God's sovereign grace, trying to talk
to him. He said, Jim, let me tell you
something. Getting saved is as easy as falling off a log. I
said, really? He said, it's nothing to it.
I said, be careful. What does it take to save a sinner?
Well, I can tell you this, it takes the very purpose of God.
There won't be any salvation without the purpose of God Almighty. Salvation comes to us directly from God. It's not due
to something we do. Actually, I'd say it comes to
us in spite of what we do. Not because of, but in spite
of. It took the eternal determination
of a holy God who has all power to do everything. Listen to me.
He could create the world by the word of His power, but He
can't save sinners that way. It's going to take more than
that. It will take His purpose. It will take His will. but it's
His will of salvation. 2 Timothy 1.9 says this, "...who
have saved us and called us with unholy calling, not according
to our works, but His own purpose and grace which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began." You've got to trace this
back to the purpose of God. Listen, if you're going to do
anything of any significance, you've got a project, something
you want to accomplish. If you're wise, you will not
endeavor to do things without a purpose, without some kind
of determination on your part. I've got a goal in mind, and
here's how I'm going to arrive at that goal. Well, do you think
God is less wise than you are? If He's going to save a people,
He will save them on purpose and by His determination and
He made a purpose. I hesitate to use the word plan
because that seems to indicate maybe it will come to pass and
maybe it won't. That's what we do. We plan things. You feel sorry for me. I plan
to take my wife shopping tomorrow. Feel sorry for me if you want
to. That's my plan. I don't know,
I might have flat tire in the morning. I won't be able to fulfill
it. You never know, I might not feel
good. She might not feel good. We make our plans. God doesn't
make a plan. He's got a purpose. And there's
nothing in heaven, earth, or hell that can stop him from fulfilling
his purpose. The Lord says, I will do all
my purpose. What does it take to save sinners?
It takes the purpose of God. Can I show you another verse
of Scripture? Look to Acts chapter 2, and I was looking at this
this afternoon, and there's a word that really stood out to me,
an expression that stood out to me in Acts chapter 2. And
look at verse 47. Acts 2 and verse 47. And you know, this is on the
day of Pentecost when the Spirit of God was given in the fullness
of His might and power, and Peter is preaching this tremendous
message. The Lord has saved 3,000 people.
Verse 47, Acts 2. You there? Acts 2, verse 47. All these people were praising
God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added
to the church daily such as, and here's what stood out to
me, such as should be saved. They should be saved. Why should
they be saved? Because God purposed for them
to be saved. God ordained for them to be saved. Nothing happens in the physical
world or in the spiritual realm apart from the purpose of God.
And that which happens to us spiritually and powerfully by
the presence of the Spirit of God and the grace of God is on
purpose. God saves sinners on purpose. It's not our idea. That's His
purpose of grace. What does it take to save sinners? It takes the purpose of God.
It takes all of the attributes of God working together. With holiness leading the way.
Because every attribute of God has got to have that holiness
of the Lord associated with it. He has a holy love and He has
a holy hate. He has holy mercy and He has
holy wrath. Every attribute of God is consistent
with His immaculate holiness. And the Lord saves sinners in
such a way that every attribute is exalted. In infinite wisdom,
God devised salvation. As easy as falling off a log...
Now wait a minute. Wait a minute. How can God be
just and justify the ungodly? Could an angel come up with the
answer to that? Mr. Angel? Sinless? Created to behold the rest of
the creation of God? Messengers from God, ministers
to those who shall be the heirs of salvation. Tell me, how can
God remain holy, just, and true, and punish sin, and save the
sinner? How can this come to pass without
God compromising His holy law and His justice? Angels, can
you tell me? Any of you? And they're silent. All of you people on the earth,
tell me, how can God remain pure as He is and yet save impure
people and take them unto His heart, unto His breast and caress
them without compromising His law and justice? And we're all
silent. I don't know. Can't be. God says, I'll tell you how I'll
do it. I'm going to send a substitute
for him. I'm going to send one like unto
myself. Pure, holy. This morning I talked
about Christ the servant. Even when he was the servant
of God, he was still God now. He didn't cease to be divine.
When he came down here born of a virgin, lay in a manger. When Simeon looked at him, he's
looking in the face of God. He's God's servant and he's God's
son. He came down here to do what
nobody else could do. Reconcile us to God. This is
how God remains just and holy. What does it take? What did it
take to save us? It's not an easy thing. It took the purpose of God Almighty. In the eternal council chambers
of Jehovah, the council of peace was made, a covenant of grace. And God gave to His Son a people
more numerous than the stars in the sky. more than the sands
on the seashore. And God the Father said, I give
them to you. And all of the Trinity agreed.
God purposed salvation. And He ordained everything would
be worked out so that He would be glorified. And these people would be saved.
What does it take? It takes the purpose of God.
I'll tell you something else, it takes the purchase of Christ
Jesus. I said a while ago, God could
create a world with a word. He spake and it was done. But He's going to have to do
more than that to save you and me in a manner consistent with
His law and justice. So He devised this. The Son of
God, eternal with the Father and with the Spirit, would robe
His deity with our flesh. Miracle of miracles. What a wonder. You know, His name is Wonderful. He's the wonder. He said, I and
the children are for signs and wonders. He's the sign and He's
the wonder. Oh, the wonder of it all. He
came down here. And He had to obey every jot
and tittle of God's law. And He had to die. He had to
suffer the wrath of God. Not to gain your pity. Not so
people feel sorry for him. He died. He came down here, lived
and died to pay a debt he didn't know except by imputation. All
the sins of his people were charged to his account. And he laid down
his life. Father, what does it take to save these
people? He knew. Here's what it's gonna take.
Your death, that's what it'll take. Because our Lord Jesus,
being God of very God and man of very man, the Son of God and
the Son of man, He only had the ability to bear in His body all
the sins of all the people of God of all ages. and then hang on the cross for
them while God blotted out the sunshine and then poured out
on His holy soul infinite justice and wrath. He drank the cup of indignation
right dry. That's what it takes. Don't talk
to me about as easy as falling off a log. He had to die. that suffer, bleed, and die.
Blood had to be shed. And we're taught that all the
way through the Old Testament. If the guilty are to go free,
the innocent has got to die in their stead. And if we're going to go free,
somebody who's innocent, somebody who's pure, somebody who can
satisfy every demand of God's got to die. And he did. Because you see,
what does it take to save us? It takes the purpose of God,
and God purposed that His Son die. Why, He's the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. He died by divine appointment. I said, well, men did it. I know
men did it. And they did what they wanted
to do. But in doing what they wanted to do, they carried out
God's eternal will and purpose. That's the way it was. And every blow of the hammer
on the nails in his hands and in his feet, and before that
the crown of thorns on his brow, And before that, the beatings
that they gave Him, all were appointed to Him, which indicated
God's wrath that fell on Him, not only physically, but in His
soul. His soul suffered unto death. That's where the real suffering
was. And we can paint the picture
of the physical agonies of our Lord Jesus Christ, and they were
horrible. There's no question about that.
But there was another horrible thing that took place that man
could never see. It took place in his holy soul
when God put stripes on his soul. Oh my soul. Oh my goodness. God beat His own Son. with the
rod of justice that I ought to have been beaten with forever. He laid stripes on the soul of
Christ and Christ bore it all till finally the justice of God
said, well, that's it. I got no more justice to pour
out on, no more wrath. That's it. He suffered enough. Nobody in hell could ever suffer
enough. All of us together, if God put
the whole human race in hell, not one sin could ever be paid
for. Well, how could the death of
one man pay the sin debt of so many millions of people? Because
of who He is! That's why He's God Almighty. He's the only One who could save
us. What does it take to save a sinner? purpose of God and
the purchase of Jesus Christ and we know His death, it satisfied
God because God raised Him from the dead and exalted Him. Thirdly,
what does it take to save a sinner? Preaching of the Gospel. It takes the purpose of God and
the purchase of Christ, purchase of His blood, but it takes the
preaching of the Gospel. Let me tell you something. No
gospel preaching means no salvation. It means no belief. So God sends forth His preachers,
like this preacher over here. Like this preacher. I know that the Word of God is
filled with preachers and preaching. But I have no biblical basis
to say to you, read your Bible, because that's how God saves
sinners. Now, God may be pleased to do it that way, and that's
His business. But by and large, and here's
what we know the Bible says, by the foolishness of preaching,
it pleased God to save people. And Paul said, God didn't send
me to baptize, He sent me to preach the Gospel. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call on Him
of whom they've not believed? And how shall they believe on
Him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear Without a preacher. And how shall
they preach? Except they be sent. Ah, you think salvation, there's
nothing to it? There's a whole lot to this.
Purpose of God, the purchase of blood, the preaching of the
gospel. And then, fourthly, what does
it take to save a sinner? Well, it takes the power of the
Spirit of God. He must be born again. That's
what the Scripture says. There's the necessity of the
new birth. Matt brought a message sometime
back out of Ezekiel. The Lord said to Ezekiel, son
of man, can these bones live? You know, I always thought that
I'd be a preacher. But I also thought if that didn't
work out, I'd be a funeral director. That's right. I went and I viewed
embalming process and that sort of thing. I was either going
to be a preacher or going to mortuary science. Either
way, I knew I was going to be dealing with dead people. Either the physically dead or
the spiritually dead. If you are a child of God, you
are a miracle of life. You are a wonder to behold. I see before me men and women
who by nature are dead in trespasses and sins, but you're dead no
longer. What's happened to you? Well,
I made a decision. A decision won't give you life.
Well, I walked an aisle. Walking an aisle won't give you
life. Somebody said to me this morning,
and I think it may have originated with you, I'm not sure, but somebody
said to me this morning when I stopped at that first stand
and said, I thought you was going to give an altar call. I said,
no, that won't ever happen. It's going to take more than
walking an aisle. It's going to take the power of the
Spirit of God. Who can raise the dead but God
alone? You can't raise yourself. I can't
raise you. But I marvel at this. Oh, what
a wonder of grace. The miracle of life. When David was born and then
Susanna was born. David was born in North Carolina.
Susanna was born in Virginia. It's a miracle. Just a flat out miracle. Life. And we're dead in sins. And then,
something happens. An operation of the Spirit of
God in the heart. And suddenly we live. You know
what kind of power that takes? I'll tell you, you ought to read
Ephesians 1. It takes the same kind of power
that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. That's the kind of
power it's going to take. You say, I don't understand why
people don't believe this Gospel and come and hear this glorious
glad tidings of great joy. Because they're dead. They've
got to be raised from the dead. The only one who can do that
is the Lord Himself. He has to give life. What does it take? What does
it take to save a sinner? To make us a wonder of His grace. Well, it takes the purpose of
God. It takes the purchase of blood. It takes the preaching of the
Gospel. It takes the power of the Spirit
of God. So what's that fifth one? It takes the providence
of God too. Because He has to work it all
out. What is providence? It's God
moving everything to the end that He's already determined.
Now, in old eternity, He purposed salvation. There's no question
about that. You're arguing in the face of
God if you fuss about that. Divine election? Divine predestination? You've got serious issues if
you have trouble with those truths. It takes the purpose of God. It takes the purchase of the
Lord Jesus. He had to do a work to satisfy
God. I've said it over and over again.
I'll say it, Lord willing, to the day I die, before God could
do something for us, He had to do something for Himself. Satisfy
His own justice. Because He can't save anybody
in a manner that's inconsistent with His law and justice. He
can't do it. He won't do it. That's an impossibility. Purpose of God? Purchase of blood? Preaching of the gospel? How
did you hear the gospel? Somebody told you the good news.
And it doesn't matter who the somebody was, so don't go bragging
about what preacher you was converted under. That's what the Corinthians
did. Paul said, that's not such a
good idea. These men are just fellow laborers of the Gospel.
It's the Lord who saved you. And it takes the very providence
of God to bring it all together. Who taught that preacher who
preached to you the Gospel? Who looked over, who watched
out for that when that preacher was born, that you were destined
to hear someday. Who watched over that little
infant? Who protected him from falls
and from all kinds of possible disasters? Didn't the Lord? And then who arranged for him
to hear the gospel? Who taught him the gospel? Who
gave him the abilities to deliver the message? And then, how in
the world did it come to pass that you crossed paths with one
of God's servants? Providence arranged that meeting. And you heard the truth. And
God opened your ears, opened your eyes, opened your heart. You believed the Gospel. There's a song, I'm sure Marty
knows it, probably Joe knows it, and several of you perhaps.
I am amazed that God could ever love me so full of sin, so covered
o'er with shame. Make me to walk with Him who
is above me, cleansed by the power of His redeeming name. I am amazed that God would ever
save me. Not but the cross could take
away my sin. Through faith in Christ, eternal
life He gave me. Now He abides forevermore within. I am amazed that God would stoop
to bless me and choose me an heir to the
riches of His grace. Till that perfection shall at
last possess me, He has reserved for all who by His grace seek
His face." I'm telling you, we're wonders of His grace. We're all miracles. We owe everything to the Lord.
Don't you dare try to take credit for anything. You wouldn't, would
you? I tell you, our God said, I am
the Lord. That is My name. He's not your co-pilot. That's
not His name. His name is the Lord. And no preacher on this earth
had deserved the name reverend. Holy and reverend, that's His
name. I am the Lord. That is My name. My glory. I'm not going to give it to another.
He's not going to give it to anybody. It belongs to our God
only. And we say, thank You, Lord.
Thank You, Lord, for saving us by Your grace. And Lord, thank
You that You abide with us. 75. That's our last song tonight.
Number 75.