Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
9. Isaiah chapter 9. Many people are celebrating right
now at this time of year the fact that Jesus This man named
Jesus was born. And that is a wonderful thing
to celebrate. It really is. It really is. I don't believe
he was born on December 25th. But every day is a wonderful
day to celebrate the fact that he was born. Many people celebrate his birth
very passionately. Very sincerely. They really do. They post it all over Facebook. They mean it. Very passionately. Even though they have no idea
who he is and why he came. But we do. We do, don't we? Aren't you thankful? I'm about to say some things
and I'm hoping the Lord will let me enter in to what I'm about
to say. Either way, the truth is about
to be declared because I'm about to read God's Word. I hope He'll
let me enter in. Aren't you thankful that the
Lord has revealed to us who He is and why He came? And we're
not just ignorantly celebrating Christmas? Christ Mass? Aren't you glad? The Lord God of Heaven has opened
our eyes to see and believe that this is not just Jesus. This is the Lord Jesus Christ. Aren't you so glad that you see
Him high and lifted up? There was a time when we didn't.
I'm glad I do now. Aren't you so thankful that God
gave you the gift of faith? Faith. Because you know, you've
seen it in His Word. Many are called, but few are
chosen. Can you believe He chose us?
When I wrote that down, I knew everybody was coming. I thought
about you. I thought about you. I thought about you. Adam and Carrie. Can you believe that He chose
us? It'd been one thing for Him to choose you, but then He chose
you and you. and her and her and me. Can you believe he chose us?
He chose our mothers and our stepmothers who we love so much
we don't want to call our stepmothers. Can you believe that? Of all of creation, of the whole
world, of all generations, of all people, He chose me. Our Lord has been so good to
us. He has been so merciful to us. So gracious to us. Here is why. Isaiah 9 verse 6 says this, for unto us, let's just stop
there for a minute. Unto us, do you realize how much
we take it for granted? Unto us. We are thankful, we really are.
But can you imagine how grateful we're going to be on the day
of judgment as we're standing there watching judgment take
place. And we realize first hand this was all unto us. Oh man. Why did Christ come? He came
for us. Why did He live a perfect life
on this sinful, wicked earth for 33 years? Every deed He did,
every miracle, every word He spoke, every promise, every purpose,
He did it all for us. Every bit of it. Why did He go through that suffering?
Why did He go through that humiliation? That pain? Why did he separate
himself from God? Do you know when Christ died
and took our sins far away to be put away and never return?
Did you know that at that moment in time he was separated from
God? Can you imagine how terrible
that would be? No, the answer is no, we can't
imagine. Why did He separate Himself from
God for three days enduring the death of the cross? He could
have taken every human being and every sin and just cast it
all into the lake of fire and been done with it. He could have. You know why He did all that?
Why He went through all that? For us. It was for us. Every person on this earth? No. But He did do it for every person
who God chose to be in us. Every single one. Verse 6 says,
For unto us the deserving of the world. Oh, you don't know us, do you? You must have been pretty worthy
if He chose you. Do you know that the only reason
He chose me is because I was the most unworthy in the world?
Now here's how I would work. Have you guys seen the YouTube
videos where they have now come up with a device that you can
put in a person's ear who's never heard before? And they can cause
that person to hear. And they've taken them over into
Africa and places like that, villages of very, very poor and
primitive people. And they're giving deaf children
these things and they're videoing them hear a sound for the first
time. Can you imagine? Now let's say
I have a hundred of them and I'm going to Africa. And I'm
going to ask everybody, who can hear me? And all those people
go over here. And the people who can't hear
me are just standing there. You think I'm going to take all
those and give them to the hearing? Why don't you stick that in your
ear? See if that makes it better.
No! I'm going to find the person
who can't hear anything and say, this is for you. Do you know why God chose me?
It's because I was the worst. I was at the bottom. You were
right above me. And you were right above him.
And so on and so forth. Until he got all the unworthy
taken care of. He chose to do for me what I
could not do for myself. He came here to live as me. Everything He did went on my
record. Every single thing. As though I did it. Every single
thing. He came here to live as me. He
came here to die as me. When God looked at the cross,
He saw me. That's why He killed Christ.
That's the whole reason. He came to save me. He came for us. Now this is how far He had to
come down to save us. This is how far He had to come
and the way He came in order to be our substitute. In order
to be me. Verse 6 says, For unto us a child
is born. Turn with me over to Matthew
chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1, verse 18 says, Now the birth
of Jesus Christ was on this wise. This is how it happened. When
as his mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph, before they came together,
she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Mary and Joseph were
not married. She was a single woman who was found to be pregnant
outside of marriage. Can you imagine the shame that
her parents felt? Can you imagine the disgust that
Joseph's parents felt? Really? Joseph, don't you dare
marry that awful woman. They're not even married. Who's the greatest sinner in
town? Mary is. David said in Psalm 51, In sin did my mother conceive me. And in the likeness of sinful
flesh. Not in sinful flesh. Not in Adam's flesh. This was
done by the Holy Ghost. But in the likeness of sinful
flesh, a child is born. Isn't that amazing? This is the glory of the gospel.
It really is. This is what feeds a sinful soul. Now if he is the king of kings,
why would he choose this? If He is the One who sends souls
to particular people, and He is, He sends them to particular people
to be born into this world. If six months earlier, He sent
John the Baptist to Zachariah and Elizabeth, and Zachariah
was a priest, And Luke chapter 1 says, he and
Elizabeth were both righteous before God. That's what it says
about John the Baptist's parents. Both righteous before God. John
came in honor. John had the Holy Ghost from
his mother's womb. If Christ had the ability to
choose any person, any class, Any time, why would He come like
this? He did it for us. He did it for
us. Our substitute. Hebrews 7 says,
He became us. For unto us a child is born. Our Lord's birth is recorded
in two of the Gospels. It's in Matthew and it's in Luke.
Matthew gives us the account from Joseph's point of view.
Alright? How Joseph saw it. Look at verse
19. Then Joseph, her husband, being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
mindful to put her away privately. The law written in the book of
Deuteronomy said any woman who was found to be in Mary's condition
was to be dragged out of her house and put on a wall and stoned
to death by all the men in the town. That's Deuteronomy and
it's in our margin. That was the law concerning that
situation. Joseph didn't want to do that.
Verse 19 says, Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and
not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her
away privately. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. For unto us a child is born. Almost everybody sees that. Everybody. Most of the whole world understands
and believes that a child was born. They make that clear through
their nativity scenes. They have Joseph, they have Mary,
and they have a little baby. But here's what the world cannot
understand. Here's the question that we all must ask, every one
of us. Who is this child? Who is this
child? Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. A son is given. Alright, now let's see that in
Mary's account. Luke gives this story from Mary's
point of view. Go with me to Luke chapter 1. Luke 1 verse 26 says, And in
the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city
of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name
was Mary. And the angel came in unto her
and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored. The Lord is with
thee. Blessed art thou among women. That woman just heard the gospel. The gospel. Rejected by the world. Highly
favored with God. The whole world is against you.
The Lord is with thee. Mary, if God be for you, who
can be against you? Verse 28 says, And the angel
came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored!
The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast
in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel
said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with
God. And behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name
Jesus. He shall be great and shall be
called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto
Him the throne of His father David. He shall reign over the
house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no
end. Then said Mary unto the angel,
How shall this thing be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel
answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God." The Son of God. That's who this
is. The Son of God. Not the offspring of God. Which is how the world sees Him. He was not created. In the beginning was the Word.
He is not God's Son. He is the Son of God. Big difference. Big difference. God Himself, the equal member
of the Trinity. God is three persons. He is the equal member of the
Trinity, the Son of God. He didn't come to show us the
way to God. That is the statement I'd love
to tell everybody. Christ didn't come to show us
the way to God. He sure didn't. Christ didn't come to bring us
to God. He didn't. God came to us. God came to us. Call his name
Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. When the angel said, Mary, you
are highly favored, what he was saying was God has come to you. You know that's the declaration
of the gospel. We preach the good news to whoever
has ears to hear. And if the Spirit of God moves,
He applies the Word to the heart and they hear the good news which
says, God has just come to you. God is in you. He told Mary, God has chosen
to be born into this world through you. Through you. Verse 36 says, And behold thy
cousin Elizabeth, John the Baptist's mother, she hath also conceived
a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who
was called barren. She couldn't have children. For
with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid
of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed
from her. Mary believed. Verse 39 says,
and Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country
with haste into a city of Judah. Now, I remember the very first
time I read this with my own two eyes. And since then, this
has always been one of my favorite sections of scripture. It always
has been. This is the most amazing and
wonderful and joyful thing. Verse 39, Mary arose in those
days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah
and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when
Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe, John the Baptist,
leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.
And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art
thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And
whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come
unto me? For lo, as soon as the voice
of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in
my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed,
for there shall be a performance of those things which were told
her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify
the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." These two women blessed their
hearts One of them is carrying the forerunner of Christ, promised
from Isaiah. One of them is carrying God.
And when the two meet up, something happens between them. And these
women are glorifying God. Doesn't that make your heart
skip a beat? Mary, that's who has come to
you. That's who will be born of you, the mighty God. The mighty God. Look at Luke
chapter 2, verse 6 says, And so it was that while they were
there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for
them in the inn." Why would the Lord allow the One who orders
every step and all things and people and everything? Why would
He allow all the rooms to be booked? No room for Him. He did
that for us. Outcast. Verse 8, And there were in the
same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night, And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon
them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they
were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them,
Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And
this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising
God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace,
good will toward men." The Prince of Peace. God Himself is on the earth. They knew it was coming. They'd
been talking about it. They desired to look into it.
And God sent an angel to tell the shepherds, he's here. And the whole host of glory came
and cried, glory to God in the highest. God is on the earth. I love this song. It says, Hark
the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king. Peace on
earth and mercy mild, God and sinners are reconciled. Joyful,
all ye nations, rise! Join the triumph of the skies! With the angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem. Christ, the highest heaven adored,
Christ the everlasting Lord, Late in time, behold Him come,
offspring of a virgin's womb. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead
see. Hail the incarnate Deity! Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel. Hail the heaven-born Prince of
Peace! Hail the Son of Righteousness! Light and life to all He brings,
risen with healing in His wings. Mild He lays His glory by, born
that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth. Come, desire of nations, come,
fix in us thy humble home. Rise, the woman's conquering
seed, bruise in us the serpent's head. Adam's likeness now efface. Stamp thine image in its place. Second Adam from above, reinstate
us in thy love. Hark, the herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn King. Amen. Oh, God is with us. Heaven came down. and glory filled
my soul. When at the cross my Savior made
me whole, my sins were washed away, my night was turned to
day, because heaven came down and glory filled my soul. Glory
to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good will toward
men. Peace with God, no more sin. Peace with men, no more sin. Peace with self. No more sin. No more sin. Glory to God in
the highest. The king has come. The ruler
has come. Our shepherd has come. Turn back
over to Isaiah chapter 9. Verse 6 says, For unto us a child
is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon
his shoulder. What that means is, this child
that was born controls everything. All the government shall be upon
his shoulder. Look at verse 7. Of the increase
of His government and peace, there shall be no end. Upon the
throne of David and upon His kingdom, to order it and to establish
it with judgment and with justice from henceforth forever. The
zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. His government
is going to overthrow every other government that's ever been established. Every one. His government will
rise up and reign over us. How will He run His government? How will He run His government?
What will it be like living under His government? What is His economic position? What's his policy on commerce?
His government. Would you like to see it? Turn
to Isaiah 55. Verse 1 says, Ho, everyone that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come
ye, buy and eat. Yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto
me, here and your soul shall live, and I'll make an everlasting
covenant with you." Even the sure mercies of David. I'll make
an everlasting covenant with you. In his government, everything
has already been paid for. Everything. Come, buy without
money, without price. That's an amazing government
in his government. How is he going to fix the healthcare
crisis? Turn over to Matthew 11. Matthew 11 verse 5, the high
governor says, the blind are going to receive their sight.
No more surgeries. No more glasses. All the lame are going to walk. No more wheelchairs. Nobody is
going to be bedridden. Nobody. All the lepers, every
infirmity, every disease starting with sin, all the sick are going
to be cleansed, every one of them. All the deaf are going
to hear. There's going to be no audiologist
in glory. There's going to be no surgeons
at all in glory because the great physician is the governor. There's not going to be any life
insurance policies. All the dead are going to be
raised up. Governor, what are you going
to do for the poor? The poor are going to have the gospel
preached to them. And as soon as that happens, the poor are
going to be made rich. Rich. Sorrow and sighing are going
to flee away, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
I thought that was all written for spiritual meaning. It was. But every sinner whom God does
that for spiritually, He's going to do that for them physically.
Physically. Thanks be to God, all the government
is going to be on His shoulders. Our text in Isaiah 9 verse 6,
it says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,
and the government shall be upon His shoulder and His name. His name. What a name. A name above every name. A name
these lips are not even worthy to say. A holy, holy, holy name. May we never refer to Him this
time of year as baby Jesus. Let's instruct our children.
When they hear that at school, honey, we don't say that. God
forbid that I even have to say that right now. Was He actually
a baby? Yes. Was He actually a baby? No. God told Joseph and Mary,
you name Him Jesus. Call His name Jesus. But then
He told us right after that, you call His name Emmanuel. Because that child is God Himself.
He's not baby Jesus. He's God Himself. He said, You call me Master and
Lord, for so I am. May we never think on Him or
refer to Him in a common way. It says, His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. His name is Wonderful. One day he's going to come back and the archangel is going to
announce him. And as soon as his name is spoken
out loud, at the hearing of that name,
every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord. Lord. Now let me show you something
wonderful and we'll close. Full of wonder. That word wonderful
means secret. Secret. The mighty God is a trinity. Father, Son, and Spirit. They
are one. One God in three persons. God
the Spirit, the Holy Ghost, He's the one who leads me. He's the one who instructs me.
He's the one who teaches me. He's the one who points me to
Christ. He's the one that causes me to
cry out to Him. He's the one that shows me my
need of Him. He is my counselor. Call this
one who was born, Counselor. The Spirit of Christ. Call this
one who was born, the one who was given, Counselor. It's His Spirit. The Spirit of
Christ. The Everlasting Father. No one
has ever seen Him at any time. But this child that was born,
this son that was given, said, if you've seen me, you have seen
the Father. Isn't that full of wonder? Is
the Father real? Absolutely. Christ said, if you've
seen me, you've seen the Father. These three are one. The Prince of Peace. The One
who came. He is Spirit. He is God, He is
man. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. That's who He is. We are not
here this morning to see a play. We're not here for the children
to put on a pageant. And the gifts, I love them, but
we're not here to bring gifts. Keep bringing them. We're here to worship the Christ,
God manifest in the flesh. That's who He is. Why did He
come? For us. He came for us. That's wonderful, isn't it? That's
wonderful. I hope the Lord will bless us
and help us and bring us to glory to be with Him. Let's stand together.