Audio Messages:
Pastor Wade Burleson

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Who Is This Christ of Christmas?
He Is Our Rock
"Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength." Isaiah 26:4 (KJV)

Christ1.mp3 (12.2 MB )

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Our text ends with the phrase "the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength" (Isaish 26:4). In the Hebrew the words 'everlasting strength' are literally 'Rock of Ages.' You can do nothing better than to trust in the Lord forever for He is the Rock of Ages. It is this phrase which inspired Augustus Toplady to write his famous hymn. There is power and sagacity in the simile of Christ as our rock, but it should be noted first of all that he is the 'Rock of Ages' or our 'everlasting' rock. A writer once described the many ancient buildings of Oxford University as 'leprous with age,' meaning they were crumbling away. But the Lord our Rock is immutable by nature and unchanged by age. This means He forever is:

1. A Rock In Whom We Find Deliverance . . .
   There is no escape from our enemies (sin, the world, and the flesh), but in Christ. "The Lord is my rock and my fortress" (Psalm 18:2). No evil can harm the soul that finds his shelter in this Mighty Fortress of a Rock. Martin Luther said, "Though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God has willed, his strength through us provided." One may ask 'but how does He provide it?'
   1. By brining us to the end of self reliance . . .
      "Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I" (Psalm 61:2). The first step in one's deliverance is to recognize that it will not come without this 'higher' power.
   2. By causing us to rest in His power over us . . .
      " (He is) the shadow of a great rock in a weary land" (Isaiah 32:2). To pilgrims in ancient days, a high and strong rock provided much needed protection from the burning sun. At night it became a place of refuge with backs against it and fire at the feet to protect people from the wild animals. He's my 'strong' rock.
2. A Rock Upon Whom We May Depend . . .
   This dependence is not only His everlasting faithfulness, but His perfections as well. "He is our Rock, his work is perfect . . . just and right is he" (Deuteronomy 32:4). Because He is perfect, just and righteous, we can trust that which He has provided for us. His salvation is sufficient. His grace is abundant. He alone is the source of our hope. We cannot believe that our faithfulness, our goodness, or our righteousness is the basis for God's favor or blessing. He remains faithful when we are unfaithful.
3. A Rock From Whom We May Drink . . .
   This life saps one's strength. The journey of a pilgrim is fraught with feeble frailties. It is not dissimilar to the journey of Israel when they left Egypt for Canaan. They were afraid, tired, thirsty, and in desperate need of refreshment. The Bible says that "Moses struck the rock . . . (and) they drank of the rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ" (I Corinthians 10:4). Some commentators suggest that the water supplied by the rock that was struck flowed on following the people all through their years of wandering. In your desert times of life, Christ alone will satisfy your inner thirst. This Christmas, remember that the Christ we worship is truly the "Rock of Ages."