Let's look back at John 19, verse
19. It says in verse 19 that Pilate
wrote a title and put it on the cross, and
the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Now, all
four of what we call gospel writers, I'm not trying to be disagreeable, but I don't know for sure that
we're using the right words when we say the gospel according to
Matthew, according to Mark, according to Luke, according to John, and
leave out the book of Romans, the gospel according to Paul,
and the book of Hebrews. There's no better gospel book
in the Bible. And did not Moses write the gospel? in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy? Did not Christ say, Moses wrote
of me? So we're not careful. And this is what people do. When
they want to witness to somebody or teach somebody about salvation,
they go to the book of John and say, well, that's the gospel.
Well, what's Romans? It's the gospel, too. What's
the book of Hebrews? It's the gospel. What's the book
of Ephesians? No better gospel book in the
Bible. But what we call gospel writers, and I mean that when
I put that in parentheses, all four of what we call gospel writers. And I prefer really to refer
to these men as the men who wrote concerning the life of Christ
here on the earth, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. the life of our
Lord Jesus Christ and his sermons and sayings and events surrounding
his life, birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, they
wrote these things. But actually, if you want to
teach and preach the gospel, you go to the book of Hebrews.
There's no better gospel book than this Bible. Or the book
of Romans, that's the gospel. Or the book of Isaiah, the gospel. But all four of these men record
The fact that there were words written on a board or on some
kind of plaque over the head of Christ. They were over his
head. All of them agree. And Matthew
calls it an accusation. I'll just read this. You won't
have to turn to it. It says in Matthew 27, 37, and
they set over his head his accusation written, this is Jesus, king
of the Jew. And Mark calls it, Or Luke calls
it a superscription. A superscription. He says in
Luke 23, 38, and a superscription also was written over him in
letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. This is the king of the
Jews. And Mark calls it a superscription
of accusation. Matthew calls it an accusation.
Luke calls it a superscription. And Mark calls it a superscription
of his accusation. And he said, it was written over
him, the King of the Jews. And John calls it a title. Here
in our text, and Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. Now, what was this all about? It was, and crucifixion was a
Roman punishment. It was a Roman death. It was
a Roman form of execution, crucifixion. It wasn't a Jewish form, it was
a Roman form. And it was a custom of the Romans. when they crucified
a man, that the cause of his execution, the reason why he
was executed, was written on a tablet or on a board over his
head so that everybody might know why he's dying. In other
words, if a man was executed for murder and put over his cross,
he was a murderer. If a man was a thief, he was
a thief. He was a traitor to his country.
In other words, whatever crimes he committed, they were written
over his head. That the cause of his execution
might be known, and secondly, that the justice of their actions
might be known. They wanted everybody to know
they were doing what was right. A murderer ought to die. That's
the reason they put it up there. Everybody said, well, they did
the right thing. A thief ought to die. Well, they did the right
thing. They wanted the justice of their actions to be known,
so the crimes for which a man died were to be written on something
and displayed publicly above his head. Now, what was written
above the head of Jesus Christ? It says here, all four of what
we call the gospel writers declare that they wrote over his head
the crime for which he died. See, that's so important for
you to see this. The crime for which he died.
Pilate wrote it. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the
King of the Jews. That's why he's hanging there.
That's why this is a Roman, official Roman document. This is official
Roman verdict. This is official Roman judgment
made by the highest in command. He's on that cross because he's
the king of the Jews. That's what he wrote and put
up there. It's exactly right. He's the king of Israel. He died
because he's king of Israel. And God added he died in order
to be. the king of Israel. He died that
he might be Lord of the dead and the living. Now watch this,
it says it was written in Hebrew, it was written in Latin, it was
written in Greek. What's the significance? Well,
there were Jews there from everywhere. There were people there from
everywhere. The Passover was a special celebration, feast
day, they were there from everywhere. But it was written in Greek,
that's the language of learning, that's the language of philosophy,
that's the language of human wisdom. It was written in Latin. That's the language of Rome.
That's the language of law and government and materialism. It
was written in Hebrew, language of religion. Let everybody read
it, Jew and Gentile. Let everybody read it, old and
young, rich and poor, bound or free. Let everybody read it. This is Jesus of Nazareth. That's
who this is. And he's on this cross. because
he's the king of the Jews. Let it be understood by all men. Let it be understood why God
smote him. Let it be understood why man
rejected him. Let it be understood why man
crucified him. Let it be understood in heaven,
earth, and hell, this is the only crime for which he died.
He's the king of Israel. That's why they wrote nothing
else on it, nothing else but this one thing. If you miss this
one thing, you miss the gospel. Well, let me tell you something.
I'm holding something here. I'm like Barnard said one time.
He said, I know good preaching even when I'm doing it. And I
know when I get hold of something because here he is hanging on
a cross. Here he is in this special day
when people are there from everywhere. God ordained it. God appointed
it. God Almighty purposed it. Nothing
in this is an accident. Everything minutely purposed
and decreed down to the last detail. Just like Moses, God
says, see that you make that tabernacle according to what
I say. And everything that that tabernacle,
that's Christ, where God meets men and men meet God, everything
is precisely detailed down to specification given by a holy
God. And there's one sign there, no
more. There's one statement there, no more. There He is on that
cross, and there over His head, according to Roman official document,
is the reason why He died, and the reason why He's on that cross,
written by the hand of an enemy. This is Jesus of Nazareth. He's dying because He's the King
of Israel. That's exactly what's written.
Let everybody read it so that it says here it was written in
Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and another verse says, so that all
may read and understand. Who wrote it? This is interesting. Who wrote it? Who wrote this
is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of Israel. And I say Israel,
and I'll tell you why in a minute. Who wrote it? Well, the soldiers
didn't write it. You can be sure not a one of
them would have written that. They laughed at him. They mocked
him. They put a crown of thorns on him and spit in his face and
put a mocking robe around him. They didn't write it. The priests
didn't write it. They called him the carpenter,
but not the king. They called him Mary's son, but
not the king. They called him a winebibber,
but not the king. They called him a friend of sinners,
but not the king. They didn't write it. The Pharisees
didn't write it. They said he made himself king.
They came to Pilate and said, take that down. Take that down. Don't put up there Jesus as Nazareth
the king. Put up there he said he's king.
They didn't write it. The disciples didn't write it.
They've run him. They had denied him, and they
had betrayed him, and they had deserted him, and they had fled.
And the people didn't write it. You heard what they said up there.
Pilate says, shall I crucify your king? They said, we have
no king but Caesar. He's no king. Well, who wrote
it? Well, let me give you this. Pilate
ordered it written. He ordered it written. He didn't
personally write it. He ordered it written. He took
credit for it. And everybody and his brother
will say, Pilate wrote that. There's a sense in which he did.
He ordered it written. And a servant of the state painted
it. Somebody sat down and either
chiseled that out or painted it, or did some fellow chisel
it out or paint it on that board. But I'll tell you who wrote it.
God wrote it. God wrote it. Now you can put
that down and be assured of it, just like God ordains all things,
God Almighty overruled Pilate's timid, indecisive nature. Can
you imagine this man, Pilate, writing that word over the head
of Christ? If he had been left to his own
understanding or thoughts, he'd have never put that up there,
because he made the Jews mad and he made Pilate mad. This
is, he said, this is the king, this is the king. God overruled
his indecisive, timid nature. This is the first time he ever
stood on his own feet and declared. His wife wrote to him and said,
don't have anything to do with that fellow. They told him, the Lord Jesus
Christ told him he's a king. And they finally had to push
him up in the corner and did what the Jews wanted. God overruled
his fear of Caesar, overruled his fear of the Jews, God overruled
his anger against Christ, God overruled all these things, and
Almighty God had him right up there for everyone to see, and
everyone to read, and for us to read today. This is the King. That's why he's dying. This is
the King. Let me show you a few verses
of Scripture, God's first cause of all things. I know this grates
human nature, but you turn to Acts chapter 2. If I had the
time this morning, I'd take you from Genesis to Revelation and
show you how that everything that was said and everything
that was done in regard to the death of Christ was prophesied
and ordained by God himself, yea, before it took place. Judas selling him for 30 pieces
of silvers back in the Old Testament. Them piercing his hands and feet,
Old Testament. Casting lots for his garments,
right there in Psalm 22. The very words that Christ said
from the cross in Psalm 22. Judas bringing the money back
and casting it on the floor. And them spending that money
to buy a potter's field. It's all in the Old Testament
Scripture. What they would say as they walked around the cross,
they shot out their lips and said, he trusted God, let's see
if God will have him. Everything's written in the Old
Testament. You see, all that was carried out in the execution,
in the crucifixion of Christ, men did what they wanted to do,
they did what their evil hearts inspired them to do, they did
what their wicked hands wanted to do, but in doing what they
wanted to do and doing what they What they felt in their hearts
they wanted to do, they were doing what God ordained. Let
me show you that in Acts 2. Verse 23, Him being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Foreordination
is the word of God. You, you have taken and you by
wicked hands have crucified and slain. But you did what God ordained. Turn to Acts 4. Let me show you
that over here. Acts 4, verse 27. He tells here, he says, "...of
a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed,
both Herod and Pontius Pilate." And you're going to read in John
18, 19 how that Pilate and Herod were enemies and they made friends
right here, when they had a common enemy called Jesus of Nazareth.
That'll unite even the worst of enemies, because they hate
God more than they hate each other. And it says, and all the
people of Israel and the Gentiles were gathered together, verse
28, to do whatsoever God's hand and God's counsel determined
before to be done. Turn to Genesis. Let me show
you something over here. And this will help us so much in
some of the things that happened to us. Genesis 50. Genesis 50. I know men and women harm and
hurt and do things they shouldn't do to one another and to other
people. And these men were fully accountable
and responsible for what they did. That man that drove the
nails in the hands of Christ, that man that denied Him, that
man that betrayed Him, they were wicked in their actions and wicked
in their thoughts and wicked in their deeds. And they're not
excused. They're responsible, accountable.
But I'm saying God Almighty himself is the orderer and one who purposes
everything that's done. Now that's so. Now you look at
Genesis chapter 50 verse 15. And when Joseph's brethren saw
that their father was dead, they said, Joseph now is going to
hate us. And Joseph's going to get even with us. You see, read
this whole thing on your own, but let's turn over now at verse
20, over to verse 20. And Joseph said to his brethren,
don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Am I in the
place of God? But as for you, everything you did, you threw
me in a pit, you sold me into slavery, you lied to my daddy,
you said I was dead, and all these things, you nearly killed
my father with greed. You thought evil against me,
but God meant it unto good to bring to pass, as it is this
day, to save much people alive." So my friend, if we can possibly
do this, this would be so helpful. This would be so comforting.
If from the hand of Satan or if from the hand of men or if
from the hand of whoever, conflicts arise and trials arise and discomforts
arise. Sure, they're guilty. Sure, they
shouldn't do that. They shouldn't have said that.
They shouldn't have attacked you. They shouldn't have done
that. These men shouldn't have done that to Joseph. But Joseph
had enough understanding of the purpose of God. He had enough
understanding of God's total control and sovereignty that
he was able to say, now don't be mad at yourself. I know you
did evil. I know you thought evil. I know
you intended evil. But it was all in the purpose
and plan of my God for me and for you and for everybody else.
So let's forget it. God ordained it. And that's what
I'm saying about this title over the head of Christ. I don't care
who ordered it. I don't care who wrote it. I
don't care who painted it. I don't care who nailed it there.
I know who ordained it to be there. That's what I'm saying. And we'd better get a hold of
this. Actually, when you come down
to it, people talk about being atheist, not believing in God. You can believe in a God and
not believe in the God of the Bible and the God of creation
and the God of the universe. And you're just as bad a shape
as a fellow that believes in no God at all, unless you believe
in the living God, the right God. And you're not worshiping
God at all unless you worship God as He is. Now watch what
I'm saying. I'm telling you the truth. I
know there's a lot of church going on, a lot of play in religion
going on, a lot of people talking about God, but they're not talking
about this God. They're talking about some other God. They're
talking about a God that's a figment of their own imagination. They've
whittled Him out with their own pen there, and He's an image. that they've concocted in their
evil natural minds and they thought he was altogether such a one
as thyself, we're not worshiping, we're not preaching God unless
we're worshiping and preaching this God, who's omnipotent, and
I mean omnipotent, almighty over all things, who doeth his will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
And you can talk all you want to about Pilate, but God wrote
that title. You can talk all you want to
about Noah building the ark, but God Almighty ordained that
ark and brought it to pass. And you can talk about human
flesh and you can dignify it and lift it up all you want to,
but my living Lord is the first cause of all things, and he'll
be praised for all things. What does the title mean? This
is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Well, I think I know
what Pilate meant when he ordered it written, King of the Jews. He meant the king, he's the king
of that enslaved, ritualistic, legalistic remnant of a once
great people that don't amount to a hill of beans. He's the
king of that little motley bunch of Jews. That's what he meant.
That's what he meant. And I think I know what the Pharisees
meant when they wanted change. They were embarrassed. They were
embarrassed. He's not our king. Our king wouldn't
be lacerated and mutilated and humiliated and hanging naked
on a cross with a crown of thorns on his head while people laugh
at him. We're embarrassed. He's not our king. And I think
I know what the people present thought when they read it. King?
He don't look like a king to me. They walked by and read it,
and I think I know what men today think when they read the title
in the Scripture, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. They've
got some millennial kingdom in mind that Jesus Christ is going
to reign over in Jerusalem while the rest of the world goes to
hell. But I'll tell you what God meant. Turn to Romans 2. Romans 2, and I'll give you a
little help here. I'll give you a little help.
In Romans chapter 2, when Almighty God wrote that title and affixed
it to that cross by the hand of men, just like Christ was
affixed to that cross by the hands of men, but God smote him,
pleased God to bruise him. In Romans chapter 2, verse 28
and 29, Paul said, He is not a Jew. He is not a Jew. See that? He is not a Jew, which
is one outwardly. Huh? That's not a Jew. Just because a fellow's mama
was from the tribe of Judah and his
daddy from the tribe of Benjamin, that don't make him a Jew. He
might have the purest bloodline you could find, clear back to
Abraham and not be a Jew. You're not a Jew which is one
outwardly with cold black hair and black eyes and a prominent
nose with a name like whatever they name them. Neither is that
circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew. Get this now. He is a Jew which
is one inwardly. I'm a Jew. I have every reason
to believe Cecil's a Jew. Clarence is a Jew. See what I'm talking about? Evelyn,
you're a Jew. He's a Jew. Read on. Circumcision is of the
heart, of the heart. It's the grace of God. It's regeneration
by the Spirit of God. It's to be a child of God inwardly.
Abraham is the father of us all who believe. I'm a Jew. He's my king. That's who he's
talking about, Jesus of Nazareth, the king! Not of a motley crew
of ritualistic Pharisees, not the king of a nation that was
once great and now is under the heel of the Roman government,
not the king of a little band of people over there fighting
the PLO, he's king of Israel! All Israel! For all Israel shall
be saved, for the Bible said Turn to Philippians 3. If you're
interested, if you're interested, it clears the veil. And it's
in keeping with all the scriptures. Not just some isolated verse
in Daniel or Ezekiel or somewhere like that, that you build a whole
philosophy of prophecy on. In verse 3 of Philippians 3,
Paul said, we are the circumcision. We are the circumcision. We're
the Jews. who worship God in the Spirit,
who rejoice in Jesus Christ and have no confidence in the flesh.
That's a Jew. That's a Jew. Is that clear enough? And all Israel shall be saved.
And this seed, turn to Galatians 3, when he talks about Abraham's
seed, Abraham's seed, he's talking about Christ. In Galatians 3.16,
listen. Now, to Abraham and his seed
were the promises made. Well, you say the promises were
made to all these Jews of all the tribes. Oh, no, no, no. The
promises of life and hope and regeneration, redemption were
made to his seed, plural. And to seed, he says, not and
to seeds as of many. But as a one, it's singular,
and to thy seed, Mike, which is Christ. Oh, I tell you, there's
so little preaching going on today that you say, I never heard
that before. No. Ain't one out of a hundred
says it. And the way they don't say it,
they don't know it. They haven't read it, they've got a little,
they're playing church, they've got how many they want to reach
in Sunday school next Sunday and how many baptisms they want
to have and want to hold up the name Baptist or Methodist or
Presbyterian and stay true to the traditions and customs and
rituals of the Father and all this sort of thing, you know,
and we've trained preachers to be promoters and entertainers
and everything but prophets. Nobody's saying much. But this
title up there, this is Jesus of Nazareth, and He's the King!
He's the King of Enoch, and Noah, and Daniel, and David, and everybody
who believes, Peter, and James, and John, and Paul, and Luther,
and Calvin, and Zwingli, and Spurgeon, and everybody here
this morning. He's King of Israel, and everybody
will be saved. He's the King of the Jews. And
he is not a Jew who is won outwardly. He's a Jew which is won inwardly.
All right, thirdly, why is Israel's king on a cross and not on a
throne? That's an odd place for a king.
Why is he outside the city of Jerusalem, not inside? Why is
he covered with shame and not glory? Why is he naked and not
clothed with purple? Why is he crowned with thorns
and not gold? Why is he rejected of men, even
of God? Why is he dying instead of living? If he be king, natural man says,
come down and we'll believe. And the sheep say, stay there
and we'll believe. See the difference? The natural
man doesn't understand the king on a cross. If you're sitting
here this morning, you say, this is all foolishness to me. I don't
understand the king on a cross. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the
king of the Jews, king of Israel. What's he doing on a cross? Why
didn't God send him down here on a white steed, followed by
all the armies of heaven, and wipe this whole outfit out and
start him a kingdom? Well, he came down here to purchase
a kingdom. I'm going to explain it to you.
Number one, a king must have a kingdom or he's not a king.
But his kingdom, his people, given him by the Father back
in eternity, a kingdom that numbers, and I'm going to show you something
tonight, the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore.
There will be more people in heaven than there will be in
hell, I guarantee you. There's more people going to
praise my Lord for His mercy than curse Him for His justice
throughout eternity, I guarantee you. I'm going to show you that
tonight. He's the King. He's won the battle, He's won
the victory, He's won the war. But when He came down here to
redeem His people, to take His rightful Lordship, His people
were in bondage. His people must be free. His
people were under the curse of the law. They must have a righteousness.
His people were under the sentence of death. He must die their death. And so He alone can free them,
and He must do it alone. And our Lord Jesus Christ came
down here not riding on a white horse. He came down here born
of a woman, identified with His people, numbered with the transgressors,
identified with the offender. He came down here, bone of our
bone, flesh of our flesh, and engaged the perfect holy law
of God as a man and fulfilled it. and met the justice of God
alone and won the battle and engaged the forces of evil personally. I tell you, Satan didn't send
a messenger boy to talk to Christ. He came himself. You've never
dealt with him. I bet you never have. I bet nobody
in here, including the pulpit, ever dealt personally with Satan.
Our Lord did in a weakened condition. Forty days fasting and whipped
him. and whipped him. He said, the prince of this world
came and found nothing in me. Satan met Adam at his strongest
and whipped him. Huh? That's right. Satan met
Adam and Eve when they were righteous and holy in strength of wit,
knowledge, and everything, and whipped them. Satan met our Lord
after 40 days of doing without food in a weakened condition
in human flesh as a man and he drove him back to hell. Oh, I tell you that's the king.
That's the king. He engaged the forces of evil
and defeated them. Turn to Zechariah. That's next
to the last book in the Old Testament. Zechariah 13. Let me show you
something here. Let me show you something here.
The king of the Jews. the king of Israel. In order
to have a kingdom, in order to redeem his people, in order to
reign over them forever, in order to take them to glory, he had
to come down here as a king, and he had to defeat our enemies.
He had to put to flight our enemies. He had to get us out of captivity
to the law, out from under the curse of the law, out from under
the sentence of death. He had to set us free. And God says
in chapter 13, Zechariah verse 7, Come forth, O sword, the sword
of justice, the sword of righteousness, come forth against the people,
oh no, against my shepherd, against the great shepherd, against the
good shepherd, against the cheap shepherd, against my shepherd,
watch it, and against the man that is my fellow, my comrade,
my fellow, my equal. A weak old sword of justice?
You've never tasted blood like this blood. You've never tasted
royal blood. A weak old sword against the
chief shepherd, against the one, the man, the human, the man,
God-man, that is my fellow, saith the Lord. And do what? And smite
him. It's all backwards. If you save
sheep, you don't kill the shepherd. If you kill the shepherd, you
scatter the sheep. Huh? That's what you'd think. How in the world can you get
a kingdom together by killing the king? You don't destroy the
king, you scatter the kingdom. You see, don't use human logic
on God. You see, this kingdom that belonged
to Christ, that was given to Christ, over which he is the
king, it's in captivity, it's in slavery, it's under a curse,
it's under condemnation, it's under sentence of death, and
the king was smitten, and the shepherd was smitten, and yes,
for a moment the sheep seemed to be scattered, but God said,
listen, I'll turn them back, the little ones I'll bring home.
I'll bring home. If you smite the shepherd, the
sheep will be scattered, that's true. but they'll return, and
they'll have a perfect right to return. Legally, judicially,
positionally, and in every way, they return in the full favor
of God. That's the King. All right, let
me give you this now quick. This title was read by many,
read by many. We sing a song, when I can read
my title clear to mansions in the sky, and I like it, But let
me say this, you'll never read any title, any title clear to
any kind of mansion or inheritance until you, by Holy Spirit understanding,
read this title loud and clear, his title. And that title is
the King of Israel. And let me show you just quickly,
and I promise you it will be quickly, about five, and I won't
even comment, just give you these five things, and you can read
them if you want to. John 18, Jesus of Nazareth, the
king of the Jews, the king of Israel, to this end he was born. Now watch John 18, 36 and 37.
Jesus answered Pilate and said, My kingdom is not of this world.
If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, that
I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom
not from thence. Pilate therefore said unto him,
Art thou a king then? And Jesus said, Thou sayest that
I am a king. To this end was I born, and for
this cause came I into the world. You think I'm exaggerating this
thing? No, sir, I'm not. He said to
Pilate, To this end I was born, and for this cause I came into
the world. Be king. Barnard said one time, I know
who your savior is, but who's your lord? Who's your lord? Who's your king? Who's your king? Well, Jesus is my fire escape
from hell. I want to know who's your king. That'll determine
whether you have a relationship with God. It was in this character
that he was rejected. Look at John 19, 15. They cried
away with him. Pilate said, shall I crucify
your king? They said, crucify him, take
him away. We have no king but Caesar. They
rejected him as king. We have no king. They let him
stay around and heal anybody. He could have been a doctor.
They wouldn't care. He could have been a welfare
worker. They didn't care. He could feed all he wanted to.
He could have been a teacher. Nicodemus said, you're a good
teacher, but he can't be king. And that's exactly what's happening
today. He can be a doctor and heal.
Jesus, the healer. Everybody wants to put their
hands on your head and heal you, you know. Jesus, the almsgiver,
the welfare worker who helps me pay my bills. You want all
your bills paid? Send me 10% and God will pay
them. Everybody wants it. But Jesus Christ, the King. That's
the character, Tom. They reject it. And that was
a character in which he was mocked. What did the soldiers say in
John 19, verse 3? Hail, King of the Jews. That's
the character in which he died, the crimes for which he was crucified. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the
King. And I'm telling you this, that's
the character in which he'll be received, if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth, Jesus to be Lord. Kiss the Son, bow to him. Barnard
used to say, bow to the royal claims of King Jesus. And nobody
will spend eternity in hell who bows in his heart to the Lordship
of Christ. Never. For this is a character
in which he'll be praised forever. For God hath highly exalted him,
and given him a name which is above every name, that is the
name of Jesus. Every knee will bow, and every
tongue will confess, in heaven, earth, and under the earth, that
Jesus Christ is my personal Savior. Know, sir, that he's Lord. And
if you'll read in Revelation 5 this afternoon, what all those
people said in glory, they bowed before him and praised the Lamb. Isn't that right? On the throne,
on the throne. That's the song of Moses and
the Lamb. the power and authority, sovereignty, Lordship of Jesus
Christ. And Peter said at Pentecost,
God hath made this same Jesus whom you crucified to be both
what? Personal Savior and Provider. No, sir, Lord and Christ. And if he's Lord, he provides.
If he's Lord, he protects. If Lord, he does all these other
things. But first, he's Lord. That's
where you come in, Lordship. Our Father, once again we give
thanks for your word, the privilege of hearing it, the blessed privilege
of having it in our possession. But Lord, what a privilege to
believe it. I believe, Lord help my unbelief,
I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, I
believe. And I want Him to be magnified
and glorified in all things and above all things. And we want
throughout eternity to spend our time exalting and magnifying
Him who is worthy, who loved us and loosed us from our sins. and made us by his own blood
and made us kings and priests unto thee. To him be the glory
and the praise and the honor both now and forever. Amen.