1 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,320 Paul, I just want you to stand up now. 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:11,680 Now, turn around. Wait a minute. 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:13,160 Turn around. Turn around and face the choir. 4 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:14,880 Turn around and face the choir. Now see. 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,480 Just stay there for a minute. Now see some of you have 6 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,120 flashing lights at your house. Now turn back around. 7 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:23,040 No, no, no. Turn back around. 8 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:24,200 Turn that way. Turn back around. 9 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:26,000 Get off stage. Paul, Thank you. 10 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:32,960 I think we got a competition going on. 11 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:39,280 Well, Merry Christmas, Inglewood, take your Bibles turn 12 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:41,560 to Matthew chapter 1. I will be there with you 13 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,400 eventually. Let me share just a couple of 14 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:45,600 words. Thank you so much for being 15 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,560 here, braving the weather and sickness and busyness and 16 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:50,000 everything else you got going on out there. 17 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,520 Thank you so much. I do want to make sure that I 18 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,840 call attention to the Happy Birthday Jesus offering that's 19 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,560 still going on for a couple of weeks that supports a lot of our 20 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,360 missions projects as well as some additional new partners 21 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,680 that we have in 2026. Really important offering. 22 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,440 Hope that you'll give to that and and pray that you'll 23 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,120 continue to pray about that before the end of the year. 24 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:12,960 Also, for those who are interested in our mission trips 25 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:16,920 that we do have two mission trip meetings today if you were 26 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,000 interested in Uganda and you can still come. 27 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,000 It's at 4:00 in the edge and then Central Asia will be at 28 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,280 4:45 in the edge and then everything else will be on 29 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:29,720 January 4th. So for those who signed up for 30 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:34,360 2026 trips, we're nailing those things down coming together and 31 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,960 excited about the 200 plus of I think of you who expressed 32 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:40,560 interest in going on mission. So thank you so much for that. 33 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:43,400 And just take a good look at your worship guide. 34 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,240 Lots of important information during our praise time. 35 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,040 I was actually talking to our friends overseas and they had 36 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:54,160 signaled me earlier and I'd missed it. 37 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,920 And so I caught that and then we were dialoguing just a few 38 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:58,720 moments ago. I know a lot of you are 39 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,760 interested in what's, what's the latest, Some of you know, 40 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,880 they're not going to have a court date probably now until 41 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:07,760 February. And so just continue to pray for 42 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,080 them. But they're what's exciting, and 43 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,440 I was seeing some pictures, is that they're meeting with folks, 44 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,000 doing some training, meeting with their partners, kind of 45 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,680 moving along the best they can and seeing good ministry happen. 46 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,600 And so praise the Lord for that. And even the unreached people 47 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,840 group that we prayed for today falls within that, that range of 48 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,480 people that they work with. And so I want us to pray for 49 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:35,760 them again and lift them up. They're actually watching again 50 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,200 right now. And so we love you and 51 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,160 appreciate you very much and we want to lift you up. 52 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,600 So let's do that. Father, we're so grateful for 53 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:48,360 our folks who serve overseas in various places. 54 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,720 Thank you, Father, for the new partnerships and opportunities 55 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,760 we have to go to even new places this year coming up. 56 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:57,600 But Father, we certainly pray for our friends right now 57 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,480 through the the trials and tribulations, the opportunities 58 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:02,880 as well. Father, who knows what all 59 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,840 you're going to do between now and February with the gospel 60 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,040 through them. So I just pray you'll empower 61 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,200 them, you'll protect them, you'll give them grace and 62 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,920 opportunities, open the window to the gospel for the people 63 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:16,720 they're around. Give them the boldness to step 64 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,320 out and to share. And Father, we just pray, Lord, 65 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:21,800 that the people that they've trained will continue to train 66 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,000 others and continue to share with others and continue to 67 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:25,920 share with others. And we're going to hear 68 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:29,560 incredible testimonies, not only here on earth, but one day in a 69 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:31,920 throne room when we bring you glory and praise. 70 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:34,680 So, Father, thank you for them. Just pray you'll watch over them 71 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:35,880 and bless them and encourage them. 72 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,400 Help them know how much we love them in Christ's name, Amen. 73 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:42,480 Well, I hope you're getting ready for Christmas. 74 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:44,920 I, I, I don't know how well that's going for you. 75 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:49,320 I, Christmas is interesting because as we celebrate God 76 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,320 sending his son and we're talking about the sermon series 77 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:55,120 we're talking about is doing that in the fullness of time, 78 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:57,400 which I talked more about last week. 79 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,520 But we want to intentionally prepare for and to properly 80 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,000 observe Christmas. And it can be, it can be hard. 81 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,880 It can be difficult when we're surrounded by the culture that 82 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:10,600 we live in, the world we live in by and we're surrounded by so 83 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:15,360 many non biblical stories, so many fairy tales, so much focus 84 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:19,480 on stuff at Christmas. And even not that I don't love 85 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,520 family, but even family can kind of take priority of Jesus 86 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,200 sometimes. Travel, decorations, all the 87 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,680 stuff that we get into. So I want to talk about what 88 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,720 Christmas is and is not for a few moments this morning. 89 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,040 And then I want us to look at Matthew's story as I talk about 90 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,080 myths, materialism, and the Messiah. 91 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:40,920 So in Matthew, and we're going to go, we're going to share 92 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:43,240 about the coming of the Messiah. But the first, there's a couple 93 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,400 of things that we ought to talk about that Christmas is not. 94 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:49,000 You'll know some of this, you may not know all of this, but 95 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:50,320 let's just talk about a couple of things. 96 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,080 First of all, Christmas is not mythology. 97 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:58,480 So sometimes we lose the true meaning of Christmas when we 98 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:03,560 reduce it down to or we prioritize the mythology that's 99 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:08,280 all around it, right? And so that's tragic when you 100 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:11,120 consider the incredible significance and power of the 101 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,760 truth of Christmas, as well as the evangelistic opportunity and 102 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,000 frankly, consequence when we water it down this time of year, 103 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,600 people are actually interested in talking about Jesus Christ, 104 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,280 kind of like at Easter. There are opportunities to share 105 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:28,120 the gospel with people right now, and we don't want to miss 106 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,520 that. But but many don't know what 107 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,240 details are biblical and what details are not. 108 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:37,040 I mean, when we inject kings and drummer boys and talking animals 109 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,240 and flying reindeer and talking snowmen and elves and Kris 110 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,600 Kringle and of course even the Grinch. 111 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:48,040 Some even believe this is a dad joke. 112 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:51,680 Get ready. Some even believe in Olive, the 113 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:54,560 other reindeer. Oh, come on. 114 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,400 So there you are. So Teresa shared with me though 115 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:02,640 the other day she said, listen, this is, you know, because we're 116 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:04,680 next week, I'm going to talk about the Nativity and what 117 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,560 really happened at the Nativity. At our house. 118 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,000 We collect nativities, as some of you've heard me say, got 119 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:11,800 about 200 of them, I think at the house or something like 120 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:13,440 that. And she shared with me the other 121 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:18,040 day, she goes, here's Mary, probably totally exhausted, just 122 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:22,840 gets baby Jesus asleep. And here comes this young man 123 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:26,080 who thinks to himself, what this young girl needs right now is a 124 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:32,680 drum solo. Now I'm no Scrooge. 125 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:34,320 Turn to your neighbor and say Bah humbug. 126 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:40,280 And don't worry parents, I'm not here to ruin all of your fun and 127 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:43,120 all of your traditions. But where did it all come from? 128 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,200 I don't know if you know this, but the early church didn't even 129 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,480 celebrate the birth of Jesus. They celebrated the resurrection 130 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,840 and and they actually celebrated the baptism of Jesus, which is 131 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:55,120 interesting because we've lost that overtime, haven't we? 132 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:59,160 The celebration of his baptism, but the the celebration of his 133 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:00,760 birth didn't come to a lot later. 134 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,600 So let's talk about this. Let me ask you 3 questions about 135 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:05,840 Christmas. Why is Christmas on December 136 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:07,960 25th? And some of you will know parts 137 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:13,000 of this, but we don't know the exact date when Jesus was born. 138 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,920 Obviously some of you have probably heard the theory that 139 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,600 it wouldn't have been in winter because the the shepherds would 140 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:21,520 not have been out with their flocks by night. 141 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:25,920 But that's not necessarily true because if those flocks were in 142 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,080 Bethlehem, that's where they kept the temple flocks, the 143 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,360 sacrificial lambs, and the shepherds worked all year round 144 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:34,720 in Bethlehem. So it could have been still in 145 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,280 the winter. And so we recognize that we do 146 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,440 know the Roman holiday and some of you know it, Saturnalia, that 147 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:46,120 it was the birthday of the Roman birthday of the sun, not the the 148 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:50,080 SUN, the star. And it began on December 19th, 149 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,920 lasted for seven days. And so over the years, as 150 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,200 Christianity spread to the Roman Empire, this stuff got all mixed 151 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:58,440 up. And so many of the traditions of 152 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,280 Saturnalia got mixed up with Christian traditions. 153 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,920 And so from Saturnalia we get things like feasting and parades 154 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:09,160 and music and gift giving and lighted candles and green trees. 155 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,800 But then in 336 AD, Emperor Constantine declared that 156 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,240 December 25th was the birthday of Jesus and it became an 157 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:21,360 official Roman holiday, trying to offset the paganism. 158 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,360 The Pope comes along and agrees and says, so December 25th is 159 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,800 it. Again, it was a direct challenge 160 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,040 to the celebration of the Roman God and and they wanted to 161 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:34,640 replace them the immorality that was associated with the Pagan 162 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,880 celebrations. Yet yet Christmas being on 163 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,360 December 25th was not accepted by a lot of people throughout 164 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:44,760 the centuries. The Puritans for example in 165 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,760 early America rejected it and deliberately worked on December 166 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,120 25th. In 1644 in England a law was 167 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,680 passed that made December 25th an official working day and it 168 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:58,320 was illegal against the law to cook plum pudding and minced 169 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:00,200 pie. So stop that. 170 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:04,200 So we eventually settle in on December 25th. 171 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:07,480 Why do we decorate Christmas trees? 172 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:10,960 Well, once again the Romans. The Romans decorated their 173 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:12,800 temples with greenery and candles. 174 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,280 And when they conquered Britain, they found Druids and Saxons who 175 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:20,280 are who are using mistletoe and holly and Ivy in their worship. 176 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:24,360 So once again they they're trying to convert and and offset 177 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,040 the Pagan celebrations with Christian celebration. 178 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:29,560 Martin Luther might have been one of the first ones. 179 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:32,360 Seriously, Martin Luther may have been one of the first ones 180 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,800 that light a Christmas tree to decorate a church. 181 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:39,200 He actually introduced the practice of putting candles on 182 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,800 Chris on trees to celebrate Christmas within church 183 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:45,280 buildings. And he cited Isaiah 60. 184 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,560 He said, the glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the Cypress, 185 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:51,120 the plain and the pine to beautify the place of my 186 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:54,400 sanctuary and I will make the place of my feet glorious. 187 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:59,120 Now I teach that the tree and the lights and the decorations 188 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:02,880 are, are celebratory decorations for the birthday party for 189 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:05,000 Jesus. That's what we we talk about at 190 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,120 our house, but it's better than balloons and streamers. 191 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:13,720 And so we we decorated my house. Then, then the third question 192 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:19,720 and don't panic, who is Santa Claus? 193 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:23,200 Now, I know historically various things have been shared with you 194 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:24,920 from this pulpit. For those who've been here for a 195 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,080 long time, don't panic. I'm going to share with you. 196 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,120 There's no way I can satisfy everyone with what I'm about to 197 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:32,880 say, but I'm going to give you an alternative. 198 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:35,080 I'm going to give you an alternative. 199 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:41,160 The model for Santa was a 3rd to 4th century Bishop named 200 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:44,000 Nicholas. He and his parents lived in 201 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,080 Turkey and they were very strong Christians and his mom and dad 202 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:52,160 prayed and and asked God for a child much like Abraham and 203 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:55,680 Sarah in their later years. And from the time Nicholas was 204 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:59,880 born around 80 to 80, they considered him a gift from God 205 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:03,520 and dedicated him to the Lord. He was taught great devotion to 206 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,320 God and great generosity to the poor. 207 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,040 His parents died when he was a teenager, and he becomes a monk 208 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:12,840 and a priest. His uncle's a Bishop who ordains 209 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:16,480 him and actually prophesize about Nicholas, that he would 210 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:20,040 offer guidance and consolation to many people and eventually 211 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,480 become an Archbishop. He in fact becomes a Bishop of a 212 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:26,320 small village and his influence spread to many, many nations 213 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:28,960 before he's done. He was known to stay up all 214 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:32,320 night long studying God's word to bring it to the people, and 215 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:35,360 he was known to be an incredibly powerful prayer warrior. 216 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,000 He was also known for helping the poor. 217 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:42,040 He was even imprisoned for his true faith and then later freed. 218 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,520 He said on one of the great church councils later in 219 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,160 January, we're going to talk about how did we get the Bible 220 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,040 on Wednesday nights, How did we get the Bible? 221 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:51,200 And what do I do with this thing? 222 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:53,720 Why does my Bible have these books in it? 223 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:55,280 How did this whole thing come about? 224 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,320 Well, the Council of Nicaea was one of those councils that 225 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,000 helped determine some of this. But he said on the Council of 226 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:05,000 Nicaea, which was primarily discussing the doctrine about 227 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,160 the deity of Jesus Christ, and they were fighting false 228 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:11,240 teaching. And, and, and so frankly, we may 229 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,120 need Nicholas more than ever this Christmas, not to bring 230 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:17,080 presents to good boys and girls, but to actually confront 231 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:19,400 heretics who deny the deity of Jesus. 232 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:22,480 Right. But when Nicholas was seated at 233 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,840 the council, the other church fathers were debating about the 234 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:28,240 relationship between God the Son and God the Father. 235 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:32,920 And and legend says, and it's a strong legend asserts, that 236 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:37,880 Nicholas became so enraged by a man named Arias, who taught that 237 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:43,360 that Jesus was not equal to God the Father, he became so angry 238 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,640 with him he slapped Arias across the face in the middle of the 239 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:49,160 council meeting. I think I would have liked Old 240 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,440 Nick. It's my kind of guy. 241 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,160 And then Nicholas became became known as the giver of gifts, 242 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:01,400 patron St. of children and an annual feast is actually held in 243 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:04,800 his honor after his death every December 6th of the parts of the 244 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:05,720 world. They still do this. 245 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,000 They have Saint Nicholas day and on Satan. 246 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:09,880 Now listen, this is going to start sounding more familiar. 247 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,120 On Saint Nicholas Day eve, children will place food out for 248 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,000 him and his donkey and it was said that he would come from 249 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:20,920 heaven during the night, during the night to replace the gifts 250 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,440 of good children with toys and sweets. 251 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:27,000 Starting to sound familiar? And then he became the Christmas 252 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:32,600 Man in Germany, Pierre Noel in France, Father Frost in Russia, 253 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:38,200 Father Christmas in England, and Centre Claus in Holland, where 254 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,040 he was very popular and where Dutch children would expected 255 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:44,200 him to visit during the night on December 5th. 256 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:48,920 And they placed their wooden shoes by the fireplace so he 257 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:54,480 could fill them with gifts. Well, Santa Claus is simply the 258 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,360 Americanization of the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas, Santa 259 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,440 Claus. So Santa Claus literally means 260 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:04,040 Saint Nicholas in its original form. 261 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:07,280 So he was supposed to be a tall man with a long beard and a 262 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,840 large sack of toys. Clement Moore, who is an 263 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:13,160 American poet, comes along and popularizes our current cultural 264 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,240 model of Santa Claus. When he wrote A Visit from Saint 265 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:20,760 Nicholas in 1822, which begins with the famous line Twas the 266 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:25,280 Night Before Christmas, it's immediately popular. 267 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:29,320 It's been endured ever since, and the illustrations led to our 268 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:33,640 current image of Santa Claus. Now, after Santa Claus became a 269 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,760 part of American folklore, children discovered you get more 270 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:39,440 gifts if you put socks out there rather than wooden shoes. 271 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:44,960 American kids are smart. Then we added, we added the 272 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:49,280 elves, North Pole flying reindeer, and Santa's alter ego, 273 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,040 Kris Kringle, some type of elf king along the way. 274 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:54,360 I like Saint Nicholas so much better. 275 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:56,960 And at our house we have Saint Nicholas. 276 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,280 And we talked about Saint Nicholas because Christmas is 277 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:03,080 not mythology. Secondly, though, Christmas is 278 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,920 also not materialism. Sometimes in our world today, 279 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,760 spiritual values give way to a commercialized celebration of 280 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:12,840 self indulgence, it seems like, right? 281 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:15,120 Who got the most? Who gets the best? 282 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,520 I mean, if you'd never heard of Christ, or you'd never heard of 283 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:23,360 Christmas, I wonder what message you would get about this season 284 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,720 if you visited Walmart or tried to track Amazon. 285 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:29,760 I mean, I wonder what the Lord thinks of all this. 286 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:33,720 It's not mythology, it's not materialism, obviously, it's the 287 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:35,760 celebration of our triumphant Savior. 288 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:39,920 It's the Christ Mass that's celebration. 289 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:42,760 So it's Christ's birthday. So. 290 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,240 So I challenge you this season to make sure. 291 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:49,040 I challenge you to think more about what you must give him. 292 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:51,360 That's part of what the prayer meeting is going to be about 293 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,240 Wednesday night, More about what you must give him rather than 294 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:57,760 what you want to receive or even to give to other people. 295 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:05,920 Do we place more emphasis on the materials, on the myths then we 296 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:10,880 do on the true meaning and and what we must give him rather 297 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:14,520 than what we might receive? So, so do we we think about the 298 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:16,680 true coming of them of the Messiah. 299 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,640 So there are many stories of fantasy out there we share with 300 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:24,040 our kids, from nursery rhymes to animated movies, even even 301 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:26,800 Christian oriented ones like Narnia, Lord of the Rings. 302 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,720 But we tend to identify them as fantasy. 303 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:33,200 So you as parents and believers make decisions about how you're 304 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:35,400 going to celebrate this. I'm not saying do away with all 305 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,000 the fun, but during this season we do have an incredible 306 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:43,720 proactive opportunity to speak to and teach our children and 307 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:48,920 others about and giving our lives and thankfulness to the 308 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:51,720 Messiah. So please don't squeeze him out. 309 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:58,120 Let's not surrender Christmas. But thirdly, Matthew, Juan, I 310 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:02,560 told you I'd finally get there. Finally, we see that Christmas 311 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:06,920 is the coming of the Messiah. So we want to tell others from 312 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:10,000 the very beginning of time, God had this gift perfectly planned, 313 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,400 perfectly wrapped up, as we saw last week. 314 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:14,960 We want to tell them that God is in complete control or 315 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:18,079 orchestrating history, orchestrating the world for His 316 00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:21,680 own glory and for our great blessing, and that He filled the 317 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,119 perfect time with His perfect will. 318 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,440 And it's quite a story. So let's pick up Matthew's 319 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,400 version of it. This miracle called the 320 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,400 incarnation, this miracle of the birth of Jesus, Matthew 11, the 321 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:37,240 book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the 322 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,840 son of Abraham. So we see this genealogy and it 323 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:43,520 goes on for several verses. Matthew has written to more 324 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:45,520 Jewish readers. So the genealogy becomes a 325 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:47,840 really important part because it's very important to the 326 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:49,680 Jewish readers to know where this guy came from. 327 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,600 It's very important to connect him back to the covenant 328 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:55,440 relationships of the people of God with God. 329 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,120 And so we see that he's the fulfilment of Scripture in this 330 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:00,840 help. So in the fullness of time, God 331 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:04,520 launches his incredible plan. Look at verse 18. 332 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,960 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. 333 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:12,720 When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they 334 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,360 came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy 335 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:18,240 Spirit. Every time I read the Christmas 336 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:22,560 story, there are a lot of things to think about, lot of focuses, 337 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:25,120 people who miss Christmas, people who made Christmas. 338 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,000 But one of the people I think about often is Joseph. 339 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,240 I mean, Can you imagine being Joseph? 340 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,680 Life's good. You're engaged to Mary, 341 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:37,960 wonderful, wonderful, faithful woman. 342 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,160 You're ready to begin your life together. 343 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,560 You have plans to expand the Carpenter shop, to go out and 344 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,000 buy that new camel everybody's talking about with those all 345 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,840 weather hoofs and that dual hump. 346 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:49,600 I'm telling you, it's a good day. 347 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:58,680 Then what? What your, what, how, what am I 348 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,720 supposed to do now if I'm Joseph? 349 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:07,640 Look at verse 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and 350 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,920 unwilling to put her to shame, resolve to divorce her quietly. 351 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,720 So you got to understand the law demanded that he do something. 352 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:19,400 If you're caught in adultery, according to the law, the 353 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:24,360 punishment was stoning, right? But he loved her and he was a 354 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:28,560 just and righteous man. So I'll slip you away. 355 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:32,120 No one will have to hear this crazy talk from you. 356 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:37,200 No one will have to know, right? But God had an intentional plan 357 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:41,080 and the time was full. Look at verse 20. 358 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,120 But as he considered these things, behold, an Angel of the 359 00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:47,560 Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David. 360 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,520 Do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is 361 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:52,400 conceived in hers from the Holy Spirit. 362 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,360 She will bear a son, and you should call His name Jesus, for 363 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:57,160 He will save His people from their sins. 364 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:00,400 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord has spoken by the 365 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,200 prophet. Behold, the Virgin shall 366 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,560 conceive and bear a son, and they should call his name 367 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:06,840 Emmanuel, which means God with us. 368 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:10,120 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the Angel of the Lord 369 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:12,720 commanded him. He took his wife, but knew or 370 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:16,240 not until she had given birth to a son and he called his name 371 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:21,280 Jesus. See, for Joseph, obedience was 372 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:25,040 more important than popularity. He listened. 373 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:29,400 And then he, he obeyed, he did what the Angel of the Lord 374 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:32,000 commanded him. We see fulfillment of Scripture 375 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,600 taking place recording from Isaiah Chapter 7, as we saw last 376 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,160 week. So, so this season, let's tell 377 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:42,240 them, let's tell our children, let's tell our friends, let's 378 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:47,240 tell our neighbors about Joseph and his willing obedience. 379 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:51,920 Let's tell them about a God who fulfills his prophecy, who 380 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:53,840 fulfills his Scripture perfectly. 381 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:58,080 But we also need to warn them about others in this story who 382 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,720 missed Christmas, like many, many may this year. 383 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:06,600 So all the myth, all the materialism, but missing the 384 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:08,640 Messiah. And we want to warn them. 385 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,120 We want to challenge him. Just as the King of Kings was 386 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:13,880 turned away from a crowded in and part of the story, he 387 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:18,720 continued to be turned away today, I'm afraid, from the 388 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,680 overcrowded hearts of people. In fact, there was a church 389 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,560 pageant the kids were putting on one time. 390 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:26,200 And so the kids had it all. You know, they're all in their 391 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,080 little costumes and, and they had they were going to do the 392 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:32,560 the crowded inn scene. And one of the boys was the 393 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:34,080 innkeeper. But he always wanted to be 394 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:36,560 Joseph and he was mad that he didn't get to be picked Joseph. 395 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,560 So he's jealous of Joseph, so he's plotting his revenge. 396 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,280 How can I mess this up and get Joseph during the play? 397 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:46,680 And so, you know, obviously that Mary and Joseph come and knock 398 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,160 on the door and, you know, can you give us board and lodging 399 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:50,640 for the night? And of course, you know, they're 400 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,440 supposed to be this no room in the in line that comes after 401 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:54,960 that. And and the little boy playing 402 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,640 Joseph's knocking on the door and waiting on the line. 403 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,120 But instead the boy playing the innkeeper flings the door open 404 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:03,400 and says, sure, come in, come in. 405 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:04,880 We got you can have the best room in the house. 406 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:07,280 Thank you. And he's going to really mess 407 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:11,360 things up. Well, there was a pause, but the 408 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:15,280 clever little Joseph says this. It says, Mary, you hold on. 409 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,880 I'm going to go ahead and take a look inside first. 410 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,720 It walks in, goes past the innkeeper, comes back out, says 411 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:22,520 I'm not taking my wife into a place like that. 412 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:24,200 Come on Mary, we're sleeping in the stable. 413 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:32,800 Matthew chapter 2 verse one. Now after Jesus was born in 414 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:37,280 Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod, the king, behold, wise 415 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:39,680 men from the east came to Jerusalem. 416 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:41,680 Here are the wise guys. Let's talk about the wise guys 417 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:43,720 for a minute. So Herod's half Jewish. 418 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,960 He's not really a full blood Israelite. 419 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:51,320 He's he's actually a descendant of Esau who made himself 420 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,120 friendly to the Roman Senate and they made him a governor. 421 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,840 And then eventually they acknowledge him as the king 422 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,520 quote UN quote king because he has friendship with Mark Antony. 423 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:04,640 And so he's this fake puppet king put into place and he was 424 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:07,240 power hungry and nobody got in his way. 425 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:09,040 And this is really important to this story. 426 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:13,920 He, he, he at one point had 10 wives and three sons killed 427 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,040 because he thought they were going to overthrow him. 428 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,240 In fact, the Roman emperor Augustus once said it was safer 429 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:22,560 to be Herod's pig than Herod's son. 430 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:27,640 And so he suffered from extreme paranoia, extreme suspicion. 431 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,760 In fact, at his death in Jericho, he ordered the most 432 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,640 distinguished citizens of Jerusalem's to be Jerusalem to 433 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,920 be arrested. And then he ordered them to be 434 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,840 killed at the moment of his death because he know, he knew 435 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,880 nobody would mourn over him. And he was determined that tears 436 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,040 would be shed on the day he would die. 437 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:48,920 Now, with that in mind, let's read this again. 438 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:54,000 Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem. 439 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:58,240 Look at verse 2 and it's saying, where is he who has been born 440 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,760 king of the Jews? I mean, alarms are going off 441 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:05,720 right now in Herod's head, right before we saw his star when it 442 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:07,480 rose, and have come to worship him. 443 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:11,320 And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all 444 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:13,640 Jerusalem with him. Don't miss this. 445 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,240 The whole city knows this is going on, more or less. 446 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:18,400 And you got to understand who these guys were. 447 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,200 The Persian Magi were searching for the king of the Jews. 448 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:26,720 Now, there are no characters in the Christmas story stranger 449 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,520 than the Persian Magi. They were not at the Manger. 450 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:33,520 They, they come much later. We'll see that again in a 451 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,240 moment. So fix your nativity sets. 452 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:39,640 Get those wise men out of there. There's no evidence there's 453 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,280 three of them, nor that they were kings. 454 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,560 Their legends and myths about them, their their their 455 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:51,240 mythological names were Caspar, Caspar, Bethesar and Milkior. 456 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,320 In fact, the 12th century Bishop claimed that he found their 457 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:56,640 skull caps and had them on display in a casket. 458 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:01,840 But but in fact, the Greek historian Herodotus tells us, he 459 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:05,200 tells us that the Magi were a priestly cast of the Medes think 460 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:09,200 Iran of the of Persia. And they were active throughout 461 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,520 Babylon and Mesopotamia. And this is important. 462 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:14,840 They practice Zoroastrianism, which was the official religion 463 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:19,360 of Persia, which has some some similarities to Judaism, but far 464 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:22,520 more differences. They they included sorcery and 465 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:26,840 astrology and wizardry and witchcraft and divination. 466 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,800 In fact, the word magic comes from the word Magi. 467 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,720 And so this religion and the descendants of the Persian 468 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,880 magi's magi are still alive today. 469 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,480 They're actually in India Today that because they fled Persia in 470 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,000 the 7th century when Muslim persecution came in. 471 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:48,000 So it's actually still being practiced in a little part of 472 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,840 India Today. And in the ancient world, 473 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:53,200 because there was no distinction between superstition and 474 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,560 science, these magi become religious leaders, scientists, 475 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:00,440 mathematicians, philosophers, doctors, and legal authorities. 476 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:02,880 Here's the important part. Here's why I'm telling you all 477 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:08,960 that These Magi proclaimed and served the kings of Persia. 478 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:14,920 They did it using magic. But no Persian could become king 479 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,680 without the support of the Magi. They were the Persian 480 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:21,920 kingmakers. So they're mentioned in the Old 481 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:26,320 Testament and Jeremiah, and also with Daniel they were in, they 482 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,760 were Daniel's rivals and Nebuchadnezzar's court until 483 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,720 Daniel 248. And and then the king gave 484 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:36,880 Daniel high honors and many great gifts and made him ruler 485 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:40,320 over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over 486 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:45,720 all the wise men of Babylon. So Daniel becomes the leader of 487 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:48,320 the Magi. Now we cannot be sure. 488 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,200 We have no evidence, we have no knowledge of this, but this 489 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,200 could be how how they learned of some of the prophecies of a 490 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:58,960 Jewish king Messiah. So if so, it's really amazing. 491 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,600 God is something always in complete control, looking far 492 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:04,880 beyond our limited scope and and looking ahead in history. 493 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,000 But when they arrived in Jerusalem in Matthew, it would 494 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,040 have been quite a scene. This is not three simple people 495 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:13,280 on camels that, that there's nothing like that. 496 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:17,200 They, they would have travelled with a small army under the 497 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:22,080 orders of the Persian king. These foreign kingmakers wore 498 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,000 cone shape hats. They were the first Gandalfs. 499 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,000 I mean, they, they just had, they're the ones that had the 500 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,080 wizard hats on. And they would have ridden 501 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,080 Arabian horses, not camels. This is a small armed force from 502 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:37,200 Persia coming into Jerusalem asking where's the king? 503 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:42,360 You can imagine Herod not enjoying his breakfast that day. 504 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:46,440 And so this is amazing. Rome hated them because they 505 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:50,040 could never conquer them. And so with that in mind, look 506 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,320 at verse 3 again. When Herod the king heard this, 507 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,320 he was troubled. The word means highly agitated 508 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:00,480 and all Jerusalem with him. Here were the Persian kingmakers 509 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:04,760 asking about where the new king of the Jews was. 510 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:07,480 Talk about paranoia. Talk about suspicion. 511 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,360 It's interesting because as the astronomers of the day, they saw 512 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:12,840 this new star. I read a recent article recently 513 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:16,480 in NASA, a NASA astronomer scientist has claimed there's 514 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:19,600 actually scientific evidence explaining the strange movement 515 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,560 of the star of Bethlehem that led them to Jesus. 516 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:26,560 There's actually an object gets recorded by the Chinese at this 517 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:30,320 day and time to where it's it was a comet that was visible for 518 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:34,200 days and nearly struck the earth 2000 plus years ago. 519 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:38,560 God reveals it to the magi. That's our God. 520 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:43,200 Complete control, space-time doesn't matter. 521 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,920 And it equaled the sign of a new king being born. 522 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:49,160 Look at verse 4 then, and assembling all the chief priests 523 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,440 and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the 524 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:55,120 Christ was to be born, and they told him in Bethlehem of Judea. 525 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:57,800 For so it was, So it is written by the prophet. 526 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:00,920 So here it summons all the theological scholars of the day, 527 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,920 most of them Pharisees, experts in the law and, and, and what 528 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:05,680 does the Bible say about the birth of Messiah? 529 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,680 So they quote Micah and they quote Second Samuel and they're, 530 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:10,360 and they're pointing to Bethlehem. 531 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,200 Look at verse 6. And you, O Bethlehem in the land 532 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,760 of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. 533 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,240 For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people, 534 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,120 Israel. So once again, once again, Jesus 535 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:24,000 is perfectly fulfilling Scripture. 536 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:26,320 God is fulfilling every step of the way. 537 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:30,040 It's all pointing to him. They, they knew exactly what it 538 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:34,280 said about the Christ, and yet these theological scholars 539 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:40,880 didn't seem to care. You ever wonder if even one of 540 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,120 them was curious enough as to ask why Herod was asking about 541 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:45,680 this? I mean, all of Jerusalem knew 542 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,560 about the Magi. So, I mean, there's a stir going 543 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:50,160 on. Something big's happening. 544 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:54,560 A small army of Persian kingmakers was in town and these 545 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:56,920 religious leaders knew exactly where to look. 546 00:29:57,800 --> 00:29:59,840 It's only 5 miles down to Bethlehem. 547 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:03,160 I mean, wouldn't you be curious enough to go check it out? 548 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,880 Why do we not see a Pharisee at the Manger, right? 549 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:13,800 Maybe they were so engrossed in their routine ritual of legality 550 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:16,920 they completely disregard the Messiah. 551 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,080 I don't know. I sometimes think about them and 552 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:23,360 I wonder, how many religiously apathetic people do we know? 553 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:28,240 They might come to every single Christmas service, but actually 554 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:33,080 miss Christmas and not understand or appreciate it. 555 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:36,480 Look at verse 7. Then Herod summoned the wise men 556 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,200 secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had 557 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,200 appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem saying, Go and search 558 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:45,320 diligently for the Child. And when you have found him, 559 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:49,280 bring me word that I too may come and worship him. 560 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:53,080 So obviously he's lying to them about worshiping the new king. 561 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:56,680 In fact, in his evil he had all the Bethlehem male babies under 562 00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,240 2 years of age murdered when he discovered when the star 563 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,440 appeared. So he's not going to surrender 564 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:06,480 his throne to this new king. And my fear is, is some of some 565 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:09,680 of the folks you know, or maybe some of you are living that same 566 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:14,240 lie, afraid of a real commitment to Christ, afraid of 567 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:19,360 surrendering your position of power in your life to get off 568 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,080 your own throne and let him have it. 569 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:27,640 I mean, the true disciple is one who ceases to do what he desires 570 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:31,200 and dedicates his life to what Christ desires. 571 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:33,040 I mean, these Pagan Wizards, you got to think about it. 572 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,200 These Pagan Wizards were more honest and true than the 573 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:41,520 supposed leaders of the people of God and many around us right 574 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,920 now, I'm afraid they're honestly searching for truth. 575 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:46,680 They're honestly searching for salvation. 576 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:48,880 They're looking for something, somebody to worship. 577 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:51,200 And I pray we can get him the message. 578 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,200 Look at verse 9. After listening to the king, 579 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,080 they went on their way, and behold, the star that they had 580 00:31:57,080 --> 00:31:59,960 seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over 581 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:03,320 the place where the child was. And when they saw the star, they 582 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:05,680 rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 583 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,960 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his 584 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:10,880 mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. 585 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,160 Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold, 586 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,320 frankincense, and myrrh. Now at this point, they're not 587 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:20,000 at the Manger, they're at a house. 588 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:23,480 In fact, the word used here for child is not the word you would 589 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,040 use for an infant. This is some time later based 590 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:29,320 upon based upon the stars appearing based upon Herod's 591 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:34,200 murderous rampage against all new babies in that area. 592 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:37,920 Jesus is probably around 2 years old at this point, so the young 593 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:41,960 family had stayed in Bethlehem to work or or maybe to to not 594 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,600 have to go back and face the story that people might wonder 595 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:49,520 about Mary who knows? Certainly to fulfill God's will 596 00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:52,720 for them. And gold was the gift of royalty 597 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:56,720 acknowledging his identity. Frankincense was a was was an 598 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:00,160 incense used in worship and sprinkled on the sacrifices on 599 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,440 the altar. Myrrh was used for embalming. 600 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:05,440 It was also an anaesthetic. They offered it to Jesus on the 601 00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:07,720 cross and he refused it. But we see this prophetic 602 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:10,600 imagery, this foreshadowing of Christ here. 603 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:15,000 He is the King and the Savior. He would suffer and then he 604 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:20,080 would reign again. And the Pagan, the Pagan Wizards 605 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:25,080 bow before him. Christ came for those who need 606 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:27,760 him. Christ came for those who seek 607 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,520 him. Some, I'm afraid, ignore and 608 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:32,320 overlook him even this time of year. 609 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:36,760 Some, some are. Some are unhappy to allow him to 610 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:38,720 be anything else. The world's happy to let 611 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:42,160 Christmas remain mangled by myth and consumed by commercialism, 612 00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:46,680 but they're not willing to let Jesus be the King of kings. 613 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:52,960 So where are you this Christmas? Where are you in it? 614 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:55,080 Are you, are you? Are you caught up and wrapped in 615 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,000 the maze of myth and materialism? 616 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:01,280 Is it consuming you the busyness of the season, the preparations 617 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:05,000 of the season? Or are you bowed? 618 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:11,440 Are you on your knees? Before the King of Kings had 619 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:14,199 another little Christmas pageant in church, the kids were putting 620 00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:16,040 it on. And to show the glory of the 621 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:19,480 newborn Savior, a light bulb had been placed in the Manger. 622 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,520 And there's supposed to be this dramatic moment when every 623 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,120 single light in the place is turned off and only the light in 624 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:27,400 the Manger shines to reflect the glory of Jesus Christ. 625 00:34:27,679 --> 00:34:29,560 But the little boy who is controlling the lights got 626 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:33,719 confused and he turned all the lights off so it's pitch dark. 627 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:37,360 And then it's very tense moment. One of the little shepherds 628 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:45,040 whispered out loud. Hey, you turned off Jesus, not 629 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:48,840 on our watch. Let's not let that happen this 630 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:51,760 year at Inglewood. We want to bring in glory. 631 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:53,120 Wouldn't want to shine the light on Him. 632 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:55,480 We want us to. We want to focus upon Him. 633 00:34:57,040 --> 00:34:58,800 And I pray that's what you do in your family. 634 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:02,240 I pray that you will take this family worship guide with you. 635 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:06,440 You'll sit around your table and enjoy the holiday, love your 636 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:10,640 family, enjoy the the gift giving and receiving the love 637 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:14,200 that that represents. Enjoy the fun and the family 638 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:17,240 traditions you have. But at the same time, I pray 639 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:21,800 that you'll bring it back to the Word of God and the will of God 640 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,640 for your family and focus upon that this year. 641 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:31,040 So let's turn our full focus on Him this Christmas. 642 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:37,080 Father, we thank you so much that you allow us, Father, to 643 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:41,400 know you. Father, what an amazing, perfect 644 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:47,320 thing you did when you sent your Son, when you sent your Son to 645 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:51,800 become man, when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we 646 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:54,240 beheld His glory. Glory is of the only begotten, 647 00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:59,440 full of grace and truth. Father, what a gift. 648 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:04,040 And I pray, Father, that we will fall on our knees and 649 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:09,080 thankfulness and gratitude. But maybe somebody here, maybe 650 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:13,600 somebody, if they're honest, would say, John, I don't know 651 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:18,760 that I believe. I don't know that I, I, I know 652 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:22,560 him that way. Well, Father, I just pray right 653 00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:25,320 now that you will Pierce their heart and mind with your truth 654 00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:29,120 and reality, that your Holy Spirit would work in them to 655 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:31,720 where they have no question about whether you exist and 656 00:36:31,720 --> 00:36:35,440 whether you're right here drawing them, calling them, 657 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:38,560 inviting them, giving them faith. 658 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:43,520 Father, Lord, I pray that they would come to a point of 659 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:47,360 salvation to where they believe with all their heart that only 660 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:49,760 Jesus can save us. Only Jesus could die on the 661 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:52,360 cross for us. Only Jesus could pay the price 662 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:54,480 for our sin. And only Jesus rose again. 663 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:57,760 He's the only way. They're the only one. 664 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:00,520 And that's what Christmas is all about. 665 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:04,160 So I pray, Father, that people would surrender, they would bow 666 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:06,080 this morning, some for salvation. 667 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:09,880 Maybe there are others here, as Pastor Jean mentioned earlier, 668 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:12,320 we're going to be watching people get baptized to your 669 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:14,320 glory next week and the week after. 670 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,000 Maybe there's somebody here and they and they've trusted in you, 671 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,280 Father, but they've never told the world that. 672 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:22,400 And they need to be baptized. Or do they need to join the 673 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:25,640 church? Others might just need prayer. 674 00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:30,040 So I pray, Father, that as we sing that we'll surrender, that 675 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:32,880 we'll commit. For some, it's a reset, a 676 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:36,560 recommitment, A refocus. Time to get out of the busyness, 677 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:39,800 time to get out of the worry and the anxiety of the season and 678 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:42,600 focus upon who you are and what you have for us. 679 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:45,680 Father, thank you so much for helping us do that. 680 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:50,240 I pray you'll bless us and draw us now in Christ's name, Amen. 681 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:52,280 Our worship team is going to lead us. 682 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:54,920 We're going to sing. There'll be pastors standing up 683 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:57,000 here. You can come and pray at the 684 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:58,600 steps. You can talk to one of us. 685 00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:01,920 We'll have next step counsellors in our next steps room right 686 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:03,400 over there. You can go straight over there. 687 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:05,600 They're also going to be some out in the lobby after the 688 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:08,600 service that you'll see that you can visit with. 689 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:10,760 So you can come this way or after the service, you can go 690 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:14,200 that way and visit with somebody and say, here's what God's doing 691 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:17,640 in my life right now and I need to talk to somebody about it. 692 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:19,760 So let's stand and respond right now as we sing.