Hymn number 87. Hymn number 87. Joy to the world, the Lord is
come. Let earth receive her King. Every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing And heaven and nature sing And heaven
and heaven and nature sing Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ While fields and floods, rocks, hills
and plains Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat, repeat the sounding joy No more let sin and sorrows
grow, Nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings
flow Far as the curse is found Far as the curse is found Far
as, far as the curse is found He rules the world with truth
and grace And makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness,
and wonders of His love, and wonders of His love. and wonders, wonders of His love. Be seated. We'll sing hymn number
84. Hymn number 84. Come thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free. From our fears and sins release
us. Let us find our resting place. Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth award. Dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart. Born thy people to deliver Born
a child and yet a king Born to reign in us forever Now thy gracious
kingdom bring ? By thine own eternal spirit ? ? Rule in all
our hearts alone ? ? By thine own sufficient merit ? ? Raise
us to thy glory ? Well, first let me thank you
all very, very, very much. You're always very good to me,
and I appreciate it very much. Well, you turn to Luke chapter
2. Mr. Spurgeon said, you know,
if God does something in his providence, use it. And if there's something that
happens in time, use it. And so everybody's got their
mind on Most people got their mind on Christ in this birth,
but now, I'll say at the beginning, I don't think he was born on
December 25th at all. I just, no. But here's the thing
about it. He did come. That's what I want
to deal with. He did come. I don't care if
it's October. I don't care if it's April. He
did come. That's what matters. He did come.
and He came to accomplish something. And that's what we want to talk
about this morning. Let me read these first 18 verses. And it
came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from
Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this
taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all
went to be taxed, every one to his and to his own city. And Joseph also went up from
Galilee out of the city of Nazareth unto Judea, unto the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and
lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife,
being great with child. And so it was that while they
were there, the days were accomplished that he should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for
them in the end. 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 so 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, 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, goodwill
toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels
were going away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one
to another, let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing
which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto
us. And they came with haste and
found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they
made known abroad the saying which was told unto them concerning
this child. And all they that heard it wondered
at those things which were told them by the shepherds. Oh, our great God and blessed
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God over all, blessed
forever. We come into your presence, O
Lord, into the presence of an infinitely righteous, glorious,
sovereign, immutable God of heaven and earth. Lord, the heavens
declare your glory. The firmament shows your handiwork.
And Lord, who is like unto thee in power and glory and majesty? And we're so thankful that we
can come into your presence by the way you appointed us, the
way you provided for us, the way you give us access into your
presence. Lord, you sent your son to give
us access, sent the Holy Spirit to give us access, that we can
come to you and speak to you, come into your presence, into
the throne room of God himself. where our Lord Jesus Christ sits
at your right hand, to be able to come, to be able to come, oh Lord, and be heard, and be
heard. So Lord, we thank you and bless
you. Thank you for this dear people.
Thank you for their generosity and their love. Thank you how
they, They show their love to us, Shirley and I, in so many
ways, day in and day out, week in, week out, year after year
after year. Lord, we thank you for them.
Pray your great and glorious grace and abundance be upon them.
And Lord, may the gospel run well here today. I always ask
you to come among us. Come down in the presence of
God, in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Bless the hearts of your
people. Save your people in this place.
Turn hearts unto the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior, the Redeemer,
the Mediator, the God-Man. Lord, have mercy upon our family
and upon our children and grandchildren. Please be gracious to them that
are not here today because of the weakness and frailty of the
body. For Christ's sake we bless you. Amen. Let's all stand as we sing the
hymn and the bulletin. Great Father of glory, how rich
is thy grace. What wonderful love. is displayed in thy face. In Jesus thy image with brightness
we view and hope to be formed in that likeness anew. Wonders astonished I gaze, to
see in a manger the Ancient of Days. From sin to release us,
that yoke so long borne. My God, my Creator, of Mary was
born. For unworthy sinners my Lord
bowed his head. For unworthy sinners he suffered
and bled. my spirit rejoices the work is
all done my soul is redeemed my salvation is Great Father of glory, how rich
is Thy grace! What wonderful love is displayed
in Thy face! In Jesus, beloved, we're washed
in His blood. With hope we appear at the throne
of our God. Be seated. You remember what John said about
looking at your watch? While you look at your watch,
you don't mean nothing. I want to look back here then
in Luke chapter 2, and I want to Talk about God's
glory revealed in Christ, how that God's glory came. And Christ
was God's revelation to this world. God revealed things in
His Son that He never revealed in anything or anybody else.
And I also say this, that the birth, life, and death of Christ
is the greatest event between the eternities. The greatest
event between the eternities. That's the time that God created,
and He was before He ever created. God existed before He ever said
a word, before He ever spoke the world into existence, created
the heavens and the earth. And He'll exist long after this
heaven and earth is gone, and He makes a new one. But between
them two eternities, from time that God starts and every time
ceases to be, The greatest event between the eternities is the
life, the birth, the life, and the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. There's no doubt about that.
There's been more people that Christ has done something for
in this world than anybody else has ever done. He's the only
one that ever come as a king. And when He conquered people,
He conquered them with His love, conquered them with His grace,
conquered them with His truth, conquered them with His compassion,
conquered them with His blessed presence and power. That's how
our Lord saves people. Most kings, they come in and
they make you bow. Christ comes in and He sits on
the throne of the heart. All right. Let me tell you, let
me go through this thing. First of all, let me tell you
this. This shows us more than anything else how that God, He
chooses the time, the place, and the means by which He does
everything in this world. And this is just an illustration
of it. This is just an illustration of it. Here we have the birth
of a child. The birth of a child. The birth
of any child is wonderful. They're wonderful. Because a
soul is brought into existence. So any church baby that's born,
it's wonderful, it's a wonderful thing. The birth of this child,
though, is the most blessed birth of any child since the world
began. Of all the babies that's been
born, this is the most glorious of all. We sang in the hymn,
you know, that infant of days was the ancient of days, that
baby in that manger was God himself. That's a mystery. That's a mystery. And it's the birth of our Lord
Jesus Christ. It's a supernatural act of God
that what he did when he sent his son into this world. Paul
said without controversy, without any argument at all about it,
God was manifest in the flesh. Oh, great is the mystery of godliness.
It's a great mystery that God was manifest in the flesh. seen
of angels, justified in the world, priest unto the Gentiles, and
received up into glory. Who was that? God manifest in
the flesh. And I believe that. He has preached
to me, and I believe what they said. And so we have, and then
the blessings, the blessings that's come to this through multitude,
the multitude of people in this world. The blessings to men through
this birth is untold. The blessings has come upon this
world and through this man and through this child, the blessings
have been absolutely untold. And Christ is God's revelation
here when he comes into this world. First thing I want to
say is, as we look at these first three verses, that our Lord Jesus
was born of a woman. That's the first thing, born
of a woman. But look at the time. And said here in verse one, it
came to pass in those days there went out a decree from Caesar
Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was
made when Cyrenius was governed and all went to be taxed, everyone
to his own city. You know, the time, God chose
the time. Nobody wants to pay taxes. Nobody,
nobody likes taxes. Every one of us knows something
about taxes. But now this is Caesar Augustus. He was the first
Caesar, the first emperor over Rome. And Rome conquered the
world. It's just the greatest empire
at all. And he said, I gotta have some money. I need some
money. I got armies to take care of.
I got people to take care of. I got palaces to build. I've
got servants that I gotta have. And so he sent everybody in the
world and said, under my rule, I want you to be taxed. You gotta
be taxed. The first Caesar said the whole
world be taxed. But here's the thing, oh, the
wisdom of God in bringing all these events to pass, to have
them where they're supposed to be at the time they're supposed
to be there when Christ was gonna be born. It says here a decree
went out. Ain't that what it says? A decree
from Caesar. But you know why this decree
went from Caesar? because God made a decree before
the world ever began. Why did He say at this time a
decree to be taxed? So God decreed that Christ would
be born in a particular place at a particular time in a particular
scene. Oh, God's decrees went out way
before this decree ever did. Known unto God are all his works
from the creation. And oh my, everything happens,
everything in this world. Now, I know folks find this hard
to grasp, but everything in this world goes on God's time. Goes
on God's time. Now, God gave us watches and
clocks. We're the one that needs time.
God don't need time. God declared the end from the
beginning. And here's the thing about it. One of these days,
these things ain't gonna be worth nothing. You know why? Because
time will cease to be. But here was the time, here's
the decree. God had decreed that Christ had to be at a certain
place and Mary and Joseph had to be at a certain place. David
said it like this, my times, my times are in thy hand. My times are. And then look at
the place. In verse four, and Joseph also
went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth under Judea
to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was
of the lineage and house of David. You know, it wasn't in Nazareth.
Christ had to be born in Bethlehem. He must be born in Bethlehem.
Why must he be born in Bethlehem? Now, if you can't find Micah,
go to the front of your Bible Look where Micah's at in your
table of contents and then go there and look in Micah chapter
5. Look in Micah chapter 5. I want
you to see this. You know everything that about
our Lord Jesus Christ, this shows us how God controls events and
times, and He controls history, and He controls everything that
happens in this world. How come Mary and Joseph had
to go leave Nazareth? That's why He's called Jesus
of Nazareth. Why didn't they call Him Jesus
of Bethlehem? Because that's where He's born. but he was raised
in Nazareth. He is raised in Galilee, but
he is born in Bethlehem. You know why? Because God said,
I want him born in Bethlehem. He's the son of David. He's the
one who'll sit on David's throne. He's the one who has all the
power and majesty. And he said, here's the thing
about it. I got to get him at the right place at the right
time. Look what he said in chapter five, Micah chapter five, verse
two. But thou, Bethlehem, Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, you're just
a little bitty tiny place, out of thee shall come forth unto
me, that is to be ruler in Israel. And listen to this now, whose
goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. He's born here, but he'll always
be. I said, oh, he's a real Israel,
gotta be born in Bethlehem, the smallest little old village that
don't amount to nothing. It was nothing, it was absolutely,
and you know what Bethlehem means? It means house of bread, house
of bread. Now ain't that something that
this is called the house of bread and our Lord Jesus Christ is
the bread of heaven that came down. So the bread of house of
bread is where Christ was born who became the bread of life.
Bread sent down from heaven. Oh, everything about our Lord
is something. And God ordered all these things.
God ordered every one of them. Oh, to bring Mary, to bring Joseph,
to Bethlehem for his son to be born. this, you know, this King,
Caesar Augustus, you know, all instruments are, every king and
everybody s an instrument in God s hands. The scripture said
in Proverbs 21.1 said, The king s heart is in the hands of the
Lord as the rivers of water and he turneth it so whether so ever
he will. Here's the king of kings coming
into this world, but now you think, let me give you some instances
of how God controls kings and kingdoms. What about Pharaoh? Pharaoh, God told Pharaoh, he
said, I'm not going to let my people go. He said, you will,
you're going to let my people go. And you know what? He let God's people go. And you
know what he said about favor? I raised you up for one reason.
Talking about God himself being in control over these people.
He controls everything. He said, oh, listen, I raised
you up for one reason, to drown you and to kill you and destroy
you. And you go through history and
look at all the kings that's come and gone. You look at all
the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah and look at Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar, he thought, I'm
really something, look at what I've accomplished in my life.
And God said, nope, you're gonna go out here and you're gonna
be like a cow. You're gonna eat like a cow, and you're gonna
grow hair like a big old beast, and your fingernails are gonna
grow like they look like claws. And another old man is having
a big party one night, drinking out of gold cups that come from
the temple of God. And you know what the Lord said
to him? Headin' right on the wall, you're weighed in the balance
and found warning. And listen, I'm going to tell
you, as I said, the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. And
I tell you, that means every ruler that's ever been, we can
get upset, we can complain, we can get aggravated, we can get
frustrated with what's going on in this world, and it won't
change a thing what we think about it and what we feel about
it. You know, when God gets through somebody, they're done. And until
he does, they're gonna exist. That's the way God works in this
world. So you know, for us to say, oh boy, listen, just forget
it. And oh my, you know, this king
thought, boy, I've really got everything under control. And
God said, no, you ain't got nothing under control. And away they went, and oh, while
they were there, oh my. You know, and the king of king
is coming into this world, a kingdom without end. And Bethlehem was
70 miles from Nazareth, 70 miles. Now, how would you like to take
your wife, and she's pregnant, and have to walk 70 miles 70 miles to go where you was born
to get you pay your taxes and And your wife pregnant and walked
70 miles You reckon they was nervous about
it You reckon is upset about it.
No you reckon Mary said I ain't going I'm staying at the house No,
no, no, that's not the way God works. Oh my, he was a son of
David. He got to be born in the city
of David. This Bethlehem is where David,
the king, that manned after God's own heart, that's where he was
born, born in Bethlehem. That's where Ruth gleaned and
married Boaz, right there in Bethlehem. Oh, there's so much
went on in this little old place, little old village. And now look
at the circumstances. Go down here in verse five, look
at the circumstances. And oh my, they went to be taxed
with Mary, his spouse's wife. And look what it says, being
great with child. She just, I mean, she great with
child. And listen to this. And so it
was that while they were there, the days were accomplished. What
does that mean? That is time. Whose time? God's time. The days were accomplished
that she should be delivered. That means, and watch what happens.
And she brought forth. her firstborn son, wrapped him
in swaddling clothes, laid him in a manger because there was
no room in the head. Now look what it says here now.
She was great with child. Great with child. And it says
there, while they were there, the days were accomplished. Do
you know, let me tell you some things about days accomplished.
Look over in Luke chapter nine with me. Luke chapter 9. You know, here's the thing about
it. Everything about things are accomplished
right on time, right on time. And oh, He was born of this woman,
the seed of the woman. Look what it says here in verse
30. You remember when our Lord was
on the Mount of Transfiguration and Moses and Elijah appeared
to Him. it says here in verse 30, And behold, I talk with him
two men, which were Moses and Elias, which were as Elijah,
who appeared in glory, they appeared in glory, I mean they had already
had glory, they come from glory to be in glory, and watch this,
spake of his decease, of his death, which he should accomplish,
You reckon it's gonna happen? That's what I'm talking about.
Ever accomplished. When it says it is finished, that's the word
also means accomplished. It's accomplished. And oh, let
me show you another one in John chapter 19, verse 28. Let me
show you another one. John 19, 28. This is our Lord
Jesus Christ. He's on the cross now. He's on
the cross. He's dying, he's nailed to a
cross right here. You know, and his mother and
them were there, and look what it says in verse 28. After this,
Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the
scripture might be fulfilled. Oh. Oh, my, it got to come to pass.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, His birth wasn t at home, wasn t in a nice,
comfortable home. They didn t have no big, fine
cradle for Him. They didn t have a nursery, you
know. We were visiting yesterday, and they found out they was pregnant,
and they was getting everything out of a room to make a nursery
for their baby. People make nurseries for their
baby, and put all this stuff up, and make all these little
things for the pain them, and make a cradle, and all them things.
They have all this stuff for kids. But our Lord Jesus Christ
did not. There was no prepared curtain
for him. There was no place for him to be laid in. Oh my, the
scriptures tells us he was laid in a manger. Laid in a manger. And a manger is something, you
know, everybody knows that that's something that you put food in
for horses or cattle to eat out of. And there's no doubt some
hay in this thing. There's something in that that
she, and she took our Lord, this baby, and she laid him in a manger. But before she done that, and
they do this at every hospital, you know, when they take a baby
when it's born, after they clean it up, they wrap that baby up
just as tight as they can get it. I mean, they'd get it up
so tight, and then they'd put something on his head. Well,
that's the way they did our Lord Jesus Christ. Mama, Mama took
that baby, and after it was cleaned up, she took some clothes that
she had, and she wrapped that baby up just as tight as she
could get it, and laid him in that manger. Laid him in that
manger. Oh, my. And oh, look, and they
was at an end, and it says here, and she brought forth her firstborn
son, because there was no room in the inn for them. Now, they
was at an inn, and an inn, you know, that inn was full, it s
like a motel, that inn was full. People s coming, people s going,
people had all the rooms taken up, and everything was taken
up, but they didn t have no room for her. But that's where they
was, people was coming and going. So God had Christ born in a place
where people could understand what's going on. And they was
all in him, people coming, people going. And oh, look what happens
now. And you know, people make a big
deal about there's no room in the end for him. Oh no, our Lord
was born just exactly where he's supposed to be. Huh? You know, if it had been meant
to be born in that end, there'd have been a room in that end. And so, don't make a big deal
if, you know, preacher going on about, you know, there's no
room for you and you don't have no room for him and that. And
that, in a sense, that's true. That is true. People, most people
don't want Christ, don't need Christ. But I tell you what,
here's the thing about it. He was born where he's supposed
to be born and he was wrapped in these swaddling clothes. He
was laid in this manger and I tell you what, then they had that
place and he was wrapped where he's supposed to be. Now God's
gonna tell about it. God gonna tell about his child
being born. And look what it says in verse
eight. And there were in the same country, right outside Bethlehem
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 upon them,
and they were afraid. And the angel said, fear not,
for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall
be to all people, all people, and all my, and it's gonna be
For unto you is born, born this day in the city of David, a Savior,
which is Christ the Lord. And you shall find a sign, you
shall find the child, the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Now here's the thing about it. David, you know, they had these
shepherds. There's out there tended, the people watched shepherds
in the day and then others had the night watch. And you remember
this is exactly what David was doing when Samuel come to look
for a king. They called all the brothers
in, all the men in, and they said, We got one little old boy,
and I tell you, he s not important enough to be here, he s out tending
sheep. And they called him in. That's
what David did. He was on this same hillside,
tending sheep, centuries before this. But oh God, come to shepherds. The time was night. It said it
was night. You know why it was night? Because
to show us how dark this world was in. How dark this world is. Darkness of ignorance, darkness
of sin, darkness of death, religious darkness was abounding. Abounding
I mean it shows it was at night to show that all the awful darkness
that was in this world and still in this world and I'll tell you
religious darkness God hadn't spoke for 400 years. You know
that God hadn't spoke for 400 years, but he speaks the day
his son's born He hadn't said a word for 400 years 400 years And oh my, and oh, you're talking
about a light shining in darkness. Oh my, look what happens now. God chose these, took these shepherds,
shepherds. Oh my, He chose the foolish to
confound the wise. He didn't say call priests to
go look. He didn't call anybody from the seminary. He didn't
call the scribes. He didn't call the Pharisees.
He called shepherds, working people, shepherds. And oh my,
and I tell you in this, this gospel starts with Christ. And
this is to whom the angels came. They came to a bunch of shepherds.
Nobody's, nobody's, shepherds. And that's who the angels came
to. And here's the first thing. And here said in the glory of
the Lord, there in verse nine, the glory of the Lord shown round
about them. That's the first thing that happens. God's glory is manifest in Christ
and Christ alone. Oh, what a glory it's shown him.
The glory of God's shown on him. God's glory. And in the tabernacle,
when they was in the tabernacle, God would come down in what he
called the Shekinah glory. And those people would get in
their tents, and it was just this light that came. And that's
what happened here. The glory of God came down on
these shepherds. And those shepherds, when the
God of glory came down, and that cloud came down on them men,
those fellows said, Oh my, they're scared. They're scared. But oh my, the Shekinah glory. How many ages has passed since
anyone saw the glory of God. Oh, the cloud descends. They
were, remember when Isaiah saw the glory of God, he said, woe
is me. Woe is me. But woe, listen to what a message
they gave. Listen to the message now. Look
in verse 10. And the angel, first thing he said, don't you all
be afraid. Don't you be afraid. I'm bringing
you some good, good, good news. I'm bringing you the best news
you'll ever hear. That's what tidings, the gospel's
good news. He said, I bring you good tidings, great news, wonderful
news, great tidings. And oh, I bring you this good
tidings, this great message I'm bringing to you will cause great
joy. Great joy. And oh my, I tell
you now, that really happens. Joy of the Lord. Oh what a, how
blessed are the people that know the joyful sound. And then look
what else it says now. And listen to this, I like this.
Which shall be to all people. When it says all people, what
all people is he talking about? Well, it means it's gonna be
Jew and Gentile, bond and free. It don't make no difference what
race they are, what color they are, what station they are. The
only thing that matters is the good news and the great joy that
comes with that message. That's all that matters. And
if you hear that message, you know what? It'll produce joy
in you too. And oh my, it gonna be for everybody. Everybody, you know, the only
reason the world, why it, somebody does not a believer is because
they not heard the gospel yet. When you hear the gospel, when
you hear that good news, them good tidings, you know, a dear
lady put up a picture of Scott Richardson the other day. And
I, you know, and the first thing I thought of when I seen that
picture of Scott, I said, how beautiful. was his feet. How beautiful was the feet of
that man, because you know what? He brought beautiful, good news
every time he got up. And I'll tell you what, when
you heard that good news, you know what it'd do? It'd produce
joy. And this is the news now. This
is the news. Everybody, you know, they have
these nativity scenes and they have these people and this baby
and all that, but here's the thing about it. It says, for
unto you is born, born. Today, in the city of David in
Bethlehem, here's the first thing they said about him, a savior,
a savior, a savior. Oh my, that's the first thing
they said about him. He's a Savior. What do we need? We need a Savior. Why did God
send a Savior? We needed a Savior. You know,
I got this card the other day from Daryl and Joyce, and listen
to what it says. If our greatest need had been
information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest
need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us
an economist. If our greatest need had been
pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainment. But our
greatest need was forgiveness, and God sent us a Savior. Huh? That's our greatest need, we
had a Savior. He shall call His name Jesus. Why? Because He shall, shall
save His people from their sin. He's not gonna try. He's not
gonna try. He's not making an effort. God didn't send him down here
to just open a door to make salvation possible. Oh no, He sent him
down here to actually, well, He called a Savior. You reckon
He'll actually save somebody? If He's called a Savior, then
that word Savior means He's gonna save. And the question is, are
you one of them He died for? Do you believe He's the Savior
and the only Savior? Do you believe that there's no
other Savior in this universe other than Jesus Christ? You know, two blind men come
to Him and they said, do you believe? They said, what do you
want? He said, I want my sight. And you know what He said? He
said, do you believe I'm able to do this? And let me ask you,
do you believe that Christ is able to save you? I know one thing, I know one
thing, that He's able to save anybody, any place, any time,
and He's got to be the one doing the saving, and He won't ask
for your will to be, He won't ask for you to do anything. He said, I want you to cooperate
with me. That's not a cooperation effort.
It's not my will and his will pitted against one another. You
know what he does when he comes to save a soul? In the day of
his power, he makes his people, his people willing. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and causes to approach unto you. Causes. Oh my, and oh my, He's a Savior. Will He actually save somebody?
Will He actually save somebody? Look over here in verse 27 of
this chapter. Look at this. This is Simeon. You remember when Christ was
eight days old and they took Him to the temple to circumcise
Him and dedicate Him to the Lord. I said, they're the firstborn
of every child. And verse 27, he came by the
Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child
Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, look what
happens now. Here's an old man, then took
him up in his arms. He took this baby from Mary and
Joseph, took that baby up in his arms, And he blessed God,
he praised God, he thanked God. And he says, Lord, now let us
thy servant depart in peace. I'm ready to go according to
your word. Now listen to this. For mine
eyes have seen thy salvation. Where'd they see it at? In an
eight day old baby. Hey, old baby. And the old man
said, now I'm ready to die. And I believe after he seen that
child, I believe he probably left there and he'd probably
died the next two or three days. Because our Lord said, according
to your word, you told me I'd go home after I seen your salvation.
After I seen your Savior, after I seen the one that come to save
me, you said I could die after that. Well, I'm walking out of
here, I've seen it, and I believe they buried him in a day or two
after that. Because he said, you told me
I was gonna die after I seen that. And I tell you, until you
see Christ and come to Christ, you're not fit to die. You're
not. I hope you don't die without
Christ. Oh my. Then look what else it says about
him. a Savior, which is Christ, that means God s Anointed One,
and listen to this, the Lord, you know who the Lord is? That
s Jehovah, that s Jehovah God, that s who that is, that s Jehovah
God. Oh my, Christ the Savior, Christ
is God, Christ the Anointed One, Christ Jehovah, And then look
what it says there. This shall be a sign in verse
12. This shall be a sign unto you.
You shall find the babe, you'll find him, wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger. Oh my. You're gonna find him,
not just any place, but in a palace. You're not gonna find him in
a palace. You're not gonna find him in a big fine home. You're
gonna find him in a stable. Not in a cradle, but in a manger.
Not in a beautiful baby clothes, but swaddling clothes. Oh, the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ did descend. And oh my, look what happens
now in verse 13. And suddenly there was with that
angel that come to tell those shepherds, and the glory of God
appeared to him. Tell them about what had taken
place that day. Christ was born, Savior was born,
the God was born, Christ was born. And suddenly there was
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God
and saying, Oh my, look what happens. And this is what they said, Glory
to God in the highest. What's the highest glory that
God has? What's the highest glory? The
Lord Jesus Christ himself. God's highest glory, greatest
glory. is His Son, and He bring more,
oh, He's the only one that can bring glory to God, and oh my,
and look what He says, on earth peace, peace, oh my, Christ come
to bring peace, to establish peace by the blood of His cross,
and then He says, oh, the goodwill, and goodwill toward men, I love
that, goodwill toward men, Goodwill toward men. What goodwill? It
says goodwill towards men. Fallen men. Sinful men. Lost men. Not good men. Bad men. Sinful men. Corrupt
men. And there's goodwill. You know
why it's called the goodwill? Oh, and the goodwill toward men.
Because it's God's will. God's will is always good. And
oh, it's good because it's eternal and everlasting. And it's goodwill,
you know why? Because it's always done. Goodwill because of what He gave
a Savior, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh my, look how the shepherds
react now. And it came to pass as the angels
were gone away, they all went back into heaven, THEY CAME DOWN
TO HAROLD, HARK THE HAROLD ANGELS SANG, AND OH MY, AND THOSE SHEPHERDS,
THIS IS WHAT THEY SAID, THE SHEPHERDS SAID ONE TO ANOTHER, OH MY, THEY
SAW WHICH HAS COME TO PASS, AND THEY SAID THE SHEPHERDS SAID
ONE TO ANOTHER, LET US NOW GO EVEN UNTO BETHLEHEM, AND SEE
THIS THING WHICH HAS COME TO PASS, WHICH THE LORD HATH MADE
KNOWN UNTO US. THIS IS WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS
HERE, THEY STARTED TALKING AMONG THEIRSELVES. And so, you know,
they say, listen, wonder what in the world happened and said,
you know what we need to do? Let's run down there and see
what's happened. Let's run down there and see what's going on.
You know, they told us there was a baby born. They told us
it was Christ. They told us it was the Savior.
Let's go down there. Let's run down there and see
what's happened. And oh my, and look what it says now. And listen to this, which the
Lord hath made known to us. You won't know a thing in the
world about what's going on unless the Lord makes it known. The
Lord, I wish the Lord hath made known to us. They wouldn't have,
listen, me and you wouldn't know anything if had the Lord not
made known unto us. Oh, the Lord made known unto
us. How'd he do it? With angels, with angels. And
oh my, the Lord hath made known unto us. And look what it says
in verse 16. And they came with haste. I mean,
they got in a hurry. Them fellas was moving on. I
mean, they came with haste. I mean, they wanted to get there
in a hurry. They wanted to get there in a
hurry. And oh, look what happens. When the Lord makes something
known unto us, you'll find it just as God said it would be.
They found Mary and Joseph and the babe, Lord, just exactly
where God told them it'd be. A babe lying in a manger, oh,
wrapped in swaddling clothes. Oh my, they went and they found
it just like they had been told. And look what they did. They
found them. I'll tell you what, when God
makes something known to you, you'll find that you'll know
the Savior too. And when they had seen it, when
they had seen it, and this is what always happens, when they
had seen it, When they had seen what God had told them, when
they had seen that babe lying in a manger, when they seen that
one that was the Savior, the one that was the Christ, the
one that was Jehovah, wondered, they heard it and wondered at
those things. which were told him by the shepherds. They went out and they started
in Bethlehem, started telling everybody. Do you know what we
heard tonight? We went and seen it just like
it was said. We seen this little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes,
laying in a manger. And you know who told us about
it? There's a bunch of angels come and told us. And they got
down there and oh, they heard it. Oh my, they wondered what
they seen. And men wondered. They wondered. Do you wonder
about it? I wonder if anybody wonders about
it. And that word wondered means just stand in astonishment, just
wonder, wide-eyed wonder, oh my. And listen to what they,
and then they said, Mary kept all these things and the shepherds
returned in verse 20. The angels know nothing at redemption,
they know nothing about salvation, yet they come and told about
the Christ. But the shepherds were working
when God revealed to them the birth of his son. And the shepherds
returning, listen to what happens when you see Christ, when you
come and find out what God said is so, glorifying and praising
God. Glorifying and praising God.
They seen Christ. They listened to what God had
to say. And look what it said. The birth of His Son, and all
for all the things that they had heard and seen, and as it
was told unto them. Oh my, God breaks in on souls
at the most unlikely time. They was out working. They was
out working. And I tell you, they praise God
for what they heard, for what they seen, and what had been
told them. That's all anybody can do. Do
what they've seen, what they've heard. Can't tell any more than
that. Can't tell any more than that.
But this is what I love about everything that I said today.
This day is born a Savior. And you know what? He says it's
the right hand of God right now. And you know how people think
they got to come to the front, they got to get on an altar,
they got to do something in order to be saved. You know how you
get to Christ as a Savior? You come to Christ and not move
a muscle. I come to Him all the time, don't
move a muscle. I come to, I'm coming to him
right now, not moving a muscle. We come to him from our hearts.
We come to him from our minds. We come to him from our souls.
And that's how we come to him. You can get on your knees if
you want to, if that suits you, I don't care. But the thing is, you come to him without moving
a muscle. You go home and you think about what you've heard. about a Savior being born. And
no matter what you think, what you say, or what you do, you
cannot possibly do anything to impress God. You can't do anything
in this world to get God to do something for you. The only Savior
that there is, the only one that can do anything for you, is that
one that's born Savior. Our Lord said it like this, no
man comes unto the Father but by me. Ain't that right? And here I come, Lord, here I
come, here I come. Our Father, in the blessed name
of Christ our Lord, thank you for allowing us to meet here
today. Thank you for your gospel. Thank you for our Savior. I don't
care when he was born, I'm just grateful he was born. And I'm
grateful, oh Lord, that he is a savior. Come to save sinners.
Become to save sinners. Oh Lord, I know I'm one of them.
And Lord, I thank you that you saved me and you are saving me
and shall save me. And Lord, make that gospel today.
Find this lodging in a heart, find it in a soul. Lord, as that
light shone about in that darkness that night from heaven itself,
may the light of Christ shine in the hearts of souls today. May the light of the gospel break
in on the heart and soul of a soul today. We thank you for these
blessed truths. Thank you for the gospel. Thank
you for our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for saving our souls,
putting away our sin, giving us life, We bless you and praise
you for it. Amen. Houston, you got a song
to end this? Huh? Yeah, that'll be fine. We'll stand together on this.
And then after that, you'll be delivered to go. Nurse service
tonight. No service Wednesday, and Brad
will be taking Sunday morning next Sunday, and no service that
night. Number 93. Hark the herald angels sing Glory
to the newborn King Peace on earth and mercy mild God and
sinners reconciled Joyful all ye nations rise ? Join the triumph
of the skies ? ? With hymns of praise proclaim ? ? Christ is
born in Bethlehem ? ? Hark the herald angels sing ? ? Glory
to the newborn King ? Christ by 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 ? ? Held incarnate deity ? ? Pleased as men with men to
dwell ? ? Jesus our Emmanuel ? ? Hark the herald angels sing
? ? Glory to the newborn King ? 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, Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory
to the newborn King! Come, desire of nations, come,
fix in us thy humble home. Rise, the moment's conquering
seed, bruise in us the serpent's head. Edo's likeness now 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. You're dismissed. Merry Christmas.