1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,040 Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Englewood 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:05,920 Baptist Church in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,119 Thank you so much for tuning in to our podcast. 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,320 You're going to hear from God today as we share from his word 5 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,080 about important issues facing your life that can guide you 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:21,160 according to the Bible. Well, good morning, Englewood. 7 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:24,040 I hope you all ready for Christmas. 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,680 Just wait a minute. I know some of you hung up your 9 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:31,320 lights about Halloween right now, Paul. 10 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,560 Paul here, he didn't hang up lights at his house. 11 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:37,920 He just hangs his coat out in the yard and shines a light on 12 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:44,720 it. Then he has to wave off the 13 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:50,640 helicopters from Landon there. What a morning. 14 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:54,360 Amen. I was when I came out of the 15 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,120 first service, I was telling everybody out there, I said one 16 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,560 of the blessings of growth is it takes longer to do the Lord's 17 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:01,720 Supper. So that's a good thing. 18 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:04,680 Appreciate you all being here. Thank you so much. 19 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:06,840 I don't know where he went. He's here somewhere. 20 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,200 Thank you, Doctor Clover, Pastor Mike, there you are. 21 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:10,240 Thank you. Thank you, Tabith. 22 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:12,880 Whole family bless you. Thank you for being here so 23 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,960 much. What and and your knee surgery 24 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:20,040 moving along. Good, that's good. 25 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:21,400 Let me share just a couple words. 26 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:23,240 Take your Bibles, turn to Galatians 4. 27 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:24,320 I'll catch up to you in a minute. 28 00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:27,360 Couple of words tonight. Tonight we're having a special 29 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:28,360 meeting. It's on the front of your 30 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:30,160 worship guide. This is not a business meeting. 31 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,440 We're no not voting, we're not discussing. 32 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,080 I am presenting. I need to have a shepherding 33 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,400 moment with you or I just want to share from my heart. 34 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:40,240 Doesn't make sense to do it on a Sunday morning. 35 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,920 Need to do a members only kind of meeting. 36 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,400 Just sharing about Stewardship Mission Vision 2026, several 37 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,240 things. So you want to be back here. 38 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,280 I promise it'll be worth it at 6:00 right in this room. 39 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,200 So please be there. Also, you heard the Guffey's 40 00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:00,360 mention the trip coming up. Many of you, over 220 of you, 41 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,040 expressed interest or filled out interest forms for our mission 42 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,640 trips for 2026, which we appreciate. 43 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,479 You can still do that. Go out, go to the, go to your 44 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:11,280 right, go down that hall, you'll see a poster, QR codes. 45 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,160 You can still sign up. You're not obligating yourself. 46 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,160 You're just going to come to an information meeting. 47 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,160 The first one of those is next Sunday. 48 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:22,200 If you signed up for Uganda, that's at 4:00 next Sunday. 49 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,280 You signed up for Central Asia, that's at 4:45 next Sunday. 50 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,800 OK, And we'll talk about that next Sunday morning for New York 51 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,240 and all the other international trips January 4th. 52 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:36,440 So get ready for that, including where the guppies are. 53 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:38,640 So you'll enjoy that. Thank you so much for doing 54 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:40,560 that. Looking forward to incredible 55 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,920 year of that work and appreciate you also being here this 56 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:47,000 morning. This Wednesday night we're back 57 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,360 with Midweek in our personal evangelism training. 58 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,160 It's the last session, perhaps the most important session. 59 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:57,520 What must be shared, what gospel portions must be shared in order 60 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,720 for a person to be saved? We're actually going to talk 61 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:01,560 about that this Wednesday night. Going to be very, very 62 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:03,400 important. Appreciate all of you who have 63 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:05,280 been there. All right, enough of that. 64 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:06,800 I do hope you're ready for Christmas. 65 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,320 I hope that over these next few weeks that we can focus on on 66 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,880 the real why of Christmas. I mean, amid all the movies, 67 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,760 amid all the sales, amid all the decorations, all the family 68 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,840 gatherings, all the food, etcetera and gift giving. 69 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,560 It can be easy to get distracted obviously during the the season. 70 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,680 So I want us to examine over the next few weeks, the first coming 71 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,280 of Jesus, what really happened. So today we're going to be in 72 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,480 Galatians 4, which may seem odd, won't in a minute. 73 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,640 We'll be in the Gospels throughout the next week. 74 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:41,960 So this is a great time to invite friends and family who 75 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,200 who might be open to coming to hear about Christmas and who 76 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:48,840 might need to hear about Jesus. So you bring them here because 77 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,640 really what we're going to do, especially this morning, is 78 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:53,880 we're going to celebrate the sovereignty of God. 79 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:55,800 That's what we're going to do this morning because I want you 80 00:03:55,800 --> 00:04:00,880 to see why Christmas really is and why it happened when it did 81 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,160 this morning. So we're going to celebrate his 82 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:05,000 his sovereignty. We're going to see the full 83 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,200 display of the triune God at work. 84 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:11,400 We're going to recognize the perfect plan that God had from 85 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,480 before the beginning. So we're going to see the 86 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,640 perfect plan of God the Father. We're going to see the the, the 87 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:18,839 inspiring work of God, the Holy Spirit. 88 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:21,720 We're going to acknowledge the true identity of God the Son. 89 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:26,320 And so these are important messages for us to trust in him 90 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:29,560 and to think about him. Now, whether you accept Christ 91 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,680 or reject Christ, I pray that you can't deny his influence. 92 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:35,800 Now, over the years, people have tried. 93 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:41,680 I think back in history a little bit to a long deceased president 94 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,800 of the American Atheist Association named John Murray 95 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,760 and listen to what John Murray once wrote. 96 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:51,960 He just said he said this. There was no such person in the 97 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:53,760 history of the world as Jesus Christ. 98 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:59,080 There was no historical living, breathing, sentient human being 99 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,360 by that name ever. The Bible is a fictional, non 100 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:07,360 historical narrative. The myth is good for business. 101 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:10,680 Well, I can guarantee you one thing. 102 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,240 I can guarantee that John has a different opinion now. 103 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,200 And so one of the things that we have to recognize is an honest, 104 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,000 intelligent investigation of the Bible. 105 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,600 And frankly, history reveals eyewitness encounters and the 106 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:32,560 reality of Jesus Christ, yet his presence still divides humanity. 107 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:34,400 Jesus shocked the world when he came. 108 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,960 He forced people to decide about him, and he still does that. 109 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,800 When you honestly consider him, you can't remain neutral. 110 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,640 In fact, one of the most famous writings probably about that was 111 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,160 by CS Lewis. Let me just quote Lewis for a 112 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:50,200 minute. He said among these Jews, there 113 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,000 certainly turns up a man who goes about talking as if he was 114 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,320 God. He claims to forgive sins. 115 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,720 He says he's always existed. He says he's coming to judge the 116 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,560 world at the end of time. Now let's get this clear. 117 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,200 Among pantheists, anyone might say that he was a part of God or 118 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,440 one with God. There'd be nothing very odd 119 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:09,680 about it. But this man, since he was a 120 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:11,920 Jew, could not mean that kind of God. 121 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,320 God in their language meant the being outside the world who made 122 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,720 it, and was infinitely different from anything else. 123 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:20,920 And when you've grasped that, you will see that what this man 124 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,560 said was quite simply the most shocking thing that has ever 125 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,880 been uttered by human lips. Then he goes on later and he 126 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,280 says this. He says Jesus presents a 127 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:33,080 trilemma. Now some of you have probably 128 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:36,320 heard this. This trilemma is Jesus is either 129 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,960 #1 Lord, he was who he said he was and his life, death, and 130 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,920 resurrection prove it to be so, or he's a liar. 131 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:47,360 He was not who he said he was and he knew it, or he was a 132 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,800 lunatic. He was not who he said he was 133 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,520 and he didn't know it. Now Danny Aiken adds another 134 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:55,360 one. He says you could add legend 135 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,600 where he was not what others later imagined him to be. 136 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:05,840 So the Apostle Paul helps us in Galatians 4 to understand this 137 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:09,080 in a much bigger way. I feel like this is one of the 138 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,200 most interesting Christmas passages that are often found on 139 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:13,880 Christmas cards. I think there is. 140 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,160 Now you got to understand the background here just for a 141 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:18,600 second. He's talking in Galatians 4 142 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,680 about our relationship with God. But after we're saved, we become 143 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,480 children of God. We become joint heirs with 144 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:25,200 Christ. That becomes really important. 145 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:27,280 You'll see it again later. So just kind of remember that 146 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,200 backdrop. But then he shares a passage 147 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:34,480 that is very often used at Christmas, a passage that I 148 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,240 think helps us to understand the perfect fulfillment the birth of 149 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:40,680 Jesus brings to history and to us. 150 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:43,920 Because there's much more to this story than simply a baby in 151 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:48,240 a Manger, All right? And his coming had cosmic and 152 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,360 eternal ramifications. And this passage is, frankly 153 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,200 always fascinated me. This is a passage, especially 154 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,160 this first verse, that I always find interesting. 155 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:01,800 Galatians 44. But when the fullness of time 156 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:08,560 had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under 157 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:10,080 the law. I want to share a few things 158 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:12,520 about this, and then we're going to be sharing in the Lord's 159 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:15,720 Supper. And so use this time to examine 160 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:19,040 yourself, to prepare your heart as we talk about the coming of 161 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,120 Christ, to make sure that you're ready to take the Supper in a 162 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:23,840 worthy manner. We'll talk more about that 163 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,080 later. But the first thing we see here 164 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:29,040 is simply God's perfect preparation. 165 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:35,640 It says but when the fullness of time had come, and that always 166 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:39,240 fascinates me. The perfect time designated by 167 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:43,120 the Father. It's so significant that time 168 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,280 itself gets divided by it, AD and BC. 169 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,920 So what does it mean the fullness of time? 170 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,440 Why then? Why there? 171 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:58,320 Why at that moment in history, 1st century Palestine, Middle 172 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:03,080 Eastern culture, Why was that the moment the Messiah came? 173 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:08,200 The word itself, that idea of perfection is the word pluroma, 174 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:10,200 which means completion. It means whole. 175 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:12,160 It means all the parts are there. 176 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,880 It means full, it means perfect. It can talk about a child 177 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,360 becoming an adult. It can talk about maturity. 178 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:24,080 So something mature, something perfect, something complete is 179 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,600 taking place right here in this mature time, the full time for 180 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,520 the coming of the Messiah. And I just want us to watch a 181 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:33,160 sovereign got to work for a few minutes. 182 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:39,200 Is that OK? Why was this the perfect time? 183 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,400 It was the perfect time. First of all, prophetically, 184 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:48,240 this was his plan was perfect. Prophetically, over 300 Old 185 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:53,000 Testament prophecies referring to the Messiah are fulfilled by 186 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,800 Jesus Christ, pointing to Him as the only way for redemption, 187 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:59,280 pointing to Him as the only way for salvation. 188 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:03,800 So beginning in Genesis 3, right after the fall when God 189 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:08,040 basically condemns and judges the satanic serpent all the way 190 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:10,920 through the gospels, we see this being played out. 191 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,760 In fact, we Jesus knew this about himself. 192 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:16,160 Jesus knew the Bible was 1 grand story. 193 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,120 Worry about himself even taught his disciples that, especially 194 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,080 after the resurrection. Sometime read Luke 24. 195 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,920 He knew that the Old Testament was pointing to him. 196 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,680 This is one story and perhaps at the centerpiece of some of these 197 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:32,720 Old Testament prophecies are those by Isaiah. 198 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:35,040 We often see these on Christmas cards. 199 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:39,480 These are written some 600 years before Jesus and yet we see this 200 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:43,920 in Isaiah 9. For to us a child is born, to us 201 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,680 a son is given, and the government shall be upon his 202 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:48,080 shoulder, and his name shall be called. 203 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,920 Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of 204 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,960 Peace, of the increase of his government and of peace. 205 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,000 There will be no end on the throne of David and over his 206 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,720 Kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with 207 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:03,320 the righteousness. From this time forth and 208 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:05,560 forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts 209 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:08,280 will do this. Or or another one that's very 210 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:12,640 familiar sometimes at Christmas. Isaiah 714 Therefore the Lord 211 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,840 Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the Virgin shall 212 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:20,880 conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel, 213 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:26,400 Emmanuel, God with us. So we see the promise throughout 214 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:30,960 this prophetic utterance, these promises of the Incarnate deity. 215 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,400 So the coming of Jesus is the coming of God Himself. 216 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:40,040 It was the Father's sovereign, perfectly prepared timing in the 217 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:43,360 fullness of time, but it was also God's perfect plan. 218 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:49,240 Historically, God ordered the world and ordered world events 219 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,800 so that everything would be ready for the coming of Jesus 220 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:54,680 Christ. You've got to understand, 221 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:57,400 looking back at the early church, it's amazing, 222 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:01,720 astounding, miraculous to see how quickly the gospel spreads 223 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:04,800 all around the Roman Empire in less than a century. 224 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:09,440 And it's because God was and is completely in control and and 225 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:13,840 Rome was in power and the days of separate chaotic tribal 226 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,720 nations were over for that time period. 227 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:21,000 In fact, during this time, God used Rome to create 100 years of 228 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,160 peace, referred to as the Pax Romana, in which the 229 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:29,360 Mediterranean in the European world had a historic unity and 230 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,120 stable peace that it never had before. 231 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,160 So the Prince of Peace comes during this incredible time of 232 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:37,960 peace. A century earlier, there would 233 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,920 have been war and piracy. A century later they would have 234 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,800 been conquered by Barbarians. Conan and them came down and 235 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:48,880 took over Rome. And so we see this incredible 236 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:51,560 period of time. Even though Rome was oppressive, 237 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:56,240 God used them as a tool. He uses Caesar to give an edict 238 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,120 to move Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem to fulfill another 239 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,520 prophecy. Only Caesar could give that kind 240 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,920 of edict. So don't miss the hand of God in 241 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:07,400 history. Don't miss the hand of God even 242 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,600 in your life today, because even in your life today, during 243 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:15,160 life's difficulty in this fallen sinful creation out here, he 244 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:19,640 orchestrates, he orders, he's in control, He's absolutely 245 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,680 sovereign. His plans also perfect 246 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:24,920 linguistically. Just pay attention, just follow 247 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,320 for a few minutes. This is miraculous what he does. 248 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:31,600 He uses Alexander the Great of all people to bring a common 249 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,600 language, Koine Greek, to the known biblical world. 250 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:39,000 He used the Romans to bring Latin for the first time since 251 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,440 Babel. For the first time since the 252 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:46,160 Tower of Babel, most people could speak a common language, 253 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:51,840 either Greek or Latin. Even the common man spoke Koine 254 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:53,680 Greek. It was the language of business. 255 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:57,560 It was the language of trade, It was the language of war also. 256 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:01,240 And so around the biblical world, it was spoken by almost 257 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,280 everybody. And this language is one of the 258 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,480 most rich and expressive languages ever created. 259 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,760 And so it's a wonderful language in which to write a gospel, to 260 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,640 write epistles, and to share the truth of God. 261 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:15,000 But the key part of this is, think about these early 262 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,640 Christian missionaries. They could travel around the 263 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:20,800 entire Mediterranean world and Europe, and everybody could 264 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:25,000 understand for the first time in the fullness of time. 265 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,240 His plan is also perfect philosophically. 266 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:31,280 God used Greek philosophers to create a list of unanswered 267 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,720 questions for humanity they hadn't been asking before. 268 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:36,120 For the first time, man was asking about the meaning of 269 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,480 life, about purpose, about why. You've got to understand. 270 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,280 These old religions didn't work that way. 271 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,280 They were based on fear. They were based on appeasement 272 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:47,680 and not purpose or truth. They didn't answer anything. 273 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,880 The whole goal of the old religions was to do your best to 274 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,720 escape the wrath of the false gods by making sacrifices and 275 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,440 observing Pagan rituals in their fatalistic. 276 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:58,640 I hope so. Maybe so. 277 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:00,320 Don't know. So were theologies. 278 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:03,840 It's just like many false religions today around the 279 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,840 world. The world was searching. 280 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:11,000 The world was longing for truth. They hungered and thirsted for a 281 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,480 truth that would answer these difficult and real questions in 282 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,720 in their lives. And the answer would come in the 283 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,600 fullness of time. This plan was perfect 284 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,360 intellectually. You see, God used education in 285 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,840 schools built by the Romans. It was common for scholars to 286 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:28,920 travel and to teach. That wasn't always true. 287 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,080 A teacher would come, people would, that would be common. 288 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:33,240 People would gather to listen to the teacher teach. 289 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,280 And Jesus and the early missionaries used this method 290 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:40,160 and would readily find places to teach and and and to be heard by 291 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:45,440 crowds so they could teach about forgiveness and salvation in the 292 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,760 fullness of time. His plan was also perfect 293 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,200 physically. God used Rome to build paved 294 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:56,200 roads and secure the seas so that missionaries could travel 295 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,120 with relative ease. A huge network of roads was 296 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,160 built to quickly transport Roman troops and their and their 297 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,320 resources and and also to conduct trade. 298 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:09,080 Many of these roads are still used today, and so the for the 299 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,440 first time in human history, people could travel with 300 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:16,840 relative ease by ship or by Rd. And then think about it. 301 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,840 Palestine is the geographical center of three major 302 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:22,360 continents, Europe, Asia and Africa. 303 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,880 If you're going to start a global movement, Palestine's the 304 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,400 place to start it, and you can touch the known world. 305 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:36,120 Tell me who overseas history who knows and controls the fullness 306 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:39,880 of time? Finally, his plan was perfect 307 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:43,080 spiritually. The world has sunk to a new 308 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,680 moral low under Rome. Even the pagans wrote about it. 309 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:47,840 Even the pagans cried out against it. 310 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:50,200 They cried out against the immorality of Rome. 311 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,480 Spiritual hunger was everywhere. And the Jewish people were 312 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,360 searching for answers as well. Their interpretation of the 313 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:59,760 Judaic law failed them. The weight of the law had made 314 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:03,200 it almost impossible to serve and to worship and to know God 315 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:04,520 well. They needed something 316 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:06,800 fulfilling. They needed something hopeful. 317 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:11,680 They needed something true, and then in addition, their constant 318 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,040 persecution and oppression forced Jews to disperse all 319 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,880 around the Roman Empire. Think about how God used this 320 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,480 when the early missionaries went out, just like I've preached in 321 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:23,280 the last, in the last month, when the early missionaries, 322 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:25,560 when Paul would go out and others would go out, they could 323 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:28,520 find a Jewish community. They could find a synagogue 324 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:31,640 where they could begin to share the gospel in that city. 325 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:38,760 But they needed a deliverer. So it was the perfect time, it 326 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:44,680 was the Pluroma, it was the mature time for the Messiah to 327 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,600 come. So God was at work perfectly 328 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:51,920 preparing the time for Christ to come and this great cosmic 329 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:56,160 culmination of prophecy of people, of nations and events 330 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:58,480 working it all together in His sovereignty. 331 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:03,600 So don't be distracted today. Don't allow doubt to enter your 332 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,600 heart today by the current earthbound evil that you see 333 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,680 around you out there. That same God is still 334 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,520 orchestrating history. Listen. 335 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:16,040 Believe that God reigns even when you face this world. 336 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:17,920 Listen to what 1 theologian said. 337 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,000 I love this. He said evil's not something 338 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,600 that has an existence of its own. 339 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,480 Rather, it's the corruption of something that already exists. 340 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:26,760 It's like rot. It's like rust. 341 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,680 It's the corruption of good. It all started back in Genesis 342 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,760 when sin entered the creation. God created us for this love 343 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:37,800 relationship with Him and that, but man willfully chose not to 344 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:40,360 follow that. But but love can't simply be 345 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:42,880 programmed. It has to be freely expressed 346 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:44,560 so. So God didn't just create 347 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,920 robots, He created humans. We have a choice. 348 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:53,320 We have to choose to sinfully disobey Him or willfully obey 349 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:56,680 Him, and we have chosen sin. So Adam and Eve passed on a 350 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,640 sinful nature to us, and that results in what we call the 351 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,160 moral evil of man. You wonder why this world's 352 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:03,640 morally evil? That's why. 353 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,280 But we also live in a natural evil because even the creation 354 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,280 itself fell. There were no natural disasters 355 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:13,440 or disease and Eden. So don't blame God for the 356 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,920 presence of evil. Blame us for our willful moral 357 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:21,120 sin and choices. Now He allows sin and he allows 358 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:24,800 Satan to continue for a time, not because he's trying to 359 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,680 punish us, but he's trying to give us time to believe in him 360 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:32,880 so he could just destroy us all. I mean, just with a whim. 361 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,160 But he's given more time for more people to be safe, for more 362 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:42,960 people to testify about a life that's changed, for more people 363 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,160 to go overseas and share with others who don't know him. 364 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:52,040 So take joy in his active will. God will end evil one day. 365 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,600 We can bank on it because God's not finished yet. 366 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,280 He's always had a perfect plan. His perfect plan is the whole 367 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,680 point of Christmas. The world's tragically lost, 368 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:04,400 though. The world's tragically dark. 369 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:08,600 The world's tragically sinful. So what did God do when the time 370 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:13,880 was perfectly just right? Here, the miracle. 371 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:16,600 Second thing we need to see is look at His intentional 372 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,600 intervention back in verse 4. But when the fullness of time 373 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:25,720 had come, God sent forth His Son. 374 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:31,240 Born of a woman, born under the law at the perfect time. 375 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:35,640 God didn't just do something. God didn't. 376 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:41,800 God didn't just do do anything. God did the one necessary thing. 377 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:48,280 God sent forth his Son. There's no accident here. 378 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:49,960 There's no mere act of fate here. 379 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:54,080 This is God conducting the orchestra of history and 380 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:56,600 eternity. The incarnation is the 381 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:59,520 fulfillment of myriads of prophecies and the culmination 382 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:03,840 of a plan devised within the eternal counsel of the Triune 383 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:05,680 God before the creation of the world. 384 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:11,160 And we get to celebrate it. Jesus is the only begotten Son 385 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,520 from eternity. This is the story of a living 386 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:17,520 God who intentionally chose to intervene and live in this 387 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,720 sinful world. So God didn't just send a son 388 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:23,400 from Galilee to Jerusalem. He didn't just send him from a 389 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,560 Manger to a cross. He sent him from heaven to 390 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:27,480 earth. Now I'm not sure the full 391 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:29,240 implication of that can be grasped. 392 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,800 I'm not sure we can get that completely. 393 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:37,000 We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of 394 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:43,120 Christ and the greater truth is his deity more astonishing than 395 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,480 a baby in the mangers, the truth that the promised baby is the 396 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,240 omnipotent creator of the heavens and the earth. 397 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,400 See. And so yet this, this central 398 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,080 message of Christmas, the, the child of Christmas, it we need 399 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,080 to recognize that this, this child of Christmas is God and 400 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,320 the king is here. I mean, the world might be 401 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:04,880 willing to leave Jesus in the Manger. 402 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,040 They might be OK with that. It's some cute nativity scene, 403 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,640 but they're not willing to let him be sovereign King and Lord, 404 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,560 and that's the story we have to tell them. 405 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,600 So in sending Jesus, God didn't send a substitute. 406 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:24,400 He didn't send some surrogate. He came Himself right, 407 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,440 intentionally intervening in human history in the fullness of 408 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:33,400 time, because He's the only solution to our sin and death. 409 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:36,480 He's the only true source of truth and hope. 410 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,800 He is the only answer. And so his coming represents 411 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:43,440 God's perfect preparation and intentional intervention and 412 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,920 intervention. But we also see he's doing this 413 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,840 by the miracle, thirdly, of God's incredible incarnation. 414 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,600 I'm not making this up. I try hearing the verse, look at 415 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:57,120 verse 4 again. But when the fullness of time 416 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:03,360 had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under 417 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:05,200 the law. Let's not miss this. 418 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:08,320 He's born of woman, born under the law. 419 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:12,520 So having just asserted so boldly the deity of Christ, he 420 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,560 now asserts and affirms the humanity of Christ. 421 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:19,440 I mean, it's a miraculous one of a type, one-of-a-kind type of 422 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:21,840 experience. Born of a woman is just a common 423 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:22,400 phrase. Don't. 424 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:24,880 There's nothing more to that. It's just means that you're born 425 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,040 as a human being. It was common Jewish expression, 426 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,160 but this is no common event. God became man. 427 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,320 It's the incarnation, and he's not born in a normal way. 428 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,640 It's a virgin birth, and often we overlook that, as we saw back 429 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:38,720 in Isaiah 7. Sometimes we don't make a big 430 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:42,080 big enough deal about that. This is a hugely vital doctrine, 431 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:48,840 a fulfillment of prophecy. It's a testimony to the very 432 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:52,640 nature of Jesus Christ as to who he really is. 433 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,240 He's not just any man. He's not like every man. 434 00:23:56,360 --> 00:23:59,800 He's not like any man, but he's still fully man. 435 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:07,360 So an early heresy called Dosatism denied all this. 436 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:10,800 It said Jesus didn't really come in the flesh like a phantom. 437 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:14,320 So the apostle John has to fight this in the early church, which 438 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:16,240 is one of the reasons he writes first John. 439 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,720 So in first John 4 says this. By this you know the Spirit of 440 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,600 God. Every spirit that confesses that 441 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:28,240 Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every 442 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:31,040 spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. 443 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,600 This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was 444 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:38,280 coming and is now in the world. So through the miracle of the 445 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:42,960 incarnation and the virgin birth and the Holy Spirit, he was born 446 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:46,040 without sin. Yet He was also born under the 447 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,400 Law. So he was, it wasn't just a man, 448 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,160 he was also a Jewish man. So he's circumcised on the 8th 449 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,600 day, He reads the Torah, he attends the synagogue, he 450 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:56,040 fulfills. This no one has ever done 451 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:58,960 before. The the precepts and demands of 452 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:03,520 the true Law, and under the law, but not under sin. 453 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:07,200 The Word becomes flesh in the fullness of time. 454 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,640 So Christmas is God's perfect preparation and intentional 455 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:14,000 intervention and incredible incarnation. 456 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,880 And finally, it's also God's redeeming reception. 457 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:19,080 I'm not making up this outline. It's in the text. 458 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,600 Look at verse 5. To redeem those who are under 459 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:27,200 the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. 460 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,400 Remember what I told you at the beginning about the context. 461 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,160 Paul's been talking about this relationship with God. 462 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:34,040 We're son, we're children of God. 463 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,840 We're heirs with Christ. That's this background. 464 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,800 So he's coming back to it now to say, listen, we are redeemed, 465 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:43,280 Exo Garazo. That means that we are bought. 466 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,240 Not only are we bought, we're, we're, we're bought out. 467 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:49,200 We're bought up. In other words, every single bit 468 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:51,320 of us is purchased. Now, don't miss that. 469 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:53,960 It's not just he didn't just buy part of you. 470 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:56,040 He did just to get a portion of you. 471 00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:59,000 You don't get to compartmentalize Christianity in 472 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:00,760 your life. That's not how this works. 473 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:03,760 Church is not just an option. Christianity is not just an 474 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:05,720 option. Being a disciple is not just an 475 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,520 option. This is this is a total purchase 476 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,280 where he's bought all of you. This is your life. 477 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:14,640 That's what it means to be saved. 478 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:19,480 We are completely purchased. And for those who are saved, we 479 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:23,200 are completely saved. So remember this context. 480 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:26,880 We're adopted with full rights. So this transformation of 481 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,880 position, this transformation of relationship takes place from 482 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,200 slavery to sonship. Here look at verse 6. 483 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,760 And because you were sons, God has sent the spirit of a son 484 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:41,800 into our hearts, crying ABBA father, So you're no longer a 485 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:45,800 slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir 486 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,480 through God. So here, here's the true message 487 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:53,000 of Christmas. We're joined heirs with Christ. 488 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,280 That's the result. So the important issue of this 489 00:26:57,280 --> 00:26:59,800 season is not simply that Jesus came. 490 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:04,040 It's it's why did he come? There's no salvation in his 491 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:05,280 birth. There's no salvation in a 492 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,960 Manger, right? He, he was born to die, to pay 493 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:11,840 the price to buy us completely back, every bit of us, every 494 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:14,520 single ounce of us from the wages of sin. 495 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:18,960 And he knew it. He planned on it, right? 496 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:21,440 And we're going to remember and celebrate that just a second 497 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:23,920 with the Lord's Supper. But right before we get to it, 498 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:28,520 which we're getting ready to, right before we get to it, I 499 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:30,840 want to share one of my favorite Christmas passages. 500 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,160 It's in a weird place. I've learned over the years that 501 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:35,600 not everybody knows this passage. 502 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:40,520 I want to share a passage which is the miraculous and mysterious 503 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:46,040 conversation between God the Son and God the Father on Christmas 504 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:48,080 Eve right before Jesus comes to earth. 505 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:50,480 I want you to see this in Hebrews 10. 506 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:55,840 This is Jesus getting ready to leave heaven to come here, and 507 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:58,840 it says this. Consequently, when Christ came 508 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:02,560 into the world, so he's coming, he's leaving. 509 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:07,840 He said sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body 510 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,760 have you prepared for me, and burnt offerings and sin 511 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:13,160 offerings you've taken no pleasure. 512 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,160 Then I said, Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as is 513 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:17,680 written of me in the scroll of the book. 514 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:23,360 So just imagine this farewell scene on Christmas Eve as the 515 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:25,320 Son is bidding farewell to the Father. 516 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:30,640 Jesus knew exactly why he came. He knew exactly what the 517 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:34,400 sacrifice was going to be ahead and was willing to do that and 518 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:40,400 to suffer for us, to pay for us. It's the fulfilment of the 519 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:45,560 scroll of the book of the Word of God in the fullness of time. 520 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:51,480 Part of that redemption was the journey of the incarnation from 521 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:54,520 heaven to become one of us, to sacrifice to us, to pay for us. 522 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:58,160 And so Christmas is a key part of His gift of eternal life for 523 00:28:58,160 --> 00:28:59,720 us. Again, the writer of Hebrews in 524 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,280 chapter 2, you know this verse, it says this. 525 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,280 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the 526 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:11,400 angels, namely Jesus crowned with glory and honor because of 527 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,160 the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might 528 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:18,440 taste death for everyone. So He comes with the purpose of 529 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:22,800 redemption back in Galatians verse 5, to redeem those who are 530 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:26,840 under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 531 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,800 Remember in the Greco Roman world, when when you were 532 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:33,120 adopted, an adopted son had all the rights of a natural son. 533 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:37,480 In fact, an adopted son of Caesar later becomes Caesar in 534 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:40,720 their history. And so we recognize that this is 535 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,200 more this is this is a true relationship. 536 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,840 Look at verse 6. And because you were sons, God 537 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,160 has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts crying ABBA 538 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,800 father, so you're no longer a slave, but a son. 539 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,080 And if a son, then an heir through God. 540 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,760 So God also sent his son into our hearts just as he sent his 541 00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:59,800 son into the world. Listen to what Paul later listen 542 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,240 to what he says to the Romans in verse in chapter 8 of Romans. 543 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,640 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back 544 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:10,120 into fear, but you've received the spirit of adoption to sons 545 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:14,240 by whom we cry, ABBA, Father, the Spirit himself bears witness 546 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,480 with our spirit that we are children of God. 547 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:20,080 And if children then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs 548 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:23,560 with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we might 549 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:27,920 also be glorified with him. So the Holy Spirit is the pledge 550 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:30,960 of our adoption, the assurance of our adoption, and we get to 551 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:33,960 call him this term, ABBA. And you know many of you that 552 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:37,320 that term can mean daddy, that it's a very intimate family 553 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:39,120 term. But you also need to know that 554 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:42,600 it's also a legal term, that the, that that word also appears 555 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:46,200 in legal texts like in wills. So when the children go to get 556 00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:49,720 the inheritance of the Father, it's Abba's inheritance that 557 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:54,480 we're receiving. And so as as children of God in 558 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:57,880 this miracle, we have this opportunity this Christmas to 559 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:01,520 receive this adoption, to live as his children and faithfully 560 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:05,640 share his story with everyone we know and and then to receive 561 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:09,320 this inheritance. So God the Father planned from 562 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:12,560 all eternity to redeem His people and then the fullness of 563 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:17,560 time send His Son. God the Son Jesus Christ became 564 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:20,680 fully human and yet retained his deity, suffered, died and rose 565 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,800 again to pay the price for our sin and free us from the bond to 566 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:26,480 death. God the Holy Spirit brings 567 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:31,440 forgiveness and brings a new relationship, a new status with 568 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:33,320 the Father. He came. 569 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:35,280 We desperately needed Him to come. 570 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:38,480 And because this is true, I am a Son of God. 571 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:40,880 Now that is the true Christmas gift. 572 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,760 So the perfect gift of His grace. 573 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:49,360 And my friends, He's offering that gift to you. 574 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,520 If you're here this morning and you don't know Jesus Christ as 575 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:55,760 your Lord and Savior, he's offering that gift of grace to 576 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:57,640 you. And the question is, will you 577 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:01,640 receive that gift this morning? You've heard testimonies, you've 578 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:06,400 seen people willing to serve. Will you receive that gift this 579 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,320 morning? Who do you know that needs that 580 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:10,040 gift? If we really understand 581 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:12,720 Christmas, our immediate response needs to be worshiped. 582 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:14,080 Anything else would be inadequate. 583 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:17,000 We need to worship like the shepherds that died in Bethlehem 584 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,160 who left everything to go attend the birth of Jesus with a sense 585 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:21,920 of urgency, a sense of determination. 586 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,680 They rushed to get there to see. And I challenge you with a sense 587 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:30,040 of urgency and determination to rush to that same Jesus today. 588 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,800 Receive his gift, receive his adoption. 589 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:37,760 Remember what Christ has done for you on the cross through a 590 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:39,560 sacrifice. We're getting ready to do that. 591 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:44,680 He gave His body. He gave his blood to pay the 592 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:48,000 price for our sins because we couldn't pay for it ourselves. 593 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:52,840 Only He was perfect enough, sinless enough to satisfy the 594 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:54,920 payment. So we owe Him everything. 595 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:58,240 It's not this Christmas. I pray about everything we're 596 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:00,160 going to get. I pray it's about everything 597 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:04,240 we're going to give. We owe Him everything, and as we 598 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:07,040 celebrate the Lord's Supper, this is a time for remembering. 599 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:09,240 It's a time for renewal. It's a time for revival. 600 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:13,800 It's a time for recommitment of our appreciation and also our 601 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:15,600 participation. Just like these new members 602 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:19,240 showed us a participation in a covenant relationship with him 603 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:24,040 and his body, now the Supper doesn't make that happen. 604 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,560 There's nothing supernatural about this bread and cup. 605 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:31,160 It doesn't transform in some way for you to receive grace. 606 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:34,280 These are symbols of grace that you've already received if you 607 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:36,680 have. And it's also the opportunity to 608 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,480 proclaim what Christ has already done. 609 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:43,400 So only the one who has experienced true salvation can 610 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,320 prepare to take the Supper in a worthy manner. 611 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:49,960 Only those who've been saved by grace through faith can 612 00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:52,880 recognize the sin that might create unworthiness. 613 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:57,680 So the Supper, just like baptism is just for believers. 614 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:02,440 A non believer hasn't experienced yet the saving grace 615 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,400 that the Supper remembers and proclaims and so and so 616 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,639 therefore they can't remember or celebrate what they haven't 617 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:13,040 experienced yet. So for those of you who have not 618 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:15,800 personally trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, 619 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:19,360 I just encourage you strongly not to take the supper with us. 620 00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:23,199 It's OK, you're not going to be judged for that today. 621 00:34:23,679 --> 00:34:28,719 We would rather you be honest about that today, but but what 622 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:32,360 we do want you to do is observe how we participate in the supper 623 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:36,760 first, be saved, then share in the supper to remember and 624 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:41,080 proclaim what then has also happened to you. 625 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:46,199 So let us prepare to celebrate this celebration of remembrance. 626 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:48,199 So here's what we're going to do after I pray. 627 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:51,760 We're just going to have a couple of moments of silence. 628 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:55,639 The instruments are going to play softly and we're just going 629 00:34:55,639 --> 00:34:58,520 to have a moment of silence. This isn't a time for a public 630 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:01,320 invitation. Nobody's going to be here to 631 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:04,560 receive you. You're just going to stay seated 632 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:08,920 in a, in a spirit of prayer, ask the Lord to show you what is in 633 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:13,520 your life that might prevent you from remembering Him in a worthy 634 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:16,080 manner. Do you need to be saved? 635 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:21,200 Do you need to be committed in a new way in discipleship? 636 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:25,080 Or is there something use this time to talk to him, More than 637 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:27,000 importantly, use this time to listen to him? 638 00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:29,520 So let me pray and we'll do that, and then I'll call us back 639 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:34,520 together for the supper. Father, we thank you so much for 640 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,800 your grace. We thank you for your love. 641 00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:46,840 Father, there's no way, no way we could ever grasp all that 642 00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:51,040 you've done for us. But Father, we can be thankful. 643 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:57,360 We can be grateful, we can be responsive, we can be obedient. 644 00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:01,800 So Father, I pray right now that you'll guide us as we listen to 645 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:04,520 you. I pray you'll speak to our 646 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:07,600 spirits. Father, show us anything that we 647 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,960 need to confess, anything from which we need to repent. 648 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:15,760 Anything, Father, that prevents us from walking with you exactly 649 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:19,200 the way you want us to. And then, Father, I pray that 650 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:21,600 we'll celebrate and remember well as your body. 651 00:37:10,490 --> 00:37:13,370 Father, thank you for the privilege of being a part of 652 00:37:13,370 --> 00:37:16,450 your body. Now let us celebrate you. 653 00:37:16,450 --> 00:37:22,530 Well, let us remember you rightly as we participate 654 00:37:22,530 --> 00:37:28,680 together and communion with you through the Lord's Supper in 655 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:32,880 Christ's name, Amen. I'm going to ask the deacons and 656 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:35,240 the pastors who are assisting with the Supper to make your way 657 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:37,080 forward and to get into your spots. 658 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:39,960 So appreciative of these servants. 659 00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:42,880 Aren't you thankful for these men who help us? 660 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:50,960 Yeah, you bet. We're excited about the 661 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:53,680 potential of new deacons coming on board and what all that 662 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:55,280 means. We'll have ordination service 663 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:59,760 later. New men being willing to serve. 664 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:04,320 I love these pastors. Wonderful group. 665 00:38:10,210 --> 00:38:14,970 As we prepare to take the bread this morning, I'm going to ask 666 00:38:14,970 --> 00:38:18,410 our worship pastor, Pastor Skyler, to lead us in prayer. 667 00:38:19,930 --> 00:38:25,920 Let's pray, Lord, with grateful and thankful hearts this morning 668 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:30,160 we come to this moment where we observe and remember what you 669 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:33,400 did for us, the body that was broken for us. 670 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:35,920 And Lord, we just want to say thank you. 671 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:40,200 Lord, thank you for what this means, for what the symbolizes 672 00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:45,960 for us, newness of life. Lord, thank you for this 673 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:48,480 opportunity to celebrate you and to remember you well. 674 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:54,480 As Pastor said so, Lord, as we partake of this bread, we 675 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:56,920 remember your grace and your love for us. 676 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,760 And as it nourishes our body, would it help nourish us? 677 00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:06,040 To your service, in Christ's name we pray. 678 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:06,720 Amen. Amen. 679 00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:07,360 Thank. You, brother. 680 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:45,320 Thank you, Sir. The. 681 00:40:54,080 --> 00:41:30,420 The. The. 682 00:42:16,600 --> 00:43:08,780 The. The Holy Spirit also LED Paul to 683 00:43:08,780 --> 00:43:11,220 write to us in Corinthians about the Lord's Supper. 684 00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:15,400 And he said on the night in which Jesus was betrayed, he 685 00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:18,680 took bread. And after giving thanks, he 686 00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:21,320 broke it. And he said, this is my body, 687 00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:26,400 which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. 688 00:43:35,300 --> 00:43:38,620 And as we prepare to take the cup, I'm going to ask our 689 00:43:38,620 --> 00:43:41,620 Chairman of Deacons, Tim Looper, if you would, to voice our 690 00:43:41,620 --> 00:43:47,920 prayer, please. Father, your word says that 691 00:43:48,640 --> 00:43:53,520 without the shedding of blood, there's no remission, no 692 00:43:53,520 --> 00:43:58,120 forgiveness of sin. You sent your Son to provide the 693 00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:03,440 perfect blood needed for us to be forgiven once and for all. 694 00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:11,160 As we take this cup, a symbol of that blood, may we reflect, 695 00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:17,320 understand, and fully appreciate the degree of love you have for 696 00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:21,600 us. Thank you, Jesus, for your 697 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:25,320 indescribable gift. In your name we pray. 698 00:44:25,960 --> 00:45:48,200 Amen. The. 699 00:46:35,200 --> 00:47:28,760 The. The. 700 00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:49,440 The. The Bible goes on to say that 701 00:48:49,560 --> 00:48:54,840 after supper, Jesus also took the cup, and he said this cup, 702 00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:58,280 it is the new covenant. We would probably say New 703 00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:02,280 Testament in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it 704 00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:13,870 in remembrance of me and as we all stand together. 705 00:49:17,030 --> 00:49:20,110 The Bible also says that every time we observe the Lord's 706 00:49:20,110 --> 00:49:22,710 Supper, we're making a proclamation. 707 00:49:23,830 --> 00:49:26,710 We're proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes again, and 708 00:49:26,710 --> 00:49:28,470 he will come again. Amen. 709 00:49:30,280 --> 00:49:33,600 Thank you for being here to help us begin the celebration of His 710 00:49:33,600 --> 00:49:36,640 first coming. I know we've gone long, but 711 00:49:36,640 --> 00:49:37,960 hadn't it been worth it this morning? 712 00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:42,280 Now continue to come. We're going to celebrate that 713 00:49:42,280 --> 00:49:46,120 coming, and we look forward to that second coming as well. 714 00:49:46,240 --> 00:49:47,960 We're going to worship Him before we leave. 715 00:49:48,120 --> 00:49:50,440 Here's what's going to happen. There'll be a couple of pastors 716 00:49:50,440 --> 00:49:52,680 here at the front if you want to come and share with them. 717 00:49:52,680 --> 00:49:56,320 Our next steps room is open. There's also a next steps table 718 00:49:56,480 --> 00:49:58,680 right out in the lobby where I normally stand. 719 00:49:58,800 --> 00:50:01,400 Teresa and I are going to be at the door to greet you because we 720 00:50:01,400 --> 00:50:03,320 want to say hi to as many of you as we can. 721 00:50:03,520 --> 00:50:06,280 So if you want to come, the Lord's laying something on your 722 00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:11,040 heart, a salvation baptism, membership recommitment, you 723 00:50:11,040 --> 00:50:13,200 come and talk to a pastor. Some of the pastors are going to 724 00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:15,920 hang out even in the back after the service, so there are plenty 725 00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:17,680 of opportunities for you to share with somebody. 726 00:50:18,120 --> 00:50:20,160 Let's celebrate him. Let's worship him together. 727 00:50:22,080 --> 00:50:23,720 Thank you so much for listening today. 728 00:50:23,720 --> 00:50:25,040 And I also hope that you'll go to 729 00:50:25,040 --> 00:50:28,840 ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com as well as our app and find many 730 00:50:28,840 --> 00:50:31,200 other resources that will bless you and your families. 731 00:50:31,360 --> 00:50:32,400 Thank you once again.