1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,080 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,560 I want to talk to you about some things that can divide the 8 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:28,760 world. There's a lot of things that can 9 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:30,000 divide the world today, aren't there? 10 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,920 I mean, major issues that divide the world, things like politics, 11 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:36,760 that's a major divider, isn't it? 12 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,080 In our nation and other nations as well. 13 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,320 Warfare divides the world. It has historically, and there's 14 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,600 places, there's hot spots of warfare all around the world 15 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,400 even today. Global pandemic, you know, that 16 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:51,440 divided the world, didn't it? Everybody had opinions on that 17 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:53,200 and thoughts on that. Anybody want to talk about that 18 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:54,080 this morning? No, never mind. 19 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:55,760 I'm just kidding. But that's kind of the idea 20 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,840 isn't divided a lot of people didn't it, this idea, you know, 21 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,120 these these divisive issues, things like, you know, Dunkin or 22 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:04,560 Starbucks. And you know, the answer to that 23 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:05,880 is Dunkin. You just say why? 24 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,680 Because your coffee shouldn't spend, you know, it cost more 25 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:10,000 than your medication. You know what I'm saying? 26 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:12,840 And so that's why I'd rather have Dunkin than Starbucks, all 27 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,440 things considered, you know, Fords or everything else, you 28 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:17,600 know, And the answer is, well, everything else, you know, 29 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,320 because of Ford is usually found on road dead, you know, And so I 30 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:23,360 don't want to, I'm not a Ford guy, you know. 31 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:24,800 And so these are divisive issues. 32 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:26,600 I could see, boy, I'm riling you all up right now. 33 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:28,120 Just even mention these things, aren't I? 34 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,400 There's a lot of divisive issues that are out there. 35 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,280 But you know, those are big things, aren't they? 36 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,400 Whether they're big issues or big companies that we're talking 37 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,680 about, these are all really big things. 38 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,960 But you're the most divisive issue that has ever come across 39 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:44,800 this world without something very big, but someone very 40 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,360 small. You say, well, who are you 41 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:49,200 talking about? Well, this morning the title of 42 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,960 my message is this the baby that divided the world, The baby that 43 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,000 divided the world. We think of that wonderful 44 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,800 account of Jesus's birth and we see it here right in Luke 45 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,040 chapter 2, don't we? This beautiful account of Jesus 46 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,360 Christ birth. But in the midst of that birth 47 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:09,400 that we see is a baby that has divided the world for 2000 48 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,880 years. Now this isn't just me saying 49 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:13,240 that. This isn't just my thoughts 50 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,760 about that. Jesus himself said this. 51 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,880 In fact He says in Luke chapter #12 verses 51 through 53. 52 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,680 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on the earth. 53 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,480 I tell you nay, but rather division. 54 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:29,200 For from henceforth there shall be 5 and one house divided, 3 55 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,080 against two, and two against three. 56 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:33,640 The father shall be divided against the son and the son 57 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,200 against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the 58 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,000 daughter against the mother, and the mother-in-law against her 59 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,440 daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law law against her 60 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:44,000 mother-in-law. Even Jesus said that the 61 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,960 divisions would come to Jesus Christ, not just in nations and 62 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:52,760 not just in cities and towns, but even in families, that 63 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,200 families would be divided about the issue of who this baby is, 64 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,760 who is Jesus Christ. What you decide about Jesus is 65 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,280 the most important decision you will make in your life. 66 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,240 The characters of the account of Christ birth that we're going to 67 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,920 look at this morning from Luke chapter 2 as well as Matthew 68 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:14,160 chapter number to give us the template for how many people 69 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,360 respond to that same baby Jesus today. 70 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:19,280 So would you say in peace for the reading God's Word, we're 71 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,240 going to read just the beginning of this account up to where 72 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:23,880 Brother Justin just read a few moments ago. 73 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,120 So Luke chapter 2 beginning in verse #1 And it says, and it 74 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:29,680 came to pass in those days there went out of decree from Caesar 75 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,640 Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 76 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:36,240 And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of 77 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,240 Syria. It all went to be taxed, 78 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:42,280 everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from 79 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,080 Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, into the 80 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,240 city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the 81 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,560 house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary his a spouse, 82 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,080 wife being great with child. And so it was that while they 83 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,680 were there, the days were accomplished that she should be 84 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,080 delivered and she brought forth her first born son and wrapped 85 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:04,320 him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a Manger because 86 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:06,360 there was no room for them in the end. 87 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,040 You may be seated as we pray together and look at the issue 88 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:11,840 of the baby that divided the world. 89 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,680 Heavenly Father, thank you for this morning and again thank you 90 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,519 for all who are here. Help me to clearly expound Your 91 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:20,800 word today to remove myself from the process so that you and Your 92 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,560 word may be forefront in people's hearts and minds. 93 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,800 Thank you for this. Time and again we pray for the 94 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,240 salvation of souls. We pray for those who are saved 95 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:31,880 to get right with you. Lord, if there are things that 96 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:34,760 are wrong or simply just to become more conformed into the 97 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,680 image of Christ, whatever it is, Lord, help us all to be changed 98 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:40,480 for the better by what happens through this message this 99 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:42,600 morning. And we ask it in Jesus name, 100 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:45,680 Amen. For more text as well as the 101 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:47,680 companion passage we're going to look at in Matthew. 102 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:50,440 Here in just a few moments, we see that there are several 103 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:54,280 different reactions to the birth of Christ, some positive and 104 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:56,360 some negative. In the first one is that the 105 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:01,160 innkeeper rejected #1 We see that the innkeeper rejected. 106 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,280 Look, you've ever been on a trip and it's been a long and arduous 107 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:06,240 trip. At the end of the trip, having 108 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,440 somewhere to lay your head is a very welcome thing. 109 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,840 For Larry and Joseph to go to Nazareth, to Bethlehem. 110 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:16,360 I'm told that it would have been somewhere around 90 or so miles 111 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,840 for the traveling to be able to go around Samaria and to be able 112 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:23,200 to go from Nazareth in the north to Bethlehem in the South. 113 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:27,080 That would be somewhere around the trip for us to be able to 114 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,000 walk from here to Hartford, CT. And I don't know about you, but 115 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,400 the last time I walked to Hartford, it wasn't a very good 116 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:34,040 trip. Let me put it this way. 117 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:35,360 Well, OK, I've never done it before. 118 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:36,800 None of us want want to do that today. 119 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:39,680 Why do we not want to do that? Well, because it's a long trip. 120 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:41,200 It's not something that we want to do. 121 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,280 Somebody done that before. All right, we got someone in the 122 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:45,480 crowd here. Ralph will try. 123 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,880 All right, Ralph. Okay, well, so other than Ralph, 124 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,400 nobody here wants to walk 90 miles, but I'll tell you who 125 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:53,840 did. It would have been Mary and it 126 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:56,360 would have been Joseph. And may I remind you that Mary 127 00:05:56,360 --> 00:06:00,000 was not just with child, but the Bible says great with child. 128 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:01,920 Now, there's a lot of assumptions that we take from 129 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:03,840 this text. There's a lot of assumptions 130 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:05,320 that are there. First of all, that Mary would 131 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:07,640 have been riding on a donkey. Now, that could have very well 132 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:10,000 been the case, but we don't see that here in our text. 133 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,120 I mean, certainly it would have been great if he could have 134 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,280 secured a donkey. If not, maybe an Uber would have 135 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:16,600 been great, but probably it would have been an animal or 136 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:18,880 something like that. If he could have, that would 137 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,320 have been the case. But at the end of a weary trip, 138 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,120 you know what you want to do. You just want to rest your head. 139 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:27,320 That's what you want to do. A few weeks ago we were 140 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,440 traveling from Springfield, MO after preaching to go to 141 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:35,440 Oklahoma City to see Bethany and Carter and we left Springfield 142 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,560 later than we wanted to and then we ended up getting to Oklahoma 143 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:40,240 City at about 2:30 in the morning. 144 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,560 Can I tell you, the great thing was that the hotel, they left 145 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:45,080 the lights on for us. You know what I'm saying? 146 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:47,760 We didn't stay at a Motel 6, but they did leave the lights on for 147 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,640 us because it was so nice to know there was a room that was 148 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:53,960 ready and it was a waiting for us because we were ready to go 149 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:56,160 to bed. Now here's the issue for Mary 150 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:58,200 and Joseph. Now, we don't know anything 151 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,240 about this innkeeper because the Bible really doesn't tell us 152 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:04,400 anything about the and listen, here's something that's really 153 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,200 interesting. The Bible doesn't even say there 154 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:08,840 was an innkeeper. The Bible never mentions the 155 00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:11,640 innkeeper per SE. A lot of what we get from the 156 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,480 Christmas story, if we're not careful, comes from Christmas 157 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,480 pageants and plays or Christmas specials. 158 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:20,640 This is where often times we get our information because we're 159 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,240 just so used to it. As you just read, it was never 160 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,480 said that there was an innkeeper who was standing in front of 161 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,000 this inn, who was standing in front of this hotel and just 162 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,240 went like this and pointed to a stable. 163 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:33,520 That's not what we see. We don't see that at all. 164 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:37,160 In fact, it's much different than we would realize from first 165 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:37,880 blush. Why? 166 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:40,920 Because when we think of an inn today, when we think of a place 167 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:43,880 where people would lodge, we think of hotels, we think of 168 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,000 motels. But what we're not talking about 169 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,920 here this morning is a Four Seasons or a Club Med. 170 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,760 Listen, we're not even talking about a Motel 6, because the 171 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,520 ends of that time were much different than what we would see 172 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,320 here today. They often had minimal comfort 173 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,920 by modern standards. Simple rooms, shared sleeping 174 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:04,640 spaces and places for animals. And sometimes those places for 175 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:08,160 the animals were in where you were staying in the inn. 176 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,040 Well, OK, that kind of got confusing there for a second. 177 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,840 But inside the inn was the place where the animals would stay 178 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,760 with you oftentimes. And the fact that this inn would 179 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:20,240 have been in Bethlehem, a town that probably had just a few 100 180 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,600 people, meant that this would have been a very, very modest 181 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:27,040 space indeed. Not anything luxurious by any 182 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,000 measure. And so we don't know that there 183 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,800 was necessarily an innkeeper, I have to admit that. 184 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,080 But I will say someone had to make the decision to say you 185 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,960 can't come in. Someone had to make the decision 186 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,200 to say you are not welcome here. Now, listen, the laws of 187 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:46,520 hospitality as such in that culture in that time should have 188 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,160 been to see someone who had no place to launch. 189 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:52,320 To see someone who had no place to go, particularly to see a 190 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,320 woman who was great with child, and to turn her away knowing 191 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,200 that the only place she could go would be a habitation of 192 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,720 animals, would have been a very sad state of affairs indeed. 193 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,080 It shouldn't have happened. It should have been something 194 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:06,640 that took place. But what happened? 195 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:10,480 The innkeeper, whoever that may be, there was a person who said 196 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:13,000 this. We have no room for Jesus. 197 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:17,720 If they had only known what they had done, if they could only 198 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:21,600 have understood at that very moment that they were turning 199 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:25,360 away Jesus Christ himself who was about to be born. 200 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,760 You know what I've often found about people who reject Jesus 201 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,960 Christ? They have no idea what they're 202 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:36,080 doing in the moment. But there will come a time, the 203 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,640 Bible says, where they will have full understanding. 204 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:40,640 And at that time, a full understanding. 205 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,200 It will be everlastingly too late for them to reject Christ. 206 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,800 Oh yes, there are many even at this time of year that reject 207 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,240 Jesus Christ. In fact, you think of the 208 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:53,120 multitudes of people who are celebrating this time of year. 209 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:54,880 Just yesterday we went to the store. 210 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,480 Well, I didn't go to the store. I stayed outside with with one 211 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:00,720 of the kids and Diane went into the store with another one of 212 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:02,320 the kids. She went to TJ Maxx and she 213 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:04,720 found what she wanted and saw the line and said what I'm 214 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,320 getting is not worth the line of people who are here. 215 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,440 She says it's going to be 45 minutes for me to get out of 216 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:11,040 here. I can't imagine anything that's 217 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:12,920 worth waiting in the line for 45 minutes. 218 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,360 It's a TJ Maxx for I can't imagine anything worth waiting 219 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,680 in the line for 45 minutes to buy anything. 220 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:23,440 But all of those people, that sea of humanity, I have to 221 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,040 wonder this question. All of them celebrating 222 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:31,520 Christmas, but how many of them reject Jesus Christ like that 223 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:36,600 innkeeper who have no idea what this day is all about, who have 224 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:40,760 no idea who the Christ in Christmas truly is? 225 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,320 Now maybe this morning you would say, well, pastor, I'm not 226 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,600 rejecting Christ here. I am at church here I am at 227 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,000 Liberty Baptist Church just days before Christmas. 228 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:52,200 If anybody was not rejecting Jesus Christ, certainly it would 229 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:54,200 be me. And, and I hear your argument 230 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:58,240 today, very likely you may not be outwardly rejecting Jesus 231 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,880 Christ, but I will say this, that you must make a decision 232 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,280 about Jesus Christ. And there are many who have said 233 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,680 I don't know what to decide about Jesus Christ Christ, or 234 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,880 I'll put off that decision for later, or eventually I'll come 235 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,440 to a place in my life when I get older or when my my situation 236 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:15,120 gets better. Or maybe I'll wait till the 237 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:17,520 beginning of a year when I make New Year's resolutions. 238 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:20,840 And at that point I will decide if I will do something with 239 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:23,160 Jesus Christ. May I tell you that there is no 240 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:25,440 neutrality when it comes to Jesus Christ. 241 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:27,920 There is no spiritual Switzerland when it comes to 242 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:31,000 Jesus Christ. You must decide to choose Jesus 243 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,800 Christ your Savior. And if you choose to wait or if 244 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,080 you choose to put that decision off, that is in essence 245 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:41,040 rejecting Jesus Christ as your Savior, saying this, I have no 246 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,960 time for you right now. Go on to the next house. 247 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:46,760 I have no time for you. Go on to the stable. 248 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:50,400 You can go there, but you have no lodging place in my heart. 249 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:52,960 People do this today. They do it all the time. 250 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:57,680 That's why Isaiah 53 verse 3 says He is despised and rejected 251 00:11:57,680 --> 00:11:59,840 of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted 252 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:01,720 with grief. And He was hid as it was our 253 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,960 faces from Him. He was despised and He esteemed. 254 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:08,440 We esteemed Him not. Isaiah day of 53 says He is 255 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:12,120 despised and rejected of men, and he was despised, meaning 256 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:15,840 this the is being the present, the was being the past. 257 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:20,400 He was and is despised by many even today. 258 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,960 He was in the past despised of many, and he is despised and 259 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:28,160 rejected of many even today. Oh no, don't reject Jesus 260 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:30,240 Christ. Don't be like that innkeeper. 261 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,640 Don't be like that person who would have realized 262 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:38,640 everlastingly too late that they turned away the very Son of God 263 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:43,080 the innkeeper rejected. But #2 we see that the shepherds 264 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,200 rejoiced. The shepherds rejoiced. 265 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:47,840 Now I'm not going to take time to read what comes in verse 8 266 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,560 and following, and the reason why because Brother Justin kind 267 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:53,480 of got that reading for us a little bit a few minutes ago. 268 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,240 But I will say that I find it interesting that the shepherds 269 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,600 started and what they read or what we just read, they started 270 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,880 by being afraid. It says that when the Angel of 271 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:05,600 the Lord came upon the verse 9 and the glory of the Lord shone 272 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,280 around down about them, they were so afraid. 273 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,760 But once they heard the good tidings, once they heard what 274 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,080 was taking place right there in their own town, once they heard 275 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,920 what was taking place just minutes from where they were on 276 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:21,160 that lonely night, their fear turned to rejoicing. 277 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:22,960 Why? Because they realized the 278 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,600 Messiah has come. Could I tell you today that for 279 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,840 you and your life that the sorrow, the difficulty, the fear 280 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:34,360 that you have can be banished away and can vanish? 281 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,800 Why? When you realize and recognize 282 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:41,120 who Jesus Christ is, you say the troubles of my life will go away 283 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:43,800 when I accept Jesus Christ? I didn't say that. 284 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:48,360 I said the fears and the anguish and those types of emotions can 285 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,120 vanish. I didn't say the problems will 286 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,360 pass away. But what I'm telling you is that 287 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,560 in the midst of those problems, you have Jesus Christ your 288 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:57,480 Savior. You can rejoice even in the 289 00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:59,640 midst of the deepest, darkest storms. 290 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:02,280 And here are the shepherds. They're rejoicing. 291 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,120 Why? Because they understood who? 292 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,840 Jesus Christ was. Every time we see someone in the 293 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,480 Bible who recognizes who Jesus Christ is, they rejoice. 294 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,320 When people meet Jesus, they may come with burdens, but they 295 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:17,840 leave rejoicing. There was a woman at the well 296 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,880 who had burdens but left rejoicing when she knew who 297 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:23,240 Jesus was. There was a man named Zacchaeus 298 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:26,440 who was a wee little man who was up in a Sycamore tree. 299 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:30,240 But when he knew who Jesus was and Jesus called down to him or 300 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,560 called up to him to come down. I'm going to your house today. 301 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,640 What do we see that this man who had burdens rejoiced when he met 302 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:40,040 Jesus Christ? There was a woman who was caught 303 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:42,080 in adultery. There was a woman who had an 304 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,360 issue of blood. There was a father who had a son 305 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:47,040 that was possessed by a devil. There was the halt, There was 306 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:49,120 the blind, There was even the dead. 307 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:54,440 And they all rejoiced when they came to the understanding of who 308 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,120 Jesus Christ is. Friend here today, if you want 309 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,600 to rejoice at this time of year, if you want to rejoice at any 310 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:04,560 time of year, there is no greater way to have true 311 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:08,880 rejoicing in your life than to understand who Jesus Christ is, 312 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:12,360 To understand that you're a Sinner, to understand that only 313 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:15,440 Jesus Christ can save you through his precious blood, and 314 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:18,240 that when you call upon Jesus Christ to save you, you'll 315 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,480 rejoice in a way that you've never rejoiced before. 316 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:26,040 I remember on December 2nd, 1998, when I accepted Christ as 317 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,280 my Savior, I, I felt as light as a feather. 318 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,880 I, I remember that it seemed like my whole world changed. 319 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:32,440 That moment. I was only 16. 320 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:34,240 I didn't grasp anything about life. 321 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:36,240 I mean, actually, I thought I knew everything about life when 322 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:38,480 I was 16. I didn't grasp anything about 323 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,880 life, but I knew in that moment that everything had changed. 324 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,360 And I will tell you whether you are 5 or whether you are 16 like 325 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,520 me, or whatever age you accept Jesus Christ your Savior, 326 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:50,480 listen, it will cause you to rejoice. 327 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:52,720 You say, well, I'm too burdened down with care. 328 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:56,600 That's usually where people find Jesus when they're burdened down 329 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,000 and when they're low, it should cause us to rejoice. 330 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,480 And so if you don't know Jesus Christ, your Savior, don't be 331 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:04,600 like the innkeeper who rejected, be like the shepherds who 332 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:06,320 rejoiced. And I would say this this 333 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:08,160 morning to you who are believers this morning. 334 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,560 Listen, there's a lot that's going on this time of year. 335 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:12,280 There's a lot that's taking place. 336 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:15,720 You've got parties to plan and parties to go to and parties to 337 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:16,440 avoid. All right? 338 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:19,040 You got all these different things to be able to take care 339 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:19,440 of. Listen. 340 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,840 But believer, rejoice because even in the midst of the hurry 341 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,240 and even in the midst of the care and even in the midst of 342 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:28,480 the difficulty, listen. You have Jesus Christ in your 343 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:30,160 life, and so you should leave here. 344 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,760 If you're a believer, you should leave here as happy as anyone 345 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:34,960 that's out there today. Why? 346 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,320 Because you have Jesus Christ in your life. 347 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:39,440 But you say, pastor, you don't understand what I'm going 348 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:40,960 through. I don't understand what you're 349 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:45,320 going through, but Jesus does that only cause us to rejoice? 350 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:48,880 Pastor, things are looking dim and they could be looking dim, 351 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,720 but I'll tell you this, who is the light? 352 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,760 Jesus Christ. He's the one who will light your 353 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:56,480 life and he's the one who will light your path. 354 00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:00,160 Listen, his word is a lamp unto our feet and a lighted to our 355 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,280 path. We can rejoice in who he is. 356 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:06,160 Believers, listen, lift your head up be be a proper billboard 357 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:09,720 for biblical salvation to those who are around you to be able to 358 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:13,839 show them who Jesus Christ is. When Christians are miserable 359 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,520 during Christmas, that's not a good advertisement. 360 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,599 When Christians are stressed out during Christmas, that's not a 361 00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:23,560 good advertisement. Listen, it happens to all of us. 362 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:26,240 I was driving around yesterday. I saw two different accidents 363 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:30,360 within about a 2 hour stretch. I was driving down near 5 364 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:33,920 corners and I saw a Tesla come out and just T-bone somebody who 365 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,680 was going straight, airbags going off, fluids going out of 366 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:39,040 the car. I did get out and try to help 367 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:41,640 and call 911. A couple hours later, I saw it 368 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:45,080 at Target, the same thing, not the same thing, but the same, 369 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,960 same type of incident where there was a collision there in 370 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,920 the parking lot and I'm going through parking lots and I'm 371 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:53,920 driving. And at one point I did something 372 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:56,560 like this because people were going crazy and I just did this. 373 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:01,360 You know, there's a fundamental law. 374 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:03,520 This has nothing to do with my message, but I'm going to get it 375 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:06,320 out anyway, all right? There's a fundamental law that 376 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,000 sometimes we forget that when you are in your car and you 377 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,680 react to somebody, other people can see that. 378 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:14,760 And so I'm doing this. I'm thinking like, what are 379 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,160 these people doing? And I saw someone about a car on 380 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:18,480 the other side come the opposite way. 381 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:20,280 We're going slow enough that I could see him. 382 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:24,000 And she's just laughing at me. And I thought, boy, I hope I've 383 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:28,680 never given her a track or she's ever seen Liberty at Home or 384 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:29,960 whatever. The thousands of people that 385 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,680 watch Liberty at Home on Easton Community Access Television, I 386 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:37,000 hope, well, dozens of it. Well, a dozen people that watch 387 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,120 it on, on Easton Community Access Television, whatever it 388 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:40,400 is. But I thought, but I'm not being 389 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:42,240 a good billboard for Jesus at this moment. 390 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:47,400 Listen, rejoice, be calm, be still. 391 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:51,320 Rejoice says later that Mary kept these things and pondered 392 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:52,800 them in their heart. What does that mean? 393 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,560 That in the quietness of life she was able to rejoice and what 394 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,520 God had done through her in that time. 395 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,960 The innkeeper rejected the shepherd's rejoice #3 Herod 396 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,240 recoiled. Herod recoiled at what he found. 397 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:07,680 We turn to Matthew chapter #2 very quickly. 398 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,480 Matthew chapter #2 just a few pages away. 399 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:17,200 Matthew chapter #2 how many, how many Christmas season stresses 400 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:18,160 you? Outlet me, see your hands? 401 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:20,600 I'm going to be Oh, come on now, be honest. 402 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:21,600 You're in church. All right. 403 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:23,680 How many, how many of you are embarrassed to say that 404 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:25,440 Christmas stresses you out so you won't raise your hand? 405 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:26,640 Let me see. All right, there you go. 406 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:28,640 All right, that's what. OK, all right, that's good. 407 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:30,200 You know, that's how we all feel, don't we? 408 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,360 It, it gets that way, doesn't it, man? 409 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,320 Chapter 2 Look at verse #1 It says, Now when Jesus was born in 410 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:38,720 Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold, there 411 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,440 came a wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he 412 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,120 that is born king of the Jews? For we've seen a star of the 413 00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:46,720 East, and are come to worship Him. 414 00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:49,400 And when Herod the King had heard these things, he was 415 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:50,800 troubled in all Jerusalem with him. 416 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,000 Now you'll remember we looked at this a couple weeks ago. 417 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,720 We saw the prophecy of the book of Micah. 418 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,400 Chapter 5, verse #2 We looked at this a few weeks ago. 419 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:00,880 Now drop down to verse #16 it says this. 420 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,680 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was 421 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,880 exceeding wrath, and sent forth and slew all the children that 422 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:11,040 were in Bethlehem, and all the coast thereof, from two years 423 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:12,960 old. And under according to the time 424 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,320 which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. 425 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:20,640 You know, Herod did not just reject Jesus Christ, he actively 426 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,240 opposed Jesus Christ. Now listen, denying Jesus Christ 427 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,680 is denying Jesus Christ, however you want to look at it. 428 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:31,560 But Herod took that to another level when he actively opposed 429 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,120 Jesus Christ. Now I want you to understand 430 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:36,280 this. There are forces at work in the 431 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,480 world today, much like King Herod, who believe that they can 432 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:41,840 stop Jesus Christ. There are those those who think 433 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:45,360 they can eradicate the name of Christ or can eradicate biblical 434 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:47,560 Christianity. And sometimes as a believer, it 435 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:50,200 might seem like they're winning. Sometimes as a believer, it 436 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,600 might even seem like they aren't getting ahead. 437 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:56,240 But I will tell you, verse #19 tells the rest of the story. 438 00:20:56,360 --> 00:20:59,200 Sure, Herod was opposed. He was greatly troubled. 439 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:02,600 Herod killed all those children believing that he could kill 440 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,280 Jesus Christ. But look at the 1st 4 words of 441 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,680 verse #19 and it'll tell you everything you need to know. 442 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:12,320 But when Herod was dead, you don't need to read anymore. 443 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:15,360 I'm not telling you to ignore the rest of the verse. 444 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:17,240 I'm just saying that tells you what you need to know. 445 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,080 There was a time when Herod was, well, dead. 446 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,160 He may have rejected Jesus Christ, but there came a time of 447 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:27,960 judgment for him in his life. And listen, those who try to not 448 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,440 just reject, but recoil, those who are trying to actively 449 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,120 oppose Jesus Christ, listen. They are dead. 450 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,440 They are gone. They are spending an eternity in 451 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:38,520 the lake of fire and they see this. 452 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,760 Jesus Christ is still standing. Listen, those may oppose Jesus 453 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,480 Christ, but yet Jesus Christ still stands. 454 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,560 The French philosopher and Bible critic Voltaire, I mentioned him 455 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,360 once in a while. He said this 100 years from my 456 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:53,680 death. The Bible will be a museum 457 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:55,560 piece. He said this in the 1800s. 458 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,120 One hundred years later, after his death, the French Bible 459 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:01,560 Society set up its headquarters in Voltaire's old home in Paris. 460 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,240 Why? Because Voltaire is gone, but 461 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,840 Jesus in his word still stands. Last eve I paused beside the 462 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,960 blacksmith's door, and I heard the anvil ring, the vesper 463 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,360 chime. Then looking in, I saw upon the 464 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:17,760 floor old hammers worn with beating years of time. 465 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:21,800 How many anvils have you had, said I, to wear and batter all 466 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:24,400 these hammers? So just one, said he. 467 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:28,360 And then with twinkling eye. The anvil wears the hammers out, 468 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:32,560 you know, and so I thought the anvil of the Lord. 469 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:35,800 For ages skeptics blows have beat upon. 470 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:40,080 Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard, the anvils are 471 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,560 unharmed and the hammers are gone. 472 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:46,400 And those who have tried to beat against who Jesus Christ is, 473 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:50,080 those critics make many noises, just like the noise of the 474 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,320 hammers upon the anvil. But yet the anvil stands and the 475 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:56,320 hammers are gone. Those who have recoiled against 476 00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:59,600 Jesus Christ and actively opposed who Jesus Christ is, 477 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,960 listen, they're gone and Jesus Christ is still around. 478 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,720 Listen, you want to have Jesus Christ in your life, You need to 479 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:10,160 have Jesus Christ in your life. There is no one else to have in 480 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,240 your life but Jesus Christ. Because he says I am the way, 481 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:15,600 the truth, and the life. And no man cometh unto the 482 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:19,160 Father, but by me. The innkeeper rejected, the 483 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:21,280 shepherds rejoiced. Herod recoiled. 484 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,480 We kind of have the bad and the good and the bad, and we end 485 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,320 with #4 the good. The wise men revered. 486 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,440 The wise men revered him. We speak of these last as they 487 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:37,120 were the last to see Jesus and probably were around 2 years 488 00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:39,640 after Jesus was born. And I've said before here at 489 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,080 Liberty, listen, if you have a nativity scene at your home and 490 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:44,880 you have the wise men there at the stable, there's nothing 491 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,320 wrong with that. There's nothing necessarily 492 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:48,520 wrong for you to be able to do that. 493 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:50,920 But if you want to be biblically correct, you know, what you want 494 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,680 to do is to take the wise men and put them on the other side 495 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:55,640 of the room, all right, from where the stable is. 496 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:58,080 Because they weren't there. They were just kind of trucking 497 00:23:58,080 --> 00:23:59,400 on the way, you know what I'm saying? 498 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:01,800 And so if you put them on the other side the room, eventually 499 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:03,880 they're going to get there, you know, and it'll be all right. 500 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:05,760 And that's the way you probably ought to do it. 501 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:09,120 But there's so much about this really, that again, from the 502 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:12,720 pageants and from the Sunday school lessons and from all 503 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,600 those things that kind of we fill in blanks that the Bible 504 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,840 doesn't fill in for us. For instance, we 3 kings of 505 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:20,640 Orient are, we've sang that before. 506 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:22,960 We think of the three wise men. The Bible doesn't tell us how 507 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,680 many wise men there were. Bible tells there's three gifts. 508 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:27,760 And so perhaps every wise man had a gift. 509 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,120 And listen, I'm not going to fist fight with anyone over it. 510 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:31,880 You know why? Because well, well, pastor, I'm 511 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:33,120 not going to fist fight with anybody. 512 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:35,760 But you understand, Well, actually I should fist fight 513 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:37,480 with anybody anyway, now that I'm looking at myself. 514 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:39,600 But I'm just saying this, and you shouldn't either. 515 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:40,680 All right? That's what I'm trying to get 516 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:42,000 at. But I will say this. 517 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,800 Listen, it makes sense that there could be 3, but the Bible 518 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,120 doesn't say so. And why would Herod wanted to 519 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:51,840 have killed the children two years and under after having the 520 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:55,040 interaction with the wise men? It very was likely because this 521 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,520 star would have led them in a very progressive way until a 522 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,040 later time. In fact it even says in verse 523 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,200 #11 and when they were coming to the house they saw the young 524 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:05,280 child. Doesn't say they went to a 525 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,000 stable. It says they went into a house. 526 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:09,640 It doesn't say they saw a baby, it says they saw a young child. 527 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:12,560 I believe when you put all these together that it shows us that 528 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:16,960 very likely that they saw Jesus in Nazareth later on in not 529 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:20,520 there in Bethlehem, after they had escaped to Egypt and after 530 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,160 they come back. And So what do we see over 531 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:24,440 before they had escaped to Egypt? 532 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:26,560 Excuse me. And so it says, a young child 533 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:28,520 would marry his mother. And what did they do? 534 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,040 They fell down and worshipped Him. 535 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:33,560 And when they opened their treasures, they presented unto 536 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,400 him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 537 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:38,760 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not 538 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,920 return to Herod, they departed into their own country another 539 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,040 way, which would have been much more difficult from Bethlehem 540 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,960 being so close to Jerusalem. But yet what do we see? 541 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:51,960 We see here that there was a group of men who revered Jesus 542 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,920 Christ. We see that they final outgrowth 543 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:59,280 of everything that has come. The rejoicing is this. 544 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:03,040 You have to fall on your knees and worship King Jesus. 545 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,560 Listen, the outgrowth of what we spoke of before is it shouldn't 546 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,240 just be that you rejoice that Jesus Christ has come. 547 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:13,400 Listen, you have to fall on your knees and accept Him as your 548 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,240 Savior. And once you are saved, listen, 549 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:18,720 we have to always fall on our knees and never get over the 550 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:24,400 wonder of who Jesus Christ is. Don't ever get over the wonder 551 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:28,600 of not just that baby Jesus, but also that Jesus who is 12 years 552 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:32,040 old and was going into the temple and confounding the 553 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,040 lawyers and the scribes. Don't get over the wonder of the 554 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:38,280 Jesus who for three years in his earthly ministry went about 555 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,280 doing good as the Bible says. Don't ever get over the wonder 556 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:45,080 and the spectacle of the cross and Jesus was born to die. 557 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,360 We'll hear that song on Wednesday night that he wasn't 558 00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:50,720 just born to live, but he was born to die to make the 559 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,840 propitiation the the substitutionary death for our 560 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:56,040 sins that yes, this is what Jesus did. 561 00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:59,960 Take that in take in the fact that that he died, but that he 562 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:04,120 rose again and has death over power over death, hell and the 563 00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:06,440 grave. Listen, we worship him for who 564 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:08,040 he is. The wise men understood. 565 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,200 In fact, they were so wise that they we realized we've got to 566 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:14,080 find this child, and we got to fall at his feet. 567 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:17,720 They fell at the feet of a baby. Well, yeah, because they 568 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:21,400 realized who that baby was. They realized the prophecies, 569 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:23,760 the Old Testaments, the timings of the Old Testament. 570 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,000 They saw all of this together, and they realized what the Jews 571 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,400 did not even understand. Remember, the Jews of Jerusalem 572 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,000 were terrified, just like Herod was. 573 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:36,240 But these wise men from the east, perhaps even of some 574 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:41,640 relation many generations ago to the order of men who knew 575 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:46,040 Daniel, would have come to that time and that place and said, 576 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:48,280 yes, this is the one that's been prophesied of. 577 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:52,160 And we fall at our feet, fall at his feet, right there in the 578 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,080 midst of a stable, or rather not in the midst of stable. 579 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:57,480 Nobody just said that wasn't the case in the midst of a home 580 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,920 where a young child was and they fell at His feet and worshipped 581 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:03,480 Him. Listen, do this. 582 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,480 Have you done this in your life? Have you again accepted Christ 583 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:08,360 as your Savior? But even as believers, do we 584 00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:11,720 truly worship Him? Salvation is acknowledging His 585 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:16,120 lofty position and who He is. By the way, believers, This is 586 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:19,840 why we use His name reverently. This is why we don't take His 587 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:21,200 name in vain. Why? 588 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,160 Because of who He is and His high, lofty position. 589 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,200 The name of Jesus Christ isn't a curse word. 590 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,640 The name of God isn't something that we just fill into 591 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:33,760 conversations because it's something that we say. 592 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,240 You know, when we use his name, we use it with reverence and 593 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:38,480 respect. Why? 594 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:40,840 Because His name is above all names. 595 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:45,200 The name of Jesus. We see the innkeeper rejected, 596 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,560 the shepherds rejoiced, Herod recoiled, and wise men revered. 597 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,200 But the irony of all of this comes down to this point. 598 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:58,760 He was the baby that divided the world, Yes, but truly he was the 599 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:04,600 baby that not only divided the world, but actually came to heal 600 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,120 a divided world. You see, the world was already 601 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,000 divided before Jesus Christ came. 602 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:12,360 Why? Because there were people who 603 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,200 believed in God and people who did not believe in God. 604 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:18,960 There were people who believed in Jehovah and people who did 605 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:20,480 not believe in Jehovah. We talked about this this 606 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:22,240 morning in Sunday school. I'm not going to go back to the 607 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:25,400 beginning and talk about it again, but I will say this. 608 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:29,960 Jesus came for division, yes, but he also came to expose the 609 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:33,160 divisions that were already there and to seek and to save 610 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,600 that which was lost. He came to bring healing to a 611 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,320 divided world just as much as he exposed the divisions that were 612 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:42,680 already there. As an adult. 613 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,000 Jesus asked a group of Pharisees this question in Matthew 22. 614 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:48,640 He said this. What think he of Christ? 615 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:53,200 What think he of Christ? You know, that question still 616 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,320 rings true today. What do you think of Christ? 617 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,720 Is he to be obeyed? Is he to be trusted? 618 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,240 Is he to be loved? Is he to be followed? 619 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,360 And primarily before any of those questions, is he your way 620 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:14,400 of salvation? Not Jesus and works, not Jesus 621 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:19,880 and money, not Jesus In a good bloodline that goes through a 622 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:23,880 church for hundreds of years. No. 623 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:28,360 Who is he to you? Is he the one that will save 624 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:31,720 you? He is the only one who can save 625 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:33,760 you. But will you allow him to be 626 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,960 that today? When you think of him, what you 627 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:40,360 think of him as a determining factor of everything else in 628 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,840 this life as well as a life to come? 629 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,360 So many people think life is about good works. 630 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:46,920 And again, we talked about, I feel like I've said this a 631 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:48,880 couple times, and we talked about this in Sunday school this 632 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:50,880 morning as well. You know, a lot of people get 633 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,960 their theology this time of year, not from the Bible, but 634 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:58,760 from Charles Dickens. What would you be talking about, 635 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,920 the Christmas Carol? He didn't like Christmas. 636 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:04,200 He was a miser. He was a Scrooge. 637 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:10,520 And then all of a sudden, after three angelic visits, he has 638 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,000 restored himself to the spirit of Christmas once again. 639 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:18,360 And he was saved by the fact that he revered Christmas, That 640 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:20,240 the ending near the ending, it says this. 641 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:22,640 And it was always said of him that he knew how to keep 642 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:25,160 Christmas well. If any man alive possessed the 643 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:29,480 knowledge, he became as good a man, a good a friend, a good a 644 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,560 master as the good old city ever knew. 645 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:37,360 A lot of people's idea of this time of years, if I just have 646 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:41,560 this real kind of warm and fuzzy feeling about Jesus that throws 647 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:45,560 some money in the kettle for the Salvation Army and I make some 648 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:50,040 cookies for a neighbor and I, you know, maybe pay a little 649 00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:53,200 extra on my tip to my server a couple days before Christmas, 650 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,040 that that just shows the Lord I'm square with him. 651 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,360 No, the Bible makes it clear that your righteousness is as 652 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:04,760 filthy rags and you need Jesus Christ to save you. 653 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:07,480 As I said on Wednesday night, and I'll say it again, God 654 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:10,080 didn't just come to be able to reform your life. 655 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:12,880 You want to bring revolution to your life. 656 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,440 For an old creature to become new. 657 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:18,880 All things passed away and all things to become new. 658 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:24,240 A divided heart in a divided world. 659 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,600 Jesus came to heal that. Wherever you are today in your 660 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:31,000 spiritual walk, I ask you this question. 661 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:33,440 One unbeliever. We accept Jesus Christ as your 662 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:36,480 savior today. Listen, don't wait, don't tear. 663 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:37,960 You don't know how long that you have. 664 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,880 None of us do. Young people may seem like they 665 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:43,400 have a lot of time. We don't know. 666 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:46,640 Older folks may think they don't have a lot of time. 667 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:49,640 They might have lots of time. But here's the question. 668 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,240 Why would you wait when there's something so important on the 669 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,360 line? I know you have to decide for 670 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:56,160 yourself and you have to consider these things, and it's 671 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:58,120 not my desire to try to pressure anyone today. 672 00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:00,760 But I wouldn't be the pastor I'm supposed to be if I didn't lay 673 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,600 out for you very clearly what the Bible says and implore you 674 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:06,360 to ask Jesus Christ to be your Savior today. 675 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:10,440 Say, so if I ask Jesus to be my savior and I go through a 12 676 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:13,000 step program and then I go through the church membership 677 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,600 class and then I get baptized and then, you know, I do nice 678 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:17,920 things for the pastor and his family. 679 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:19,960 You'll be saved. And the answer is, well, the 680 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:22,000 nice things for the pastor and the family, that's a very nice 681 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:23,480 thing. But no, no, no, I'm just 682 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:24,760 kidding. None of those things. 683 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:29,760 None of those things. Yeah. 684 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:34,240 No, none of those things will save you other than Jesus 685 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:34,800 Christ. Amen. 686 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:37,280 Amen. Ask Him to save you today. 687 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:40,920 And if you're a believer here, there are many believers here 688 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:43,080 today and I'm getting ready to close. 689 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:47,880 If you're a believer today, listen, our hearts can be 690 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,440 divided as well. Even once we're saved. 691 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:53,040 We're not talking about being becoming unsaved again. 692 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:55,200 The Bible makes clear that's not the way it works. 693 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:01,320 But our hearts can end up being divided because it's Jesus and 694 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:12,760 work, Jesus and prestige, Jesus and money, Jesus and self, Jesus 695 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,719 and sin. You know what ends up happening? 696 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,480 Our hearts can become divided even after we're saved. 697 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:25,760 And then we could end up having the heart of an innkeeper or the 698 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:29,679 heart of a Herod, even if we've not actively rejected Jesus 699 00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:31,840 Christ. But we can incorporate some of 700 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:34,560 their characteristics even into our own lives as believers. 701 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:38,719 That's a dangerous thing. Listen, medicine has learned how 702 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:42,600 to heal a heart, but it hasn't learned how to fix a divided 703 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:45,120 heart. What do you mean? 704 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:49,520 Listen, When it comes to the spiritual things, a heart that's 705 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,600 divided can only be made right again by Jesus Christ. 706 00:34:53,679 --> 00:34:55,159 Are you struggling with your flesh? 707 00:34:55,760 --> 00:35:00,160 Are you struggling with sin? Are you struggling with self and 708 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:02,360 yourself? Will you know where the answer 709 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:04,560 is? The answer comes January 1st. 710 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:05,640 You're going to do better this year. 711 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,320 Studies I've just read recently said by July, or rather by 712 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:16,960 January 9th, more than half the people have made decisions for 713 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:21,680 January 1st have already said no to those. 714 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:24,520 How do we know that? Because by well, by January 9th, 715 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,960 gym membership goes way down, or at least gym attendance. 716 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:32,800 Listen, the answer for a divided heart, even for a believer. 717 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,400 Let's get back to Jesus. What do we need to do? 718 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,880 Rejoice in Him, worship and Revere Him. 719 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:42,520 Don't be distracted this time of year from all the other things. 720 00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:45,920 Listen, it's all about Jesus Christ. 721 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:48,600 When you're unsaved, it's all about Jesus Christ. 722 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:52,760 Get saved if you are saved. Listen, it remains to be all 723 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:55,920 about Jesus Christ. The baby that divided the world 724 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,120 actually came to heal a divided world, and He'll take your 725 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:01,720 divided heart, and He'll heal that too. 726 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:05,520 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 727 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:08,400 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 728 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:11,880 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 729 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:16,480 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 730 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:21,320 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 731 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:24,120 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 732 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:25,320 grow in His Word.