Nobody Can Be Neutral

There certainly is no problem in dealing with the Christmas theme as it relates to the doctrine of Satan. In fact, there's an aspect of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ that we often forget. Now, what we're going to say tonight is summarized in three very simple statements. One, the birth of Jesus Christ was a declaration of peace. We read that tonight, didn't we? "Peace on earth, goodwill toward men."

Secondly, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ was a declaration of war. Now, that may be new to you, and so we'll take a look at that. Thirdly, inasmuch as the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ was a declaration of peace and a declaration of war, nobody can be neutral. That's all we're saying tonight.

Now, we'll turn to the word of God. Luke 2. It was read for us tonight. Many of you know it by heart. Luke 2. The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ was a declaration of peace.

I'm in the process of completing, with the Lord's help, a series of Bible study books that we started back in 1972, the Be series. We started with 1 John and then I think we went to Philippians, and then I think Galatians. And now we're finishing the entire New Testament with two volumes on Luke. It's a tremendous book written by a doctor.

Dr. Luke used to travel with the Apostle Paul. That's interesting. Paul could perform miracles and heal people, but he had a doctor traveling with him. My wife and I were privileged to minister to missionaries and national pastors in Africa 10 years ago, and we had a doctor traveling with us, the chairman of our foreign missions board from the Moody Church. Dr. John Elsen and his wife traveled with us. And there were a couple of days during that trip I was glad I had a doctor with me.

Dr. Luke wrote the gospel of Luke. And that's why, in the gospel of Luke, you find so many women, children, needy people, widows. And oddly enough, so much joy. The happiest of the four Gospels is the Gospel of Luke. I think doctors, for the most part, have a good sense of humor. They could never have made it through their medical studies without a good sense of humor.

Now, when the story begins in Luke 1, you find a frightened priest, and the angel says, "Don't be afraid." Then the angel comes to Mary, and she's frightened. And he says to her, "Don't be afraid." That's the Christmas message, isn't it? "Don't be afraid."

Then they come to the shepherds. By the way, shepherds were not highly esteemed in Israel. No, no little Jewish boy said, "I can hardly wait to grow up and be a shepherd." They were despised. Shepherds were not permitted to bear witness in court. Shepherds were considered unclean. They were out there working with animals, living and dead. They were unable to attend the feasts. Couldn't go to the synagogue, to the temple. And yet it was to rejected, despised people the message came. And it was a message of peace.

"Glory to God in the highest." The coming of Jesus Christ involves the glory of God. Because where you have the glory of God, you will have the peace of God. You see, one reason there's not much peace today is because there's not much glory. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men." Luke 2:14. The birth of Jesus Christ was a declaration of peace.

Now with that in mind, turn to the other passage that we read. Now, you had no idea what I was going to preach from tonight, and yet the Spirit of God has put it all together. He always does. Isaiah 9. Isaiah 9:6, so many of us could quote this verse. We know it from Handel's Messiah, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given."

Let's stop right there. "A child is born," that's the humanity of the Lord Jesus. "A son is given," that's the deity of our Lord Jesus. Isaiah is saying this baby who comes with a declaration of peace is a very special baby. There's never been one like him before.

You see when you read your Bible, you find people got into this world really only four different ways. Adam was made out of the clay. That's how he got here. He was made without a man or without a woman. God made him directly. Eve was made having a man, but not the woman. She was made from Adam's life.

Cain and Abel and Seth and the whole crowd ever since, including all of us here tonight, came through a man and a woman, had two parents. But our Lord Jesus when he came into this world had the woman, but not the man. He was born of the virgin, a miracle. Why? Because he existed before his mother.

You see last Monday morning at 8:30, we had our sixth grandchild. And we knew it was going to be a boy and we knew what his name was going to be and when he was going to be born with one of those arrangements. And so Kyle came into this world weighing 10 pounds, 3 and 1/2 ounces. and there he is. And he has a father and a mother and it's all listed down there. But he's brand new. So were you when you were born.

When John DeBrine was born, his father said, "He's going to be a football player." This is the end. Actually, he was born twins. And they said, "Drown the ugly one." That's how he learned how to swim.

Now, when our Lord came into this world, God was coming into the world. It is such a marvel, you cannot explain it or comprehend it. He existed before the worlds were made, and yet he came as a little baby. "Unto us a child is born," that's his humanity. "Unto us a son is given," that's his deity. And we have here a miracle baby beyond comprehension. He grew up. He grew in wisdom and stature. He grew in favor with God and men.

The Gospel of John so beautifully weaves together his humanity and his deity. John wrote that book to prove that he is the he is God. But throughout the Gospel of John, you see his humanity. He He gets tired. He's thirsty. He's hungry. He sleeps. He weeps. He dies. God doesn't die, but God in the flesh does. The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ at Bethlehem was a declaration of peace.

Now his nature is described here in Isaiah 9:6, the child is born, humanity, the son is given, divinity. And the need that he came to fulfill ,the need that he came to meet, is given in the next phrase, "The government shall be upon his shoulder." What's wrong with this world? No government. No government. There was a time when man was obedient to God, and there was government. And then man rebelled against God and ran away and hid. And ever since then, it's been deteriorating.

So he came to restore the government of God in the lives of people. That's grace. For in order to restore the government of God, you need the grace of God. In order to have the grace of God, somebody has to pay a price.

By the way, I'm a little disturbed by some of the modern songs that tell us were saved by God's love. Nobody was ever saved by God's love. We're saved by God's grace. That's love that pays a price. God in His mercy does not give me what I do deserve, and God in His grace gives me what I don't deserve. But somebody had to pay the price.

Then he gives us his names. Thinking up a name for the baby is always interesting. Here is his declaration of peace. He says, "If you will receive me as your savior, if you will trust me, if the government of your life is on my shoulder, here's what you'll have."

Now to us, names don't convey very much. My first name, Warren, is a place where rabbits live. My middle name, Wendell, I'm named after Wendell P Loveless, who went home to be with the Lord last year, dear man. He was a great blessing and help to our family.

Wendell means a wanderer, which is partially true because I don't have any sense of direction. This is one reason why my wife travels with me. I'd never find the place if she were not there to say, "Left, right, straight." But with the Lord Jesus, names mean something. Every name that he wears is a blessing that he shares with you.

Ah you say, "I want the government of my life on his shoulder. What does that mean?" Well, his name will be called Wonderful. That takes care of the dullness of life. We were in New York City for a few days before coming here. I preached at Calvary Baptist Church and we did a little research into some other areas while we were there.

It's more fun to stand on the street corner in that great city, and it is a great city, and look at people. Why pay $5 to go to the zoo? Just look at people. Do you know what you see on so many faces? Dullness. Life is dull. And that's why they're living on substitutes.

You can go to the drugstore and buy sleep. You can't buy peace. You can go down to the theater and buy entertainment. You can't buy joy. And there they are, dull, looking for some new thrill, some new event to attend, some new hero to follow, some new star to admire.

Well you when you know Jesus Christ, and he has the government of your life on his shoulder, things become wonderful. You know what wonderful means? Full of wonder. You find yourself saying, "Hey, why'd that happen to me? How come this happened?"

Jesus said, "Become like little children." What does that mean? Little children have a sense of wonder. We watch our grandchildren and they can they can stand and stare at a caterpillar. I mean to me it's just an upholstered worm. To them to them it is something wonderful.

There's four fellas over there in a boat. They've been fishing all night and they caught nothing and they're getting their nets ready to go back out again. If I'd fished all night and caught nothing, I'd be selling my boat. And they had an everyday kind of a life, up early, out late, catch fish, clean fish, sell fish.

And then Jesus showed up and said, "Let me have the boat for a while. Now let me have the nets for a while. Now I want you for good." And life became wonderful. Peter, and Andrew, and James, and John would have died forgotten fishermen in Capernaum except for one thing: they met Jesus and everything became wonderful.

The dullness of life. If life is dull for you, put the government of your life on his shoulders and life will become wonderful. A lot of folks don't believe that. They just endure their Christian life. They look like cheerleaders for an accident. It's no wonder unsaved people don't want what we offer. They don't believe it's real. What's so wonderful about your Christian life? His name shall be called Wonderful. That takes care of the dullness of life.

Counselor, that takes care of the decisions of life. I need a counselor. Oh, the older I get, the more decisions I have to make, and the more decisions I have to make, the more people they affect. Yeah, when I was a teenager, I'd make decisions that would affect my mother, my father, possibly, if they were at all concerned, my two brothers and my sister. Today I make decisions, a lot of people watch. Wouldn't you hate to make the wrong decisions?

You see, life is built on character. Character is built on decisions. We are what we are because of the decisions we make. And decisions are based on values. What is important to you determines how you decide, and how you decide determines what you become. And the prophet says when Jesus Christ has the government of your life on his shoulder, and you let him run things, he's the counselor. That takes care of the decisions of life. He gives you the wisdom that you need when you need it to make decisions.

Sometimes it's rough. Sometimes we've wrestled and prayed and talked, sometimes into the late hours of the night, talking, and yet every time we've had to make decisions, the Lord has always shown us what to do. Wonderful, that takes care of the dullness of life. Counselor, that takes care of the decisions of life.

Mighty God, that takes care of the demands of life. Life is demanding, and the older I get, the tireder I get. Last year, I stopped taking naps. Now, the naps take me. I heard about a preacher who dreamed he was preaching, and woke up and found out that he was. Someday, that's going to happen to me.

The demands of life. You know, you start off, and we've been married 35 years now. That's nothing compared to some of you. But, you start off, and you have the idea that a certain stage is going to get easier. Remember that? And it doesn't. And then the kids start marrying off. You know, that's good. You know, we're not losing a daughter, we're gaining a telephone, praise God, you know. And then the nest is empty and that's going to be easier, but it's not. There are always demands.

I was just drifting off to sleep one night. I like that stage. I really do. When you're just lying there in bed, and you don't even feel the mattress, you're just sort of, some of you are there now, I think. I was just at that salubrious stage in my sleeping, and the phone rang. Now, when you're on the radio, like we are, I'm sure John DeBrine has the same experience, people call you. So I picked up the phone, and I said, "Wiersbes." And this fellow said, "I'm so-and-so, from such-and-such, and I want to talk to you. Do you have time?" I said, "Yes."

Now, just that day, just that day, I'd been chatting with the boy next door, and the phone had rung several times, and I said, "You know, I'm seriously thinking of just getting an unlisted number. I've got a number at the office, but just getting an unlisted number so I have some privacy at home."

That night, this man called. He was contemplating suicide. And by the grace of God, we were able to help him. And As I hung the phone up, I thought to myself, "Thank God I don't have an unlisted number. Thank God he thought enough of me and my ministry to say, 'I want to call him.'" And I was able to tell him about the mighty God who takes care of the demands of life.

Life is not easy. If life is easy for you, then you're making it hard for somebody else. Now you just think that through. I have a pastor friend, some of you know him, he's a beloved friend of mine, he prays every morning, "Dear Lord, help me today not to add to anybody's burdens." Boy, that's a good prayer. The Mighty God, the demands of life, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And it works.

His name shall be called Wonderful, that's the dullness of life; Counselor, the decisions of life; The Mighty God, the demands of life; The Everlasting Father, the dimensions of life. What a strange name for the Son, The Everlasting Father. Why do you call the Son the Father? We have the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is good Jewish theology.

Whenever a Jew wants to talk about the origin of something, it's the Father. The Father of Lights, where'd light come from? God, He's the Father of Lights, the origin of lights. Where'd lies come from? The devil, the father of lies. Here we have the Father of Eternity, Jesus Christ, the Father of Eternity. He created time.

More fun to walk down the street, any street almost, in Manhattan, and about every 30 feet they want to sell you a watch. I've got one, I paid $20 for it. It'll probably last me 6 more years, then I'll have to throw it away. And they were selling these expensive-looking watches. And I don't want another watch. People call me a two-timer, so I'm I'm not going to buy it.

The Everlasting Father, The Father of Eternity, the one who holds eternity. He is in charge of time and eternity. He's the one who gives dimensions to our lives.

Now hear me, if you're lost tonight, there there may be in here tonight somebody who's never been born again, I want you to know something, my heart goes out to you, because you live by boundaries, we live by horizons.

Now, people think just the opposite, they say, "Oh, I'm lost. I'm not a Christian. You Christians, you can't do this. You can't go here. You can't have that. I'm free." No, you're not, you're in bondage. "I can do what I want to do." No, you can't. You are so hemmed in by the restrictions of sin.

The narrowest thing in the world is sin. The dullest thing in the world is sin. Well, you say, "How can you say sin is dull when so many people enjoy it?" That's why they keep on trying harder, it gets duller and duller. You know, the advertising says, "It satisfies." If it did, they'd quit.

Sin takes a person's life and makes it narrower, and narrower, and narrower, until he wakes up all alone in eternal hell. And I hear that smart aleck crowd saying, "Well, I don't mind if I go to hell. I'll have lots of company." I got news for you, there is no company in hell. It's loneliness, restriction.

Heaven's a place of openness and growth, and and and learning more, and doing more, a whole universe at our disposal and no restrictions. I thought I was living, then I got saved. I discovered I'd been dying. And God just made everything bigger and bigger and the horizons get broader and broader. He is the one who gives dimensions to your life.

Christian young person, if you want your life to have real dimensions, I mean you want to see growth, and excitement, and horizons, let the government be on His shoulder. Let Him run your life.

The Prince of Peace, ah, that takes care of the distresses of life. Peace. That's where we started. The birth of Jesus is a declaration of peace. But the birth of Jesus was also a declaration of war. I'm going to read one of his forgotten parables, make a couple of applications, and away we go. Luke 11.

The birth of Jesus is a declaration of war. Our Lord cast out a demon and the enemies said, "Ah, he does that by the power of the devil," Luke 11:15. And our Lord showed the irrationality of that argument in Luke 11:17. "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and a house divided against a house falls."

Now Lincoln didn't say that originally. Jesus did. Lincoln borrowed it. "If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?" Oh, Satan has a kingdom. My Lord said so.

Luke 11:20, "But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." Oh, here we have two kingdoms now. There's a kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God. That's conflict. Where'd that start? Back in Genesis 3. God declared war not on Eve, not on Adam, but on Satan. And God said that the seed of the woman would one day defeat the serpent. He declared war. Now the entire Old Testament is the story of the coming of the Conqueror.

Look at it. "When a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are in peace." That's the devil. The devil's the strong man. He's fully armed. Boy, he's got some weapons. Lies, pride, he's got them. He's guarding his own palace. Everything is at peace. "But when a stronger than he comes upon him," oh that's Jesus. This is the Lord Jesus invading Satan's territory. At his birth, he invaded Satan's territory.

Now the devil tried to keep him from coming. God said the seed of the woman is going to come and defeat the serpent. "Aha," says Satan, "I know one thing about this coming redeemer, he's going to be a man. Going to be a human being, not an angel. But what man?" And God chose Abraham. Satan said, "Oh, going to be a Jew. I'll keep my eye on the Jewish people."

Jacob had 12 sons. Which one of those sons? Well, the prophecy was given. It'll be Judah. "The scepter shall not depart from Judah." "Okay, I'm keeping my eyes on Judah. But there are a lot of families in Judah." And then God said, "David, it's going to be through you." "Oh, keeping my eye on David's family."

You ever wonder why David had so much trouble? Part of it was because David reaped what he sowed. Part of it was because the devil hated his family. The devil hated the Jews and still does. And would do everything he could to destroy. David sets up the kingdom. Solomon inherits it and wrecks it. Began to worship idols.

Do you want to know why God was so hard on the Jews in the Old Testament when they started fooling around with idolatry? It was because by fooling around with idolatry, they were defiling the nation and that could be used by the devil to hinder in the coming of the Savior.

He came, he invaded Satan's territory, and in his birth, he invaded Satan's territory. In his death, burial, and resurrection, he completely defeated Satan, made a show of him openly. Look what he did. "He overcomes him." "He takes from him all his armor." Satan has been stripped.

Now, Ephesians 6 talks about the armor of God. You ever thought about the armor of Satan? Jesus Christ has completely stripped Satan of his weapons and his defenses. We don't fight for victory. We fight from victory. "He takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils."

Every time somebody gets saved, some of Satan's spoils are being claimed by the Savior. You see, if you're not a Christian, you're just a part of Satan's spoils. If you're a Christian, you become one of God's children.

Now, quickly. His birth was a declaration of peace. His birth was a declaration of war. Therefore, there can be no neutrality. Notice Luke 11:23: "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters." You say, "I'm going to be neutral." He says, "Here's what'll happen to you if you're neutral."

"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man," now here's the fellow, he's neutral now. God doesn't live in him, the devil doesn't live, he's neutral. "He goes through dry places seeking rest, and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order, but empty! Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first."

Neutrality is dangerous. Jesus said you can't do it. "No man can serve two masters," but one master has to be served. His birth was a declaration of peace. Have you experienced his peace? Have you discovered that life is wonderful in Christ? His birth is a declaration of war. You can't be neutral. You've got to take your stand.

Luke starts with peace on Earth, but Luke does not end with peace on Earth. Did you know that? Uh-uh. No. Luke 19:38, our last reference: "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Now, we've met "glory in the highest" before. "Glory to God in the highest and peace on Earth."

Now he says, "No, no, there's no peace on Earth." Uh-uh. It's peace in heaven. You know why? They didn't want him on Earth. "We will not have this man to reign over us. We have no king but Caesar. Away with him! Crucify him!" And so now God says, "Well, there's no peace on Earth, but there's peace in heaven. And there's peace in the hearts of those who have heaven's peace."

I don't know who the evangelist was. It may have been R. A. Torrey. Some flippant young man came up to him and said, "I want to make my peace with God." Now, you meet people like that. And the evangelist said, "Too late." Kind of startled the smart aleck. "Well," he said, "you mean I cannot make my peace with God?" He said, "Too late." Then he got serious, and he said, "You mean I'm lost forever?" He said, "I didn't say that." He just said, "It's too late for you to make your peace with God. It's already been made, if you'll accept it."

There is no peace on Earth, and there won't be until the Prince of Peace reigns. But thank God there's peace in heaven. And thank God the peace of God can be ours through our Lord Jesus Christ. "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have" what? "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," whose name is Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Is the government of your life on his shoulders? Or are you trying to run things your own way? "Take my yoke upon you, and you shall find rest unto your soul." Peace in heaven.

Father, we know not the hearts of this congregation, but you do. And so our prayer is, Father, please apply the word to hearts, and may there be those who will find true peace, true peace, how wonderful life can be when Jesus is Savior and Lord. May it be so, we ask with thanksgiving through Christ our Lord. Amen.