Wonderful. Man, I was thinking
about, as we were saying that, the wonders of His love. And
in that study in John 17 on Wednesday nights, we found out that God
loves us like He loves Christ. That'll make you wonder, won't
it? That'll make you wonder and awe that He loves you and I,
beloved, as He loves Christ. My, I'll tell you what. Somebody said, if that doesn't
bless your blesser, then your blesser is broken. Right. So,
oh, my. That's a good one. That's just
just wondrous to think that he loves us that much. And we're
going to see that love manifested. The love of God manifested today
in the very fact. That Christ came at the exact
time. To redeem his people from their
sins, turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter one. We read
one verse from there. Now, up to Christmas Day, we
were building up, we looked at several times the incarnation
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity,
the word of God, and how he became a man and died for the sins of
his people. And the angel proclaimed this here in Matthew 1, 21, where
it says, and she shall bring forth a son and thou shall call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
We found out from studying that that was before conception. So
the angel is telling Joseph what they shall name the baby even
before it's conceived. It's wondrous. Now I'll turn
to Galatians chapter 4. Galatians chapter 4. The name
of the message is Christ's incarnation And the Word of God became a
man. By a miracle birth, I was talking
to a friend of mine, and he went and talked to a friend of his
who was dying. And it's gonna have a serious
operation, and he might not make it through it. My friend told
him, he was telling him about Christ, and told him, he goes,
well, let me tell you about Christ. And the guy said, go ahead. And
he said, he said, the only thing I can't believe is that virgin
birth. And I said to my buddy, I said,
you're gonna, that man is gonna put his eternal soul in jeopardy because you can't
believe the virgin birth, and we're talking about God. We're
talking about God became a man. We're talking about God who made
everything. So it just shows you how natural man, unless God
gives us faith to believe, and we were there, I was there, that
we won't believe, even right up to our death. Now, I pray
the Lord will save that man, but it just shows you how depraved
we really are, and the fact that we can get tripped up by such
a small thing that's a miracle. It's easy for God, isn't it?
But see, because we can't see it, man says, well, I can't see
it. I've never seen that before.
Well, the world saw it. The world saw it at the exact
time that God had ordained. How do we know that? Look at
Galatians chapter four, verses one to seven. That the heir,
as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though
he be Lord of all. He's talking about a born-again
believer before we're saved. We're heirs, and we don't even
know it. And you can't tell us any different
from someone who's not an heir. So you can't tell, basically
what he's telling us here is you can't tell the difference between
a sheep and a goat before the Lord saves them. Before the Lord
saves that sheep, you can't tell. But it's under tutors and governors
until the time appointed of the father. Look at that. There was
a time appointed by the father. Now, some can put their name
on that exact date. I can't put my name on an exact
date. I just know now I believe. And that's all that matters,
right, is what do you believe right now, right this second.
But some can put an exact date on that, a finger on that date.
That's good if you can. All I know is now I believe.
I didn't believe one day, and now I believe. And that's a miracle
of grace, isn't it? And that was a time appointed
by the Father. So the time that you believed was appointed by
the Father. Brian Edwards said he was driving
home from service, right? And he just said, I believe.
The Lord saved him just like that. Isn't that wonderful? My, oh
my. So all of us had a time. It's
called the time of love in the scripture. Even so, we, when
we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.
Again, you couldn't tell us apart from the goats. But when the fullness
of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made
under the law. Now, over in chapter 2, verse
13, which we looked at in Sunday School this morning, it says,
Christ hath redeemed us. It's already done. But when was
it done? It was done in the fullness of
time. God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the
law. Look at that. God became a man. The seed of
the woman, just like predicted in Genesis chapter 3, right? Made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law. Well, this morning's text was
Christ hath redeemed us. So the whole reason he was sent,
if you look over in Galatians chapter 2, it's a good verse
to look at. Look at that. Galatians chapter 2, verse 13.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. I'm in chapter 2, sorry. Look
at this. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, cursed
is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Why did he do that? Look at verse
14. That the blessings of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, that's
you and I, through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise
of the Spirit through faith. Isn't that wonderful? So the
whole reason it tells us in Galatians 4, Verse 5 is that Christ was
sent to redeem us. Well, Galatians 2.13 tells us
we're already redeemed. So one's talking about before
he came to this world. In chapter 4, he's talking about
before he came to this world. And then in chapter 2, Paul's
talking about after when he died on the cross. And the whole thing
with this book of Galatians is it's a book of law and grace.
And so Paul is bringing forth here that God sent his son at
the exact perfect time to redeem, why? To redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of
a son into your hearts, crying, I have a father. The reason we're
born again is because we're sons. We're heirs and we didn't even
know it. Isn't that amazing? And now we cry, Abba, Father.
Now we cry out to our Father. My, wherefore thou art no more
a servant but a son. We're adopted, beloved. My, oh,
my. And if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ. In those words there, the fullness
of time, they're full of instruction for we who are the beloved of
God, the people of God, because the time of Christ's birth was
fixed. Just like the time of his death was fixed. Just like
every second of his life was fixed. So think of that as you're
reading through the New Testament through John, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John, think of all those times he met people. Those
meetings were not only divinely appointed, but they were to the
exact second. Every second of his life was
ordained by God. What does that mean for us? The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord. Proverbs tells us. He's with
us from conception all the way to the grave, beloved. And he'll
never leave us nor forsake us. Isn't that wonderful? Even, even, even, when the heir
looked like a servant. Even before we were saved, he
was watching over us and keeping us safe. How many times, you
look back in your life, how many times should you have died before
the Lord saved you? Ever have any of those situations
in your life? I bet you every one of us has at least one. And
some have many, yeah. Well, you can look back and go,
man, I could have died in that situation. Why were you preserved? Because there was a time appointed,
a time of love, because Christ had come into this world. The
word of God had come into this world called the incarnation,
became a man and lived the perfect life and died before the law
of God as a perfect substitute. In Galatians 4, it says, to redeem
us, we his people who were under the curse of the law. See, the
law, I mentioned in Sunday school, one old grace preacher said that
when we're born into this world, we're born with a death sentence.
We're already guilty. We're already guilty before God.
So we come into this world dead in trespasses and sins. It's
only the grace and mercy of God that saves us, isn't it? Only
the grace and mercy of God. But the scripture also says that
we weren't appointed to wrath. Well, where did our wrath fall
then that was due us? It fell on Christ. It fell on
Christ, beloved. That's the whole reason he came,
to redeem them who were under the law. How did he do that?
By the giving of his life. My, oh my. So he's sent by the
Father to die, to redeem us, to purchase us with his precious
blood. And this is all set by the eternal purpose of God. And do you know that all things
that come to pass in this world come according to God's eternal
plan and purpose? And he's not the author of sin,
I'll tell you that. What does he have to do for man to sin? Leave him alone, amen. Just leave
him alone. We are just so hell-bent. My oh my. And see, that's why
Jude talks about where brands plucked from the fire. My oh my. We were on the broadway,
weren't we? Lord took us off the broadway
and put us on the narrow way. The road that's all paved. the road to the city of refuge,
the final city of refuge, heaven, where there be no more sin, no
more sorrow, no more struggle, no more tribulation, joy unspeakable. You know why? Because we'll be
beholding Christ. That's the whole reason. Our
faith, which now we see through a glass darkly, our faith will
become sight. And we're going to behold Him
just like we behold each other. We're going to see Him face to
face, beloved. Can you imagine that? Leaving the land of the dead,
which is this world, and waking up in the land of the living,
and the first person you see is the Lord Jesus Christ. In
all His glory, there's my Savior. There's the lover of my soul.
There's the one who became a man, walked this earth, living a perfect
life for me. There he is. I see him like I
see you. That's what Paul wrote, that
we're going to see him like we see each other and like we're
seeing. Isn't that magnificent? It's
wondrous. Our great God, he's never in
a hurry either. We get in a hurry, don't we? We have to be somewhere,
we get in a hurry. We showed up at Zane's house
the other day and we were about a half an hour late because we
had to make a stop at brother Brian's house and pick up some
stuff. And I said, oh sorry Zane, we're late. He goes, no you're
not late. You're here in God's perfect timing. I'm like, Man,
I love you, buddy. I love that guy. He always bringing
that stuff out. I love it. He goes, no, you're
not late. You're here according to God's providence. Man, what
a wonderful way to look at it, eh? My, oh my. Our God's never
in a hurry. Our great God, all his works
are glorious. And he does all things according
to his timetable. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ
came into this world at the exact time that was appointed. by the
Heavenly Father. A brief look at history. If you
start to look at history through the lens of providence, of God's
providence, it'll change your view of history. It's absolutely
incredible. Because you see God's hand working all through history. Sovereignly working all things,
getting ready for the coming of His Son. The Jews, they'd
been carried into Babylon in captivity. But then they were
delivered by the hand of God, just as he promised. And they
were never again given over to open idolatry. Ezra and the scribes
compiled the scriptures and taught them in synagogues, were established
for the teaching of the scriptures, and the scriptures became known
throughout the known world. And all these things prepared.
were done in preparation for the entrance of Christ into this
world. I mentioned before in the sermons in December that
the conquests of Alexander the Great all the way to India spread the Greek language in a vast area. Then came the
Romans. They conquered the Greeks but
kept the language. But they built roads. They built roads. Roads where their armies could
travel, their legions could travel at an incredible speed. But also
roads that could be used by traders and common folks like you and
I. And he raised up that Roman Empire
for his purpose. And then they, the Romans also,
implemented a strange system of taxation that required every
man to return to his hometown. They were the only ones who did
it. You know, they were working God's
will and purpose and they didn't even know it. Some might say, well, What do
these things have to do with preparing the world for Christ's
incarnation? Turn, if you would, to Micah,
chapter 5, and then put your finger in Luke, chapter 2. So this strange form of taxation
required every man to return to his hometown to pay taxes.
And it was done by Caesar Augustus. that all the world should be
taxed. Now that, of course, the world there shows us that the
world in scripture doesn't always mean the world, because that
was the known world at that time. That was speaking of, the Romans
called their civilization the world, and everyone else was
just a bunch of savage barbarians. Uncivilized people, they called
them. The Romans were very proud of
their lineage and their heritage. Look at this in Micah chapter
5 verse 2. But thou, Bethlehem Ephraith, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, Micah 5, 2, yet out of thee he
shall come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel, whose
going forth have been from old, from everlasting. Now here's
Joseph and Mary and they live in Nazareth. They live in Nazareth. But what
we just read there is the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem. Turn, if you would, to Luke chapter
2. All of a sudden, Caesar Augustus says, we're going to do this
taxation where every man has to go back to his hometown. Joseph's hometown was Bethlehem. The very place that was prophesied that Christ
would be born there. So you see how God's using the
heathen emperor for his will to be accomplished. Look at this. Luke chapter 2
verses 1 to 7. And it came to pass in those
days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all
the world should be taxed. Again, that's all the Roman world.
And this taxation was first made when Cyrenus was a governor of
Syria. and all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. So they had to go back to the
city they were from. My, oh my. And Joseph also went
up from Galilee, there he is, out of the city of Nazareth into
Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because
he was of the house and the lineage of David. To be taxed with Mary,
his espoused wife, being great with child, So some might say,
well, why did Mary come with him? Well, because that baby
had to be born in Bethlehem, right? She was great with child. Most of us, man, if we were going
to make a trip like that, right, we'd say to our wives, you need
to stay home. All right, but she wanted to come and he didn't
hinder her, did he? Because it was all part of God's
plan and purpose. Nothing and no one will ever
stop God's will from being accomplished. And God protected Mary, didn't
he? She didn't have a miscarriage
because of the bumping around. We don't even know if they walked
or if they were on a horse or on a camel. We don't know. Or
on a cart. We have no idea. But they got there, didn't they?
Oh no, Mary was on an ass, wasn't she? And she went, yeah, that's
right. But still, bumpy roads? That'd
be an awful ride, wouldn't it? And you're fully pregnant? My
oh my. And so it was that while they
were there in Bethlehem, the days were accomplished that she
should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn
son and wrapped him in swollen clothes, And laid him in a manger
because there was no room for them in the end So here God in
this providence had had Alexander the great go and conquer all
the way to India conquer the Middle East to all the way to
India then the Roman government Romans the Empires come and they
conquer exactly right up the same thing, but they put roads
in and everything but they keep the Greek language the scriptures
are written in Greek and Right? The New Testament. Whoosh! They
got all these nice roads. Do you see how God used all those
heathens? Right? That's what God called. They're
called that. That's what we were. I was a
heathen. I was. But God used all them. to accomplish those things. See
how this is why I know we are aware of the things going on
in the world, but this is why we don't have to stress out about
the things in the world. Right? God's will is being accomplished. His will is being accomplished,
right? And it will be. You know, as long as God wants
a gospel church in Elmont, Michigan, this church will be here. Right? When he doesn't want it anymore,
then here, move it. Or shut it down. But for now,
we're rejoicing, aren't we? We got a church here right in
Elmont, Michigan. It's wonderful, isn't it? What a blessing, yeah. And God's blessing the work.
Blessing we as His people. We get the privilege of being
together every week. You know, I thought, here's another
year. This is year eight for us. We
just, December 15th was our seventh year here. This is year eight
now. Eight years already. It doesn't
seem like that, does it? We love it. It's been wonderful.
We're looking forward to another however many years the Lord gives
us here, right? My oh my. But see, time goes
just like that, doesn't it? But even all the things going
on in this world right now, things that trouble us or make us anxious,
is all happening according to God's will and purpose. My. That's why you keep hearing
me say, just look to Christ. You know why I say that so much?
Because I say it to myself all the time. Just keep looking to
Christ, Wayne. Just keep looking to Christ.
My oh my. Here's the first point I want
to bring forth here. The incarnation of Christ was at the right time.
We saw that over in Galatians, right? That at the fullness of
time, God sent forth his son. It was at the right time. The
right time in history. The time that God had planned
and purposed. See, some may say, well, why
didn't he come in 1995? Because God planned and purposed
2,000 years ago for him to come. And some say, well, why hasn't
he come yet? Because the time, why hasn't he returned? Because
the time of his return has not come yet. See, scoffers will
scoff. They had scoffers amongst the
time of the apostles. We've had scoffers with us, right?
And if the Lord tarries our brothers and sisters in the future, they'll
have scoffers among them too. You know what happens to scoffers? They die. And they find out God
is real if he leaves them in their sins. My, oh my. But when the fullness
of time come, Galatians 4 verses 4 and 5 says, when the fullness
of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made
under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoptions of the son. So the reservoir
of time had to be filled, right? The exact time for when Christ
would come. the inflowing of age after age.
And when it was filled to the brim at that exact time, Christ
came. Christ came, came into this world,
the word of God, sent by the Father and appointed by God the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And why should the world have
remained without him, who is the great light for 4,000 years
between Adam and Christ's coming? After Adam was formed out of
the dust, and why should it have taken the length of that time
for the Jewish church to attain her full age? Well, we can't
tell, can we? We can't tell. But we're plainly
told in Galatians that when the fullness of time was come, God
sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, made just
like us, yet sinless, perfect, spotless, without sin, the seed
of the woman, mine. Our Lord didn't come before his
time or behind time. He came at the exact hour. He
said, Lo, I am come. My, my, oh, my. Let us consider the second point.
Christ's incarnation gives us eternal rest from fear. And the angel said unto them,
fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto you in this day in the
city of David is born a savior, which is Christ the Lord, the
Messiah, the Messiah, the anointed one. The very reason Christ came
into this world is he might deliver us from our sins. My God became a man. He was made a man in order for
him to save his people. Because as God, he could not
die, right? He can't die. God can't die.
But man can. So God becomes a man. The God-man.
and gives his life as a ransom for our eternal souls. Purchasing
us with that precious, precious blood of his. The life of the
flesh is in the blood. You lose an arm, you can live.
Lose a leg, you can live. Lose two legs, you can still
live. You lose your head, you lose your blood. Lose all your
blood, You're dead. Yeah. So he gives his he gives
his life, sheds his blood to purchase our eternal souls. My. And some think I'm such a sinner,
there's no mercy for me and my. My words to them are flee to
Christ, this sinner found mercy. flee to him. My, my sins are many, but yet
they're forgiven, washed clean by the precious blood of Christ,
because Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being
made a curse for us. Praise be to God. No wonder the
psalmist wrote, praise ye the Lord. No wonder he said, hallelujah
to the Lord, for the great things he's done. Jesus Christ came to seek and
to save that which is lost. He didn't come to save the whole. Those who thought they didn't
need help. No, He came to save sinners. Dirty, rotten sinners. And He saved this one. And He
can save all who come to Him. We're living proof of that, aren't
we? We're living proof of that. Oh my. If He shall not save,
then His mission in coming to this earth has missed its mark.
Because He was born a Savior. He's born a King. For unto you
this day is born in the city of David a Savior. He's born
a Savior, beloved. Which is Christ the Lord, Luke
2.11. Born a Savior. Born a king. My, God himself has come, the
infinite one, the almighty one, the ancient of days. Stooped from the highest of heavens
to save sinners, such as we. Wicked and worthless sinners,
that's what I am. Paul said, I'm the chief of sinners.
Paul's got a lot of competition, doesn't he? Because isn't that
how we feel? Oh, He saved our souls. He has
redeemed us, beloved. It's done. It's work that's finished.
Praise be to God. And He redeemed us out from under
that law, the curse of the law. My, does not the incarnation
of Christ take away the horrible dread that hangs over men like
a black cloud? Our sin used to hang over us,
didn't it? We're free! We're free, beloved. If the Son
shall set you free, you shall be free indeed. Let us live in
that liberty. Let us live in that freedom that
we have in Christ. Stand fast in the freedom, the
liberty, wherewith Christ hath made you free, and be not again
entangled in the yoke of bondage. A savior from sin. My God over all, blessed forever. And there's no gospel if Christ
did not come. There's no good news if Christ
did not die. We'd still be dead in trespasses
and sins. We'd have no hope ever if Christ
didn't come. Oh my. But God becomes a man. As one commentator says, God
himself has espoused our nature and taken it into union with
himself. Then the bells of my soul ring merry. Rejoice, sinner
friend. Christ came to save sinners. Hallelujah. It's wonderful. The one who died in our room
and place is none other than God incarnated in the flesh.
Third point, which I like to bring forth is that the incarnation
of Christ is joyous and personal. He said to the shepherds, behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. That's Jew and Gentile, right?
And truly this angelic message is still the source of joy to
all who hear with ears to hear. Isn't the gospel wonderful? Doesn't
it fill your heart with joy to know that Christ has redeemed
us from the curse of the law, a curse that we could never get
out from under? He's redeemed us with his precious, precious
blood. So rejoice, then, you who are
the redeemed of the Lord. Christ came to seek and to save
you. Christ came to seek and to save
me. Isn't that wonderful? Were you
looking for him when he sought you out? Because I sure wasn't. Praise God, he seeks his sheep,
right? What did he do? He went after that one lost sheep.
That's a picture of you and I, beloved. And when David said about Mephibosheth,
go and fetch him. That's called fetching grace. God fetched us, didn't he? We
were lost in the wilderness of this world. He fetched us. God
the Holy Spirit came and got a hold of us. Did we say, no,
I don't want to come right now? No. We were made well in the
day of his power, weren't we? And then we came. Oh, we came.
We ran to Christ, didn't we? And we've been praising his name
ever since, haven't we? My sometimes our hearts are heavy. We can't praise him like we would
like to but we still praise him Don't we and sometimes our hearts
are filled with joy. Oh, let us just praise him say
hallelujah Let us just rejoice in who he is. He's a wonderful
merciful Savior beloved I can't I can't tell you more about my
king then he's my king. He's my Savior. He's my Lord
He's a lover of my soul My, He's the King of kings and the Lord
of lords. There's no one like Him. There never has been anyone
like Him and there never will be anyone like Him. He was God
incarnate in the flesh. The Word of God come down from
heaven to save our souls. Oh my, He's a lion of the tribe
of Judah. He's conquered. He's conquered,
beloved. His name is a name above all
names, and His name, the Lord Jesus Christ. Every knee shall
bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father. We'll be among that number, but
we'll be saved, beloved. I'll be saved and lost, bowing
our knees, and all from our hearts will come words of praise. Jesus
Christ is Lord. He's Lord, beloved. Remember
that? A leper came to him and said,
Lord, if thou will, thou can make me clean. He said, I will.
What wonderful words. What wonderful words. There was
a day when we cried out, Lord, oh Lord, save my soul. And he
says, I will. I have. I've already redeemed
you. See, I like what Tim James said. He said, we gospel preachers,
we proclaim something that was done 2,000 years ago. Christ already, he's redeemed
us from the curse of the law. My oh my. We're just proclaiming
something that's already been done. And God the Holy Spirit
makes it effectual, doesn't he? Makes your heart rejoice when
you hear it. Oh my. So rejoice, O sinners, everywhere. The Restorer of the castaways,
the Savior of fallen, the Savior of sinners is born, and His name
is Jesus Christ our Lord. Joy in Him, you saints. He's the Preserver of our souls. He's the Deliverer from our numerous
perils. He alone is the Perfecter of
all whom He preserves. And Christ is no partial Savior.
He's no partial savior. He doesn't begin a work, never
complete it. No, he who begins a work will complete it in us,
beloved. You're completed. And he perfects and presents
the saved ones at their death, perfect, spotless in his image. My, oh my. That'll fill up our
hearts with joy, won't it? So rejoice then, all you people,
let your hills and valleys ring with joy. If you're in a hill,
on top of a hill, rejoice. If you're in a valley, rejoice.
I know it's hard, but I'll tell you what, if we look to Christ
here in them valleys, we will have joy. I'm mixed with sorrow,
but we will have joy. My, oh my. Christ Jesus the Lord was born
and died, lived and died a perfect life that we might have life,
beloved. One may say, but I'm poor. I'm
poor. Well, so were the shepherds,
weren't they? So were the shepherds. And what'd they do? They ran
to see the child, didn't they? Oh my, they ran to see the child. And you know what we realize
as sinners? We realize that we're totally bankrupt. You talk about poor. There's
no poorer than being bankrupt, is there? We're bankrupt sinners, aren't
we? See, God brings us a point to where we see ourselves as
bankrupt sinners. And then we see the Savior. Then
we see the one, oh my, who in Him is all riches and blessings.
And I'm not talking financial riches. I'm talking riches, spiritual
riches. Financial, you know financial
riches, they're gonna disappear the moment we die. Nice to be comfortable. The Lord
keeps us all comfortable, doesn't he? Right? Takes care of us sheep. Always gives us what we need.
Always. Always. My oh my. God is so good. Let us Consider how also His incarnation
is a wonder to angels. Here's the King of kings and
the Lord of lords, the ruler of all things, sets aside His
glory and comes down to this earth. The angels would be in
wonder and awe. Here's the one we bow down to. He's become a
man. He's become a man. They would
be in awe of that. They would be in wonder of that.
He who created all things by the word of his power, he who
bears up the pillars of creation, now he's become so weak that
he must be carried in the arms of a woman as a small infant. Does he have a palace? No. Does he have a room in Caesar's
palace? Does he have a cradle of gold?
No. Does he have pillows of down?
You know, a prince's pillow would be so comfortable. No. No. He who was king in eternity. He is who is born king. He who
is king right now. was born in a dilapidated stable
where the ox stood and was laid in the manger where they fed. There the Savior lies, wrapped in swaddling bands of
a child of poverty. But he doesn't rest there very
long. No, they go to Egypt, don't they? And you know, when he was
about two years old, the wise men showed up at his door. And
they gave him gold and silver and mirth, precious things. And
those were used for them to go to Egypt, beloved. You see how
God's hand of providence is at work? Dave, was it you that I was talking
to about the Magi? And you said they came from Babylon.
And Daniel was in Babylon. How did they know about God?
Years before. Daniel was in Babylon. I told Dave he needs to make
a sermon about that so we can hear him speak on it. My, it's
wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. He must go to Egypt and become
a stranger in a strange land. Then he comes back and he grows
up in Nazareth. He grows up in Nazareth. And
the angels must have marveled at this. Here's the king, a little
wee baby. Here he is. Here he is growing
up as a man. He's still king, isn't he? Those
angels are still subject to him. And they watch in awe and wonder
as the nails pierce his hands. They watch with hand on their
sword as the nails pierce his feet. They watch in shock as he dies on the cross. And then they're there at his
tomb. And they say, why seek you the
living among the dead? He's risen. He's risen. He's risen. And the scripture says, for our
justification, he rose. Isn't that wonderful? Absolutely
wonderful. And His incarnation is the marvel
of mortals. It's absolutely incredible. The King of Kings, the Lord of
Lords, the Ancient of Days, the Holy One of Israel, is our Savior. Elohim. Jehovah's akin to The Lord our righteousness is
our Savior that who came to this earth That's who became a man The strong
and mighty one the self-existent one becomes a man to save us
not to save everyone a But to save his people from their sins
And the scripture declares this, like we read in Sunday School,
Christ hath, or has, redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us. And all we can say is, Hallelujah. What a Savior. What a Savior. Oh, gracious Heavenly Father,
thank you, thank you, thank you for sending your Son Thank you for salvation's plan,
planned and purposed in eternity. Thou art the Holy One, and you
purposed and planned to save a remnant of sinners from all
the human race, a people of your choosing, not because of anything
in us, simply because of thy mercy and thy grace. Praise your mighty name. And
Lord Jesus, thank you. Thank you for coming to this
earth. Thank you for suffering and bleeding
and dying. And thank you for living a perfect
life, which we never could. Thank you for redeeming us from
the curse of the law, fully burying all our sins. And thank you,
Holy Spirit. Thank you for seeking us out
and regenerating us. saving us and giving us faith,
all faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise your mighty name, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. And we pray that this new year
that you'll watch over the church here. Oh, that you'll watch over
all the saints here. Give us grace and time of need
as you know what's coming for us in 2023, even though we have
no idea what's awaiting us. But we trust in you. We trust
in your sovereignty, knowing that you have all things planned
and purposed according to thy will and purpose. We love you
and praise you, give you great thanks in Jesus' name. Amen.