Call His Name Jesus

Mary it says in verse 18 Now
the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise when as his mother
Mary Was espoused to Joseph Now this is more than an engagement
Actually Joseph was at this time called her husband And Mary was
called his wife. Now you'll see that down here
in verse 19. Look at verse 19, Joseph her
husband. And verse 20 says, fear not to
take unto thee Mary thy wife. Now this time of espousal was
someone said, I'm not certain that this is true, but someone
has written that it was a six months waiting period before
marriage. In other words, Joseph and Mary
were the same as married in the eyes of all people, in the eyes
of legally, in the eyes of their religion, in the eyes of their
friends, in the eyes of all people. They were espoused. They were
given to one another. They were engaged, but more than
engaged. They were called husband and
wife, although they were not living together. And that's the
reason it says, Joseph her husband, and Mary thy wife. Fear not to
take unto thee Mary thy wife. They were not living together,
they had not come together, but they were, under Jewish law,
they were the same as husband and wife. That's what makes this
so critical to Joseph here, is because it says when, as His
mother Mary was a spouse to Joseph before they came together, before
they had any relationship as husband and wife. She was found
with child. Now, up until this time, Joseph
did not know of the promise of the coming of Christ through
Mary. He did not know of this. All
he knew was this. that the woman to whom he was
engaged, and the woman to whom he was espoused, and the woman
who was his wife under Jewish law and under the tradition of
that time, was pregnant with a child. And this is an amazing
thing about Joseph. Of course, we know what 99 out
of 100, 999 out of a thousand, maybe 9,999
out of 10,000, men of this day would do. There wouldn't be any
question. They would cast her off. They would regard her as
a harlot. They would lose their temper. They would act ugly. They would
disown her. They would have nothing else
to do with her. But you look at verse 9. Now she was with
child by the Holy Ghost, but Joseph didn't know that. All
he knew was this, that his engaged espoused wife was expecting a
child, and Joseph, her husband, being just, being a just man,
Joseph, not willing to make her a public example, was thinking
about this matter. I want you to watch the kindness
of this man, the grace of this man. the greatness, the stature
of this man. He was going to cover this whole
thing. He wasn't going to let anybody...
Now, Mary, according to Jewish law, could have been stoned,
because that's what the Jewish law said, the stoner. Most of all, if not stoned, at
least a bill of divorcement could have been given. Joseph would
have been free of her, but he's gonna put her away privately.
He's gonna put her away secretly he's not gonna let anybody know
about this and While he thought while he considered what he was
going to do while he thought on these things behold the angel
of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying Joseph thy son
of David And you know, I hear people talking about Mary was
of the house and lineage of David. They're not sure about Joseph.
I'm sure about Joseph. The angel here called him the
son of David. He was in the direct line for
the crown, for the throne, David and Joseph and Mary both. I believe you'll find Joseph's
genealogy in one of the gospels and you'll find Mary's in the
other. And it says, 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, for he shall save his people from their sin. Now turn
to Luke 1, Luke chapter 1. This begetting was of the Holy
Spirit. Now, when the angel told Mary
she would bear a son, she said in Luke 1.34, in Luke 1.34, Mary
said, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? How can I have
a child, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said
unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power
of the highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God. The Son of God. Christ our Lord
had no human father, and I've preached on that many times.
No need to go into that. He was born of the Virgin in
the fulfillment of Scripture. Behold, the Lord himself shall
give you a sign. A virgin shall conceive and bring
forth a son. Thou shalt call his name Immanuel,
which is being interpreted, God with us. Not only in fulfillment
of the promise and of the sign, he was born of a virgin, but
he was born of a virgin because he was the son of God and not
the son of Adam. He was born of a virgin in order
that he might not have a fallen nature. Our Lord Jesus Christ
did not have a sinful nature. If he had been born of Joseph,
he would have been begotten like you and me and he would have
been born in sin. Now, verse 22, all this was done
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall
bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which,
being interpreted, is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised
from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and
took unto him his wife." He married her and knew her not until she
had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus.
Now, Jesus Christ, our Lord, was born without human aid. He
was born of the Holy Ghost. But he had, after Joseph and
Mary, after Christ came, they had other children. Now let me
show you that. Turn to John chapter 7, if you
will. I'm not sure how many children
were in that household. But I'm certain there were several.
Someone I heard preaching on the radio the other night said
there were six or seven. I'm not sure that that's so,
and I'm not sure that you can find anywhere where any definite
number are given. But it says in John 7, verse
5, For neither did his brethren believe on him. Now we have his
disciples and we have his brethren. These are his brothers here.
In verse 1, after these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for
he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.
Now the Jews' feast of the tabernacle was at hand. His brethren therefore
said unto him, Depart hence, and go to Judea, that thy disciples
also may see the works that thou doest. No man doeth anything
secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If you do
these things, show yourself to the world. For neither did his
brothers believe on him. Now turn with me to Matthew 12.
That's one of the scriptures. That's not the most convincing
one of all, but that's one of them. But in Matthew 12, verse
46, our Lord was preaching here in a certain place. And while
he yet talked to the people, Matthew 12, 46, behold, his mother
and his brethren stood without desiring to speak with him. Then
one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand
without desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said
unto him who told him, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand
toward his disciples, and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren."
Now look at Matthew 13, verse 55. Matthew 13, let's begin with
verse 53, Matthew 13, 53. And it came to pass that when
Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence, and when
he was coming to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue,
insomuch that they were astonished, and they said, Whence hath this
man this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's
son? Is not his mother called Mary,
and his brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Judas, and his
sisters? Are they not all with us? Whence
then hath this man all these things? And they were offended
in him." So Mary brought forth a son. And it was before she
and Joseph came together as husband and wife, and after that son
was born, they came together as husband and wife, and there
were other children born to that marriage and to that family.
But let's look back at the text for a few moments tonight, Matthew
1, 21. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his
name Jesus, for he He shall save his people from their sins. He
is the biggest word here. He is the biggest word. He was
wounded for our transgressions. He was numbered with the transgressors. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us. He is the message of the Old
Testament. He is the message of the New Testament. Turn with
me to Acts 10, verse 43. You know, when someone asks you,
what is the message of the Old Testament, there are two passages
of Scripture that I like to turn to that I think are the most
helpful. First of all, Acts 10, 43. And the apostle says here, to
him, to him give all the prophets witness." Now this is not the
apostles he's talking about here. This is the prophets. This is
Isaiah and Jeremiah and David and Moses. Our Lord said, Moses
wrote of me. Abraham saw my day and was glad.
But this verse, to him give all the prophets witness. that through
his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission
of sin." Now the other verse is in Luke chapter 24. Our Lord
had been crucified, he had risen from the tomb, he had appeared
to his disciples, and now on the road to Emmaus he walked
with two disciples. And as they walked along they
didn't recognize him and He stopped and ate with them, and he revealed
himself to them. It says in verse 40, And when
he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet,
Luke 24, 40. And while they yet believed not for joy and wondered,
he said, Have you any meat? Have you any meat here? And they
gave him a piece of boiled fish and of honeycomb, and he took
it and did eat before them. Now watch this, And he said unto
them, These are the words which I have spoken to you while I
was yet with you. that all things must be fulfilled
which were written in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and
in the Psalms concerning me. then open he their understanding
that they might understand the scriptures. There's no way for
any human being to understand the scriptures, the writings
of Moses, the prophets, the Psalms, except through Christ. He. He. He is the biggest word there.
He. Salvation is a he. It's not a what. Sanctification
is he. Justification is he. Glorification
is He. He shall save His people from
their sins. He is the creator of all things.
He is the firstborn of every creature. He is the head of all
things. He's the Lord of the dead and
the living, and He is the only one who can do the saving. Turn
to Isaiah 61. When our Lord Jesus Christ went
down to Nazareth on that Sabbath day and entered the synagogue
and taught the people, This is the scripture that he selected
as his text. This is the scripture that he
read to them on that Sabbath day when he spoke at Nazareth,
when he identified himself and his ministry in Isaiah 61. The Spirit of the Lord God is
upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings
to the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted. to proclaim liberty to the captives,
the opening of prison to them that abound, to proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God,
and to comfort all that mourn." That's his job, and he's the
only one who can do it. Thou shalt call his name Jesus.
Joseph, Mary thy wife, is going to bring forth a son. And that
son is conceived of the Holy Ghost. That holy thing which
is born of her is God himself in human flesh. And thou shalt
call his name Jesus, for he, the subject of the Old Testament,
he, the subject of Moses' writings, he, the subject of the law, he,
the subject of the Psalms, he, the subject of all the prophets,
he shall save his people from their sins. Now there are six
things that I jotted down in the car this afternoon on my
way home that Christ must deal with in order to save his people
from their sins. There are six things that Christ
must deal with and only Christ can deal with them. One time
I was over in Ohio in a Baptist church over there preaching and
a quartet got up to sing. And I thought it was good. I
liked the song. I don't guess you find very many
songs that are without some suggestion of error, because people have
to rhyme songs, you know. That's one thing wrong with poems.
In order to rhyme something, sometimes you say something,
it just really is not so, you know. And the quartet was singing
the song, and this was the song. It says something about they
searched through heaven to find a Savior. You know that song?
Once I was straying in sin's dark valley and so forth, and
then it says they searched through heaven and found a Savior. Now,
that's just not so. Christ has been the Savior before
Adam ever fell. Before I was strayed through
sin's dark valley, He was the Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world. They couldn't search through
heaven to find a Savior because they only had one to go to. The
only one. An angel couldn't redeem us.
A creature couldn't redeem us. A man couldn't redeem us. Christ
is the only Savior. If Almighty God is going to have
a people, Almighty God's the only one that can deal with these
six things. These are six things that no
creature can deal with effectively because they're infinite things.
Now you watch this. First of all, in order to redeem
his people, Now God said, Joseph, she's going to bring forth a
son. You call his name Jesus, which is Joshua, which is Savior,
God my Savior. For he shall save, he shall save
his people from their sin. And this thing of saving his
people from their sin is more than just erasing some offenses.
It's more than overlooking some transgressions. It's more than
setting aside some iniquities. It's more than just writing a
name, as they say, in his blood in the Lamb's Book of Life. It
involves a whole lot more than that. First of all, in order
to save his people, Christ, or whoever the Savior is, has got
to deal effectively with the law of God. Now you turn to Galatians
chapter 3. is the Redeemer, whoever the
Savior is, he's going to have to deal effectively with that
absolute, holy, immutable, immaculate, infinite, holiest God, law of
God. And in order to save his people,
he is going to have to obey that law perfectly. Now look at verse
10 of Galatians 3. For as many as are of the works
of the law, and that's all of them, all of Adam's race, are
under the curse, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth
not in all things." Not in the ones that are easiest for you. not in the ones that you find
more suitable to your character, but in all things that are written
in the book of the law to do. God's infinite law, God's law
that touches the very innermost thought, imagination, the innermost
motive. That law that touches not only
our acts of commission, but acts of omission. That law that's
with us not only 24 hours a day, but 60 seconds out of every minute. That perfect, holy law of God
which requires that a man be as good as God, whoever this
Savior is. He's going to have to come down
here in the flesh and deal effectively with that infinite law that's
as holy as God is. And like Paul said in Galatians,
you who would be under that law, don't you hear that law? To offend
in one point is to be guilty of the whole law of God. To love
God any less than with all your heart is to be guilty. To love
God any less than with all your mind all the time is to be guilty. To love your neighbor any less
than you love yourself is to be guilty of that love. Well, who can do it? Only Christ. Look at Galatians 3 verse 13. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written,
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. In Galatians 4 verse
4, When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his
Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Christ came down here through Mary's womb, and he was born
a little baby, seven, seven and a half or eight pounds. And Mary
dressed him and nursed him and cared for him. And he grew up
in the home. He had a mind. He who's the ancient
of days became actually an infant of days. He who is always increased
in wisdom. I can't explain that. He who
has the favor of God himself increased in stature and favor
with God and man. I can't explain that. I just
know it's something. He was a man. And he was subject to his mother
and father and never one time ever thought anything contrary
to the law of the home. He knew no sin. It doesn't only
say he did no sin, he knew no sin. His eyes never looked with
any kind of passion or lust. His heart never beat with any
kind of hot anger or cold wrath. His feet never walked except
in pairs of perfect holiness. His hands never moved except
in absolute holiness. His mind never thought a thought
that wasn't in complete submission to his earthly father and his
heavenly father He he's got a deal with the law I heard a story
one time Spurgeon told About he said he was walking down the
road one day and he came upon a he loved birds and flowers
and animal he loved ants and he said he's walking along and
he and he saw this this ant bed And somebody had kicked a big
old rock over right in front of their where they were entering
in to take their food There was a big old rock right there in
front of the hole and a lot of them way outside They had little
bits of food in their mouths. They were just scurrying everywhere.
There was that big old rock And and he said he looked down there
and he looked at that rock and he looked at those little ants
And and he said little ink your problem is that rock, but they
couldn't hear it. I He said, the problem is the
rock. If you can get the rock out of
the way, you're whole. But they couldn't hear. He said, wouldn't
it be wonderful if I could change myself into an ant and get right
down there and speak their language and retain the strength of a
man so that I could explain to them what was wrong and then
move the rock for them so they could go into their home. And
this is what Christ did, the boulder. The great stumbling
stone is the law of God that prevents our fellowship with
the living God. And Christ came down here as
a man, and spoke the language of a man, and felt the need of
a man, and was tested and tempted in all points as a man, and moved
that obstacle, and explained to me why and how he did it.
And now I enter in. But he that believeth on me,
the door, by me shall he enter in. Go in and out and find pasture.
Secondly, he not only has to deal with the law, but he's got
to deal with the justice of God. Now, you turn to Job 25, and
let me tell you, we ought to look a whole lot at this book
of Job, especially this question. He asks this question twice,
and this is what a lot of preachers don't know. They don't know the
answer to this question. Consequently, and I'm not being
cruel, they don't know the gospel. There are a lot of church members
that don't know the answer to this question. Now you look at
verse 4 of Job 25 and listen to this question. How then can
man be justified with God? How can he be clean that is born
of a woman? Look at the moon, it shineth
not. The stars are not pure in God's
sight, how much less man that is a worm and the Son of Man
which is a worm. God is righteous and God is just. And two cannot walk together
except they be agreed. And if God cannot look upon His
Son on the cross who is bearing the sins of somebody else, sins
that are not even His own but are imputed to Him, If he can't
fellowship with his son on the cross bearing another man's sins,
how is he going to fellowship with me bearing my own sins? Now you figure that out. He can't
just say, well, you don't have them anymore. No, God's just,
God's holy. Now what's going to have to happen
if somebody saves me from my sins? He's going to have to keep
the law for me and impute to me a perfect righteousness. And
he's also got to face God's justice. God is holy. God will punish
sin. God must punish sin. God will
in no wise clear the guilty. The soul that sinneth, it must
die. It shall die. It will die. Sin's going to be punished. And
the only way I can be saved is for somebody to come and do what
Job says here, justify me with God. All right, turn to Romans
3, and let's see who can do it. Romans chapter 3. It says here
in Romans 3, verse 19, that in verse 19, we know what things
whoever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, every mouth, all the world become
guilty. All right, look at verse 25 now.
God has set forth to be a propitiation, that is, a mercy seat, a place
of mercy, the blood on the broken law. through faith in his blood,
to declare God's righteousness for the remission of Old Testament
sins, sins of the past, through the forbearance of God. For when
Christ came, you see, those people's sins were in the past. Our sins
were in the future. This is what Christ has done.
He has declared, at this time, God's righteousness, that God
might be just. and the justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus. A man doesn't know the gospel
who cannot explain how God can be just and justify the ungodly. God can't justify you by you
walking an hour, or shaking a preacher's hand, or making a decision, or
turning over a new leaf. or joining the church, or being
baptized, or coming to the table, or taking the wafer and the wine,
or praying through, that won't justify God Almighty. That won't
make God just when he justifies you. Somebody's got to pay the
debt. Somebody's got to face the penalty. Somebody's got to
take the wrath. Somebody's got to die the death.
And that's what Christ did. He dealt with the law perfectly,
and he dealt with the infinite justice of God. And let me tell
you something. If Jesus Christ had come down here to save one
soul, he'd had to do the same thing that he did to save ten
billion souls. He'd had to shed the same blood,
he'd had to die on the same cross, he'd had to obey the same law.
If he'd come down here to pay for one sin, because one sin
will damn the sinner. It's the justice of God, the
infinite justice of God. And the only one who could meet
it and deal with it and pay it and satisfy it is Christ, the
infinite one. It's not how much he suffered,
it's who suffered. It's not how much blood he shed,
it's whose blood. It's not how long he was on the
cross, it is who is on the cross. And he is able to satisfy the
infinite justice of God. Now then, God Almighty can be
just, righteous, holy, and forgive my sins, because my sins have
been paid for. When a criminal comes into the
court and he's guilty of a crime, the judge cannot be just and
set him free. If he's guilty, he's got to be
sentenced. The judge is unjust if he sets
him free. Now then, after he's paid the
debt, he served ten years. That's what he was sentenced
to. No parole, no pardon. Ten years. He walks through the
door and stands before the judge. The judge can now say, you can
go free. And he can be just. Because the
debt's been paid. Now Christ, God Almighty, can
be just and justify you after you have suffered infinite, everlasting
punishment for your sin, or else after Christ has. Christ had to deal with God's
justice. All right, thirdly, now watch this. To save his people,
he had to deal with the law, he had to deal with the justice
of God, he had to deal with Satan. That's right. Over in Genesis
3, verse 15, and I don't know a whole lot about this, I just
know it's so. God said over there, I'll put enmity between thy seed
and the woman's seed. Thou shalt bruise his heel, but
he'll bruise your head. Christ has got to defeat, conquer,
and put out of business Satan. Because he said himself, now
is the prince of this world judged and cast out. He's done the job. Satan cannot touch you because
Christ has judged him and cast him out, unless God gives him
permission. He has no claim on you. He has
no control over you. He has no power over you. His
power has been broken. Christ has already dealt with
that old demon, and he can't touch you. No, he can't. And like that man at the tombs,
when our Lord was one of his own, and he cast him out. Mary
Magdalene, one of his own, he cast him out. But he cannot,
he must deal with him, he must deal with him in conquering power,
and he must take from him his spoils. And that's what he did. When the strong one, armed, keeps
his palace, armed with his deceit and armed with his lies and armed
with his control over you, when he keeps his palace, his goods
are at peace. But when one stronger than he
comes upon him and conquers him and tears him and casts him out,
that's Christ abode now. And he dealt with Satan. And
you don't need to fear demon possession, not in yourself,
nor if you're on his own. No way. Satan came before the
Lord, and the Lord said, Have you considered my servant Job?
And Satan made some accusations, and God said, I'll let you do
just so much to Job. Satan said, You've hedged him
about. Satan can't touch you. No way. He's been cast out. In the fourth place, Christ,
in order to save us, not only must deal with the law and the
justice of God and with Satan, You've got to deal with me too.
Turn to John 6. He's got to deal with me. He's got to do for me what I
can't do for myself, what you can't do for me, what no human
being can do for me, what only God can do for me. He's got to
give me a new nature. He's got to make me willing.
See, our Lord's not going to have an unwilling bride. He's
not going to have an unwilling disciple. We're going to follow
Him willingly. We're going to run after Him.
We're going to seek the Lord. We're going to cry for mercy.
We're going to call upon His name. We're going to believe
on Him. You know, somebody explained election one time that way. He
said, You come to a door, and over the door it's written, Whosoever
is a thirst, let him come. Whosoever is weary and heavy
laden, let him come. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and heavy laden. Well, that's me. That's me. And
I flee through the door, and when I get through, I look back,
and on the back side of the door it says, Chosen in Him before
the foundation of the world. That may be so. I know a lot
of us went through the door before we ever found out who opened
it, didn't we? A lot of us went through the door before we found
out that He Himself made you willing. But He's got to deal
with the sinner. Look at John 6, verse 44. No man can come to Me. Now, we've
got to come to Him. In order that we might have life,
in order that we might have forgiveness, in order that we might have salvation,
we've got to come to Christ. And no man will come to me except
my Father which sent me to draw him, and I'll raise him up again
at the last day. It's written in the prophets,
they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and learned of the Father cometh to me. He's got to do
something for me. He's got to make me well. I talked
to the men about this Thursday night. I am deeply, deeply, deeply
concerned about our young people and deeply concerned about all
people who come here to church. And I know I get through with
the message and then walk down here and stand and wait and see
if anybody wants to make a public confession of Christ or wants
to be baptized or unite with the church. I don't know what
else to do. I cannot give life to dead sinners,
and you cannot. I cannot make them want Christ. I cannot make them hate sin. I cannot make them flee to the
Savior. I cannot make them love Christ. I cannot make them ask for mercy. I cannot make them do those things.
God has to do it, and God does it through the preaching of the
Word. He said, the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness, to them who are the call of God. It's the
power and wisdom of God. And God has chosen by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. All I know to do is
preach to them. And he says, everyone that hath
learned, he'll come to me. He'll come to me. Now, you may
go to a person and talk him into a profession of faith. but you
cannot talk him into Christ. You may talk him into church
membership, but you can't talk him into Christ. The only one
who can talk him into Christ is the Father. He hath learned
of the Father. All I know to do is wait, because
God has to deal with that sinner. Just like he dealt with the law
in person, just like he dealt with the justice of God in person,
just like he dealt with Satan in person, he's got to deal with
you. I used to get upset when people
didn't do what I thought they ought to do in worshiping the
Lord, but they do what they want to do. They do what they want
to do. They do what God makes them willing
to do. They do what they have an appetite to do. I feel sorry
for them. I feel sorry for those who do
not love the Word, who do not hunger and thirst for righteousness,
who do not cry out for a deeper relationship with Christ, I feel
sorry for them, but if they have eyes but they don't see, and
ears but they don't hear, God has to give it. And we can go out and we can
force these sons of Abraham and all we can do is get Ishmael's,
but if we'll wait around on God, they'll come forth in Isaac.
Christ has to deal with a sinner. And then fifthly, he has to deal
with our daily walk. He has to deal with our daily
walk. You know over there in John 13, and you ought to study
this sometime prayerfully and carefully, the washing of the
disciples' feet. There's a whole lot more there
than humility. And I know that's what most people
shut it up to. But our Lord was, they had supper
in John 13, and the disciples, it was customary that a slave
or a servant, probably a black person in that time, a little
servant, and would wrap himself with a towel and he'd wash their
dusty, dirty feet, you know, and it was a menial task. And the disciples didn't have
such a person there when they came to the Lord's table. And
after the supper was over, the master himself took off his robe
and wrapped a big towel around him, got a basin of water, and
don't you know those disciples watched him, their eyes bugged
out, And he brought that basin of water and he sat down in front
of Matthew. He started washing his feet.
And he came to Peter. And Peter always had something
to say. I admire Peter. I see myself. And Peter looked
at him and he said, Lord, you are not going to wash my feet. And the master said, Peter, if
I don't wash your feet, You don't have any part in me. You see
that? Verse 8. If I wash thee not,
you have no part with me. That's serious isn't it? So what
we're talking about is pretty serious. Simon Peter said, Lord,
this, that broke him. He said, not my feet only, but
wash my head, wash my hands, every bit of it. Jesus said,
Peter, he that is washed, uh oh, something's already been
done. He that is washed, needeth not save, or needs only to wash
his feet. He's clean every whip. And you're
clean. Not all, though, because he knew
who should betray him, therefore he said, all of you are not clean.
So after he washed his feet, what's going on here? Our Master
is saying this to his disciples. I've already cleansed you. Now
listen to me. He hadn't even died yet. but it is already done
in the mind of God. Now, I don't mean to shock you,
and I don't mean to upset you, and I don't mean to cause you
undue anguish, but in the mind and purpose of Almighty God,
the children of God have been washed and justified from eternity. From the time Christ was the
Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, we've been in Christ.
There never was a day that I wasn't in Christ. He declares the end from the
beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, My counsel shall stand. He declares those things that
are not as though they already were. And from way back yonder
in his covenant of mercy, when he chose a people, He chose them
in Christ. He regarded them in Christ. He
loved them in Christ. He accepted them in Christ. He
justified them in Christ, and He glorified them in Christ,
whom He foreknew, He predestinated, He called, He justified, and
He glorified already. Now, some people argue, that's
eternal justification. I don't care what you call it.
But God doesn't change. He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. He never learns anything, never forgets anything,
never changes anything. And what's true right now was
true before He made this world. What's true in eternity future
was true in eternity past. God never changes. We were justified
by the Father, sanctified by the Father, set apart by the
Father. God Almighty must look at us in Christ, or He'd have
to destroy us. You'd have to. And let me ask
you this. Am I a son of God? When did I
begin to be a son of God? When God chose me as His son
in Christ. Now then, Christ is saying to
these disciples, you are clean. You are clean everywhere. Not
all of you. Judas is not clean. You are clean. There are 11 of you that are
clean. I have assumed the position of your surety, of your justifier,
of your redeemer, as your savior, your queen. But your feet, you
walk through this world. You walk through this world.
The contact you make with this world, your flesh, your thoughts,
your mind, I've got to daily cleanse you, daily sanctify you,
daily forgive you, daily pray for you. That's what he's doing
right here, these disciples. In other words, if I'm over at
the house, if I live back in this day, I'm over at the house
and I get in the shower and take a shower and get cleaned up and
walk over here to the church. When I get here to the church,
I'm going to have to wash my feet because I walked over here
in sandals and I'm going to have to wash my feet. That's what
was going on here. They were clean, they had to wash their
feet, the contact. And this is what Christ is saying, you're
clean. But you just have to have your feet washed. And we can't
live, he does this, he deals with us in daily communion, daily
intercession. We confess our sins, he's faithful
and just to forgive us. That explains verses like that.
I'm already forgiven. I'm all my sins are paid for,
but still there's a daily prayer, and a daily confession, and a
daily mortifying of the flesh, and a daily restraining of the
sinful flesh, and a daily coming to Christ, and a daily walking
with Christ, and I cannot neglect a single day. I can't just sit
down and say, you know, wash my feet, I'm all right, I'm all
fixed up, I'm ready for glory. No, you're not ready for glory.
You got a daily cleansing to be done. A daily work of his
grace. And then last of all, in order
to be our Savior, turn to Philippians. And that scripture is a picture
of humility also. He said, if I, your master, have
washed your feet, you ought to do the same thing to one another.
That's so. But this old Ralph used to say the scripture is
bifocal. It's more than one thing said there. All right? Look at
verse 20 of Philippians 3. Our conversations in heaven.
And from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall change our vile body. And don't you ever
forget that. Don't let me ever forget it.
It's still a vile body. I don't care how long you've
been saved, you've still got a vile body. In the flesh no
man can please God that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body. according to the working whereby
he is able even to subdue all things to himself." Christ has
got to deal with death. Death. Christ has got to visit
the grave. And I know some of you have seen
the results of death. But down there in the Yucatan
when we were with Betty and Walter and going out to the service
and we stopped there at the cemetery, you remember somebody had been
down there And they just dug up what was left of that dear
woman. She'd been buried about two years.
And it was just that the hair was there, the skull, and just
little old pieces of bone. I could have held every bit of
it right there, of that woman's body after two years. Think about
it after 20 years. Think about it after 200 years.
Think about it after 2,000 years. Nothing. Now, whoever my Savior
is, is going to have to have the power And think about a man
you throw overboard the ship, a child of God, he dies at sea
and you cast him over and a fish eats him. And then another fish
eats that one and then digests it and then it's cast out into
the water and it floats around and there are particles of his
body over a 10-15 mile space and then it's all gone. Where
is he? Somebody with power over death decayed over atoms,
it's going to have to accumulate that body and raise it. This
body, and bring forth this body, and the sea shall give up the
dead which are in them, and death and hell, and the grave shall
give up the dead which are in them, and they'll come forth.
Now you'll have a hard time recognizing me because I'm going to be so
good looking. And I'm going to be so perfect. You might have
to say, well, who is that? I'll tell you. And we'll tell
them, won't we? We'll speak. That's the truth. We're going to be so much like
the Lord. We're going to be ourselves, but we're going to be so perfect,
so beautiful in His image. Yeah, you'll have to ask, who
is that fellow? That's Ed Stephens. That's who
that is. Boy, he never looked that good, did he? But he does
now. And he's going to bring that
body. He's got the power over them. You see, when this word,
He, thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He, and nobody else,
He is going to save His people from the penalty of sin, from
the power of sin, from the practice of sin, and someday from the
very presence of sin. He's the only one who can do
it, because He's the only one who can effectively deal with
the law. justice of God, with Satan, with
the sinner, with daily sanctification. He's the only intercessor. He's
the only mediator. He's the only one who can keep
me safe. He is able to keep me from falling and to present you
because he's got to go down to the grave and raise you. And
when he does that with power over death, hell, and the grave,
he's going to bring his church and present that church to himself
because he's God. He's going to present that church
without fault, without spot, without wrinkle, without any
such thing. Here they are, ever one up, ever one up, that the
Father gave me in glory, ever one up, just like me. Our Father
in heaven, for the promise of this eternal glory, and for the
precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which secures for us
every mercy and every blessing, for the hope which we have in
him, for the confidence and assurance that we have in Christ our Lord, we give thee
thanks. He shall save his people from
their sins. He. Thank the Lord for the Savior. The almighty, all-powerful, effectual
Savior who cannot fail. Bless this message to our hearts
and to our spiritual growth and to the glory of him who is worthy
of all the glory for he's done all the work. In his name we
pray. Amen.

Call His Name Jesus

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Call His Name Jesus

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