We will not have services tonight
or Wednesday, and I hope everybody enjoys the holiday seasons. Also, Brother Fortner asked me
to thank everybody for all the kindnesses he's received from
you, and he's in Cleveland Clinic right now, and we're praying
for the Lord's hand to be upon the doctors to give them wisdom
in dealing with him. Look once again at our text in
Exodus chapter 15, verse 11. Who is like unto thee, O Lord? I've entitled this message, and
I hope I'm pronouncing this word right, the exclusivity of Jesus
Christ, who is like unto thee. Now, it is impossible to determine
the day of the birth of Christ. That's what people are celebrating
this week, but it's impossible to determine that day And while
I enjoy and am thankful for the Christmas season, I attach no religious significance
to it. None at all. But I do love to think of his
birth. I repeat. I love to think of
the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, his birth was foretold
in Old Testament scripture. 700 years before his birth, we
read, behold, a virgin shall conceive. I bet people read that
and thought, what in the world could that mean? A virgin shall
conceive and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Immanuel, God with us. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6, unto
us a child is born. unto us a son is given." Now
that is so important. That son was not born. That son is the eternal son of
God. He never had a beginning, but the child was born. Speaking of the birth, the incarnation
of the Lord Jesus Christ, unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given. Some 2000 years ago, the word was made flesh and dwelt among
us. Would you turn with me for a
moment to 1 John chapter 4? We'll get back to Exodus 15 in
a moment, but 1 John chapter 4. Verse 1. Beloved, believe not every spirit. And that's not talking about
a spirit without any material flesh. That's talking about preachers.
That's talking about preachers. And he says, don't you believe
every preacher? Everybody who claims to come in the name of
God. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits,
whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone
out into the world. Hereby know ye the spirit of
God. Every spirit that confesseth. And that word confess is a very
important word. That means, the word means literally speak the
same thing. He's speaking the same thing God says. He's admitting
to guilt of confessing this. That's a very important word.
Every spirit that confesses, this is a public declaration.
This is not something they talk about when there's no problems. You know, we'll discuss this. This is talking about a public
confession that'll cost you something. when you confess. Every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And
this is that spirit of Antichrist where if you've heard that it
should come And even now already is it in the world. Now in this
amazingly simple statement, we have all the gospel. Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh. Now somebody says, doesn't everybody
believe that? Well, let me tell you what it means and we'll see.
The fact that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh means he was
before he came. He is the eternal uncreated creator,
the son of God. I love those scriptures when
he said, I came down from heaven. He said that many times. I came
down from heaven. I bet people were listening and
thought, what in the world does he mean he came down from heaven? Well, it meant exactly what he
said. I came down from heaven. He was before he came. Eternal God. And he came in the
flesh. God was manifest in the flesh. The word was made flesh on that
night, 2000 years ago, the eternal word was made flesh, flesh and
bone, just like me and you. God manifest in the flesh. And in the flesh, he did what
he came to do. What'd he come to do? Well, we're
told in the very first chapter of the New Testament, Thasher
called his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their
sins. That's what he came to do. He
came to save his people, the elect of God, from their sins. And when he said, it is finished,
every single one of them were saved from their sins. Now that's
the gospel, isn't it? God was manifest in the flesh. Jesus Christ, I love his name. Jesus, that's what I call his
name, Jesus, Savior. He shall save his people from
the sins. Christ, his offices. Christ, God's prophet, like no
other prophet. Every other prophet said, thus
saith the Lord. I love the fact that the Lord
Jesus never said that. He said, I say unto you. Every other priest offered the
blood of an animal that could never put away sin. He offered
his own blood that actually put away sin that he brought before
his father. Every other king, there's been
a lot of kings, but they all have borrowed power. They're
there simply because God put them there. He has inherent power
as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh. Now would you turn back to Exodus
chapter 15 verse 11. This is the song of Moses after
the destruction of Pharaoh and his chariots in the Red Sea,
the deliverance of Israel. I've read where this is the first
hymn ever recorded, and it very well may be, but this is the
song of Moses. But we read in verse 11, where
Moses says, who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods,
who is like unto thee? Now that's where I got the title.
of this message, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. Now, what's
that mean? Well, it means excluding or not admitting to
other things. Now, that's what we're talking
about when we're talking about the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. Unable to exist or to be true
if something else. exists or is true. Excluding
all else who is like unto thee, no one and no thing. No one can be compared to him. There's nothing and no one who
can be set down and say, look, the Lord's like this person or
the Lord's. No. No, any comparison you make of the Lord Jesus Christ
with anything else is only trying to bring him down to a human
level. No one can be compared to him. Now, this verse is true of the
father. This verse is true of the son.
This verse is true of God, the Holy Spirit, none can be compared
to God, the one God. revealed in three distinct persons. But I have no doubt that Moses
is specifically speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Son,
who can be compared with Thee? Now, He only is God. Hear, O Israel, The Lord thy
God is one God. And anything you use to be as
a likeness for him is idolatry and sin. No one can be compared. No one is like the Lord Jesus
Christ. He only is eternal. Men are not. Angels are not. Demons are not. Matter is not. He only. Is eternal. He is the eternal
God. When there was no time, all there
was was God. The three persons of the Trinity
rejoicing in one another, living in absolute independence, having
no needs. I love to think of the Lord is
not having any needs because I think of how dependent I am.
I'm dependent on him for my next breath. I'm utterly and completely
dependent and he is utterly and completely independent. When Jesus Christ created the
universe, he didn't do it because he needed it. He was not lonely. He did not
need something to make his existence better. He has no needs. Creation didn't add to his essential
glory. He simply willed it. He is self-sufficient. He has no needs. I'm going to
quote Brother Fortner. And if somebody doesn't like
this, get mad at him. Don't get mad at me. But I like
this. He said, I've heard that statement
God can't make a church or church can't be spelled is what it is.
Church can't be spelled without you. God was spelled for 6,000 years
without you. And here's what I really liked. You can't spell
stupid without you either. I agree, don't you? And if you don't like that, get
mad at God. I got that from him. He is the one who gives to all
and is enriched by none. Only he decrees. He has one decree that covers
everything else. This is who he is. When it talks
about him being the wonderful counselor, that word counselor
isn't like me and you going to a counselor to get good advice.
My counsel shall stand. All decrees, which is one decree,
come from the Son of God, the sovereign of the universe. He decrees, and it's done. His decrees are eternal. They're
all-knowing. There are no unseen events or
circumstances that can prevent his will from happening. They're
free. There's no conditions that need
to be first met before they can take place. They're absolute. That means they all must be done. Unalterable. Only he is omniscient. Only he can foreknow. Before
I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Nobody can do that but
Jesus Christ. He only is sovereign. And let
me remind you what that means. That means he's sovereign over
everything. And if he's not sovereign over everything, he's not sovereign
at all. He's sovereign over the very thoughts that are passing
through your mind right now. If somebody says, I don't like
that, he's sovereign over that. You're in trouble, but he's sovereign
over that. He controls everything. He only is immutable. He can't
change. If he could change, it would
be either improvement or he'd be going downhill, but it's neither.
He's omnipotent, all powerful, whatever he desires, he has the
power to make it come to pass. That's why his decrees are so
absolute. He's all powerful. He's faithful. He's good. Only he is good all the time. He is only His patient and long-suffering. He only is grace, mercy, and
love. I think it's interesting, I guess
if that's the way you would word it, it's interesting how people
complain with the sovereignty of His grace. The fact that He
has mercy on whom He will have mercy and whom He will, He hardens.
Scripture says that, doesn't it? He has mercy on whom He will
have mercy and whom He will, He hardens. Somebody says, well,
how could that be fair? The very person who asked that
question, I'm so thankful that they're not God. Because if it
was up to you, I wouldn't be saved. I'm thankful you're not
God. You know what? You better be
thankful I'm not God. Because we'd all be in big trouble.
Because at some point, we would sit. That's it. I'm not putting
up with any more. But God is gracious. Only he
is gracious. Only he is merciful. Only he
is long suffering. Oh, the exclusivity, the distinctness,
the uniqueness, the solitariness of Jesus Christ. There's none
like him. Amen. There's none like him. No mortal
can with him compare among the sons of men. Who is like unto
thee? Nobody. Nobody. And then Moses gives us three
areas that display his uniqueness. It's what Paul called the simplicity
of Christ, the onlyness of Christ. Only he is this. He feared that
they'd be corrupted from the onlyness of Christ. Only he is
glorious in holiness. Nobody else is. Only he is glorious
in holiness. Only he is fearful in praises. Only he doeth wonders. No one can fit this description
but the Lord Jesus Christ. He is glorious in holiness. Now that could not describe any
other creature. You wouldn't say that of man.
You wouldn't say that of a demon, certainly. And you can't even
say that of an unfallen angel. I love that scripture and where
I can't remember where it is, but it says he charges his angels
with folly, his unfallen angels he charges with folly. You say,
how can that be? Because He knows they're mutable
creatures, and they would mutate if He didn't keep them from it,
and they would fall if He didn't keep them from it. He charges
His angels with falling. Listen, if you have not fallen,
there's only one reason. He's preserved you from it. He's
kept you from it. And the child of God knows that
I have fallen. I fell in Adam. I fell in my
own sin. And my only hope is for him to
have mercy on me and for him to save me by his grace. But
even the angels that have not fallen, he charges with falling. What does holy mean? Other. Separate. Not like you. Not like me. That's what holy means, other,
separate. You know, the first time the
word holy is used is in Exodus chapter three, when Moses sees
the bush that burns and is not consumed. Now, don't just think,
well, that's one of those miracles of the Old Testament. Let's see
what this tells us. This bush kept burning and it
did not need the wood to keep the fire burning. This is speaking
of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has no needs. He didn't
need the energy of that wood to continue to burn. He kept
burning. And the bush could not be consumed,
such as the excellency and glory and power of the Christ, that
the wrath of God could not consume him. When the fire of God's wrath
fell down upon him as the sinner's substitute, he consumed the wrath. Made it to not be. And what does
the Lord say from the burning bush? Moses, remove thy shoes
from off thy feet, for the place wherein thou standest is holy
ground. It's other. Because I'm here. You remember when Joshua saw
the angel with the drawn sword, and he said, are you for us?
Or are you for our adversaries? And he said, neither. The Lord doesn't take sides. The Lord does not take sides. He said, as the captain of the
Lord's hosts have I come. Loose thy shoes from off thy
feet. The place thou standest is holy ground. Only he is glorious in holiness. What is holiness? Only thou art holy. What is holiness? When Jesus Christ said, my God,
my God, Why hast thou forsaken me? He gives the answer to that question
in verse three. But thou art holy. You see, Jesus Christ, the reason
he was on the cross was because he took the sins of God's people
upon himself. They became his sins. He became guilty of the commission
of those sins. He never committed them in himself,
personally. He never committed a sin. He's
holy, unblameable, and unreprovable, perfect before God. He never
sinned in himself. Yet the sins of his people he
voluntarily took upon himself. I lay down my life for the sheep. The reason for death is sin. When God saw sin on his son,
God forsook him. Why? Because God is holy. holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory. This is who he is, glorious in
holiness. That can't be said of anybody
else. Verse 11, Exodus 15, who is like
unto thee? Glorious in holiness. What's it say next? Fearful in
praises. Could that be said of any man?
Mere man? Sinful man? Mutable man? Who is like unto thee? Fearful
in praises. To be feared. To be revered. To stand in awe of. Who is likened to thee? Fearful
in praises. The psalmist said, praise waiteth
for thee. Oh Lord. Let everything that hath breath,
the breath of life, spiritual life. The dead can't praise the
Lord. The man dead in sin has no ability to praise the Lord.
He sees no glory in who he is. But let everything that hath
breath, the breath of life, praise the Lord. He is fearful in praises. Praise him for all of his excellent
attributes because there's none like him. Is there any attribute of his
that you don't love? Now if you're a believer, you
love every attribute. You love his holiness, you love
his sovereignty, you love his justice, you love his power,
you love his immutability, you love his independence. We can't
say anything from the scriptures concerning him that you don't
love if you love him. If there's anything about him
you don't love, you don't love him, period. He is one God. All of his attributes, take one
away and you no longer have who God is. We praise him for who
he is. And then Moses says, who is likened
to thee, O Lord, among the gods, who is likened to thee, glorious
in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. No one else but him can be said
to be doing wonders. Now that same word, doing, is
used for creation. Let us make man in our own image. There's only one who can create,
the creator. Let us make man in our own image. Doing what only God can do, his
name shall be called, and this is the same word as doing wonders,
his name shall be called what? Wonderful. Wonderful. I wish we'd be careful the way
we use that word, wonderful. How was the meal? Wonderful.
It was good. It tasted real good, but I don't
know whether we ought to refer to anything human as wonderful. But he is wonderful. full of wonder. Now I think of
the wonders that he did. And the first thing that comes
to my mind is the wonder of him standing as the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world before there was an ever sinner. He
is, was, will be, he is the complete Savior. Now listen to this scripture. 2 Timothy 1.9, He saved us! And he called us. Now that saving
came way before the calling. You see, he's the lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. And the reason he can stand as
an absolute surety is every one of God's elect were absolutely
saved in him as the lamb slain before the foundation of the
world. That's the theme of heaven. Before time began, He's the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. The song of the redeemed,
after time is no more and eternity is forever. Worthy is the Lamb
that was slain. All of my salvation is in the
Lamb slain. Now I was saved in eternity. You ain't problem with that?
Everything God does is eternal. If someone says, I've got a problem
with Abraham, you've got problems then because he's the lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. And all of God's elect were completely
saved by what he did before time began. That's why he could stand
as such a sure surety. Salvation is already accomplished.
I was saved when the Lord said it is finished. My salvation
was completed and I'm saved when I hear the gospel as gospel and
not before then. wonders he did, he became flesh. He became flesh. That holy thing
was conceived and God was in Mary's womb for nine months. Now think about that. God in a womb for nine months
in the darkness of Mary's womb, being fed by whatever takes place
during that nine month period. He was born, and I love this. He was born in a cow staple with
the smell of manure in the air. He wasn't born in a palace. He
was born in a cow staple. The wise men came to worship
him. He was born king of the Jews. I love what Simeon said
after he was eight days old and they brought him into the temple
for him to be circumcised. He said, Lord, now let us thou
thy servant depart in peace. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. He is God's salvation. His first words as a boy, the
only recorded words are, I must be about my father's business. He revealed even then that he
is the eternal son doing his father's business. And I stand
amazed when right after that it says he became subject to
his parents. Now, Mary was a sinner. Don't think, well, the blessed
virgin. She is the blessed virgin, but
she's a sinner just like me and you. Joseph was a sinner just
like me and you. And he subjected himself willingly
to his parents. I love to, Think of his baptism,
when John the Baptist comes to him and he says, he tells John
the Baptist he wanted to be baptized. And John the Baptist knew who
he was. He said, I need to be baptized of thee. And the Lord
said, suffer it to be so now. I know this seems completely
inappropriate for a sinner like you to baptize me, the eternal
son of God. I realize you feel uncomfortable with that. Wouldn't
you? What if Christ came to you and said, I want you to baptize
me? Why, you'd think, whoa. John the Baptist was thinking
the same thing. Suffer to be so now for thus it becometh us. You ask us to fulfill all righteousness. Everything Jesus Christ did,
he did as an us. And when he fulfilled all righteousness,
everybody in him fulfilled all righteousness and kept God's
law perfectly. I love to think of him going
down the water coming back out of the water, and a voice from
heaven says, this is my beloved son, in whom I'm well pleased. Not with whom I'm well pleased,
I'm thankful. He is well pleased with him,
it says in whom. That means if I'm in him, he's
well pleased with me. I love to think of him in the
wilderness being tempted of the devil. And let me ask you a question
before we consider him. If the devil's tempting you to
do anything, I don't care what it is. If the devil gets hold
of you, how much power do you have to resist his temptation? Well, let me answer that for
you just in case you get the wrong answer. Zero. Zero. He utterly defeated the devil. He came with the temptation of
the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride
of life, the lust of the flesh. Command these stones be made
bread. The lust of the eyes. If you really are the Son of
God, prove it. Let us see it. Jump off the temple. Prove it.
The pride of life, I'll give you all this power if you'll
worship me. He utterly defeated the devil. During his time of earthly ministry,
what wonders he performed. I love to think of the first
miracle when the water was made wine. It didn't become water
that smelled like wine, that tasted like wine, or looked like
wine. It became wine. And that's what the Lord does
when He saves somebody. He makes them to be something
they were not. The very righteousness of God
in Him. He healed the sick. He gave sight
to the blind. He raised the dead. He controlled
the weather. He controlled the demon world.
They couldn't make a move without His position. He brought matter
into existence that was not there before when He created bread. what only God can do. Doing wonders. I love when he
was arrested. They came to arrest him. He said,
whom seek ye? They said, Jesus of Nazareth.
He said, I am. And what happened? They fell
backwards. You know what he was doing? He was demonstrating at that
time, you're not in control of this situation, I am. I have
complete control over you. I'm no victim. The only reason
you're doing this is I'm permitting it to take place. He died like
no other man died. He gave death permission to come
and take him. No one's ever done else have
done that, but he gave death permission to take him. He couldn't
take him until he said, you can take me now. The fact that he died, what a
wonder that the son of God died. There's something I can't understand.
How could the son of God die? I don't know, but he did. He
did. And in his death, he rendered
complete satisfaction to God's offended justice. All sin was
paid for. The reason he never decayed Like
everybody else would is because the moment he died, God said,
I'm satisfied with him. I'm satisfied with everyone represented
by him. Who else could do that? Who can
be compared with the Lord Jesus Christ? He was raised again. the justification of His people.
You won't come out doing a wonder. Here's a wonder. I stand before
God and He looks at me and He sees one who is holy and unblameable
and unreprovable in His sight. Now that's a wonder, isn't it?
That's a wonder. Now when we speak of the exclusivity
of Jesus Christ, let me close with this thought. He has the
exclusive right to forgive sins. Nobody else does. You remember
when he said, son, be of good cheer. Thy sins be forgiven thee. They said, who is this that speaketh
blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
only? They were right. They just didn't
know this is God speaking the second person of the blessed
Trinity. He has the exclusive right of forgiving me and you
of our sins. If he is pleased to do it only here as to whether or not your sins
are forgiven. Now, everybody in here, I want
my sins to be forgiven. Well, what you mean by that is
you don't want to go to hell. Who does? I realize that. I don't
want to go to hell either. That's what people mean by they
want their sins forgiven. But as to whether or not your
sins are forgiven, you don't have any control in this. It's
up to him. He has the exclusive right of forgiving sins. And he does. Woman, where are
those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? No
man, Lord, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. He forgives sinners. He delights
in forgiving sinners. If you come as a sinner, he'll
forgive you. Now, if you hold on to your righteousness and
your... But if you come as a sinner,
he will forgive you. all that the father giveth me
shall come to me in him that cometh to me i will in no wise
cast out jesus christ has come in the flesh that's where we
began he was before he came he came in the flesh and he did
what he came to do he saved his people from their sins and he
still says Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Now
listen to me real carefully. Don't miss this. If you come to Him, you will
not be cast out. And if you're cast out, it's
because you refused to come to Him. If you come, you'll be received. Now, somebody says, well, what's
it mean to come to him? Well, he said, he that cometh
to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall
never thirst. What's it mean to come to Christ?
Well, it's not a physical coming, it's a believing on him. It's
believing who he is and what he did as all that's needed to
make you and me perfect before God. Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved. Let's pray. Lord, truly, there's none like
Thee. I pray that You'd give each person
in this room the grace to say in praise from their hearts, who, O Lord, is like unto Thee? Glorious in holiness, fearful
in praises, doing wonders. how we thank you for who you
are. In Christ's name we pray, amen.