Why · Part 3

0:00 Lord God, we pray that as we are in the celebration season of our risen Lord and Savior, we know that it's a glorious celebration as we consider the beginning of it all, and that is the fact that you came into this world, and it's remarkable, it makes perfect sense, and then most of the time it's beyond our imagination that you'd come as a baby. that you'd come as helpless and as weak and as frail as we. You're so good to relate to us, to send the message in your scriptures that from Genesis to Revelation,

0:44 the entire Christmas doctrine is about redemption. It's about buying us back out of the slave market of sin to make us your own, to pay a price that you did not owe, that you stepped into our bankruptcy and you paid that debt. We owed you righteousness. We owed you holiness.

1:16 And we reached into our pockets, as it were, and searched for every possible thing that we could have and even pulled out some good works. And it means nothing to you. It had to be the blood of the Son of God. And we thank you, Lord, that as we study in this series, we would be a people rejoicing. For it's in his name we pray and all God's people said, amen. Let's stand, if you would. Acts chapter 1, that is our theme verse for these Christmas series of teachings today. being the third installment of our series. Of course, Wednesday night will be the fourth and final one. Again, if you've missed it, let me recap a little bit on this. Luke is writing to Theophilus. Now, if you look at some of your study Bibles, it may have in the margins that Theophilus is either an actual person who Luke is responsible to, or that Theophilus is just simply any lover of God.

2:24 Why do they say that? Because the name Theophilus is lover of God. But we know also that Luke writes not only the book of Acts, but he writes the gospel of Luke. And in Luke chapter 1, it's the introduction the same where he's talking about his report to Theophilus. And so it's quite awesome. I love this kind of stuff. I kind of see Theophilus saying, Luke, here's what I want you to do. I want you to make sure that you go and interview everybody who is interfacing with Jesus, eyewitnesses to the events, and I want you to write the whole thing down. I want you to take a record of it all. And that's the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. So I'll read verse 1 if you read verse 2. The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. Until the day in which he was taken up, after he, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen.

3:29 to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And all God's people said amen to that. You may be seated. I just love the wording of all of that. And for good reason. When the Bible here tells us, by many infallible proofs, the word many here, we're just going to dive right into this. The word many, if you look at it, the word pulos in Greek is in abundance, like many. But the word is abundantly, in abundance, many as in the extreme, in the greatest amount of, or in an overwhelming amount of numbers that is of report. many infallible truths.

4:28 Again, I love speaking to skeptics. Just note this. What's the word? Bombastic. What's another word for bombastic? Extravagant. Luke is making an extravagant statement. Many infallible truths or proofs or evidences, we would say. Many, not a few. An overabundance of them. And in the Bible, it tells us in John chapter 10, verse 10, we should not be surprised by this. In John chapter 10, verse 10, Jesus says, I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. Extravagant life, not lifestyle, extravagant life in that of eternity. Both now and forever, we would say amen.

5:24 We are to have the Christian life vital, activated, energetic, right now. Listen, God does not want you to give your heart to Jesus and then sit around and wait until the end of your life so that you can inherit heaven. God doesn't save you to set you on the mantle and wait for everything to be done. No way. God actually, and I think it's, look, if he would have asked me, I would have said, don't do it this way. But God saves us and then pulls us into his own ministry to reach other people. And he uses us. I would not have used us. Right? I would have used angels or something more dependable. But God knew us and according to his perfect will, the sharing of the gospel to one another is most effective when somebody who has been affected by the gospel turns to somebody else and says, look what it did for me. Look what Christ did in my life. Look, are you a Christian who has family members who are not yet Christians?

6:40 Have you noticed that it's easier to witness to everybody else except them? you want to know why it's hard to share the gospel with the family members that we know because number one they know everything about us and when we tell them the gospel, they go, uh-huh, yeah, okay, that's nice, good for you, but you do remember that back in 49, or whatever it is, I saw you out behind the shed with bubbles, and that's going to be a hard picture to get out of my mind, and you're telling me you're a new creation, and we tell them, but yes, I am, and they go, yeah, yeah, but here's the great thing, family members usually take a long time to come to Christ by watching us. But when they come, they come hard. They come good because they watch, they watch, they watch and they watch you and they see you battling in and out. Listen, is your Christian life a battle? Say yes.

7:40 It's a battle. It is hard in this life. We're, listen, we are, we are of the kingdom of God. that is our citizenship is in heaven, but he's asked us to live here in the now. And that dynamic is difficult, but we see God working in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. But at the same time, we are still struggling with our flesh. I believe that is a powerful witness, not a detriment. When people see our struggle, when they don't have one, they wonder, what's the deal? Why are you upset with that? Everybody's doing it. You say, yeah, but I don't care about everybody else. God has given me a new life. And they go, man, you're too hard on yourself. Back off. Calm down. But they see your struggle, and then they begin to realize that by your struggle, they don't have a struggle.

8:35 Why? Because they've got nothing to live for. They've got no purpose. They've got no engineered path that they know of, and yet God has an engineered path for them, an abundant life, as Jesus said, many infallible proofs. In John chapter 20, verse 30 and 31, the Bible tells us, and truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. Wow. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. Wow. Many infallible proofs. And here John tells us many other things Jesus said and did. John chapter 21 tells us in verse 25, and there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, listen, I love this, that if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. And John says, amen to that. The word amen means that's true. Let it be true. Tremendous. Awesome. And then again, before we dive into all of this, the word infallible, I want to remind you that the word infallible is the word undeniable.

10:04 I like that. Jesus did and said things that are undeniable. You need to let that settle in. Undeniable. It means in a court of evidence, it's undeniable. It's not that you're not going to deny, that you cannot deny. you can deny but you are denying the facts because what Jesus did are undeniable things and again any skeptic or doubter should take notice that the people who hated Jesus the most still had to deal with all of these things and they wrote about it and they really really hated him and they wrote about that if Jesus didn't do these things why would his opponents go to such great lengths to try to silence him or discredit him?

11:06 Think about that for a moment. I guess the old saying is you can know a lot about somebody by who their enemies are. Right? That's a good thing. Do you have good enemies? I hope you have good ones. You know what I mean by good ones, the real bad ones. The real bad ones are our good ones. The word means conclusive and incontrovertible. Pervertible, I can never say that word right, but it's there. Irrefutable, unable to disprove. I mean, that's kind of bold. That'll make you put your hand on your hip when you're talking about Jesus. There's a boldness to all of that, and you can sense it in what Luke is writing. And so the scripture says that these are proofs, and again, this is reminder proofs, and I love this, markers. The word proof in the Greek language is that he proved by many infallible proofs, markers, indicators, signs, assurances, blatant or obvious hints. this is how Jesus revealed himself no secrets when they came to arrest Jesus and to destroy him what did he say to them he said I've done everything openly and I've done nothing in secret everything I've said I've said publicly I love that and we're almost ready to get started in this but one more passage of scripture second Peter chapter one second Peter chapter one for For this reason, I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things.

12:43 You've got to remember now, Peter's an old man now. He's an old man. He went through a lot of mistakes. He did a lot of things wrong. He spoke up. You read the Gospels, he said things that he shouldn't have said. But you know what? We love him. But now he's old. He's a lot wiser now. And I think it's Chuck Missler says that Peter, the only time Peter was quiet was when he took one foot out of his mouth to put the other foot in.

13:16 And there's a lot of truth to that. But now he's an old man and he's much wiser. For this reason, I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Verse 13, yes, I think it is right as long as I'm in this tent. I love this. Watch. As long as I'm in this human body, I'm going to use that human body to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that surely I must put off my tent. I like that kind of talk. Are you going to die?

13:52 Seven of us are going to die. I got news for you. Ladies and gentlemen, you are in California. You are going to pay taxes. you are going to die and then you're going to pay taxes. No one's going to escape. Okay? Peter is saying, it's just a tent. Don't you love that kind of talk? I love that talk. Look, I ironed the shirt. I put it on, deodorant, cologne to come see you today.

14:23 And the older I get, the more cologne. Same with you. Listen, many of us have been going to this church together a long time. And I've noticed, you've noticed it with me, I've noticed it with you. The older we get, the more cologne we use. Why? Because a tent smells after a while. A tent gets flimsy after a while. Have you noticed? Did you know, have you ever gone camping? A tent leaks after a while. Peter is saying this tent I can't wait to put it off I can't wait to get rid of it I think we would do a lot better in life if we took a big breath and relaxed to realize it's just a tent because you know right now everybody's like this with the selfies we're the most we're the most photo photo generation of all history and the scary thing is we take the pictures ourselves.

15:33 Hey, there's me. It's like, who cares? it'd be great to just say, it's just a tent. Your body is rotting. It's going away.

16:33 He's referring to the Mount of Transfiguration. When Peter, James, and John, remember that? They went up to the top of the mountain. Jesus took them up there in the middle of the night, and Jesus is speaking, and the three guys are laying down there, and Jesus is praying, and begins to converse with Moses and Elijah. They began to appear. All of it's amazing, but here's what's amazing to me. The Bible tells us that somehow Peter, James, and John, they knew that that was Moses and Elijah. I think that's awesome. And they spoke to Jesus about his suffering, his death, and his resurrection.

17:13 Remarkable. So church, we're diving in right now. It's number seven in our series. We've gone through one, two, three, four, five, and six. And the seventh why is this, Christmas. Why? Christmas is all about a newborn king. A newborn king. after all if Jesus Christ is king then there's a kingdom you can't be a king without a kingdom but he is the king and that means he has a kingdom and when we look at this I hope this is a blessing to you that why why the newborn king we see in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14 and I'm I'm deliberately using more and more Old Testament passages as we are in this Christmas series to show you the veracity of your New Testament and to provoke anyone who is Jewish to know that their Hebrew scriptures announce the Christmas that we're celebrating, the coming of the Messiah, Christ.

18:20 We say Christmas. You could also say Messiah Mass. It's the same words. To gather around the Messiah. Where does that come from? From the ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14. Your house is already full of this Christmas card. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Show you a miracle. An indicator. An announcement. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel, God among us, or God dwells among us. You can't mess up that name, folks. That name is a stumper. If you are understanding the Hebrew scriptures and you read it in the Old Testament, you've got a problem. Whoever the son is, is God dwelling among us. Come on, everybody.

19:13 I mean, I hope we all get it. But if there's one person here today right now, or maybe you're watching by television or you're streaming right now, the Bible says there's going to be a son given. He's going to be born from a virgin. And oh, by the way, when he comes, God will dwell among us. And all God's people said, that's the celebration. That is the glory of Christmas. Absolutely awesome. He's the newborn king. He didn't arrive out of some flaming chariot coming out of heaven. That's how I would have come. You too. Come on, if you would have written the Bible, if man would have written the Bible, it would have been all glorifying to man. Right? Think about it. This is how it's going to be. He comes as a baby. Because you came as a baby.

20:04 And all through his life, he lived just like you and I have to live. Yet he lived, thank God, without sin. But why the office of a king? I've always wondered about this. And I look forward to the millennium. I look forward, you know, the millennium is a thousand year reign of Christ. You know, there's some Christians, not at this church, they've all ran away. But you know how there are Christians who say, we don't talk about politics. Well, by now, after 35 years, all those Christians have left this church. you can't avoid two things you can't avoid talking about religion or faith and you cannot avoid talking about politics it's just the way it is the new testament deals with it old testament deals with it and you say oh that's very offensive well you know what jesus is king and you got to have a kingdom to be a king and that's called politics the word politic is simply this, your governance, your place, the things that govern you, politic. For example, on the Mayflower, the Mayflower Compact, as we come up very soon, in a week, we're going to celebrate the year of our 250th birthday. The Mayflower Compact, written by the pilgrims, says that they've come in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to propagate the gospel to this continent and that this is our politic, our body politic. Wow. The Bible says that our politic is in heaven. But we're here right now. What does that mean? That means that we stand up and we speak up and we do what is right and what is good. And so all that said, we serve. In fact, listen, some of you are Democrats. Some of you are Republicans. Some of you are independent.

21:56 some of you need to make up your mind. I, for one, am a monarchist. I love that. And I love saying that in some political gathering. Somebody will come and have me speak or be at their fundraiser. And will you speak or will you say something? And I love saying it. Hey, thank you for the invite tonight. Hope you guys are having a great time. Just for the record, yes, it's true. I'm a pastor. I'm standing here behind the microphone at this event. But don't get all excited about me taking sides because I'm a monarchist. And people go, and then I follow up with this statement. I believe in a ruling reigning king, and he should be back now any moment. His name is Jesus. But in the meantime, listen, we represent a kingdom. In 2 Samuel chapter 7, verse 16, the Bible says, and your house and your kingdom shall be established. What's the word? Forever before you.

22:57 This is an amazing statement. Your throne shall be established forever. Listen, will you please take a picture of this or scan the notes? This is 2 Samuel, folks. By the way, go to the theater and go see the cartoon David. Just go. I mean, not now. After service, go see it.

23:20 It's playing right down the street. It's awesome. a young man who used to do worship at this church and used to sleep on the floor in our living room when the church was in the warehouse building some guy nobody had ever heard of before by the name of Phil Wickham is David in the cartoon and it's amazing, it's fantastic but that's not what we're talking about this is a word spoken to King David Watch this, everybody. King David was just a man like you and I. Watch. And your house and your kingdom, it's like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, shall be established forever. What? And you see the word before, before you? The word before you means you're the king, but your throne, David, will be forever.

24:24 And that throne that will be established forever will go before you. In other words, God has deemed this to be his plan. Did David live? Is David alive today walking around? Is his throne here on earth right now? Nope. Listen, his throne is coming back. When Christ returns, Christ must sit upon the throne of David. And he repeats himself, your throne shall be established forever. I love this. You say, well, where's that going to be? Israel. And I just have to say it. I'm really doubling down, making people upset by saying this.

25:06 David, his throne must be established forever. 2 Samuel 7, 16 says so. God said it. And yet David's not going to sit on it. Jesus is going to sit on it. And where that throne is, is in the city of David. And that is called Zion. I'm in so much trouble by using the word Zion. It's beautiful. People have no idea. They are cursing me on the internet. It's amazing. That guy should be arrested. He should be silenced. He said that Zion's for real. He said that Jesus is returning to Zion. I said that by simply repeating what the Bible says. You can be mad at me all you want. Just know this. I'm not dumb. I may be ugly, but I'm not stupid. I'm going to repeat the Bible.

25:58 You want to get mad at me? Get mad at the Bible. Christ is coming back, and his throne will be the throne of David. he's got to sit upon his earthly father's throne. He is of the lineage of David, King David. And when Jesus returns, he's going to be King Jesus for a thousand years. It's going to be amazing. Luke chapter one, verse 31. Luke 1 31 says, Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great. He will be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father. That's the DNA of David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob. How long, folks? And his kingdom, there will be no end. a newborn king, God's plan.

26:58 Christmas is just not a 2,000-year-old idea. It's been an eternal promise of God. 2 Samuel 7, 13, just a quick Old Testament reference. Sounds like 2 Samuel 7, 16, but it's there again. the throne of his kingdom forever.

27:23 The great second coming of Christ to Israel and to the world for that matter is something that will take place at the end of the seven year tribulation period. Read your Bible carefully, everybody. In fact, I think on Wednesday nights after we get into the new year, I think we're going to start a Wednesday night series on understanding Bible prophecy. And I think that's going to be a great time together. we can understand that when the Bible tells us that when Christ returns, what are we talking about? There is Christ regarding his return or his coming, technically, are two events. There's his first coming, which is called Palm Sunday. And then there's his second coming, which is at the end of the tribulation period. Just make a note of something. There's only two comings. Both of them are to Israel. Both of them are to the Mount of Olives.

28:15 both of them are to the nation and to the Jewish people. The first and second coming. Palm Sunday and the second coming. In the middle is a predominantly Gentile, not exclusively, but predominantly Gentile event. And it's not a coming, it is an appearing. And that is known as the rapture. And you should know the difference. Everybody should know the difference. There's a big difference, a difference in words, difference in event, difference in accomplishment. Everybody should know the difference. Why is there a debate over these fundamental things is simply a lack of faithful, good Bible reading. And so that's in the new year. We need to look at that stuff because we'll be one year closer. It'll be a good time, right, to do that. But know this, that in this great second coming, I have a lot of Jewish friends and we joke around a lot and I always tell them, they'll tell me, we're looking for the Messiah. And I said, yeah, but the problem is, you think your Messiah is coming for the first time. Yes, that's right. I said, I don't. He already came. You're looking for the first coming and don't get suckered into the false Messiah that's coming because he's coming. There's a false Messiah, Mr. 666 on the forehead, right? The Antichrist.

29:34 Don't get duped. We're looking for Christ to return. The second coming, even every Friday in a Shabbat dinner, there's the recitation of statements, verses, and sayings, and one of them is about the Messiah returning. And I got to ask my Jewish friends, wait a minute. Did you just say the word return? When was he here the first time? Right? Can I have an amen? That's amazing.

30:07 He's coming. Number eight. Christmas is a New Testament, and I'm saying this in a legal way. I mean, I'm not an attorney, but I want to talk to you the best I can this way. Testament. Last will and testament, we say legally. What is a testament? Well, first of all, before we look at the definition of it, when we talk about the New Testament, listen to this. Christmas in the context of a New Testament that we have before us, Christmas is a tradition. You're not going to find Christmas in the Bible. So where's the verse that says Christmas? There's no verse that says Christmas.

30:52 There are chapters that record what we call the Christmas event. but it's the revelation of the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is the revelation of the, listen, New Testament recorded, the New Testament observed. I'm saying this, seeing if you're catching it. The new, what's another word for New Testament? The new covenant witnessed. does the Bible say watch out be on the lookout for a coming new covenant does the Bible say that there's going to be a coming new testament you need to ask yourself that question it's very important to celebrating this season with meaning and purpose and faith but for us the actual Christmas thing I'm not going to get into the details of December 25th that's just all we don't need to go there okay I mean I don't want to just know this that date was assigned it was an assigned date by people it's a tradition the point is was Bethlehem the host of the birth of the Messiah that would come into this world.

32:18 Yes, absolutely. but we talk about Christmas being a New Testament Jeremiah 31 31 this is going back folks nearly 3,000 years ago almost behold open your eyes the days are coming says the Lord when I will make a what? hey on the count of three can I hear a new covenant really loud one, two, three You do. A new covenant. Why would Jeremiah, why would God tell us to Jeremiah a new covenant? They had an old one that they were all using. What's the problem here? I don't read the New Testament. We're not talking about the New Testament.

33:13 I'm Jewish. I cannot read the New Testament. It's against the rules. My rabbi won't let me read it. Okay, don't read it. All we're asking you to do is deal with Jeremiah 31, 31. If the old covenant can save you, then why is there the need for the new one? When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. According to the Hebrew prophets, there's going to be a day coming when God is going to say, it's new covenant time. And where does it begin? California? Israel. And Judah. So specific. Not just Israel, the nation. And Judah. Wow. So the definition of a New Testament is rather extensive. And I don't know if we'll have this on the screen or not.

34:18 Maybe not. I'll read it to you if my eyes are working correctly. It is an, listen, it is an agreement between two or more parties that is created by the living testator. Ordering their physical assets in such a way that they become to those surviving testament or to those surviving period. A testament is a creed or declaration of belief based upon the evidence and the tangible reasons for belief. To declare one's convictions based upon the evidence and truth obtained. So you put that together.

35:10 This is what God has said. I'm going to make a new covenant. You can interchange the word testament. and this is what this is the deal it's going to require somebody to author it are you listening? someone's going to author it so somebody writes out their last will and testament or a living trust the testator originates it you originate it you're the one you write it or your attorney writes it it's all legal and it sits there in a box or at an office. It's just sitting there. It's pages of nothing. It's worthless. It is worthless, you know. It is technically worthless. You want to know why? Nobody's dead yet.

36:02 it's powerless until somebody dies how cool is this the New Testament is worthless unless somebody dies. and that somebody is somebody it has to be jesus why because he's the author of the scriptures the god is the author of the scriptures he is the word of god but for you and i to benefit someone's gotta get someone has to die friends listen that's why you trying to be good enough to get into heaven is so dumb You can't make it. And even if you were 99.9%, you failed. You don't have what it takes to generate the actions of the Testament.

37:00 You've got to be perfect. You've got to be the author. And when you die, it starts its motion or the gears begin to roll. It's quite awesome. Hebrews 9.11. Hebrews 9.11. But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands. Wow. You know how Indiana Jones, remember how Harrison Ford brought the Ark of the Covenant and all that kind of stuff? Indiana Jones, remember all that stuff? And it was so sacred in the Ark of the Covenant because it was once in the temple. Do you know what the Bible says about all that stuff? The Bible says Spielberg was wrong about that stuff. Remember when all the guys' faces started, all those Nazis, their faces started melting because the glory of God and the power of God. That would not have happened. If the Ark of the Covenant was found right here, right now, could you touch it?

37:56 You can not only touch it, you can get inside and read the Ten Commandments. It's not going to kill you. You want to know why? The book of Hebrews says, all of that was nothing but a shadow of the glory that was to come. Wow. You know why it wouldn't affect you? because God doesn't dwell in a box.

38:18 If your God dwells in a box, you know the kind of God that dwells in a box is the kind of God that you go and visit for 60 minutes once a Sunday? Some people, once a year. They have a very small box, small little God. Listen, God's out of the box. He's out. He's loose. He's not stuck in a box. Listen, the tabernacle, even the great temple in Jerusalem was not the dwelling place of God. The dwelling place of God is heaven and everywhere, technically.

38:51 This blows people's minds. That's exactly right. Lee just said it. In Corinthians, God tells us that all believers now become the dwelling place of God. Amazing. I'm sorry. He's amazing. And it's none of this creation. It's not mad made. Didn't Moses make the Ark of the Covenant? It's man-made. Wasn't it made by physical, material things? It was a model. God told Moses on the mountain, it's just a model. He said that.

40:04 You can say amen to that. Jesus Christ died to set the powers loose. and then he rose again from the dead three days later to be the attorney that makes sure it's properly applied. He's our advocate. It's awesome. 1 Corinthians 15, 20 says, but now Christ is risen from the dead. Wow.

40:27 Hey, listen, everybody. Shock. Newsflash. Read Revelation chapters 1 and 2. in Revelation chapter 1 starting at about verse 17 and 18 and then jumping on over to Revelation chapter 2 starting at about verse 4 the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end the one who was, who is, who is to come the Almighty was alive died and rose again and is alive forevermore listen, those are all the titles of God you say, can God die? Yes, when God comes into this world as a son and born as a baby, as human like us, that's the whole Christmas message, man. Jesus Christ came, God incarnate, so that he could die.

41:22 Does that make sense? God, listen. Years ago, 40 years ago, I read in a commentary and it just blew my mind and I've never forgotten it. This great old commentator of yesteryear, hundreds of years ago, said, listen, that by Christ coming and becoming human flesh for us, Jesus Christ died for mankind and he died for God. And when I read that, I went, wait, holy cow, that's wrong. and then he went on to explain. Jesus Christ died for us. He became human to die for us representing us because he had to live the perfect sinless life because he was and fulfill the requirements of the law. So he lived and died for us.

42:14 Right? You got that? No problem there. How is it that Jesus died for God this way? God had made the promises that he would redeem us and deliver us. God is the one in the Old Testament who said in Isaiah chapter 53, I will see the travail of his soul. And when he gives his life a sacrifice for many, it will satisfy me.

42:39 Jesus died to fulfill the prophecies of God. Do you see how now that comes together? It's like, that is beautiful. God made the promises, but without Christ, the promises are not fulfilled. but with him, Jesus said it, not one yacht or one tittle, not one word of this book, the Bible, will pass away till all's fulfilled. It's all going to be fulfilled. The world, listen, nothing's going to fail. It's all going to be accomplished. I love that. I love when God boasts like that. Luke 22, verse 20. Luke 22, 20 says, likewise, he also took the cup after supper. This is the upper room before his passion, saying, this cup is the? In my blood, which is shed for you. You see, friends, that's an Old Testament fulfillment of the promise. Did you see that?

43:38 Remember that? Jeremiah 31, 31. Remember? Jesus said, here it is. Jeremiah 31, 31. Jesus says, here it is. It's going to be accomplished with my blood. Hebrews chapter 8 verse 7 Hebrews 8 verse 7 and 8 for if that first covenant had been faultless meaning if the first covenant was holy don't get me wrong God's covenant was perfect and pure the only thing is you can't find anywhere in the Old Testament where it says it will save you what the Old Testament does is that it points out where you're wrong thou shalt not thou shalt not thou shalt not.

44:23 It's to show you that you cannot be saved on your own effort. Because God told Moses, he said, Moses, here's the law. Here's what I require the people. They are to strive to live, to fulfill this. But in the day that they break it, they have to take animal blood and offer it for their sins. that is the foretaste of the new covenant the new covenant is in the blood of Christ so watch because finding fault with them, he says, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Of course, God revealed the gospel to the house of Israel first, and eventually it got to your ears and to mine.

45:19 Here's an extra, I just wrote this down in my notes, it's on page six, and it's an extra credit for the class. and that is how do you know if there even is a second coming and a throne to be established? I mean, there's a lot of debate going on today with a lot of people who are either ignorant of what the Bible says or they've been educated beyond their intelligence and they have an opinion that they think is so great of themselves that they are now able to correct or reinterpret the Bible how it should be based upon their opinion. In my opinion, it's a form of insanity, but it's out there where, well, I know the Bible says this, but fill in the blank. In Matthew 25, 31, Jesus said, When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.

46:20 I find that fascinating, everybody. Bible students, mark it down. For him to sit on the throne of his glory, it requires him to return or to come in his glory with all the holy angels with him. Do you all see that? It's very, very simple. Is there anything in the New Testament that elaborates on that statement of Jesus? Absolutely. Revelation 19, 11. If you're taking notes, connect them together. John says, Now I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it was called faithful and true. And in righteousness, he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire. He's describing Jesus.

47:05 This is good to know because, you know, some people talk about Jesus being their bud. Jesus is my buddy. Yeah, I don't think you should talk like that anymore. If you saw him, you'd freak. His face is brighter than the sun. And his eyes are red like a flame of fire. When he opens his mouth, the word of God comes out. and by the way if you're going to heaven or hell it doesn't matter you're going to see them if you're going to hell you're going to say man I wish I would have paid attention man I wish I wouldn't have had such a big opinion of my own ideas I should have listened too late now's the time to listen and listen to this, this is Jesus, the Prince of Peace, in righteousness he judges and makes war, this is the second coming events, folks, his eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, total authority, he had a name written, that no one knew except he himself, he was clothed with a robe dipped, see the word dipped, some of your Bibles translate, or margins will say splattered, splattered in blood.

48:26 What's that all about? Wait, we're talking about Jesus, the Jesus in the Bible? Oh, yeah. We're talking about the Jesus of the second coming. Remember we talked about that earlier today? The second coming. During the second coming, the Bible says that the Lord will go out and fight for Israel like he did in the day of battle. What is that going to look like? I don't know. But isn't it terrifying? I'm so glad that we're actually behind him we're not in front of him we're not like oh my gosh we're behind him going right on watch this he was clothed with a robe splattered or dipped in blood and his name is called the word of God and the watch the and the armies plural this is both watch this is going to be you and angelic angelic hosts and a certain particular group of the redeemed.

49:23 Watch this. The armies in heaven clothed in fine linen white and clean followed him on white horses. The fine linen white and clean is only the description given to the church. The Old Testament saints wear white robes. The tribulation saints the ones who die during the seven years they wear white robes. The church is the only group described in the Bible that has white linen, white and clean, or clean and bright. Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should strike the nations. That's his second coming. And he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. That's his government. He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of almighty God. And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written King of Kings and Lord of lords. Wow. Wow. And then number nine, Christmas is always the answer. Always. All the answers of life is wrapped up in the Christmas message. The Christ, the coming, the king.

50:35 and I wrote you see in the notes I put down here why are you doing what are you doing here at this Christmas service this morning what are you doing here oh my neighbor made me come well they did that because they love you but I hope it's because you're discovering who the answer is Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life.

51:08 Jesus said, if you die believing in me, you'll live forever. Think of that. You say, well, which one is it? It's both. Jesus said, if you die, you live forever. When your body dies. When your body dies, have you ever cracked open like an almond shell? Almonds are weird. Have you ever seen an almond? I mean, I know you've seen almonds. I mean, this is California. it. We invented omens here. but an almond the nut is inside the part that you and I eat that's on the inside the outside's funny, strange, weird you'd never think it's an almond it's a little fuzzy little thing it's kind of cute actually it's a little fuzzy you say, what is this thing? well listen it's not it's not until it's cracked open that you find out that it's an omen and you can talk about religion all you want you can own a bible you can even know the name of jesus you can even say his name you can even listen to songs and you can you can participate but listen until your nut is cracked open Thank you.

52:18 and you see for who he really is you're going to miss discovering him. That's the only way. You've got to encounter him. And I want you to ask yourself this morning, have you ever encountered him? I'm not talking about have you seen him like, there he is. I'm not talking about that. I had a dream. I'm not talking about that either. I'm talking about in your life where you come to the realization of what I call a faith crisis where you have an issue going on with God and you can't escape him. You can't run from him.

53:02 It's a sovereign move of God where you all of a sudden become overwhelmingly aware that God knows you and he knows everything about you and you feel the intensity of having to do something about it. I hope that's what's happening. I hope also that you would enjoy who he is. Jesus is the answer but what's the question? the question is what is Christmas then? Christmas is God giving you his greatest gift, his son. the whole tradition of exchanging gifts is a far cry today from what it once was. there's one gift folks Christmas is coming and people are going to want to count their gifts especially kids were you like that as a kid?

54:01 I'm still like that don't you go around and look for the ones with your name on there so what's this man there's only 10 here There's one. There's one gift given that if you, listen, it's a gift given. If you go like this, if you go, well, there's only one? This is the one.

54:27 But it's so humble looking. That's the one. But the wrapping is really, I mean, you could have done better than the wrapping. and the bow looks like antique or something. You should open it. Why would I waste my time opening up an old gift like that?

54:49 You should open it. I don't know. I notice my eyes are really drawn to this fancy glittery ones over here. Yeah, yeah, but you should open this. Trust me, all the other stuff are distractions. This is the one. and I'm suggesting to you today that Jesus is the one that you need to unwrap I want to show you this painting. I love this painting. I've had a chance to actually see this painting in real life. This is Rembrandt. And it's wherever Rembrandt is on display, if you can ever get to see him. Did you know Rembrandt? I don't remember the name of the painting. I'm not even sure if it's public. But you know, there's a painting that Rembrandt, when he became a believer in the Lord Jesus, did you know what he did?

55:45 He painted a painting. It's hard to even describe that Jesus is like this in the painting. And he's looking, he's looking at the painter. Jesus is here. And there's two, there's an arm going in, holding a nail and a hammer, nailing the nail into Jesus's hands. and it's Rembrandt's arms and hands nailing Jesus to the cross. He woke up to the realization. Rome didn't crucify him. The Jews didn't even crucify him. My sin crucified him. And that's true. Listen to this. Luke chapter 2 verse 25 and behold there was a man And all of the hands that I'm going to do is make it really open.

57:48 I'm gonna ask you to pray with me right now. Father God, we come before you this morning and Lord, we ask that in this place that you would move right now, that you would bring to pass in our hearts, every single one of our hearts and maybe those in the overflow rooms or in the courtyard right now.

58:09 That the reality of this gospel of the living God that for God so loved the world that he gifted his only glorified son, begotten son, that whosoever would believe on him, whosoever would unwrap him. to receive him, to take him. He would not perish, but have everlasting life. friends while we're in an attitude of prayer heads bowed please Christians be praying that the Lord moves upon the hearts of the lost I'm reminded that Charles Wesley in his beautiful and immortal hymn wrote come thou long expectant Jesus born to set thy people free from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art, dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. I'm asking you today, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, finally, once and for all, before heaven and earth.

59:30 Jesus said if you acknowledge me before people I will acknowledge you before my Father in heaven if you refuse me, then I must refuse you. Do you hear the choice he's given you, friend? The Bible says that if you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again from the dead, and you confess that, you believe that in your heart and you confess that with your mouth, you shall be saved. If you believe today that Jesus Christ died for you like he died for me and rose again from the dead, that he is in fact Christmas. you don't want to be a hypocrite do you nobody respects a hypocrite a hypocrite says one thing but never does it This is Christmas.

1:00:26 but is it really Christmas for you? Do you really believe that? As we sing this song, I'm going to ask you to get up out of your seat and come forward and present yourself as a gift to God. A sinner lost, a sinner forsaken by this world, a sinner. You may be the richest man on the block or the poorest. You might be the youngest or the oldest. I'm asking you right now, wherever you're at on this campus, to make your way up, to get up and come to the front of this altar, this morning and to present yourself to Christ as Lord and Savior, you are presenting yourself and you're saying to him, be my God, my redeemer, my crucified and resurrected salvation. I accept Jesus Christ at this Christmas. You come right now, wherever you're at, we're going to sing the song and you get up. If God is speaking to you, you're feeling very uncomfortable right now.

1:01:26 Trust me, I understand. He's not giving you a little fluffy hug. He's kind of giving you a squeeze with barbed wire. And it hurts. You know you should do this. And you're battling with yourself on the inside. Nobody can see this. But those of us who are saved, we know what that's like. Obey him. Get up and come and present yourself by just standing here. And I'll pray for you in a moment. So we sing this song. Don't hesitate. You come forward right now. just as I am I want thee But that thy blood Was shed for me And that thou bidst me Come to thee O Lamb of God I come I come Just as I am tossed about with all my conflicts, all my I bounce fightings and fears within, without only, oh God, I call, I call.

1:02:54 Okay, listen, if God's speaking to you, what are you waiting, why are you waiting? How about this? Is there something unusual happening on the inside of you? Take stock. Listen, you say, who told you? nobody told me. I just know this, when the Word of God goes out, and we've given you a lot of the Word of God today, He will use it. And He's saying to you, you're not ready if you die today. I was on the phone this week with somebody who told me, I have to tell you something. And I said, what is it? He said, I almost died this week. And I said, okay. And he said, I remembered the gospel that you had told me about. and I didn't die, God saved me. And I said, yes, he did.

1:03:47 your life you don't even know how many times god has saved you from that intersection saved you from that dilemma you don't even know how many times god has preserved you for this moment now's not the time to play it safe today's the day to be reckless for god if he's speaking to you listen to him you may never hear his voice as loud as you're hearing it right now it's on the inside. You're kind of tormented and you're saying, what is going on? That's him speaking to you. He wants to forgive you of your sins. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through me. If you are experiencing his voice inside of you right now, run to the front. Get here now. Come wherever you're at. You come quickly. Come right now. Come. Don't delay.

1:04:50 Oh, God, I come, I come.

1:05:11 Oh, Jesus, take on a plea. I run to you, I run to you I lay everything I know of you Then my life be yours Oh, Jesus take all of me I run to you, I run to you I lay everything at your feet Let my life be yours Psalm 30 verse 2 says O Lord my God, I cried out to you and you healed me.

1:06:13 O Lord, you brought my soul up from the grave. You've kept me alive. That I should not go down to the pit. If you're watching right now, if you're watching by television or by whatever broadcast, you can make this decision right now, just like these are making their decision here. And you can join us in a moment in prayer. by these coming forward, they're saying that he is the savior and I need salvation. I don't want religion. None of us up front here want religion. We're done with that stuff. We want to know God personally. He transforms our lives. He makes us new. and so let's pray right now together those of you who are brothers and sisters in Christ right now will you pray with these that are about to enter the family of God because in that moment of confession Jesus said that when the angels hear this they rejoice in heaven when one sinner turns from their sins and comes to Christ it's amazing are you ready those of you up front right here. We're all going to pray it, but you have to mean it personally. Here we go. Nice.

1:07:27 And from your own heart and mouth, dear Lord Jesus, I invite you into my life. I ask you to forgive me and to make me new today. I confess Jesus Christ as crucified,

1:07:50 resurrected, and my Lord and Savior. I receive him now and I thank you, God, for dying for me. in Jesus name I pray and all God's people said Amen