Luke chapter 1, verses 46 through
55, as we've already mentioned in the reading, is Mary's song. Mary's song of praise. And Mary
sums up the reason for her song of praise in verse 49, which
is her text. Let's read it together again.
For he that is mighty, mighty, the almighty God, who else could
do the things Mary speaks of? For he that is mighty hath done
to me great things, and holy is his name." Mary had good reason
to sing, didn't she? She had a good reason to sing. But so does every believer. Every child of God has good reason
to sing. I pray that God will give us
grace to join in with Mary in ascribing praise to our God and
Savior. It'll do us good. It'll do us
good. I think it was a few months ago
in June, when I preached up in New Castle, Indiana, where Brother
Bruce Crabtree is pastor, if I remember correctly, they sang
a song that says, forget about yourself. Forget about yourself. Man, that's tough. That's more than tough. That's
impossible to do unless God enables us to do it, gives us something
better than self to think of. Forget about yourself and concentrate
on Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, and worship Him. Worship Him. Concentrate on Him. That, as
I said, will do us good. The title of my message from
verse 49 being our text is this. Great things, great things he
hath done. Great things he hath done. Of
course that, those words, that expression is from a hymn by
Fanny Cosby that she wrote in 1875, which is exactly what Mary
says here, doesn't she? To God be the glory. Great things
he hath taught us, great things he hath done, and great are rejoicing
through Jesus the Son. Oh, but purer and higher and
greater it will be. Our wonder, our wonder, wide-eyed
wonder, our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. And the refrain is this, you
know it, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear
his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through
Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, great things he hath done. O let us, by God's grace, ask
that he would enable us to worship him, to forget about ourself
and worship him. Job chapter 5, I will seek unto
God, unto God will I commit my cause, which doeth great things
and unsearchable. Every child of God, Old Testament
or new, they all were made aware of this. My soul, what a great
God we serve, which doeth great things and unsearchable. Marvelous things without number. who giveth rain upon the earth
and sendeth waters upon the fields." No. Evolution didn't cause that. God Almighty causes that. To
set up on high those that be low, just like He did for Mary,
just like He did for you and me, like He does for every beggar
at the throne of grace, that those which mourn may be exalted
to safety. David, this was a frequent theme
of his Psalms. We should say always, actually,
not about himself, but about his God. Psalm 72, verse 17. His name shall endure forever. O behold, the greater than Solomon
is here. He's talking about his God and
his son, David's son and David's God, the Lord Jesus Christ. When
he says his name shall endure forever, His name shall be continued
as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in Him. All nations
shall call Him blessed. Blessed be the God, blessed be
the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things,
wondrous things. And blessed be His glorious name
forever, and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen
and amen. Let it be so. Let it be so. One more, Psalm 126, verse 1. When the Lord turned again the
captivity of Zion, we were like them that dreamed. Oh, like those that dreamed. Oh, this is, is this real? Is this real? Am I dreaming? Have I imagined this? Has God
Almighty actually had mercy on this sinner? God sent His Son
for me? This is not a delusion. Oh, bless
His wondrous name. It is not. It is indeed a wonder,
a wonder, but it's a wondrous reality. God Almighty had mercy
on me. Then was our mouth filled with
laughter. Laughter. Oh, we wake us from
a dream. This is too good to be true,
but bless his name, it is true. Then was our mouth filled with
laughter and our tongue with singing. Then said they among
the heathen, the Lord had done great things for them. The Lord had done great things
for them. The Lord had done great things
for us whereof we are glad. Look again, if you will, in Luke
chapter 1, the reason of Mary's song, verses 30 through 32. The angel Gabriel, verse 30,
says to her, this angel, God's messenger, those that are sent
to be angels for those who are the elect of God, they watch
over them, they do God's bidding, And God sends the angel of all
places to Nazareth. Nazareth. They ridicule Nazareth,
the religious elite. Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth? And he goes to Nazareth of Galilee
to a virgin, an obscure, poor virgin. engaged to a lowly carpenter. My soul. Imagine that. And the
angel says, fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. I don't know if it's on the margin
of your Bible, but you might want to take a pen and pencil
it in. If it's not, the word favor means
God has graced you. That's what it means. God has
graced you. Oh, my. If God has graced me,
It is well, it is well. You have found favor. God has
graced you. Verse 31, and behold, behold,
thou shalt concede in thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt
call his name Jesus. Jesus. Oh, Jesus. Lord Jesus. Savior. Master. Oh, there's something
about that name. Verse 32, he shall be great. He shall be great and
shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall
give unto him the throne of his father David. Oh God the Son
must be coming on a great mission, mustn't he? If it required him
being made flesh and blood, it must be for a great reason. The
word being made flesh, Emmanuel, God with us. God with us. Man, think about it. Immanuel, God with us. In the beginning was the Word,
the eternal Word, the express image of God. And that eternal
everlasting God, the Word, was made flesh, wrapped in flesh,
the Word of God. The Word of God. Someone said
the Word of God is about God the Word. and the Word of God
was made flesh and dwelt among us. God with us, my soul. What a wonder that is. That in
itself, the very fact of that, that that happened should give
us some idea of the magnitude of his mission. It must be a
great mission and it was. It was. Why else would he come? He didn't do like so many supposed. to set up an earthly kingdom. Even his disciples, the whole
time he was with them, those three and a half years, they
kept wondering, when are you going to set up the kingdom?
When are you going to bring us out from under Roman bondage?
When are you going to give us a place, a prominent place? Let
us sit on your left hand and on your right in the kingdom
that you're going to set up on earth. My kingdom's not of this
world. And they didn't understand that
until after he had risen from the dead. Oh, his purpose was
much more, much greater, much more wondrous than setting up
an earthly kingdom. Kingdoms come and kingdoms go.
Oh, but the king of kings came into this world for a greater
mission, to set up his kingdom in the hearts of his people.
The Kingdom of God is within you. It doesn't come with observation. The Kingdom of God is within
you. And when He comes in by His mighty grace, He sets up
His throne in your heart. He does that for all His people.
All His people. And I've got to be careful not
to pitch tent here because This teaching always rubs me the wrong
way. The very thought of it rubs me
the wrong way. But anybody that's not bowed
to Jesus Christ, he's an unbeliever. I don't care who he is. He or
she is an unbeliever. Oh no. Our great God and King,
He comes in sovereign power and majesty and He enters into that
soul and heart of man and he sets up his kingdom, he makes
them new creatures by his grace and glory to his name, they know
it. They know it and they give him
all the glory for it. Oh, that's why he came. That's
why he came. Why else would he be made flesh
and blood like unto his brethren except for this? Because they
were incarnations. That is God becoming man, Christ
becoming man. Incarnation is prophecy, is prophetic
of salvation. You can use that if you like.
You can write that down if you like. Incarnation is prophecy
of salvation. Oh, behold, the Lamb of God has
come. Before atonement could be made,
Christ must first be made flesh. Man sinned. Man must satisfy
God. But Billy, we can't do it. We
can't do it. We perhaps at one time in our
lives thought we could before we had any better sense, before
God taught us different. We thought by works, by decisions,
by being religious, We could please God. And then one day
by his grace he stripped us and brought us down and showed us,
that's filthy rag. You're lost, you're undone. And
if I don't have mercy on you, you're going to stay that way.
Oh, Jesus Christ must be made flesh. What a great thing that
is. He must be made like his brethren
before he can be made sin for his brethren. He must be made
flesh before he can be made sin. What a wonder that is! Behold! Behold! When the fullness
of the time was come, oh, look at this wonder! Look at this
wonder! And when you think of it, think
of it as much as you're able, as the babe in the stable, Behold,
when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his
Son, made of a woman, made under the law. Why would God do that?
So that he could redeem them that were under the law. In burnt offerings, Hebrews 10,
and sacrifices for sin that had no pleasure. Then I came, Christ
speaking to his Father. Then I came, in the volume of
the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God, in that
body that you have prepared me." Wow, wow. What a great God and
Savior that He is. Hebrews 2 and 10. For it became
Him, that is, it was necessary. It became Him, for whom are all
things. And by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. Verse 17 of Hebrews 2. In all
things it behooved him. Became him, behooved him, it
was necessary. It behooved him to be made like
unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people. Christ became what he never was
before. Unto us a child is born. Yes, yes. First time. Oh, but not the first time that
the Son was given. He came as the Son. He's the
eternal, everlasting Son of God. He's always been God the Son.
Christ became what He never was before, a man. A man. And He would never cease being
a man. Once he took on himself the form of a man, once he was
made like unto his brethren, he remains that way and he will
be so forever and ever and ever. Right now, Christ the God-man
sits upon the throne of glory making intercession for his brethren. What a wonder. He became what
he never was, a man, so that we might be made what we could
never be otherwise, a child of God. an heir and a joint heir
with Christ, with the very nature of Jesus Christ. God stamps in
regeneration the very image of His Son upon the heart of everyone
that He calls by His grace. That nature, that image, that
new man sins not. Sins not. The image of Christ
created anew in the heart of every believer. Behold, What
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should
be called the sons of God. When's the last time that you
turned off the computer and the smartphone and the TV and the
radio and just got along with God and shut the door and sat
down and wonder at this? Behold! Behold! That'll humble you. That'll bring
you down. That'll make you forget about
yourself. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us that we should be called the sons of God. The sons of God. Therefore the
world knoweth us not. Well, that's okay. Because it
knew him not. Beloved, now, now are we the
sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But
we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is. If salvation could have been
performed by anyone else, God would not have given His only
begotten Son. Again, here in chapter 1 of Luke,
look at verse 32. He, God's Son, Jesus, Emmanuel,
He shall be great. Oh, I like the sound of that,
don't you? He shall be great and shall be
called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David and he shall reign. He
shall reign over the house of Jacob, his people, his chosen,
his redeemed forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Wow. Wow, what a wonder that
is. Of his kingdom there shall be
no end. You see, redemption was a single-handed
work. Single-handed. I have trod the
winepress alone. That's the words of our Redeemer.
That's the words of Christ hundreds of years before. He says, I have
trod the winepress alone, and of the people there were none
with me. None. What he had by himself. Oh, did God be the glory. Great
things he had done. No wonder Mary saw him. When
she mentions herself, it's only because she's a recipient of
this great mercy. But the one she gives the credit
to for this great mercy is none other than God and the God-man,
Jesus Christ himself. Oh, I have trod the winepress
alone. When he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down
at the right hand of the majesty on high, that place that only
he deserves. That place that he earned, that
place that he merited, that place where he represents you and I. What a great God and Savior.
And grace flows from only one fountain. One fountain. John
said, the law was given by Moses. And people think they can be
saved, Lester, by keeping the law. My soul. The law was never
given for that purpose. The law was to show us and to
prove to us that we needed a Savior. But He couldn't save. It can
condemn, but it can't give life. Oh, for that we must look elsewhere. But grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. Paul in Romans 5 verse 15 said,
but grace comes by one man, the Lord Jesus Christ, our great
God and Savior. He's great in his dignity, his
nature, in the depth of his humiliation. Spurgeon, I think it was, who
said, I don't know what to admire most, the heights of your glory
or the depths of your humiliation. Oh, which is the greatest wonder?
He that was so rich, what a wonder. But look how poor he became for
our sake. He's great in the glory of His
righteousness, great in the merit of His blood, in the provisions
of His gospel, in the salvation of His people, in the extent
of His kingdom. His greatness is stamped upon
every promise that He makes, every pardon that He grants,
every blessing that He gives, and every victory that He gains
is stamped with His own blessed greatness. is a reflection of
who he is. Believer, listen, your Savior
is great. Your Savior is great. Things
are not as dark as you may imagine. Your Savior is great. He saves
great sinners by his great grace, and he will bring each to be
with him in glory forever. His greatness shall fill his
people with everlasting joy, and his enemies unending woe. He shall be great on earth, great
in heaven, and great in hell. Every sinner saved by grace can
name this tune, can they not, that Mary is singing? Oh yes,
he that is mighty has done for me great things. Great things. And that begs the
question, that the writer in Hebrews 2 brought up. How shall
we escape if we neglect? Can you imagine? Something is
desperately wrong. If people can neglect such a
great salvation, man, neglect anything else. Neglect that doctor's
appointment. Neglect going to work tomorrow.
But don't neglect this great salvation. There is none other.
How shall we escape if we neglect? What a word. Neglect so great
salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. God's salvation
is called so great salvation because it comes from the great
God. And it's salvation for great sinners, none other kind. None other kind. When I preach
or converse with people or witness to them, And they begin to tell
me, well, I'm not that bad. I said, well, God have mercy
on you. Because Christ comes to save
the baddest of the bad. Christ comes to save great sinners. He comes to us through the merits
of his great saviorship. It flows to us from the great
reservoir of God's great mercy and love and grace and it secures
for us a great inheritance in heaven. Did you hear that? Did
you hear that? It secures, it has secured for us a great inheritance
in heaven. We're already there in the person
of God's Son. His appearance before God Almighty
after He exclaimed, it is finished, and afterwards rose from the
dead and seated at God's own right hand, His very appearance
there is the guarantee that we're going to follow Him. Man! How about that? How about that? We're going to follow Him to
glory. Where He is, there we shall be also. That's a pretty
good description of heaven. So shall we ever what? Be on
streets of gold and blah, blah, blah, have a big mansion and
blah, blah, blah, and have stars in my crown. My soul, if that's
folks, and that is sadly a lot of folks' concept of heaven.
Oh, here it is. Here it is. We're going to be
with Him. We're going to be with Him, Billy.
You're going to see Him, I was ready to say, just like you're
seeing me, but no, it's going to be better than that. Because
you're not going to be looking through a glass darkly then.
You're not going to be crying out, old wretched man, at the
end. Then you're going to have perfect vision to behold that
one, that glorious Redeemer who is great and saved you and me,
great, great sinners. William Booth. You may recognize
that name. I think he started the Salvation
Army. I don't know the man's theology.
It's not important. But he made this statement that
caught my attention. He died in 1912, so obviously
he made this statement before then. He said, I consider that
the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion
without the Holy Ghost. Does that ring a bell? Religion without the Holy Ghost,
Christianity without Christ. Could anything be more dangerous?
Hello, Mr. Booth, you're talking about our
day, today, and has been for a good while. Christianity without
Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration,
and heaven without hell. Oh, that day that he was concerned
about, Has it arrived? Has it not? Oh, but thank God,
the true grace of God, the great salvation from our great Savior,
everything about it is miraculous. Everything about it. Everything
about it is a miracle of God's grace. Everything about it deserves
a wonder from those who receive it. Everything about it merits
a wow. You mean he did all that for
me? As Mr. Booth was concerned about, there's
nothing miraculous, quote, conversions today, so-called conversions
today. I remember years ago, years ago,
I was in my 20s, And I was an assistant pastor at a free will
Baptist church. As my pastor would say, as lost
as a goose in a snowstorm. But was out visiting, you know,
out visiting. And I was wanting to learn the
ropes. You know, I wanted to be like him, pastor of a big
old church and blah, blah, blah, and just follow in his footsteps.
And he was showing me how it's done. And we visited this lady
who'd been sick. And her husband was sitting there
at the same time in the living room. And this guy, this pastor,
Looked at him and said, well, Mr. Smith, you need to be saved.
And the old man said, yeah, I know. I'll never forget this. I'm not
being dramatic. This is how it went down. He
said, oh, you realize you need to be saved? He said, yeah, I
reckon I do. He said, well, you know, all you got to do is just
say the sinner's prayer. He said, yeah, I reckon so. He said, well,
this pastor said, aren't you willing to do it? He said, yeah,
I reckon I am. I mean, as nonchalant as if he was stepping outside
to look at the sun. And so he said the sinner's prayer. God slapped him on the back and
said, oh, you're saved. This was like on a Friday night.
Sunday morning, this lady comes to church, which he normally
did. He didn't come with her, but he was with her this morning.
And before the service hardly commenced, that pastor said,
Mr. Smith, you want to tell everybody
what happened to you the other night? And he, this man, It's
really heartbreaking, but this is typical in our day. He looked
at his wife and said, what happened? What happened? What happened
to me? What's he talking about? I'll tell you, that so-called
conversion didn't leave an impression that would last more than two
days. That's the state that we're in
today. Oh, but not so concerning God's
great salvation. Like He said to that poor demoniac
that He found, that He rescued, that Jesus Christ cast out the
devils, that He spoke peace to, that He made whole. He did everything,
glory to His name, and He told him, now here's what you do.
You go home to your friends and you tell them what great things
I've done for you. And I guarantee you that man
didn't forget it in two days. Because God had done a great
thing for him and he knew it. You go tell him what great things
I have done for thee and have had compassion on thee. And I
don't believe that man ever got over it. Don't believe every
God, or what I believe, until he drew his last breath. If he
lived a hundred years after that, he lay on his deathbed and he
thought, wow, wow, I never can forget the day when Jesus Christ
came to me and rescued me and saved me and made me a new creature
in Christ Jesus. Yes, everything about salvation,
God's salvation, true salvation, it's all a miracle. Everything
about it. It's God's salvation. Is that
not what we're told in verse 27? The reason for this salvation? These marvelous things? For with
God, nothing shall be impossible. Impossible. You see, salvation's
impossible for you. If God ever wakes you up to make
you realize that, It'll rip your heart with some concern, some
terror. Salvation's impossible for you. Believing on Christ,
that's impossible for you to do. To repent, godly repentance,
that's impossible for you. Even the will to come to Him.
That's impossible for you. It won't happen. It won't happen. It's never happened as a result
of man's will, or man's work, or man's worth. It's all God's
doing. Brother, when we preach salvation
is of the Lord, we mean all of salvation is of the Lord. The
faith is his gift of grace. Repentance is his gift of grace.
The will to come is his gift of grace. It's all about him
and it's all a wonder to those sinners who he is pleased to
make himself known. Remember when that rich young
ruler went away, I declare, how could words be clearer than what
our Lord said concerning that rich man who wouldn't bow to
me? And today preachers everywhere
this morning are saying, well, you don't have to bow. You don't
have to bow. Just walk up here and make a decision. We'll just
call you carnal. Just go out and just keep living
like you always do. Live in open rebellion against God, but it's
all right. You've made a decision. You're just going to lose a little
bit of reward. How dishonoring. How dishonoring that is. There
are a great God and Savior. Who can be saved? The disciples
asked the master as that ruler walked away. Christ didn't run
after him. He didn't chase after him. He
said, well, now wait a minute. Well, if you're not willing to
bow, maybe we can compromise. Maybe I'll compromise my honor
and compromise my dignity and compromise who I am. That's what's
happening today. But Jesus Christ doesn't compromise.
He says bow or perish. He says come to me or be lost
forever. Who can be saved, they asked, if he can't be saved?
What an example. If he can't be saved, who can
be saved? And you know what our Lord said,
and it's still on the books. It's as true this morning as
it was when he said it. With men, plural, it's impossible. Oh, but not with God. Child of
God, listen. Jesus Christ did the impossible
for you. He did the impossible for you.
It's impossible for you to believe, but He did the impossible. It's
impossible for you to rise from your spiritual death, but you
did. Why? Because God Almighty, the
Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life says, live and you
live. Wow. Wow. Forget about yourself
and concentrate on Him. He chose us. So much of what
happened here with Mary We can say much of it, not all of it,
but it's a type of what happens to you and I when God saves us. Our Lord Jesus Christ chose this
woman, didn't he? Before the world ever began,
he chose Mary to be that vessel by which he would enter the world.
When he that was infinite became an infant, it was Mary he chose. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians
3, this is how God does things. He chooses the base things. The
despicable things. The things that everybody else
just looks down their nose at. Poor. Without any merit. And he passes by the mighty and
the noble. That's what he did. That's what
he always does. Aren't you glad that he does?
And Paul says the reason that he does it is so that no flesh
can glory in his presence, but he that glorieth let him glory
in the Lord. He chose Mary. He chose Mary. He chooses all of his people.
Louis Cates, he chose you. Wow, what a wonder that is. He chose you. Yes, he could have
passed you by, but he didn't. He didn't have to. He did. He chose you to salvation. What
a wonder. Just like he did Mary, a poor
woman in Nazareth. Can any good thing come out of
that place they said? God chose her to be the mother
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who would have ever thought that?
Except God. Except God. Our Lord Jesus Christ
loved us long before we ever loved him. He loved us when we
were dead in sin. Had He not loved us, we would
have never have loved Him back. Had He not chosen us, we never
would have chosen Him. You have not chosen me, He said.
I've chosen you. Man, by nature, sees no beauty
in Christ. You didn't. You never did until
God opened your eyes. I mean, anything and everything
was more beautiful to you than Jesus Christ until God opened
your eyes. And all of a sudden, I mean,
Something happened. It was a miracle. You begin to
cry and weep. I want Christ. I've got to have
Christ. I'm going to die if I don't have
Christ. Nothing else is important. Nothing else matters. Those things
you used to chase with all your heart and all your will and all
your strength, those things you longed and thirsted after, those
bubbles, God showed you what they really are, just bubbles,
just bubbles. And you begin to cry out, God,
I'm the sinner. Have mercy on me. Do you remember? Do you remember? And God Almighty,
who put that prayer in your heart, answered your prayer and had
mercy on you. Only when God, by almighty grace,
opens the blind eye and unstops the deaf ear and quickens the
dead heart and gives strength to the withered hand is the sinner
made willing to seek Christ. Only when he is given the strength
of faith to embrace the Savior will he do so. Oh, I'm so glad. Most churches, I would make this
statement, but I'm about to quote a scripture, but they would get
mad about it. Oh, we can't have that. What about man's will?
I'm so thankful, and you are too, that it's not of him that
willeth, or him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."
Oh, I'm so thankful that God's people are made willing. I don't
have a problem with that. Made willing in the day of his
power. Josiah Condor wrote a hymn that
goes like this, a portion of it. "'Tis not that I did choose
thee, for that could never be, This heart would still refuse
thee, but thou hast chosen me." Chosen in Him before the foundation
of the world. God has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings and heavenly places in Christ according as He has
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 talks
about that time, that time that you and I are living in right
now, when men are believing and embracing a strong delusion. It seems, and it's so, everyone
except God's elect who can't be deceived are embracing that
apostate God called man's free will. Man, call it Catholic,
call it Baptist, call it anything you want to, but they all vow
at that shrine. Why don't you? Why don't you? Paul tells us why. Paul tells us why. While that's going on, we are
bound. Wish God would make me feel more
bound than I do, more obligated than I do. But we are bound to
give thanks to God for you, brethren, because God had from the beginning
chosen you too Salvation. What a wonder. My heart owns
none before thee, for thy rich grace I thirst. This knowing,
if I love thee, thou must have loved me first. God revealed himself to Mary. What about that? Revealed himself
to Mary. She wouldn't have known him otherwise.
Imagine that. What a great thing that is. Simon
Bar-Jonah, you're blessed. My Father has done something
for you that He doesn't do for everybody. And if He hadn't done
it for you, you wouldn't know it either. You wouldn't have
this blessed saving knowledge. You wouldn't know me. If my Father
which is in heaven hasn't revealed me to you, you would never know
me. Will won't bring that. Effort won't bring that. Learning
doctrine won't bring that. Being a Calvinist won't bring
that. It won't bring it. But my Father which is in heaven
has revealed to you who I am. You know who I am. The Christ,
the Son of God. My Father taught you that, Peter.
My Father's done that for you, Peter. Otherwise, you'd be in
the same boat as Judas. Well, blessed be his name if
he has done the same for you. Unlike what most people think
today, they believe that believing is easy, that it's what they
do to make salvation work, and that they can do it anytime they
want to. Oh no, that blessed, blessed
faith is a gift of God, is it not? Not only did he choose Mary
as he chooses all of his people, not only did he reveal himself
to her as he does all of his people, he speaks of that holy
thing. And let me I'll bring this to
a close. Oh, what a great thing he hath
done here, that holy thing which will be formed in thee. Isn't that what a believer is?
Does not the scriptures teach in so many places that when God
saves a sinner, when we're born again, that's exactly what happens?
He stamps the image of his son being born again in the image
of God's son? It's Christ in you, the hope
of glory. Oh, to be born again is to be
raised from the dead. To be born again is to be made
a partaker of the divine nature. This is what the scripture says.
In regeneration, a new Christ-like nature is created in our soul
so that men and women upon this earth are born in the image of
God. John Gill said, in regeneration,
There is that wrought in the soul which bears a resemblance
to the divine nature in spirituality, in holiness, in goodness and
kindness. To be born again is to have Christ
formed in you. To have eternal life is to have
Christ living in you. To be born again is to have the
good seed implanted in you by grace. To be born again is to
be made a new creation in Christ Jesus. That's worth singing about. That's worth singing about. Praise
the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the earth
hear His voice. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
Let the people rejoice. O come to the Father through
Jesus the Son and give Him the glory. Great things, great things
He hath done.