Why

0:00 We launch as a church the study of what the Bible has to say regarding the Christmas message, the Christmas mission, the Christmas advent, the doctrines of the Bible. Little do people know, perhaps, I hope in this church we do, that the Christmas message is announced in the book of Genesis. And it's all through Scripture. and Lord as we hear today in these verses before us we pray Lord God that you'd make us a people that think a people that dig deep into our own souls as it were and take stock of what it is that we believe and why we believe it and Lord that we'd be a people that gather together as we commence our Christmas celebrations that we know him in whom we believe and we know why we believe in him and that people hearing this message and these series of messages would know that we're not inviting them nor are you inviting them to get religious but to find the almighty God to find the living God to know the living God to know you Lord so father we pray that you would be here in a very thick way i i love the fact that outside it's a foggy morning the air is thick with moisture lord we pray that this air would be thick with glory as you reveal to us your word we pray in the name of jesus and all god's people said amen well let me open up by saying to you or reading to you acts chapter one in fact in your note taking, Acts chapter 1, and then I'm going to read from Luke here in a moment. In Luke chapter 1, the book of Acts was written by Luke, and the gospel of Luke was written by the same Luke.

1:53 It wasn't a pair of Lukes. It was the same Luke. Luke's gospel is written by Dr. Luke. Dr. Luke, we know, was a physician that was dispatched to the well-being of the Apostle Paul, probably. Listen, I know this might shock some of you, but in those days, in the first century, wealthy people had slaves. And they had slaves for various areas of their business or of their conduct. And boy, have things changed. Rich people in those days had a slave and one of the slaves would have been a physician. Wow, now in this day, we're the ones that are enslaved to the physicians when we get the bill anyway. But whoever, some speculate that the man Theophilus was Luke's original owner, but when he came to Christ, he set his slave free, and Luke would have been that man, and him having the skills of a physician was appointed to Paul.

3:07 When Paul the Apostle traveled, he traveled with Dr. Luke. And if you read all about Paul's life, you needed a full-time physician to travel with you. He was beat up. He was stoned with rocks. He was attacked. And thank God, in his mercy, Paul had his own private physician that probably the man Theophilus paid for and took care of. But Acts chapter 1 verse 1 says, this is Luke's report.

4:18 That's why this series is themed. Why? That's where I got it from. Many infallible proofs. If you're a skeptic or an atheist today, listen up carefully. Here is Theophilus who commissions Luke to go find out. I want you to take inventory of all the information that's available. I'm going to pay you to go do that. You go out there and you do reporting. Be an investigative reporter. And he goes out and for some period of time, we do not know how long. It was probably a great length of time. He began to interview those who were the closest eyewitness accounts of the things concerning the events of Jesus' life. now obviously Luke is writing this after Jesus Christ had been crucified but you say well Jack we're talking about Christmas yes exactly right but Luke would have interviewed all those that he could get to that were around or maybe young at that time and all along that episode or that journey and that's a good thing for you and I because the life of Jesus Christ is something that only an ignorant individual would deny.

5:34 You've got to understand something. If somebody says to you, I don't believe Jesus ever existed, that is an insane statement because the Roman Empire attested to the fact that Jesus Christ existed. They may not have believed in him, although the Bible does say that there are those within Caesar's household that did believe in Christ as Messiah. Wow. And then we see in Luke chapter 1, Luke chapter 1 verse 1, the Bible says, In so much as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among you, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, verse 3, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things, from the very first to write to you in orderly account, most excellent Theophilus. Here we go again. That you may know the certainty of the things in which you were instructed. What a great statement. So church family, you ought to use these portions of scripture as we lead up to Christmas. Acts chapter 1 and Luke chapter 1. That's all you need to remember as we get into the question why. I'm going to ask all of you to stand right now together. You guys okay?

6:59 Yeah, I know you just got up and so it's your day off, but you're going to go to work right about now. We are going to read the Christmas account and we're going to be in Luke and we'll pick up where we actually have been in this chapter, Luke verse 1. And I'll read verse 18 and be patient, everybody. we're going to come to a chapter shift, but don't let that fool you or let that derail you. We'll just keep chugging along, but get your lungs filled up, get comfortable standing, because this is a whopper. Luke chapter one, I'll begin in verse 18. And Zechariah said to the angel, how shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife, that would be Elizabeth, is well advanced in years. And the angel answered and said unto him, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God and was sent to speak to you and bring you these grand tidings. But behold, you will be mute. This is Zechariah the priest, the husband of Elizabeth, the angel, because he didn't believe. He was muted.

8:07 You will be mute and not be able to speak until the day these things take place because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their own time. But when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

8:38 Now, you know, this is the Zacharias and the Elizabeth of John the Baptist's parentage, right? And we know that John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus was born. And we know that this Elizabeth is related to Mary, making John the Baptist the cousin of Jesus. Just if you didn't know that.

10:37 before I read verse 36 I know most of us get it if not all of us get this but you've got to remember my Jewish friends these are Hebrew scriptures these are Jewish people this scripture is announcing that God is going to have a son and he's going to sit on the throne of David is that consistent? we will see is that consistent with the Old Testament scriptures. Verse 36, Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative,

16:17 This census first took place while Quirinius was governor in Syria. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. to be registered with Mary, his betrothal wife, who was with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. That's it. Yes. Nazareth, Bethlehem, Joseph, Caesar, Judea,

17:15 these regions, everything about it. Think about the time in which we're in right now and think about how we're looking at ancient scripture. This is not a story, folks. This is the record of eyewitness accounts. what you just read a moment ago is admissible in court you could hold the court hearing and investigate the claims of the bible by the way i encourage you to do that lord bless our time in jesus name and all god's people said amen you may be seated everybody why why why why all this Why Christmas? I wish I could limit this morning to why all the joy? Why all the merriment? Why all the things that are going on? Why all of the seasonal activities? But I must also add, as I said in the announcement, why all the violence and why all the hate against this one mission that has transformed the world and will not only transform the world in the sense of spiritual things, but eventually physical things, and that is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

18:29 And so our first point in our study of our series, folks, is this. Why Christmas? Write it down, please. Why Christmas is Christmas? Let's pray right now. There's a medical emergency that's going on over here. So let's all pray together. Father, whatever's taking place over here, we ask you, Lord God, that our wonderful first responders and those that are on campus right now for this very thing would be gifted to help and to minister and to bring comfort to this child of yours that's in distress. We pray for your supernatural touch to heal, to deliver now, to strengthen, to recover. Father, we pray right now for peace that passes all understanding. And Lord, I don't know who this is right now. So the first thing we pray is that they would know you immediately now, of course, as Lord and Savior. So, Father, thank you.

19:26 Thank you for the wonderful physicians and nurses and volunteers that are skilled in this, in our first responders teams. Grant them success and the blessing of this individual. In Jesus' name and all God's people again said, amen. So why Christmas is Christmas? It's not a question. I know you say, did you forget to put the question on the end of that? I don't want it to be a question. I want it to be a statement of fact. Why Christmas is Christmas is why we want you to think this way. Answer, mark it down, number one, love. Love. The very thing that is lacking in our world today is love. why is Christmas Christmas you can give a lot of examples almost endlessly but all of those examples are first summed up in the very act of love Christmas is an act of love given to us by God almighty folks it gives me great pleasure to announce to you Christmas was not invented by man Christmas was given to us by God and yeah you can applaud that you ought to applaud that your kids are probably thinking okay can you back down on that for a moment because if you're a wise parent you would say to your kids now listen you heard what the pastor just said Christmas was given to us by God not Santa so we're all going to just celebrate the Lord's coming and no gifts for you only Jesus and that would be enough. I don't know if that'd go over well, but you know, for many of us, this is too common of a portion of scripture, but for some who may be visiting today, it's quite shocking. It's John chapter three, and you know it. It's the Christmas verse.

21:24 John chapter three, verses 16 and 17. This is what the Bible says, and this is not only what the Bible says, this is none other than Jesus Christ saying it. You know what I think? I think moving forward in the future, I need the tech team to remind me of this, but we need to maybe, when we put these verses up on the screen, maybe we should change the colors or change the white print into some other color, right? Maybe a reddish color or something when God is speaking. It might just add some punch here because when you open your Bible, it's a beautiful Christmas color, and that is these are the red letters of Jesus Christ. It's him speaking. And what is he saying? He is speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit, by which power he operated in his body. Christ came from heaven and took upon himself a human body and was empowered by the Holy Spirit.

22:25 And we'll talk more about that in our series, but Jesus said, for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten, his one and only glorified son, meaning there's no other form of salvation coming, folks. Mark that down. That one verse excludes all others who come and say, follow us, and you'll be saved. Jesus says, nope. Join our church, and then you'll go to heaven. Nope. pay this, do this, say this. No. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. That's the Christmas foundation. Verse 17, Jesus still speaking. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

23:23 Folks, listen, there's no other form of salvation than the Christmas Christ. There's no other way. Whatever religion or think group you're involved in, you don't have what the Bible tells you until you come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and what the Bible says about him. There is no other. There is no other than Jesus Christ. He is the Christ of Christmas. Why Christmas is Christmas is because of Christ, is because of Jesus. And yes, the word Christ equal to the word in Hebrew Messiah. It is all about Yeshua. That's Jesus. Jesus, Yeshua, is the Messiah. That's what the Bible says. You say, well, I don't believe that. Listen, you should. You don't have any good reason why you don't or you shouldn't believe in him. You should come to that understanding.

24:17 but when God says stuff have you noticed when God says things he just says it he doesn't like hey you know what if you guys can handle this you know maybe kind of sort of no he's so gentle he is so to the point he says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth boom he just walks away from that statement deal with it for God so loved the world that he gifted us. He gave us his only begotten son. Boom, deal with it.

24:54 He just says it. There's no DEI spin to it. There's no wokeism. There's no, you know, if you feel it, if you're feeling it, God came. And the Bible tells us in the book of Philippians chapter two, verse six, very familiar verses, but little do we ever recognize that these are Christmas verses. Who, speaking of Jesus, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. That statement, I encourage all of you to do a deep dive study on Philippians chapter 2 verse 6. You'll be shocked when you find out that God took upon himself. Watch this. I'll make it a drama before you. Imagine human skin, just lifeless there, laying on the ground. God came from heaven, and he stepped inside this human skin, as it were, and he zipped it up, and he draped himself in humanity and wore the skin that you and I wear right now.

26:05 when a breeze blew by Jesus felt it just like anybody else standing near him if you got hungry if you get hungry he got hungry if somebody said something cutting and hurtful Jesus heard that too remarkable verse 7 but made himself of no reputation taking the form of a bondservant look this is awesome and coming in the likeness of men folks you and I didn't have a choice we came into this world members of mankind he had a choice and he came look I gotta tell you looking around at today's world in the breaking news I wouldn't come here I'd just pull the big string and flush the whole thing.

26:59 No, God came. As you'll see through this next week on Wednesdays and on Sundays, that God had a great mission in mind. And part of that great mission, of course, was a rescue mission. It wasn't, listen, it was a rescue mission, not a recovery mission. There's a big difference. Rescue mission.

27:23 Verse 8 says,

27:53 God the Father. Wow. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Why Christmas is Christmas? That's why. God sent his son. And that name is a name that is to be bowed. Now, we will touch on these guys from time to time, but you think of the wise men. Technically, you know, we read wise men. The Hallmark cards call them wise men, but that's not exactly accurate. Some of our Bibles, translations use the word wise men. You know the word is actually magi. And that is a whole other deep dive study in itself. The magi originated in Babylon and then they were adopted and brought into the realm of the Persian empire. And the magi were an incredible school of deep spiritual disciplines and study.

28:52 And there's writings to suggest that the very originator of the Magi of Babylon was none other than the man Daniel in your Bible. And there's a lot of great arguments for that being the case. Why? Because the Magi sought for the Messiah. Jewish friends, listen. In the Old Testament, in the book of Daniel, chapter 9, verses 24, 26 and 27, there the book of Daniel 9 reveals that Israel will have a Messiah that will come into this world. And listen to this. Are you sitting down? Daniel chapter 9 verses 24 to 27 says that the Messiah that will come into the world to save and rescue Israel will be convicted of a criminal offense and will be killed in the book of Daniel. Wait, why would the Messiah be killed? The Messiah is the anointed one. That's right. You know why the Messiah was killed?

29:56 In the eyes of man, the Messiah was killed, but in the mind of God, the Messiah was offered up. Remember, I said this before. Jesus said, nobody takes my life from me. Let's lay down the ground rules. Nobody takes my life from me. You can do whatever you want to do. It's not going to work until my time has come. And when my time has come, I will lay down my life and then I will raise my life back up again. Jesus said that. What do you think of that? Merry Christmas. Listen, if you believe that, Merry Christmas. Jesus said, you can't kill me until my time has come. And if you think about it, you can't kill him anyway. I mean, if you think about it, if you really think about I know Bill O'Reilly wrote a book, Killing Jesus. Stupid title. God gave his life freely of his own choosing, of his own volition. He chose to come here.

30:59 I know it's hard. As I said, you look around at the world, you see the ugliness of our world. Can I introduce to you maybe a new way of thinking? When you see all this ugliness in the world that's increasing around us. You should be thinking this way. Thank God you did come. Because I don't want anything to do with this stuff. Thank God you came. The Bible tells us in 1 John 4, verse 8,

31:30 he who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Christmas is the display of God's love. In the book of Romans, chapter 5, verse 8, very familiar verse again to us, God demonstrates, I love this, the word is in the present tense, demonstrates. So this was written 2,000 years ago. Right now, this word written because God wrote the Bible using human instruments, he wrote the Bible. Now, I don't know about you. I know you pray for me, keep praying for me, because my mind doesn't work normal. But I have to tell you, I kind of like the way my weird mind works because this is how I see things. When the Bible says that God is the author of scripture and it does say that, but then you look at the book of Romans written by the apostle Paul, what is the answer? The answer is yes. Yes, God wrote the Bible and yes, Paul wrote the book of Romans. What does that mean? Here's my cartoon mind. God picked up Paul like you and I would pick up a pencil, turned him upside down, so to speak, and put his head on the page and started writing the book of Romans. Can you remember that? Can you remember the Bible that way? When God used Peter to write first and second Peter, God picked up Peter, as it were, and used Peter like a pencil.

32:55 I want you to think about that in your head. Why? Because I taught five-year-olds at Calvary Costa Mesa. That's how I could relate to them. That's how you got to relate to a five-year-old. So maybe those of us who are five years of age up here, we can see that. And by the way, God wants to take you and grab you and turn you upside down and write a story with your life about what he's doing in your world and with your life and in your time frame and in your era. God is always writing. But listen to this. God demonstrates. It means he's doing it now. It's in the present tense. It's always happening. What is? His own love toward us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Man, that's great news. God is writing that message today. What does that mean? That means if he's writing that to you, he wants you to respond that you would agree with him that you're a sinner. You say, oh, that's highly offensive. Well, then you don't know diddly or squat about Christmas. Christmas is all about sinners being rescued by Jesus. That's why he came.

34:12 People so bah humbug. Oh, you know what? That's because you think you're cool or something and you don't need him. Listen, I know tradition, the trees and the gifts and all that stuff, but in all honesty, we should go home from service today and we should come through the front door of the house and we should dive headfirst right under the tree and say, Lord, here I am. Lord, unwrap me. Cause me to be yours because you alone are worthy. If you went to the tree to be crucified for me, then the least that I can do is come to the foot of the cross and say, Lord, here I am. I'm going to give you this quote. If it blesses you, then God gave it. If it doesn't, and I'm the one that wrote this. Becoming one of us. That is unusual as an invitation because most invitations to become one of us is to become better or to become part of or to become great.

35:19 Not with the coming of Jesus. He stepped down to become one of us. He invited himself into our trauma. Right? When you get an invite... people are inviting you because they want you to be with them for whatever reasons. Maybe it's a Christmas party. Maybe it's a picnic. I don't know, whatever it is. Maybe it's a day at the beach. Hey, let's invite the so-and-sos. Let's go. or we're inviting a select group of people to this private screening. Wow. who gets invited to something that says something to the effect, hey, why don't you come with us? We're all going to walk off the end of the pier. You're going to look at that invitation and say, yeah, I don't think so.

36:15 Christ comes and he invites us to know him. But the beautiful thing about this, please, if you miss everything else, don't miss this. The Bible is God's announcement to mankind that he invited himself into our world, into our trauma, into our grief. What kind of a God is this? I've told you before, as I get older, I get more patient and I also get more impatient. Depends on the context.

36:56 As you get older, you know, with people, you get more patient. It's like, yes, okay, I know. but you also get impatient when things are just wrong. When you get older, you get impatient with stuff. It's like, I've heard this before, and boy, I know how this ends. This doesn't end good. And so you just step right up. You say, excuse me, you know, forgive me. I know you don't know me. I don't know you, but I don't think licking the wall socket is the way to go. You might want to think about that. And then if the guy says, why don't you mind your own business? Okay. Gladly.

37:34 Go ahead and take a lick, man. But wait, let me get on my camera first. You know what I'm saying? You want to go through life without Jesus? Good luck. Luck's all you got, but luck doesn't even exist, you know? I had a friend of mine. He had done ministry in Ireland years ago, and then he picked up on this saying, and he told it to us years ago, and we laugh and sometimes we still use it. And it's this, oh, the luck of the Lord be with you. Well, there is no luck of the Lord. Have you ever, I don't know, if you've had people tell you that are Christians, they'll tell you, oh, you know, I know you're gonna go for that interview tomorrow. I'll be praying for you. Good luck. Say, what? Which one is it? Are you gonna be praying or are you wishing me good luck? One's real and one's not.

38:26 Amen. I honestly had someone tell me, Pastor, good luck with your Sunday sermon. Now we'll see how the sermon ends. You might say he was not lucky. but God invited himself into our dilemma. This is the announcement of the Bible. He came into our world. You wouldn't have come. If you knew what God knew, you would not have come. What did God know? God knew in advance that he would be rejected.

39:05 Rejection. We're told by psychologists that a great amount of people who have to seek out comfort and direction from a psychologist. Much of it has to do with rejection, dealing with rejection. Lack of a mother, lack of a father, lack of love, lack of acceptance, you fill in the blank. Can you imagine God who is absolutely perfect? And listen,

39:33 100% impossible to blame for anything. You say, I don't know if I like that because there's a lot a wrong in the world. There is. And who did the wrong? And who's doing the wrong today as I speak in this world around us? It's man against man. And of course, behind that, it's spirit at war in the realm of the spirit. Why Christmas is Christmas? Again, all these next four Bible studies over the course of leading up to Christmas Eve has everything to do with building upon another. So some of these things you'll hear again, but it's going to be good for us. It's good for us to be reminded. The second thing is this today, church, write it down regarding the why. It's why Christmas in Bethlehem. Why Christmas in Bethlehem? I find it fascinating that Bethlehem is outside of Jerusalem. Bethlehem is very, very often a point of contention.

40:35 Bethlehem. The Bible tells us, are you guys with me? The Bible tells us in Micah chapter 5 verse 2, the Hebrew scriptures, but you, O Bethlehem, Epaphrate, we've spoken on this before, just the word Epaphrate simply means this, and some of you are experts in this already. There were two Bethlehems at the time of Christ. one was in the region of Naphtali up in the north up by Galilee house of bread Bethlehem means house of bread Beth house bread the Bible says not New Testament mind you Old Testament 522 years before the birth of Jesus but you Bethlehem in the county that's in Judea, the southern one.

41:34 Not the northern one, the southern one. Folks, your Bible is so accurate to make your head spin. I wish I had the time to go down the path of things that would just blow your mind. Maybe we should figure something out on how to just pull some of these things off where you begin to say, like, what's that word? What does that word mean? This word is woven throughout Scripture, and this is what it means, that it only applies to the life of Messiah and the intricacies of the Bible are beyond, they're just beyond, it's amazing. So specific, though you are little among the thousands of Judah. Judah's in the South. That's where Jerusalem is in Judah. Yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel.

42:20 I didn't know that that Christmas greeting would be such a political, controversial statement today. Do you not, friends, recognize the times in which you live in? you say I don't get it what are you saying pastor let me say it this way yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Palestine is that what it says no it doesn't say that might I remind you that this was written 522 years before Jesus was born you say well that's in the English friend you can look it up in the Arabic you can look it up in Aramaic Hebrew and Greek it's still Israel it's not any other nation or any other people group boy I mean come on this has got to get your attention with all the news in the world and all the anti-Semitism and all the anti-Israel stuff how amazing as believers I look around I go this is amazing gosh the longer we hang around here and stay in the bible the more the world catches up to the narrative of which we've been preaching In the last days, Israel's got to become a big deal.

43:45 Why? Because Christ is coming to Israel. And also this. Listen, before Christ, the Antichrist is coming to what? Palestine or Israel? And some of you are upset by that. That's okay. Go do some research on the word Palestine. It doesn't appear until 135 A.D. by the Emperor Hadrian from Rome. It was named after one of the hills of Rome. Yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Whoever is going to come out of Bethlehem is eternal. There's no way around it, folks. The one that we celebrate at Christmas, you say, well, you know what's going on in Europe and in Australia, And probably before Christmas Day comes, who knows, but in America, the beheading of nativity scenes.

44:55 I mean, look, you guys, that shouldn't be happening, but it's happening. But let's be honest. It actually kind of makes me laugh. Now, only we can do this. because if such desecration happened to other religions, they would lose their minds.

45:17 You want to know why they would lose their minds? It's because their gods are not real. When we as Christians see somebody beheading a piece of plaster or wood in the shape of baby Jesus, newsflash, he ain't a baby no more. He was never made of wood or plaster. He was God come into this world in human flesh.

45:48 I'm sorry. Listen, do you guys, does anybody remember growing up in the late 60s and 70s, the Thunderbirds? You do? The puppet? The minarets? Raise your hand if you, come on, come and have a witness. You guys do. Are they awesome? I have to confess, I still watch them. Thank you. You know who I'm talking about? The guy. And they're like this.

46:19 And they're, I'm here. I'm going to be bringing in the machinery. We're going to rescue them. They're down to about 10,000 feet, but we can do it. You know that family, right? It's amazing. Listen, take away your kids' devices. No, I'm not kidding. Try it. take away their devices so they don't have, and then put on the Thunderbirds.

46:43 And the kid will go, don't take my device, don't take my device. Oh, what is that? It's very, very cool. Listen, Jesus didn't come into this world and was puppeted. He wasn't connected to strings. He wasn't made out of wood. so when these atrocities happen around the world are there Christians now getting AR-15s and machetes and going after the perpetrators that are attacking the nativity scenes of course not you want to know why doesn't matter you can't hurt our God doing that doesn't do anything to our faith. In fact, you doing that should show you we've got real faith. If you have to defend your God, you need a bigger God.

47:40 Our God says, you can find me being born in Bethlehem. Wow. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6. Isaiah 9, 6. 743 years before the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. 743 years before the angels are singing the praises of the advent of the Messiah in the hill country of Bethlehem. Isaiah 9 verse 6 prophesies. God speaks to the prophet Isaiah and says, For unto us, first of all, who is us? Who's Isaiah? Who's Isaiah? Who's Isaiah? Who's Isaiah?

48:32 Was Isaiah a Venezuelan? Was Isaiah an American? He wasn't even Canadian. he's Jewish In fact, if you're taking a theological course, Isaiah is known as the evangelical prophet of the Old Testament. He is the most quoted prophet in the New Testament regarding Christ. so for unto us it's speaking us being the Jewish nation the Jewish people a child is born hear me out let me be sarcastic big deal children are born all the time what's the big deal it's not only a big deal, it gets bigger.

49:38 Unto us, who's us? Israel. The prophet is a Hebrew prophet speaking to the Jewish nation. a child is going to be born does that jive with scripture? think about it does that have any linkage at all to Genesis 3.15 where it all begins? interesting unto us a son is given.

50:11 Excuse me, what? Yeah, listen everybody, babies are born all the time. But there ain't no baby that has got the connection of a baby being born because he is a son that has been gifted. You know, right now at this, at that semicolon, we could all go home. I'm dead serious. anything I say from this moment on is over time.

50:42 Anything I say more than that, what I read a moment to you, read to you a moment ago, is extra. Do you hear this? A child is born. Yeah, yeah, so what? This child that's born is the son given. And this is coming from a Hebrew prophet. Who is he? We might ask, who is he? The government will be upon his shoulder. What does that mean? He will preside over. He will watch. He will be the one to whom they will answer to. He's the one who will hold governments accountable. Say amen. I can't wait for God to judge the leaders of nations. Oh. Wow. Wow.

51:35 Jesus will be the judge of governments. Those who have been given authority, the Bible says, have been given authority by God. the government the government will be upon his shoulder not only the Jewish government but the governments of the world a baby? born?

52:02 yeah a baby born but he's a son that has been given so it's important for you to find out who the son is changes everything and his name will be called wonderful that Hebrew word is reserved for God alone. If you're Jewish today, you've got a big, beautiful problem. this word wonderful in fact Manoah and his wife when they met the Lord they were told his name is wonderful who are you? and he said why do you ask me my name when it is wonderful interesting Nehemiah as well Gideon as well so put it together folks pretend we're playing a board game here for a moment you got a child that normally is common but is somehow special because he was not only a child born so we're talking about it's important that a baby be born according to this prophecy but he's a gifted son in other words listen the baby that's going to be born is not going to be a girl it's going to be a boy it's going to be a son that is given.

53:25 Listen, when we had our kids, we had our kids, and what came out, that's what you got. You don't send it back and shake mom up and hang her by her heels and spin her around and then try it again, and maybe you'll get a boy to pop out. Nope. Girl come out, boy come out, that's what you got. Not in this case. In advance, we know a child's gonna be born and a son's gonna be given. the government will be upon his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful and the word, again, divinity, counselor. Meaning he's the all-knowing counselor. Do you need a counselor? Go to Jesus first.

54:09 In fact, if you go to counseling and you're being counseled by somebody who doesn't believe in Jesus, you are blowing your money and time. which is worth more than money because there's only one counselor. Now, there are those who counsel, but they better counsel in the spirit of the Lord.

54:32 What about this? Mighty God. What? Jesus is mighty God? Yep. but no that can't be true because this is everlasting father just hang on if you look up the word father here everlasting father the word father is authority Jesus is the everlasting authority technically the word means the everlasting authority over time Jesus is the governor of time which makes sense he's a carpenter he built things the Bible tells us in the book of Colossians are you guys still with me? the Bible tells us in Colossians chapter 1 that Christ built, created all things that are created and I think that is so beautifully appropriate because he was not only a shepherd he was a carpenter if he can build the universe Let's do this.

55:37 if he is the one who is the governor of time itself, time is a physical property. everlasting speaks of eternity how do you put together eternity and physical time which is a limited property you can't unless you're talking about Jesus Prince of Peace even Hallmark knows who that is Remarkable. Matthew chapter 2 verse 4 tells us and when he had gathered all the chief priests and the scribes this is a Herod of the people together he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born because remember he was all upset and so they said to him in Bethlehem of Judea I just find this is awesome when the leader of the Roman Empire that was stationed in Jerusalem found out that this baby had been born and there's all this rumor about this king was prophesied in the Old Testament Hebrew scriptures, this guy was a pagan Gentile.

56:49 He said, what is this we're hearing? Get those Jewish scribes in here. Get those Jewish experts in their religion. Get them in here. They come in, and Rome says, what is this news we're hearing about a baby king? And then, where is that at? in your word, in your book? And they answered him. Micah chapter 5 verse 2. In Bethlehem of Judea, for it is written by the prophet, but you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, not the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Isn't it amazing that those scribes... I... one to see. they knew it then. At least some of them did. These were the scholars. What equivalent would be today?

57:43 This would be like all of the university presidents of colleges in America. They would all come together and they'd stand before the king and they would say, yeah, you called for us? What's up? Is there any word about a king being born in Bethlehem? I need to know. Translation, I'm highly threatened by what's happening here. And with these wise magi that have shown up, this really bugs me. And they said, yeah, the Old Testament prophet says that the Messiah is going to be born in Bethlehem. They knew that.

58:21 Not all. Some did. And third and finally, it's this, why Christmas is the message. Genesis 3.15, I said it earlier. First Christmas verse in all of the Bible, Genesis 3.15. You ought to write it down because you're not going to get it in a greeting card. It's not going to come. This is it. You're going to get it right here. In fact, you want to impress your friends? When you sign your Christmas cards this season, sign it Genesis 3.15. And they'll think, this guy's a genius or crazy, one or the other. They're either going to get it or they're not going to get it. And I will put enmity between you, that is Satan, and the woman. That's the offspring of the woman, Eve, and her descendant. And between your seed and her seed, you shall bruise his head, but you shall bruise his heel. In other words, you are going to inflict pain upon him, but he's going to crush you.

59:20 Satan, you're going to inflict pain upon the Messiah, but the Messiah is going to crush your head. Wow, that's the first announcement of salvation coming when Moses prophesied. Isaiah chapter 12, verse 2. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid for Yah, that's his name. That's the name of the God of the Bible, Yah. The Lord is my strength and song. He also has become my salvation. Isaiah 49, verse 8. Thus says the Lord, in an acceptable time I have heard you. and in the day of salvation I have helped you. That sounds like Corinthians, doesn't it? I will preserve you and give you as a covenant to the people to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritage that you may say to the prisoners, go forth to those who are in darkness, show yourselves.

1:00:17 In other words, speaking of the coming kingdom age. Church family, we're going to do what I'm about to do the best I can. I'm going to run through these things. You might want to get your camera out or whatever. Our coming king. This is inspired by the research of Pastor S.D. Lockridge. Speaking about Christ, the Messiah. He is king of the Jews. Think of that. Racially. He's king of Israel. That's nationally. King of all the ages. That's eternal. King of heaven. King of glory. Jesus Christ is king of kings. He's also Lord of lords. Listen, the question is, do you know him? Do you really know him? Next slide.

1:01:10 A prophet before Moses. A priest after Melchizedek. A champion like Joshua. Jesus is an offering in the place of Isaac. A king from the line of David. Jesus is a wise counselor above Solomon. A beloved, rejected, exalted son, just like Joseph. And yet far more. The heavens declare his glory and the firmament shows his handiwork. He who is, who was, and who will always be. He's the first and the last. He's the alpha and the omega. The alpha and the tau. The A and the Z. he is the first fruits of them that slept or those who died. He is, there it is in Hebrew, the I am that I am, the Ega Emi, the voice of the burning bush, the captain of the Lord's host, the conqueror at Jericho. By the way, remember, Joshua fought, how's that song go? Joshua fought the battle of Jericho. No, he didn't. Read Joshua. Joshua didn't fight the battle of Jericho.

1:02:19 the Lord fought the battle. Jericho just, Joshua just followed behind the Lord. Go, man, this is easy. This is easy. He is enduringly strong, entirely sincere, eternally steadfast. He is immortally graceful, empirically powerful, impartially merciful.

1:02:47 In him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the very God of very God. He is our kinsman, or the Hebrew word is goel, our redeemer, and he is our avenger of blood. Wow. He is our city of refuge, our performing high priest, our personal prophet, our reigning king. Listen, think about who else can you say this about? Who else has a book written about them that says this? he is the loftiest idea in literature, he is the highest personality in philosophy, he is the fundamental doctrine of theology, he is the supreme problem in higher criticism, he is the miracle of the ages, the superlative of everything good, we are the beneficiaries of a love letter, It was written in blood on a wooden cross erected in Judea 2,000 years ago.

1:03:51 He was crucified on a cross of wood, yet he made the hill on which it stood. By him were all things made that were made, and without him was nothing made that was made. And by him are all things held together. What held him to that cross, it wasn't the nails. At any time he could have declared, I'm out of here. It was his love for you and for me. He was born of a woman so that we could be born of God. He humbled himself so that we could be lifted up. He became a servant so that we could be made co-heirs. He suffered rejection so that we could become his friends. He denied himself so that we could freely receive all things he gave himself. So that he could bless us in every way.

1:04:50 He is available to the tempted and the tried. He blesses the young. He cleanses the lepers. He defends the feeble. He delivers the captives. He discharges the debtors. He forgives the sinners. he franchises the meek he guards the besieged he heals the sick he provides strength to the weak he regards the aged he rewards the diligent he serves the unfortunate he sympathizes and he saves his offices are manifold his reign is righteous his promises are sure his goodness is limitless His light is matchless. His grace is sufficient. His love never changes. His mercy is everlasting.

1:05:42 His word is enough. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. He is indescribable. He's incomprehensible. He's irresistible. He is inconceivable, right? The heaven of heavens cannot contain him. Man cannot explain him. The Pharisees could not stand him and learned that they could not stop him. Pilate could not find any fault with him. The witnesses couldn't agree against him. Herod couldn't kill him. Death couldn't handle him. The grave could not hold him. he has always been and always will be. He had no predecessor. He will have no successor. He can't be impeached, and he isn't going to resign. His name is above every name, that at the name of Yahshua, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

1:06:40 His is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever, and all of God's people said amen.