1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:05,240 We are going to be talking about Christmas, and my title this 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:07,000 morning is Christmas. What's the big deal? 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:11,200 And if you know, you know, right? 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:16,880 But we're going to be in Luke 2. And I think everybody's probably 5 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:25,280 heard Linus read these words. So starting verse one, in those 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,160 days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the 7 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,880 world should be registered. This was the first registration 8 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:35,160 when Cornelius was governor of Syria. 9 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,480 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 10 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:42,360 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,760 Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called 12 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:51,160 Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to 13 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:54,520 be registered with Mary his betrothed, who was with child. 14 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,080 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth, 15 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,520 and she gave birth to her first born son, and wrapped him in 16 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:06,240 swaddling cloth and laid him in a Manger, because there was no 17 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,680 place for them in the end. And in the same region there 18 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,920 were shepherds out in a field, keeping watch over their flock 19 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,200 by night. And the Angel of the Lord 20 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,160 appeared to them in the glory of the Lord, shone around them, and 21 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,320 they were filled with great fear. 22 00:01:20,320 --> 00:01:24,440 And the Angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring good, 23 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:30,040 tight, good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 24 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:35,440 For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who 25 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:40,160 is Christ the Lord, and this will be a sign for you. 26 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,080 You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth, lying in a 27 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:45,880 major. And suddenly there was the 28 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:52,440 angels, and a multitude with the angels, a multitude of the 29 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,880 heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the 30 00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:00,280 highest and on earth, peace among those whom he is pleased. 31 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:05,000 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherd 32 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,840 said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this 33 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,320 thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. 34 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:18,360 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and 35 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,720 worship. And Lord, I just lift up this 36 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,680 time, Lord, And I lift up just what you've done. 37 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:29,040 And Lord, that we, that we get to spend time with you that you 38 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:34,240 came to us, Lord, or that you would fill each and every one of 39 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,520 us, Lord, that you would speak through me and to me that you'd 40 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,640 guide and direct this in the season of time that you're just 41 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,440 in everybody's in everybody's thoughts and minds. 42 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,960 Lord, that you, you are an easy conversation to have with people 43 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,120 right now, Lord, in this season that you've given us, and I pray 44 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:58,200 this all in Jesus name, Amen. So, so then that's the end of 45 00:02:58,200 --> 00:02:59,760 the Bible study. That's why it's a big deal right 46 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:01,240 there. Sorry. 47 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,400 So when we're thinking about Christmas, it's important and 48 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,840 why it's important. It's, it's really about context 49 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,680 of, of who Jesus is and why he came and what is the whole 50 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:17,760 picture. But the story of Jesus starts in 51 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:25,200 Genesis and and that is Genesis 315 is the first mention of him. 52 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,240 And it is I will put enmity between you and the woman, 53 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:32,440 between your offspring and her offspring. 54 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,720 He shall bruise your head and you shall brew his heel. 55 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:42,280 And that that he shall, that he is Jesus, right? 56 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,320 And it's called the seed of the woman. 57 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,480 And that seed is Jesus. The first time the Bible talks 58 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:55,280 about Jesus, here it is talking about the final battle at the 59 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:57,160 cross, when Jesus said it's finished. 60 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:02,560 But as is typical with Satan, he didn't understand what it meant. 61 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:10,600 But he did know that somehow from the woman, her offspring, 62 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:16,440 we're going to crush his head. So he instantly went after her 63 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:18,959 offspring, right? So the first thing he did was he 64 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:24,920 went after Cain and Cain and Abel and they were Eve's first 65 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:30,560 born sons. And we all know how that ended. 66 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,960 So then God, then Satan's like, ha, ha, I've won. 67 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:38,360 I've killed one son and the other son can't be the can't be 68 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:39,840 the good one because he was the murderer. 69 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:43,480 So I'm good. And when you watch all through 70 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:48,320 the Bible, every time God gives a prophecy about where the 71 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:52,280 Messiah is going to come from, Satan attacks that all the way 72 00:04:52,280 --> 00:05:01,000 up to the point where in the Kingdom of Judah and the line of 73 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:07,280 David that the Messiah has to come out of, Satan has hears God 74 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:11,360 hears God curse the line of David, that no one from your 75 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:13,120 line will ever sit on the throne. 76 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:17,880 And you got to think that Satan as he is inside of time and God 77 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,120 is outside of time. Satan's got to go. 78 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,520 I won because you said he has to come out of the line of David. 79 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:25,240 And I just had you curse the whole line. 80 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:31,760 So we're good. And of course, God's plan is 81 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:34,040 bigger than that. And we'll get into how that 82 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:42,560 works and why, why Satan can't win, right? 83 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:44,200 And that it's not even a battle, right? 84 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:48,000 I always, I compare him to that, that middle school bully that 85 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:53,240 thinks he knows something, but God is in charge and outside of 86 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:58,840 time. So God made Adam in his image. 87 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:03,680 And the point of that was he wanted to walk with him. 88 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:07,320 He wanted to talk with him. He wanted to love him, right? 89 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:11,640 He want that, that, that time he came down in Genesis to walk 90 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:12,960 with him in the cool of the evening. 91 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,240 That's what God wants to do. That's what God wanted to do at 92 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,800 that time is to have that relationship with him. 93 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:28,960 And at this point in Genesis, Adam had sinned and, and that 94 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:33,160 separated Adam from God, right? And God, God had to kill an 95 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,040 animal to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness, their sin. 96 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:39,000 And then he sent them out of the garden. 97 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,600 And everybody always asks, well, why did he punish them? 98 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:48,520 So guys, this is not punishment. It is, it is consequences. 99 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,280 And when, what I mean by that is when I tell my daughter or my 100 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:57,200 son, don't stick your hand in the fire or you'll get burned. 101 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,040 I don't punish them when they get burned. 102 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,840 Right now they did get burned, right? 103 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:06,800 If they stick there, you know, if they stick their hand in a 104 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,400 fire, the punishment, I mean the, the consequence is now 105 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:11,840 they're burned because they didn't listen. 106 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:18,600 And Genesis 216 and 17, God had told Adam and the Lord God 107 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,760 commanded the man saying, you may surely eat of every tree of 108 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,760 the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 109 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:29,640 You shall not eat for that for the day, for in the day you eat 110 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:37,240 of it, you shall surely die. So God had warned Adam, right? 111 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:41,640 But it's not a warning like I it's, it's, there's consequences 112 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:48,440 for disobedience and that he will now die. 113 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,720 And, and Adam from that moment forward was dying. 114 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:55,760 It was an instant, but it was dying. 115 00:07:55,760 --> 00:08:00,040 So Adam had allowed death to enter, right. 116 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:06,640 And allowing that death to enter God was just allowing Adam's 117 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:11,480 choice and the world through Adam's choice. 118 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:19,320 Now is is fallen right there death has entered the world and 119 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,480 sin through death, right, or death through sin. 120 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:27,640 And Romans 512 it says it like this. 121 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:31,040 Therefore, just as through one man, sin entered the world and 122 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:35,360 death through sin, and thus death spread to all man because 123 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:39,440 of all sin. And and that's always the, you 124 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:41,720 know, why did Adam have to sin? Then maybe I wouldn't have 125 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:43,240 sinned. Well, guys, I, I know my heart. 126 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:47,360 I would have sinned, right? And, and I know your heart 127 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:51,440 because it's dreadfully wicked. You know, that's the, the world 128 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,520 we live in that talks about. Well, just follow your heart. 129 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:59,760 Well, the, the Lord's pretty clear that our heart is 130 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:01,720 dreadfully wicked and can't be trusted. 131 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,600 So don't follow your heart, follow the Lord it it's really 132 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:10,200 that simple. So when the Lord sent them out, 133 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,200 it's like telling your child to, I mean, like I just said about 134 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,040 not touching it and, and they got burnt. 135 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,200 But and the Lord says, and this is the part whenever anybody 136 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:21,680 talks about, well, he just punished them. 137 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:24,520 Read what he said in Genesis 322. 138 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:28,360 The Lord said, the Lord God said, behold, the man has become 139 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:33,240 like one of us, knowing good and evil now, lest he reach out his 140 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:37,920 hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live 141 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,160 forever, right. Then he has to kick him out of 142 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,920 the garden so that he doesn't live forever because what he's 143 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:49,280 doing isn't living. And what I mean by that is 144 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:56,160 there's a CS Lewis actually explains it better, but this is 145 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:59,320 ghosty. Where we're at right now is 146 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:05,120 ghosty and heaven is solid. So the Kingdom of heaven is real 147 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:10,000 and we're just ghosty. A picture of that. 148 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:16,120 So at this point, God, God doesn't want Adam to live 149 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:20,040 forever outside of his presence, right? 150 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:24,880 There's got to be a way for Adam to get back into God's presence. 151 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:30,080 And God, God, God's plan, because he is outside of time, 152 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,360 was from the beginning of time, right from the moment he made 153 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:35,320 everything. He knew how this was going to 154 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:36,360 work out. He didn't. 155 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:39,080 He didn't. As we go through this, God did 156 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:44,120 not say, oh, you sinned. Now let me come up with a plan 157 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,480 to redeem you. He knew the plan from the 158 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,440 beginning, right? Jesus, Jesus was from the 159 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:56,000 foundation of the earth going to come as a baby, right? 160 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,840 It isn't, it isn't a reaction to our sin. 161 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:08,920 It was a plan because he knew we were going to sin because our 162 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:11,160 free will is that important to God. 163 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:19,680 And what that means is it is so important to God that we have 164 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:24,560 free will because that way we can freely choose to love Him. 165 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:29,440 If we don't have free will and He forces us to do anything, 166 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,480 then then I don't truly love him, right? 167 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:36,480 If I'm forced to, then I'm not loving him. 168 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:44,440 And Adam, the cure was going to be painful for this for Adam, 169 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:50,760 but as Adam sin, he put impurity into his life. 170 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:55,320 He had, he had cancer in his life that that meant that in the 171 00:11:55,320 --> 00:12:00,360 presence of the Lord in his state, the Lord would burn him 172 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:04,040 up. If you think of sulfuric acid, 173 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:08,240 and this is everybody knows that you can put sulfuric acid in 174 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:11,880 glass in like a glass speaker. You see it in science movies and 175 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,280 all that. And it's it's unreactionary in 176 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:18,920 glass because of its silica content stops the sulfuric acid 177 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:23,720 from doing anything. But if it's leaded glass, if 178 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:27,880 there's impurities in the glass, the sulfuric acid will eat the 179 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:34,320 glass, it will break it down. And as those impurities go up, 180 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:39,240 the the glass becomes less and less able to hold the acid. 181 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:46,960 Well, in our case, any sin is that level of impurity to God, 182 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:50,320 right? He is 100% pure. 183 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:56,320 So any darkness in US is that out and outside of Christ, we 184 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:58,680 have no standing to be in his presence. 185 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:01,920 Even Moses, which I don't have the verse here, but even Moses 186 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:07,640 asked to see his face and, and the Lord said you would die. 187 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:14,640 You would die if you saw my face because you are unable in your 188 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:16,960 current state to be in my presence. 189 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:26,760 And so it is that Adam's only hope was in death. 190 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,360 So it isn't punishment that he kicked him out of the garden. 191 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:36,080 It was mercy, Hebrews 927 and 28 says. 192 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,800 And just as it is appointed for a man to die once, and after 193 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:44,640 that comes the judgement, so Christ, having been offered once 194 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:48,600 to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to 195 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:52,920 deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. 196 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:58,280 And in order for Christ to appear a second time, he has to 197 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:02,120 appear the first time, right? Which as we go through this, 198 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,840 you'll see that that truly Christ is all through the Bible 199 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,400 and but he has to come as a baby. 200 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:25,200 He has to come as a man. And Jesus came to say that which 201 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:31,240 was lost, right? He came to came for us. 202 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:35,320 And that is that John 317 For God did not send His Son into 203 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,680 the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world 204 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,360 might be saved through him. And that's that same idea of 205 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:43,560 getting kicked out of the garden. 206 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:48,360 That was not a condemning thing. That was consequences followed 207 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:53,520 by God's plan to redeem us. Isaiah. 208 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:59,120 In Isaiah, God shares some of His plan with Isaiah, and it is 209 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:04,000 Isaiah 714 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. 210 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,400 Behold, a virgin so conceive and bear a son, and you should call 211 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:12,720 his name Emmanuel. So the virgin birth over 700 212 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:17,280 years before Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary before we talk 213 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:22,440 about sorry, So that is that is prophetic, right? 214 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:26,800 And you got to remember when God taught, when we talk about 215 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:32,160 prophecies, we talk about what's going to happen or God said, you 216 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,960 know, God prophesied that 700 years later that Jesus, we're 217 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:38,200 going to be born. A very well. 218 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,640 The trick there is from God's perspective, he doesn't tell you 219 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:46,640 anything that's going to happen from God's perspective, he's 220 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,800 perspective, he's telling you what did happen, right? 221 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:56,080 It's why his why his prophecies can be so, so specific and so 222 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:58,080 clear because God's outside of time. 223 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,680 So he just looks over here and says, so Jesus is going to die 224 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:03,960 on the cross and there's going to be dogs around then he's 225 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:05,840 going to be they're going to, they're going to bid for his 226 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:07,880 clothing. There's going to be, you know, 227 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,600 the reason he can be that specific in prophecy is because 228 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:13,960 he isn't telling you what's going to happen and then he's 229 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:15,680 going to manipulate it and make it happen. 230 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:22,280 He tells you what happened and gives you gives you points on 231 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:27,680 that. So Isaiah also says this in in 232 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:34,440 Chapter 9 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and 233 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:38,120 the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be 234 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,480 called. Wonderful counselor, mighty God, 235 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:44,600 everlasting Father, Prince of peace, of the increase of his 236 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,680 government and the peace there will be no end on the throne of 237 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:52,880 David and over his Kingdom to establish it and to uphold it 238 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,920 with justice and with the righteousness from time forth 239 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:58,600 and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts 240 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:03,200 will do this. So you guys probably all heard 241 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:05,640 those verses, but have you thought about them? 242 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:14,760 So Jesus is going to be born. So God is going to be a baby. 243 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,319 And this isn't I'm, I'm looking at it from 2000 years past it 244 00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:21,040 and I can tell you how that works. 245 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:26,400 Isaiah is writing this 700 years before it and he's writing that 246 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,880 a baby is going to be born called wonderful counselor, 247 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:35,240 mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 248 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:41,320 So mighty God is going to be born, everlasting father born. 249 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:48,920 So no beginning, no end for a baby. 250 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:56,200 So think about Isaiah writing this down and, and how it's 251 00:17:56,200 --> 00:18:00,720 like, you know, we as we look through the Bible, as we're 252 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:06,240 reading it, you guys, we get 2000 years of perspective or 253 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,160 4000 years of perspective and we can look back and see all the 254 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:14,720 things God has done. So the the benefit of that is 255 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,640 when I look in front of my life, I can see all the things God is 256 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:19,880 going to do because I can trust him to do them. 257 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,560 You know, phase story. The reason she can trust God and 258 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,680 when he says give the property back to just give the property 259 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,560 back is because God has done things in phase life that she 260 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:34,280 can say this happened. And I know God is God and I know 261 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:38,160 he has a plan as we're reading our Bible, as we're going 262 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:39,400 through it. Do you have that kind of 263 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,920 confidence in your life on what he has for you? 264 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:52,000 And John one one tries to explain how big God is and and 265 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:57,480 who he is and who Jesus is in the the 1st 4 verses and it's in 266 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:00,480 the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the 267 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,080 word was God. He was in the beginning with 268 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,600 God. All things were made through him 269 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,520 and without him was nothing was not anything made that was made 270 00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:13,160 in him was life and the life was the light of men. 271 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:21,120 So in the beginning was Jesus the word and, and that is so 272 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:25,840 Jesus is the revelation of God and not revelation in the book, 273 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:30,160 but he, he is the revealed person of the Trinity. 274 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,560 There's the Spirit and the Father, right? 275 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:38,360 And when, when you see God anywhere in the Old Testament, 276 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:47,480 you're seeing Jesus, right? And Revelation 9/19/13 just to 277 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,760 point out that to keep the word of God as Jesus, he is clothed 278 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:55,560 in a robe dipped in blood and the name by which he is called 279 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,120 is the word of God. That's a good Christmas first, 280 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:03,320 right? He made everything that was 281 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:09,480 made. And guys, that's the that's so 282 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:13,600 the the God that made everything that is made came down as a 283 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:16,000 baby. And I I'm going to I'm. 284 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:22,360 I'm going to beat that up on why is it a big deal and and Matt 285 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:24,520 last week kind of stole the Thunder on that. 286 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:34,520 But the the omnipresent all knowing outside of time, God had 287 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:38,760 to come down and be 100% God and 100% man. 288 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:44,520 And that doesn't mean that he, he didn't cheat, right? 289 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:49,360 He came down and is 100% man. He learned to walk. 290 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:55,240 So God learned to walk. God learned to speak. 291 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:02,000 Now I'll explain exactly how he can, how he can be God and man 292 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,640 and set the God part of his his deity aside enough that he can 293 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,680 learn things because God cannot learn anything. 294 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:15,600 But as Jesus, Jesus didn't pop out of Mary's womb walking, 295 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:20,280 talking and quoting, quoting the Bible, right? 296 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:24,640 He, he learned he would, but he was about his father's business 297 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:37,690 his entire life. Now when you read Isaiah and and 298 00:21:37,690 --> 00:21:40,410 it's really when you go through what the disciples as Jesus was 299 00:21:40,410 --> 00:21:44,560 here 30 years when he was 30 years old and the disciples 300 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:48,760 confusion on or the apostles confusion on what bringing his 301 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:54,560 Kingdom in looked like. But you look at 2000 years ago 302 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:58,000 in a little town named Bethlehem that God was going to come as a 303 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,680 baby is a little confusing to Israel. 304 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:08,200 Exodus 32, huh? He came as a fire, and the Angel 305 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:12,160 of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst 306 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:14,200 of a Bush. He took, and behold, the Bush 307 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,160 was burning, yet it was not consumed. 308 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,320 And then if you skip the verse 5, it says, then he said, do not 309 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:23,920 come near, take your sandals off your feet, for the place which 310 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:28,800 you are standing is holy ground, not as a booming, scary, 311 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:32,160 terrible presence in a cloud. You didn't come like that, 312 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:36,720 Exodus 1916 says on the morning of the third day there was 313 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:40,040 thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and 314 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,800 a very loud trumpet blast so that all the people in the camp 315 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,480 tremble. That's God coming down to earth. 316 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,080 My favorite 1. You guys have heard it numerous 317 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,680 times because it really is my. This is the conversation we all 318 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:58,840 have with the Lord a lot. Joshua 513. 319 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:00,720 He didn't come down as a man of war. 320 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,760 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked 321 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:10,280 and behold, a man was standing before him with his with his 322 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,800 drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said 323 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,400 to him, Are you for us or our adversaries? 324 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,680 And he said no, which how often does it anyway? 325 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:24,640 That's my that's what we want to know. 326 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:29,160 Are you for me or them? No, you are for me, but I am the 327 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,080 commander of the army of the Lord, and now I have come. 328 00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:35,240 And Joshua fell at his face, fell on his face to the earth 329 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:39,200 and worshipped and said to him, What does my Lord say to his 330 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:41,200 servant? And the commander of the Lord's 331 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,960 army said to Joshua, take off your sandals from your feet, for 332 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:46,680 the place where you stand is holy. 333 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:51,400 So I just that place where you stand is holy is tying those two 334 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:55,000 together. This is Joshua is looking at 335 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,400 God, which means he is looking at Jesus, right? 336 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:04,880 Because no Angel of the Lord is going to stand there and tell 337 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,720 him to worship him, right? Not and it wouldn't accept that 338 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:08,880 worship. And you can go through the Old 339 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,600 Testament and you can see all the places where angels did come 340 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,120 down and people attempted to worship them and they said they 341 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:20,880 get up, stop that, right? The Angel is an Angel at no 342 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,880 point thinks they are worthy of any worship. 343 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:29,120 They are they are servants like us. 344 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:34,880 But God's going to come down as a baby. 345 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:39,520 And we look at it, like I said, from 2000 years away and go, 346 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,000 well, yeah, Jesus, he's a little baby in a Manger. 347 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,280 But for Israel, it's it's like us trying to figure out how the 348 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:51,720 second coming looks and trying to spell it out. 349 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:54,960 And Israel's trying to figure out how their Messiah comes and 350 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,320 they can't imagine he's actually going to come as a baby, that 351 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:04,200 that's not a thing. But Matthew 118 to 23 says now 352 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:08,000 the birth of Jesus took place in this way when his mother Mary 353 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,680 had betrothed Joseph before they came together. 354 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,560 She was born, found to be with child from the Holy Spirit, and 355 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,520 her husband Joseph, being a just man, unwilling to put her to 356 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:19,680 shame, resolve to divorce her quietly. 357 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:22,960 But as he considered these things, behold, an Angel of the 358 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,160 Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David. 359 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:30,800 Do not fear to take Mary your wife, as your wife, for that 360 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,360 which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 361 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,800 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for 362 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:40,560 He will save his people from their sin. 363 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,920 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord has spoken by the 364 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,800 Prophet. Behold, a virgin shall conceive 365 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,440 and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which 366 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,880 means God with us. So that's the tie in with Isaiah 367 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,760 that we talked about. But I would like to point out 368 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,440 the Angel did not say Jesus is going to come and pay for our 369 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,440 sin. He said he's going to come and 370 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:09,280 save us from our sin, right? Which is that when Jesus came 371 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:14,000 and saved us from our sin, it is that he is coming to heal the 372 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:20,040 burn, right? The the he's coming to the fire 373 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:22,480 was hot. You burned yourself. 374 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,680 I'm here to heal that. And that's why he came and why 375 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:30,400 he had to come as a baby is because Adam came. 376 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:38,760 And when Adam had the choice between God or sin, Adam chose 377 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,120 sin. He chose self. 378 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:48,320 And when Jesus had the choice, Jesus chose God and he chose to, 379 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:54,960 to die for our sins. But in order to be a valid, A 380 00:26:54,960 --> 00:27:02,120 valid sacrifice, a valid substitution, he had to be not 381 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:05,640 only man. Because if, if Jesus had walked 382 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:09,720 the earth as a perfect man who had sinned not at all for 383 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:14,920 anything ever, if he did that somehow he could have died for 384 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:18,280 one person. Because he could have laid his 385 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:25,640 life down for one person. But he had to be God, because 386 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,840 only then did his life could his life cover all people. 387 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:35,840 Now Adam, Adam could have laid his life down for one person 388 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:42,160 because sin, because Eve had taken the fruit and eaten it, 389 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:47,480 and Adam could have taken that punishment until he took the 390 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:51,840 fruit, right? And that was that's the, the 391 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:55,840 difference between the first Adam and the second Adam and why 392 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:59,800 it's important that Jesus came as a baby, as a human. 393 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:19,920 So Jesus came to lower himself to the level of dirt like I 394 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:21,560 talked about. That's, that's what Adam was 395 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:24,000 made out of. And that's when I, I think of 396 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,840 angels, they just have to look down at God's creation and go, 397 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:30,560 the dirt is up walking around. It's, it's weird. 398 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,240 They're and they're, and they're not real smart. 399 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:37,960 They're about as smart as the dirt, but because they know who 400 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,160 the Lord of Lord is and the King of kings and they serve him. 401 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,840 And when we make choices that aren't when we know what God 402 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:48,840 wants us to do and we make choices because we think this is 403 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:52,360 better, they have to sit up there going and they're not 404 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:57,920 smart. And but what did it cost God? 405 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:00,560 What what to get? You mean? 406 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:04,680 Because if this is just if this is just a bunch of this is just 407 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:06,880 a game. OK, three gods outside of time, 408 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,480 though, three days in the grave doesn't really matter. 30 days 409 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:12,600 doesn't or 30 years doesn't really matter. 410 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,280 You know, Jesus died, but that was, I mean God's outside of 411 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,400 time. The difference is guys, is that 412 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:28,440 Jesus is now Jesus for eternity. And I've had it explained like 413 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:34,120 this. God the Father came to God the 414 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:42,080 Son and said, Hey, so I need you to go down to the planet and you 415 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:44,240 got to picture us. I said we're dirt, but picture 416 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,840 us is a bunch of cockroaches because we don't like 417 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:49,600 cockroaches, right? We think they're kind of gross 418 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:54,440 and God the Father says so. But what I need you to do is I 419 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:55,840 need you to go down to the cockroaches. 420 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,120 But in order to go down to the cockroaches, I need you to 421 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,720 become a cockroach. Sun's like, yeah, I can do that. 422 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,720 Well, before you say yes, there's, there's another, 423 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:09,960 there's. So from that moment on, you will 424 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:18,160 always be in the form of a cockroach and that's Jesus. 425 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,440 He's sitting at the right hand of the Father with holes in his 426 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:25,840 hands, with a hole in his side, right. 427 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,440 And and that's his eternity with us. 428 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,120 He is our, he is our propitiation. 429 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:34,640 He's our substitution. He's our he. 430 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:38,120 He prays for us. He intercedes for us, right? 431 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:45,360 But he does it from the form of he is 100% God, but he 432 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:52,880 represents dirt to the Father and and that's the big deal, 433 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:59,960 right? And all it takes for me to to 434 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:09,080 accept that is to say, as Peter said, Lord, save me and he will 435 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,760 come into us right? Fill us with his spirit. 436 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,040 Revelation 320 says, Behold, I stand at the door, knock. 437 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:18,640 If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into 438 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:27,120 him and he with him and he with me and Romans it says, calling 439 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,440 his name, right? And this is guys, this is he 440 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:35,800 came so that we could when you look at the new in the Old 441 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,720 Testament, right when I, I got my Bible here and I look at the 442 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:49,080 new in the Old Testament, God was explaining to the Israelites 443 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:58,280 for that much of the book who he was and what they needed. 444 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:06,120 And then He was explaining to us and the Israelites and the world 445 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:10,320 what He has done, not what He's going to do. 446 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:13,880 There's some about what He's going to do, but this is what He 447 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:18,320 has done. And it's all very simply, the 448 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:25,360 whole book from cover to cover is the Lord came down to walk 449 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:31,720 with Adam in the cool of the evening and then to revelation 450 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:35,680 his God. God is going to walk with us in 451 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:39,640 the cool of the evening. And that's his desire, right? 452 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:43,920 That's why why he came, why he was willing to sacrifice what he 453 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:50,360 sacrificed for us is so he can spend time with his dirt, with 454 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:58,600 his people that he made purely so that we could love him with 455 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:02,720 an honest love. Angels love him out of 456 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:06,000 requirement, right? And they they are in his 457 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:11,920 presence and if they when they when they don't love him, they 458 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:15,720 are castaway from his presence. See see Satan, his and his 459 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:21,880 demons, right. Angels are are required to love 460 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,960 him. We are not required to love him, 461 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:31,120 but because of that free choice that we get that give our love 462 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:38,320 is sincere and it is what he desires they if God desires 463 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:44,000 anything it is it is that it is your heart truly in love with 464 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:50,360 him and Romans 10/9. It just says because if you 465 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:53,000 confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in 466 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:55,760 your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be 467 00:33:55,760 --> 00:34:00,080 saved. Not you might be saved, not it 468 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:09,199 maybe happens you will be saved, but that is you have to rely on 469 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:14,560 him, right? You have to believe in him and, 470 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,440 and believe that he came and believe that he cares. 471 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:22,120 We're going to go through communion here in a minute. 472 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:28,920 Aunt Sherry and Spencer, you want to come up and just this is 473 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:33,679 a time, especially Christmas as we're coming into it, to just 474 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:39,880 dwell on what he's done in our lives, right? 475 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:48,920 And communion is a symbol of his body that that came as a baby, 476 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,600 but then was broken on a cross for us and his blood that 477 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:59,360 cleanses us, right? And that is, he did it all to 478 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:03,560 have that relationship with you. And he's not willing to allow 479 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:10,200 those imperfections in our lives to separate us from him, right? 480 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:12,880 He's he's here to heal that burn. 481 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:18,440 And in doing that, it takes us having real relationship with 482 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:22,000 him. So spend this time as guys are 483 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:27,080 passing out the elements and singing some songs, but spend 484 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:29,680 this time with you and him. And what is there anything 485 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:32,200 between us now? Is there anything that I need to 486 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:36,000 get right with you? And then, then after it's passed 487 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,880 out, I'll come back up and we'll we'll take it together.