GOD IS… SAVIOUR GOD IS…SAVIOUR

November 27, 2016

Sermon in a sentence: We must put our confidence, faith and trust in Jesus Christ – our Saviour from sin.

Congregational reading: Luke 1:67-79

Scriptures: (NKJV) Luke 1:67-79; (2 Sam. 22:1-4; Ps. 106:19-21; Isaiah 45:18-22 – physical salvation and deliverance from Egypt; Matt. 1:18-21; Heb. 2;

Luke 1:67-79 NKJV Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: 68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, 70 as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. 76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness 2 and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. He gave them victory over the Canaanite nations. He delivered them from their enemies through the judges. He saved them time and again from their enemies during the time of the kings. So to the Israelites, God the Saviour was most often nothing more than a military conqueror.

But much more importantly, although much less appreciated, He also saved them from sin and it’s consequences. He gave them laws and procedures [the sacrificial system in Leviticus] by which their sins could be forgiven and removed from their record. He saved them from divine judgment. God was their Saviour.

Israel, however, got to the point where they totally rejected anything to do with their God and adopted the Babylonian culture, language and religion of their captors. When they were afforded the opportunity to return to Israel after 70 years of bondage, only a tiny remnant returned. Eventually, God simply stopped communicating with them and they entered a very dark age of 400 years duration – akin to the 400 years they spent as slaves in Egypt.

God’s character, will and desire have never changed. He showed Himself as the Saviour from sin in the Garden of Eden and has continued in the same vein ever since.

- He saved Adam and Eve from death after they sinned. - He spared Cain from death after he killed Abel. - He provided a way of escape from worldwide judgment through Noah and the ark. 3 - He saved Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. - He spared David’s life after he had committed adultery and first-degree murder (just to cite a few examples).

God always had a global plan: to expand His saving works from the personal (e.g. David) or even the national (e.g. the Day of Atonement), to the international (worldwide salvation from sin for all humanity).

So after 400 years of silence, God resumed His outreach to humanity. Luke recorded His prophetic word through Zacharias at the birth of his son John the Baptist.

Luke 1:68-75 NKJV “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, 70 as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

The first part of this speech covers familiar territory, i.e. God’s physical protection of Israel from their enemies through the centuries. Then Zacharias gets into the real thrust of God’s new initiative and the part his son would play in this divine drama. He said:

Luke 1:76-77“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord 4 to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins….

So now we get to the real ‘meat of the matter’. God was about to show Himself as the Saviour of more than just the physical body or the physical nation. He was now going to act in His most cherished role as the Saviour of human souls that are under the penalty of eternal death! God is, and wants to be…Saviour of all humanity!

Matthew fills in some critical details in the plot as he speaks about the coming of the Lord, as prophesied by Zacharias:

Matthew 1:18-21 NKJV Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

We must pay close attention to this crucial statement: “You shall call His name Jesus.”

Of all the names scripture uses for God, this is the last one that has been revealed to us: ““Yeshua” in Hebrew, “Iesous” in Greek, “Eashoa” (pronounced ‘eesho’) in Aramaic, or “Jesus” in English. His name literally means: “YHWH saves,” or “YHWH is salvation.” 5 Names were often used to describe a child’s character, destiny, or the parents’ blessing and desire for their child. Jesus was no different. His destiny was clear, as Gabriel announced: “He will save His people from their sins.”

We know God as El Shaddai: the Lord God Almighty El Elyon: the Most High God Adonai: Lord, or Master Yahweh: I Am Who I Am We have known Him as Elohim, the first name used for God in the OT El Olam: the Everlasting God Jehovah Nissi: my banner Jehovah Raah: my shepherd Jehovah Rapha: my healer Jehovah Shammah: the Lord who is here Jehovah Tsidkenu: my righteousness Jehovah Mekoddishkem: my sanctifier Jehovah Jireh: my provider Jehovah Shalom: my peace Jehovah Sabaoth: the Lord of hosts….

But Gabriel revealed the name we cherish most, the name that is above every other name of God or man, the name before which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess: Jesus: YHWH saves!

Specifically, YHWH saves from sin and replaces the penalty of eternal death in our lives with the gift of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. For this, we worship Him and sing His praises. God is…Saviour.

So if we want to see God do His greatest work, we need to observe His work as Saviour.

6 Thus the writer to the Hebrews tells us:

Heb. 2:1-3a,9-10,14-17 … we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation…. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

So let us allow God to do His greatest work in us. He came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). That means me. And that means you. God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9b). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

7 God is…Saviour. And He will save you today if you put your faith and trust in Him!

Songs:

Saviour You Can Move A Mountain F

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