I titled the message this morning,
Thinking on These Things. Here was a man who fell in love
with this young Jewish maiden named Mary. And they were engaged
to be married. But they hadn't yet taken their
vows. And Mary was found with child
of the Holy Ghost. Now in Luke's account, you want
to read Luke's account maybe after a while when you get home,
but we find out that the angel of the Lord telling Mary about
this child she would bear and how that that seed would be conceived. Mary knew before she conceived
what this thing was all about. Now Matthew kind of skips over
that fact So you kind of get the idea that Mary was ignorant
of these things and then all of a sudden she was pregnant
and she started telling Joseph about it and didn't know what
to tell him. Mary told Joseph about it, exactly what the angel
told her. He understood what she was saying. And I say that because I know
she tried to tell these things to her husband-to-be, but it
was a A bit much coming from this young Jewish maiden to this
expectant husband. His wife-to-be was pregnant.
He didn't know for sure by whom. And yet he loved his wife. He did not want a big scandal
and just went off by himself to think about these things.
Think about what she'd said about this angel of the Lord. Holy
Ghost and these things. And then suddenly the angel of
the Lord spoke to him and confirmed everything that
his bride-to-be had told him. You know, men and women have
a tendency to ignore the things of God until such a time that
God makes it unavoidable. We'll put it off. As long as
we can, we put it off. We won't think about it. That's
why, for the most part, some of your children would rather
be somewhere else than listening to a sermon. They don't want
to think about it. Sermons tend to make a man think
about the condition of his soul. Tend to make a man think of his,
of this unavoidable confrontation that he's going to have with
God. He don't want to think about that. He'd rather think about
something else. And that's why they'd rather
be somewhere else and why this world at large don't want to
read a Bible or visit a church. It forces them to think on heaven
and hell and life and death and God and eternity. Excuse me. But this is one time of year
when you can't go out of your house without thinking about
Christ. His name is on every sign. His birth is declared by nearly
every house. There's a nativity scene about
every other house all over the place, everywhere you go. They're
singing about him on the television. This is one time a year when
you can't go out of your house without thinking about Christ. Now, let me ask you something.
What goes through your mind when you think about Christ? Hmm? What goes through your mind? Who is it? It's amazing to me that people
hear that name, read that name in the Bible and all that and
never ask the question, who is this? Who is he? Where did he come from? Who sent
him? Why is he here? Why was his birth
so special? Huh? Why was his birth attended
by the heavenly host? Why did wise men and shepherds
come to see him? Who is this man? Why must he be born of a virgin? And why in the world did Herod
want him dead? Who is this babe lying in the
manger? Now, if you'll let me make a
small division here, first of all, What is it about the birth
of Christ that makes men and women everywhere want to celebrate
it, promote it, talk about it, seemingly rejoice in it? What
is it? Well, it might be that there's
no intimidation in the birth of a child. There's no intimidation
there. What could be less intimidating
than a helpless child lying in a manger? Maybe it's the goodwill of God,
exampled in the giving of His Son. Maybe that's what it is
that they want to talk about. The angel cried at His birth,
peace on earth, goodwill toward men. I don't know if you've ever
thought about it, but our Lord said in John 3, 17, God sent
not His Son into the world to condemn the world. That's not
why He came. Now, I'm going to tell you something,
when he comes again, it'll be intimidating. He's not going
to come quietly through the womb of a virgin and be laid in an
unknown cow stable over Bethlehem. When he comes the second time,
he's coming in all the glory of his Father's house with all
the heavenly hosts and with all his redeemed. It'll be intimidating when it
comes again, but this first coming was not intimidating. His appearance, we're told, was
to save. It was to save. Thou shalt call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And he said, don't you think
that I come to condemn? The world's condemned already. It didn't take my presence to
condemn it, it just took the judgment of God. He that believeth
not, isn't that what the Scripture says in the very next verse,
is condemned already. Well, how do I know he's condemned?
How do you know he's not one of God's elect? Because he believeth
not on the Son of God. Huh? His appearance was to save some
out of an already condemned world. This world was condemned and
Adam. The appearance of Christ was
not meant to be intimidating. He came to save, to reconcile,
to give eternal life. There was nobody, nobody more
accessible than the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you something. I fear in my preaching that I
take that away. I don't want to take that away. He's accessible. I don't want
anybody on the sound of my voice to go away and think that Jesus
Christ is not accessible. He's accessible. And then as a religious holiday,
Christmas has been celebrated for hundreds of years, and if
the Lord tarry, it'll probably go on for hundreds more. But
what I want you to think about this morning is what it means
to you. What do you see? When you look
over there at that manger scene, and I know this is just man's
idolatry, but when you look over there at that manger scene, and
you see that little baby lady in that manger, and you think
back on these scriptures, what goes through your mind? What
does the believer think about? What does he think about? Well,
let me give you four or five things this morning. And these
things ought to occupy our minds and hearts as we think on these
things like Joseph did. First of all, who is this one
born in Bethlehem, Judah, nearly 2,017 years ago? The angel said, nobody knew what
was going on. So the angel told him, he said,
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior. A
Savior? I don't mean much to an unbeliever,
does it? Oh, but you find that man that
God's convinced to sin. You find that sinner condemned
in Adam. That man who don't have a shadow
of a chance of redemption. You tell him about the Savior,
he'll say, where is He? Huh? Where is He? Unto you is born this day in
the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. He didn't
say that to everybody. Did you know that? He didn't
say that to every shepherd. But there were some. Some sitting
out there. keeping their flocks. And the
Lord sent His messengers to them, and He said, unto you. Boy, I
tell you, that's good news. That's good news. God said to us by His prophet
Isaiah, unto us a child is born. Now watch this. And a son is given. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. A child is born. Jesus of Nazareth
was born of his mother Mary. Went full term. Went through
labor pains. Had this little child. Its navel
was cut. It was wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laid in a manger. A child was born. But the Son
wasn't born. The Son was given. This is the
Son of God. That holy thing which is in thee
shall be called the Son of God. Oh, my. The prophet said in Isaiah
7, 14, He said, here, the Lord is going to give you a sign.
A virgin shall conceive and bear a son. And he shall call his
name Immanuel, which in Matthew 1.23 is interpreted, God with
us. God and man in one holy person. The angel said to Mary in Luke
1.35, that holy thing, it's going to be called the Son of God.
Who is this tiny boy laying in the manger? He's God come into
the flesh. But not just God come into the
flesh. God come into the flesh as a
Savior. As a Savior. He took not on Him the nature
of angels. He wasn't born an angel. He was
born a man. They're born to save men. Alright,
here's another question that believers ought to ask when they
look at this little baby. Why is He here? Why is He here? Well, He's here
by the eternal purpose and decree of God. That's why He's here.
Think on that. In Proverbs 8, 23, Our Lord said,
I was set up from everlasting. I wasn't set up in the manger.
I was set up from everlasting. From the beginning. Ever, before ever the earth was,
I was set up. When there was no depths, I was
brought forth. When there was no fountains abounding
with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills
was I brought forth, the Lord declared the decree,
the psalmist said, this day have I begotten thee. When he prepared the heavens,
our Lord said I was there. And I was by him as one brought
up with him, and I was daily his delight. Why did he come? He came to fulfill the purpose
and decree of God, and then secondly, to accomplish the redemptive
will of God. How do I know God's willing to
save anybody? I've never seen God. Have you?
How do I know He's willing to save somebody? I tell men and
women to come to Christ, that God's willing to save men and
women in Christ. How do I know He's willing? Sent
forth His Son. Sent forth His Son, sent us a
Savior. He sent Him to accomplish the
redemptive will of God. He said, I come. In the volume
of the book, it's written of Me to do Thy will, O God. By
the which will, huh? By the which will, Hebrews 10.10,
we're sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. Thirdly, he came as a representative. It said, when he cometh into
the world, he saith, sacrifice an offering thou wouldest not,
but a body hast thou prepared me. Huh? That's what that tiny
babe says. That's what God said in his presence. A body hast thou prepared me. Then over in Colossians 1.18,
he tells us that this body is the church of which he's the
federal head. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sin. He came because
God ordained his coming. That's why he came. He came because of his covenant
obligations. He become the surety in the everlasting
covenant of grace. He become the surety. David said
this is, this was the last words of David. He said, although it
be not so with my house, yet hath he made with me an everlasting
covenant. And it's ordered in all things
and sure. How can it be sure? Because it
has a surety. Christ is the surety. His blood
is the blood of that everlasting covenant. He came because of His covenant
obligations. He came to accomplish our redemption. He came to manifest the character
and glory of God. Why in the world were all these
angels and shepherds and wise men and everybody, why were they
bowing down before this little baby to worship Him? Because
He's God! He manifested the very character
of God. He was unlike any other man.
He was virgin born. Well, why was his birth so necessary? Why did all the prophets look
for and prophesy of his coming? Because no son of Adam has the
will, the power, or the price to redeem himself to God. That's
why he came. He had to come. He had to come. There's a fact of which this
whole Christmas-celebrating world is ignorant of, a fact that'll
go unmentioned at all their family gatherings, all their dinners,
and all their parties in Adam. I've been going to Christmas
parties as long as I can remember. I can't ever remember a time
going to a Christmas party and somebody standing up and saying,
N. Adam, all die. No, we don't mention that. We
don't mention that, do we? Sin entered and death passed
upon all men. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. We were by nature children of
wrath, even as others. And you hath equated who were
dead. Dead. He had to come, because
no man has the price or the will or the want to save himself. He doesn't have the ability. I don't know. This whole world
is so in a fog of ignorance concerning
the Word of God and concerning the sacrifice and the appearance
of the Son of God. Sin is not just a road that when
you get old enough to know the difference, you see the sign
and you go this way instead of that way. That's not sin. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands
of young boys and girls are being told that this very day. It's not a road that you choose. And it's not just an act of breaking
the law. Sin is the transgression of the
law, but that's not all that sin is. Sin is a nature. Why would I transgress the law?
Because I'm a sinner. Huh? Oh, you mean it's the reason
why I sin. Out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts, adulteries, fornications, lies, all these things. Out of
the heart. Sin is a nature. It has more
to do with what we are than what we've done. And when man sinned,
he was separated from God with no possibility of reconciling
himself to God. You know over in the book of
Jude, The apostle writes about the
angels who left their first estate, and here's what he said. They
left their first habitation. They're reserved in everlasting
chains under darkness until the day of God, until that
day of vengeance, that day of fire. No possibility. No possibility. No good news.
It's not coming. They're never going to hear it.
Never going to hear it. And even so, man in and of himself
has no possibility any more than those angels, except in the Lord
Jesus Christ. God made provision for them. And He didn't for the angels. But unlike the fallen angels,
God provided this people He chose in Christ, another head in Him,
through Him, by Him, they shall be saved. If it were not for
the appointment of another head, the last Adam, God would have
destroyed this whole world in its infancy. He would have destroyed
this whole world in Adam. There's no other way to view
the appearance of Jesus Christ except as the Savior of God's
elect. Now, you write that down because
it's so. There is no other view. Somebody
started talking about universal this and that and love and salvation
and all that. That's junk. That's junk. That's not according to the Word
of God. And if you try to view His person and work in a universal
sense, it makes an absolute mockery out of the character of God,
the work of Christ, and the promises attached to His coming. He didn't
say He's going to do the best He can to save all that are willing
to let Him. That ain't what it says. It says
He shall save His people from their sins. Now, either that's
so, or God's a liar. Is that right? All right. Here's another question
we as believers ought to be asking ourselves. What did he do? I've heard who he is. I heard
why he came. I heard something about the necessity
of his birth. Well, what did he do? What did
he do? What this one born in this lowly
cow stable do? It says in Hebrews 9 verse 12,
that He entered into heaven itself by His own blood, having obtained
for us eternal redemption." Huh? That redemption promised back
in eternity. Took it in His hand. Huh? Took it in His hand. Oh, my soul. Listen to this, Hebrews 9, once
in the end of the world, after He appeared to put away sin by
the sacrifice of Himself. Put it away. What did He do? Listen to this. Romans 3.24, He justified us
freely by His grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. once suffered for sins, the just
for the unjust that He might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. What did He do? He bore our sins in His own body
on the tree. He either did or He didn't. He ascended up into glory where
He ever lived to make intercession for us. That's what it says in
Romans 8. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. What did he do? As a good shepherd,
it said he gave his life for the sheep. I'm going to tell you something.
Time's not being preserved in hopes that God can save as many
as He can and to try to keep His work from being of no avail. That's not what's going on. Our
redemption has been fully accomplished, our righteousness has been fully
approved, and we're accepted in the blood. What did he do? He saved us. That's what Paul
told Demetrius, that young preacher. What did he do? He saved us.
That's what he did. And then he called us with a
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his
own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. How do I know that? Read the
next verse. Verse 10, 2 Timothy 1. But now is manifested by the
appearing of Jesus Christ. What do you see when you see
that little babe in Bethlehem's manger? Alright, here's one more thing
I want you to think about. How should I, as a believer,
consider this tiny babe being talked about and sang about and
pictured in major scenes all over the world? We're not in darkness anymore.
God called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now,
how should I think about this babe? Turn with me to Luke chapter
2. Told you who He is and why He
came, of the necessity of His coming and what He did. Now how shall I view this tiny baby?
Look over here in Luke chapter 2 verse 25. This baby's been born now. It's
eight days old. According to the law, commanded
for it to be circumcised. Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem,
verse 25, Luke chapter 2, whose name was Simeon. The same man
was just and devout. That is, he was a believer. He
was waiting for the consolation of Israel. That's the Christ. And it was revealed unto him
by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen
the Lord's Christ. The Lord revealed that same thing
to me. All his elect are going to see Christ before they die.
All of them. Huh? That's what he told Samuel. Before you die, you're going
to see the Lord Christ. So is all his elect. And he came by the Spirit into
the temple. And when the parents brought
in the child Jesus, for to do after the custom of the law. Simeon went over and took that
little baby up in his arms. He embraced him. What do I tell
you in here every Sunday? Embrace him. Embrace him. And he blessed God
and he said, Now let us, thy servant, depart in peace according
to thy word, for mine eyes have seen," what? Thy salvation. Huh? What have I been telling you
now for years? Salvation's a person. Simeon knew that. He waited on
him. And here He is. He's right here
in front of Him. And He picks Him up and He embraces
Him. And He said, I'm ready to go
home now. Huh? I'm ready to go home. I've seen everything I need to
say. Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared
before the face of all people. Our Lord said to John on the
Isle of Patmos, He's not a baby anymore. He's ascended into glory. And they stood before Him, and
John fell on his face as a dead man. Fell before the presence
of His glory. And the Lord said, fear not. Oh, I tell you, that's good news.
If He'll speak after your heart, fear not. Listen to what He tells
you. I'm Alpha. I don't make it. I'm the beginning and I'm the
ending. I'm He which is, and which was,
and which is to come, the Almighty. I've made it. What do you see
when you see that baby in the manger? May God enable you to
see in Him. the savior of sinners. I tell
you, don't get past that either. Don't get past that. I love the
story. I wrote a little article about
it in the bulletin this morning about that star. That star guided those wise men,
along with the word of God, to Bethlehem. And they rejoiced
when the star quit moving. It hovered right above that stable.
And they rejoiced, and they went inside. They went inside. When they got inside, they saw
Him. And they fell down on their face
before Him and worshiped Him. And the star didn't go any further. Oh, that's it. I've taken you
as far as I can take you to Him who is Christ the Lord.