Let's begin tonight in Isaiah
chapter 43. This passage will form the introduction
for my text and my message this evening. In Isaiah 43, verse 3, the Lord
God calls himself by three great names. By these three names he
encourages us to trust him. to lean upon him and to comfort
ourselves in the knowledge of him. In the midst of your raging
storms, by which your little ship is tossed like a ship upon
the sea, in the midst of your fiery trials, in the midst of
your hard temptations, the Lord God says, fear not, fear not. And he gives us a reason not
to fear. In verse 1, he says, Fear not,
for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. Now, if the Lord God has redeemed
us by his blood, called us by his grace, called us personally,
particularly by his grace from death to life, if God has called
us to be his sons, if we belong to him, who is God Almighty,
eternal, sovereign, glorious. If we belong to him, my soul,
what shall we fear? Of whom shall we be afraid? I'm
redeemed. I'm called, I belong to God,
I'm a child of the King, I'm a son of God. What shame, what
folly, what embarrassment it is to me to ever fear anybody
or anything, to ever allow any circumstance to disturb me, knowing
full well that my God controls all my circumstances. So the
Lord says, fear not. Now, in order to encourage our
faith in Him, in order to encourage us to look to him for all protection,
for all provision, for all preservation. He says in verse three, I am
the Lord, thy God, the holy one of Israel, thy savior. Now, here's the one who's speaking
to us. I am the Lord, thy God. That is, I am Jehovah. Your God. Your God. I am the eternal, self-existent,
almighty, sovereign God. And I'm your God. I'm your God. Now this name which God takes
to himself describes him as the one true and living God. And
He tells us that we're His. We're His. But more than that,
He tells us that He is ours. Now, try to grasp that if you
can. He says, I am your God. Now He is our God, as He is the
God of all men by virtue of creation. He created us. God Almighty created
all men. Therefore, all men belong to
Him. All men are His offspring. All
men owe Him worship, owe Him reverence, owe Him praise, owe
Him devotion. All men do. But we belong to
Him in a special way, and He belongs to us in a special way. He is to us by virtue of redemption
and calling, by virtue of his own covenant grace, our God. He is especially the God of them
that believe. Now, this is the name by which
he is pleased to reveal himself and make himself known. He says,
I am Jehovah. That's what the word Lord means.
I am Jehovah. This is the name which God claims
for himself alone. It is the glorious name of our
God, which he will not share with another. Let me show you
some scriptures in this regard. Turn over to Exodus chapter six,
Exodus chapter six. And verse three here, the Lord
is speaking to Moses, commanding Moses to go and deliver the children
of Israel. He says in verse three, I appeared
unto Abraham. unto Isaac and unto Jacob by
the name of God. That is, I appeared unto them
by the name El Shaddai, by the name God Almighty. But by the
name, by my name Jehovah, Jehovah, that is deliverer, Jehovah, that
is the self-existent one, Jehovah, that is, the Supreme Almighty
One, by that name I was not known to them." Now it's true, Abraham
called the name of the place where Isaac was offered upon
the altar of sacrifice Jehovah-Jireh. And so the Lord had made himself
known in some measure, but he had not revealed to Abraham this
name of deliverance, this name of salvation. He had not revealed
to Abraham this name as he is now about to make it known to
Moses, Jehovah. Turn over to Isaiah chapter 42,
Isaiah 42 and verse 8. Here the Lord God says, I am
the Lord. That is, I am Jehovah. That is
my name. So as to say, this is my name
above all my names. This is my name, which I'll not
share with another. This is my name, which none other
shall ever have. I am Jehovah. That is my name
and my glory. Apparently, my glory wrapped
up in this name. My glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images. And then if you will turn to
Psalm 83, Psalm 83 and verse 18. The Lord God is jealous of his
name. He's jealous of the honor and
the glory of his name. The Jews used to never pronounce
this name Jehovah. They substituted a word for it. They were very meticulous. Before
they would ever pen this name, and usually in transcribing the
scriptures, they would substitute the name Adonai for the name
Jehovah. But before they would ever transcribe
this, when they were copying the scriptures, they'd wash themselves
and bathe themselves and sanctify themselves in reverence for God's
name Jehovah. I realize that the Jews were
superstitious. I realize that the Jews did these
things not just out of reverence for God, but out of a superstitious
fear of the characters of the name. But I'm telling you that
in this day and age, men and women know nothing of the reverence
of God's name. This name, the name of the Lord
God, is a name to be reverenced, always reverenced. Don't ever
speak the name of God lightly. Don't ever speak any derivative
of God's name lightly. I cringe. I literally cringe
when I hear men and women using the name of God with levity,
or using the name of God as a byword. Now, children of God, listen
to me, hear me. I hear some of your children,
they use words like gosh and Lord and God, and they use them
as bywords. They say, well, Oh me, or they
say, oh God. And I'm telling you, I would
rather hear that girl of mine speak the most foul oaths as
to hear her speak the name of God with levity. It's not to
be taken lightly. God will not hold him guiltless
who takes his name lightly. Say, preacher, do you think we
ought to cultivate in our children a fear of God? Yes, sir. Yes,
sir. I mean an absolute fear of God's
being. He will not hold him guiltless
that takes his name in vain. Look here in Psalm 83. Psalm
83 in verse 18. That men may know that thou whose
name alone is Jehovah art the most high over all the earth. The psalmist is praying for God
to show forth judgment, to bring his mighty hand upon men who
have spoken vainly of him, so that men may know that Jehovah,
the most high God, is most high over all the earth. And let me
show you two more scriptures with regard to this thing of
speaking God's name lightly. Really, I'm not talking so much
about that as I am about reverencing his name. Let us reverence the
name of the Lord, our God. In Deuteronomy 28, Deuteronomy
chapter 28 and verse 58. Listen to this. If thou wilt not observe to do
all the words of this law that are written in this book, that
thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, Jehovah our
God, the Lord our God. Fear this glorious, this fearful
name, the Lord our God. In Psalm 111, Psalm 111, He had difficulty keeping up.
Just jot it down. Look at these scriptures. Listen
to what the Lord says here by the psalmist. Psalm 111 in verse
9. He sent redemption unto his people. He hath commanded his covenant
forever. Holy and reverend is his name. Holy and reverend is his name. And what I'm saying to you is
that our God is so infinitely high above us. Our God is so
glorious, so truly reverend, so truly reverend that his name,
oh God forgive me for ever thinking of his name. without the deliberate
intent of bringing honor to his name. His name at all times is
to be honored by us. Honored by us. You folks know
that I enjoy telling stories and I enjoy laughter and humor
and I enjoy jokes and fun as much as anybody else does. But
you will not find me cracking smiles when somebody tells jokes
concerning God or tells funny stories about the things of God,
the worship of God, the preaching of the gospel of God, or the
eternal abode of our God. Those things just aren't funny.
Bob, our God is to be reverenced. He will be had in reverence by
all them that approach him. When we come into His house,
we come into His house, God help us to learn this, come into His
house with reverence, seeking His worship, seeking His praise,
seeking His honor, seeking His glory. Let us not come into this
place flippantly, half-heartedly, without interest, without concern,
without zealousness for the glory of our God. People come in, in a rush, and we rush in last minute and
sit down. I appreciate you not doing this,
Lindsay, but I've been in places, song leader comes in, sits down,
last minute, well, let's see what we can sing. And y'all,
we sang that last Sunday. Oh, we can sing this, and I haven't
sung it in two weeks. Let's sing God's praises. What are you going
to say? I don't know. I'll pick something out of here. We push everything right
up to the last minute. You say, well, I've got so much
that's got to be done. I've got so many cares. You better get
rid of some cares. God's to be reverenced and honored. And if we're going to worship
Him, we're going to have to make an effort and a deliberate plan,
a deliberate purpose, Merle, to worship God. He's to be reverenced. He's to be reverenced. I like to preach on that all
night, but I don't intend to. This name, Jehovah, identifies
our God as the one and the only eternal, necessary, self-existent
being. He is the being out of whom and
by whose will and power all other beings exist. He is the creator
of all things. Jehovah is the eternal one, the
one which is, which was, and which is to come. If this great
and glorious Jehovah is our God, if he has redeemed us, if he
has called us, if we belong to him, he says, fear not, fear
not. But don't you see the waters
of the river swelling around me? They'll not overflow you.
But don't you see the fire raging at me? The fire will not kindle
upon you. I am Jehovah, your God, your
God, your God. Here's another. The Lord God
says, I am the holy one of Israel. Jehovah, our God, is our holiness. He alone is holy and he alone
makes us holy. He is the one for whom we are
sanctified. He is the one by whom we are
sanctified. And he is the one who is our
sanctification. He has made us holy by setting
us apart for himself in eternal election, by washing away our
sins in blood redemption, and by imparting a holy nature to
us in regeneration. And he will bring his work of
making us holy unto absolute perfection by raising these bodies
from the grave and transforming us into the very likeness of
his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in ultimate glorification. He
is Jehovah, our God. But more than that, he is Jehovah,
our righteousness. The Lord, our God, is the Lord,
our righteousness. But now notice this third name.
The Lord God says, I am the Lord, thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Savior. The Lord, our God, who is our
righteousness, is the Lord, our savior, our preserver, our protector,
our provider, our deliverer. The Lord who redeemed us, who
called us, who made us holy by his almighty grace is our savior. Who is he? What's his name? Well, let's turn over to the
book of Matthew, Matthew chapter one, and you'll see his name. His name's Jehovah. His name's
Jehovah. But he has another name. Here
the angel of the Lord said to Joseph, the espoused husband
of Mary, in Matthew 121, she shall bring forth a son and thou
shalt call his name Jesus. That name Jesus, the Greek name,
the Gentile name Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew name Joshua. And Joshua is the word which
means Jehovah saves. This name Jesus, he shall be
called, his name shall be called Jesus for he shall save his people
from their sins, simply means that Jesus Christ is Jehovah
our God, Jehovah come to save. Now this is the name of our Savior,
Jehovah Jesus, the Lord our Savior. We have seen seven names of God
given in the scriptures. Each one of these names points
to the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. He is called by Abraham,
Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide. He is called by Moses,
Jehovah Rapha, the Lord will heal. He is called again by Moses,
Jehovah Nissi, the Lord, our banner. He is called by Gideon,
Jehovah Shalom, the Lord, our peace. He is called by the psalmist
David, Jehovah Ra'ah, the Lord, our shepherd. He is called by
the prophet Jeremiah, Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord, our righteousness. He's called by the prophet Ezekiel,
Jehovah Shema, the Lord is there. Now, with the incarnation, the
life, the death, the resurrection and the ascension of our Lord
Jesus Christ, all these names of God, our Savior, all their
messages, all the meaning of these names are fulfilled. The
name by which the Lord God appeared to his saints in types and in
prophecies of the Old Testament is Jehovah. And the name which
our Lord assumed when he came into the world as a man is Jesus. The name of the God-man who is
our Savior is Jehovah Jesus, the Lord, our Savior. He is the Lord Jesus, and he
is the Christ of God. And let me call your attention
to three things in this passage here in Matthew 121. First, I
want to show you from the scriptures that Jesus Christ, the man, our
Savior, is Jehovah, our God. Jesus Christ, the man, our Savior,
is Jehovah, our God. Now, we are Trinitarians. That
is, we worship God in the Trinity of his sacred persons. We worship
him in the triunity of his sacred persons, Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost. These three distinct persons
in the eternal Godhead are three distinct persons, but one God. Not three gods, one God. Turn
over to 1 John 5 and verse 7. It'll do you good to turn to
the passage and look at it. 1 John 5 and verse 7. Somebody was telling me the other
night about the Russellites coming to town or going across town. Some of you've had them knocking
on your doors. And they want to argue with you about prophecy,
and they want to argue with you about everything under the sun.
One principal heresy of the Jehovah Witness is that the Jehovah Witness
denies that Jesus is Jehovah. He denies that Jesus Christ is
God. He denies the doctrine of the
Sacred Trinity. Now, it's written plainly in
the Word of God. And if you take my advice, you
won't argue with those folks, you won't debate with those folks.
Just leave them alone. Just leave them alone. Don't
invite them into your house. Don't have a cup of tea with
them or a cup of coffee with them. Throw them out the front
door. Tell them to go on their way. You have no room for them
and no time for them. But I'm telling you, the Word
of God is very, very plain. Very plain. Here in 1 John 5
verse 7. There are three that bear record
in heaven. Three. The Father, the Word,
that is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. Now that's the doctrine of the
Trinity. I have read volumes on it, but I have read more in
that verse than I've ever read in the volumes. That's the doctrine. That's plainly stated. We worship
three distinct persons in one glorious Godhead. The Father
is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Yet they
are not three gods, but one. And this eternal Godhead, in
all the fullness of His divine being, let me change that, in
all the fullness of His divine beings, Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, is revealed by and forever dwells in the body of that man
who was born at Bethlehem, Jesus Christ, Jehovah. Let me show
you in the scriptures. Turn to the book of Colossians.
Colossians chapter 2. All three persons of the sacred
trinity, all the fullness of the eternal Godhead dwells forever
in that man who now sits upon the throne of glory. All the
fullness of the Godhead dwells forever in that man who was born
2,000 years ago in Bethlehem, out of the womb of the Virgin,
all the fullness of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost dwells
in that man who hung upon the cursed tree at Calvary and died
as our substitute. The only revelation of God is
in that man. The only knowledge of God is
in that man. The only approach to God is in
that man. Jesus Christ, the man, is God
Almighty in all the fullness of his divine being. Look here
in Colossians 2 and verse 9. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead. What's the Godhead? Read 1 John
5 verse 7. The Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost. Is that right, Lindsay? That's
the Godhead. That's the triune Godhead. In
Christ dwelleth, forever dwelleth, all the fullness of the Godhead
in a body. All the fullness of the Godhead
resides in His body. I can't comprehend that. My soul,
I can't begin to comprehend it. But it's written right there
in the book. I can rejoice in it. Turn over to John chapter
1. John chapter 1. I'm telling you that Jesus of
Nazareth, that man is Jehovah. He is Jehovah. All over this
nation, indeed all over the world today and this week, Men and
women are celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. That's
all right. Nothing wrong with that. There's
something wrong with the one they're celebrating, and there's
something wrong with the way they celebrate. For the one they
celebrate is not one whom they recognize as, adore as, and worship
as, and trust as Jehovah. They speak of celebrating His
birth and giving honor to Him when they speak of Him as being
a good prophet, a good teacher, a good moral example, a good
representative. But I'm telling you that you
haven't worshipped Him and you haven't honored Him. You've done
nothing but despise and mock Him until you come in your heart
and acknowledge by the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ is Jehovah. Look here, John 1, verse 1. In
the beginning was the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, the living
Word of whom the written Word speaks, the Word who is the revelation
of God. And the Word was with God. You know what it means? Face
to face with God, equal with God. How can you say that? And the Word was God. Now what
is God is equal with God. Whoever God is, is equal with
God. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, for he was equal with God. He is equal with
God. The Word was God. The Word was God. Anytime you hear somebody questioning
the deity of Christ, if you care to respond to them. I don't suggest
that you should, but if you care to respond to them, you just
simply refer them to the scripture and tell them, in the beginning
was the word and the word was with God. And that word that
was forever with God is God. And they'll respond and say,
well, We know that he was a God or he represented God or he was
the word of God. But John said the word was God. He was God. Look in verse 14. And the word God. The word God,
you got it. The word who was God, God, who
was the word was made flesh. The Word was made flesh. God was made flesh and dwelt
among us. He pitched a tent in human flesh
and lived there. God was made flesh and dwelt
among us. And we beheld His glory, Jehovah,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. John bear witness of him. John
looked at him, he said, this is he. And he cried, saying,
this was he of whom I speak. He that cometh after me is preferred
before me, for he was before me. He's the eternal one. And
of his fullness, that is the fullness of the Godhead residing
in him. Have we received grace for grace,
grace on top of grace? For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man's ever seen God. No man has seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,
He hath declared Him. How on earth can that be? Here
He is, a man on the earth. a baby nursed at his mother's
breast in a manger in Bethlehem, a little insignificant Jewish
boy. There he is. He's in the bosom
of the Father. That can't be. That can't be.
Oh, yes, it is. He's God. He never ceased to
be God. Though he's that baby, he's still
God. He's still in the bosom of the
Father. He's always been there. He'll always be there. He's God.
He's God. But now God became flesh. That's the wonder of the incarnation.
Now, this is what I'm saying. The triune God reveals himself
to men. and deals with men and is known
by men only in the person of that one who is the mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Now that's the
only way you ever know the living God. I wish you'd listen to me. This book, this book is the holy
word of God, the holy Bible. And it is that. But this book
speaks of Him who is the Word of God. And you only understand
this book when you come to know Him who is the Word. You can
only read the lines of this book with knowledge and understanding
when you come to know Him who is the Word, Jehovah Jesus. Turn to John chapter 14. John
chapter 14. I hope I can somehow make this
clear to you. People talk about knowing God
and thinking about God, loving God, worshiping God, being with
God, serving God, all those things. You can't know God, worship God,
serve God, trust God, Obey God, be with God, accept as you are
in Christ the Word, who is God. Christ is the only way you know
Him. Christ is the only way you approach Him. God, from old eternity
in covenant mercy, turned this world over to that man who was
to come, Jesus Christ the Word, the God-man mediator. In John
14, let's look at verse 1. Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. Now, what does that mean? It means you say you believe in God. Well,
here I am. Here I am. Believe me. Believe
me. You say we have God as our father. You say, we worship God. You
say, we believe God. We trust God. God's standing
in front of you. Pay attention and believe. Look
in verse 6, verse 5 rather, Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know
not whither thou goest and how can we know the way? Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. Do you see that? I am the way. Without me, you can't go to God.
I am the truth. Without me, you can't know God.
I am the life. Without me, you can't live with
God. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. Now look at verse 7. If ye had
known me, ye should have known my Father also. And from henceforth
know ye him, and have seen him." What does that mean? It means
exactly what it says, Wes. If you know me, you know my Father. If you know me, you know my Father. Verse 8, Philip saith unto him, Show us the Father and that'd
be good enough." Every time I get a little frustrated
preaching folks don't understand what I'm saying, I go back and
read this text again. The Lord Jesus, God standing in front
of Philip, God standing in front of him, in the flesh. And the
Lord said, now, let's put it where we live, Bobby. He said,
Bobby, do you see me? You see the Father. Do you know
me? You know the Father. And Bobby
says, well, Lord, show us the father. That'd be good enough. Oh, slow of heart. Our Lord said. Have I been so long time with
you, and yet has thou not known me, Philip? Don't you know who
I am? I'm Jehovah. I'm Jehovah. I'm Jehovah. He that hath seen
me hath seen the Father." Aren't you ashamed of yourself saying,
show us the Father? I am Jehovah. The Father's seen
right here. The Father's known right here.
When Thomas saw the Lord in his resurrection body, put his hands
in his hands and his finger in his side, He fell at his feet
and he said, my Lord and my God. That's who Jesus Christ is. He is Jehovah. Jehovah Jesus
came into this world. God manifest in the flesh. Jesus
Christ really and truly is God. As much God as though he were
not man and as much man as though he were not God. Indeed, he must
be both. Both God and man in one glorious
person, else he could not be our Savior. Someone said, and
I've often repeated it, God could not suffer and man could not
satisfy, but the God-man both suffered and satisfied. Jehovah
Jesus bridged the gulf between God and man. Our Savior is God,
therefore He's able to save. But He's also man, therefore
He has compassion upon men. He is God come to save. God,
who spoke to our fathers in time past, hath spoken in these last
days to us by His Son. And His name is Jehovah Jesus,
the Lord our Savior. What does He say? He speaks salvation. Simeon saw him and he said, Lord,
now let your servant depart in peace. I've seen with these eyes
your salvation. Jehovah Jesus is God over all,
blessed forever. And Jehovah Jesus is a real man,
touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Oh, I don't know how on earth
to get this communicated to my heart, much less to yours. Our God, our God, sitting above
the throne of heaven, that lofty One, that lofty One whose name
is Jehovah. His name is Jehovah. Girl, boy,
he's a man. And anything that touches you,
it touches you. Anything. Anything. He's touched
with the feet of the right hand. What does that mean? Well, did you ever, you promise,
the girls start to grow up, and they get their first crush. Have
you done some drunken girls? Do you remember when they got
their first crush? They went on the puppy love and reeled
in the puppy. And then they got their first
heartbreak. And they come to me and cry. Just bawling, squabbling. That's when Daddy kind of operated,
didn't it, baby? That's kind of when Daddy operated.
But Mama, at bedtime, she remembers that version right there. And
she sits down beside the bed with some girls in her lap, and
she says, I haven't been there. I know what you want, girl. You
can talk to anybody. You can talk to anybody. That's
Jehovah's Witness. I've been there, he said. He
taught me that. Touching the fever like crazy.
So that whatever it is that affects you has touched you. Whatever
it is. So like, I had such sick, such
pain in my body. He knows what that is. He knows
what that is. Never was there a man who burned
with fever like he did as he hung upon the tree. But I suffer
such temptations and such horrible trials from Satan. Have you yet
been in the wilderness? Have you yet been in Gethsemane?
But preacher, nobody understands me. Nobody. My wife doesn't understand. My mama doesn't understand. My daddy doesn't understand.
My husband doesn't understand. My friends don't. I'm isolated
and alone and nobody understands me. The Lord Jesus Christ knows
what that loneliness and isolation is. But my friend has betrayed
me. He's had a Judas kiss. He knows
what it is. And he's touched with the feeling
of our infirmities. Well, it's whatever it is on
your heart, brother. Take it to him. Take it to him. His name's
Jehovah Jesus, the Lord, our Savior. Our Savior. He's our friend. He knows what you feel. He knows
the pain that crushes your heart, which nobody else can understand.
He knows your trouble, your sorrow, your burden. Tell it to Jehovah
Jesus. He's a friend who understands,
but he's more than that. He's a God who can do something
about it. He's a God who can help. Jehovah Jesus is our mediator,
our savior, our brother, and our advocate. Secondly, our text
tells us that Jehovah Jesus came to save his people from their
sins. Now notice what it says, Matthew
1.21. Thou shalt call his name Jesus. Now underscore this, for,
that is because. Because he shall, he shall save
his people from their sins. Now, what does that text say?
Well, it tells us, first of all, that the Lord Jesus Christ has
a people right here. He's got a people in this world.
He shall save his people. Not the world's people, not the
devil's people, not even God's people, his people, his people,
particularly his. Yes, they're God's people, but
they're God's people because of him. They're God's people
in Him. They're God's people by virtue
of their relationship to Him. He has an elect covenant people
given to Him of the Father before the world began, and He came
into this world in order that He would save His people from
their sins. Now, that's the doctrine of election.
The Lord Jesus Christ has a people in this world, a certain specific
people. Who are they? Why, they're His
sheep. They're his sheep. They're the ones for whom he's
the surety. They're the ones he came to save.
They're the folks for whom he died. They're the folks who are
with him in glory in the end. They're the ones given him from
eternity, the ones for whom he's responsible in time, and the
ones whom he shall return before the Father's throne in eternity
to come. His people. Secondly, the Son
of God came into this world on an errand of mercy to save his
people. Our Lord Jesus Christ in old
eternity stood as a surety in the covenant of everlasting grace.
Now you know what a surety is. A surety is someone who stands
in the room of somebody else. A surety is someone who assumes
the responsibilities that another person has to another. In other words, he's a daysman,
he's a mediator, he's a go-between, but he's more than just a mediator
or go-between. He's the one who takes hold of
the party that's in trouble and assumes responsibility for that
party with the one who's causing the trouble. with the one who's
afflicting the trouble, with the one who's about to go to
court, with the one who's about to bring judgment. And the Lord
Jesus Christ in all eternity laid hold on us, His chosen people. And He said, Father, I'll stand
in their place. I'll do what they ought to do.
I'll pay what they ought to pay. I'll be what they ought to be.
I will take care of them because they're helpless. I'll take care
of them because they're nothing. I'll take care of them because
they're sinners and they can't help. I'll take care of them.
I'll stand in their room because they are defiled, corrupt, fallen,
depraved. And when the time comes, I'll
present them holy and without fault before your God." What
will it take? For those people, for those people,
I've got to have perfect righteousness. And I've got to have complete
satisfaction for all sin. And I've got to have it in infinite
fullness. In order to give me obedience
and righteousness for those people, in order to give me satisfaction
for those people, son, you got to go to the earth. and become
one of those people and obey my law and do my will and suffer
and die as one of those people in the place of those people.
And you got to rise from the dead. I'll do it. I'll do it. And they struck hands. And at
that time, In all eternity, the Son became responsible as the
covenant head and surety of God's covenant people. And he said,
Lo, I come. In the volume of the book it
is written of me, I delight to do thy will. O my God, by the
which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all. Turn over to John chapter 10.
This will help you to understand what our Lord said. John chapter 10, our Lord says in verse 16, other
sheep I have, which are not of this folk. That is, I've got
some people. I've got some people. They're not saved yet, but I've
got them. Some of them not even born yet, but I've got them.
They're mine. Them also. Now look at this next word. Them
also I must bring. And Mark, what does that say?
It says he's got to do it. He's got to do it. He's obliged
to do it. He's under imperative constraint
to do it. How on earth can God, Jehovah,
be placed under constraint so that he must do anything by his
own voluntary will? In the covenant of grace, the
Lord Jesus Christ said, father, I'll do it. And the father said,
son, go do it. And he comes down and he says,
I must do it. Because it was in the covenant.
Because the father commanded it in the covenant of grace.
Look at the text here, John 10. Then also I must bring, 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 takes it from me. I lay it down of myself. I have
the power, the authority, the right to lay it down. And I have
the power, the authority, the right to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father. It's a voluntary subjection.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, in order to redeem us, in order to save
us, voluntarily placed himself as a man in subordination to
the throne of God to accomplish redemption. So that he'd come
and say, I've got to do what my father says. People look at
that text. They have no understanding in
spiritual things. They say they're C. He's not God. Otherwise, he
couldn't be commanded to do anything by God. He can if he wants to.
He can if he wants to. Give you an example. I messed up last time I used
this illustration. My wife said to me when I got
home, she said, when did you give me a honeydew day the last
time? So sometimes, sometime back,
been a long time ago. Faith can't dispute it. She's
too young. Every now and then we'll say
to my daughter, now Faith, this is your day. Today we'll do whatever
you want to do. And she usually wanted to do
things a whole lot easier than washing walls and painting and
things like that. So she'd say, Daddy, I believe
we'll go to the zoo today. Off to the zoo we'd go. Her word
becomes law. Now it's not because I'm subordinate
to her. It's not because I'm less than
her. It's not because I'm not equal
to her. Not by any means. It's because I willingly, voluntarily
submit to her will for a while. And I'm telling you that the
Lord Jesus Christ, who is God, willingly, voluntarily submitted
himself to the will of the Father from eternity as our covenant
head to accomplish redemption for us. And when the time has
come, he will present all his covenant people without spot
before the glorious throne of God, and he will have the praise
of it forever and forever. And then our text tells us in
Matthew 1 that those people whom Christ Jesus came to save are
fallen, guilty sinners. I ran across something here today
that's just amazing. It's just amazing. Listen to
me. The angel did not say he shall
reward his people for their righteousness. The angel did not say He shall
save his people from becoming sinners. The angel said he shall
save his people from their sins. What's the connecting link between
Hubert Montgomery and Jehovah Jesus? What's the connecting link? The connecting link between Christ
and his people is not their goodness, but their sins. Hang on now. The Lord Jesus never
gave himself for our righteousnesses. He gave himself for our sins. If we had never sinned, We would
never have needed a savior. Had we never sinned, the name
of Jesus would never have been sounded in the earth. The first
link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness, but my badness. Not my merit, but my misery.
Not my standing, but my falling. Not my riches, but my poverty. Our Lord Jesus comes not to admire
the beauty of man. but rather to remove the deformity
of man, not to reward the virtue of man, but rather to remove
the sin of man." But Don, what's so glorious about that? Every promise of the gospel,
every promise, and I'm not saying this off the cuff, began at Genesis
chapter one. Go to Revelation chapter 22.
Every promise of the gospel, every promise is made to sinners. There's not a promise in the
gospel of God's grace given to good folks. There's not a promise
in the gospel of God's grace given to righteous folks. There's
not a promise in the gospel of God's grace given to moral folks,
not one. Every promise of God in the gospel
is given to sinners. Every one of them. And what does
that tell me? That tells me I come to Him not covering my sin, not attempting
to hide it, not attempting to put a gloss over it, not attempting
to shade it, not attempting to excuse it, But I come before
the Lord my God in the hideous fakeness of my sin, and I call upon the Lord Jesus
Christ, Jehovah, Jesus my Savior, as a sinner. And my sinnerhood
is the basis of my plea for his mercy. That's it. I'm telling you, there's
only one grounds upon which to plead with God for mercy, and
that's in the dunghill of sin. That's on the cross. And you
will never know Jehovah Jesus until he puts you down in that
dunghill and makes you know your sin. The connecting link between
fallen man and the Savior is man's sin. And be sure you understand
this. The Lord Jesus Christ shall save
his people from their sins. Now, this is not a faint wish.
This is not a hopeful desire. This is a prophecy. Jehovah Jesus
shall save his people from their sins. Every one of them. But what if? But how about? But suppose? But you know, the
Lord Jesus shall save his people, every one of them, from their
sins. Period. Period. A lot of folks get names that
somehow they don't quite measure up to. The name Don. It's a Spanish
name, really. How I got it, I don't know. Fortner
is German. But the name Don means a mighty
ruler. Sorry mom, sorry dad, I ain't
gonna make it. Just don't measure up, just don't
measure up. The name doesn't suit the fellow
who wears it. I read today somebody, I think
it was Mr. Spurgeon, he used to like to
walk through cemeteries and read tombstones, kind of like I do. He said he walked by and saw
a tombstone on a grave, and this is what it said. Here lie the
remains of Methuselah Connie. Died aged six months. He didn't live up to his name.
Mama and Daddy had great hopes for him. They called him Methuselah,
but he died age six months. Let me tell you something. The
Lord Jesus bears the name Jesus. Jehovah Jesus, and he'll measure
up to his name. The facts prove it. Our Lord
Jesus Christ has saved his people from the penalty of sin by his
blood atonement. When he died at Calvary, he cried,
it is finished. And the father received the son
at his own right hand in the glory of heaven. And he said,
sit down here, son, until I make your enemies my footstool. And
the Lord Jesus now is seated yonder. Seated. The work's done. The work's done. There's nothing more to pay.
Nothing more required. Their sins are washed away. Their
sins are washed away. has saved his people from all
the penalty and all the consequences of all their sins for all time
and all eternity. Gone, gone, gone. Yes, my sins
are gone. Gone! Gone forever. Gone forever. He paid the price. He paid the
price. But I still struggle. He doesn't,
but I do. I do. There's still this corruption, sin. Old man Adam. Old man Don. that's so very, very much a part of me and everything I
do. Now, blessed be God, it's not
like it once was. It's not like it once was. That old man's just as bad as
he ever was, just as corrupt as he ever was, but he doesn't
control me like he used to. He doesn't control me like he
used to. Thank God. But he's still there. This same Jehovah Jesus who broke
the reigning power of sin in me in conversion will continue
as long as we live in this world to subdue and break the reigning
power of sin within us. He'll do it. He'll do it. And
at last, He will save us from the very being of sin. One of these days, Jehovah Jesus is going to come
again. And those folks who've fallen
asleep in Him, whose bodies have returned to dust and ashes, will
arise without sin unto everlasting salvation. And those of us who
are alive and remain like that shall be changed. And these bodies
which have been for all these years tabernacles of sin shall
be changed. made like unto his glorious body. And old man Adam will be no more. Old man Don will be no more.
Gone forever. Gone forever. And what he's done
for generations gone by, he'll do for us today and tomorrow
and forever. And what he's done for us, he'll
do for you. Anybody here, anybody in all
the world who will but believe the gospel of his grace. That's
my last point. Every sinner who trusts Jehovah
Jesus is saved from all his sins. Another year's gone. Harvest is past, summer has ended. And another year's passed, and
you've been without Christ. Without Christ, you've lived
all these years. No, without Christ, you've been
dying all these years. And without Christ, you're going
to die forever. You're going to die forever. Trust Jehovah Jesus, and you
have everlasting life. You have everlasting life. Pastor, I have such sin, such
corruption. Believe Him. Can you believe
Him? Can you believe Him? I do. I do. In the face of all my sin, in
the face of all I know I am, I see Him, Jehovah Jesus, hanging
on the tree. And I can trust that blood to
put away my sins. They're gone. They're gone. But Don, how will I ever overcome
the evil that's in me? You can't. You can't. Just forget it. You can't do
it. You can't do it. Keep striving after it, you who
believe, but you can't do it. Jehovah Jesus can. He can. Trust him. Trust him. What about the future? Now the
future holds no fear. God guards the work begun. Jehovah
Jesus will bring us wholly, without spot and without wrinkle, before
the presence of his glory and present us before the throne
of the Father and declare, Lo, I and the children which thou
hast given me. Amen.