In Luke chapter 9, I want to
bring the message today in our continuing study from verse 51
down through verse 56. And I'm taking the title for
the message from the words that are found in verse 56. Our Lord declares here and calls
Himself again the Son of Man, He does that five times in this
one chapter. He refers to himself as the Son
of Man. The Son of Man has not come to
destroy men's lives. The Son of Man has come to save. Come to save. And notice the
word them has been added. The Lord came to save. Who? He came to save His people. Call
His name Jesus, He shall save His people from their sin. The Son of Man has come to save. Now hold your place there in
Luke 9. I want you to turn to one other
place, Luke 19. Turn there. Luke 19. Luke 19. Verse 9, the Lord Jesus Christ
said unto Zacchaeus, and to those around, this day is salvation
come to this house, or as much as he also is the son of Abraham. Now he was a natural descendant
of Abraham, but much more importantly, he was a spiritual son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come to
seek and to save that which was lost. The Lord came to save sinners. He is able and willing to do
so. The Lord said, I am God, beside
me there is no other. I'm the only just God and Savior. Therefore, do you know what the
Lord says to us? He says, look, Look, look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth. I am God, and there is no other. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. Now, consider this. Are you a sinner? I'm not talking
about what you've done. I'm talking about what you are.
What you are. If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves. Are you a sinner? Have you ever
been lost? I mean lost without God, without
hope, and without Christ. If you've never been lost, you've
never been found. If you've never been lost, you've
never been saved. You remember what John Newton,
the old English preacher, wrote back in the 1700s? Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was
lost, but now I'm found. I was blind. Now I see. What do you see? I see Christ
as all of my salvation. All of my salvation. By nature
we are dead. By nature we are lost. By nature
we are blind. We cannot hear. We cannot see. God must do a work of grace in
our heart. Now the Lord Jesus Christ in
this one chapter refers to Himself many times, as I pointed out
before, that He is the Son of Man. Hold your place there and
find over in Luke 9 verse 22. Luke 9 verse 22, "...the Son
of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the chief
priests, scribes, and be slain, and be raised again the third
day." In Luke 9 verse 44. Let these sayings sink down into
your ears. The Son of Man, the Son of Man
shall be delivered into the hands of men." Now, this title, the
Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ is very fond of. Matter of fact,
as I pointed out in a previous message, he uses this title,
Son of Man, referring to himself many, many, many more times than
he called himself the Son of God. As I pointed out in the
message previously, the Lord Jesus Christ is totally and fully
God, and yet when He was manifested in the flesh, He was a real man. Therefore, we can say He is both
God and man in one blessed person. He is the God-Man Mediator. Remember from our study in Romans
chapter 1, that He is declared to be the Son of God, He declared
to be the Son of God with all power, and yet we read also in
Romans chapter 1 that He was made of the seed of David according
to the flesh. So there we see His deity, He
declared to be the Son of God, He's not made to be the Son of
God, He's made according to the flesh according to the seed of
David, he declared God made the Son of Man. He had to be both
to fulfill all Scripture for us and to die for our sin according
to the Scripture. For I said in that previous message
that man cannot Satisfied and God cannot suffer, but the God-man
mediator both suffered and satisfied God on our behalf. Therefore
we read in Scripture, the Lord said, There's just one Mediator
between God and men, and who is that one Mediator that can
reconcile us? That one Mediator, 1 Timothy
2 verse 5, that one Mediator between God and men, it doesn't
say man, men is the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man. The old
timers called Him God-man, one word, God-man, one word. With
that introduction, look at verse 51 of Luke 9. I have three points
this morning. Here's the first one. It came
to pass. It came to pass. It came to pass when the time
was come that He should be received up He steadfastly set his face
to go to Jerusalem. He must die as the Lamb of God,
designated of God, to fulfill all Scripture. When it was time
for the Lord Jesus Christ to be manifested in the flesh, He
came. When it was time for the Lord
Jesus Christ to give His life, no one took it from Him. When
it was time for the Lord Jesus Christ to give His life, He laid
it down. Now many times, the Pharisees
and those who hated God and hated Him, they tried to end His life
before the time. You remember in Luke chapter
4, they took Him to the brow of the hill and would have cast
Him off. The killing, he simply passed
through the midst of them. Why? He couldn't die that way
and more than that, it wasn't the time. Again in John 10, when
he declared, I am my father, we are one, they took up stones
to stone him. but they could not lay a hand
on Him. And finally, it says here in
John 17, He prays right before He gives His life for the sin
of His people. He says, Father, the hour has
come. Now is the time appointed of
God. Glorify Thy Son that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee. John 17 verse 2, Thou hast given
Him power over all flesh that He should give eternal life to
as many as the Father had given to Him. This is life eternal
that they might know Thee, the only true God, Jesus Christ,
whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the
earth. I finished the work You gave me to do. When it was time
for the Lord Jesus Christ to be manifested in the flesh, the
Word made flesh and dwelt among us. The Son of David, as the
Son of David, as the King of Israel, He came. You remember
Galatians 4, verse 4. In the fullness of time, in the
fullness of the time, God sent forth His Son made of a woman,
made under the law to redeem them that were under the law.
When the time was come for the Lord Jesus Christ to go to Jerusalem
and die as a sinner's substitute, the substitute for the covenant
people as the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ set His face
like a flint and could not be turned from it. He came, He was
a ready and willing Savior, ready to give His life for His people,
ready to suffer for their sins, as it says in Luke 9 verse 22
again, the Son of Man must suffer many things. Now, why must this
Holy Son of God whom God speaks from heaven and said, this is
my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. Why is he called a man
of sorrow and acquainted with grief? Because our sin was made
to meet on him. We read in 1 Peter chapter 3
that Christ also once suffered for our sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us unto God. The Lord Jesus Christ
must suffer because our sin was laid upon Him, and He suffers
the wrath of God in our place as a sinner's substitute. Therefore
He is able alone to save to the uttermost all that come to God
by Him, seeing that He ever liveth to make intercession for us.
That's what it says in Hebrews 7.22. The Lord said in John chapter
10 verse 9, I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall
be saved, and he shall go out and in and find plenty, plenty,
plenty, all spiritual blessing found in him. Again the Lord
said, I am the way, The truth, the life, no man comes to the
Father but by and through Me." John 14, 6. He steadfastly, as
it says there, when the time was come, He steadfastly set
His face to go to Jerusalem. He steadfastly, when the time
was come, that He should be received up. Now don't miss that statement. That He should be received up. Where is He going? Where did
He come from? He came from glory and He's going
back to glory. That verse we read just a moment
ago, one more verse in John 17 and 5, He said, "...glorify thou
me with thyself with thy own glory which I had with thee before
the world was." You see, He's the eternal Savior. He steadfastly
set His face to go to Jerusalem. Now did He know what was going
to happen when He got to Jerusalem? He is the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. He has known this from all eternity
and yet He set His face Fixed like a flint. You remember Peter
said, don't go there. The other apostles said, don't
go there. You remember the Lord said, get
out of my way. Get out of my way. I must be about my Father's
business. He did not flinch from the work
the Father gave Him to do. He was anxious to finish the
work of redemption for His people. You remember in Luke chapter
2, We read that scripture where the Lord said, I must be about
my father's business. He said, my meat, my joy to do
the will of my father, the work of my father, and to finish his
doing. He was always about the work
of the father, glorifying the father in redeeming his people
as the covenant surety of that everlasting covenant of grace.
But watch this. I love this statement here. He
should be received up. Now what does that tell us? What
does that tell us? The Lord Jesus Christ died for
our sins according to Scripture, and was buried, and was raised
again on the third day according to the Scripture. And when He
was raised up the third day, He lived among men in that glorified
body. You remember He ate with them,
He fellowshiped with them, and He lived among them, being seen
of them many days, of one time five hundred brethren at one
time, and after forty days They walked out one day outside the
city and there he goes. Where did he go? He went back to glory. He's seated
on the throne. When He by Himself purged our
sin, He sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. Why did He do so? Why did He
sit down at the right hand of the throne of God? A place of
love, a place of acceptance, because He finished the work.
The Father gave Him to do exactly when it was approaching the time
when He must be received up to glory. He was delivered for our
offenses and raised again for our justification. Now, I remember
a sermon I heard way back more than 30 years ago. An old preacher,
he's been dead for many years, his name was Herman Moore. He
was from North Carolina and he came and preached in one of those
Bible conferences that Pastor Mahan had in Ashland starting
back in 1954. But that man preached a sermon
and he titled the sermon, There's a Man in Glory with Nail Print
in His Hand. What does his presence there
mean to me? Now the Lord Jesus Christ as
a real man in a glorified body came out of that tomb the third
day. The same body they put in there is the same body that came
out. Lived among men and then one day by the power of God he
ascended to glory as the God-man mediator and he sat down. And you know what? We're seated
in him. in Christ. We're seated in the
heavenlies in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's see if we can find
that in Scripture. You see, what's to the head is
to the body. He came as a representative man. He lived as a representative
man. He died as a representative man.
When He lived, we lived because we were in Him. When He died,
we died. When He was raised up the third day, we were raised
up. When He ascended to glory, we went with Him. You're looking
at a sinner right now that's already seated in the heavenlies
in Christ. Preacher, you're crazy. I believe the word of God. Turn
to Ephesians chapter 2, let me show you. I'm not ready for the nut house
yet. Maybe someday I'll lose my mind completely, but God's
given me a right mind. Ephesians 2 verse 4, Ephesians
2 verse 4, But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love
wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened
us together with Christ, by grace are you saved, and hath raised
us up together. Raised us up together. and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ. When He sat down, we sat down,
that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding of His riches
of His kindness toward us, riches of His grace and His kindness
toward us through Christ. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that knowledge of yourself. It is a gift of God,
not as worthless any man should boast. Let me read you one more
scripture on that. You can find Hebrews 6. Hebrews chapter 6, the Lord Jesus
Christ right now, right now, think about this, our blessed
Savior, Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ right now is seated on
the throne of glory, interceding for us, making our worship acceptable
in God's sight. Notice in Hebrews chapter 6,
verse 18, that by two immutable things in which it was impossible
for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled
for refuge to lay hold upon the hope that is set before us, which
hope," here's the hope we have, which hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, it's sure, it's steadfast, "...which entereth
into that within the veil." You see, our hope is already in glory
and we're in Christ. Where the forerunner is for us
entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek." Hebrews chapter 8, verse 1. Now the things which
we have spoken, this is the sum. We have a high priest who is
set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty on high. In Hebrews chapter 9 verse 24,
Hebrews 9 verse 24, For Christ did not enter into the holy places
made with hands, which are figures of the true, but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. That's the good news of the Gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ is received
up to glory. You know why He was received
up? Because everything He did is
accepted by God Almighty, satisfied. The Lord Jesus Christ satisfied
all the demands that God's law demanded. He made satisfaction. And we are accepted in the Beloved,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's the second thing.
Okay, the Lord is going to be received up to glory after He
is risen, after He laid down His life, He set His face like
a flint to go to Jerusalem. No man took His life, He laid
it down. On that way from Galilee down
to Jerusalem, there is a land between there called the land
of the Samaritans. He sent messengers before His
face, verse 52, and they went and entered into a village of
the Samaritan to make ready for Him. And they did not receive
Him because His face, remember, He was determined to go to Jerusalem. Now I take that to mean that
they thought that He should stay with them. and he was determined
to go. So they did not receive him,
they did not get their way. Verse 54, when the disciples,
now this is quite amazing, and it goes back to that thing of
pride, and religious pride, when these two blessed apostles, these
two blessed brothers, James and John, saw this. John, the beloved John. When James and John, James had
his head removed early on in the book of Acts chapter 12,
these men who loved the Lord, who loved the gospel, when they
saw this, when they saw the Samaritans acting in a way they did not
think was proper, when they saw them rejecting the Lord Jesus
Christ, they said, Wilt thou that we command fire
to come down from heaven and consume them just like Elijah
the prophet of God had done not once but twice and three times
if you count that time that fire fell on Mount Carmel. But he turned and rebuked them
and said, You have a bad spirit. John, James, you know, he called
John and James the sons of thunder. Thunder? They had a powerful
speaking voice. They sounded like they were thundering
out. And the Lord said, you've got
the wrong attitude. You've got the wrong attitude.
You've got a bad spirit. For the Son of Man has not come
to destroy men's lives. It came to save sinners. Now,
when the Samaritans would not receive him, going back over
this for a moment, James and John thought they would call
down fire. And they cited a scriptural example. They said, well, the scriptures
on our side, this is what Elijah done and we're going to do the
same thing. And that's found in 1 Kings chapter 1 verse 10,
11 and 12. when the king sent out those
50 men to bring Elijah back and he destroyed them by fire. Now,
you remember from our study in 2 Kings 17, Have you ever wondered
why the Jews hated the Samaritans? Now I didn't know this for years.
I couldn't ever figure this out. But when we went all the way
through the scripture in 1st Kings and 2nd Kings, we found
out the reason that the Jews hated the Samaritans. And we
remember that from our study in 2 Kings 17. When the northern
part of the kingdom was divided, that is, when Israel was divided,
the northern kingdom was carried away, those ten tribes, into
Babylon. tribes in the south were carried
away into Babylonian captivity. But the Assyrian king, when the
ten northern tribes were carried away into Babylonian captivity,
you remember the Assyrian king sent back people from Assyria
into the land of Samaria to inhabit the land. They were illegal aliens. sent from the land of Assyria
into the land of Judea, into the land of Samaria. And when
they came there, the Lord sent lions, lions among them, and
they started devouring those people that came from Assyria,
those illegal aliens. And they cried out to the king. Well, the king released one of
the priests of Israel to go back to the land of Samaria to introduce
to the people how to worship the true and living God. And
what they did, they had a mixture of their paganism with a mixture
of Judaism, and they tried to approach God that way. It says
this in the Scripture. They had a mixture of religion.
It says they feared the Lord, but served and worshipped their
own gods. Now let me read that to you in
2 Kings 17, verse 41. So these nations feared the Lord,
and serve their graven images, both their children and their
children's children, as did their father, so do they unto this
day." Now, I'm making a big deal about this because there's an
important thing I want you to understand. This is why the Jews
hated the Samaritans and why they did not get along with them. Remember the words from the woman
at the well in John chapter 4, what she said to the Lord Jesus
Christ, She said the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans,
remember? And she said our fathers, they
did worship in these mountains. Who did they worship? Not the
true living God. They served their pagan God. While the Jews despised the Samaritans,
you remember they were transplants, they were immigrants, illegals,
The Lord Jesus Christ came to save Samaritans. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. And did save that woman at the
well, didn't he? He did. He saved that woman at
the well. Now, here's the natural man's
response to the gospel. Verse 53, when he sent messengers,
And they went into the village of the Samaritans, verse 53,
they did not receive Him. This is man's natural response
to the gospel. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God. They would not receive, now underscore
this word, they would not receive Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is
always the issue. You remember it says in Scripture,
there was a division because of Him. They would not receive
Him. The Lord simply passed them by. As it says there, He went into
another village. Down in the last part of verse
56. The Lord passed them by. Now, how sad is that? They would not receive him, and
the Lord simply passed them by. Fallen sinful men have strange
ideas that the Lord God owes them salvation, or at least that
they're entitled to salvation by what they do. They think that
God owes them mercy, God owes them grace, God owes them his
love. Not so. They did not receive
him because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. He
was determined to go to Jerusalem. They wanted to control him. They
wanted him to say, you stay right here. We want to control you.
The Lord said, you don't have any control over me. I'm going
to Jerusalem. And the Lord passed them by. Now, I want to show you a couple
of scriptures. They did not receive Him. That is the issue. How do sinners
receive the Lord Jesus Christ? By faith. Turn, if you will,
to John 3. John chapter 3. John chapter
3. You remember the story of Nicodemus?
The Lord said, you must be born again where you can't see. You must be born again, born
from above. That which is born of flesh is
flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3, verse 10, "...the Lord
answered and said unto him, Art thou a master in Israel, and
ye do not know these things? Verily, verily, I say unto you,
We speak that we do know, and testify that we have heard, and
ye receive not our testimony." I told you earthly things, and
you believe not. How shall you believe if I tell
you heavenly things?" Turn to John chapter 5. The natural man
left to himself, no man can come unto me except the Father which
sent me. Draw him. John chapter 5. Verse 39, search
the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life,
there they which testify me, and you will not come to me that
you might have life. I receive not honor from men,
but I know you, that you have not the love of God in you. I
am come in my Father's name, and you receive me not. Do you
remember John chapter 1? He came unto his own, his own
received him not. If another shall come in his
own name, oh, you've got no problem with him. You'll receive him.
They received him not. Now, how do we receive the Lord
Jesus Christ? Not by doing anything, but by
the gift of God's God-given faith, we receive him. James and John,
look back at Luke 9. When they heard and saw what
these men did, they were ready to call down fire from God. And when his disciples James
and John saw this, verse 54, they said, Lord, wilt thou that
we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them,
to destroy them like Elijah did? James and John were full of zeal,
weren't they? They were full of zeal for the
Lord's honor. Being upset with these poor folks
of Samaria, they were ready and willing to defend the Lord at
all costs. They said, let us call down fire
from heaven and kill these men, destroy them. Did they have power
to do such things? They did not have that power,
no. Sometimes our zeal, although well-intended, is very misdirected. I've been guilty of this many
times. They meant well, but were terribly misguided. They had
a zeal, but not according to knowledge. We must have knowledge
as well as zeal. Without that, we'll make great
missteps, great mistakes, and great blunders. Remember from
our study in the book of James, the wrath of man... I mean, James
and John, they were wanting revenge, weren't they? Well, we're going
to get them Samaritans. Well, they'll call down fire.
The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. Look
what the Lord does, but He turned and He rebuked them. Now, what
did they need? They needed a rebuke, didn't
they? Who was the one to rebuke them? The Lord did. The Lord
did. The Lord soundly and sternly rebuked them for their misguided
revenge and for their bad spirit. He turned and rebuked them and
said, You know not what manner of spirit you are of. Oh, they had the wrong attitude,
didn't they? Why didn't James and John say, Lord, let's pray
for this poor Samaritan. They're so ignorant. They're
so dumb. I mean, they're just dumb, ignorant folks. Let's pray
for them. No, he's going to take out the sword and kill them.
Kill them. He sharply reproved them for
their bad spirit, intemperate zeal, their passion of wrath
and anger, and the desire for revenge. Oftentimes, we would
do very well to learn patient and long-suffering rather than
seeking revenge and being upset with folks who openly reject
the gospel." Oftentimes, preachers are the worst at this. I'm telling
you how they are. You preach the gospel and those
folks just Some folks just don't like that. And we would think,
well, you know, he that believeth on the Son hath life. He that
believeth not the Son, the wrath of God abide on you. Really,
let us be long-suffering, gentle, and kind as the Lord. We oftentimes are ready to call
down fire. with no warrant for doing so,
or commit folks to hell. You're just going to hell. Really,
we should seek the good of everyone we meet and seek their salvation. I should never preach the gospel
message without having a spirit and longsuffering for the Lord
to reveal the gospel to those to whom we minister. I don't
want to see anybody perish without Christ. But sometimes in ourselves,
I'm guilty right here, just like James and John. Well, you just
go on to hell. Let us be long-suffering and kind. Let us seek the salvation
for every sinner. I know that salvation is of the
Lord. Let us pray for one another. Let us pray for those who hate
the gospel. Let's pray for them. Let's just don't shut the door.
Let's pray for one another. Let's pray for those who hate
God and hate the gospel. The Lord is long-suffering. We
should be too, right? He showed us mercy when we were
rebels. Why shouldn't we be merciful
to others? Blessed are the merciful for theirs is the kingdom of
God. Now here's the last thing, verse 56. For the Son of Man,
the God-Man, is not come to destroy. He said, I didn't come to destroy
the law, you remember? Matthew 5, 17. I didn't come
to destroy the law. He came to honor it, didn't He?
The Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save
them. He didn't come to call the righteous,
sinners, sinners, to repentance. Thanks be unto our God, the Lord
Jesus Christ is on a mission of seek and to save rather than
to search and destroy. The Son of Man has come to seek
and to save that which is lost. He was delivered up by the determinate
counsel of God to deliver us from the wrath to come, to deliver
us from the judgment of our sin. The Son of Man, thank God He's
come to save sinners. You see, He's the only one who
can. He's the only Savior that truly and eternally saves sinners
by His grace and cleanses sinners by His blood. Neither is there
salvation in any other, for there's no other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved. He's the only Savior who
can justify the ungodly. Let us look unto Him. and be
ye saved." He's the only Deliverer who has delivered his people
from the holy wrath of God's divine justice. In Romans chapter
11 he's called the Deliverer of Israel. He shall save all
of His people from their sin. He shall take away our sin by
bearing our sin in His own body on the tree. He appeared once
in the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself. He's the only one that can deliver.
He's the only one that can save. He's the only one who can redeem
sinners. Don't look for any other. Is
there salvation in the other? Is there any other hope? of salvation,
but Christ in Him crucified. He's the only Redeemer who has
put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches
of His grace. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only mediator between
God and men. This is why He came to save us. Think about this. He came to
save us from ourselves, our sins. You see, we're already destroyed
and condemned in Adam, are we not? In Adam all died. In Adam
all have sinned. We read over here in John chapter
3. If you want to turn there, you
can. John chapter 3 verse 17, "...for God sent not His Son
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
him might be saved." Talk about the world of his elect. You see,
we're already condemned in Adam, all died, all have sinned. He
that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth
not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son. This is condemnation, that light
is coming to the world, and men love darkness rather than their
light because their deeds were evil. He is the true light. He is the light that must enlighten
us. He is called in scripture, the
light of life. Thinking of another scripture
comes to mind here. Let me just read it to you. Well,
I might read it to you. I got it now. I'm the light of the world. He
that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life. You see, He came to save sinners. He's the only Savior, the only
Deliverer, the only Redeemer, the only Mediator. He came to
set us free. He is the only Advocate. My dear
children, these things I write unto you that you sin not, but
when you do, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the Righteous. Now, let me close with this question.
How do I know the Lord Jesus Christ came to save and deliver
me, came to be my mediator? How do I know that he died for
me? He didn't die for all men. He died for his covenant people.
How do I know that he died for me? You ever thought about that? You
want to know the answer to the question? Turn to Romans chapter
5. How do I know he died for me?
I know He died. I know He died for sinners. I
know He died for His people. How do I know He died for me?
Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5, verse 6. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Uh-oh. Is that you? That's me right here. I'm godly.
Christ crucified is my hope. One more scripture. One more
scripture. 1 Timothy chapter 1. Are you a sinner? You see, the
only person who needs a Savior is a sinner. The only person
who needs to be justified are those who know they are guilty. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 15. 1 Timothy 1.15, this is a faithful
saying, true saying, worthy of all acceptation, that the Lord
Jesus Christ came into this world, the Son of Man has come, not
to destroy, but to save, save. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world to save. What's that next word? Is that you? Are you a sinner? Are you born in sin? Shaped in
iniquity? Come forth from the womb speaking
lies? The Lord came to save sinners. And I can say with Paul, I'm
the chief one. I'm the chief offender. No one
is wicked and no one is guilty as I am before God in myself. Now, turn back to Luke 9. The last part of verse 56, "...and
they went to another village. He passed them by. They would not have the Lord
Jesus Christ alone." May the Lord teach us that we need Him
and everything else. Now listen to me carefully. Everything
else in this life does not matter. Nothing. Nothing else in this
life matters but to win Christ and be found in Him. You see, believers are complete
in Him. I thought about that song.