The Mass of Christ Jesus by the Catholic
Church is just a re-crucifying Him, a re-killing of the Lord
Jesus every time they say they celebrate a Mass. Christmas is
not a Mass. That's a bad thing associated
with the word because people think of the mass of Christ.
And we certainly don't believe in the mass of Christ Jesus. And then we don't have any biblical
reason to observe the day of our Savior's birth. Here's what
we're told to do is to remember his death. until he comes again. Now, I don't get caught up in
all the religiosity of the day. I know and you know that December the 25th was, it is
very unlikely that was the day that he was born. In fact, men
who are much more wiser than myself and much more educated
as far as the dates and calendars and that sort of thing say it's
not impossible that he was born on December the 25th. You say, why was December the
25th chosen? It was to fit in with heathen
festivals. Just like Easter was. And that's
fact. Don't mean to burst your bubble.
But that's just the way it is. And I know there are some people
who choose to have nothing to do with observance of Christmas. And if that's how they feel,
if that's how you feel, then I leave you and I leave them
to their own conscience before God. As the apostle said in Romans
chapter 14, regarding any observance of the Sabbath, observance of
the Sabbath. He said, he that regarded the
day regarded it to the Lord, and he that regardeth not the
day to the Lord, he doth not regard it. In other words, if
you choose to observe, celebrate Christmas, do it for God's glory. If you choose not to observe
and celebrate Christmas, then don't celebrate Christmas and
observe Christmas, and don't do it for the glory of God. That
is, whether you do or you don't, the main thing is that you seek
to magnify God. I have some people that I love
and respect, and they won't have anything to do with Christmas.
Well, that's fine. If you don't want to have anything
to do with Christmas, that's fine. But I would caution you,
don't endeavor to push your convictions off on another person. I received
just this last week, actually a couple of letters And one was
an email, another one was a letter encouraging me or discouraging
me, I guess I should say, from having anything to do with Christmas. Well, that's between me and God. Just as your observance or your not observing Christmas, that's
between you and God too. And I would say this. If you do observe Christmas,
do so not really for religious purposes,
but just for the general benefit that I think the day brings.
We have a Christmas tree. I like the lights. I like to
drive around Central Park and look at all the lights. I think
they're beautiful. Now, I don't get caught up in
all the frivolity of Christmas and that sort of thing. But there's
a lot of good that comes out of Christmas. It's good for the
economy, I'm sure. Probably not good for our economy
individually, but it's good for the overall economy. People generally
get a little time off from work. Maybe where you work, it gives
a bonus. That's always a nice thing. And
really, it's a wonderful time to spend with your family. Now,
that's a great thing, because people take advantage of the
opportunity to travel and be with their families. But there's
another side of Christmas that I like, and it is this, that
whether people want to or not, even the atheists and the agnostics
and those who have no regard for the Lord Jesus Christ, who
don't even profess to acknowledge that He ever came, they're forced
to face the fact that a man named Jesus, he entered into this world
2,000 years ago. And when they go to the shopping
malls, they're gonna hear some good songs, joy to the world,
songs like that, oh come all ye faithful. And it's amazing
that that's still permitted in our society. We just, Nancy was showing me
a little bit of, I guess this happened at Ellen's school. Is that where it was? I don't
know if she was singing or in the orchestra or what she was,
but this is, of course, in Hiroshima. They had a presentation of Messiah. Messiah in Japan. And that, you
know, that's all out of the scriptures. Anytime the hallelujah chorus
is played or sung, it's supposed to stand up. It's supposed to
stand up. That's right out of the word
of God. And Nancy played me a little bit of that. She had it on her
cell phone. David sent it. And I thought,
there they are in Hiroshima. And there's the beautiful music,
Handel's beautiful music, of the Messiah and the Hallelujah
Course, which is taken right out of Scripture. So, that's
a good thing. Now, does our Savior have a birthday? He's the everlasting God. Don't tell you children, give
Jesus a birthday present. Did you listen to the message
this morning? Jesus is everlasting. He's without
beginning and He's without end. So don't tell your children,
please give Jesus a birthday present. The Lord of glory doesn't
have a birthday. He doesn't celebrate a birthday.
He's the ancient of days. He's therefore depicted in the
book of Revelation as having all white hair because He's ancient. He's of old. And then in the
book of the Song of Solomon, his hair is said to be dark and
bushy. What does that mean? His youth,
he's ever mighty. He never loses his strength.
From everlasting to everlasting, he's God. So don't talk about
it. It's not his birthday. It's not
his birthday. And don't bring a birthday present
to Jesus. He doesn't want your birthday
present. He doesn't acknowledge your birthday. Now, we're thankful
he was born, but that's not what put away our sins. It was his
death that put away our sins. But I will tell you this, had
he not been born, he wouldn't have died. So I do believe we
can acknowledge with thanksgiving to God that the Lord Jesus was
born into this world. And let others carry on with
their religious superstition and all the error that goes with
Christmas, like the wise men. They weren't there at his birth.
Anybody who does a little bit of studying can know that, because
you get to Matthew, the second chapter, when those wise men
from the east, when they came to the Lord Jesus, he wasn't
in a stable, he was in a house. That's what the scripture said.
Most likely somewhere between 18 months and two years of age
by that time. So don't get caught up in all
of that, but you can be thankful and you can worship God that
he gave his only begotten son. He took into union with himself
our flesh. And in that flesh, he lived.
In that flesh, he died to satisfy God's justice to save his people. We remember his death until he
comes again and we can rejoice in his birth. Actually, the people
of God, we're the ones who should indeed be joyful that he came. We can rejoice, we can be thankful,
we can praise God. We can bless him because the
Savior has come. and hum to save his people from
their sins. In this text of scripture, Luke
the second chapter, we have this glorious event. And it's just
set forth in a very few words. Ever notice there's no real detail
about the birth itself? It's just very simply stated. Like the gospel is. It's not
complicated. There's not a lot of fanfare
going on there in the manger. We don't have anything about
angels being there and their wings opened up. There's nothing
said about a halo over the baby there. In fact, there isn't even
anything said about the oxen. Maybe they were there, maybe
they weren't there. We don't know that. Here's what
we do know, Mary was there, Joseph was there, and the Lord Jesus
was born. That's about all we know. We
don't know the circumstance of his birth. We don't know about
her labor pains. None of that, the Spirit of God
doesn't go into any of that. There's just the declaration
of Scripture that he was born and born of a virgin. And you
and I who know him and who believe him and who rest in him, we rejoice
that he came. He's the Son of God. As I said, I'm not among those
who would apply any superstition to the birth of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but I'll tell you this, I do stand in awe. This is amazing. This is startling. I listened
to the angelic song of praise. They bless God. They bless God
that he sent his son into this world. Cannot we bless God? Oh, the air was filled with their
music, with their singing. Should not we sing and be thankful
to God? And I say there certainly is
no harm whatsoever, but only very positive good that can come
for blessing God for the marvelous gift of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm thankful he came. Now, let me give you several
things here real quick from Luke, the second chapter. Number one,
the purpose of his birth. Well, he came to save sinners,
we know that. Why was his birth necessary?
Because of the fall of Adam. While we have been schooled in
this, the three Rs, ruined by the fall, redeemed by the blood,
regenerated by the Spirit. We were ruined. We were ruined. That means total ruin, total
depravity. There's nothing left within us
for self-restoration. There is no goodness in any of
us, only wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. Jeremiah says
the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
Desperately means it's beyond recovery. We couldn't save ourselves. The birth of the Lord Jesus is
evidence that we are fully incapable, totally incapable of self-salvation. If we could by our works appease
God's justice, if we could do something that's good that God
would approve of and draw us near unto himself, the Lord Jesus
would not have needed to have been born. If there was another
way whereby we could, if there was some way we could save ourselves
by obedience to laws or rules or regulations or doing good
works of some sort or another, if we could by our decision put
ourselves into God's good favor, there wouldn't be the necessity
of this birth. The very fact that he was born
is proof positive. We're in desperate, in a desperate
condition. If it took the Lord of glory
to assume human nature and be born into this world and to live
and die under the wrath of God, under the vengeance of God, we
sure must be in bad shape. And the fact that He was born
proves to me and proves to any intelligent person that we couldn't
save ourselves. If grace is going to come to
us, if forgiveness is going to come to us, if righteousness
is going to come to us, it's got to come to us through this
One who was born in a manger. The joy at Bethlehem. He came to save. He came to save. Isaiah said, Behold, God is my
salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. You see, He not only brings salvation,
He is salvation. That's what David said in the
Psalms. He said in Psalm 27 verse one,
the Lord is my light and my salvation. Isaiah said he's our salvation. David said he's our salvation. And not many days after our Lord's
birth, a man in the temple said he's God's salvation. Look here
in chapter two, let me just draw your attention to this. Look
over at verses, start verse 29. Here is a man by the name of
Simeon. He's waiting for the Lord to
be revealed to him, to come to him by the promise of the Spirit. And he sees the Lord Jesus. Let
me back up to verse 27. And he came by the Spirit into
the temple. Listen, if you're ever gonna
see Christ Jesus, as your salvation, it'll be by the drawing power
of the Spirit. That's what it says here, he
came by the Spirit. The Spirit of God drew him into
that place where he would then behold the Lord of glory. That's effectual grace right
here. And it says, and when his parents brought in the child
Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law. Then took he him up in his arms
and he blessed God. He blessed God and he said, Lord,
now let us thou, thy servant depart in peace according to
thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. I've seen thy salvation. Isaiah
called Jesus Christ prophetically in Isaiah two, God's salvation. David called Jesus Christ God's
salvation in Psalm 27. And here in Luke chapter 2, here's
a man by the name of Simeon. And he looks into the face of
an infant, just a few weeks old. And He says, I'm ready to die
because I've seen thy salvation. Christ came to save, indeed He
did. And He came as our salvation. And neither is there salvation
in any other. For there's none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. He's God's salvation. Have you
seen Him? Have you seen him? Not with these
eyes, but with the eyes of faith. Have you reached out to him?
Not with literal arms, but with arms that are needy, arms that
want him, arms that long for him, arms that echo the words
in your own heart, this is the savior I need. This is the one
for me. Oh God, show me mercy for Christ's
sake. Lord, give me Christ. Give me
Christ or I die. Give me Christ or I perish. I
need him. I need his blood. I need his
righteousness. I need his person to save me. And if you're ever unable to
see him, then and only then are you ready to die. Now lest thy
servant depart in peace. Well, what about the time of
his birth? When was he born? Well, he was
born in due time, number one. Way back in the purpose of God,
it was determined that Christ would come and give his life
a ransom. Justice demanded it, God decreed
it, payment by, So when was he born? In due time. When our bill
to God became due, he came. Number two, when it had been
proven beyond a doubt that this world by wisdom knew not God. This was a world marked by moral
decay, political violence, And there wasn't any good within
the Gentile world or the Jewish world, as far as that goes. The
Gentile world, it was still mired in idolatry and spiritual ignorance. 4,000 years had gone by since
man was created. Was man any nearer to God? Did man have any more inclination
to go toward God? Or was man lost in sin and degradation
and totally wrapped up in idolatry? Look at the Gentile world. Read,
read about the Gentile world. Statues and idols of stone and
rock and trees and animals given totally to idolatry. They didn't
have any indication at all. They didn't have any learning
at all or knowledge at all concerning God. This is indicated when the
apostle Paul went to Athens and he goes up on Mars Hill and he
walks by all their statues and temples and all of these things
that were built to God's there. He said, I perceive you're a
very superstitious city. You're more religious than most,
but all of your religion is useless. After 4,000 years, all of man's
religion was useless. That's when Christ came. When
it had been abundantly proven by men that man by wisdom doesn't
know God. And then there's the Jewish world.
They were mired in ritualism, self-righteousness. The true
worship of God was rare. Rare. And the Jews were going
about to establish a righteousness of their own. They wouldn't submit
to the righteousness of God. Their temple worship, their synagogue
attendance, their fasting, their tithing, their praying were just
so many works that were done to impress others and try to
please God. God is only pleased with, God
is only impressed with His Son. That's who He's impressed with.
And the only way He's going to have anything to do with us is
if we're in Christ Jesus. That's the kind of world into
which Jesus was born. A world of ignorance. A world
of false religion. I'll tell you something else
about when He came. He came while the scepter was
still in Judah in fulfillment of Jacob's word in Genesis chapter
49. Jacob said, the scepter shall
not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. And
up until this time, the Jews, though they were ruled and governed
by Rome, they still had their own government. They still had
their Sanhedrin, the highest jurist board, jurist group in
all of the nation of Israel. But after the Lord Jesus came,
then that scepter was taken away as we know from the history in
AD 70. That's when Jerusalem was ransacked
and not one stone was left standing upon another. So when did our
Lord Jesus come? He came in due time. He came
when it was obvious that the world by wisdom knew not God.
He came when the government of Judah was waning. And then I'll
tell you this, he came when a heathen godless king determined to know
the number of people in his kingdom. Which brings us here to Luke
2. Look at verses 1 through 3 quickly. It came to pass in those days
that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all
the world should be taxed or counted. A census, this taxing,
this registration was first made when Cyrenius was governor of
Syria and all went to be taxed, everyone to his own city. This
heathen Caesar, to satisfy his ego no doubt,
decided he wanted to know everybody in his kingdom, wanted everybody
to be registered. And then he could better tax
them, of course. And so he did exactly what he
wanted to do. But you see, here's what he didn't
know. Now he sent out his decree, but
he had no idea what he was doing was due to another decree. And that was the very decree
of God. Because you see, the heart of
the king is in the Lord's hands as the rivers of water, and he
turneth it whithersoever he will. It's the Lord who is governing
here. You see, God is working in all
the events. Oh, children of God, listen to
this. God is working in all of the
events of life, whether they're great events or little events. And he's bringing to pass issues that are vital to him
using men who have no idea of the issues that God is bringing
to pass. Like this man, Caesar. He doesn't
have any clue as to what God is doing. And he's only exercising
his will. But let it be known there's always
a will much greater than man's will. It's the will of God. And God had ordained that at
this precise time, this specific Caesar would order a registration
of all of the people within his vast kingdom. And he would strut
around and say, my, what a kingdom I've got, kind of like Nebuchadnezzar
did. Little did he know he was just,
he was a little bitty pawn in the hand of Almighty God who
was moving him to do just exactly what God had purposed for him
to do. Isn't that wonderful? And if we could just remember
that in all the events of life, We'd be much more satisfied people. Indeed, we would be. Here's Caesar obeying the decree
of God. Well, what was the result of
this? Well, verse four. And now it
comes to the story. Joseph also went up from Galilee. He went out of the city of Nazareth. into Judea under the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and
the lineage of David. That's where he goes. And he
takes Mary with him, because verse five, to be taxed with
Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. So they have
to go to Bethlehem. But Micah, hundreds of years
before this, about 700 years before this, Micah had written
in Micah chapter five and verse two about Bethlehem being exalted. This is where Messiah is going
to be born. Well, how in the world is that
going to happen? How is that scripture going to
be fulfilled? Bethlehem is a long ways from
Nazareth where Joseph and Mary lived. Well, here's how it's
gonna happen. God's gonna use a heathen king. He put him on the throne. He
raised him up and he moved within him so that that mighty dictator
said, I'm going to have a census. In fact, I'll implement it every
14 years we'll have another census. And he did that for a long time,
as long as he's alive and other Caesars did it after his death.
And he thought he was just doing it because he wanted to do it.
Nobody said, you know, I think you ought to register everybody.
No, it's just his idea. But back behind the scenes, there's
always our God. Always. Every circumstance. Every event. And so, Joseph and Mary go to
Bethlehem, which, by the way, Bethlehem means house of bread. Where is he who is the bread
of life? Where is he who is the bread
come down from heaven? Where is he going to be born?
He's going to be born in a town, the definition of which is house
of bread. Poor, hungry sinners in Christ
Jesus. He is the bread of life. We feed
on him by faith. Well, then in verses six and
seven, we have the birth of the king. Very simple, simply set
forth, and so it was. And so it was that while they
were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
She brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, laid him in a manger because there was no room for
them in the inn. And that's just simply stated. No great grandeur about it. He wasn't born in Rome. That's
the politically powerful city. No. Y'all gonna be born in Rome. Well, what about Jerusalem? No,
that's the city of self-righteousness. Where's the Lord of glory gonna
be born? Exactly where the prophet of
God said he'd be born, in Bethlehem. The word of God always comes
to pass. Here's the birth of the king. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given. Well, then we get to the angelic
messengers. Look at verse eight. And there
were, in the same country, shepherds. Not religious people. Who's gonna
go see this little child? Well, surely it'd be the chief
priests or the elders or maybe the scribes, some big dignitaries. No! Just working men. I like this. The Bible says not
many mighty are called, not many noble. There are a few, there
are a few who are very powerful men, very wealthy men, men who
have a great IQ and all that sort of thing. But by and large,
the kingdom of God is made up of just ordinary people just
like us, just working people. Hear these shepherds out there,
working. Working, keeping watch over their
flock by night. And don't you think it's significant
that the shepherd of the sheep will be born and those who will
come to visit him first are themselves shepherds, shepherds. And lo, verse nine, the angel
of the Lord came upon them The glory of the Lord shone round
about them. Here's that Shekinah glory. And they were sore afraid. And
the angel said unto them, fear not, for behold. And when an angel says behold,
this is something. The angels, they don't age. Man, they've seen a lot. through
all the years of creation. They've seen so many things that
God did by his might and by his power. But now the angel says
in verse number 10, he says, for behold, I've got something
unusual to say to you. And the angel had beheld many
things down through the years, but he says, behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy. which shall be to all people.
And by the way, a better translation there would be to all the people,
because there's a definite article in there. There's a specific
people for whom he came. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sin. And then he says
in verse 11, for unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And to take all of
this that happened 2,000 years ago and try to bring it home
to you. As I read this, make application
of it to yourself. Behold, I bring you good tidings
of great joy. I bring you good tidings of great
joy. And you know something? This
angel is typical of a preacher of the gospel. And we know preachers
of the gospel are called angels according to Revelation chapter
one. And here's what the preacher
of the gospel longs for the Lord to do is to make this very personal
to you. To you. Behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy. Oh, that the Spirit of God would
drive this home to our heart. It's for you. It's for me. He
came for you. He came for me. He came for all
of his people. Good tidings, good news. Good
news for sinners, the Savior has come, which shall be to all
the people, for unto you, not unto somebody else, but unto
you, is born this day in the city of David a Savior. Well,
who is he? He's Christ. He's the anointed
one. He's the promised of God. He's
the Lord, that's who he is. He's the Lord. He said, this
shall be a sign unto you. They didn't ask for a sign, but
they're going to give a sign. You shall find the babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And then all of a sudden,
all of a sudden, there was with that one angel a multitude of
the heavenly hosts. What are they doing? They're
praising God. Now, they don't know about redemption. They can't
comprehend redemption. 1 Peter 1 says they seek to look
into it, but they don't understand it. But they know something mighty
unusual is happening right here. And they have been given this
message. The Savior has come. The Savior
has come to save His people. And all of a sudden there's with
this one angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, they're praising
God and here's what they're saying, glory to God in the highest. See this is the reason for His
coming is the glory of God. God is glorified in his coming. God is glorified in his life. God is glorified in his death. God is glorified in his resurrection. God is glorified in all that
he did. Glory to God in the highest and
on earth, peace. Goodwill toward men. You mean there's a message of
goodwill from God to us? Yes, there is. Yes, there is. The Savior has come. Which brings me to the last thing
that I want us to consider. The joyous visit of the shepherds. Verse 15, and it came to pass
as the angels were gone away from them back into heaven. Doesn't say they went to Bethlehem's
manger. It says they went to heaven.
So forget the pictures you see of all those angels that are
surrounding the manger. And remember, he's a real baby. I know that song, Away in a Manger,
no crying he makes. Who said so? Who said he never
cried? Babies cry when they get hungry.
He wasn't born into this world talking. He matured like any
other baby. And you moms and you dads know
very well, in the middle of the night, the baby wakes up and
the baby's crying and you say to one another, I fed him last
time, I fed her last time, you get him this time. That's what
we do. The Lord Jesus, He's a real baby. The little bitty fingers and
little bitty hands and little bitty arms. You know how it is
with y'all. as it was with y'all, so it was
with us, and you count and make sure they got ten fingers and
ten toes and all of those sorts of things. The Lord Jesus is
not make-believe, and though His conception was miraculous,
His birth, His entrance into this world was just like the
birth of any other child. He's a real human being. He had to be real. He had to
be human. He had to be just like us and
then grow up tempted in all points as we are and then suffer, bleed,
and die. He's the God-man. He felt pain. They drove those
nails into His hands. He felt pain. And when God the
Father put stripes on His soul, made His soul an offering for
sin, He felt that. He's real. As an infant, He was
real. It wasn't a halo over His head. If somebody walked by this stable
and looked in, they'd say, well, there's a baby being born in
there. They wouldn't have said, oh, look at that halo. Oh, look
at all those angels. Somebody special's being born.
Oh, no. He came to this world just like
you did. Same manner, you weren't born
in a manger, but he was born naturally. So the shepherds They said in
verse 15, let us go even now into Bethlehem. Let's see this
thing which has come to pass. Now watch this. Which the Lord
has made known to us. I thought it was an angel. He
uses messengers, but the word came from God. And you see, it's
that way today. He uses preachers of the gospel.
It's an amazing thing. He uses created beings to set
forth the truth of the Lord Jesus and his salvation. And the Lord
makes it known. And he uses men to do it. Isn't
that amazing? And God speaks to our hearts
while a mere man is speaking. It comes to you not as the voice
of a man, but as the word of God. So verse
16, they made, they came, excuse me, they came with haste. There's no time to diddly dally
around. There's a son of God down there.
You want to see him? You better make haste. Make haste. And they found Mary. and Joseph
and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen, it is
italicized. So when they had seen everything
there, while they left and made known abroad the saying which
was told them concerning this child. Doesn't say that they
stayed. Doesn't say that they knelt by
the manger. All of those scenes that we,
you know, you see in pictures, the manger scene, doesn't say
any of that. They saw and they left. And when they left, everybody
that they came in contact said, you'll never believe what we
have experienced. We've seen the Savior. And I'll
tell you what, if you ever see Him, you just won't be able to
contain yourself. If you ever see who he is, if
you ever see what he's done for you in satisfying all of the
divine requirements for your salvation, that he has revealed
himself to you, you won't be hesitant to tell people about
what's happened to you. And who did it? The Lord did
it. Verse 18, and all they that heard
it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
They wondered, they just couldn't quite make heads and their tails
out of it. You know why? The Lord hadn't told them. That's why they couldn't comprehend.
Shepherds went out and told people, this is the truth. We saw this
one. He's been born and the angels
announced him as the Savior. He's come to save his people.
And they went forth telling people. But the people who heard them,
they didn't hear it the same way. They heard the same message
from the lips of the shepherds that the angels had shared with
them. But he was not accompanied by the power of God. That's what's
necessary. And verse 19, but Mary kept all
these things. She pondered them in her heart.
Sure had a lot to think about, didn't she? And the shepherds,
they returned. Where'd they return to? Had to
go back to work. They had to go back to work.
They're just laborers. But I'll tell you what the Lord
did for them. He changed their night into day. He sent them light. So they went back, glorified
God, praising Him for all the things that they had, watch it,
that they had heard and seen. as it was told unto them. They had heard and they had seen.
And I'll tell you what, that's what's got to happen. We got
to hear and then we got to see. And the hearing ear and the seeing
eye, who's got to give them? The Lord's got to give them.
He does. Well, let's sing a closing song. I picked out this one for us
to sing, 442. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus
our blessed Redeemer.