Before I bring my message this
morning, I want to give just a word that
I feel is in season. The Lord willing, next Sunday
morning on the television broadcast I'll be bringing a message entitled,
Traffling with Truth. That's next Sunday. Today was
blood before the Lord, but next Sunday, Traffling with Truth.
There's a good possibility that I'll bring that message also
in Danville this week. It's a message of warning about
just what the topic says. The title says, Traffling with
Truth. treating lightly God's warnings
and God's exhortations, God's commandments, treating these
things lightly, the scripture says, ìHe that being often reproved,
corrected, instructed, he that being often instructed and corrected
and approved, and hardeneth his neck, stiffeneth his God tells
him to do something. God tells him to straighten up
a situation. God tells him to be reconciled
to a person. And he continually resists that
exhortation. And he resists that. He said,
I'll destroy him. God says he'll suddenly be destroyed,
and that without remedy. Now, there's some of you in this
building this morning who need to be reconciled. You need to be reconciled. And
you've been taught, you've been instructed, you've been exhorted,
and you've been warned. Now don't make God destroy you
and your families and your loved ones and your children. Don't
make God, don't force the hand of the Lord. He'll destroy you.
He'll literally destroy you. He'll burn your fields. That's
right. He tells us in his Word, he said, if you come to the altar,
to bring your gift. Now, that's just a picture of
worship. If you come to worship, if you
come to worship and you know that you've got a barrier between
you and someone, your brother hath ought against you, well,
that just means that you're divided. You're at odds. You're separated. Your fellowship's broken. You're
at one end, they're at the other. and you're not making any effort
to get together, you're not making any effort to be reconciled,
you're not making any effort to straighten the situation up
for God's glory, he said don't come back to worship anymore.
Just leave your gift right there and go and be reconciled and
then come back. Isn't that what it says? Quit
putting on a farce, quit making a joke out of God's Word and
God's teachings now, I'm telling you that because I love you.
I'm telling you that because I love you. I'm telling you that
because you love me. And I can tell you that without
us becoming enemies. Can I? Be reconciled. Let's get together. And husbands
and wives get together. Children get together with parents.
Friends get together. There's no reason in this world,
no reason under God's heaven, that I should be alienated from
anybody. No reason. Especially another believer.
Especially another believer. Especially somebody that loves
Christ. And don't keep on putting it off now. Don't keep on putting
it off. Now is the accepted time. Today
is the day of salvation. That doesn't mean just... You
know, we get so rutted, we get so in a rut, that we can't see
that the Scripture is bifocal. It applies to various things.
And now is the accepted time to do anything for God's glory.
Today is the day of salvation because today is the only day
I've got. Today is the only day I've got. If I knew that you're
going through that door for the last time today and I never see
you again until I saw you down here in the front of this chair
at the casket, I sure wouldn't want you to go out mad. I sure
wouldn't want you to go out, us divided. There's no reason
for that now. And us at odds and us separated
in our fellowship. and me holding something in my
heart, anger, or discord, or whatever. God is merciful. He
forgiveth all sins. There's no sin he doesn't forgive.
So be ye reconciled to God. How are you reconciled to God?
Christ reconciles you to God. But also, I'm reconciled to God
when I put down the enmity in my own heart, not only against
him, but against his people. Put her down. Why can't you just
go up to that person this morning and say, I love you, and I want
everything to be all right. Let's do this thing for the glory
of Christ. What a day that would be, huh?
What a day. Well, you know, I'd sit there
and thought, well, somebody would say, well, you shouldn't single
out folks like that. John the Baptist did. Our Lord
did. Paul did. And I'm just carrying on their
ministry, and I feel like I should. I'll tell you, give thanks that
I don't do it like John the Baptist did it. He called names. I didn't
do that, did I, Pop? I didn't do that. But I called
your name in my heart, and I called it to God. And I said, God, help
us. It takes grace. You know it takes
grace to forgive? It takes grace to live. It takes
God's grace to do anything. You say, well, I just can't do
it. I know you can't, but He can through you. He can give
you the grace to do anything for His glory. That is, if you're
doing it for His glory. And I tell you, you better start
doing something for His glory, because His glory is the only
glory. It's time to start doing something for His glory. It's
time to stop being so self-centered. Don't be so self-centered. I
need mine. It's His, ours, for His glory. Try to do it, will you? For God's
glory. Don't test the Lord. Don't tempt
God. Don't tempt God. God's not mocked.
Be not deceived. God's not mocked. Don't tempt
Him. Don't do it any longer. You know, here's my message now.
I don't believe, I don't believe that many of us
I don't believe many of us. I wonder if I do. And I'm the
preacher, and you do, who love the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't
know whether many of us fully comprehend, really, truly comprehend
what we're claiming to celebrate this week. I didn't say that
we were celebrating, I said claiming to. What are we claiming to celebrate
this week? We're claiming to celebrate the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into this world. Let's turn to Matthew 1 and read
about it. Matthew 1. Matthew 1, verse 18.
I'm talking about the birth of Jesus Christ. Matthew 1, 18 says,
ìNow the birth of Jesus Christ was on this But as his mother Mary was espoused
or engaged to Joseph before they came together, she was found
with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being
a just man, not willing to make her a public example, was minded
to put her away privately. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, thy son of David, Fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, Savior, Joshua. For he shall save his people
from their sins. Now all this was done that it
might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, Behold, a virgin shall conceive A virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his
name Immanuel." God with us. God with us. God with us. Great is the mystery of Godliness. God with us. God was manifest
in the flesh. In the beginning was the Word.
And the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and all things
were made by him. Without him was not anything
made that was made, and the Word was made flesh." I can't comprehend
that. I just know that it's true. One
old hymn writer said this, listen, "'Ere the blue heavens were stretched
abroad, from everlasting to everlasting was the Word. With God he was,
the Word was God, and must divinely be adored. By his own power were
all things made. By him supported all things stand. He is the whole creation's head. The angels fly at his command. E'er sin was born or Satan fell,
he led the host of morning stars. his generation who can tell or
count the number of his years. But lo, he leaves those heavenly
forms, that word descends and dwells in clay, that he may here
commune with worms dressed in the same feeble flesh as they. Mortals with wonder behold his
face, the eternal Father's only Son. Oh, how full of truth, how
full of grace, when through his eyes the Godhead shone. I'm saying that this week we're
talking about the birth of God in human flesh. And not only
did the eternal Lord of glory come to dwell in mortal flesh,
but he came to dwell in flesh in the most humble fashion. Scripture
says he was born in a stable, and I looked up that word manger.
He was laid in a cow trough. A manger is a trough in which
you put hay from which cows eat. And this Son of God, this eternal
God, who made all things, and by whom all things are sustained,
in whom all things are contained, by whom all things live and move
and have their being, somehow in his mysterious power and wisdom,
he was able to capture the Godhead in its fullness and bring it
down here to earth and let it be born in a natural fashion
like an infant is born into this world, and he showed complete
disdain for any of the riches and glory and power and influence
of this world, and became born in a stable and was laid gently
by his mother, Bob, in a caltrop." In a caltrop. And the hay was
fluffed about him. If you were looking for God in
human flesh, where would you look? Anywhere but in a caltrop. And not only that, but he was
raised in a despised town called Nazareth. Somebody said that
Jesus came from Nazareth and he said the reputation of Nazareth
was such that this man replied, did anything good ever come out
of that place? His people were poor, despised,
unknown, and uninfluential. He was despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. The word is asked, Who are you,
child of Bethlehem, babe in a manger? Who art thou, son of the Virgin?
Who art thou, carpenter of Nazareth? Who are you?" He stood before
Pilate one day, and Pilate looked at him and said, just who are
you and where did you come from? Who art thou, man of Galilee?
Who is this man called Jesus? Good question. If you really
want to know, the angels will tell you. They stood out there
on that hillside, and we've heard this Christmas story so many
times that we don't pay any more attention to it. It's like a
fellow living by the railroad track. He's heard the train go
by so many times, he just doesn't even hear it at all anymore.
Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who
is Christ the Lord. That's who he is. He's Christ
the Lord. Let the forerunner, John the
Baptist, tell you he pointed at him one day and said, ìThereís
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.î He came
down to John to be baptized in the River Jordan, and the heavens
opened, and a dove, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove,
came out of heaven and lit on his shoulder, and a voice from
heaven said, ìThis is my son. This is my beloved son in whom
Iím well pleased.î Let the demons speak. One day he cast some demons
out of a man, but before he cast them out, they said, We know
who you are. We know who you are, man of Galilee. We know
who you are, carpenter of Nazareth. We know who you are, wine-bibbering,
gluttonous man, they say. We know who you are. You are
the Holy One of God. That's who you are. Let the inspired apostles speak.
Aren't the Christ the Son of the Living God? Let the Scripture
speak. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given. His name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. We go through the motions, the
whole world does, but do we really comprehend, do we really understand,
do we really realize what took place? in that little town called
Bethlehem, a little insignificant, out-of-the-way, unrecognized
town called Bethlehem. One day, 2,000 years ago, God
came to earth. And he did it in the most unusual,
unbelievable fashion. He became a baby, was born of
a mother. Well, as I cannot speak with
any degree of the glory of his birth, I am dumb before the holiness
of his life. This man Jesus, this man Jesus,
this God-man. Now understand what I'm saying,
young people. Jesus of Nazareth is a baby that's
just been born. That's the first time those little
legs have ever walked on this earth and little voices ever
spoken, that particular body, that form. But in that body,
like in your body, you dwell. In that body, God dwells, the
soul of God, the heart of God. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead in a body, bodily. That's who that is. Who are you,
Jesus Christ? He said, if you've seen me, you've
seen God. That's what he said. If you've
heard me, you've heard God. If you know me, you know God.
I'm God. I and my Father are one. That's
what I'm saying. I don't understand that much.
That's just so. And I don't understand the holiness of his life. You
think, I know a little bit about the written law. Thou shalt have
no other God before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image. Thou shalt not take the name
of the Lord thy God in vain. Remember the day God has set
apart to keep it holy. Honor thy father and thy mother.
Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit
adultery, thou shalt not covet, thou shalt not bear false witness.
I know all those things. Our Lord kept them perfectly. Think about it. This man, Jesus,
kept every law of God without flaw, in word, thought,
or deed. I know a little bit about the
Levitical laws all the way through the Old Testament, the types,
circumcision, patterns, feast days, holy days, certain washings
and baptisms. These he kept perfectly, perfectly,
that he might fulfill all of them perfectly. But my friends,
I'm talking about something else. When I talk about the holiness
and righteousness of his life, not only was he obedient to God's
laws, both moral and Levitical, but I'm talking about an infinite,
immaculate, pure, and perfect holiness. The very holiness of
God, God's perfect love. God's perfect, absolute honesty,
God's perfect submission, God's perfect wisdom, God's perfect
thoughts, he kept perfectly. That's right. This man, this
man. We say it's human to err, to
forgive is divine. Here's one human that didn't
err. He never erred. Never, never, never, never. He
knew no sin. He did no sin. The law of God
came and found nothing in him. The Heavenly Father tested him.
You say, yeah, but he never did it. Yes, he did, in all points
as we are tempted, yet without sin. Satan came and found nothing
in him. Here in the person of Jesus of
Nazareth, who came to this earth 2,000 years ago, is the one and
the only, absolute, perfect man. Hell found no fault in him. Earth
found no fault in him. Yea, the sovereign Lord of glory,
his Father, found no fault in him, Gary. Perfect. But wait a minute. If you stand
amazed at his incarnation, the birth of this man, if you stand
amazed at his journey through this earth, this life, tested,
tried, buffeted, scorned, mocked, ridiculed, spit upon, lied about,
thirsted, if you are amazed at his absolute perfect life when
he was despised. He never despised. No, he didn't. But you'll stand amazed at Calvary,
and behold, him die. Now, I can't explain that. You
say, how can God be born in human flesh? How can God walk on this
earth in human flesh? How can Jesus Christ be in the
body and yet in heaven, and yet in other places? He said, I saw
you under the fig tree before he ever found you. Knows men's
thoughts. I don't know, I just know that's
so. I'll understand it someday. But here's one, here's a riddle
of all riddles. How did he die? He died. He died. Behold him, the Son
of God, on a cross, betrayed and denied by his own. He said,
Is there any sorrow like my sorrow? Behold, all ye that pass by,
is there any affliction like my affliction?" We get to feeling
sorry for ourselves. I tell you, we've never resisted
under blood. Mocked and ridiculed by men,
betrayed and denied by his friends, forsaken by God, he hung on a
cross. Listen to this, a fellow writing
to the angels. He says, "...you bright immortal
throng of angels round the throne, join with my feeble song to make
the Saviour known. You saw the heavenly born child
in human flesh arrayed, benevolent and mild while in the manger
he lay. You in the wilderness beheld
a tempter spoiled, Well known he was in every dress, but in
every dress he was foiled. Before his crown Satan fled,
with joy we crowned the victor's head. Around that bloody tree,
angels, you pressed with strong desire that remarkable sight
to see, the Lord of life expire. And could your eyes have known
a tear, in sad surprise you would have dropped it there. We speak
of it so lightly. Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. Who'd you say? Jesus Christ. I believe Christ died on the
cross. Do you? Do you really? Do you really? Do I really believe such a thing
that in human flesh, God died on the cross for my sins? Do
I believe that? If I believed that, I'd be overwhelmed
by it. I'd say it in the most solemn
fashion, like a man saying, well, like Columbus went before, forgot
who it was. Queen and King, but he went before
them and he said, with all solemnity, Ron, I believe the world is round.
They said, What? You what? Well, I know you think
I'm a fool, but I believe the world is round. Everybody knows
it's flat. And I'll tell you, if we You know, I think sometimes we
talk about Christ dying like we talk about anybody else dying.
I believe my mother died. Everybody here believes that. I believe my father died. I believe
my brother died. I believe my son, Robby, died.
That's not the same thing. They were mortal flesh, susceptible
to death. Sin brought death to them. But
I'm saying that God's Son, Richard, died. Now that's, nobody believes
that. You believe that? I do. I do, I do. If you, if you, if
this society really knew what we were seeing that separate
us from their presence as people that have gone mad, that God
died on a cross in human flesh. That's what they said to Paul,
you're crazy. Paul stood there before Festus
and Agrippa and Felix and told them about how Christ died on
the cross. They said, you're crazy. Much learning hath made
you mad. You studied the books too much,
son. You need a rest. Well, what I'm telling you is
this, and I'll tell you, I'll go one step further. They took
his body down from the tree and wrapped it in grave clothes and
slipped it in a tomb. Dead, dead. And they rolled a
stone in front of that tomb and stationed some soldiers out there,
and on the third day, he walked right out of there. I'll try
that one on now. Yes, sir. The angels came and
just rolled the stone away, and he took the napkin off his head
and folded it up and laid it over here. He didn't leave in
a hurry, David. He folded up the napkin. folded up the winding
sheet, and then in his glory he walked right out of that tomb.
Walked right out. Walked right out. And then he
walked right out there on the side of a hill and took some
of his disciples with him. And while they stood around him
and he talked to them, now you go to Jerusalem, you tarry until
you be endued with power from on high. All power is given unto
me in heaven and Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature. Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And
teach them all things that I have told you. And tarry in Jerusalem. You will be endued with power
from on high. The Holy Ghost shall come upon
you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,
the uttermost parts of the earth." And while he spake to them, he ascended right up into heaven.
And they stood there with their mouths open, watched him go. And while they stood there and
watched him go, a cloud received him out of their sight. And a voice spoke and said, Ye men of Galilee.
And they turned and heard the voice. It was an angel of God. Why stand ye gazing up into heaven? Well, why do we stand gazing
up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken
up from you shall so come. He's coming back. He's coming
back. Yes, sir, he's coming back. What
does all this mean? Such a birth, such a life, such
a death, such a glorious resurrection, such an ascension. And the heavens
said, lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye
everlasting doors, and let the King of glory come in. Who is
this King of glory? Why such a mission? Why should
heaven stoop to earth? Why would Jesus Christ be born
like that, be identified like that? be treated like that, suffer
and die like that, be buried and rise. Well, evidently, listen
to me, evidently, somebody needs what took place in all of this
time. It wasn't done as a venture,
it wasn't done only as a hobby, it wasn't done in a careless
fashion, it wasn't done that way at all. Who needs him? Somebody needs him. Somebody
desperately, desperately, desperately needs God to come down here in
the form of pain, or he'd have never done it. Somebody desperately
needs that righteousness that he fulfilled. Somebody needs
every drop of sweat and every drop of blood. And every pain
somebody needs. Somebody needs him to go into
the tomb and lie there. And somebody needs him to come
out. And somebody needs him to go within the veil and to sit
down on the right hand of God. Somebody needs him to do that. He never has done anything needlessly. Who needs Jesus Christ? Who needs
the charity? Who needs the babe? Who needs
the carpenter? Who needs the man? Who needs
the scapegoat and the sufferer and the sin offering? Who needs
the buried justifier, the risen justifier, the buried scapegoat?
Who needs that plea and prayer that he offers right now, making
intercession? Who needs that? Let me shock
you. You know who the first one is
that needs it? Somebody tell me. God needs it. You know what I'm talking about?
God needs it. God never faced a problem. God
never faced a problem, never had a problem, was never confronted
with a problem, until he met this one. How can I be just and
justify the ungodly? How can God be just and justify
you and me? And the only way he can is through
a crucified Savior, through a perfect righteousness and a perfect sacrifice. And you know the one who could
do that? It was Jesus Christ. So God needs him. Yes, he does,
turn to Romans 3. God needs him. God's law needs
him to obey it perfectly. God's justice needs him to satisfy
it and honor it perfectly. God needs him to reconcile the
world unto himself. God needs that offering that
was made before the Lord unto the Lord to reconcile the world. God needs it. Romans 3.25, whom
God hath set forth. God sent him, pleased God to
bruise him. God ordained him. to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness. Whose righteousness? God's righteousness. For the remission of sins that
have passed through the longsuffering of God, to declare, I say at
this time, God's righteousness in order that he might be just
and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. God cannot. So he says, nothing God can't
do. God can't lie. God can't fail. So when we say there's nothing
God can't do, we're saying nothing God can't do in keeping with
his character. But I'm saying this, God can't
save your soul, God can't forgive your sins, God can't take you
to glory without a substitute. without a sacrifice, without
a sin offering. You understand what I'm saying?
He can't do it because it'd violate his character. Now, here's the
problem with all these folks that are trying to be saved by
their good works and morality and baptism, church membership,
etc., etc. God can't save you that way. Your God might can, but not the
God of glory. He can't. God cannot. He cannot
save a sinner without his law being honored, without justice
being satisfied. He can't do it. So God needs
Jesus Christ if he's going to save sinners. It's a holy, heavenly,
divine requirement. Christ must. Listen to him. Has Moses lifted up the serpent?
Even so, must the Son of Man be lifted up. He must be lifted
up. He must. Who said he must? The Father said he must. I must go to Jerusalem and suffer. The death of Jesus Christ, my
friends, was not an offer, it wasn't It wasn't God making some overtures
toward men. The death of Jesus Christ was
a payment, a sin offering, a sacrifice, a debt that he paid to God on
behalf of everybody he represented. That's right. And secondly, who needs him?
I need him. The magnitude of my sin determines
the magnitude of my need, who shall love him most, to whom
much is forgiven. You don't need him, I do. You
see, in my fall back yonder, in separation from God, I need
him as my surety and my covenant head. I need him. born in sin, shaped in iniquity,
conceived in sin, brought forth speaking lies. In my guilt, I
need Him as my righteousness. Before God's throne of justice
and righteousness, I need Him as my atonement, my reconciler. In my weakness and infirmity,
I can't pray like men ought to pray. I can't
worship like men ought to worship. I can't honor God like God ought
to be honored. I can't praise God like God ought
to be praised. I need him as my mediator every
second of every day. In my death and burial, I'll
need him, my resurrection and life. In eternity's judgment,
I'll need him as my advocate. In my life's sorrows and trials,
I need him as my strength. I flat need Jesus. Who needs Jesus Christ? Well,
God does, if he's going to save sinners. And I'll tell you this,
I do, if this sinner is going to be saved. I need Jesus.