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Amen. I love the song Hark the Herald
Angel Sings because unfortunately, there's probably
more theology in that one song than there is in most church
services going on around our country today.
You have your Bibles. If you would turn to the Gospel
of Luke this morning, you're unfamiliar with the Word of God.
Find the New Testament and go Matthew, Mark, and then you will
find the Gospel of Luke. On finding the Gospel of Luke,
if you would turn to the second chapter, we're going to read
this portion of Scripture together.
You've already seen a glimpse of it through our Scripture
reading, but I'm going to read this section in its entirety and
then we're going to jump into what we have today.
Luke chapter 2, verse one. I'll give you a moment to get
there. Some people think this is an
awkward moment. I don't think so at all.
There's nothing that I love more than than to see God's people
and to hear God's people turning the pages of their Bibles.
Not just take someone's word for it, but to actually go back to
the Scriptures. And I'm thankful for all of you
who are committed to doing that in your life.
And so let's look at the Scripture together.
It says in chapter 2 of Luke's Gospel verse one in those days,
Caesar Augustus has issued issued a decree that a census
should be taken of the entire Roman world.
This was the first census that took place while Carinius was
governor of Syria and everyone went to his own town to
register. So Joseph also went up from the
town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to Bethlehem, the town of
David, because he belonged to the house in the line of David.
And he went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be
married to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
and she gave birth to her first born, a son, And she wrapped him
in claws and placed him in a Manger because there was no room
for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living
out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks.
At night an Angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory
of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified, but the
Angel said to them, do not be afraid.
I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the
people today in the town of David.
A Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord, and this
will be assigned to you. You will find a baby wrapped in
clothes and lying in a Manger. Suddenly a great company of the
heavenly hosts appeared with the Angel, praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the highest Gloria, in Excelsius Deo in the
Latin, as you just sang a moment ago, And on earth peace to men
on whom his favor rest. When the angels had left them
and gone into heaven, the shepherd said to one another,
Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who
was lying in the Manger. And when they had seen him, they
spread the word concerning what had been told them about this
child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherd said
to them. But Mary treasured up all these
things and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for
all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as
they had been told. They truly, as we sang a moment
ago, heard from the angels on high.
Verse 21 says on the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise
him, he was named Jesus, the name the Angel had given him
before he had been conceived. Let's pray together, Father, in
the name of Jesus. We thank you so much again for
the privilege and the honor of being able to open up Your word
in a language that we can read and understand.
But we thank you that you desire to speak to men so much that you
have provided such blessings for us.
Lord, thank you for allowing us to read it and reminding us the
truth surrounding the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord, as we examine his birth this morning, may we see the
greater lesson that he truly that baby there in this Manger
that we just read about. He truly lived a life and proved
to be exactly who this Angel said that he was, the Savior,
the Christ Lord. Let us examine the undeniable
evidence of His true identity to know that this baby in the
Manger truly was God Incarnate who came to save His people from
their sin. But I pray for the soul who's
not yet been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray today that you give this person clear understanding, the
depths of their sin, but also the depths of your love.
That you love your people so much that you sent your Son to
rescue them from the sin that holds them captive.
May they see that today, may they cling to Jesus Christ by
faith, repenting of sin as as their only hope for eternal
life. Would we love you?
We ask that everything be done in accordance with your will
today, and we pray these things in Christ's name, Amen.
The Angel that we sang about a moment ago there in verse 11 of
our text announces something very interesting about Jesus,
that baby there in that Manger. I wanted to read the full
account of this so that we kind of get an idea so that we can go
back and remember clearly this Christmas story, a story that
many of you would say. I've known this story since I
was a child. In fact, some of you had
traditions at one time where your family would join together
somewhere around the Christmas celebration and you would read
the story aloud for other people to hear it, for other people to
learn from it. You, as I've said, some of you
known it from childhood. There's a lot to this that I
want us to cover today that often we forget.
In verse 11, the Angel says today in the town of David, a
Savior has been born to you. And he says.
Unequivocally, he is Christ the Lord.
He doesn't say he might be or he could be, or it's looking like,
and giving pretty good indication that he is.
The Angel declares that he is Christ the Lord.
And so the account of the birth of Jesus and the claim that he
is Christ the Lord needs to be taken seriously.
But just like any claims, we would be fools if we just took
those claims at face value. Let's be honest, when we read
the Christmas story, we're reading a 2000 year old
manuscript that has been handed down and we're reading it in our
own language. Now perhaps, perhaps we could
find some error in this baby actually growing up and becoming
the Christ, the Savior of sinners.
And So what I want to do today is I want to not.
Take this angel's testimony at face value.
I know what you're going to say very quickly.
Well, pastor, we should, because it's right there in the Bible.
And you're right, but even things that we see in the Bible
are better suited to understand from other things in the Bible.
So I don't want to just take this one isolated incident
alone, bank everything on it. I want to know, and I pray that
you want to know that that baby, that we're all.
Celebrating this time of year actually is exactly who that
Angel said that he is. Because if he's not, you're not
only in trouble in this life, but you are in trouble for all
eternity. But if he is, we can declare
with great confidence. That we know the identity of
that baby in the Manger, and that he proved to be exactly who
he said that he was. And he came and he did exactly
what he came to do. And that in that we have hope,
not only in this life, but in the life to come.
So I want us to do our homework. If you would and uncover the
evidence of the identity of this baby that this Angel has
declared to be. Christ the Lord, what an amazing
claim. For years people had waited for
the Messiah, They had yearned for the Messiah, they had longed
for the Messiah, they had spoke of the Messiah and prophesied of
the Messiah. And this Angel says this is he.
But let's ask ourself, is he? Is this really him?
Or was this just another baby who happened to be born in a
Manger who grew up to really do nothing extraordinary?
I think that you will find today, as we uncover the
evidence that we can say in regard to what the Angel
proclaimed, that yes, overwhelmingly yes, this is
Jesus. The Christ, the Savior of
sinners. But I don't want you to then
just take my word for it, because I said I agree with the
Angel who said he's the Christ. I want us to take the word of
God today. And I want to do what many
people won't take the time to do, haven't taken the time to do
in the midst of all of the craziness of the season, I want
us to see, did this baby grow up to be exactly who this Angel
said? That He was.
Let's consider the season that is upon us.
Let's see Christ for who He really is.
I think it's seeing Christ for who he really is.
We will worship Him like we never have before.
We look today at. This scene, this drama that is
unfolding here in Luke chapter 2, a baby being born in a
Manger. What does that prove?
Nothing. I'm sure there were other babies
born on that same night. But as we.
Already know, or at least I hope you know.
And if you don't know, you'll know by the end of this.
This was no ordinary baby. There's something special about
this particular event. This baby was truly the Savior,
and I'll tell you why. First, I know this.
This baby was truly the Savior because of the nature of His
person. He was more than just a baby,
more than the other babies who were born that same evening.
Christ the Lord Jesus there in that Manger is truly and
literally God Incarnate. Matthew chapter one verse 22
says this. All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet.
I'm talking about the prophecy surrounding the birth of Christ.
Verse 23 the virgin will conceive and give birth to his
son and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with
us. Matthew because of his Jewish
heritage going back and he grabs Isaiah and he grabs the prophecy
of the Messiah from Isaiah and he says this Messiah will be
born of a virgin and he will be called Emmanuel.
Matthew says, which means so that we understand God with us
that. Jesus Christ truly is God
Incarnate who came to this earth, the image of the
invisible God, just as Paul has stated in his writings.
He came to this earth born of a virgin, born in a Manger, John
MacArthur, the late John MacArthur, he said.
This, he said, if we could. Condense all the truths of
Christmas into only three words. These would be the words God
with us. That is the very nature of
Christ spoken by Isaiah, confirmed by Matthew in his
account that this baby truly is God Incarnate.
We see his divine nature on display his entire life, his
entire ministry. We see the nature of His person
that yes, He was fully and truly man, but you make no mistake, He
was also fully and truly God all at the same time.
The theological word for that is there.
There is this hypostatic union and we can't get around that and
we can't get past the evidence that that Jesus proved that he
is exactly who this Angel in Luke chapter 2 verse 11 said
that he is. He's the exact person that in
Matthew chapter 1 verses 22 and 23 that Matthew testifies that
he and Isaiah recognized him as. God Incarnate, Emmanuel, God
with us. What's the evidence?
I think the evidence of the nature of His person is first of
all displayed by His works. Displayed by His works.
You think about the life of Christ.
He lived a perfectly sinless life.
It's when we think about His works.
Before we get to the great miracles that He did while He
was on this earth, let's talk about the miracle of the fact
that He never sinned. That he was perfect in all of
his ways. Did you know this?
It is impossible for mere man to be perfect in all of his.
Ways. How do I know this?
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
He is speaking in that text of all men, all men who were born
in their sin. But Jesus the Christ was not
born in His sin. He was born from the seed of God
that was placed there in the Virgin named Mary.
It led to His perfect and sinless life.
First Peter chapter 2, verse 22. Peter confirms this.
He says in verse 22 he talking about Jesus committed no sin and
no deceit was found in his mouth.
There was nothing wicked in him. There was nothing vile in him.
He was truly perfect and sinless displaying.
That work in every area of his life, what he did, and as
declared there by Peter, even what he said, there was no
wickedness, not even in his mouth.
None of us could ever make that claim because perhaps you live a
pretty good life. But though you know you might
live a pretty good life, you know what your mouth reveals,
oftentimes the truth, doesn't it?
And you can't make the claim, as has been made about Christ, that
there was no wickedness or deceit found in your mouth,
because you know the truth. But Christ proves He's sinless
by those things. First John chapter 3 verse 5.
John says this, but you know that He appeared so that He
might take away our sins, and in Him is no sin.
Now we just think about that for a.
Second, there's no sin nature handed down to him from Adam.
He came from the Father on high, and He came to this earth as God
Incarnate, sinless and perfect. Living that perfectly sinless
life to prove it, displaying that by His words He truly was
Emmanuel, God with us, the sinless, holy, perfect and
righteous. 1 Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15.
The writer of Hebrews says, for we do not have a high priest who
is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who
has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet He did not
sin. Oh, there's something special
about this baby that we see there in Luke chapter 2 that the
Angel says is the Messiah. What is special about him is
this. He is the only man because He
was truly the God man. He is the only man who has ever
walked through this earth in sinless perfection and in doing
so He reveals His very nature of holy.
Secondly, we see this looking at the nature of His person that
was displayed by His words. He's perfectly sinless.
We also see His powerful and His supernatural miracles.
I know that the Americans and the American church are
fascinated with these things, but I began with His sinless
perfection because I I believe this 100%.
He couldn't have done the things that He is going to do and that
we're going to see Him do if He wasn't who Scripture says that
He is, perfect God in flesh. What did He do while He was here
on this earth? He proved himself by
supernatural miracles. In fact, in John chapter 20, the
apostle John says this. In verse 30, he begins to wind
up his gospel. He says the purpose of John's
gospel here as he writes this, that Jesus performed many other
signs in the presence of his disciples which are not.
Recorded in this book, but these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by
believing you may have life in his name.
What was John saying? He said, I'm writing all these
things, these signs, these miracles, these works that Jesus
did to prove to you who he really is.
He is Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God.
He is Emmanuel, God with us, who was born in that Manger that the
Angel announced would live and be God among us on this earth.
And he did. He proved it by those powerful
miracle miracles, didn't he? Jesus turning the water into
wine in John chapter 2? How about his miraculous catch a
fish there in Luke chapter 5? How about the fact that He
calmed the storm in Matthew chapter 8, showing his
sovereignty over even the forces of nature?
How about the fact that he walked on water in Matthew
chapter 14? Defying the law of gravity.
Defying all. Physics and reasoning.
How about when he fed the multitudes in Matthew chapter 14
and Mark chapter 8? One time 4000 Another time 5000.
How about his healing power when he healed a leopard Matthew
chapter 8 and then the centurions servant there in Luke
Chapter 7. How about this he even healed
Peter's mother-in-law and Mark chapter 1.
Now you have to be God if you heal a mother-in-law.
How about the woman with the issue of blood in Matthew
Chapter 9? Everyone laughed except my
mother-in-law. How about the woman with an
issue of blood in Matthew Chapter 9?
He healed her. How about the two men in Matthew
Chapter 9 that were blind and he healed them?
How about the mute man in Matthew 9 that he healed?
How about a crippled woman in Luke chapter 13 or the man with
dropsy in Luke chapter 14? How about the 10 lepers in Luke
17? How about a man who was blind
from birth in John Chapter 9 that he gave his sight to?
How about the blind beggar Artimaeus that we see in Matthew
chapter 20? How about when Jesus picked up
Malchus ear and put it back on his face after Peter got a
little bit sword happy? Thereupon Jesus arrest Luke
chapter 22. Not to mention casting out
demons, raising the dead, and walking out of the tomb after
the third day that he had been placed in after he died for the
sin of the world upon the cross. Jesus has truly revealed the
nature of His person by displaying who He really is
through His works. The fact that He was perfectly
sinless in His life. The fact that He performed
powerful and supernatural miracles that only God Himself
could do. So these things were displayed
by His works. But did you notice the nature of
His person wasn't only displayed by His works, it was also
declared by words. There were others.
Who confirmed these things? Now, in the Old Testament times,
the prophet would speak a word, and then they would have to
actually give authority to that word by a sign.
Jesus, as I've already shown you, has given us plenty of
signs by the miracles so that we can understand we might be
dealing with the Savior of the world, this one named Jesus, who
was born in a Manger outside of Bethlehem.
But what did others say about him?
What did he say first about himself?
Because we can look at the words of Jesus by his own words, as
the prophet of all prophets, He declares his very nature.
And in declaring his nature he confirms that he truly is and
was God Incarnate. John chapter 8, verse 58.
He said this very truly, I tell you.
Before Abraham was born, I am now that sent the religious
world reeling because he used the Greek term ego I me.
What he was saying in that term was this I am Yahweh.
Any way you break that down. I am the one who spoke from the
burning Bush to Moses. They all knew about this
encounter. They knew that when Moses said
when I tell them who sent me, tell me your name.
I can give them a name, he said. You tell them I am that I am.
I am Yahweh. Jesus here in his own life and
ministry in John chapter 8 declaring the same thing that
before Abraham was, I am. In fact, we can stay confidently
that before Abraham was. He was because he is eternal.
He has no beginning and he has no end.
He always has been and He always will be the second person of the
Triune God had the Lord the Son of God by His own words.
He declares in John chapter 10 verse 30 the truth about the
nature of His person. John 1030 Speaking of the
eternal and divine essence of the Father and the Son.
He puts them on the same plane. Watch what he says here in
John's Gospel, the 30th verse of that 10th chapter, he says I and
the Father are one. What was he saying with that
bold statement? He was saying that we are of the
same essence. Equally and eternally and fully
God the Father, the first person of the triune Godhead, the Son,
the second person of the triune Godhead, equally and eternally
God. He said we are 1.
He is Speaking of their eternal essence.
We always have been one, we are one, we always will be 1.
Jesus revealing to us the nature of His.
Person Mark chapter 2 Jesus continuing to reveal that in an
often missed verse that people don't think is proof of his
deity but he says this verse 5 of chapter 2 when Jesus saw
their faith, he said to the paralyzed man son your sins are
forgiven. Now this bothered the religious
people around. Jesus, they even said this.
Who does he think that he is? Only God has the power to
forgive sin. And isn't that true?
They were right in what they said.
They were wrong in the fact that they hadn't identified His
nature yet. Jesus forgives this man of sin.
They all knew what Isaiah said in Isaiah 43 verse five.
I even I, am he who blots out your transgressions.
They knew that the power to forgive existed only in God.
And here is Jesus to this one, that he is healed.
And he says instead of you're healed, go away, he says your
sins are forgiven. Now many people would say, you
know, Jesus never really claimed to be God while he was on this
earth. That is the farthest thing from
the truth. In fact, if we look back at the
historical account, do you know what he was tried and convicted
for claiming to be God. That's the charge that they
brought against him. And over and over and over
again, He confirmed the nature of his person that I truly am
Emmanuel, God with us. The one that the Angel said in
Luke chapter 2 is the Savior. I'm Him, I'm the Christ, and He
proves it by the nature of His person, displayed by His works,
now declared by His own words. But He's not the only one who
spoke in regard to who He truly is.
Peter. In Matthew chapter 16 verse 16,
Jesus asked Peter the simple question, Who do you say that I
am? Because there was all these
rumors. About who he might be.
He looked at Peter, he said. Who do you say that I am, Peter?
Peter answers. You are the Messiah, the Son of
the living God. Peter testifying that this Angel
was correct. He identified this Jesus who had
grown up and now at this point in his life, somewhere around 33
years of age or so, and he says this is who you are.
Everything about you reveals your nature.
Peter identified that he spoke that by his own words.
What about John? John, Chapter 1.
John doesn't pull any punches here about the deity of Christ.
He says in one, one in the beginning was the Word and the
Word was with God and the Word was God.
You say, well Kirk, what does that prove?
The word could be anyone. Drop down to verse 14 as John
gives a commentary on this and you realize that it's not just
anyone. It is the same baby that was
born outside of Bethlehem in that Manger, the same baby that
the Angel said he is the Messiah.
Because in verse 14 John says the Word became flesh, God
Incarnate, Emmanuel, God with us, and made His dwelling among
us. We have seen His glory, the
glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father, full
of grace and truth. The words of others confirm the
nature of His person. And the nature of his person
tells us that this baby was exactly who this Angel said that
he is. Thomas, after doubting for some
time, finally he has his head screwed on straight and he comes
to a good conclusion. John records that in John
chapter 20 verse 28, when Thomas encounters the Lord after he's
been resurrected, the Lord goes specifically to Thomas.
And what a loving and kind Savior.
He wanted to take all of Thomas's doubt away.
He goes to Thomas and they have this encounter.
And after the encounter, Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God.
Now, if Jesus wasn't God, he would have stopped right there
and said, Thomas, don't speak blasphemy.
You know what he did? He accepted Thomas's worship
because he saw the true nature of Christ after he had put his
fingers and his hands in those nail scars, and he knew that
this was the resurrected Savior, God Incarnate, Emmanuel, God
with us. He declares that He is his Lord
and His God and so others give testimony as to the nature of
His person. How about Paul in Philippians
chapter 2? You remember Philippians chapter
2 a few years back we had a theological Christmas where we
actually grabbed the text from Philippians chapter 2, which is
unheard of, and we walked through that to see Christ who
He really is. Paul says this about the Lord
Jesus in verse 6 of chapter 2. He says being in very nature
God. Again, agreeing with what Jesus
has said by his own words, which Peter has said by his own words,
John by his own words, Thomas by his own words.
You say those guys are all just Christians.
They're supposed to say those things because all you
Christians get together and you compare your notes and you just
know all the right. Things to say.
Let's consult a Roman centurion who at best was probably raised
Pagan, who worshipped many different gods and goddesses his
entire life. Watch what he says in Mark
chapter 15 verse 39. And when the centurion who stood
there in front of Jesus saw how he died, he said surely this man
was the Son. Of God.
Surely this is Emmanuel, God with us.
Surely he is the Savior. Surely he is the same one that
the Angel testified about outside of Bethlehem at that
Manger. Surely this is Him.
Even a Roman centurion gave testimony of that by his own
word. He said, well, maybe he was a
believing Roman. Maybe he was.
What about this testimony? The demons in Mark chapter 1,
when Jesus arrived, they came to
him and they said this What do you want with us?
Verse 24? What do you want with us, Jesus
of Nazareth? They identified Jesus of
Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth was the baby
born to Mary and Joseph from Nazareth who came to Bethlehem
because there was a census that they had to go and pay taxes
because of. The demons properly identify His
humanity. See, the demons understand the
hypostatic union more than most Christians as you'd rather have
a candlelight service. The demons recognized his
humanity. They said, what do you want with
us? Jesus of Nazareth, have you come
to destroy us? Watch what they say next.
I know who you are, the Holy One of God even.
The demons know who he is, how he created them.
He was there at the Fall, He has been there since eternity passed
before they were ever created. And the demons who were once
angels dwelling in his presence were booted from Heaven along
with Lucifer because of the sin of.
Pride And here are these demons recognizing the nature of this
Jesus who was born in a Manger, born to Mary and Joseph outside
of Bethlehem, and they declare it by their own words.
So we've seen that his own words, the words of others from
apostles to demons, have confirmed the nature of his
person. But what about the Father
himself? What about the Father, the first
person of the Triune Godhead? What does he say when Matthew
chapter 3, verse 17? It's very clear what he says,
isn't it? They're at the baptism of Jesus.
This is for all the people who don't believe in the Trinity.
I believe that there are different parts working at
separate times. Here's the entire Trinity
working at the same time, right Does this and a voice from
heaven said, this is my Son. That is the voice of the Father,
whom I love with him. I am well pleased.
We know at that point that the Spirit descended upon him like a
dove. You see the Father, the Son and
the Spirit working as one. Why?
Because they are all equally God.
They always work as one because they are the one true God.
We see the Father testifying that this is His Son and whom He
is well pleased. And the Father could not be well
pleased with a Sinner, just as he was at one time not pleased
with me because of my sin. The only thing that He is ever
pleased with about me is Christ in me and what Christ has done
for me. So we see the Father's words.
What about the Father's words in Hebrews chapter 1?
Again, this is one we often look over, but we need to revisit.
He says in verse 8. But about the Son, he says he's
going back and he's quoting the psalmist.
He says Your throne, O God, will last.
Forever. So about the Son he says, who is
the heat God in his word? And about the Son, the Father
even calls the Son God. Why?
They are equally Co, equally and eternally God.
And still this Jesus born in the Manger is truly God Incarnate.
It is revealed by the nature of His person.
Now for many of you this is just theological stuff.
Why do we need to know this? I'll tell you why you need to
know this. Because there is heresy that is
dragging many a man and many a woman away from the true and
living God, away from the 1 Lord Jesus Christ by teaching that
Jesus is something less than God.
He is God. He's proven by the nature of His
Person, displayed by His works, declared by His own words,
declared by the Word, words of others declared by the words of
the Father, confirming the divine nature of the person of
Jesus Christ. That very nature.
It confirms to us that what that Angel declared, it's true.
That he truly is. The Savior, Christ, the Lord.
Secondly, we see this, the baby was truly a savior because the
fulfillment of prophecy. Not only can we say that we have
evidence and undeniable evidence that this baby was truly the
Savior because of the nature of this person, we also have to
back up our claim, the claim that the Angel was making here,
the fulfillment of prophecy. I'm going to go through this as
fast as I can. I'm going to just be honest with
you. I don't have time to go through
the hundreds upon hundreds of prophecies that are made in the
Old Testament about Christ. I would encourage all of you
when you have time, just search those things out.
See how many prophecies were made concerning the Christ.
You will be astounded at how many.
In fact, some of the greatest Bible scholars I know are
astounded by. They can't even agree on how
many hundreds of them there really are.
But let's just look at the ones surrounding His.
Birth. And I think it looking at the
ones surrounding his birth, we can realize very quickly that
that baby in that Manger there in Luke chapter 2 truly is.
Christ's Savior. Let's look at this.
How about the place of Jesus birth?
The place of Jesus word did you know this Micah chapter 5 verse
2 it says but you Bethlehem of a path Papartha, though you are
small among the clans of Judah out of you will come for me one
who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old
from ancient times. Micah making that.
Prophecy concerning Bethlehem. Now we see this.
That's fulfilled, isn't it? Luke chapter 2.
In the account that we just read, Joseph and Mary from the
town of Nazareth in Galilee go to Bethlehem, the city of David,
because it just so happens that there was a census this year.
No gods sobbingly orchestrated all of this because Christ was
born at the exact time on God's prophetic timetable.
That prophecy is fulfilled in Luke chapter 2.
There in verse 6. While they were there where
Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born.
Oh, isn't that just coincidental?
Just while they're in Bethlehem, You know what?
She started having contractions. Here we go.
Oh, it was perfect. It was orchestrated just like
everything and God's realms perfectly orchestrated by his
sovereign power. It was decreed to be this way
and the prophet Micah said it would be, so just confirmed
there. In Luke chapter 2, Matthew
chapter 2, we see the same thing.
They ask the Magi about the birth of Christ.
Herod does. Why?
Because he's seeking to destroy the Christ.
So he asked about who did the prophet say and where did the
prophet say that this Messiah would be born?
They let him know Bethlehem of Judea.
How do they know this? Because prophets like Micah
confirm this and it was fulfilled in scripture that that
is where he was truly born. We see the place of Jesus birth
confirming that yes a prophet made this claim and yes that
claim was fulfilled. How about the path of Jesus
birth? The fact that he was born of a
woman. You say, well, Kirk, could he be
born any other way? He could have.
He could have just. Descended from heaven as he
ascended back to heaven. But that's not what he said he
was going to do. That was not the plan.
All the while, and in Genesis chapter 3 and you say Genesis
chapter 3, Why are we going to go back to Genesis chapter 3
talking about the birth of Christ?
I think you'll understand very clearly when we read this, after
man fell into sin, God is issuing this decree and He tells
him what will be the consequences of their sin.
And then He says this in verse 15.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between
your offspring, that Greek. Word.
There is seed between your seed and hers.
Now I don't know a whole lot about biology, but I remember in
biology class women had egg, men had seed.
This woman, Mary, gave birth to a child who was not from the
seed of man, but was from the seed of God.
He says he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.
He is telling Satanist that there is going to be a head
crusher and he is going to crush your head.
And we know at the cross Jesus defeated Satan in the forces of
evil by crushing. His head.
Now we also know this. There will be the ultimate
fulfillment of that when He returns, but I want you to not
miss what's going on here. In this prophecy that we see in
Genesis chapter 3, the Word of God is declaring that this
Savior will be born of a woman. That woman was the Virgin Mary.
As Luke's account declares for us and as the New Testament
Scriptures declare for us, He was born of a woman.
It was fulfilled in Luke chapter 2, verse six.
He was born right there as Mary gave birth to him, just as God
had planned. In fact, in Galatians chapter 4
verse 4, Paul says this. But when the set time had fully
come, God sent his Son born of a woman born under the law.
How is he going to come born of a woman, born under the law?
Who is that woman? It is this woman that we see in
Luke chapter 2 with her husband Joseph the Virgin Mary and she
does give birth to a son fulfilling.
What the prophet spoke about the path of Jesus birth born of a
woman, but burn born of a specific kind of woman that
would be born of a virgin. Now there are liberals who say
this, that that virgin simply means a young maiden.
That's not the facts. Virgin in this instance is
referring to the fact that she has never had sexual relations
with a man and Isaiah said this in Isaiah 7 verse 14.
He said therefore the Lord himself.
Will give you a. Sign Here's the sign that you
need to look for when you see the Virgin.
When you see a woman who's never had sex with a man having a
baby, this ought to make your ears perk up.
This ought to make your eyes really hone in on what you're
seeing. He said the Virgin will conceive
and give birth to a son and will call him.
Here's that name again, Emmanuel, which we know means
God with us. And so he was born of a virgin,
as Isaiah foretold this. This was fulfilled in the New
Testament, Luke chapter one, verse 34.
If you think she was just a maiden.
Not really a virgin. It says this in verse 34 of Luke
chapter 1. How will this be Mary?
Mary asked the Angel. When the Angel told her that
you're going to give birth to a son.
She says how will this be since I am a virgin?
She would have never asked that question if she was just a young
maiden. I'm virgin and, the Angel
answered. The Holy Spirit will come on
you. The seed of God supernaturally
planted in your womb that has never been defiled by the sin of
man. Oh, it's so important, isn't it?
For all of the scholars you would say the virgin birth isn't
essential. Christ could have come through
no other vessel. That the Holy Spirit will come
on you and the power of the Most High will over shadow you.
So that the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
The Holy One will be born from you Mary.
But I know that you have not ever had sexual relations with a
man. But what God is going to do
through the Holy Spirit is He is going to put the seed that
Genesis 315 spoke about inside of you.
And from that seed, the serpent's head will be crushed
for all time. That's exactly what the Word of
God proclaims. Why don't you forget the path of
Jesus birth, Born of a woman, born of a virgin, and then born
of God again. In Isaiah 714 he describes that
force, how he will be born of God.
And just as the Scriptures declare he was born of God in
that supernatural way, we know it as the Immaculate Conception.
Well, I just can't believe this Christian thing because how
could a virgin ever give birth to a baby?
She couldn't, lest God intervene.
And the interesting thing about how God did this hundreds of
years before it ever happened, through the prophet Isaiah, he
said that the virgin is going to give birth and this will be your
sign. When you look to that Manger
there in Bethlehem, what you see is a virgin, a woman who has
never had intercourse with a man, giving birth to a child.
And not just some child, not an ordinary child, but the literal
and absolute son of the living God, planted there by the Holy
Spirit and her untouched one. It was born of a woman, born of
a virgin, born of God. That's the path of Jesus birth.
How can you deny that? Let's look further as this as
we. Look at the fulfillment of
prophecy surrounding his birth. How about the people of Jesus
lineage? Right?
All that genealogy that you always skip over in the Bible to
get to the good stuff. You're missing so much good
stuff if you don't read those things.
How many of you believe that everything in the Bible is for
purpose? That everything has some
meaning, and that it all ought to be paid attention to?
That every bit of it, even the lineage of Christ is God
breathed and it's there for a purpose.
You believe that and stop discarding it as if it has no
purpose, because it is in the lineage of Christ that we see
that He truly is who the Angel said that he was.
He is the Christ, the Savior. We see that he comes from the
line of Abraham. Why is this important?
Because it was prophesied that he would in Genesis chapter 12,
God in a conversation and promise to Abraham says this in
verse three. I will bless those who bless you
and whoever curses you I will curse and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you. This is the beginning of what he
was going to do through Abraham. Genesis 17, seven.
He says this to him. He said I will establish My
covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and
your descendants after you for the generations to come.
To be your God and the God of your.
The descendants after you, Jesus coming through the promise of
Abraham. We see that this is fulfilled in
the New Testament. Galatians, chapter 3, verse 16.
Paul says the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his
seed. Scripture does not say and to
seeds, meaning many people because Abraham had many people
from his human side, his human lineage, but he said and to your
seed meaning one person watch this who is Christ who did the
Angel in Luke chapter 2 verse 11 say that this baby Jesus was the
Angel said and spoke very clearly that this is Christ.
This is the Messiah. This is.
The Savior who was born unto you today in the city of David in
the town of Bethlehem, in the same manner that the prophets
have spoken that he would be born and he comes from the line
of Abraham just as the prophet said that he would.
Matthew chapter 1. We see that genealogy there in
Matthew chapter one verse one. Your subtitle above the text
says something to the degree of the genealogy of Jesus the
Messiah. This is the genealogy of Jesus
the Messiah, the son of David, the son of who, Abraham,
confirming that he stems from that promise made to Abraham
there in Genesis 12 and Genesis 17, fulfilled by the life of
Jesus Christ, the lineage of Jesus Christ.
How about this prophecy in regard to his lineage?
He was from the tribe of Judah. It was foretold all the way back
in Genesis chapter 49. You stay with me, we'll
appreciate this one day. Genesis chapter 49 verse 10 says
the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the rulers staffed
from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come,
talking about the birth of the Messiah, and the obedience of
the nation shall be his. This is a prophecy about Christ
way back in Genesis chapter 49, coming from the tribe of Judah.
This was fulfilled. Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 14 says,
For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in
regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
What is happening here? He comes from the line in the
order of Melchizedek, who was a royal priest.
Judah is the royal lineage of Christ, and he fulfills that by
His birth through just a little bit of study about his lineage
and his genealogy that Jesus came from the tribe of Judah,
just as Genesis 49 said that the Savior would.
We also see that he's the root of Jesse.
Isaiah says this in Isaiah 11, one confirming where Jesus would
stem from in his humanity. He said a shoot will come up
from the stump of Jesse, from his roots.
A branch will bear fruit. We see that prophecy is
fulfilled in Matthew chapter one verse 6, and Jesse, the father
of King David, the Jesse that Jesus was going to come from,
the Messiah is going to come from who we know now is Jesus.
He says he'll come from the stump of Jesse.
That shoot will arise out of the lineage of Jesse the father of
David fulfilled as we see in Matthew chapter one verse 6
again and that lineage that we so often decide not to read.
He confirms it but also when we study that lineage, though there
are many names that I would just encourage you and your time
research those names see who all is in the lineage of Christ.
You'll be surprised. Many of them we see a very
important one that is that Jesus was, we're told to be a
descendant of David. Of course, if he comes from
Jesse, we know that Jesse was the father of David.
He would then of course, come from David, but that's
confirmed. But it was prophesied about in
Jeremiah 23 and in Jeremiah 23 verse 5, the prophet Jeremiah
says plainly and clearly that Christ would stem from the
throne of David. The days are coming, he says in
verse 5 declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a
righteous branch, a king who will reign wisely and do what is
just and right in the land. We see there in Matthew chapter
1, looking at the beginning of the genealogy of Christ, that he
was Jesus, the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham,
and you can trace it all out to find this.
That the people of Jesus lineage and the fulfillment of those
prophecies surrounding the lineage of Jesus Christ gives us
overwhelming evidence to believe that that baby is and was
exactly who that Angel said. That he is so the fulfillment of
these prophecies surrounding the birth of Christ.
Not to mention all the other prophecies that we haven't
mentioned today. Statistically, it could have
never happened so accurately. Why don't you thankful that God
doesn't work in the realm of statistics, man does.
God has the power to call things that aren't as if they were.
And that's what he's doing here. Fulfilling every word of
prophecy surrounding the birth of Jesus the Christ, giving us
evidence to believe confidently. We don't put our trust in some
baby who grew up and did nothing, some baby who grew up
and gave his mother and father grief and then moved off to some
foreign land and wasted his life and righteous living.
Of the baby that we celebrate as we look to that Manger, we look
to that moment in Bethlehem, whenever it may have been.
We look to to the birth of Christ, the only one true and
living Savior. Thirdly, this baby was truly the
Savior because of the act of his propitiation.
Don't miss this one. Don't miss the fact that Jesus
made propitiation to ultimately prove that this baby was the
Christ. We have to ask this.
Question Did Jesus complete the mission of the Messiah?
Did he complete that mission? Did he do what it takes to save
sinners? Because according to Matthew in
reference to the birth of Jesus Christ, Matthew there and
Matthew chapter one verse 21 says that he will save his
people from their sins. And so we have to ask, did this
baby Jesus grow to do that? Did He accomplish this?
Let me answer it for you before any of you have any doubt.
Yes, yes he did. But let's don't just stop at a
simple yes. Let's talk about the act of His
propitiation. And I know what happens, right?
We don't know what that means. That's what my job is, to tell
you what that means. When we talk about the
propitiation, we are talking about the atoning work of
Christ. And if Christ did a lot of good
things and was a great prophet, but did not make propitiation
for sinners, He's not that baby who was born in Bethlehem.
But. That baby who was born in
Bethlehem grew, and He offered Himself as a sacrifice of
atonement on the cross for all who will believe and trust in
Him. He did truly come to save His
four ordained people from their sin.
He has rescued us through His. Atoning work and how?
How's this possible, right? We can learn a bunch of church
words, propitiation and atonement, and you can go around
and talk like you know what those mean, but do you know what
that means? His propitiation was this.
It was a pleasing sacrifice. He said those two things don't
really even go together. What do you mean it was a
pleasing sacrifice? Christ's propitiation, His
sacrifice, was the first and only sacrifice that has ever or
will ever completely please the Father.
How do I know this? Because I read the Word of God,
I know this, that it was impossible for the blood of
bulls and goats to take away sin.
According to Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 4, those sacrifices
only pointed to the greater sacrifice.
Who is the Christ? The one who satisfies the Father
in His sacrifice. So Christ's propitiation
satisfied God's requirement. This propitiation required a
spotless sacrifice, and that's who Christ really was first
Peter, chapter one, verse 18. For you know that it was not
with perishable things such as silver or gold, that you were
redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from
your ancestors. He's talking about your sin, but
with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish
or defect. It's that same Peter who calls
him our Passover lamb. So it's Jesus and his perfect
spotless propitiation, His perfect and pure sacrifice.
It is that satisfies God's requirement fulfilling the
Passover picture. Will you remember the Passover?
They were to take a lamb without spot or without blemish.
Now, is there really any such thing?
I'll help you. No, there's not.
When man fell in the garden, that's why I believe in original
sin. It didn't only affect mankind,
it affected the whole world. And in fact, creation groans for
redemption. It was never really a lamb or a
calf that was unblemished. He was only unblemished to the
sinful human eye. But God knew the true story,
didn't he? But in Christ we see for the
first time a true spotless sacrifice, that true spotless
propitiation that the Passover pointed toward toward.
We know that the Old Testament things were shadows of
realities, and even some of those realities still yet to
come. And what we see pictified in the
sacrifice of the Passover was the reality of the sacrifice and
the propitiation of Jesus on a cross, the same Jesus who was
born in that Manger in Bethlehem.
He would grow wisdom and stature as the God man, the only
acceptable and spotless sacrifice that would satisfy
God's requirement. He satisfied the Father's
requirement by his spotless sacrifice and by His sufficient
sacrifice. I want you to understand this
today, that Christ sacrifice is sufficient.
You don't have to sacrifice anything so that you can be
saved. You don't have to sacrifice
lambs or goats or time or effort.
All of that has been taken care of in Christ.
He is this perfect Passover lamb, spotless, satisfying God's
requirement, sufficient in His propitiation.
Hebrews 912. If you want to see the
sufficiency of His sacrifice, it says this.
He did not enter by the means of blood and goats and calves, but
He entered the most holy place once for all by His own blood,
thus obtaining eternal redemption.
Why is that term eternal redemption a sound that ought to
cause us to rejoice? Because prior to this.
The lambs that were sacrificed on the Day of Atonement were
only good for one year, and every year the priest would have
to come back again, and he would have to make sacrifice first for
himself, and then he would have to have to make sacrifice for
everyone else. And those sacrifices were only
pictures pointing us to an acceptable sacrifice.
And here the author of Hebrews says this, that in the sacrifice
of Christ this was made once for all who believe and trust in Him
by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
Any other sacrifice is not eternal, but the propitiation of
Jesus Christ is an eternal sacrifice.
I have people who don't want to believe in the doctrine of
eternal security. Now I will tell you this.
I believe in the doctrine of eternal security because I
believe in the eternal propitiation.
Of the sacrifice of Christ. And there's nothing that anyone
can do to take that away. If you were in Christ, you
recovered in His eternal sacrifice, sacrifice that he
made once for all, satisfying God's requirement of a
sufficient sacrifice. Hebrews chapter 10 it.
Doesn't by that will verse 10, we have been made holy through
the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Why are any of us in this room holy?
Not because you're holy in and of yourself, but because that
baby that was born in the Manger who grew up truly and perfectly,
God and man, all at the same time.
He died on a cross, and He offered himself in your place as
your Passover lamb as a sufficient sacrifice and met the
requirements of God. Hebrews 10/14 For by 1 sacrifice
He is made perfect forever. Those who are being made holy.
You know what he's talking about there.
He's talking about our justification and our
sanctification. He's saying you are being made
holy, that sanctification. But you are already perfect.
And why am I perfect? Because I'm perfect?
No, not at all. Spend some time with me, you'll
find out. No, I'm perfect because the
propitiation of Christ is perfect.
Because Christ is perfect, and He offered His perfection on my
behalf. That's why I'm perfect.
And because I'm perfect, I'm being made holy.
Why? Because those He foreknew, He
did also predestined. Those He predestined He called.
Those He called, He justified, declared me as righteous.
Those He. Justified.
He did also glorify. One day He's going to perfect
me. Why?
Because He's the author and the perfector of my faith.
And in the meanwhile, He is making me holy through the
process of sanctification. But all of that happens because
of what? The perfect propitiation of
Jesus Christ, that pleasing sacrifice that was made once and
for all. Satisfied God's requirement
could have just been anyone that would die as an acceptable
sacrifice to a thrice holy God. No, it must be.
Emmanuel, the God man, God in flesh, dying, sacrificing
himself to satisfy the requirements of the Father.
But what about also to satisfy not only God's requirement,
God's wrath? I know, Kurt, don't ruin the
joyous time of Christmas. We just sing joy to the world.
You're going to talk about the wrath of God?
Yes, because I have been freed from the wrath of God through
the propitiation of Christ, I can now have joy.
I'm going to talk to you about that because some of you, like I
once was, are still under the wrath of God and all you are
doing with your sinful life is storing up more wrath for all
eternity. I want you to hear the truth
about this One who was declared by this Angel in Luke chapter 2
to be the Savior. I want you to hear that truth,
and I want you to bow to that Savior so that He can forgive
you of your sin before it is everlastingly too late.
So let's talk about that for a moment.
The propitiation of Christ satisfied God's wrath.
How? He took our punishment upon
himself. Yes, the same one that I told
you a moment ago was completely perfect and completely sinless.
Why did he die for someone else's sin?
Because it was the will of the Father.
And to please the Father, Isaiah said to crush him because he was
and will ever be the only sacrifice that will ever satisfy
God's wrath. Jesus did that on behalf of
those who will believe and trust in Him.
Oh, in Isaiah chapter 53. We see this, don't we, in the
Word of God? Verse 5 But He was pierced for
our transgressions. He was crushed for our
iniquities. The punishment that brought us
peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray.
Each of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on
him Christ. The Lord has laid on him the
iniquity of us. All it's Christ who took the
punishment of Irish sin upon himself.
He did it there at the cross, making propitiation that not
only satisfied God's requirements, but satisfied
God's wrath. He said, well, who does God
think that He is to be wrathful towards sin?
He's the holy God, thrice holy. He has every right to be
indignant toward sin. And you know what God doesn't
do? This is what modern
evangelicalism thinks. Here's what they think.
Some of you think this, that because Christ came and because
Christ lived a perfect life and because Christ died on the
cross, God just overlooks your sin.
That is the Americanized gospel, and it's a farce.
It's heresy. God never overlooks sin.
He took the punishment of. Your sin if you were in Christ,
and all who are in Christ. And he took the wrath and the
punishment that belonged to you and belonged to me.
And he laid that wrath upon the back of His only begotten Son on
a cross outside of Calvary. And in that He made propitiation
for our sin, taking our punishment on his own back.
Peter says in first Peter chapter 2 verse 24, He himself
bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to
sins and live for righteousness. He then quotes Isaiah.
By his wounds you have been healed.
It is Christ himself, sinless and perfect Messiah, who was
born your sin, taking your punishment upon Himself,
satisfying God's wrath by taking that punishment.
There had to be wrath, there had to be justice.
Christ bore that wrath, and you're set by taking it upon
Himself. By paying our penalty of death,
didn't we owe death? That not what God told Adam and
Eve was going to happen. You eat of it, you'll die.
That not the truth that's appointed on demand.
Who wants to die? That's the penalty of sin.
Jesus Christ died on that cross. So don't think for a second
listen to these liberal scholars.
They maybe he didn't really die. It's not that essential that he
really died. Died.
No, he died died. He was dead, dead, completely
dead. That's why when we talk about
the Gospel, we talk about his death, his burial, because you
don't bury live people. You take them to the hospital.
He died and he was buried. He was executed by professional
murderers. They know when somebody's dead.
In fact, they were artists at bringing someone to the point of
death and then letting them have some relief so that they can
make the torture last longer. He was dead.
Why? Because the sin is death.
But the wrath of God, our death, those of us who are in Christ,
was satisfied. Romans 623 For the wage of sin
is death. But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Does that mean just praying a little prayer?
No, that means honestly trusting in every single element of the
propitiation of Christ for the only hope that you have of
salvation. That's what that means.
That word not for Christ and His sacrifice.
I would split hell wide open and rightfully so.
Not offended Holy God by my sin he.
Has every right to be wrathful toward me instead of executing
His wrath on me, and why I will never know other than the grace
and the mercy of God. Instead of exercising His wrath
upon me, He exercised His wrath upon that baby in Luke chapter
2, who grew to be the grown man, the God man who offered himself
on a cross on behalf of all who would trust in Him.
He bore my punishment. Oh, the cross becomes real when
we understand that it's not just another event.
It's not just a little charm on your necklace that you say, oh,
that's a cute cross. It's not cute at all.
Emmanuel gave himself as a propitiation because I'm a
Sinner satisfying the very wrath of God.
How doesn't that stand to reason?
Propitiation is really not made unless the offended party is
satisfied or pleased. It wouldn't be propitiation.
It would be hey man, you still owe me something.
Nothing is owed. Jesus paid it all.
He truly pleased the Father and satisfied His wrath by His
propitiation, just as Isaiah said it pleased the Lord to
crush him, fulfilling the very will of God to redeem sinners
like me and like you. This was a pleasing sacrifice,
propitiation in the act of this propitiation, but it was also a
powerful sacrifice. It was powerful.
It powerfully redeems sinners. Did you know it was?
It would be an impossibility without the perfect propitiation
of Christ for any Sinner to be redeemed.
I already told you, none of our sacrifices would work.
None of the sacrifices of the Old Testament work.
No, none. None of our our penance would
work. None of our works would work.
Nothing can save us. The only one who can save us is
Christ through His powerful sacrifice is that powerful
sacrifice that redeems sinners, and that powerful sacrifice
alone. So please know this, if Jesus
didn't purchase sinners by His blood, and that's exactly what
He did, there would be no case for the baby in the Manger.
He would have saved no one. However, not only does He save
those who believe, He powerfully saves those who believe He did.
Truly. Come to save and rescue his
people from their sin. Ephesians chapter one, verse 7.
In him we have redemption through his blood.
That's that propitiation. In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.
And without him we would have no forgiveness.
Please understand that without him we would be rightfully
condemned to hell. But in Christ we have a powerful
sacrifice that I can attest to is able to save the most vile
and wicked of sinners. Oh, what a powerful sacrifice.
Powerfully redeeming sinners, but also powerfully reconciling
enemies. I know this is a hard concept
for Americans because you're brought up incorrectly that
because you live in a Christian nation.
And I don't even know how we feel right calling it that
anymore. But because you were raised in
some judeo-christian ideology, let's do that.
You're born a child of God. You're friend of God.
God's got your back when you need him.
All the silly Chris cliches that bad theology has taught us
throughout the years. But the fact is this, apart from
Christ, you're an enemy of God. You're an enemy because of your
own sin. Just the Scripture declares,
without the powerful sacrifice of Jesus Christ, there is no
reconciliation for the enemies of God.
The good news is this Jesus in that propitiation that we're
talking about, his atoning work on the cross, Jesus and that
atoning work in that sacrifice, He allows us to be reconciled in
our relationship toward God the Father.
Romans 510 says this For if while we were God's enemies, we
were reconciled to Him through the death of his Son, how much
more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his
life? Jesus powerfully reconciles
those who were once enemies of God because of their sin.
Not only does he reconcile them through His propitiation, that
sacrifice we know three days later.
He rose from the grave after that burial.
And we know also that some days later he ascended into heaven
where he had come from. And now we know that he sits at
the right hand of the throne of the Father.
And what he is now doing is he is forever making intercession.
In fact, He lives to intercession for us, a person
who was once his enemy and now I'm his son, adopted into his
family through his propitiation, that powerful sacrifice.
And now he is interceding for me.
He is speaking life over me. He is praying for me.
That is the Jesus that was born in that Manger outside of
Bethlehem. I pray that you see him for who
He really is, the one who powerfully reconciles the
enemies of God. When I was once that enemy,
Colossians chapter 1 verse 19 says this.
Read it with me. For God was pleased to have all
His fullness dwell in Him, talking about Christ, and
through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether
things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through
His blood shed on the cross. So we see the incarnation of
Emmanuel. We see the.
Cross of his sacrifice, that propitiation we see the peace
that he brings through his blood, reconciling us to God.
Watch what he says about US. 21 Once you were alienated from God
and we're enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior,
but now he has reconciled you by Christ physical body through
death, to present you wholly in his sight without blemish and
free from accusation. Oh, what a Savior when that
Angel declared in Luke's gospel the 11th verse of the 2nd
chapter today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to
you. He is.
Not he might. He is the Christ, the Lord.
He is who I declare that he is because I'm bringing a message
from God. Good tidings, great news, the
Gospel. That Emmanuel has come and that
He has offered himself as a propitiation, and He will save
all who repent of their sin and who trust in Him, calling upon
His name for salvation. He is with the Angel said that
he was. So what should we do?
Believer, you ought to respond joyfully, knowing that once you
were alienated from God, deserving of his wrath, but he
bore the wrath in your set spawn joyfully.
How about worshipfully? You notice everything you read
about the Christmas. Account every time someone
approached him, they just knew automatically.
Pal, worship him. He's worthy of her praise.
Oh, when you meet Jesus, you know this.
He's worthy of all of our praise.
You don't have to be taught that he's worthy.
Worship him like he's worthy. Well, this time of the year, the
Christmas season, when you sing carols and you sing hymns, sing
them like you mean them. Sing them like it's the latest
and greatest Christian Top 40 that you listen to on the radio
and you really just like the catchy beat, which has no
theology at all. Sing Hark the Herald Angels
sings. And know that when that Angel
spoke, that Angel spoke truth. Rejoice in that truth,
worshipfully. Thankfully, it was a hard time
of year for me. It's not a hard time of year for
me because of the hustle and bustle like everyone else.
It's a hard time for me because when I see those nativity
scenes, I know that baby in that Manger.
I know that's just a man's idea of a baby.
I get that. I'm not worshipping that little
ornament. I know the real story.
I know that He grew up, that He offered Himself to rescue me.
I know what He endured for this wretched, filthy Sinner.
I deserved none of it. It's all by His grace and His
mercy. You know what that does?
It causes me to be thankful. I'm generally overwhelmed.
I spend this time of year overwhelm.
I can't hardly read the scriptures that you've probably
seen today. I can't hardly pray without
thinking of a magnificent, marvelous plan that God had to
usher and Savior into this world.
God Incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ, rescue undeserving
sinners. We should be thankful.
I pray this Christmas, you as believers would be thankful more
than you've ever been for the unbeliever.
My prayer for you this Christmas is this, that seeing Jesus for
the Savior as Scripture has defined him.
I pray that that would cause you to see your need for him to know
that God went to this extreme and went to this extent because
you needed a Savior, because you're a Sinner, for all the
sinning comes short of the glory of God.
There is none righteous, no, not one.
I pray you would see your need for Christ to see that He has
fulfilled the need for all sinners who will repent and
trust in Him. I pray that you would see the
fact that because of your sin, you have been alienated from
your Creator. That's the only way that you can
be reconciled to turn from your sin and to turn to the one who
brought reconciliation, that is to Christ and to believe and to
trust in Him. To know the God Incarnate was
truly born of a virgin, born in a Manger outside of Bethlehem,
who lived a perfect life, offered himself as a perfect
sacrifice to satisfy the perfect justice and wrath of God.
And he did this for even you, that he died, he was buried,
that he rose again, so that if you would just trust in him, you
would have new life and eternal life in Christ Jesus the Lord,
the Savior who came. Let's pray together.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank you so much for your Son,
Lord Jesus Christ. You obediently suffered and died
according to your will to fulfill that good, pleasing, and
perfect will. But I'm in awe that I was
included in that plan. I pray that others would be awed
by that today. I pray that if there be someone
here today who is not in Christ, they've never repented and
turned to Christ as Lord and Savior, that today you would
graciously allow them to do that, giving them the faith to
believe in the power to repent. May we trust in Christ today.
God, I also pray for everyone here under the sound of my
voice, that we not just go through the remembrance of the
birth of Christ once again with no lasting effect, but that we
see you for who you truly are, and we worship you rightfully.
It's joy in our hearts and Thanksgiving from our mouths,
giving you all the glory and all the praise.
And we pray these things in Christ.
Amen. You've been listening to Key
Life Fellowships pulpit ministry podcast.
Join us each week for more teaching from God's Word.