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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/william-lavery/luke-1-76-79/
Now, if you have your Bible with you, we're going to read from the first chapter of the book of Luke, Luke's gospel chapter one, verse 76 of Luke chapter one. And thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the highest, for thou shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Now we know that God will bless his word with what we have already heard during the conference. Now, as far as the background of what we have read in Luke chapter one, it begins with a man called Zachariah, a priest and his wife, Elizabeth, and they had no children and they're both old and they're wanting to have a son.
We're not told exactly why, but I've often thought that they wanted a son to be a priest. This man was a priest in Israel and he would like to have a priest for a son, somebody he could see in the priestly garments and carrying on the good work.
They were good people, but they didn't just understand God's plan. And likely you know the story how the Zachariah was in offering incense and fulfilling his course, one of the 24 courses of priesthood.
It was of the course of Abii, which was the eighth. And the number eight speaks of a new beginning. Seven is a complete number, so is a new beginning. And God heard their cries. God gave them a son. Because of unbelief, Zachariah was struck speechless.
He couldn't speak. And really the whole thing is a little picture of the conditions that prevailed in the nation of Israel at that time. There was a barrenness. There wasn't much coming out of the workings of God, but you'd see God was going to start something new.
So that when this young man was born, instead of him being a priest, we read that he was a prophet. But as a prophet as well, he was a young man that was going to be a preacher. And God was telling him, we need, they don't need Judaism.
There's another priest coming in, the Lord Jesus, and this young man, he's going to introduce him. But he's telling us, and these are the words of Zachariah, he said, he's going to be a prophet. This son that I'm having is going to be a prophet of the Most High.
He's going to spend time in God's presence, and he's going to preach. He's not going to be a priest in the sanctuary. He's going to be a preacher in the testimony. And where is he going to be? Not in Jerusalem.
He's going to be in a desert. And again, that speaks of barren conditions. Now, you know, maybe you're wondering what that's got to do with us today. Well, I'll tell you, we're living in barren conditions.
There aren't too many people being saved today. Things have changed a lot from what it was even when I first went out in the Lord's work. And when men like Mr. McCullough went out years ago, they could see souls saved.
And even we could see one or two saved each series, and sometimes many more. But today we're living in barren conditions. And if you're not saved in the meeting this afternoon, I hope that you'll go in for God's salvation.
Time is short, and eternity is sure. And here's a young man, and what was he preaching? He was preaching, well, the knowledge of salvation. He's going to give the knowledge of salvation to the people.
And this is why we have gospel meetings, and this is why we have them at a conference like this, is to give the knowledge of salvation. Are you saved? Do you really know how to be saved? Maybe you know well enough.
I knew well enough when I was, before God saved me, I could tell you how to be saved. But yet it didn't really grip my soul. Has it ever gripped your soul that you really need God's salvation? That's what's needed.
It wasn't another priest to continue in Judaism where people were under law, and they were trying to keep the law, and they thought they could be good enough to keep it. We can't do that. So there's something new.
The Lord Jesus Christ is coming in, and He's the Savior. His name shall be called Jesus. Matthew said, we shall save His people from their sins. His people, I think, in that gospel of Matthew, were His earthly people.
But when Luke writes, He just says, Jesus. His name shall be called Jesus. Because it's going a way out beyond Judaism and everything else. He's the Savior of the world. Is He your Savior this afternoon?
Ten thousand charms around Him shine, but best of all, I know He's mine. So here He is, and He's coming to give the knowledge of salvation. And how is He going to do it? By the remission of sins. You know, that's the great problem in the world today.
There are many problems. A while back, there used to be a problem in Ireland, and people, they knew I came from there, they'd say, what's the problem in Ireland? They say, well, they think, you know, Catholics are fighting the Protestants, and the Protestants are fighting the Catholics, and I'll tell you what the problem is, it's sin.
After that, they don't really want to know what the problem is. But the problem is sin, and that's your problem today. Because your sins are taking you down to hell. That's what the Word of God says. People are going out into eternity.
Many have gone out even since we started this little part of the meeting. Where are they? If you were the next one to go, where would you be? The Word of God is very, very clear, it's heaven or hell for all eternity.
There's no other place, it doesn't matter what people say. And you need to have your sins forgiven. Some will tell you that eventually everybody will end up saved, even Satan himself, they'll tell you.
Don't you believe it? The Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross so your sins could be forgiven, and so that remission of sins could be preached. And in this book, it says it began in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.
So there is salvation for you tonight. There's remission. That just means your sins can be forgiven, your sins can be put away, and if your sins are dragging you down to hell, to be in the lake of fire for all eternity.
Surely you can understand this, if your sins are forgiven, then there's nothing that will keep you out of heaven. A boy in Sunday school, we used to sing, there is a city bright, close are its gates to sin.
Not that the fileth, not that the fileth shall ever enter in. Not one sin will enter into heaven. Only one sin put Adam and Eve away from the garden of Eden, from the presence of God. Just one sin. One sin makes you a sinner.
And the writer here, Luke, he's saying, this is what you need. You need to have the sins forgiven. And this is why we have this man, John the Baptist, he's standing fearlessly. And the message is just the same today.
You need to have your sins forgiven. Do your sins bother you? They didn't bother the people before the flood, before God came in and judgment. They just went ahead with all the thoughts and evil intentions of their heart, it was evil continually.
Just went on their own way. Oh, nothing has happened before now, but nothing's going to happen. Don't you believe it? God is coming in and judgment. And while we are not looking for signs, we're looking for the Savior.
But we can't help but seeing signs around us in the world. Lawlessness prevails on every hand, and it's not going to get any better. We're living in the last days. Sin abounds. But then what else do we have here?
Well, he said, you know, when you give the knowledge of salvation, it's through the tender mercy of our God. What a lovely expression. The tender mercy of our God. That's really the motivation for preaching.
That's why we're here and why we preach the gospel, because it's a tender mercies of God. We have appreciated those ourselves. None of us deserve God's salvation. None of us could earn it. We could do absolutely nothing.
And yet God is compassionate. And he let us hear the gospel. We heard this afternoon that there are many that never ever heard the name of the Lord Jesus. I heard it from I was a little boy, from I was born, I suppose, almost.
We heard the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the savior of sinners. And after a while, you know, when you grow older, like some of you young men here and boys, you grow older and you're bound to know that you're sinning.
Maybe you think that God's tender mercies are going to last forever. That's what they thought maybe during the flood. But the flood came. Suddenly the flood came and the door was shut. No more opportunity.
There were lots of different kinds of people in the world at the time of the flood. Some likely were, well, they knew a little bit about the things of God. It was passed down from generation to generation, only about three generations from Adam to the flood.
Some people were near the ark, almost at the door. Maybe you think you're not too far away because you're brought up in a Christian home. Others were thousands of miles away likely. But what difference did it make when the door was shut?
Some were shut in. Thank God for those of us who are shut in as far as salvation is concerned. But there were some that were shut out for eternity. How is it for you this afternoon? If the door were to shut, it could shut through death.
I know you're young and you maybe think you're going to live for a long time. You might, but you might not. But the Lord could come at any moment. Not one prophecy that has to be fulfilled before he comes.
So now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. It's offered to you freely tonight or today, this afternoon. You can have it. The responsibility is yours. I have a responsibility. Every gospel preacher has a responsibility.
We sow the good seed of the Word of God. That's all we can do. Doesn't matter what ground it's going to land on. That's not our responsibility. We sow the good seed. You say, what's the good seed of the Word of God?
Well, the Lord Jesus told us what it was. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die at a bite of the loam, but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. It's the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
We've been hearing that in the ministry. That's the seed that we're sowing. That's our responsibility. But your responsibility is to receive the good seed into a good and an honest heart. There's somebody here that really wants God's salvation.
We can tell you on the authority of God's Word, you can have it right now. The wonderful thing, to crown this conference in the salvation of precious souls. This could be your day for eternity. That would make your eternity forever.
And it's all because of the tender mercies, the compassions, the bowels of mercies is the Word. It was looked at as a seed of mercy. And we're here because we have compassion on you as well. God had compassion on us.
We didn't deserve it. I deserved to just be let go the way I was going and to be lost for all eternity. But God in his grace dealt with me, showed me that life is empty without Christ. I was trying to get along in the world.
I thought I was doing okay. Had a fairly decent job and got invited to all the parties down the ships that come into Detroit Harbor. And I thought, this is a life for an Irishman. Not going to go into details because I'm ashamed of the things that I went in for.
But thank God there was a day when God dealt with me. Has God been dealing with you? Have you been thinking at all about salvation today? I can tell you if you have been, it wasn't Satan that put that thought in your mind.
That was the Holy Spirit of God that we were hearing about. Putting thoughts in your mind, thoughts of eternity. Maybe a little verse that you heard. Maybe you're thinking about someone that you know that has gone out into eternity.
Out of Christ without a savior, oh, can it, can it be? Is there someone here who's going to miss God's salvation? Because you know, it says here that the day spring on from on high has visited us. That's visitation.
And I know Joseph, a way down in the land of Egypt, you know, he, he said to the children of his brethren, he says, God will surely visit you. And you'll carry my bones up hence. And God was going to visit them to give them deliverance out of slavery.
God visited Israel later in the person of his son. But I was thinking as well, you know, there are times of visitation for sinners. Maybe this is your time of visitation when God is dealing with you and you can see you need God's salvation.
Don't put it off. There'll never be a greater time or a better time to get God's salvation. God visits his people. We have known ourselves in series of gospel meetings, times there were real times of visitation when souls were saved and there was some God was dealing with them and they put it off one time and they never even had another thought of salvation.
Didn't want to go in for salvation as well. But it says here, God visited. He visited us in the person of his son, the light of the world. And it says here, to give light to them that sit in darkness.
That's what the gospel message is about, to give you a light, to enlighten you. You know, when Paul wrote to the Ephesians, we've heard that from our brother. And he said that the eyes of your heart or the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know.
He had taught them some beautiful truths that we've heard about, but he couldn't make them really get a grip of the truth. So he prayed that the spirit of God would enlighten them, would show them that to be able to really grasp and enjoy these things.
It's the same in the gospel. We can't enlighten a person. We can preach the gospel to the best of our ability, but it takes God to enlighten them. And here the Lord Jesus came the day spring on from on high to lighten them that sit in darkness.
That's where you're sitting today, sitting in darkness. The four leprous men outside the city of Samaria, they said, if we sit here, we perish. Are you content just to sit on and do absolutely nothing?
As far as God's salvation is concerned, the work is finished or the responsibility of yours is to accept what God has done for you through his son. My what compassion we think of the price of the price that was involved.
Your position is a place of darkness. The Lord Jesus, when he went into the northern part of the kingdom, he used these very, these very expressions were used. To them, the sit in the region of the shadow of death is a great light scent living in the shadow of death.
Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. We heard that on Friday night. Today, we heard about sitting under a shadow with great delight. You know, the shadow of death, usually we look at it, a person that's near the end.
But really, you know, death's casting its shadow over each one of us. And sometimes when I read Psalm 23, I, well, we link it, we always link it with twenty-two and twenty-four. And I thought, you know, there you have the cross and Psalm twenty-two and the next time it's right in its shadow.
The shadow of death. But what about the shadow of his death? That's what we need to be thinking about. The death of the Lord Jesus Christ in a place of darkness, a place of death. People say you're still in the land of the living.
I say I'm still in the land of the dead. That's what characterizes this place. You drive around the beautiful countryside here in Vermont, excuse me, we're in Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, I was thinking of colors.
And, you know, you drive around and then the next thing you see is a cemetery. Sad, isn't it? Everything's so beautiful. And then the next thing you're reminded of death. Well, I hope you're reminded of death as well.
And they sat right in the shadow of death. That was a place of danger where the enemy would come in invariably from the north into the land of Israel. And you're sitting in danger. How long are you going to sit in danger?
How many more opportunities are you going to have? Maybe none. Graves come in all sizes. So he says to guide our feet in the way of peace. That's direction. Your position is dangerous and in the way of death.
But the gospel preacher is to give you direction. And the direction that we would point to you this afternoon is to Christ himself. There's no other savior. Neither is there salvation in any other. There's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
It's an absolute necessity. And it's in this wonderful person that loved us so much. He went to the cross at Calvary. My, when you think of the Bible reading this morning and think of the Lord Jesus and the steps that he took downward.
And on the cross, he could see the darkness, the clouds were gathering and others couldn't see them. And eventually going to be all alone, bearing the wrath and the judgment of God. In love to your soul, does it mean anything to you today?
That there's one that loves you unto death. When we love someone, it's because they respond to our love or there's something lovable about them. But there's absolutely nothing lovable about any of us.
And the Lord Jesus, I often think when we're sitting to remember the Lord, he knew every sin that I ever was going to commit. And yet he still loved me. And he still went to Calvary. How about it for you today?
Did you know there's one who loves you? I'm sure there's not one person here that thinks there's no one that loves them. But even if there were, we can tell you on the authority of the word of God, there's one who loved you.
And he proved that love, love's an action word. And he proved it by going to the cross, bearing the wrath and the judgment of God that was due to us, that was due to you. And love to your soul so that you could be heading for heaven.
Right this very day, before you even have your lunch or whatever, supper or whatever we call it, before you ever have it, you could leave the door there, leave the room on the way to heaven. The responsibility is yours.
What's it going to be? Only you can answer God. Are you going to receive a son, the one that loved you so much? Are you going to reject him? What does he mean to you? Well, I'll tell you, for those of us who are saved, he means everything.
Ten thousand charms around him shine. But best of all, I know he's mine. Do you know? Can you say I am my beloved's? My beloved is mine. He's a good shepherd. I come out for the lost sheep and he found me.
And I can say we have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did write Jesus. What a wonderful thing to know him, the savior. May the Lord help you to see your great need right now in this meeting and to see that the Lord Jesus Christ has met that need.
Trust him today. You'll be saved for all eternity. But remember, the alternative is a blackness of darkness forever, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Be wise this afternoon. Trust Christ for his name's sake.