In the book of Revelation, our
Lord Jesus Christ uses two words to identify himself four times. Let's look at all four of them.
He appeared to John and identifies himself four times with these
words. Revelation chapter one, verse
eight. I am Alpha and Omega. That's my subject, Alpha and
Omega. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and
which is to come, the Almighty. Verse 11, I am Alpha and Omega,
the first and the last. Now turn over to chapter 21,
Revelation 21. In verse six. And he said unto me, it is done.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him
that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
And chapter 22, verse 13. I am Alpha and Omega. the beginning and the end, the
first and the last. Now, there's no great secret
hidden meaning to those words, alpha and omega. They're simply
the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In our language,
we would put it this way. I am A and Z. That means I'm
the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, the start
the finish and everything in between Our Savior is here declaring
himself to be the eternal God There is no knowledge of Jesus
of Nazareth No saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Until you
acknowledge that you're convinced that Do you confess do you believe
that Jesus Christ is? himself God Jesus the man is God I recall
the first time I heard a preacher make this statement Brother Watson
do for he was a dear friend of mine. He's been with the Lord
for a long time brother Brian do for his grandfather pastor
the beacon Baptist Church in Annstead, West Virginia He was
preaching for me one time when I was just a young man. And he
stood in our pulpit and I was sitting right where Shelby's
sitting now. And he said, Jesus is God. And I thought, you're
not supposed to say that. You're not supposed to say that.
He is God in man. He is God in the flesh. But to say Jesus, that man is
God, that sounds strange. And immediately I realized, no,
that's just exactly what you're supposed to say. This man, Jesus
of Nazareth, declares himself God. Now the only people who
don't understand that, the only people who don't read that in
scripture, are those who don't know him. And many who don't
know him in his day understood. And the Jews took up stones to
stone him. He said, why are you stoning
me? What good work is it that I've done that you stone me for?
They said, we're not killing you for something you've done.
but because you, being a man, make yourself God. Jesus Christ
of Nazareth is God. That's how our Savior identifies
himself. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the ending, the first and the last. God, the eternal, immutable,
Saving covenant-keeping God. This is how God identifies himself
throughout the prophets especially in the book of Isaiah He's I'm
the Lord which was and which is and which is to come the Almighty
This is one of the ways by which God sets himself apart from all
that call are called to God's I am God the eternal existent
life He who is and was and is to come. The eternal what? This
one who is our Savior is God eternal. The Lord Jesus is our
Redeemer, is God over all, God from eternity, God who is coming
to judge the world. He is now the Savior of all who
come to God by Him. He was throughout the Old Testament
Scriptures the Savior of all who come to God by Him. And He
shall be tomorrow the Savior of all who come to God by Him.
And soon He's coming without sin to finish this thing of salvation
for all who come to God by Him. Brother Don, did those Old Testament
believers know that Jesus is God? Of course they did. Of course
they did. Adam and his wife taught their
boys to worship God through a sacrifice who was coming to the woman's
seed, who would be himself God to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. Abraham went up to Mount Moriah
and he said to his boy Isaac, my son, God will provide himself,
not for himself, himself, a lamb for a burnt offering. Of course,
the Old Testament saints believe God just like you do. Faith doesn't
change. The object of faith doesn't change.
The one who gives faith doesn't change. The only thing that changes
are men and their gods. He who is God is the eternal
one. Our text speaks of the eternality
of Christ and he speaks of his eternality, describes also his
immutability. He who is God never changes. He can never be changed. He says
I am the Lord I change not Therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. The Lord Jesus is the same yesterday
and today and forever He never changes, but he he took on himself
our nature. Yes, but he didn't change and
He died at Calvary, yes, but he didn't change. He rose from
the dead, yes, but he didn't change. He's still God the Son,
our Savior, our Mediator, our Redeemer. He who is eternal and
he who is God must be immutable. Now, children of God, rest your
souls here. He who is God, our Savior, never
changes in His person, in His object, in His purpose, in His
grace, in His love, in His determination. He never changes. He never changes
His mind, never changes His will. And this text sets forth our
Savior's glorious preeminence as the Christ of God. As it pleased
God that all things reside in Him, and that he had preeminence
over all things. So it is. Jesus Christ is the
beginning of all things, the end of all things, and everything
in between. He is God the Almighty. I've said all that to say this.
You and I who are gods have nothing to fear any time Anywhere about
anything He who is God our Savior is the Almighty He says concerning
his sheep. I give unto them eternal life
and they shall never perish How can you be certain of that because
I'm God I'm God. How do you know that none can
destroy our souls? Our Savior is God How do you
know that eternal security is a real thing? Because he who
saves us is God the eternal one the almighty one Now what all
can be drawn from these this these two words by which I say
our Savior identifies himself Alpha and Omega Let me call your
attention to just a few things much more can be said first when
our Savior says I am Alpha and Omega He's describing both his
glory as God and his humiliation as the God-man, our mediator.
Turn back to 2 Corinthians chapter eight, or 1 Corinthians chapter
eight, excuse me. 1 Corinthians chapter eight,
look at verse nine. Paul is teaching us to give.
He's calling one of the Corinthians to give, to be generous, to be
charitable to God's cause and God's people in this world, to
give. And he doesn't go back to the
law and say, if you don't give, God will get it out of your hat.
No, he rather takes us to Calvary and shows us how to give. Verse
nine, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that though
he was rich, Yet for your sakes he became poor that you through
his poverty might be made rich Our Lord Jesus says I am alpha
and omega I am that one who is rich And that one who became
utter poverty That you through my poverty might be made rich
He is that one who stripped himself, who emptied himself. We look
for words, we try to find words to describe this. Our Savior
never ceased to be God, in no way at all. And yet, when he
stepped into humanity and took our nature into union with his
nature, He emptied himself. He stripped himself. The hymn
writer says he laid his glory by all of those things are just
strike Striving at a way to express this He who is rich with all
the glory of eternal deity in all the attributes of his everlasting
Godhead became the poorest of men He stepped into this world
poor man He was laid in a manger in a barn It was wrapped in swaddling
clothes born to a couple named Joseph and Mary of David's house,
but a couple that were poor as dirt and Then he humbled himself
and became obedient Obedient even unto death even the death
of the cross. I he who is God took on himself
our nature and obeyed God and then he bare our sin in his body
on the tree and suffered all the horrid wrath of God Almighty
because he who knew no sin was made sin for us and made to be
the object of God's wrath I am Alpha, the best, the best. And I am Omega, the last, the
least. Our Lord Jesus spoke of John
the Baptist and said, there's none greater in the kingdom of
heaven than he. Nevertheless, he that is least
in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Who is it that's least? Behold the depths of our Savior's
humiliation. When at last being made sin for
us, he cried, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And God Almighty, having abandoned
his son at the apex of his obedience, slaughtered him in the fury of
his justice. Now listen to me. because He
deserved all the fury of God's holy wrath more than any man
who ever lived. He would make sin for us. People argue and fuss on a debate
that doesn't matter how silly, how absurd, how foolish, how
contemptible. These are things too high for
me. I can't begin to explain them.
I can't begin to comprehend them. But the Lord Jesus, he who is
God and the greatest of men, that one who is himself the holy
God-man, Is made the least When he has made sin and guiltiness
Made sin and put to death Because he fully deserved the horrid
ignominious death of the cross Dying as our substitute I am
the first and the last the best and the least No wonder this
next thing is true. You have in your hands the book
of God. I keep saying this to you because I want to remind
myself and I want to remind you and I want to remind everybody
who reads this book. In the book of God, Jesus Christ
our Savior is Alpha and Omega. It begins in the beginning God,
that's our Savior. It ends, lo, I come quickly. That's God our Savior. And everything
in between is all about Him. Now, don't study science from
the Bible. Don't study history from the
Bible. Whatever the Word of God says
about science is true. Whatever God says in His Word
about history is true. And anything contrary to that
that you read in science books or history books is wrong. But
this book is not a science book. It's not a history book. It's
not a book about politics. It's not even a book about morality.
This is a book about a man who is God, our Savior. It's a book
all about Jesus Christ. If we'd ever learned this, The statement I made earlier,
all those Old Testament saints believed Jesus Christ is God. The God-man, our Savior, believed
that he'd die, believed that he'd accomplish redemption for
his people. That wouldn't be any problem if you understood
that everything in the book is talking about him. It's a revelation
of him. Did you ever notice when the
Lord said to Moses to make the tabernacle? He said, make it
after the pattern that I showed you in the map. Now, when the
Lord God showed him a pattern, he didn't have a set of blueprints
thrown up. Moses wasn't looking at a set of blueprints on a big
table. He saw a person. And was told,
taught of God, God revealed to him what that person would do. All that he would accomplish
by his obedience unto death. And so God said, you go down
there and you make some garments for a priest. and you make an
altar, and you make a labor, and you make an ark, and you
make a holy place, and make a most holy place, and make a tabernacle,
and put a mercy seat on there, and put cherubs over the mercy
seat, and that's where I'll meet you, where propitiation is made. And all that was in the tabernacle
spoke of him. All of it. All the prophets spoke
not about the gathering of Folks against Israel or the gathering
of Jews in the latter day or Oh God help you to hear this
the prophets spoke about the accomplishment of redemption
by Christ The prophets spoke of salvation by Christ all the
things recorded in Old Testament history every single event that
Israel's bondage in Egypt Jacob going down with his family to
Egypt Israel's bondage during the days of judges and their
constant deliverances by those judges, by those deliverance.
Samson and Delilah and the slaughter of the Philistines by Samson.
All the time of Babylonian captivity, all the time of Israel hardening
their heart and turning against God and God turning in his providence
against Israel to just bring judgment on the nation. And then
they called me and I turned to them. And I forgave them and
I accepted them. Then they turned away from me and I turned to
them in judgment. And then they turned to me and
they cried to me and I accepted them and I forgave them. All
of that is a picture of God's constant faithful forgiveness
of sin, the saving of his people by the doing and dying of Christ.
I find it comforting to my soul to read in the scriptures, especially
in the Psalms of Israel's unbelief and their rebellion
and they're Bringing on themselves sorrow after sorrow and the Lord
God Using the sorrow to turn them to him again and the Lord
God standing always faithful Always forgiving always gracious
He said Ephraim is joined to his idols. Let him alone. I And
then he said, he said, how shall I let you go? And the Lord God looks on you
and me, our blessed savior in all our unbelief and unfaithfulness
and sin and rebellion and departing from him. And he says, how can
I let you go, Don? I've loved you with an everlasting
love. I've redeemed you with my own blood. I've called you
by my spirit. My name's at stake in you. Nevertheless,
he saved Don in spite of all that Don is and has been and
was and shall be tomorrow. When Don's life is over, You
can write this over his gravestone. I got a lot of things right on
my gravestone. Nevertheless, he saved Don for his namesake. That's all. Not for Don's sake,
not for anything Don ever did, not for anything Don ever thought,
not for any work for which Don is known, but for his namesake. Thus all the Old Testament scriptures
as the new speak continually of Christ He says with regard
to all the scriptures. I am Alpha and Omega the beginning
and the end You remember Mary We read about her earlier in
this morning in John chapter 11 John tells us that Lazarus
sister Mary is that that Mary who anointed Jesus with oil and
and washed his feet with her tears and kissed them and dried
them with the hairs of her head. You remember the story. She came
into the Pharisee's house with an alabaster box of ointment.
That alabaster box of ointment is a spite and very precious. You can just smell it. And she takes that rich costly
box and breaks it open. And as she does, the aroma, Fills
the air. I love what John Gill said concerning
that. He said, he said, that's like a gospel preacher. He comes
to the house of God and this book is an alabaster box of ointment,
spiked and very precious. It's Jesus Christ and him crucified. And when the faithful man breaks
open this alabaster box, the sweet aroma of Jesus Christ and
him crucified fills the house. That's what preaching is. It
is breaking open the book of God and showing sinners Jesus
Christ the Lord. Let me repeat to you what I've
been trying to say to you incessantly all these years we have labored
together. With regard to God's holy law,
all of it, Christ is Alpha and Omega. I deliberately pointed
out the fact that when Paul teaches the Corinthians and us how to
give. He didn't go back to the law.
He didn't threaten them in any way. He pointed them to Christ. He said, now, you follow that
example, everything will be all right. You follow that example,
everything will be all right. Hear me, children of God. God's
people are free from the law. because Christ is the end of
the law. Having accomplished all that
the law required as our substitute, and we having accomplished in
him all that the law required. So God's people live by grace,
by faith, constrained by love, nothing else. I refuse, though
the flesh is tempted to, I refuse, though sadly I see preachers
who know better doing it all the time, I refuse to take out
the whip of the law to get you to do what you know you ought
to do. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to threaten punishment.
I'm not going to promise rewards. I'm not going to say this is
what you ought to do. You're doing what you ought to do. I'll just preach the free grace
of God and to Jesus Christ crucified won't constrain you to do. What
fear of punishment and promise of reward might constrain you
to do, I fear for your soul. The love of Christ constrains
us. God's people live by grace, not by law. They give because
they want to. They worship God because they
want to. They serve God because they want to. With willing hearts,
gladly. How come? I've been redeemed. I've been redeemed. When John
Newton was an old man, some folks began to think the old man ought
to retire and step aside for some younger fellows. Somebody
asked Newton if he didn't think it was time for him to retire
from the hard work of ministry and pastoring that church. Newton
said, what? Can the old slave trader ever
cease to serve his master? The Lord God saved me by his
omnipotent grace. What shall I withhold from him?
What shall I not give to him? Don't you think that way? Isn't
that what motivates you? That's the way it is with God's
people. Let me briefly remind you that Christ is Alpha and
Omega in all the covenant transactions of the triune God and in all
his purposes. I had a call, was it yesterday? Yeah, yesterday from an 84 year
old man. I'd never heard from him before
as far as I know and he'd been for years, studying things I've
written and preached. And he said, he said, Brother
Fortner, you seem to be a knowledgeable young man. At that time, I didn't
think, didn't know how old he was. He didn't sound like he
was any more. I said, well, I'm neither knowledgeable nor young. And
then he told me who he was as well. Well, I might be young
in your eyes, but he wanted to know if I'd sent him some materials
that he hadn't had yet on election and predestination. and God's
covenant. Oh, I'll be happy to. I'll be
happy to. Whatever you want, I'll send
it to you. I've got it. Election, predestination, covenant
grace. Those things in this house are
like salt and pepper. They're always on the table.
We never take them off. Those things are the very basics
of all things that God does. Election, well, most of us never
talk about that, never hear tell of it. That's because they don't
know God. Predestination. Oh, who would ever talk about
that? Folks who know God that's who would as well folks who've
read this book Covenant grace. What is that? Church of the road
here called Covenant Nazarene Church one of these days. I'm
gonna find out who the pastor is I'm gonna ask him what kind
of covenant you talking about a Free will our million will
worship congregation covenant. That must be law covenant not
grace covenant. I God's people recognize that
all God's purpose, all God's election, all God's covenant
is wrapped up in a person. All the blessings of grace are
in a person. All the gifts of grace are in
a person. And they're all given with that
person. God chose us predestined all
things necessary for our salvation that is he predestinated everything
that comes to pass in time that's what's necessary for the salvation
of his elect that we who were blessed of him with all spiritual
blessings in eternity might be just exactly like his son in
resurrection glory now you tell me what's wrong with that You
tell me what can be hard or mean-spirited about that. Predestination is
the guarantee that somebody is gonna be like Christ. Election
is the guarantee that somebody is gonna enter into glory with
Christ. It is according to God's purpose this is done. And my
very soul rejoices to tell you that in the whole business of
salvation, Christ is alpha and omega. He's the beginning. He loved me. He loved me. I'm saved because he redeemed
me. I'm saved because he called me. And he's the omega, he's the
end. He loved me, and in the end,
I'm going to know his love. He redeemed me, and in the end,
I'm going to experience the totality of that redemption. He called
me, and in the end, I'm gonna be with him where he is, in heavenly
glory. Oh, how rich, how rich. I told you the other day about
Brother Fred Evans' mother. She called. I've known Fred's
mom and dad. His dad's name is Fred. I met
him a long time ago. I've been preaching to him for
a long time. And his dad had a bad accident. He's got some
serious health troubles. And his mother, Christine, got
her hands full. Got two teenage grandchildren.
Actually, the girl's about 20 years old now. She's in God's
providence. Raised those girls. Father, well,
we won't talk about him. She's had her hands full. And
she called the other day, a couple of weeks ago, and we chatted
for a little while. She pulled over to the side of
the road so she could cry and laugh and talk. And she said, Brother
Don, I remember what Brother Scott Richardson said. She said,
all this is just a bump in the road. I'm on my way home. Just a bump in the road. That's
all these things are. Just a bump in the road. That's
insignificant. We're headed home, and what a
home it is. I woke up earlier the other day
thinking about this. I was born on a table in a sharecropper's
house in Bladen County, North Carolina. We didn't have anything. I don't remember it, but so I've
been told. And shortly after that, we moved up to where my
father was from, Spruce Pine, North Carolina, and we lived
in an old tar paper shanty. I don't remember living there,
But I remember the shanty, I've seen it many times, driven by
it many times. You go up the holler, and there's mountains
here, and mountains there, and mountains there. And down in
a hole, 10 or 12 feet below the road, that's where that shack
was. You could spit through the walls. And it didn't have any
indoor plumbing. And you'd go outside and go to
the bathroom. And then we moved to Winston-Salem. My dad started
in barber school. And first we lived in government
housing over in Happy Hill Gardens and moved to the first house
I remember. It was on Castle Street in Western Salem. And
it wasn't much. I mean, it had indoor plumbing,
good for that, but didn't have a tub. I remember when I was
a boy, you don't need to get the picture. I was sitting in
the front room and they get out one of the big wash tubs and
it didn't take much water for me to fill it up. They take a
bath in that wash tub and then get out, step on that furnace
in the floor and burn my feet. And then we moved. My dad got
a job driving a truck, driving a plane truck company. And we
moved into a brand spanking new three bedroom, mostly brick house
over on the middle upper side of the south side of which to
say that ain't much still but man for us it was something it
was something i had never been in a bathtub in my life that
i remember and i remember when i was five years old going to
that place and everybody else doing stuff i was getting in
trouble i had on cowboy's outfit and uh i got in there there's
a bathtub How I did it, I don't know, but I managed to get the
tub water running and the shower running at the same time. And
I was a mess, and there was a mess all over the brand new bathroom
and all over the house. Would you like to see my reward?
I'm still carrying it. But we moved, as Jefferson said,
moving on up. Listen to me, listen to me. Here, whatever you got here,
merle is just living in that car paper shanty you can spit
through the wall there's waiting for us something our savior calls of glory where the streets are paid with
gold where gold doesn't mean any more than dirt under your
feet where the gates are all pearl and the walls are all jasper
and inside there's nothing but light and happiness and holiness
and knowledge flooding your soul continually as Christ the light
shines continually and there you'll never get another cold or sorrow, or pain, or death. For the former things be passed
away. And Christ shall be the beginning
of it. The Alpha. And Christ shall be
the end of it. The Omega. The fullness of it. and the glory of it, the joy
of it, and the wealth of it. Amen. All right, let's take our
hymn books. I ask you to stand with me and
we'll sing number 62.