I have had the delight of spending
the last week traveling back and forth to different places
in Mexico with Mother Peter Minnie and Russell Smith as we visited
our friends in Mexico. Russell is the curly-headed fellow
sitting down here. He's an Irishman, excuse me,
an Ulsterman. He can tell you the difference.
Or maybe not, but he's a dear friend. He meets with others
in Northern Ireland, watches our videos, and when I go over
there, we've had a couple of meetings. God seems to be maybe
stirring some interest, and we're thankful for that. Brother Peter
Minney is pastor of the Egglesburn Baptist Church in Eggleston,
England. That's in the northern part,
right on the Scottish coast. A very dear friend. I've known
him for a good while by correspondence. We first met just a couple of
years ago face to face, but I've been reading and following his
ministry for 15 years, maybe more, and we've become good friends. So thankful for him. Thankful
you have the privilege now of hearing him preach the gospel
of God's grace. Come preach to us, Pastor. Thank you very much for the warm
welcome. It's good to be with you. It's good to be able to
share in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These have been
very interesting and exciting days for us as we've journeyed
back and forward from the United Kingdom to the States and down
to Mexico and back. And it has been a real eye opener.
Not least, it's been our pleasure to come and share fellowship
with you here. We trust that we'll be able to
maintain and increase fellowship in the years to come. We have
benefited from your pastor's ministry over the years and we
are grateful to you both for enabling him and for giving him
up for a few weeks in the year to come and visit us in the UK
and that has been a blessing. We are grateful for the opportunity
of coming and personally telling you how much we appreciate that.
Will you turn with me please to John chapter 10. John chapter
10. John chapter 10, verse 11. I am the good shepherd, the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an
hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not,
seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the
wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth,
because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know
my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I
must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be
one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father. There was a division therefore
again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said,
he hath a devil, and is mad. Why hear ye him? Others said,
these are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil
open the eyes of the blind? It was at Jerusalem, the feast
of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the
temple on Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about
him and said unto him, how long dost thou make us to doubt? Thou
be the Christ, tell us plainly.' Jesus answered them, I told you,
and ye believed not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye
are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. Amen. May God bless to us this
reading from his word. This evening I want to leave
you with the statement that with God It's personal. I want you to realise, as you
leave this place tonight, that there is a tremendous difference
between what is called the religion of this world and what we have
learned as the religion of heaven, the faith of Jesus Christ, the
faith and the grace of God towards us in Jesus Christ. There is
such a difference that one would almost wonder if these had anything
in common, but that there is a common language, there is a
common vocabulary, there is a common activity. My friend Russell and
I have been quite amazed. We've remarked upon it several
times as we've been travelling back and forward, particularly
in and around Danville and Lexington as we've moved to and fro, at
the number of churches that we see in your community. Perhaps
it's not unusual for you to see them. You've perhaps grown up
with them there so regularly on the roadside as you travel.
We've never seen so many churches. And yet, there is a difference,
there is a distinction, there is a separation which must needs
take place whenever we come to test the religion of those around
about with the clear testimony of Scripture. I want to make
some distinctions this evening between the general religion
that we see so widespread around about us and the personal religion
which enters the heart of a sinner, which God himself reveals to
those he is calling to himself, that personal religion of faith,
in Jesus Christ and an experience of grace through the work of
the Holy Spirit. Today there is perhaps more religion
in the world than there has ever been at any other time in the
history of the world. There are more churches, there
is more religion with more professors, And when we look at these churches
and the professors, when we look at their faith and their preaching,
we see that there are differences, differences between the things
that they do and the things that we do, the things that they say
and the things that we say. There are differences which appear
so to make their life easier than we feel it to be to be a
follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. They seem to be happy all the
time. They seem to be joyful in their
praises and in their worship with a joy which we sometimes
struggle to attain. They seem to be able to get through
life without the trials, without the difficulties, without the
problems, without the struggles that we seem so often to fall
into and have to confront. What is it about these people?
What is it that they've got that we don't have? What is it about
this religion that they follow that seems to be a parallel way
to heaven as far as the perception is concerned? What is it that
these people have that we struggle to find? If we were to ask these
people a question, we might say to them, is Jesus precious to
you? And they would answer, yes, Jesus
is precious to us. We might say to them, do you
believe in salvation by Jesus Christ? And they would say, oh
yes, we believe in salvation by Jesus Christ. We might go
on and say, do you believe in conversion by the Holy Spirit? Yes, they'll say, we believe
in conversion by the Holy Spirit. And can you crown the Lord Jesus
Christ as Lord of all, as Lord of your life? Yes, they say,
we crown Him Lord of our life. And we wonder what is it about
these people that is so different to us? What is it that they have
that is so different to what we have? We use the same words,
we use the same vocabulary, we use the same scriptures, we use
the same hymn book and yet we are not like them. What is the
difference? The answer of course is that
we haven't been perceptive enough in our questions. We haven't
been direct enough in our challenges to them. The point of the matter
is this, that we need to be more severe when we seek to assess
their faith. We need to be more challenging
when we ask them what it is that they stand for and what they
hold to. We might, for example, say to
them, do you believe in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ? We might say to them, do you
believe in imputed righteousness? We might ask, what do you know
of God's eternal purpose? Or say to them, what of electing
love? What of sovereign will and purpose? What of particular redemption
and sovereign grace? Then we see that there begins
to be a difference and there begins to be a separation of
ways. Then we see that when we ask
them about the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, they
say, well, yes, we believe that it's a finished work, but we've
got to be involved as well. Then they'll say, yes, we believe
that Christ did all, but we've got to cooperate in the work
of salvation. Or we say to them, do you believe
in imputed righteousness? And if they have any idea at
all of what we're talking about, they'll say, that's not what
we believe. That, to us, is imputed nonsense. That, to us, is not the way the
Scriptures teach. That is not what the Bible says.
No, we believe that we've got to work in order to please God. We've got to strive in order
to live right. We have got to commend ourselves
to God that He will be pleased to us. If we ask them what they
know of God's eternal purpose, then they'll call us hyper-Calvinists,
or they'll say that we're fatalistic, they'll say that we're narrow,
they'll say that we've nothing to offer to men, because that's
just saying that whatever will be, will be. And if we ask them
about electing love or sovereign will or particular redemption,
they'll end up using terms of accusation. They'll call us antinomians. They'll say that we don't properly
understand the scriptures. And that we need to go back to
the Word of God with open hearts and in repentance. You see, there
is a difference between those who have a strong profession,
those who have a blameless walk, those who are zealous in good
works, those who are religious in all manner of things and follow
this general religion. and those for whom it is personal,
those for whom it is particular, those for whom the work of God
is definite and accomplished. So when we come to examine and
come to test and come to compare the religion that we find in
these different people and these different churches, surely we
see that there is a distinction and a difference. What do you
know of this personal religion? What do you know of the way in
which God has dealt personally, individually with men and women? Is your religion the religion
of generalities? Is it the religion of shallow
experience? Or have you plumbed deep into
an experience of the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you seen your salvation
merely as your response to a call or a claim? Or have you seen
it founded in eternity, secured by the very decrees of the everlasting
God? Have you seen it secured effectually
by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to take the place of sinners
and to die on the cross? Have you seen the irresistible
work of the Holy Spirit getting to work in your life, breaking
you down brick by brick until that concrete heart of yours
was softened to such an extent that the Word of God had to be
imbibed, had to be received? Or are you simply following after
the words of men, following after salvation light and imagining
that you can please God by your own works of righteousness and
your own good deeds? I want to show you this evening
from the Word of God a few verses which will draw our attention
to the personal dimension, the personal aspect of our salvation. Turn with me please to Jeremiah
chapter 31. Jeremiah chapter 31 in verse
3. The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. I have loved
thee with an everlasting love. Where are the generalities in
that verse? Where is the openness? Where is the universal terminology
in that verse? We clearly see here that God
is speaking through his prophet to his people with a particular,
definite desire to reveal his love towards them. and this love
that he has to them is an everlasting love. Paul tells us in Romans
chapter 8 that God foreknew his people, those that he predestinated
he foreknew. That word for know has as its
base, as its origin, the sense of love. You remember how in
the Garden of Eden we are told that Adam knew his wife. Now that was a very intense love. There was that physical dimension
between man and woman, husband and wife, but it speaks to us
of that closeness, that intensity, that passion, that love that
existed in the eternal purpose of God for the salvation and
deliverance of His people. He loved them individually. He loved them personally. He
came to them, and He showed His love, and He manifested His love
towards them. The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Do we know anything of that everlasting
love of God? Have you realized that the love
of God which He has towards sinners is that love which has stretched
through the centuries, through the millennia, through all eternity
and is being accomplished now today in the redemption of a
bride for his son. Someone once said that we won't
begin to understand what the work of salvation is all about
until we realize that it is God getting a bride for his son. And that's what it is. It is
that love, it is that passion, it is that intense desire of
God to draw to himself a people that he has loved from all eternity. And that is the basis of our
personal relationship with God in the gospel. John chapter 10,
the passage that we read, speaks of this also. There are those
who are given charge over the Lord's people, who take that,
sorry, who are given charge over men and women, who take that
responsibility. Verse 13 tells us that the hireling,
let's read from verse 11. I am the good shepherd, the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an
hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own sheep are not, seeth
the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. The wolf
catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth,
because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. You see, when the Lord Jesus
Christ came, He came for a people that He already knew. He came
for those that are called. His own, His little ones, His
sheep. And He came with a love for them,
forged in the eternal purposes of God. And He careth for His
sheep. The great distinction between
the religion of this world, the general religion of this world,
and those who properly understand the sovereign purpose of God
in salvation, is that we understand that the love of God for his
people is particular, it is definite, and it is personal. It means
something. It is not simply some general
benevolence towards all humanity, but it is an accomplishing passion
that God has for his people, whereby he will gather them out
and He will secure eternally their salvation and their deliverance. My Father which gave them Me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
My Father's hand." Those who talk about general love will
say to us that that is not fair. that it's not appropriate that
we speak like that. They'll say, God loves everyone. It's not fair that you should
say that there are certain individuals that he is pleased to bless above
others. It's not fair that you should
make difference and distinction between men and women. And we
have to turn these people to the Word of God and we have to
say, this is our touchstone. This is the ground upon which
we stand. Here is the foundation by which
we understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And in Romans chapter
9, turn to that if you will with me. And in verse 7, we can see
here how clearly the apostle understands this general religion
that was abroad even in his own day, by which there were those
who sought to undermine the things of God. Romans chapter 9 and
verse 21. Hath not the potter power over
the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and
another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to show
His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, that He might make
known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy which
He had aforeprepared? unto glory. You see, God has
a people and he has taken that people and he himself has established
the parameters by which that people will be delivered. He
has made them as a potter, makes his pots. He is able to do with
them whatsoever he will. He is not answerable to the pot
nor is he answerable to men and women. Our God does what he wills
and he is accomplishing his purpose in these days. Men don't like
such gospel. They're happy to gather under
the shallow, God loves all, general theology of the day. They want
to be involved in salvation. They want to cooperate with God. They want to add to that work
themselves in order to blow their own trumpets and bolster their
own self-righteousness. God has said He is accomplishing
His purpose as He will. And He will make His people that
which He has ordained. And He will bring those whom
He chooses to glory. according to his sovereign will
and purpose. Again we can see the Apostle
clearly stating this in Ephesians chapter 1. Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. You see there
are those to whom these blessings come. There are those who are
particularly identified in the sovereign decrees of God to be
the recipients of His blessings. He sees them and He loves them
and He bestows His grace upon them. What are these blessings
that he has given? We see them in verses 4, 5 and
6. He has chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world. He has predestinated us unto
the adoption of children. He has accepted us and made us
acceptable in the Beloved. These are the great principles
of sovereign grace. This is how God has worked to
redeem his people. This is how he makes it personal. He makes it particular. He makes
it definite to sinners such as you and me. He has chosen in
eternity He has predestinated the means whereby individuals
in time are brought under the sound of the gospel, are brought
into conviction of sin, are challenged before the Almighty God to examine
their own hearts and find a need for repentance there. And in
that predestinating purpose, God has established all the providences,
all the circumstances, whereby those that are his people, the
elect of God chosen before the foundation of the world, from
this land and this land, from this town and this town, from
all the places in all the world, will hear the gospel, will receive
that word, and will be called in time into that eternal experience
of salvation by grace. Lord God has also achieved the
means whereby that is accomplished. He has made us accepted in the
Beloved. Oh, this is my Beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased. What it is to be in Christ. What it is to be accepted in
Christ. Why is it that Christ is acceptable? For He did all the will of the
Father. He perfectly obeyed His Father. He fulfilled all the commandments. He lived as that spotless Lamb
of God. You remember how in the Old Testament
the Jews had to take that lamb and they had to examine it before
it was ready and able to be used in the Passover. It had to be
clear that there was no spot nor blemish in it. So the Lord
Jesus Christ is pure and spotless, holy and just, and He is a suitable
substitute for His people. He is well-pleasing to His Father,
and we are well-pleasing in Him. Those who are in Christ, those
who have been brought by the work of the Holy Spirit powerfully
brought into an understanding of their need for the holiness
of Christ, brought to repentance for their sins, brought to faith
in that only one who is able to deliver us from our own righteousness
and our own sinfulness. And it's very interesting to
see how the Apostle Paul in this book of Ephesians returns time
and time again to this little phrase, in whom. It is in Christ. It is in Christ we have redemption. We are accepted because in Christ
We have redemption. We are accepted because it is
in Christ that we have obtained our inheritance. It is in Christ
that we have trusted. And then again, verse 13, in
Christ in whom we have believed and are sealed. Our acceptance
is secure. God has chosen. He has predestinated. He has accepted. And He has brought
us in Christ to the benefits and blessings of the salvation
which he has secured. In Isaiah 53, if we look there
again we find another lovely example of this personal dimension
to the salvation which we have. In verse 10 and 11 of Isaiah
chapter 53, We're told there, "'Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him. "'He hath put him to grief. "'When
thou shalt make my soul an offering for sin, "'he shall see his seat,
he shall prolong his days, "'and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. "'He shall see of the travail
of his soul "'and shall be satisfied. "'By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, "'for he shall bear their iniquities.'"
Not that he shall justify all, but he shall justify many. Not
that he will make salvation possible for all, but that he shall justify
his chosen people, the elect of God, those for whom he was
sent to suffer, those for whom he stands as representative. And I think it's lovely to think
this verse tells us that the Son of God, as he hung upon the
cross, saw each one of those for whom he was dying. He saw each one of those for
whom his soul prevailed. As his father unsheathed that
sword of wrath, as that propitiatory sacrifice was laid bare before
the enduring holiness of God, the Lamb of God, the Son of God,
our Savior Jesus Christ, obtained joy and satisfaction and comfort
in that he saw those for whom he was dying. That's a lovely
thought and we can take that to those who tell us that there
is a general redemption and we can say look here the Lamb of
God himself was comforted in his death in the knowledge of
those for whom he was dying. And so once again we see that
there is this personal dimension to the redemption of the people
of God. Think of the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ that was shed. We think of the sacrifice that
he made. And we are reminded that that
blood was precious beyond measure. We are reminded that that sacrifice
was a sacrifice not of the Old Testament system, not of the
animals that came time after time after time, but that was
made once, the end of the age that was made once and for all,
and that the Lord Jesus Christ shed his precious blood in order
to save the people for whom he was sent. And once again in John
chapter 10, look at that in verse 15, returning to our passage.
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay
down my life for the sheep. This was the great work of redemption. This was the great purpose for
the Lord Jesus Christ's coming into the world. And we see here
that once again the personal dimension of this great work
of salvation is reinforced to us. There is no getting away
from this in scripture and any honest man who could read this
without blinded eyes would have to testify that this is so. Verse 3, we see another dimension
of this, verse 3 of John chapter 10, another aspect of this personal,
particular, definite element of God's work in salvation. The porter He calleth his own
sheep by, towards the end of the verse, he calleth his own
sheep by name and leadeth them out. Here is the work of the
Holy Spirit as God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit combine in
this great work of salvation. Here we see the work of the Holy
Spirit leading out those for whom Christ died, bringing in
time a knowledge of the gospel to those whom the Father had
chosen. in eternity. We are very grateful
for the opportunity that we have to hear the sermons that emanate
from this pulpit and this congregation. These are blessed sermons that
direct men and women to look to the sovereign grace of God
and to hear the gospel whereby men can be saved. But when we
encounter this gospel, it takes the Holy Spirit to apply it to
the hearts of individuals. And He does not do that by congregation. He does not do that by denomination. He does not do that by family
line. He does not do that by parents
and children. He does that personally. He does
that individually. And He does it to men and women
like you and like me. So the Holy Ghost applies the
gospel of grace to sinners, shows us our need of a saviour and
brings us to Christ as Lord. Verse 27, my sheep hear my voice,
I know them and they follow me. Are any going to be left behind?
Are any going to say no? Are any going to turn this offer
down? Of course not. Why? Because it
isn't an offer. Why? Because it is the will of
God to bring such sinners, by His grace, to an experience of
forgiveness of sin and union with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord said in Isaiah chapter
55, My word shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish
that whereunto it is sent. It will accomplish that which
God is pleased to perform. And so the great work of the
gospel is going on apace. I was most encouraged to see
all those who turned out to hear the gospel preached as we visited
with our friends south of the border. It was good to see so
many. Where I come from, it would be
hard to get so many to come to a service. The gospel is preached,
we trust, we believe, we hope. In the grace of God, we can be
faithful to the declaration of his word. But there seems to
be so little interest in these matters, yet the promise stands
that the word of God shall not return void, but it will accomplish
that. which pleases our God. And so
we preach with confidence, we preach with boldness, we can
take this message without fear to the men and women of this
world, for though they cannot stand with us when we think about
these great doctrines of grace, Yet it is those very doctrines
applied by the power of the Holy Spirit that will turn lives upside
down, that will break in upon the self-righteousness of the
sinner and bring them by the grace of God to a knowledge of
Jesus Christ as their Saviour. I want just to touch on another
couple of points and then we will draw our time to a close.
If you look with me at Psalm 73, there is another element
of this personal dimension in our experience of grace. Psalm
73 and verse 24. Here once again we find that
the Lord has promised to take an active role in the life of
His people. Thou shalt guide me with thy
counsel and afterward receive me to glory. We're not in glory
yet. We've had a taste of it. We've
seen something of its nature and character, as we have seen
the Lord Jesus Christ. He has told us that He is going
to prepare a place for us. He has told us that He is coming
again soon to take us to Himself. But now He will guide us. Now
He will take us in hand by the power of the Holy Spirit, applying
the Word of God, taking those sermons that we hear, those good
books that we read, those doctrines that we learn to love and appreciate
and value. The Lord teaches His people.
He leads His people. He guides His people through
the ups and downs of life. There are many who will say,
life is a breeze. We've got Jesus. We're blessed. We're happy. We're joyful. The
true people of God know what it is to be bumping along the
bottom and never seem able to get out of the bit. The true
people of God know what it is to taste the bitterness of the
gall, to taste the hard experiences of life and not know where to
turn. We time and time again look to
ourselves and find ourselves bankrupt, find ourselves unable
to go forward. And on such occasions, the Lord
is pleased to guide us. How does he do that? He turns
us once again to Christ. He shows us that in Christ our
standing will be firm. He draws our eyes away from ourself. He takes our attention onto someone
much more able to lead us and guide us through the vagaries
of this life. And so, by the grace of God,
the people of God are personally intimately led through the trials
and the difficulties of this age in order to experience the
grace that God has for us. Once again here we see in the
personal walk of a believer with the Lord that there is that dimension
of love and there is that union that he is pleased to give to
his own. We sometimes wonder how is it
that one who feels so inadequate, one who feels so low and soiled
and dirty with the problems and the difficulties and the trials
of this life can ever be acceptable to God. But He leads us in the
paths of righteousness for His namesake. He brings us perfect
because of that righteousness which He has delivered to us.
And even although we feel the weight of sin, even although
we feel the fight with the old man, even although it doesn't
seem to be getting easier and easier every day, even although
we don't appear to be getting better and better as we grow
older. We have trust in the Lord that
He has promised to lead us, guide us and bring us to that place
where we can evidence His work, not our work, His work in the
deliverance of our people into His Father's presence. In John
chapter 14 and verse 2, we find that the Lord has promised that
He is making many mansions. There's an awful lot of houses,
both in the UK and the US, that are lying empty at the moment.
There are more houses than people to occupy them. Not that in heaven. There are exactly the number
of mansions to accommodate exactly the number of the elect. The
Lord Jesus Christ is making mansions. He is building a people for himself
that he will take in as his perfect bride. So beautiful, so well
appointed in every detail. Not one missing, not one more. The Lord God himself is bringing
people into glory. In my Father's house are many
mansions. We read earlier in Romans chapter
9 how that those vessels of mercy are afore prepared unto glory. In the next few days this world
is going to be a Turning once again to the matter
of the incarnation and the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have
wondered in the past whether or not these great momentous
events which took place in the history of mankind whereby the
Son of God entered powerfully, gloriously, graciously into the
experience of humanity and that great work again where he laid
down his life on the cross and the resurrection which followed
just a few days later. Those wonderful, glorious, majestic
works of grace demonstrated by God. are not purposefully diluted
and the Christmas activities and the Easter activities purposely
designed to distract men and women from the things that have
gone on. Yes, we want to celebrate with
our family. Yes, we want to enjoy the holiday
and the benefits that these bring. But let us not become preoccupied
in the festivities. Let us not become diverted by
the celebrations. This great work which the world
in its general religion is turning to in the next few days is nothing
to do with the incarnation, just as Easter celebrations are nothing
to do with the way in which the Lord Jesus Christ laid down his
life and was resurrected. If we could take these general
religionists this evening and turn them to the Word of God,
we would find here in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 21, a reference
to what was happening to Mary at the birth of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let's read from verse 18 just
for the context. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise, when as his mother, Mary was espoused to
Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the
Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privily. But while he thought in these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost. Let this be acknowledged, that
every time the Lord God intervenes in the life of an individual,
that is a work of grace. And here we find what is the
purpose of this great intervention in the experience of humanity.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Could it be any clearer? Here was the plan fulfilled,
that plan long ago prophesied. Matthew goes on to talk about
the prophecy in Isaiah that speaks of a virgin being with child. Long ago prophesied, this was
the great covenant work, this was the great plan revealed in
past times whereby those who were faithful men and women could
testify that they knew that their Redeemer would stand upon the
earth in the last day. So it is that God sent the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father sent the Son as the God-Man in this
glorious mediatorial capacity into the world with this express
purpose that He should save His people from their sins. That's the message of the Gospel.
That's what we have to say today. That's what we have to proclaim.
That is the message which distinguishes us from the general religionists
of our time. Let them attend their churches.
Let them build more and more. Let them engage in all manner
of activities. Let them pretend to be following
on a course that will take them one day to glory. There is a
broad way which seemeth right unto a man. Here we find the
true message of grace. Here we find Jesus Christ revealed. And so this plan fulfilled the
great prophetic work, long purposed and planned. It tells us that
there was a person sent, the Lord Jesus Christ. Call his name
Jesus. He is a saviour of his people. And it was personal. The purpose
was personal. He shall save His people from
their sins. This evening, I simply want to
conclude by asking you, do you know that personal Saviour? Is it just some general work,
a general atonement, a general sacrifice, a general purpose
of God to save whoever will come to Him? Or do you understand
that personal, that distinct, that definite plan that has traced
through all of time, from the eternal purpose of God to the
glorification of the church, the people of God are being gathered
in, the gospel is being declared to the saving of sinners, and
it is those who personally receive by the grace of God, the Lord
Jesus Christ in His completed work, through the work of the
Holy Ghost that can testify to our knowledge of Him and to their
confident standing in the Saviour Jesus Christ. I trust that this
evening, as we part, we will be able to say, as for me, it's
a personal work and I know Jesus Christ as my own personal Saviour. Amen.