- Details
-
Published: Friday, 27 January 2012 13:14
Are you aware that the very name of Jesus identifies Him with His people; for it perfectly expresses Who He is, as
the Savior of sinners! He would have never been called Jesus, if He did not have a people that desperately needed
to be saved. There would be no need for a Savior from sin, if there were no sinners to be saved. An amazing reality
of grace is that the infinitely majestic God of the universe, Who lives above time and space, has stepped into time
and space. Certainly friends, If God the Son has condescended to leave the glory of heaven and enter into this cesspool
of depravity called the earth, then He must have come with some tremendous purpose. The remainder of the
verse gives us that glorious purpose, “FOR HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE”! In Acts 17:26, the Bible tells us that all of
humanity is Jehovah’s people, by creation. The Old Testament also clearly informs us that God purposed to enter
into a unique relationship with Israel, in which He would be their God and they would be Jehovah’s people, by covenant.
The nation of Israel would be His chosen people, above all the people on the face of the earth. God gave them
the Old Testament, with all of its symbols, sacrifices and types, to prepare them for the coming of Messiah. But
tragically, the vast majority of the Jewish nation missed their time of visitation and rejected their Messiah. Oh, but
friends, this peculiar people that is spoken of in Matthew 1:21 are a people who belong to Emmanuel, who have
been bought at the highest price! They are called HIS PEOPLE (the people of Jesus). There are the bride of Christ,
who will be redeemed from every tribe, tongue, nation and people group. They are called the church of Jesus
Christ, which He purchased with His own blood.
They comprise a number that no man can number, whose names are graven on the palms of His holy hands and written on His loving heart! These are His sheep, whom He has loved with an everlasting love. They comprise the “love gift” spoken of by the Lord Jesus in John 6:37-39. They are rebels, whom the Lord Jesus is going to conquer and transform into worshipers! And what is the mighty victory that Jesus is going to accomplish for them and in them? The victory is that “He shall save His people FROM THEIR SIN”!
Why was God the Son called Jesus? Oh friend, it is because His bride needed to be saved from their sin. Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost. This is the reality of the true meaning of Christmas my friends. What an amazing truth this is! God was manifested in the flesh, to seek and to save those who were lost in their sins. Our Great High Priest lived a perfectly righteous life, as a substitute for sinners; and then, on the Pass-over, He was crucified as the Lamb of God, in our place and on our behalf! He bore our sins in His own body on that tree. He fully satisfied the just wrath of God that was fixed against His people. GLORY TO THE LAMB! When the Lord Jesus saves one of HIS PEOPLE from their sins, He not only rescues them from the damning penalty of sin; but, He also redeems them from the dominating power of sin! He sets the captive free from the tyranny of sin; and transfers them into the Kingdom of Grace. Glory to His holy Name! He delivers us, by the force of His great love, from our worst enemy, which is this cruel and ruthless master known as “sin”! Friends, this is the message, the Good News, we get to share with others. My Lord has granted me the great joy and privilege to travel throughout this world and preach the truth that, “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
As Dianne and I approach the end of this year of ministry, we are absolutely overjoyed to report that many men and women have testified, that Jesus has saved them from their sins! We have witnessed an unusual amount of men giving testimony that the Lamb of God has delivered them from the terrible condemnation and the tyrannical captivity of their sins. It truly has been a year, in which we saw the manifest presence and power of the reality of Emmanuel, God with us! There are so many stories of testimonies of the converting grace of God in the lives of men and women, that we really do not have room to record them, but we will share a few!