An Unbreakable Atonement

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Welcome (Sam Garcia)

Scripture Reading (Luke 2:1-7)

Prayer of Praise (the incarnation), Holly Boutot

The First Noel

What Child is This?

Pastoral Prayer (Bubba Jones)

SERMON

Invite kids on the stage and ask:

Who got to open presents?

Who is ready to go home and play with them?

What's something you got?

Give presents to kids—don’t open them yet, let mom and dad guard them for you!

What would happen to your presents if you disobey mommy and daddy?

I heard recently about a family who years ago punished their son for bad behavior by having him open all his presents on Christmas and then taking them all back except for one.

The truth is, some of you may fear that God will do that with them!

Sure, He put a lot of time into the gift of salvation. He planned it, purchased it, even wrapped it and put a bow on it by giving us the Scriptures that record it for us.

But we really are pretty rotten sometimes! Even as Christians! Will the day come when God finally and forever gets fed up, and takes the gift of salvation away from us?

What the Father planned, the Son purchased, and Spirit applied will never be taken away.

Turn to John 10:24

This story actually takes place in winter during the Feast of Dedication (aka Hanukkah)

Jesus is near the temple to celebrate the festival, when some Jews gather around Him and ask Him a question

John 10:24-30—So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

As we conclude our study of the atonement this Christmas morning, I want to show you that what God has done for us in Jesus is unbreakable.

Two Truths:

1) What THE SHEEP Will Do...

Notice three characteristics that are true of Jesus’ true sheep...

A) Keep BELIEVING in Jesus

Notice in vv. 25-26 there’s a contrast between Jesus’ sheep, and the people confronting Him. They don’t believe. Why not? Because they’re not His sheep.

So Jesus’ sheep keep believing

How do I know if I’m a sheep?

Do you believe in Jesus? Are you trusting that He lived a sinless life, died a sinner’s death in your place, and rose from the dead?

Not “are you trusting that perfectly?” Not “are you trusting without any mixture of doubt”? But are you trusting truly?

If so, you’re a sheep!!!

Last week I said belief is like skating on ice. Whether you skate like an Olympian or like a baby learning how to walk you’re still skating! And whether your belief is strong and bold or weak and fumbling, you’re still believing!!!

B) Keep HEARING from Jesus

27a—My sheep hear My voice...

Jesus is not referring to the act of physically hearing His human voice. If so, than the crowd He’s talking to would be His sheep! And none of us would be His true sheep!

He’s referring to the act of hearing His Word with faith!

How do I know if I’m a sheep?

Do you hear God’s Word and believe it?

Not “are you hearing it enough”? But, are you hearing?

One of the key ways we hear is by gathering weekly to hear God’s Word preached. This is not to undermine the importance of daily time in God’s Word (you should do that too!) but remember that most Christians throughout the world and throughout church history couldn’t have had daily Bible reading if they wanted to. Many couldn’t read and many more didn’t have access to a Bible in their language! But they did have the church!

Do you persevere with God’s people?

C) Keep FOLLOWING after Jesus

27b—…and I know them, and they follow Me

Jesus’ sheep really follow Him!

How do I know if I’m a sheep?

Are you following Jesus? Not “are you doing it perfectly”? But truly?

When preaching/Scripture/others point out places where you aren’t, what do you do? Do you dig your heels in, or do you confess?

Perseverance of the saints vs. “once saved always saved”

Guy in Tupelo—joint in one hand, beer in the other, live-in girlfriend under his arm— “I’m a Christian!”

Philippians 2:12-13—Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

What the Father planned, the Son purchased, and Spirit applied will never be taken away. Jesus’ sheep WILL keep believing, keep hearing, and keep following Jesus.

As important as these three things are, it is far more important for our assurance to focus on what God will do.

In his book Assured, Greg Gilbert writes this about the assurance of salvation—“If we want to increase or build our sense of confidence in our own salvation, the way to do that is to press into our faith and trust in the Triune God’s unbreakable promises in the gospel of Jesus Christ, not just to do more good deeds so we’ll be able to say, ‘Whew! Now I feel good about myself.” To do that would actually be to shift our faith, our confidence, and our reliance from Jesus to self.” [1]

2) What GOD Will Do...

Notice four things God will do for His sheep...

A) He CALLS His Sheep

27a—My sheep hear My voice...

Not the general call that goes out to everybody, but the effectual call. The one that overcomes our resistance to the gospel!

Unbeliever: is He calling you today?

Christian: never get over the fact that Jesus called you to Himself!

B) He KNOWS His Sheep

27b—…and I know them...

If you want to get into the White House, it’s not enough to say “I know Joe Biden.” He needs to know you!

Christian: He knew you before the foundation of the world!

C) He RESCUES His Sheep

28a—I give them eternal life, and they will never perish,...

Remember we’re dead, so Jesus has resurrected us and given us life eternal. It starts now with abundant life in Him, and it continues forever!

We deserve to perish, but grace!

But what if we mess it up? Can we really trust Jesus when He says “never perish”?

In his book Proof, Timothy Paul Jones tells about a discussion he had with his daughter about his dad, who was dying of brain cancer.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, Skylar?”

“What if Grandpa forgets about Jesus before he dies? Where will he go?

It was an understandable question. . . . Over the past week, she had watched [her grandpa] lose the names of children, grandchildren, and longtime acquaintances. What if the same lesions that were leaching at his awareness of family and friends and basic bodily functions misplaced his memories of Jesus as well?

Several seconds slipped by before [Timothy] could speak past the lump that had lodged in [his] throat.

“Skylar,” [he] finally said, “what matters most is not whether Grandpa remembers Jesus, but whether Jesus remembers him. God turned Grandpa’s heart to trust him many years ago, and Jesus will never forget him. No matter what, Jesus never forgets.” [2]

D) He GUARDS His Sheep

28b-30—...and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Jesus is grabbing onto you. The Father is grabbing onto you. And the two of them are One.

Greg Gilbert—“If God were to revoke his promises, he wouldn’t be revoking only his promises to you. He would be revoking his promises to his Son. If he failed somehow to keep his promise to preserve believers until the end and raise them up at the last day, he wouldn’t just be failing believers; he would be failing Jesus. And that will never happen!” [3]

God would have to deny Himself before He could let you go!

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!

Kids with presents—> did mom and dad guard them for you? Hold them up if you still have them

If your parents can guard those presents, how much MORE can God guard the gift He has given us in salvation?

What the Father planned, the Son purchased, and Spirit applied will never be taken away. The God who called you, knows you, and rescued you will guard you forever.

He Will Hold Me Fast

Benediction (Jude 24-25)