1 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,480 So they picked me that preached it. 2 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:29,840 Now they did it. They they didn't pick me to 3 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:35,040 preach, but I do get the honour of welcoming our guest speaker. 4 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,280 According to his daughter, we are practically twins. 5 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,000 We look alike. And I'm pretty excited about 6 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,920 that because he's pretty handsome. 7 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:51,320 Dude. This guy, he was able to that 8 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:54,640 the associate or the California Southern Baptist Association 9 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:59,320 asked this guy to preach at the California Convention Pastors 10 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:06,240 Conference this past year. We are so lucky that we're able 11 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,320 to partner with him and his church plant. 12 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,120 Pastor Derek is one of my favorite people of all. 13 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:13,800 Pastor Derek. Come on up man. 14 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:24,720 Guys, this is my twin. We we look just alike. 15 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:27,200 Love you man. Love you too. 16 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:33,200 Thank you brother. Well, happy Lord's Day. 17 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,240 What you didn't tell you is at the California Southern Baptist 18 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,400 Convention where I had the opportunity and the privilege to 19 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:47,560 preach. They gave me 7 minutes and I did 20 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:53,000 it because they started playing some music so and they had me 21 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:54,760 preach on the Trinity for 7 minutes. 22 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,640 That's crazy. Come on now. 23 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:01,880 It's always an honor and a privilege to be before you to 24 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,240 present God's Word. So if you have your copy of 25 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:05,360 God's Word, go ahead and meet me. 26 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:10,000 In Luke chapter 1, we'll consider verses 26 through 38. 27 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,760 Pastor Mark earlier mentioned that you all have been able to 28 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,160 partner along with the church planner and provide financial 29 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,280 aid and assistance. And I'm that church planner that 30 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,720 he mentioned. So thank you all for partnering 31 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,200 with us. And we're getting going in 32 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:29,520 Northwest Pasadena. That's where we're looking to 33 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,320 plan a church and see what the Lord has in store when He's 34 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,360 going to do. So thank you all for your 35 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:40,400 faithful giving. Luke chapter 1, verses 26 36 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:44,320 through 38. If you're there, say I got it. 37 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,680 Need some more time? Say hello, I got you, I got you, 38 00:02:51,320 --> 00:03:00,640 I got you. Week 2 of the Advent series that 39 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:02,920 you're in. Again, we'll start off by 40 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:09,200 reading the Word in its entirety and then we'll dive in. 41 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,760 Most important part of the sermon will take place at this 42 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,280 time, the reading of God's Word. So please be attentive. 43 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,280 Verse 26. In the sixth month, the Angel 44 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:24,560 Gabriel, he went from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 45 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:29,480 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the 46 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,360 House of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. 47 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,880 And he came to her and said greeting. 48 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:38,840 So favored one, the Lord is with you. 49 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,040 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern 50 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:44,760 what sort of greetings this might be. 51 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,200 And the Angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you 52 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:52,240 have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in 53 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:57,040 your womb, and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 54 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,480 He will be a great, He will be great, and will be called the 55 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:05,200 Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to 56 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,400 him the throne of his Father David, and he will reign over 57 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:14,040 the House of Jacob Forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no 58 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,240 end. And Mary said to the Angel, How 59 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,000 will this be, since I am a virgin? 60 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,800 And the Angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, 61 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,080 and the power of the Most High will over shadow you. 62 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:33,520 Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of 63 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,560 God. And behold, your relative 64 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:42,240 Elizabeth and her old age has also conceived a son, and this 65 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,720 is the 6th month with her who is called barren for it. 66 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:50,120 Nothing will be impossible with God. 67 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:56,480 And Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, let it be 68 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,640 to me according to your word. And the Angel departed from her, 69 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,400 The grass Withers, the flowers fade with the word of our God 70 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:05,480 endures forever. Amen. 71 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:08,880 Amen. Let's pray, ask the Lord for 72 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:15,360 some help and dive in. Heavenly Father, we thank you 73 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:20,280 for another Lord's Day where we can gather as your people to 74 00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:26,760 worship you and one Spirit. We praise you for the gift of 75 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:31,000 your Son, the Lord Jesus. We praise you for the fact that 76 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:37,400 although we were born separated, dead, and sin wanting nothing to 77 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,040 do with you, the true God of the Bible, you redeemed us. 78 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:47,680 Instead of sending wrath upon earth, you sent your Son on 79 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:49,480 earth through a virginal conception. 80 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,960 We praise you for this miraculous truth that has 81 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:58,480 transformed us. We praise You for this gospel 82 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,080 that makes us new. And we pray that we can hear the 83 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,120 gospel anew this morning and be refreshed by it. 84 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:10,320 The same old story. And if there's anyone here who 85 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:14,680 does not know you, is not in relationship with you through 86 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:19,680 your Son, we pray that you would do what you do best, which is 87 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,880 draw people unto yourself, make much of your son the Lord Jesus, 88 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:26,720 and regenerate and convert where it is needed. 89 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,560 We pray all these things by the power of the Spirit unto God the 90 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,520 Father in Jesus mighty name, Amen. 91 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:41,920 In the summer of 2016 my wife sat me down and she said she 92 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:47,560 wanted to show me a spoof video of a film called Captain America 93 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:49,760 Civil War. Now if you know me, you know I 94 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:53,360 love Marvel or I loved they kind of they didn't fall fell off 95 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,200 now. But I love Marvel movies, love 96 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:57,920 superhero movies, love movies in general. 97 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,760 So I thought she just wanted to offer some entertainment to me 98 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:03,520 and have me watch this spoof video. 99 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,680 She's right next to me on the couch as we watch it. 100 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:08,280 This is when we were still living in Houston. 101 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,480 Little did I know, at the end of the video, she had her own 102 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,920 prerecorded video, and at the end, it was her. 103 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:21,560 Surprisingly, with our first pregnancy, I figured I'd get 104 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,560 that response. Yeah, and that was our first 105 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,360 born Nariah. It was something that we had 106 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:32,280 been praying for and hoping for. And she thought that it would be 107 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:36,120 appropriate to provide a memorable experience for this 108 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,560 news. And that's what we get in the 109 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,520 text this morning. Now, as much as I love me some 110 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:43,840 Nariah and I do love me some Nariah, right? 111 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,200 I got 2 twins. I got Pastor Mark and Nariah, 112 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:54,240 that's my other twin. This announcement vastly 113 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:59,040 eclipses the announcement that I received on the summer of 2020 114 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,680 2016. Again, Crystal and I had been 115 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:05,720 hoping and praying for about a month or so, and the Lord 116 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,560 provided. However, this pregnancy was 117 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:15,680 promised back in Genesis 3 when the Lord God uttered to a fallen 118 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:20,880 people that the seed of the woman will crush the seed of the 119 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,680 serpent. Now just place yourself in the 120 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:26,840 shoes or sandals of the Israelites, right? 121 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:33,320 For hundreds and hundreds of years they faced opposition, 122 00:08:33,799 --> 00:08:40,640 persecution by these Gentile Pagan nations, whether it be 123 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:45,000 Babylon or the Persians and the Medes or the Greeks and the 124 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,880 Romans. They are being stepped upon and 125 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:52,320 they're waiting for their Savior to finally rescue them. 126 00:08:55,120 --> 00:09:01,880 And Mary gets the announcement. The time is now, so we have a 127 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:07,560 memorable announcement about the coming of our King, the 128 00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:12,680 incarnation, God the Son becoming a human being. 129 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,840 So this morning, as again, as we continue the Advent series, 130 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,840 we'll consider the virgin birth, or more precisely the virgin 131 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:24,680 conception and it's important importance in Christianity. 132 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:27,280 So we'll look at some basics this morning. 133 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,480 Again, I'll just be reminding you of the age-old gospel. 134 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:34,840 Last week, Pastor Daniel preached the first 25 verses of 135 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:39,480 Luke chapter 1, and it was the story of the Angel Gabriel 136 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:43,920 visiting Elizabeth and or it's not Elizabeth Zachariah, excuse 137 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:49,280 me, Zechariah, and giving him this news that your wife who has 138 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:52,280 advanced in years will give birth. 139 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:57,000 Well, if you noticed in our text this morning, there are some 140 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,880 similarities or some parallels with the story that you read 141 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:02,680 last week. For instance, we have Gabriel, 142 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:05,320 the Angel. He appears, then you have a 143 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,520 seemingly impossible pregnancy announced, and then there's a 144 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,960 promise about a child's future. And then we have a response to 145 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,840 the Angel. But what I want you to notice is 146 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,280 that there's an escalation of elements in our passage. 147 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:24,560 This morning there was news of a seemingly impossible pregnancy 148 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:27,840 given to Zachariah. However, his wife was advanced 149 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:31,560 in years. Mary is literally a virgin who 150 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:33,680 has not had any sexual relations. 151 00:10:33,680 --> 00:10:36,800 So this is miraculous. On another level, there's a 152 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:40,400 promise about the child's future with John the forerunner, which 153 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:42,840 is very important. He's fulfilling prophecy. 154 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,440 But with Jesus, he's the king, in which his Kingdom will have 155 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,520 no end. You've noticed the response last 156 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:54,640 week, as was a response of doubt or cynicism. 157 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:57,920 This week, Mary responds with faith. 158 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:03,560 So it's It's almost as if the narrative itself is accentuating 159 00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:08,120 the depth and the matchlessness of what's taking place with this 160 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:13,280 birth, the birth of the Messiah. Now let's examine the virginal 161 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,320 conception. It seems as if Luke wants us to 162 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:19,240 zoom our lens in on this very issue. 163 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:23,640 Consider verse 27 right to a virgin betrothed to a man whose 164 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:28,120 name was Joseph to the House of David, and the virgin's name was 165 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:30,760 Mary. That repetition is is on 166 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:33,960 purpose. And then verse 34 and and Mary 167 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:37,880 said to the Mary said to the Angel, how will this be since I 168 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,360 am a virgin? So I'm going to start off with 169 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:45,360 this question for you to ponder in your mind quickly. 170 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:51,520 Is the doctrine of the virginal conception a tier one essential 171 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:54,000 issue? If you know me, you know, I like 172 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,720 this idea of a theological triage, right where you go into 173 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:01,160 the hospital, go into the ER. They have to determine what's 174 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:03,240 more important than who they're going to treat first. 175 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,400 If you treat someone who has a headache like someone who has a 176 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:09,480 gunshot wound, that's medical malpractice. 177 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:12,240 Someone's going to die. Well, we as Christians have a 178 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,840 theological triage. We have first tier issues, which 179 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:19,360 if you remove these first tier doctrines, then the gospel 180 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,160 crumbles. We have second tier issues, not 181 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:24,480 as important, but still nevertheless important. 182 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,200 And it may even cause us to fellowship in different 183 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,160 churches, like the mode of baptism. 184 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,920 And then you have tertiary issues. 185 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:38,120 Where would you place the virginal conception and the 186 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:42,680 virgin of birth? Is it a Tier 1 issue? 187 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:46,240 If we remove it, does the gospel crumble? 188 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,920 Or is it just a Tier 2 issue? Is it something that we can 189 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:55,320 agree to disagree on and yet still fellowship with one 190 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,280 another? Well, Rob Bell, if you're 191 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,520 familiar with that name, suggests that it would be no big 192 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:05,600 deal if we found out that Jesus had an earthly father named 193 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,920 Larry. His words, His words, not mine. 194 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:13,400 According to Bail, this wouldn't be catastrophic to the Christian 195 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,000 faith. A person could still love God 196 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:19,920 and be a genuine, authentic Christian without believing in 197 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:24,120 the virginal conception. Based on how I framed it, you 198 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:27,720 probably wouldn't be surprised to say I disagree emphatically. 199 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,560 The virgin conception is absolutely a tier one gospel 200 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:34,600 issue. And that's what I'll be here to 201 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:37,640 argue. And for centuries this is been 202 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,880 widely understood as an essential doctrine within many 203 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,600 churches. Jay Greshamation concluded that 204 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,360 there could be no doubt that at the close of the 2nd century, 205 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:50,480 the virgin birth of Christ was regarded an absolutely essential 206 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,560 part of the Christian belief by the Christian Church and all 207 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:58,520 parts of the known world. Now, that's not scripture, so 208 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,720 it's not authoritative, as the church can get things wrong, and 209 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:04,440 the church has gotten things wrong even for a long time. 210 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:08,120 However, if Christians of every ilk in every place have 211 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,320 professed this doctrine, we should be hesitant to view it as 212 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:14,360 inconsequential. It wasn't until roughly a 213 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,240 century ago that influential theologians began to doubt 214 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,880 whether or not this was actually true. 215 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:24,080 They claimed that it was the stuff of fairy tales and 216 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:27,440 superstition, and that intelligent modern folk would 217 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:31,800 never accept a story about a virginal conception or a virgin 218 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,880 birth. So their thinking was, if 219 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:40,040 Christianity is to flourish in the scientific era, we must 220 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:45,480 scrap these ideas of myth. And that's how we get the birth 221 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:50,080 of theological liberalism, and that is theological liberalism. 222 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:53,320 And that's what it always does. That's how it works, and that's 223 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:58,600 how the devil works. It looks out at the culture, it 224 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:06,120 surveys the landscape, and it says, how can we modify or alter 225 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,640 the message of the gospel or the message of Christianity so that 226 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:13,600 it could be more palatable to the masses? 227 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,800 And that's why today there are so many quote UN quote, 228 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:23,240 Christians who are denying A biblical sexual ethic. 229 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:27,840 This is the birth of theological liberalism. 230 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,960 This is where it came from. And you know, interestingly 231 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:37,200 enough, they would argue that they had good reasoning or 232 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,160 motive behind it. We want this was in Germany. 233 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:42,680 We want Germans to become Christians. 234 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:44,280 We don't want them to reject the gospel. 235 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,520 Let's so let's modify it so that they would accept it. 236 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:53,480 The problem is they're accepting a gospel that cannot save and 237 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:55,840 you're giving them a God that doesn't look like the God of the 238 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:58,960 Bible, the God that they want created in their image. 239 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:06,160 So I'm arguing this morning for the that the virgin conception, 240 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:07,440 that the virgin birth is essential. 241 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,000 And I'm going to argue with three points and then give two 242 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,520 applications. That's how I messaged this 243 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:13,400 morning. So three points, why the 244 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:17,240 virginal conception is important and essential in Christianity, 245 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,680 why we should celebrate it, and then two applications. 246 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:27,000 And that's it #1 the virgin birth fulfills Old Testament 247 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:28,520 prophecy. We'll start here. 248 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,600 The virgin birth fulfills Old Testament prophecy. 249 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:33,360 You all probably knew I was going here. 250 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,480 Isaiah 714 Yahweh speaking to Ahaz says this. 251 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:42,720 Therefore Yahweh himself will give you a sign speaking through 252 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:45,880 the prophet Isaiah. Behold, the virgin shall 253 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:50,520 conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, 254 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:55,880 which means God with us. Now you have some who object to 255 00:16:55,880 --> 00:17:00,480 this as biblical proof of the prophesied virgin birth because 256 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:06,040 there are two different Hebrew words for virgin, and they would 257 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,520 argue that the technical word for virgin is not being employed 258 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:14,520 here, rather another word that can simply mean a young woman of 259 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:18,079 marital age. While it's true there are two 260 00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:20,599 different Hebrew words being used, and the word that's 261 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:24,520 employed here has a wider semantic range, there are no 262 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,800 explicit references in the Old Testament where this term 263 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,200 doesn't mean virgin as you and I understand it, but more 264 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:35,400 importantly in the Septuagint, which is just the Greek version 265 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:40,480 of the Old Testament. So in this, the Greek word that 266 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:45,320 we find here in Luke chapter 1 is the word that's employed in 267 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:50,480 Isaiah 714 and the Greek version which tells us it indicates that 268 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:55,720 the Israelites understood this prophecy to be a actual virgin, 269 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:59,480 not just a young woman of marital age, but a virgin who 270 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,880 has not had relations as you and I would understand this. 271 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:08,480 And if we just use logic, by the way, if you look at verse 34, 272 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:13,320 based on her question, Mary said to the Angel, how will this be 273 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:19,160 since I am a virgin? The question itself assumes that 274 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:23,120 this is something miraculous that God is doing. 275 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:28,120 So the first reason this is essential is because it is 276 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:35,520 prophesied and God is not a liar #1 #2 it's three. 277 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:37,360 Like I said, three points. I'll be honest with you all the 278 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:39,920 points won't be that short. Just in case you were. 279 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,400 I don't want to get your hopes up, you know. 280 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:46,680 Second point, I saw somebody said, darn. 281 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:53,360 Second point, the virgin birth assures A spotless savior. 282 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,920 The virgin birth assures A spotless savior. 283 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,960 Now, this is closely associated with the Third Point we'll 284 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:03,640 consider this morning, but I think it's distinct enough for 285 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:07,880 it to be separate. So we need a savior King who's 286 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:11,320 untouched by the curse of depravity that was brought about 287 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,240 by Adam, sinned, and that's passed down to all of his 288 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:16,320 descendants. In case you're unfamiliar with 289 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,320 what happened in the garden when human beings first sinned, Paul 290 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:23,000 summarized it like this in Romans 512. 291 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:28,160 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man and 292 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,720 death through sin, and notice what he says here. 293 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:36,200 And so death spread to all men because all sinned. 294 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:42,120 Now Adam was our federal head, meaning he represented us. 295 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:46,600 When Adam made the decision, he represented all of us, and we 296 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:49,520 are now feeling the aftershock or the effects of his decision. 297 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,840 But I also think Paul is teaching something else in this 298 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:58,560 text that everyone who was born through natural means since Adam 299 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:07,600 and Eve in some way, shape or form mysteriously existed in 300 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:11,600 Adam. So when Adam sinned, it's not as 301 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:14,600 if we can make the argument now. If that was me, I would have 302 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:17,800 done the right thing. Because we all, I think what 303 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,840 Paul is getting at when he says so death spread to all men 304 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,280 because all sinned. I don't think he's saying all 305 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,840 men sin, but rather all sinned when Adam sinned. 306 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:30,480 So in some mysterious way, we made the choice, along with 307 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:34,520 Adam, to rebel against our God. One of my favorite preachers, 308 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:38,200 John Piper, says it like this. The problem with the human race 309 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:42,080 is not that everybody does various kinds of sins. 310 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:46,280 Behind all of our depravity, behind all of our guilt, behind 311 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:49,480 all of our personal sinning, there is this mysterious 312 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:55,240 connection or union with Adam, our Father, who sinned, and we 313 00:20:55,240 --> 00:21:01,040 being in him in some mysterious way, also sinned and died and 314 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:07,520 are condemned. So then every human father has 315 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:13,040 produced a son or a daughter with a sinful nature. 316 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,920 In other words, sinners begets sinners. 317 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:24,520 So if Joseph was the real father of the Lord Jesus, or if, as Rob 318 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:28,200 Bell would suggest, Mary was sleeping around and they came up 319 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:31,280 with this with this story to hot to cover that up. 320 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,600 And there was her. His father was someone named 321 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:35,920 Larry. If that was the case, Jesus 322 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,800 would have inherited the same sinful nature that you and I 323 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:43,120 have. And that is not inconsequential 324 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:47,800 because a Sinner can't stand in the place of other sinners. 325 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,640 Imagine the hubris like, like you're in a courtroom where 326 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,000 murderer is on trial and someone's valiantly steps in and 327 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,440 says, I'll stand in their place. But it's like Jeffrey Dahmer, 328 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:04,160 like another murderer. And it's like, no, you have to 329 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:07,840 pay for your crimes. How are you going to step in 330 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:12,280 someone else's place when the same way we need a 331 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:17,480 substitutionary sacrifice that is sinless, who has no sins to 332 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:21,640 pay for, and it's the virginal conception that makes that 333 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,360 possible. To make this point even more 334 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:28,760 clear, without a sinless Savior, there be no righteousness to be 335 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:33,240 imputed on your account. I want you to just think about 336 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,600 this. Contemplate for a moment you 337 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:41,840 need more than just forgiveness to get into heaven to be made 338 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:43,240 right with God. I don't know if you ever 339 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,920 consider that. I want to give you a quick 340 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,520 example I thought of. Imagine you're at the airport 341 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:54,040 and you're at your gate. You're trying to get into your 342 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:58,280 to your to make your flight. And the person who beeps you in, 343 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,080 I don't know what they're called, but you know the person 344 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,520 who beeps in your boarding pass. Let's say you get into it with 345 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:07,440 them, get into a huge argument and they say, well, I'm not 346 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,240 going to let you on this plane because of how you're acting. 347 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:14,520 And then, you know, you cool off, although you ruffle the 348 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:16,280 feathers, there's some reconciliation. 349 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:21,000 You apologize and they genuinely accept your apology, said, OK, 350 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:25,320 I'll let you in. I believe you're the contrition 351 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:27,840 that you're offering up. I believe that it's authentic. 352 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:30,880 Boom. But then you say, I don't have a 353 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:32,760 boarding pass. I lost my boarding pass. 354 00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:37,360 They say, well, I do genuinely forgive you, but without a 355 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:40,600 boarding pass, you cannot get on this plane and I cannot make an 356 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:45,240 exception. Our boarding pass into heaven or 357 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:50,640 to be made right with God is perfection, righteousness. 358 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:58,400 We need a righteous, A righteous robe of life to cover us to be 359 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:02,800 in the presence of God. So the question is, how do we 360 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,760 obtain not just forgiveness? So we want to ask that question. 361 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,680 We don't want to just ask how can I be forgiven by God, 362 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:11,760 although that is an important question. 363 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,560 We also want to ask, how can I possess the righteousness, 364 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:19,120 righteousness required to for me to be made right with the holy 365 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:22,120 God. I'll give you the answer. 366 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,840 It's for you to live sinlessly. That's how. 367 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,920 It's one way. Never break the law, any of 368 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:36,000 them, not even once. Word, thought or deed. 369 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,920 You do that, you got a righteousness and you can stand 370 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,840 before God. I got a problem. 371 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:48,680 None of you can do that. None of you have done that. 372 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:54,400 None of you will do that. You need someone else to do it 373 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,680 on your behalf. It's not just the death of 374 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:02,160 Christ that's offered up to us. That's why Jesus didn't, you 375 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:04,840 know, Notice He didn't come as a baby and then just die as a 376 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:10,360 baby. Why he had to live a life of 377 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:13,000 righteousness. That's why the author of Hebrews 378 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,560 says he learned obedience to a life of submission to the 379 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:19,080 Father. So now at the end of his life, 380 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:25,520 30 plus years, 33 ish, he has a righteousness to offer all those 381 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,440 who respond to the gospel message with repentance and 382 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:33,440 faith. So the answer is a sinless 383 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:39,400 Savior offering himself as a substitute for punishment, and 384 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:43,160 subsequently he offers up his robe of righteousness to his 385 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,160 people. Hopefully you're getting that 386 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:48,880 the virgin birth is essential to Christianity. 387 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:57,200 But to that point, who can be perfectly righteous and sinless 388 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,720 except for God alone? Which gets us to our Third 389 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:04,000 Point. The virgin birth demonstrates 390 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,120 that Jesus was truly human and truly divine. 391 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,920 The virgin birth demonstrates that Jesus was truly human and 392 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:20,400 truly divine. In theology, this is called the 393 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:24,560 hypostatic union. The fact that Jesus is 100% God, 394 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:27,680 100% man, Fully God, fully man. Not 5050. 395 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:32,000 He was God and he took on the nature of humanity. 396 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:36,440 Now I already dressed why our Savior had to be spotless, but I 397 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:37,880 want to ask another genuine question. 398 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:42,080 Now, I believe I've posed this question here before and I like 399 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:46,000 posing it because I think it brings up our understanding of 400 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,840 the gospel or like thereof. If someone were to ask you 401 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:50,760 rhetorical, don't answer out loud. 402 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,680 But if someone were to ask you if the devil could be redeemed, 403 00:26:55,680 --> 00:27:00,720 if he was genuinely sorry, if he truly repented, I wonder what 404 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:04,760 your answer would be. Because if it's yes, that shows 405 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:07,960 either you just haven't thought through it enough or you don't 406 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:12,040 truly understand the gospel. Because as we just talked about, 407 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:16,760 you're not right with God simply because you OfferUp an apology 408 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:18,640 that he accepts. That's not the gospel. 409 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:25,600 The gospel is that God has become one of us outside of sin 410 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:29,400 and has become our sacrifice on our behalf. 411 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,360 So for the devil or the demons to be redeemed, God would have 412 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:37,480 to become an Angel and die as an Angel to redeem angels. 413 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:44,560 But the gospel says this to angels. 414 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:47,280 Your fate was sealed when you sinned. 415 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:53,200 You're done. All the you know, the the Satan 416 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:57,880 and his demons, one sin, they cannot be made right with him 417 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:00,480 ever again. Just think about that anytime 418 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:02,360 you think that your sin is not that serious. 419 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:09,520 Righteous angels, Paul calls the elect angels. 420 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:13,120 They're right with God, not because of grace, but because 421 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:16,240 they're sinless. They did what remember I said 422 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:18,760 like the way you can have a righteousness and be in his 423 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,360 presence is if you fulfill the law, you never sin. 424 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,160 Well, these angels, they have this, and This is why I think 425 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,640 the authors of the New Testament talk about the angels looking 426 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,400 into the church because we're experiencing something they 427 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:35,360 never will, which is grace. Experientially, they have no 428 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:39,680 idea what that's like. So the angels are just peeping 429 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:40,400 like that. I'm like. 430 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:44,520 What is this? Hear about it, hear the prophets 431 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:46,400 preaching. Peeping just means, you know, 432 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:52,360 they're checking it out and they're reading the scriptures 433 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,720 like this. This idea of grace, it just 434 00:28:55,720 --> 00:29:01,400 seems so rich. I'll never experience it ever. 435 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:06,800 But God has created the people in his image whom he desires to 436 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:11,160 be in a relationship with, whom he loves, so that when they sin 437 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:17,320 and sin and sin and sin over and over again, there's grace that's 438 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:22,640 offered. This is impossible without the 439 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,240 virgin birth and our God becoming a man. 440 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:32,840 So he's fully God, the Lord Jesus. 441 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:35,720 There's never been a time where he didn't exist. 442 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:39,360 Another Tier 1 issue. So although he was born of a 443 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:43,520 human, if he had been born like any other human through the 444 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:47,240 union of a man and woman, we would question his full 445 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:51,040 divinity. So in theology, this is called 446 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:55,160 again the incarnation, God taking on human flesh. 447 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:58,440 And we'll take a little bit of time to consider that at the 448 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:02,680 end, but let's just reread verse 35 to see how our Lord's birth 449 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,400 was different. And the Angel answered her. 450 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,680 The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most 451 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:13,080 High will over shadow you. Therefore, the child to be born 452 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:20,080 will be called holy, the Son of God. 1st. 453 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:23,320 I just want you to see that. I think it's neat that we see 454 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:27,080 the full Godhead in verse 35, the Triune God. 455 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:31,360 We see the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in verse 35 in that 456 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:33,600 text. And if you read the Bible, 457 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:38,120 you'll find that there are various monumental moments in 458 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:42,120 the Scriptures where the Triune God shows up, right? 459 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:45,840 Creation. We have the Father, we have the 460 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:49,600 Spirit hovering over the waters of the deep, and then we have 461 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:54,640 the Son, the Word, the Lagos baptism where it's like the 462 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:58,280 recreation that Jesus is bringing. 463 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:02,760 We have the Father offering up an affirming word to the Son, 464 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:06,360 and we have the Holy Spirit coming down Great Commission. 465 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:08,920 There are so many texts that we can look at where the full 466 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:13,160 Triune God is on display. Ephesians 1, verses 3 through 467 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:15,440 14. We see the Father electing, we 468 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,240 see the Son redeeming. We see the Spirit stealing us. 469 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:22,480 So in this text, that's just a side note, we see the Triune God 470 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:27,000 working out our salvation. 2nd it's important to note that 471 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:31,640 Gabriel is not saying that God will impregnate Mary as some, 472 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:34,520 you know, Muslims would slanderously say about 473 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:36,600 believers. You know that's a blasphemous 474 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:38,400 thought. That's not what he's saying to 475 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:41,640 come upon. Brings to mind what we find in 476 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:45,240 Genesis 1/2 as I just mentioned with a spirit hovered over the 477 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:49,360 face of the deep in creation. So it's what Jesus is quoted 478 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:54,560 saying in Hebrews 10/5 when he says sacrifice, sacrifices and 479 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:58,920 offerings you have not desired, but a body you've prepared for 480 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,080 me. So by the power of the Holy 481 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:05,760 Spirit and the will of God the Father, a body for God the Son 482 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:09,600 was prepared in which Mary would bring forth. 483 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:14,800 And because Jesus is God, he can supply the salvation to his 484 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:19,560 people that no man can. So hopefully with all this you 485 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:23,960 grasp the beauty and the importance of the virgin birth. 486 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:31,000 Perhaps you know someone who categorizes Christianity as a 487 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:37,400 myth, as a fable, as a fairy tale due to the supernatural 488 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,000 elements that we find, particularly the virgin birth. 489 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:44,480 And perhaps you're here and you would be one who categorizes 490 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:50,000 Christianity as a fairy tale. I still remember an undergrad, 491 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:55,080 my sociology class, one of my professors, my sociology 492 00:32:55,080 --> 00:33:00,760 professor, she asked the class in a very mocking tone, like, 493 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:03,320 and this guy came out of nowhere. 494 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:05,640 We weren't even talking about this, but she said, is it 495 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:10,560 possible for a woman to give birth without having, you know, 496 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:12,960 a sexual intercourse? Does that even make sense? 497 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:14,920 You know? And in the class erupted with 498 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,920 laughter and she was mocking Christianity. 499 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:21,520 But what I think she missed was verse 37. 500 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:26,600 If she had read verse 37, perhaps she would understand 501 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:28,680 that this is not as far fetched as you may think. 502 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:33,120 What does verse 37 says? For nothing will be impossible 503 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:36,320 with God. I like what the BD said. 504 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:39,840 He's a pastor in DC. He said the moment you admit the 505 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:43,560 existence of God, you must deny the impossible. 506 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:48,880 That's good, right? He said the moment you admit the 507 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:52,160 existence of God, you must deny the impossible. 508 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:55,600 I'm like man, you have a problem with the virgin birth. 509 00:33:55,640 --> 00:34:00,280 I mean just read Genesis 1, God spoke all things into existence 510 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:06,360 so surely he can cause miraculous events such as a 511 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:11,480 virginal conception. Moving to the application here 512 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:13,280 again said there'd be two applications. 513 00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:20,520 One is do you believe this? Do you believe that with God 514 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,440 nothing is impossible? Do you believe it within your 515 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:29,760 local church? Look at, you know, 3 contexts or 516 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:33,600 instances, your local church, your own family, and just your 517 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:39,080 individual life. Pastor Mark earlier talked about 518 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:42,080 all that the Lord has been doing within this church the past 519 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:44,360 year, this past year or the past couple of years. 520 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:47,960 Many of you wouldn't have guessed that the Lord would have 521 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:49,360 done that or could have done that. 522 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:55,840 My question is, now that you've seen it or even prior to seeing 523 00:34:55,840 --> 00:35:00,080 it, do you believe that he can continue to do miraculous things 524 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:03,040 within your local church? And if so, if you carry this 525 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:07,720 disposition, how does this impact the way or how does this 526 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:12,640 impact your approach to the local church, your local church? 527 00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:16,560 How does it impact the way you financially give expecting God 528 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:19,160 to move in ways that you would never imagine? 529 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:22,520 How does it affect affect the way that you pray for the Lord's 530 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:25,480 work within your local church? How does it impact the way you 531 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:29,800 serve your local church? And that's not to say there will 532 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,960 always be the same harvest. I think that's an unrealistic 533 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:35,760 expectation, right? But we should be faithful in and 534 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,520 out of season. There will be some days where 535 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:42,000 3000 are saved in one day, but that didn't look like that every 536 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:45,280 every chapter in the book Acts. So that's that's not what I'm 537 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:46,960 saying. But the question is, do you 538 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:52,800 believe that it's possible that God has the power to do so even 539 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:57,280 if he chooses not to? But do you approach church life 540 00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:02,000 in that way is my question. So it's a question of faith. 541 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:04,920 Do you believe that it's possible for the gospel to go 542 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:08,320 forth from this church to transform communities and 543 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:10,760 regenerate hearts all around you? 544 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:14,200 And what would it look like if you actually believe that? 545 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:17,240 How would that change the way that you serve or you approach 546 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:20,560 your local church? Do you believe that nothing is 547 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:25,120 impossible with God, with your family, with your spouse, with 548 00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:29,920 your kids, with your parents, with your siblings? 549 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:34,640 Perhaps you're here, parents, and you're praying for the 550 00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:38,960 salvation of your kids or praying for some type of freedom 551 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:42,280 from addiction and things are looking bleak. 552 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:47,600 Have you stopped to consider that you're praying to a God who 553 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:53,040 made a virgin birth possible? What's a broken marriage to Him? 554 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:57,400 What's an addiction to Him? What's a financial hardship to 555 00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:01,840 Him when we have a God who makes the impossible possible? 556 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:06,720 God is able to work all these situations that seem on the 557 00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:12,840 surface impossible for his glory and for your good because he's a 558 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:18,520 miracle working God to do you believe it when you pray again, 559 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:21,480 this isn't a believe it enough and it'll happen. 560 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:24,160 Consider the Lord Jesus in the garden. 561 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:29,640 He says, Lord, you could cause this cup to pass from me. 562 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:32,560 It's not as if he doubted the Father's ability, but 563 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:36,280 nevertheless, nevertheless, he prayed humbly saying, if you 564 00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:40,160 choose for me to receive it, which he did, you will be done. 565 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:47,680 So we pray both humbly, knowing God is the one in in control, 566 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,680 right? And we can't demand his hand to 567 00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:54,920 move the way we want it, but we also pray with great faith and 568 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:59,600 expectation. That is the the line that we 569 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:05,000 thread and even again, teenagers here, perhaps you're praying for 570 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,320 lost parents. Continue to pray. 571 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:15,240 When I was a when I was 16, I believe 16 or 17, I was a member 572 00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:18,880 of a local church and the pastor said, think of 1 unbeliever in 573 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:24,560 your life who's even hostile to the things of God and begin to 574 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:28,560 pray for that person one time every single day. 575 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:33,280 I thought of a guy who I knew I was just in class with him and 576 00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:37,640 he mocked Christianity, mocked Jesus, he mocked God began to 577 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:39,440 pray for him every and I'm sure I missed days. 578 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:41,520 So I'm not going to make it seem like I pray for him every day, 579 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:44,000 but I did pray for him consistently. 580 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:49,360 And four years later when we turned 20, God saved him, right? 581 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:55,600 Because there's a belief knowing that God can break down a hard 582 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:57,800 heart. That's something only He can do. 583 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:02,320 Do you believe that, brethren and cistern? 584 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:10,360 James 16 says this? But let him ask in faith with no 585 00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:13,400 doubting. For the one who doubts is like a 586 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:16,680 wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 587 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:22,000 So again, this is not us praying thinking we can control the hand 588 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:25,320 of God, but us praying knowing that He has the power to answer 589 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:29,520 our prayers and the affirmative. And on the individual level, 590 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:32,400 perhaps you're dealing with a certain sin struggle that you 591 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:35,720 feel you'll never be free from. Maybe it's an addiction that 592 00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:39,040 you've dealt with since it was introduced to you as a kid. 593 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:44,440 With you it's impossible to gain freedom, but with God, nothing 594 00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:46,840 is impossible. Verse 37. 595 00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:51,400 So that's number one. Second application this morning. 596 00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:56,000 Consider the vessel chosen for this great task of birthing the 597 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,240 Messiah. Little old Mary from Nazareth. 598 00:40:00,720 --> 00:40:04,520 Have you ever felt like your life was too small or too 599 00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:08,800 insignificant for God to even notice you or to see you or care 600 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:10,800 for you? Perhaps Mary thought that way. 601 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:12,920 It wouldn't make sense for her to think that way as she's 602 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:16,680 living in Nazareth. Notice in verse 26 the scene 603 00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:19,040 switches 6 month and the 6th month. 604 00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:22,360 The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named. 605 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:26,320 Nazareth. Nazareth was a non place. 606 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:30,720 It wasn't mentioned in the Old Testament and Josephus's 607 00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:34,200 writings or any rabbinical writings. 608 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:37,880 No one was taking vacations to Nazareth. 609 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:41,240 People were trying to get out of Nazareth. 610 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:44,000 People were passing through Nazareth. 611 00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:48,120 As one author said, it was a shoddy, corrupt halfway stop 612 00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:52,440 between 2 port cities and Gentiles and Roman soldiers 613 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:56,440 overran it. And This is why in John 1, 614 00:40:56,440 --> 00:41:00,560 Nathaniel says, can anything good come out of Nazareth? 615 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:02,960 That's where the Messiah comes from. 616 00:41:03,240 --> 00:41:07,240 I'm good. And yet it was Nazareth that the 617 00:41:07,240 --> 00:41:10,040 Angel Gabriel visited the poor teenager. 618 00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:15,600 From all indicators, life was not extraordinary, and yet you 619 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:21,360 see how the Lord uses her. Perhaps you're here and you're 620 00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:27,040 dreaming of leaving Bakersfield, moving to New York and Miami, or 621 00:41:27,040 --> 00:41:29,240 if you try to come to the North Pasadena, that's actually good. 622 00:41:29,240 --> 00:41:33,480 That's from God. Sorry. 623 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:40,160 Now, there's nothing wrong with having those ambitions to to 624 00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:42,400 leave and to move, as long as the motives are godly. 625 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:47,280 But I want you to the Lord has not forgotten about Bakersfield 626 00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:51,200 as many people have. He doesn't view this city with 627 00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:53,640 the same disdain that others others do. 628 00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:58,040 And I would just encourage you to love the city that you're in. 629 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:02,720 God has called you here for a season or, you know, permanently 630 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:06,800 to serve. I remember living here and man, 631 00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:11,840 Bakersfield would catch a lot of slugs, meaning people would talk 632 00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:14,080 bad about Bakersfield, like all the time. 633 00:42:14,720 --> 00:42:17,440 I'm like, Dad, I mean, I get it from, you know, people in the 634 00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:20,120 world, but for Christians, this is your Nazareth. 635 00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:24,560 This is where people are driving through and have forgotten 636 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:27,280 about. Do you view your Nazareth at 637 00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:32,560 Bakersfield the way that God views it, or do you view it the 638 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:35,880 way the world around you views it? 639 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:45,840 Again, the norm is for the Lord to use ordinary folks outside of 640 00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:49,000 the glitz and glam for Him to receive His glory from. 641 00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:51,720 First Corinthians 2631 says this. 642 00:42:51,720 --> 00:42:53,120 For consider your calling, brothers. 643 00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:55,840 Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. 644 00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:59,080 Not many of you were powerful. Not many were of noble birth, 645 00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:03,120 but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. 646 00:43:03,400 --> 00:43:06,120 God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 647 00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:08,600 God chose what is loved and despised in the world, even 648 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:10,840 things that are not to bring nothing, things that are things 649 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:14,040 that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of 650 00:43:14,040 --> 00:43:15,920 God. And because of him you're in 651 00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:19,600 Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness 652 00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:22,120 and sanctification and redemption, so that it is 653 00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:25,120 written, Let those who boast, boast in the Lord. 654 00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:33,400 So God, he's into using the unlikely for his glory. 655 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:38,520 Love the city you're in, serve the city you're in for his 656 00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:41,040 glory. Just want to close with just 657 00:43:41,040 --> 00:43:50,560 thinking about the incarnation because that's Advent. 658 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:54,920 That's what Advent is about. That's what the Christmas is 659 00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:57,480 about. It's all about us considering 660 00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:01,960 God becoming a man. So I want to read a quote, and 661 00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:04,920 I'm going to end with this, but let me say this. 662 00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:14,400 Now consider Mary, who although this news that she receives may 663 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:19,920 cause her to be shamed by her family, divorced by Joseph, who 664 00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:22,560 doesn't believe, who may not have believed her and just 665 00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:29,280 become desolate, she accepts with faith, counting the cost of 666 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:32,080 what she may lose. And that's what it means to 667 00:44:32,200 --> 00:44:34,400 positively respond to the gospel. 668 00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:36,680 So if you're here this morning, you don't know the Lord. 669 00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:41,360 Respond to the gospel by turning from your sin and placing faith 670 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:44,920 in the finished work of Jesus. This is the God that Christians 671 00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:49,960 worship. I'm going to read this and close 672 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:53,840 with that closing prayer and imagine the great and glorious 673 00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:56,520 Kingdom that is ruled by a strong and wealthy king. 674 00:44:56,560 --> 00:44:58,440 This is from a book called The Man Christ Jesus. 675 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:01,360 The King has every privilege one can imagine and the finest of 676 00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:04,760 everything money can buy. But one day while walking the 677 00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:07,360 streets of his Kingdom, he takes notice of beggars and begins to 678 00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:09,280 wonder what it would be like to live as a beggar. 679 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:11,880 So he decides to move out of his world palace and live on the 680 00:45:11,880 --> 00:45:14,160 streets. He exchanges his fine clothes 681 00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:16,680 for tattered and smelly garments, and every way he 682 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:19,400 could, he acquired the day-to-day life and limitations 683 00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:21,680 of a beggar. Now having taken on the 684 00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:24,480 restrictions of beggarly life when the king was hungry, 685 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:27,920 although he could have called for the royal chefs to bring him 686 00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:31,240 a choice meal in order to live life as a beggar, he instead 687 00:45:31,240 --> 00:45:34,600 learned what it's like to be hungry and to beg for food. 688 00:45:35,240 --> 00:45:37,920 When he grew ill from disease, he could have consulted his 689 00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:40,840 highly trained doctors, but he accepted the full life of a 690 00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:44,160 beggar as he allowed himself to be sick with little if any help 691 00:45:44,160 --> 00:45:47,560 for his illnesses. When mistreated by mean spirited 692 00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:51,360 passerby's, instead of calling his rogue guard to defend him 693 00:45:51,520 --> 00:45:55,760 and bring justice to bear against cruelty in order to live 694 00:45:55,760 --> 00:45:59,120 as a beggar, he accepted with no retaliation the mistreatment and 695 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:03,200 insults foisted upon him. So while all the qualities of 696 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:07,880 his kingship were retained fully by this king become beggar, the 697 00:46:07,880 --> 00:46:11,480 expression or manifestation of many of the rights and 698 00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:16,280 privileges he had as king could not be made since he had chosen 699 00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:20,160 to live life as a beggar. So we accepted the restriction 700 00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:24,640 and limitation of the expression of his rights and prerogatives 701 00:46:24,640 --> 00:46:26,960 as king. Although he is a king and hence 702 00:46:27,040 --> 00:46:30,880 he continues to possess everything, as he's king now 703 00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:33,480 he's also beggar. So he must accept the fact that 704 00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:36,760 many of his kingly rights and prerogatives can no longer be 705 00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:40,920 utilized or expressed. In other words, he's fully king 706 00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:44,520 and fully beggar. That's what our God has done. 707 00:46:46,760 --> 00:46:53,720 God, the One who created it all, limit willingly limited himself 708 00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:58,000 to human flesh so that He can take our place on the cross. 709 00:46:59,200 --> 00:47:03,560 Let's respond as believers in all, and if you don't know him, 710 00:47:03,960 --> 00:47:05,840 through faith and repentance. Heavenly Father, we thank you 711 00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:08,320 for your gospel. We pray you change our hearts. 712 00:47:08,320 --> 00:47:09,520 Do what only you can do.